I hear a lot about the power of thoughts coming from a variety of New Age and other spiritual sources. This is what I have to say about it:
Thought alone may have a certain energy to it. I'm okay with this assertion. How powerful said energy is, however, is seriously up for debate. Can I live in my dream world just by thinking it into existence? NO. If that were true, I'd be there... and I'm not. Some would say that's because I'm not "manifesting" it, I don't really believe in it. I'm sorry but, what if my ideal world has unicorns, nothing but awesome comfortable Victorian-Faerie-Goth-Dancer fashion that fits me perfectly, cats who can speak my language, and cute little flying horses in it? If I really, really believe, will I experience that world right here and now? Ha! As much as I'm a magical thinker, I have to say no. Those things lie in the world of the imagination, and they can be very real, in a sense. They're not, however, going to appear in super-corporeal fashion, they are fey in nature, apparitions flitting in and out of peripheral vision, and that's okay, because it's their role in this dense world. The creatures, visions, and dreams of our imagination serve to remind us that the cold, hard objects that we encounter in our daily lives are not everything. There is magic, wonder and a reason to hope for a better world. There is mystery to balance the mundane. That said, the world of ideas is only significant when we take action on the thoughts we have, whether we do so consciously or unconsciously. Thoughts may "emanate" from our being, but they quickly dissipate when they are not given the added oomph of an activating principle. The action can be very small, and very habitual, to the point of being completely unconscious, or it can be consciously created and moved. I don't believe that thought alone has a power comparable to thought + action. Perhaps this could be true on a more ethereal plane, but with the time, gravity, and solidity we encounter here, it's simply ludicrous.
There's currently a big trend that's all about the "power of positive thinking". There's nothing wrong with positivity, and affirmations that help one to recognize how amazing and beautiful they are can be powerful. Playing with the idea of what one can do as opposed to what one can't do is often the more open and liberating rout to take. My question is, what happens when someone believes that they should only ever have "positive" thoughts? Doesn't this shackle them to a moralistic concept, the failure of which could well lead to neurosis, guilt and shame? The problem is not the percentage of positive or negative thoughts we have daily, but how conscious of our thought patterns we are. Being able to simply observe our thoughts with compassion is more important than only thinking in the positive. By doing this we have nothing to fail at. We are empowered to recognize thoughts that come from a place of love, understanding and acceptance as well as thoughts that come from fear, insecurity, and anger. In this way we can better understand our motivations behind actions and reactions, and make more effective choices as we grow. It's perfectly natural for us experience a variety of feelings, thoughts, and ideas, including those we or our society deems "unsavory". It is unhealthy for us to repress the free flow of these experiences, for when we do, we find ourselves a chaotic mess.
I personally strive for balance. I embrace my "negative" thoughts. They are equally as important and valuable as my "positive" ones. All of my thoughts and ideas have something to tell me about how I'm feeling and what's happening around me. Do I choose to change certain of my thought patterns? Absolutely. Am I blind to some of my idea-loops and theoretical contradictions? Yes. Will I do my best to act upon thoughts that are in the highest benefit of all my relations? Always.
