All Thought Is Creative and Influential

If you are reading this on a computer, I have a question for you. Where did your computer come from? Maybe from Costco, or CompUSA, or from some online store. But where did it come from for them? Probably from the manufacturer. OK. But where did it come from for them? They had it built, probably somewhere in China, and most likely from parts made all over the world. Then it breaks down to the designer, his drawings and calculations...  On and on, until you get to the point I am trying to make. The computer you are looking at came from a thought. Someone, somewhere, had the thought of this computer, and here it is.

Thought is what creates everything, and all our experience of everything. The  fundamental concept is that all thought is creative and influential.

All Thought is creative

I remember beginning to learn about the power of thought. How exciting it was to finally know how to make life work! I felt a deep inspiration, knowing that I really could step into the purpose of my life, and have the life I wanted. Then came a day when I didn’t feel that way. I saw that my life was still working the same old way. I wondered what was wrong with me. Maybe my new thoughts were somehow not working.

So, here’s the lesson: ALL thought is creative and influential. There is never a time that it is not. What about the time when I didn’t see the results I wanted? All that means is that I didn’t see the results I wanted; it doesn’t mean there weren’t results being formed from my thoughts. This may seem disconcerting at first, but really it is very good news.
Ernest Holmes brings more clarity to this:

All Thought Is Creative. Since this is true, it follows that we cannot say that one thought is creative while another is not. We must say that all thought is creative, according to the nature, impulse, emotion or conviction behind the thought. Thought creates a mold in the Subjective, in which the idea is accepted and poured, and sets power in motion in accordance with the thought.

‑ Ernest Holmes, The Science Of Mind

There are two ideas here that are important to understand. First, a thought enters the creative process, and is nurtured in consciousness by affirmation and action. Then this thought incubates within the subconscious mind (“the Subjective”) filling the mold it has created. Second, “all thought is creative, according to the nature, impulse, emotion or conviction behind the thought.” The power of a thought to create is determined by the emotional energy and commitment to the idea that the thinker places behind the thought.

So, what is the very good news?

It is very good news that, for the most part, there is not an immediate demonstration of every thought that I think. That would, at times, be quite embarrassing.

It is also very good news because I can know that my life, the way it is right now, is a product of my deeply held thoughts. It is not about “my thoughts not working.” Whether or not I like what I have and experience in this moment, I am right now demonstrating the power of my own thoughts to create my life. I have the power. I am using it right now. I have the choice to change my thinking. I can live the life I desire. Ernest Holmes might have said, I can “create a [new] mold in the Subjective [subconscious mind], in which the [new] idea is accepted and poured, and sets power in motion in accordance with the [new] thought.” I do not live at the mercy of fate, chance or circumstance. The thoughts I hold deeply in my heart produce what I actually demonstrate in my life. Here, again, is Ernest Holmes:

“That which thought has done, thought can un-do. Lifelong habits of wrong thinking can be consciously and deliberately neutralized, and an entirely new order of mental and emotional reaction established in Mind.”

‑ Ernest Holmes, The Science Of Mind

All Thought Is Influential

I attend a fabulous church in West Sacramento, California – The Center For Spiritual Awareness. One of the things I hear often at CSA goes like this: “As soon as I walked into this building, I knew there was something different here.” Or “When I entered the sanctuary, I felt at home.” This is a demonstration of the influence of thought. Consider what happens in this church: praise and worship, the teaching and receiving of positive principles of truth, prayer, demonstrations of individual passion, commitment and purpose, recovery, healing. All these things begin with thought, and this thought infuses the very spiritual atmosphere of my church.

The word, “influence” literally means “to flow into.” The world of duality would have me believe that thoughts reside only in my head, not outside of me. The universe of oneness demonstrates that this is an illusion. My thoughts are not contained within my skull. Thought flows from me into the universe. It touches everything, and it influences everything.

In 1961 Edward Lorenz, a professor of meteorology at M.I.T., described how an infinitesimal change in only one of dozens of atmospheric factors can drastically alter the weather weeks and months away. In his writing, he used the analogy of the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil setting off a tornado in Texas. This idea has been dubbed, “The Butterfly Effect,” and this analogy can be applied to thought. One of my coaching friends once said to me, “If you think the thoughts that flow through your mind, and that you hold within your subconscious do not have influence, think again.” All thought is creative and influential. So become vigilant about what you think.

While the thoughts I think are creative within my experience, my thinking does not create your experience. However, my thoughts do have influence; as do yours. The sum of all thought generated within a culture, a country, a race is could be called “human human race consciousness,” and it is a powerful influence. The sum of all the thoughts that we collectively bring with us to church, to work or to our homes, creates an “atmosphere” that is very powerful.

The Drift

The influence of human race consciousness and our personal history I call “the drift.” Being in the world, I am standing in the flow of thought that moves through this culture and from my past. But I am always at choice in my thinking. I can go along with the flow ‑ the drift – or I can purposefully choose to think differently. If I go with the drift, I float passively along, perhaps turning this way or that, but always with the drift, going where it takes me. However, if I choose to inhabit my life in a different way, choosing my own destination, I experience the oppositional power of the drift. Think of crossing a fast-flowing creek. The deeper the water is, the more difficult it is to move across or even stand against “the drift” of the creek. I have been knocked off my feet by the pressure of the current.

Standing against the drift takes practice and support. I practice working with my own consciousness through self-observation, affirmations, affirmative prayer, study, and participating in community. I adopt a new outlook in my life; I reinforce that outlook and begin to speak from it. I begin to consciously create the life I desire. Yet, always the drift is there, urging me to go with the flow. If I stay conscious, observing my thoughts, words and reactions, and without judging them, I can maintain my footing, and keep moving forward. If I don’t, I can catch myself, and make the choice to get back on my feet.

I find the support I need to stand against the drift in my CSA and coaching communities. Immersing myself in the atmosphere of life-affirming thought which provides me support in making the changes in my thinking, creating the experience I desire. How?

1. By giving me some relief from the drift. It requires mental stamina to stay focused and in alignment with the thoughts I have chosen to create my life anew, when everything around me is saying something different. This community can give me rest.
2. By the influence of the consciousness of these communities. If all thought is influential, the atmosphere of positive thought at church and with my fellow coaches has a big influence. Availing my self of the powerful consciousness of this community, my thinking is invigorated and enhanced.

In Conclusion

The life I am experiencing in this moment is the effect of my life of thought. It is encouraging to know that positive thought is far more powerful than negative thought. Using these principles, it will not take the rest of my life to have the life I deeply desire. I have found that it is never too late unless I declare it so.

Positive and negative thinking are merely two ways of using the same mind through the power of self-choice. Positive thinking is direct and affirmative, sure of itself and moving straight toward its objective. Light is a positive principle, as it were, and when set in operation, the negative condition of darkness is instantly overcome.

‑ Ernest Holmes, The Science Of Mind

The drift is not an evil entity. It is simply a river of thought. That’s all. And it challenges me. In this way, it can be a positive aspect of my spiritual growth. Remember, the power of a thought to create is determined by the emotional energy and commitment to the idea that the thinker places behind the thought. Oppositional force can help me become strong in will and resolve, increasing the creative power and influence of my thought. Coming in from the drift, into a place of praise, love and encouragement can lift my emotional energy behind my chosen thoughts.

The author Margaret Wheatley says: “Life is an experiment to discover what is possible.” In an experiment, no result is ever “wrong,” it is just more information from which one learns. Be gentle with yourself on this journey. There is nothing wrong with you. Learn from your life. Learn ceaselessly from your creations. As you gain more information from your life, you can adjust and fine tune your thinking. The very life you are now living is the wise and truthful mentor you have been looking for.