so true

Did Einstein “think too much”? Did Edison “think too much”? Did Henry Ford “think too much”?

To expand on this is to say these people didn’t use their minds to create the wonderful inventions they did. The mind is simplistic in its own right and is not responsible for creating solutions. It is when we tap into our divine nature that we find the creativity we seek.

Thomas

It is when we tap into our divine nature that we find the creativity we seek.

I certainly agree with Thomas on this. Sure, we’re going to think and have thoughts come up all the time,however, our minds just get in our way, with too much confusion the hows and whys and whens. When we let go and let our divine presense in us take over is when the wonderful manifesting begins.

Left something out here!! Commenting on another thing Guy stated….
“Should you choose not to subscribe to the Life Without Limits we offer you here, you’re welcome to find your own version that resonates better with you. But we’re not going to stop thinking, we’re not going to stop investigating, we’re not going to stop sharing our findings — even if they happen to ruffle a few feathers in the process, because the greatest lessons in life come after a big push, a knock on the head, or a dose of “bad medicine” (as in, it tastes bad, but does you a world of good)”.

My observation of this statement is the “She” you’re referring to, may have ruffled a few feathers in you, pushed some buttons and you appear to have become triggered by some underlying belief you may want to take a look at. You’re definitely defending yourself and LWL and none of us should ever have to defend anything, it is, what it is!! Unless that “makes” you uncomfortable, is your signal to look inside to find the underlying cause.

Good article and I understand your points.
I also understand the point Tolle is making.
It’s a balance of not thinking yourself into a nut house with worry and anxiety.
As thoughts and emotions become things and we really do want to co create.. we get to choose what we think and how we feel, thus what we experience.

Thinking in the form of worry isn’t helpful. Thinking in the form of creating from a place of balance always is.

I too am a big thinker.. I love to think. I don’t love worry and stress.

Balance in life leads to bliss,
Donna

One community member says we “think way too much and make things complicated.”

I can relate to this feeling. At one point I also felt this way after studying many of the methods offered by the various teachers. I simply asked for a higher truth and was led to the right teacher for me. What I learned along the way is that if the method is complicated and requires the student to be with that teacher for many years it is not the highest truth. It is neither right or wrong I wanted my own experience and found it hidden away in simplicity.

Thomas

Heather, great!! Great thoughts, thank you!

I associate with this what Bashar said (did you listen to them? marvellous! there is their Beyond The Secret — Abundance series on YouTube):

“The whole secret to The Secret is nothing more than really being
willing to be yourself, your full self. And act like it; and behave
like it; and know, and KNOW, that it’s always in your best interests
to do so. Always. Always! Because that’s the definition of being
whole.”

Interestingly, we just argued with my friend: he said I was thinking too much. Law of Attraction works. I think, when people are not thinking, they’re not facing something they could work through, instead they run from the problems, trying to hide them from themselves or just being sure it’s Life that it’s so, it’s not their own decision. When I’m asking myself, _why_ I’m doing this or that, I’m as if working through something that allows me to see things differently, to act differently, to became actually free.

Thank you very much!
Olj.

I think what your writer was trying to say was that ultimately we should just live by ‘don’t worry be happy’. And yes, this is true.

Unfortunately though, most of us do not stay in a state of perpetual bliss (for one reason or another), therefore we must think about the way we think!
So thanks for all of your investigations to help us in this.

I think that we need to categorize thinking. Tolle by no means tells us to stop thinking, but rather make us realize that there is more to us than thought.
Every “law of attraction” method has one problem that they try to address by different means. Resistance. Whenever you ask for something, then the mind automatically says, “sure but you know you don’t have it!” and we fight this thought continously. What I appreciated about Tolle, it gave me an extra tool to fight with. I literally visualize my mind as another person inside me that is sometimes negative. He often has good ideas, so I have to tirage the thoughts. Before, I would be worried because “I” was thinking negatively, I was changing the vibrations, I was chasing away the manifestation.

Wow! I occurs to me that you have missed the point entirely. Maybe:) Perhaps a little study of C. Daly King—the king of scientific thinking, might pull the blinders off. He proves–IN FACT–that all thinking is done by a three-brained computer of the body. You may moniker that the “Ego”. What you see in physical reality are the end neural products of this 3-brained system–an expert computer which possesses all the files of your past, through which it can comb and piece together scenarios—stop briefly in the present to trick you into lending your real creative power–then project it into the future. The ego has no power to create–so in order to remain in the game, it must keep you mesmerized—busy with trial–and never let you discover who you really are.

So the idea Tolle is advancing is not to stop thinking altogether–but rather to stop, occasionally at first, all the chatter from the corollaries, and allow your real self to issue forth your original plan of abundance. Once the gap is accomplished—use the brain and thinking capabilities–to do what is before you.

What Einstein discovered was not deduced from his history or the history of other brilliant men/women. There was no precedent for what he promulgated. He did not “learn” about the relationship between matter and light–he simply stayed in the gap—outside of the garbage constantly running through his mind–and suddenly knew, with no process–direct info without descriptive labeling. Then he used thought to promulgate a theory we might understand.

There is no such thing as “becoming” enlightened. We all already are enlightened. Everything your soul desires is already here. It is the reason you and your students don’t regularly get what they want. Nobody gets what they “want”. You get what the real you has already created. “Want” is of the ego by definition. Anything that is of the ego cannot and will not last. What you see everyday is only a perceived fragmented portion of the real underlying reality.

Einstein’s, Edison’s, Tesla’s and Our real purpose—is to let real consciousness flow through you into this physical reality. Sure—you may use a regimen of ordered thinking to influence the files of the computer–try to convince it to project into the future those things you think you “want”. And—perhaps, for a time, you will see what you think you want. But how can you possibly have the audacity to believe that with just a few years of life behind you, with a brain you don’t even use a tenth of,—-with only a few thousand years of recorded history to guide you—You could possibly know better than a Universe that is billions of our years old and all encompassing—what is best for you.

Finally—there is only one God. We must necessarily, each, be a part of that God. Everything the ego(computer) does is aimed at creating a separation from that whole. You can only be successful at the expense of another–in order for you to shine—someone else must be lesser. Trying to create a larger version of yourself only ever leads to create enemies and that is how the ego stays alive. So—observe yourself for a time. Don’t judge—just observe. Listen to the incessant crap that goes through your head with detachment—-then “will” it to stop occasionally and just “BE”. Make a purposeful gap in the constant stream of ego related chatter–let the real you through and partake of your “Already Enlightened State”. Life is the dancer—you are the dance.

Tim

Another point about thinking and coming up with inventions… There are so many people that have invented world chnaging stuff simply by walking in a park, or driving a car, or basically any acticvity where the person was not “thinking” at that moment. In the Wired april 200 edition there are a couple listed on page 148. (television, netflix, quantum electrodynamics, post-it notes, polymeerase chain reaction, Harry Potter idea, etc)

So to say that Eistien was not practicing “non-thinking” as tolle explains when he came up with his great ideas is mere specualtion… Ideas come from beyond the directed thought. To excerices this ability by trying to shut out the noise of ‘useless” thinking can be an added bonus to other “law of attraction” method.

HEATHER….I LOVE YOU!!! …AND LOVE YOU ALL FOR YOUR MINDBREAKING COMMENTS!!!!

SALUDOS FROM MEXICO!!!

REMEMBER LOVE IS THE KEY FOR ALL DOORS

Of course the famous thinkers thought. We all have to think if we want to be present in this world of civilization and technology that surrounds us.

But the real innovation and discovery comes from visualizing, The so called ‘great thingers’ imagine things that normal people don’t. They should be rather great visionnaires. Einstein imagined how it would be if he was speeding up to the speed of light, Tesla tested his electric devices in his mind laboratory, Ford had his great vision of every family in America having a car, and the social revolution it would cause. Edison had the ball&bowl technique where he sat in a comfortable armchair, with a metal ball in each hand and a metal bowl on the floor underneath each hand - in the transitory phase between being awake and dreaming - when the thinking brain was shutting itself off, he was able to see fleeting images of things he was concerned with and what was a solution for them. His body relaxed and the balls fell down making noise which was waking him up - to write down what he saw.

What they did later with thinking was to put their discoveries into words - an achievement, but nonetheless they could not do it without visualizing it first.

My own technique of finding answers to my burning questions was to trying to wizualize the solution, stop it when I’ve hit the wall and couldn’t think of nothing new, and then to read an ecyclopaedia. While reading definitions one after another my thinking mind wandered off the subject of my inquiries, allowing the subconscious to quickly find the answer. At some point I would get the ‘Aha!’ moment ang get the answer while reading the definitions.

I liked this method for I was learning a lot of interesting things as a side effect

Visualization beats thinking every time.

Hey Guy!

Wow! Those are some very interesting thoughts! LOL BTW, I think what you’re DOing is fabulous. Bottom line, I think we all think too much. And I believe what Tolle’s saying is to the right of what you speak, and completely valid, as well.

Given that, at the end of the day, I believe it’s BALANCE. And yes, acceptance, with gratitude and grace, for what IS, as we LIVE it. To BE aware and open to the nuances of the slipstream. And to take ACT-ion on them. BE loving and inclusive. Balance.

And, beyond that…..true faith, love and BElief in your souls quest. Be real with yourself. Trust in yourself and your visions. And pay attention. Balance.

lol, seeking is nothing more than mental masturbation. All it does is take you further from the truth of who you really are.

Thomas

Right-On! Thomas—Thanx for that.:)

Tim

This discussion has certainly made me “think” about thinking. I believe myself to be a very practiced and poweful manifestor. Part of that has to do with having lived a few years and having many opportunites to gain experience about what works and what doesn’t for me.It is interesting that what has worked in the past doesn’t always work in the present. The variables of time, location, present cricumstances and state of mind, body, sprit, come to play. When you are looking at “laws” of attraction and the investigation into the components that appears to be the constants in the process of manifestation, that, for me,
requires thought. Does that bring me closer or further aways from invention and creativity? I guess it depends on what my purpose is… if my purpose is to investigate, collect and share learnings it is one thing but if my intention is to arrive at answers through a different process then I would approach it differently.
I live on the most beautiful place, on my homelands, on my home reservation, in the north and everything around me is bursting forth with life. My teachers are everywhere and when I connect with my non human friends and relatives, there is much that I learn about this life process. I am goin gto think about that today.

Happy Solstice.

Interesting stuff…………..In James Ray’s new book “Harmonic Wealth” he addresses the issue as one of harmony not balance….it’s terminology I know but interesting nonetheless and one that I resonate well with…harmony meaning that all things are not equal all of the time….imagine it like a jazz band where instruments all play specific roles with some taking more of the lead than others at certain times…..we need to feel bad to understand feeling good…..sometimes we need to think…sometimes we just need to be…experience….appreciate….Our great friends Heather and Barry are bringing us a lot of value, and are commentating as well as reacting…acting…pro-acting…..good on them for stimulating conversation.

Dean

Seeking as a mental masturbation?

Depending on what you seek…

If what you seek is a new experience, new feeling, new something to keep your mind away from what you don’t want to think about, then it’s a good parable.

But one of basic aspects of life is eating - and so if you are hungry, you seek food. Then when you are full and not hungry, relieved, not cold or wet, safe from environmental dangers, your hunger moves to the propagation of species so to say - it’s the top of the seeking on biological level.

Biological level stands atop physical level - chemical particles in water and soil, air, sun rays giving energy to the world. Those elements in itself are governed by a strict set of rules - the laws of physics, which doesn’t allow for any exceptions.

The biological life can be seen as a phenomen of mutiny against the laws of physics, beginning from escaping the destructive force of elements by self repairing mechanisms of biological organisms, all the way up to the propagation of species - making copies to ensure survival of life. The biological level is also governed by set of rules - the laws of the jungle.

Atop of biological level stands social level - another mutiny, this time against the laws of the jungle. The society seeks freedom from bonds of biology, keeping in check sexual life, food distribution, and so on and on with the use of laws of society, which we know simply as the Law.

Atop the society stands intelect, or rather memes - thoughts that propagate by infesting one mind after another. For them, human minds are the environment they live in. There exist rules for this level too - if the suicidal meme kills its host before it propagates itself, it dies along with its host - darwinian laws of evolution are evident here as in all the levels before.

The thing is, we are in the middle of the levels - two people walking on the street of a city and disputing whether there can be greater inteligence, more complicated organisms than themselves, can be likened to two blood cells moving along your artery…

Every cell in our body, every organ, our bodies, our families, nations, all our thoughts are seeking survival and freedom from the laws that bind them.

Seeking the escape from that cycle is not a mental masturbation. It is the purpose of life itself.

The thing is, you escape it by going ever higher on this levels, not by destroying them - they are lika a giant set of steps forged by an unknown entity - the God himself? steping out of primordial chaos. Step forward, and you will find the answer.

Seek freedom

Wow, this certainly sparked a lot of comments, and several people even came back numerous times to add more comments… looks like you’re all “thinking” a LOT!

There seem to be several “arguing” that invention actually comes in those moments of “non-thought”. Of course we all know that the SPARK of creativity comes in those moments, and I didn’t feel a need to spell out something we already know when it seems like a given in this intelligent community — but that is why I talked about the benefits of turning off the mind chatter sometimes.

But I would like to add that the SPARK of creativity (the “light bulb” in our minds, the “a-ha moment”, the “inspired” part of “inspired action”) is NOTHING without the thought(and more) that comes later to flesh out that idea and make it MANIFEST (i.e. a manifestation).

This article wasn’t about saying sparks of creativity and inspiration from the soul aren’t important; it was about understanding the dangers and limitations of adopting a mantra like “turn off thoughts… turn off thoughts… turn off thoughts…”

Thoughts clarify your intention, and hence your manifestation. In fact, the reason most people don’t manifest what they WANT is because they don’t allow their thoughts to adequately define what they want. And they don’t allow their thoughts to steer the manifestation “ship”, so to speak, when they happen to get off course.

Thoughts allow you to place your order with the Universe, and make sure everything else is in alignment with them.

For instance, Benoit… if NetFlix came to someone in a light-bulb moment, that’s great. But that’s not the whole invention. It was the THOUGHTS (will this work? How can we implement it? How can we market it? How can we make it a viable business?) and the resulting answers, whether from that person’s mind, another person’s mind, or another series of inspired moments followed up by more instances of THOUGHT that brought it to life.

Post-it Notes, well, that doesn’t really count… because it was discovered through an “accident” (mixing the “wrong type” of adhesive). So the a-ha moment (”this might actually be useful”) came after the incarnation.

But again, it was THOUGHT that spurred on the journey to getting that accident into a usable form and out there to the public.

Remember what thought is… it’s just a form of energy, and we all know from science class that energy can not be created or destroyed, only change forms. So it’s often the ENERGY of a sudden inspiration that transforms into the ENERGY of thought. It then creates a chain reaction of energy changing form that allows an inspiration to become a manifestation… through the energy of thought (and more, which I’ll get to in a second).

Jack Canfield told me about meditating on a great name for his new book, and how he saw a hand come out and write “Chicken Soup” on a blackboard. He then asked the vision, “Why chicken soup?” and got the answer that if chicken soup healed illness, his and Mark Victor Hansen’s new book healed the soul… Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Great example of an inspired moment — and that inspired moment led to inspired thought (”let’s ask a bunch of people what they think about the name”) and inspired action, and the result is the Chicken Soup for the Soul empire that inspires many more people today.

My point is, you CAN NOT leave thought out of the equation.

I have a formula for success that came to me in a similarly inspired moment after interviewing 50 success experts… just popped into my mind during a brain dump session with myself.

It’s called the TEAR Formula (as in TEAR down the boundaries that stand in your way):

T + E + A = R

Thoughts + Emotions + Actions = Results

Each step in the formula is more powerful than the last when it comes to manifesting what you want; the Thoughts are powerful, but the Emotions are more powerful, and the Actions even more powerful than that (you can have the best Thoughts and Emotions in the world, spurring towards that manifestation, but if your Actions counter the Thoughts and Emotions, you can undo the whole thing).

All three together give you your Results in life. If the Thoughts, Emotions and Actions are in alignment, you’ll get the Results you want; if not, then you’ll get different Results than you anticipated.

If you leave the T off the TEAR Formula, you’re just left with “air”.

When people leave the T off (and just operate out of Emotions and Actions with no Thought behind them):

- Business people make illegal business decisions
- Students make vital mistakes
- Drivers make the wrong turn onto one-way streets
- People fight — sometimes with violent results
- Parents instill limiting beliefs in their children

… and the list goes on and on.

Some of you seem to imply that thoughts always bring doubts, worry, limiting beliefs, and other negative outcomes. And while thoughts are certainly responsible for these things — if you EXPECT that kind of outcome, that’s what you’ll manifest.

How about expecting your thoughts to be happy and productive? How about expecting your thoughts to produce great results, bring you clearer perspective on all that you encounter, and allow you to appreciate others? How about expecting your thoughts to further your sparks of creativity into manifestations that will add value to the world?

Aah, yes… thoughts can be our friends. And all the great thinkers and innovators in the world — and yes, the creators too — would agree.

cheers
Heather

P.S. To Ruthann… yes, it seems that every time we say something to clarify our mission and vision at LWL Worldwide, someone (like you) comes along and gives it a 180 degree turn, and says we’re being defensive, we must be triggered, etc.

In actual fact, we have nothing to defend, because we do what we do and we’re up front about it. But if a community member has preconceived notions about what we SHOULD be doing, what we SHOULD be saying, what we SHOULD be teaching, and decides to post their preconceived notions on the blog for all to read — then we certainly have the right to clarify our purpose, and steer them somewhere they’ll be better served if their desires don’t resonate with what we do.

It’s not being defensive — it’s standing behind what we do and believe in, and that includes serving our community… even if we’re not the ones they need in their lives.

I must agree with you to a large amount. I know that most of my best ideas and thought come at one of two times. Either I am deep in a meditative state, or I am just walking down the street enjoying the sun, the birds songs and the beauty of the bounty of flowers in Santa Barbara.

I will discuss more of this with Barry on Thursday the 3rd of July when I Talk with him.

Thank you so much for everything and peace and light be with you all as spirit guides you on what you do.

Love,
Paul E. Cook

every thing has two sides as your friend says. What good would the day be without the night, sunshine without the rain summer without the winter? “etc. etc. etc.” as was once stated in “The King and I”. The ying must have the yang. Paul

You guys are beautiful. I get a lot of email, and lately, read only a few. Your emails are in that few, because you have so much to offer. I have been in my head (thinking) most of my life as an engineer and knew that I had to balance that thinking with heartfelt energy, call it emotion or whatever. In the past few months I have moved into my heartspace, causing my thinking to be more love-oriented so that what I do through meditation and other non-thought activities balances, or harmonizes the two. So I don’t know that thinking, per se, is the ‘culpret’ but the KIND of thinking someone participates in. When my heart and my head are in harmony, the ‘ah ha’ moments move into my experience much faster and in a loving way, forging a path for manifestation.

What an incredible dialog going on here! It’s quite fantastic to read through the differing points of view presented.

My view is slightly different. I wonder if the question, rather than being around “we think too much” could be rephrased to “what do you think about?”.

If what you think about relies on the emotional content of doubt, fear, hatred, worry, defense, justification then that surely is thinking too much. If however, the thoughts you choose are of the now - what positive action can move me forward in my dream, goal, aspiration? - the difference lies in what you think; not how much you think about it.

I trust you enjoy an inspired day. Barbara

Heather,

I want to thank you for sharing this interview/excerpt with me. The thought about coming from a place of strength was just the piece I needed right now.

Please say Hi to Barry. I live in the same building as he did here in Virginia Beach, and we used to have conversations in the pool.

You may be interested in checking into Eckankar, the Religion of the Light and Sound of God at http://www.eckankar.org. Eckankar teaches that we are co-creators with God and that we have come to this this “school room” of earth to learn lessons and become a co-worker with God.

Take care and thanks a lot.

All the posts here have been very interesting reading. I just don’t get how Tolle’s teachings have been interpreted as telling us not to think. What I got out of his latest book is not that we should turn off our thinking and emotions. He never suggested that at all. Mt understanding is that he is merely suggesting that we become aware of whether our thinking is coming from the ego mind or from our true consciousness, that part of us that is the observer behind the ego mind. Of course we all think, and will continue to do so, but I find it profoundly helpful to know that my thoughts (and who among us have not have some pretty messed up thoughts?!) are not a reflection of who I AM. The Divinity in each of us lies in the true consciousness that connects us with all that is. Thoughts that emanate from our ego mind are the thoughts that separate us.

Thank you all for your posts here. It’s always interesting to look at an issue from someone else’s point of view. We may not all agree, but being able to share our individual perspectives in these blogs is a gift…one I am very grateful for.

My heart to yours,

Sandra

I don’t think there’s a human being alive who is truly and actively capable of turning off thought.

If thought is a level, so too is it a leveling of that level to add to pure thought, the thought “I must not think that” or whatever the “turn off thought” mantra would or might be. I have never been able to stop thinking.

True, the level at which you think is profoundly affected (only from my own experience and speaking solely for myself) and can be hinged and/or guided & manipulated by how we think and what we think while simultaneously thinking on many levels above and beneath that conscious thought process.

I like to “think” that the mainstay of my thinking is that which I’m most conscious of. In Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill addresses that ability to use the conscious thought level to permeate, reprogram and guide our unconscious thought levels through what he calls “auto-conscience” (unbelievable book btw). I’ve been in some training through Peak Potentials which were led by guys who would say YES, WE ARE TRYING TO BRAINWASH YOU BACK TO YOUR BEST THOUGHTS. I loved that, the admittance that brainwashing ourselves through our thinking is putting our conscious, rational mind in the drivers seat of a very irrational and seemingly chaotic house of thoughts. Anyway, my two cents. Peace Love and mighty Adventures to you all!

I still find this all very interesting. I have been studying the Eckhart books and really find he says to manage negative thought processes, not to stop thinking. He says to use your mind to manage your thoughts in a positive and useful manner. Since I have been using this , I find things manifest so much easier for me. I know that thoughts are just a form of energy and that I am not my thoughts, nor am I controlled by them. This allows me to use my mind more like an instrument, choosing what I think about. If you read the Eckhart books, you will know this. When your thoughts become chaotic and negative, that is when to apply Eckharts principles and it works wonders. My mind is so much clearer and I can now really apply the principle of the law of attraction and am seeing real results. This has happened after studying the law of attraction for the last 2 years. I had some success but now , after applying Eckharts knowledge, it is amazing what has come into my life. I think you have missed an important aspect of Eckhart’s teachings.

“Barbara @ 6:19 pm:

My view is slightly different. I wonder if the question, rather than being around “we think too much” could be rephrased to “what do you think about?”. ”

I agree with You Barbara.. I understand the confusion Tolle has started with this “stop thinking, look for the space” talk. As with every teacher, the interpretation of his words are more important than the words themselves. I’m sure that the “thinkers” would agree that trying to find a way to “stop the useless thinking” would be a good thing. By pointing to what is beyond the mind and ego, he is showing us a way to control the thinking and not have it control us.

I do have reservations about his teachings in that the action part is not explained (which is not his goal anyway) and I feel he is doing a disservice to the teachings..

OK, good discussion- here’s my 2 cents….

Thoughts are the enemy; did you ever notice the process of thoughts? You’ll be walking along on a beautiful day, your editor and judge pretty much shut down, just quiet minded and enjoying the day and all of a sudden a thought pops into your head…where did it come from? your conscious mind was quiet, your subconscious was at bay, and this thought pops up from where? Maybe its “Gee, if you put this with that, what a thing that would be” or “Gee, if we did this we could solve that social problem”…whatever. Point is you weren’t thinking about the subject and in comes this thought. NOT your thought, but if someone asked you right at that second “What are you thinking?” You would blurt it out as if it were yours…and if they laughed or disagreed, you would probably dig in and defend this as YOUR thought…even though it just popped in, and you haven’t really considered it. Why? Because it’s in your head, it MUST be your thought, your possession, and now EGO has stepped in to lock it down and defend it. Ego considers thoughts as personal property, we have an interest in it, and so our egos get hurt, sometimes very hurt, if it is discounted or laughed at. There needs to be a word in the language that separates these two very different “I think…” statements- one for the “I had this thought, I bounced it around, examined it, threw out some parts and added others and this is what I think” from the other, the” gee, this thjought just popped into my head, don’t know where it came from, haven’t had time to consider it, and have no real attachment or ownership of it at this point”. Just his addition the the language could save innumerable hard feelings and misunderstandings…

As far as manifestation- thoughts, detailed description, and feelings it would create should be as specific as possible, and then released…if further detail comes up, add toi the initial mix and release it again- but if you are as clear as possible as quickly as possible, you may avoid something you relly didn’t want, and certainly can speed up the manifestation process.

As far as the action part- I don’t believe manifesting requires action, because action taken by you is limiting the “how” the source can use to deliver with- a big no-no in my understanding of manifestation…that doesn’t mean take no action- but limit it to awareness of insights and opportunities which present themselves that may be the source’s path to accomplishing the manifestation.

Discussion? Rebuttal?

Beautiful exchange of “thoughts.” Thought or thinking is consciousness at work. No thoughts or non-thinking is your “subconscious” at work, the producer or creator of all that we accept as product of thinking.

What an amazing discussion!

Heather your TEAR formula is great — each step is more powerful than the last but can only be powerful when they all combined.

I think what the reader of the initial comment may have meant (it sounds very much like something I would say at times)is that we can overthink things… I know I do at times… I overanalyse my thoughts when I could have benefited from letting go, from taking action, from stilling my mind of the continual chatter. Sometimes you need to stop thinking to give your mind a chance to refresh itself, to tap into and take note of guidance from your higher self.
Thoughts are essential… so is action… so is letting go… and so is stillness.

Maybe…

Jeanne

I have been acussed of having ‘to much time on my hands ‘ because of the ideas I come up with. My reply is,’ I have the same time as you do, I just do more! Or I’d say, ” No, I just got to much brains.”

How else if not by living a life without limits do we realize our true nature, without thought we are inert, useless ‘without a use’. What purpose is there than for our creation?…

Many interesting comments. In a nutshell, I’d agree overall with Tim Melancon near the top. Eckert Tolle is not suggesting that we all just veg out and stop thinking. Listening to the incessant chatter of the ego is not healthy or productive and it only serves to block our true source of creativity which is from our Spirit Self. Intellect certainly has it’s place, but living with mindfulness and taking the time to be still is certainly very powerful.

To Alex Cole:

While I’m not gonna dare touch your assertion that “thoughts are the enemy” (er, at least not now, as showing you how this over-used, trite Buddhist Philosophy reeks of pure lazy self-accountability and latching on to a seemingly convenient scapegoat will cause me to miss my nap)…

…I will give some of what you said a little attention today, even though I made a vow to myself and Heather to “chill from the PC” and soak in some R&R for once.

Your comments about “manifestation not requiring action” and then saying “that doesn’t mean to take no action” is some funny double-talk…

So, let’s look at it a little differently.

CONSTANT physical action — movement — without stillness is working hard, not smart.

CONSTANT stillness — no thinking — without action is ALSO working hard, not smart.

In the former scenario, if we put too much attention on ACTION, while never stopping to “think” about what we really want, why we want it, and what the effects of our movement have been up to a certain point, we’ll be spinning our wheels.

In the latter scenario, if we put too much focus on stillness, we’re pretty much telling the Universe, God, Reality, All-That-Is (whatever you want to call Source): “You take care of it all, I’m lazy.”

Here’s an excerpt from the Prologue section of our multi-media manifestion portal that will help you understand this (inspired by Mike Dooley’s Notes From the Universe):

The Universe: ALWAYS do what you can with what you’ve got from where you are… however, and this is REALLY tricky, but SUPER important, don’t expect that YOUR efforts alone are what will make your dreams come true. Don’t hinge the manifestation of your goals to WHAT YOU DO but, instead, understand that by doing all you can, YOU INSPIRE me to do all I can.

Barry: It’s almost like you’re saying that if you think I’m serious enough — and trying my best — that you’ll take up some of the slack for me?

The Universe: It’s like this… you do “A”, I’ll do “B”, and you arrive at “C”. This is how everything works. “A” alone, however, will NEVER get you to “C”… but it’s the ONLY WAY, to get a “B”. Now beware… if you forget about “B”, and think that everything rides on “A”… yow… you’ll SWEAT THE DETAILS, criticize yourself for not doing more and for not being better, and eventually convince yourself that you don’t have the ‘right stuff’… effectively [in a way] decommissioning, or FIRING, me.

Barry: I wouldn’t do that. You seem way too cool for such a hasty, impatient, attitude from me!

{ end excerpt }

And, in regards to the whole attachment / detachment debate, here’s a post I wrote several months ago, that will help: http://www.lwlworldwide.com/blog/the-trickiest-manifestation-step-of-all/

* * * * * *

We all carry the wisdom already inside of us, our own truth. Let us stop and listen in.
That does not mean she is wrong and he is right.
I see the old lady in the picture and you see the young attractive lady.
We are both looking at the same lines and white space. It’s all in the perspective.
Thus we both can learn from each other

Love is all there Is.

What needs to be understood is that “our emotions” as such are all conditioned by the culture, the past, family, environment, etc., and demands an external trigger (from finding a new partner or earning lots of money to watch a good movie or eating a delicious meal) in order to bring this feeling of happiness (underneath of this appearance is the feeling of, momentarily, being out of the mind, unburdened by any kind of worries as the rational mind is at easy).
This is not real happiness but a momentary pleasure, which will pass.
Nothing against it but things must be seen in its real perspective.
As soon as I depend on something or someone outside of me to be happy and fulfilled, I’ll never free my mind from self imposed limitations and will walk on Earth like a beggar. Begging for someone to “fall” in love with me, to make money to buy a house, a car, an ice cream, a coffee, a joint, any drug, just for the sake of a pleasure… and then? so what?
I believe evolution means to “use” anything one can imagine in a playful way as an Imperor, being the Master of it and never the slave, the dependent.
I didn’t understand all this discussion about Echkart Tolle.
This guy is absolutely great, enlightened, full of wisdom and very, very much humble.
Exactly like You and Me!
Love and Gratitude
Rasiko

Even God said that for human it is impossible to stop thinking. So even deep meditation will not a make a person that does not think. But meditation will create periods of stilness, so that thoughts come calmly, bring peace and happines, not hurry or chaos, sleeplessness, anger, disease etc….
It is also said : the deeper one meditates the faster he manifests, so deep meditators are adviced to be carefull what they think.

We need to know that thoughts may come from your Higher Self which has spiritual nature, or from you ego, which has more limited perspective.

Spiritulity does not mean to stop thinking, but means aligning your thoughts with your heart, for this you need an open heart and a calm, balanced mind.
Before MANIFESTING, one must check his heart, otherwise what you manifest will not bring happiness .
Many spiritual teachings state that everything in this world is short-lived and transient so that one needs to be detached from things like status, wealth etc. In that contest, inner peace is more important than manifesting, because attachment to external things brings misery - beacuse you cant keep anything for too long- you must leave this world empty handed, this is same for millionaires and poor people. What counts at your last breath is your Love for God, not cash that you have or dont have. ( While it is positive to create and manifest wealth, it does not solve the basic question which is how to reach our final destination - which is God) .
This race of collecting more cash and to compete and compare who has more will not solve much! Manifesting love may be more profitable than manifesting money !

P.S.
Regarding Einstein : there are particles that go faster than the speed of light - so his laws are also relative.
Did Einstein consider the destructive potential of atomic energy ? ( what has inspired him in his resaerch ? )

“I didn’t understand all this discussion about Echkart Tolle.”

Well I understand it and also how this clashes with “the secret”. The secret tries to explain how you can attain all you want… the “new earth” explains that you would be happier with nothing or more precisely just yourself and that “wanting” condems you to unhappiness. I agree, but here we are talking about pure happiness and pure unhappiness. A state that is unaltered by physical form. That’s great but achieving this and the journey to it will be very long and painfull. If I could change my life situation today and be in total bliss sitting on a park bench then I’d do it. The key word is BLISS, pure joy. who wouldn’t want that? Problem is that to undo my life situation in this manner would mean that my children would go hungry. So there is a balance to do here. Work towards your goals but also try and be one with what you have today. When thinking is positive and of use, let it do it’s magic. If it is negative then, use any technique you can to shut it down.

I’d love to be enlightened sitting in a porche…

WOW- I love this TEAR formula . I usually dont take time to read these types os things because I am so busy. But I am a student of my life and myself so help and empower others… so I am gald I took the time this morning to check out your thread…..nice work….I love you

I have read through the article and many of the comments. I have to agree that somewhere the point is being missed. From my own experience, as I have been able to quiet my mind, the more I can do that the bigger the flow of ideas and creativity. Henry Ford and all the others you mention, probably had less clutter minds, which allowed the creative flow to run through them without being blocked by “noise”. Tolle does talk about a part of the brain that allows you do all the things that are required for daily living. But “A New Earth” flowed from the stillness within him , not from all the “noise.”

Nick Grimshawe

My take on the original “thinking too much makes things complicated” comment was that the writer was simply overwhelmed with info at that moment in time. {Then again, there are people who can make cleaning the kitty’s litter box complicated. It seems to be the way some people operate.}

There’s “thinking”, as in actively grinding the wheels of your mind over a situation, so hard that you lose the point of the exercise.

Then, there’s pondering or meditating, where you identify a problem or a thing you want. You look at it from all angles, maybe even dissect it, then you let it go and an answer or course of action pops into your mind while you’re in the shower, fixing dinner, or some other totally unrelated activity. In other words, you let the pressure off or stop stirring up your mind and the solution rises into your awareness.

The key difference seems to be the attitude with which you “think”, not the act itself.

I hope that was coherent!

I will just quote Einstein’s ‘thoughts’

“The supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.”

Wow - this discussion went down such a different track than my “thoughts” as I read the article. I thought Heather’s comments were in support of the message in “After the Ecstasy, the Laundry”. I sum it up as, while going into a meditation retreat and getting in touch with your Spirit’s true path feels really good, the reality is we are facing daily challenges here on Earth (about as fun as the laundry sometimes). By clearing the chatter so that singular thoughts can come through on who we are meant to be, we can, with luck and a lot of effort, maintain that direction through the challenges. What a waste it would be to spend life 100% in thoughtless meditation. We would totally miss the application of our true self and how that can bring our gifts into the world.

I have a book, written in the Dutch language (my original language, but I have lived in Australia for over 52 years and am now an age pensioner)written by Marcel Messing and the title is “Het Woud der Inwijding”, meaning, “The Forest of Initiation” and in it is a chapter on “denken” = “thinking”. BTW, Messing is also on YouTube, in English as well and you can “google” his name and get to his web-sites. He seems to be a very, let’s call it, advanced or evolved being and has written many books and given lectures and interviews. (what about it Barry & Heather?).
He uses an analogy for the thoughts are the birds flying over your head, they come and they go. They may even sit on your hair for a moment. However, if you not let the birds go, then they will stay and build their nests in your hair and you become a host to them. In the end when this goes on, they take total possession of the host and the host becomes subject to the “thoughts”, a multitude of birds, of thoughts.
We may have a thought, let’s assume it is an enhancing one, one that benefits us, this thought will also pass by, however, we can also “think” about what the thought was all about. As a personal example of this, a thought ‘flew over my head’, “he, why could I not put my fridge up 30 cm. higher so I do not have to bend down to floor level all the time, while there is plenty of room above my eye level?”. It is then when we start “thinking” on how we can manifest the thought! So I saw an old timber book shelve and started to ‘think’ of how I could make that into a stand for the fridge.
Hence, we can act on a thought, “think” further on a thought, the thought is gone, flown past, maybe just sat on the hair for a moment. So actually, “thinking” comes after the thought has been. Our action is the ‘thinking’ on the thought.
I feel that in this case there is kind of misunderstanding of what Eckhart meant. The same as Messing states, we cannot stop having thoughts coming in and going out, too often, we humans, are getting stuck with the thoughts and letting them nest in our hair. And…. most of the time those thoughts are negative, not enhancing for our growth and learning. These are the ones which Eckhart and Messing mean we have to avoid letting them settle within us. But even some good positive thoughts, when we cannot give practical and useful use to them, also those we have to let go or else we may get blocked with a multitude of actions (thinking) which we cannot fulfill. Indeed, let us ’still’ the mind and in quiet times be in the now, create quiet times for ourselves, just BE and feel the peace and love permeate our being.
Pity it is too much to translate that chapter, 12 pages!!. But it is so well written. Why not Barry and Heather try to get an interview with Marcel Messing!
Peace and love, René.

I was wondering if someone can tell me why I am having difficulty in manifesting funding or sponsorship for an Alcohol & Drug programme????
almost 2 years ago we formed an inc society with the intent of offering support to individuals& families dealing with addictions….and while the feedback and success reported by the clients is very encouraging, no funding or sponsorship has manifested yet! Any ideas as how to go about it? I mean its okay to do the work be your real self and dream…well the programme was a dream..:)
ta for any ideas,
Meggie

Hello Elizabeth
All you said was right ,, but on the other hand there is another thing that makes you find the solution , that when leave the problem you just leave thinking by your Awareness mide ? but the Vascular mind not stope until he find the solution and we know that he more more more quick than the Awareness mind ,,
Means when we find the solution ,we just recall the problem and the solution was found. !!!

I hope i was clear

I have experienced several Spiritual Awakenings over the course of the past seven years, and one of the many ways in which they have changed my life is that I am in Stillness and peace now far more than in the mind as I go through my day. Mind, as I have discovered, is a tool to be used when necessary, and to be put aside when not being used. Not only is it not necessary to engage the mind as we go through our daily life, it isn’t beneficial to do so either.

A wide assortment of troublesome issues arise when we identify with our minds as “who we are” and continually engage in thinking. One of the more serious is that when we engage in the world of the mind our antenna is up and our “radio” is on all of the time. The result is that we are dialed in to the frequencies of everyone else in the collective mind who are in proximity to us, which includes whatever city or town we live in. In a large urban area this can cause us to pick up so much “chatter” that it creates stress and anxiety.

It’s akin to what can happen with AM radio when you get the dial in between stations. You can hear a lot of voices, but only snippets of conversations. Hence the fact that we “think” up to fifty or sixty thousand thoughts a day. The collective is either setting off our own internal dialog, or we are literally picking up on entire thought strings from others which we in turn believe are our own.

When we disengage from that however, we experience incredible freedom, as you might imagine. Our intuition skyrockets and we begin to experience ourselves as being part of God.. in essence we start to experience our Divine Nature. We also discover that it’s much easier to “hear” when we’re being guided to whatever it is that we are intending to manifest.

In essence, stepping out of the world of mind causes the dial on our intuitive radio to tune in to Divine Mind and we become aligned with what Abraham calls “Source Energy”.. which is actually our own True Beingness which we have become separated from BECAUSE of the mind. Living in the stillness of Present Moment Awareness then, realigns us and brings about both freedom and Truth.

It also often happens that after living in Presence and stillness for a time that the Truth of Life will rise up and reveal itself to us as it has with me and is doing with thousands of others on the planet now. The reason for this is that we are THAT. We ARE the Stillness at our core, and we are love, joy and profound bliss as well. The only reason we don’t know this is because mind keeps us in the illusion of separation.

This then is another enormously important reason to disengage from the thinking mind and seek Stillness and Presence. When we do, and we experience the Truth and realize that we are living in Oneness.. in what I call The Body of God. It is essentially an energetic matrix, or quantum soup if you will, which is sustained by God and was created by God.. and one in which we are given free reign to affect outcomes.

At this moment in our evolution however, we have created realities out of our collective dysfunction of mind/ego which have brought us to the brink of destroying ourselves and the planet. As a result, we are in a period of extremely rapid evolutionary growth in which the Divine, or God is awakening within us.

It is the Divine Plan for us to come to know who and what we are and to create joyfully and live in oneness and love.. not to destroy it all. So it becomes obvious that we MUST step out of the world of the mind and into Stillness and Presence. And in so doing, we will come to realize that we are living in The Body of God, and ultimately discover that in fact we ARE God.

And by the way, Einstein’s biggest breakthroughs actually did not come from his thinking mind, they came when he would ask the universe for an answer and then take a short nap, and when he awoke the answer would be there.
Namaste’
John

Thankyou for your news letter. This subject is very interesting to me. Especialy this one.

To expand a bit on your cogent comment, Einstein “day dreamed” — he valued imagination above all thought processes. Henry Ford dreamed extravagantly.

Our current crop of children, with their packed day books, have too little time to daydream. That concerns me deeply.

I guess I am a bit..um..confused, BECAUSE when exactly are you NOT thinking! I was watching Science channel the other day..and even they said..that they think we are thinking in our sleep! I agree you to some degree can control your thinking..but I do NOT think..that you can STOP thinking. Well that’s not entirely true either, becuase if your MEDITATING..you usually do, but you cannot sit around all day meditating either. That’s a really loaded question, without a really good definite answer.

Hi Tammie,

Yes, exactly.

No loaded question, and no reason to be confused — you’ve basically repeated what the article said.

cheers,
Heather