Clarity on STO please

[JJCarsonian]

I think there's definitely value in separating beliefs from the more discursive or pragmatic thoughts that occur within one.

I know that's something Jim McCarty talked about at homecoming 2015 that really stuck with me. He described how he would also play hypothetical, imagined future interactions with people in his head as he was working, and they were almost always confrontational or oppositional encounters. I do the same thing, so I really sympathized. He went on to say that he got tired of this, so he just started singing "hallelujah" when he'd work, over and over, and how this totally changed his entire mindset and emotional condition.

So that doesn't perfectly map onto the utility of thought alone as a way to examine distortions and biases, but it does show how taking direct charge of our thinking -- mindfulness, in a way -- is very important to allowing new frequencies of life to filter through our mind complex. Like most people,  I imagine, I feel more run by my thoughts than that I think them expressly. Meditation has started to slow me down enough to see what's going on, which is both a blessing and a tremendous responsibility!

Hi Jeremy!

You are correct, there are many ways to use thoughts. I think you and Sprout (His post just above) eluded to another way of using thoughts.

If you tell yourself "I am superman" over and over again, you may end up believing it. Your thoughts could eventually seep into the deep root of mind and make a change. A powerful thought/epiphany/realization/enlightenment can make an instant change. I guess this is how brainwashing is done in POW camps.

This is not just with your thoughts, but with any thought, words, messages, advertisements, etc.. Companies spend trillions of dollars on advertising every year - i'm sure they understand this aspect about the human psyche.

I'm imagining the mind with a thick layer of soil on top. lets say that water represents information (thoughts, words, messages, etc). You sprinkle a little water, and the water never penetrates the soil. You flood the soil with water, and it eventually reaches the mind.

Your point, John, about using conscious thought in self-examination raises an interesting point: the responsible use of conscious thought in every other situation! What about those day-to-day thoughts?

What do you mean by day-to-day thoughts?