They think, therefore they are-Why the life of the mind is so important in France
This titled hooked me on to think about a dozen
things on ‘thoughts and thinking’.
Everyone
thinks but what one thinks and when one thinks matters more.
1. I would like to get the book and read at the
earliest.
2. What is
of paramount importance and influence is their [French] clarity of perception and
conviction with which they approach most issues with undiluted intellectual
analysis which, of course, in some cases may not work out fine.
3. Mostly
people use the word ‘think’ or ‘thinking’ very vaguely.
4. There are
two great books about thinking or thoughts that I enjoyed reading which cover
the entire depth and width of all that goes to influence/impact /create the
thought/thinking process. Both these books study thought and thinking from
various perspectives and in the process they also cover a huge bandwidth of
subjects and aspects of life, evolution, psychology etc.
5. ‘Thinking’
itself where, when and why it germinates? What it gives out and why it does so?
What are its powers? All these have been very scientifically and scholarly described
by many but still it is the unpredictability of thinking process that puzzles
most and
therefore there is still a lot to unravel about thought and thinking as a
whole. In whatever small literature I have come across and what little I know I
think that thinking capacity is not only an advanced faculty in terms of
evolutionary biology but it is also a faculty that has eluded comprehensive and clear cut descriptions
with axiomatic certitude as such and such.
6. Whereas
normally I have come across works of literature and philosophy associate
thinking /thoughts mostly with ideas, concepts etc which are not thoughts per
se, but intellectualized presentation of thoughts.
7. This is
one of the reasons why thinking is also classified as critical thinking, creative
thinking, ideal thinking, political thinking, correct thinking etc and depending
upon the usefulness or relevance of thoughts there are also studies on thinking
out of the box, inside the box etc.
8. The awful
thing with a thought which is lingering in your mind but you don’t get a
word or expression to communicate that correctly and the feeling is like having
the last piece of chips in hand and while
taking to your mouth someone plucks it away from you. Still worse is a thought which you are very much convinced is
very vital and has long term impact but no one pays attention.
9. Coming
back to the books
Thinking And Destiny by Harold W. Percival
“In Thinking and Destiny, something new, although older than time, is now made known to the world--about Consciousness. The information is largely about the makeup of the human, where man comes from, what becomes of him; it explains what thinking is; it tells how a thought is created, and how thoughts are exteriorized into acts, objects and events, and how they make his destiny. Destiny is thus shown to be self-determined by thinking; and the process of re-existence and the after-death states are told in detail. A single reading of any one chapter of Thinking and Destiny brings rich rewards in new understanding of life`s puzzling mysteries. To read the entire book is to come nearer to knowledge of one`s destiny and how to shape it than is possible through study of anything previously written in the English language. Both the casually curious glancer at books and the most avid seeker for knowledge will be intrigued by the index, which lists more than 400 subjects in Thinking and Destiny, and by the fifteen chapter headings in the Table of Contents, which identify the 156 sections. The Foreword contains the only pages in which Mr. Percival uses the first personal pronoun. Here he relates some of the amazing experiences through which he was able to grasp the knowledge he transmits, and to acquire the ability to do so.” From source
http://books.google.co.in/books/about/Thinking_And_Destiny.html? id=S3BXsFJ5aZYC&redir_esc=y
“In Thinking and Destiny, something new, although older than time, is now made known to the world--about Consciousness. The information is largely about the makeup of the human, where man comes from, what becomes of him; it explains what thinking is; it tells how a thought is created, and how thoughts are exteriorized into acts, objects and events, and how they make his destiny. Destiny is thus shown to be self-determined by thinking; and the process of re-existence and the after-death states are told in detail. A single reading of any one chapter of Thinking and Destiny brings rich rewards in new understanding of life`s puzzling mysteries. To read the entire book is to come nearer to knowledge of one`s destiny and how to shape it than is possible through study of anything previously written in the English language. Both the casually curious glancer at books and the most avid seeker for knowledge will be intrigued by the index, which lists more than 400 subjects in Thinking and Destiny, and by the fifteen chapter headings in the Table of Contents, which identify the 156 sections. The Foreword contains the only pages in which Mr. Percival uses the first personal pronoun. Here he relates some of the amazing experiences through which he was able to grasp the knowledge he transmits, and to acquire the ability to do so.” From source
http://books.google.co.in/books/about/Thinking_And_Destiny.html? id=S3BXsFJ5aZYC&redir_esc=y
Another is ‘The stuff of thought’
by Steven Pinker and his other book “How the Mind Works’
10.Scientific study about effects of positive
thoughts
Scientific Proof Thoughts & Intentions Can Alter The Physical World Around Us
http://themindunleashed.org/2014/01/scientific-proof-thoughts-intentions-can- alter-physical-world-around-us.html
11.Scientists Finally Show How Your Thoughts Can
Cause Specific Molecular Changes To Your Genes
http://www.tunedbody.com/scientists-finally-show-thoughts-can-cause-specific- molecular-changes-genes/
http://www.tunedbody.com/scientists-finally-show-thoughts-can-cause-specific- molecular-changes-genes/
12.Of course no one has explored and explained
the whole gamut of thought and thinking
as vividly as J.Krishnamurthy.
Here are some of his select
quotes on thoughts and thinking
A] “Thought is so cunning,
so clever, that it distorts everything for its own convenience.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known
b] Why has humanity given such extraordinary importance to thought? Is it because it is the only thing we have, even though it is activated through senses? Is it because thought has been able to dominate nature, dominate its surroundings, has brought about some physical security? Is it because it is the greatest instrument through which man operates, lives and benefits? Is it because thought has made the gods, the saviours, the super- consciousness, forgetting the anxiety, the fear, the sorrow, the envy, the guilt? Is it because it holds people together as a nation, as a group, as a sect? Is it because it offers hope to a dark life? Is it because it gives an opening to escape from the daily boring ways of our life? Is it because not knowing what the future is, it offers the security of the past, its arrogance, its insistence on experience? Is it because in knowledge there is stability, the avoidance of fear in the certainty of the known? Is it because thought in itself has assumed an invulnerable position, taken a stand against the unknown? Is it because love is unaccountable, not measurable, while thought is measured and resists the changeless movement of love?
We have never questioned the very nature of thought. We have accepted thought as inevitable, as our eyes and legs. We have never probed to the very depth of thought: and because we have never questioned it, it has assumed preeminence. It is the tyrant of our life and tyrants are rarely challenged.
-- Krishnamurti, Letters To The Schools, Volume 1, 15th March, 1979
c] I suggested that to slow down the mind in order to examine the thought-feeling process, you should write down every thought-feeling. If one wishes to understand, for example, a machine of high revolution one has to slow it down, not stop it for then it becomes merely a dead matter; but make it turn gently, slowly, to study its structure, its movement. Likewise if we wish to understand our mind, we must slow down our thinking - not put a stop to it - slow it down in order to study it, to follow it to its fullest extent. And to do this I suggested that you write down every thought-feeling.
The Collected Works of J. Krishnamurti, Vol III; Ojai 1944,
8th Public Talk, Oak Grove Talks. CD-rom code OJ44T8
d] J. Krishnamurti 29th July 1981: So thought, time, space, psychologically is the source of conflict and sorrow. After examining it, is it possible for thought - please listen to this - for thought to realize its own place, which is in the world of technique and it has no place psychologically?
e] J. Krishnamurti 28th Nov 1981: Only when thought naturally, without conflict, without struggle comes to an end, which is time, then there is a possibility of that which is eternal. So you say, `Tell me how to end thought; tell me the system, the practice, I'll do it for the rest of my life.' So you are back again to the same old thing.
― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known
b] Why has humanity given such extraordinary importance to thought? Is it because it is the only thing we have, even though it is activated through senses? Is it because thought has been able to dominate nature, dominate its surroundings, has brought about some physical security? Is it because it is the greatest instrument through which man operates, lives and benefits? Is it because thought has made the gods, the saviours, the super- consciousness, forgetting the anxiety, the fear, the sorrow, the envy, the guilt? Is it because it holds people together as a nation, as a group, as a sect? Is it because it offers hope to a dark life? Is it because it gives an opening to escape from the daily boring ways of our life? Is it because not knowing what the future is, it offers the security of the past, its arrogance, its insistence on experience? Is it because in knowledge there is stability, the avoidance of fear in the certainty of the known? Is it because thought in itself has assumed an invulnerable position, taken a stand against the unknown? Is it because love is unaccountable, not measurable, while thought is measured and resists the changeless movement of love?
We have never questioned the very nature of thought. We have accepted thought as inevitable, as our eyes and legs. We have never probed to the very depth of thought: and because we have never questioned it, it has assumed preeminence. It is the tyrant of our life and tyrants are rarely challenged.
-- Krishnamurti, Letters To The Schools, Volume 1, 15th March, 1979
c] I suggested that to slow down the mind in order to examine the thought-feeling process, you should write down every thought-feeling. If one wishes to understand, for example, a machine of high revolution one has to slow it down, not stop it for then it becomes merely a dead matter; but make it turn gently, slowly, to study its structure, its movement. Likewise if we wish to understand our mind, we must slow down our thinking - not put a stop to it - slow it down in order to study it, to follow it to its fullest extent. And to do this I suggested that you write down every thought-feeling.
The Collected Works of J. Krishnamurti, Vol III; Ojai 1944,
8th Public Talk, Oak Grove Talks. CD-rom code OJ44T8
d] J. Krishnamurti 29th July 1981: So thought, time, space, psychologically is the source of conflict and sorrow. After examining it, is it possible for thought - please listen to this - for thought to realize its own place, which is in the world of technique and it has no place psychologically?
e] J. Krishnamurti 28th Nov 1981: Only when thought naturally, without conflict, without struggle comes to an end, which is time, then there is a possibility of that which is eternal. So you say, `Tell me how to end thought; tell me the system, the practice, I'll do it for the rest of my life.' So you are back again to the same old thing.
On a lighter vein