Here is a popular internet quote that captures the good and bad of present day folk spirituality.
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
~ Unknown
Through the power of transitive property one’s Thoughts becomes a self-fulfilling Destiny.
The popularity of positive thinking philosophies such as “The Secret” leads me to see this kind of thinking as little more that a materialistic spirituality. Materialistic wealth is both a gift and a curse. Its allure of comfort and pleasure can create the seeds of attachment that will ultimately ruin the pleasure. What I appreciate most about this quote is that destiny is seen as self-controlled as it falls to the thinker to be responsible for the thoughts that are cultivated and/or acted upon.
What this quote does not capture adequately is the extent that another person’s thoughts and resulting destiny can also affect your own. Of particular intrigue to me is that some individuals’ thoughts will actually count for more since they have the power and ability to affect their environment and bring their thoughts to fruition. It could almost be re-written as:
Through the power of transitive property one’s Destiny will affect the Thoughts of others.
A powerful destiny will affect the character of others.
A powerful character will affect the habits of others.
A powerful habit will affect the actions of others.
A powerful action will affect the words of others.
A powerful word will affect the thoughts of others.
As you can see, these two sets of quotations become a symmetrical set. With thoughts leading to destiny and destiny leading to influencing another’s thoughts, we can see how we are dependent and interconnected with each other. This is why through transitive property, one’s thoughts will end up affecting the thoughts of another. Of intrigue to me is that collectively we then empower certain thoughts that in turn creates a filter or focus that is used in understanding ourselves and our world.
The end result can be bad (filtering out facts) or good (developing focused insight) depending on the content of the thoughts. The challenge to each of us is to use our judgment to determine what thoughts are to be cultivated and which are to be passed over. We really do create our own individual and collective reality from our thoughts.
A flock of birds change corse in such perfect thought as does a school of fish do such and when you come to know such thought……….it sets you free