John Algeo - The Power of Thought: A Twenty-First Century Adaptation of Annie Besants Thought Power

The
POWER
of
THOUGHT

The
POWER
of
THOUGHT

A Twenty-First Century Adaptation of
Annie Besants Classic Work, Thought Power

BY

JOHN ALGEO AND SHIRLEY J. NICHOLSON

Wheaton, Illinois Chennai (Madras), India

Learn more about John Algeo and his work at www.questbooks.net

Copyright 2001 by the Theosophical Society in America

First Quest Edition 2001

Third printing

Quest Books

Theosophical Publishing House

PO Box 270

Wheaton, IL 60187-0270

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Algeo, John.

The power of thought: a twenty-first adaptation of Annie Besant's classic Work, Thought power / John Algeo, Shirley Nicholson.1st Quest ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 155).

ISBN 978-0-8356-0797-1

1. Thought and thinkingReligious aspectsTheosophy. 2. TheosophyDoctrines. I. Nicholson, Shirley J. II. Besant, Annie Wood, 18471933. Thought power. III. Title.

BP573.T5 A54 2001

ISBN for electronic edition, e-pub format: 978-0-8356-2155-7

CONTENTS

PUBLISHERS FOREWORD

THE BUDDHA and Heraclitus both said that everything in existence is constantly changing. Books are no exception. Since 1877 books explaining the ideas of the Wisdom Tradition known as Theosophy have been published, and they now exist in large numbers, filled with insights. Publishing such books was one of the early purposes of the Theosophical Society. But because every book is expressed in the language of its time, many of these books, which set forth timeless truths, are expressed in time-bound language. Word choice, grammatical forms, turns of phrase, illustrative examples, length of sentences, order of words, allusions, and even particular factual statements are to some extent out of date. These are superficial matters compared with the deep insights the works contain. Yet, as a consequence, todays readers may have difficulty getting below the surface to the insights beneath. And that difficulty may serve as a barrier between these fine early works and todays readers.

Quest Books, an imprint of the Theosophical Publishing House, has therefore launched a new series of Theosophical classic works reedited and reworked for twenty-first-century readers. Editions in this series aim at preserving the wisdom of the originals, but updating its form of expression by contemporizing the language, the style, and where necessary the content of the originals. These new editions are not intended to, and should not, replace the originals, which will continue to be available for those who prefer them, as well as for historical purposes and as benchmarks by which to judge these and future editions. In time the present reedited versions will themselves need to be replaced with yet newer versions based on the originals. Change is no cause for concern, but a failure to respond to change is.

The adapters of this book make no claim to or for its original content, for which the original author alone is responsible. The adapters aim has been to make that content as accessible as possible, and they alone are responsible for omissions, changes, and additions made to the original text in pursuit of that aim.

We hope that the volumes in this new series of Quest Books will introduce old wisdom to new readers and in some cases entice them to examine the originals and explore further in the limitless expanse of Theosophy.

The
POWER
of
THOUGHT

I think; therefore I am.

Ren Descartes

It is probable that the psyche and matter are two
different aspects of one and the same thing.

C. G. Jung

It is only through a vehicle of matter that
consciousness wells up as I am I.

H. R Blavatsky

Chapter One

THE POWER OF THOUGHT AND OF THE THINKER

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Thought is power by which we know the world around us and other people. And by our thought we affect the world for good or for ill.

Thought also gives us the capacity to know ourselves. And by our thought we can recreate ourselves.

The right use of all knowledge is to improve life for ourselves and others.

The thinker is a conscious self working in matter.

Consciousness and matter are the two expressions of the ultimate One Reality, the source of all that is and the potential source of all that can be.

Each of us is a selfa quantum or ray of consciousness of the One Self, Primordial Consciousness, or One Reality.

As a self, we function by knowing, willing, and energizing matterfrom which arise thoughts, desires, and actions.

The not-self is the selfs perception of everything outside itself including all other separated selves as well as our own thoughts, desires, and physical bodies.

The relationship between the self (or knower) and the not-self (or that which is known) is knowing:

T HOUGHT IS POWERreal power, objective power. It is not just something subjective in our heads. Our thoughts have energy and a kind of material reality by which they affect other people and color the mental atmosphere around us.

We can learn to use the power of thought to make ourselves a positive force in the world by helping others. We can use this power to discover who we really are, thus fulfilling the ancient command to Know yourself. We can use this power to develop what is best in our nature and so achieve a fuller, more productive, happier, and more useful life. This short book can help us to utilize better the powerful energy of our thoughts and our thinking.