Thought Forms and Fear

    From time to time I am asked about the possible actuality of “dire predictions”, …of war, environmental collapse, of political upheaval. Whether in public or private forums I usually poo-poo them and not because I am a skeptical curmudgeon dedicated to some kind of know-it-all denialism. It’s for two reasons specifically, one of which is the observation of historical trends and the other an understanding of thought forms, how they are created and kept alive.

    I’ve been hearing dire predictions on one theme or another for at least fifty years and very few of them actually manifest in any real and sustained manner.  Somehow or other they get their start and with the help of gossip, irresponsible headlines and stupid simplifications of complex issues.  Some are ancient in origin: apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scenarios have been shuttling about for centuries, gaining and losing favour as various sections of the population glom onto them, depending on the need of the moment and inchoate fears finding some kind of temporary form.  Was there a flood or a drought?  How went the harvest of crops and fish?  How ill is the king?  Are our enemies planning an attack?  Which disease seems unconquerable?  The streets are alive with spies and seditions.  What cunning scam is being perpetrated by the aristocratic elite?  Demons lurk in every shadow, ready to pounce.

     Much of this sounds like peasant level ignorance and superstition, something we feel we have graduated from through education and the diversity of cultural influences shaping our perceptions and giving us a myriad of points of view to choose from.  Now, of course, we have so many points of view, from mainstream media to independent voices, citizen journalists and the like, it can be overwhelming to make any kind of a decision, if in fact a decision is needed.  Sometimes wallowing in the carnival can be more amusing and satisfying for now we can be clowns carving our own slice without the old fears of tribal or ecclesiastical retribution.

     The actuality and persistence of thought forms is, for me, the other half of the equation.  We all create them with our desires, fears and fantasies.  How much energy and portability they retain is determined how much oomph is put into them in the first place.  The desires of daydreams come and go like puffy little clouds on a breezy day.  Likewise with the fears and doubts of the nervous and timid.  Sexual fantasies can be quite powerful if they are brought on by obsessive behaviour.  They can carry over to the ‘objects of desire’ and be felt quite keenly, stimulating or shocking as the recipient deals with them.

     If they are produced and projected consciously they become telepathic messages and are often returned by those who are friends on a similar vibration as the originator.  If they are products of fear and anxiety and given regular boosts by the mainstream media whose profits depend on fanning the flames even when there is little or no smoke, they can become quite powerful and roam what some call the imaginal realm, attaching themselves to those who, usually unconsciously, are in tune with their vibration.  Like earthbound spirits, trapped by ignorance, fear, and that host of lower emotions like envy, rage and vengeance, they stay low to the ground where populations linger, unconsciously receptive.

     Thus I hear from concerned folk who have envisioned war, environmental collapse and any number of apocalyptic scenarios, either in meditation or lucid-looking dreams, and ask to hear my take.  They are, in fact, picking up on floating thought forms, birthed by personal and societal fears and given a temporary yet vivid reality, a reality that is often reinforced by other unconscious believers.  The movements and actions in these war scenarios can seem initially very real but if examined by standing back and coolly observing, if that is at all possible, can seem more artificial and robotic, windup figures slowly fatiguing.

     Unfortunately, psychics and other practitioners who have not done all their inner work and lack the deep experience necessary can easily mistake these thought forms for something more than a probable future.  They have usually developed some of the necessary sensitivity but with the accompanying discernment to tell the wood from the trees.  This situation is more common than many would suppose and deserves our attention.  Prediction and prophecy have traditionally suffered from this fate, and I don’t see a significant depletion in its occurrence.  Many still rush to any form of reassurance, even if it is no more than a bundle of bad news.  Unfortunately the closest thought forms are those which package such bad news.  It takes focus and determination to go beyond their level.

     Would-be psychics and the rest of us developing along those lines must learn to distinguish between the thought forms traversing the lower astral, which are as limiting and beset by an ignorance of the bigger picture, as are the self-obsessed inhabitants of the region.  We must gravitate to the visions of paradise and the knowing of immortality and eternity which transcends the misty regions of limitation and negativity below.  The sun is always above the clouds and that’s where we should be too.

    Meanwhile hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, droughts and floods continue their destructive activities, often equaling wars in their victim counts.  They ply their trade regardless of our prophecies and predictions, and always have.  The devas and elementals that are their operating staff speak of balancing conflicting energies and other environmental necessities.  They speak of being helplessly caught up in the intense energies of the operation and the cosmic harmony of destruction and fresh creation.  When I hear their message I see the pawns of the great mystery wisdom not the creators of it, if indeed there are such.

     Nature continues to be our harshest and most unrelenting teacher regardless of our arrogant and guilt ridden claims, derived mainly from the holy book’s insistence that we were given dominion over all.  A mistranslation, a misconception, a politically motivated fraud?  Whatever, we were not, we were dropped from a great height into the deep end to see how we might manage as angels with feet of clay.