The Difference Between Personal Thoughts and the Principle of Thought!

Written by Natasha Swerdloff

One of the most common misunderstandings in discussions about the Three Principles concerns the difference between “thoughts” and the Principle of Thought. In this article, I will try to explain the difference so that it becomes easier to understand what is what.

It’s quite common to get confused about what’s what when we talk about thoughts and the Principle of Thought. It’s easy to get lost between the two, and to get back on track, you need to see the connection between the Principle of Thought and thinking.

The Principle of Thought is the underlying force that creates the entire spectrum of human experience.

From “The Forgotten Connection” by Sydney Banks

We live in a world of Thoughts. There is nothing in our experience—from the moment we are born to the moment we die—that is not brought to life through the Principle of Thought. The Principle of Thought is formless and infinitely creative.

The Principle of Thought constantly generates mental activity, or thinking, which takes place in your mind and in the minds of all people. It is the Principle of Thought that creates all the forms of mental activity you experience: ideas, concepts, beliefs, impressions, images, and your entire memory.

The Principle of Thought is also the energy that creates everything you perceive and all your emotions. You are a thinker with free will, so you have the freedom to decide which thoughts you will listen to and which you will ignore. You have the freedom to give a thought your attention or not. You have the freedom to act on a thought or not.

When we talk about the Principle of Thought, we’re not talking about the stream of content that flows through your mind all the time—that’s your personal thinking.

The Principle of Thought is much greater and deeper. It is what makes possible the creation of all mental life—everything you think, perceive, and feel. There is nothing before this Principle. It is the ultimate creative potential or energy from which all experience arises.

Like everyone else, you are always connected to this creative, generative energy. Right now, the Principle of Thought is creating the emotions, sensations, and perceptions you are experiencing as you read this.

The principle of thought is impersonal, whereas the content of your thinking is personal. Your personal thinking is unique to you, just as other people’s personal thinking is unique to them. We each have our own concepts, ideas, and underlying beliefs. Sometimes we call this the conceptual mind.

The Principle of Thought exists before your conceptual mind. Therefore, it precedes every thought you hear in your head, and every single one of your ideas and beliefs. It precedes any label you might attach to people or things.

Just as the clay of a sculpture is not the sculpture itself, thoughts are not reality.However, our personal reality is shaped byour thoughts.

From “The Forgotten Connection” by Sydney Banks

The Principle of Thought is a formless force, and it is the Principle that generates the content of your personal thoughts. It is the Principle of Thought that creates your sad, worried, or enthusiastic thoughts. The Principle of Thought is constantly at work creating what you experience throughout the day.

Fortunately, as a thinker, you are free to use the creative energy of thought for whatever you choose. You can discover, as Sydney Banks said, that “your thoughts have no power in and of themselves, only the power you give them.” This means that sad, worried, or unhappy thoughts have no significance in and of themselves, unless you attach significance to them.

Thoughts that you don’t believe in, or that you don’t attach any significance to, come and go freely without affecting you negatively. In other words, thoughts do not create a feeling within you unless you believe in the thought. When you believe in a thought, the Principle of Thought, together with the Principle of Consciousness and the Principle of Life Force, will create an experience within you.

If you focus on your thinking, you will constantly analyze the content of your thoughts. When you recognize the Principle of Thought, you have the opportunity to awaken from the content of your thinking and become aware of the true source of your experience. That discovery is useful. It makes it possible to stop blaming anything other than the Principle of Thought for what you experience.

This allows you to see the fleeting, ever-changing, illusory nature of your emotions and experiences. And it enables you to recognize that what you think is not reality as it is, but merely a constructed version of reality. Discovering what it is that creates all your experiences frees you from the limitations inherent in your personal concepts, ideas, and beliefs.