185. What Is A Thought?

This conversation has come up again recently, which made me think (lol)… what is a thought?

I’ve spoken before on how feelings, emotions and thoughts are all different things. I suppose we know that, however the line between emotion and feeling might be a little bit blurred. But I imagine we all can fundamentally understand the difference between a thought and a feeling. I think that we all experience this in slightly different ways. For example, one may have an inner dialogue when it comes to a thought. And perhaps more of a visceral or physical feeling when it comes to a feeling.

In the case of channeling, thoughts and feelings are often times highly dichotomized. It’s important not to let your “thought” override your feeling. One could consider both of these forces being brain or head and heart.

From an intuitive standpoint, one could argue that the “heart” is correct in this case scenario.

So what is a thought, after all? I would describe a thought as a formulation of two impressions.

Let’s talk it through. As you’re walking down the street, you are certainly aware of your surroundings. But if it’s the street that you live on, you probably walk through it with minimal thought. You’ve seen this scene before. And as you cruise, you aren’t proactively thinking “I’m walking on the sidewalk”. We acknowledge and digest these impressions, but more so in a feeling type of way, or on a subconscious level. It’s an acknowledgement which is void of thought. But perhaps along this stroll, we see something totally new. Maybe a new storefront has popped up. A thought forms. The impression is: the setting around you. Paired with: the new and unusual impression. You formulate a thought. Perhaps that thought is: There is a new store which is popping up in this neighborhood. Therefore, a thought is the combination of both of these impressions. And perhaps that’s not the end of the thought. This thought may act like a web. Perhaps you recognize the store, and this triggers a historical response. Perhaps there’s an emotional response which is created, if you do or do not want this store to come up. Maybe there’s something about the color scheme which is reminiscent of a previous store you knew, or maybe even a similar color palette to a project you’re working on. So many things can trigger this “web” of information. It’s likely that the closer this web is to your conscious self, the more over-inundated you may be with thoughts. I think this is actually an interesting concept, and one I’d like to dive deeper into.

Nevertheless, this formulation acts as an unlimited web, but must be at least between two things. 

Feelings however, are more so innate. They may occur not just spontaneously, but incredibly quickly. It’s that gut-wrenching moment when you figure out bad news. Or perhaps even the intuition to “know” something is going to happen before it does. It can come before time happens in a physical space.

So what’s the point of intellectualizing thoughts? It’s interesting to consider and understand how the brain works. What is the value of thoughts? How does it override feelings? Do we pay attention to both thoughts and feelings the same amount? All good questions.

At least this can be said. Thoughts can pair two things together, which were not formerly so. I believe that thought not only has a valid place in the universe, but we hinge on thought to move forward our collective and evolve. It’s about creation, it’s about integration. Since we do live in a fractaled society with multiple parts and pieces, thought can truly form them together. I feel that thought and feeling truly work hand in hand. However, I do believe it’s integral to have a balance of both.