"....the energy in terms of your thought lives forever. What you think has no limit in terms of time or space. The concept may be mind-blowing but if thought transcends time and space, then its consequences are LIMITLESS."

The ancients claimed that thought was the greatest power in the Universe and acknowledged its transcendent nature. This is why for thousands of years the practice of meditation has been advocated for bringing the mind under control in order that the meditator may become master of his/her thoughts instead of a victim of them. So the first thing we need to realise in this process is that we are not our thoughts and that we are greater than our mind from which the thoughts come.

The Teachings describe the mind as the doorkeeper to the higher self and the main experience-maker of life through the choices it makes. Even though the higher self may have great awareness, it will not override what could be judged as wrong choices by the mind, for to do so would negate free will and the value of the experience of life. We must therefore endeavour to train the doorkeeper and its conditioned thoughts to stand aside and not hinder the flow of love and intuitive wisdom from within. Ultimately, the aim is to close the duality between the higher self and the mind so that we may be an expression of our total being.

We need also to understand that we direct an indestructible energy with every thought that issues from our mind, for good or ill, and through this process create not only our own fate but that of everyone and everything else throughout the world, throughout the Universe. Awareness of the power of thought brings greater responsibility to practice what the Buddhist teachings name as right thought, right speech and right action.

Here are a few extracts from the early Teachings of Zed on this vitally important subject:

"The danger with human beings is with purity of thought. At times you have unkind thoughts throughout the day and these not only hurt others, but yourself. It is therefore important to have good thoughts. Many students will not do this because it is hard to do, but if they are aware of bad thoughts then that is Stage One: be critical of your own thoughts. Stage Two is to be tolerant of the thoughts of others: return unkind thoughts with kindness and love and it neutralises the animosity they bring. If your students can practice this then they are on the road. Simple to say but hard to achieve. All the great teachers of history and all the great theologies have advocated this practice but few have achieved it.

"Spiritual ways are not complicated or difficult to understand but they are very difficult to practice."

"This is all new:
Transitional thought is the evaluation of actions between two points of time.
What is important now is dependant upon what happened in the past and what will happen in the future. We relate it like this to you but from our point of view it is timeless."

The mind, which is a tool of experience for life on planet Earth, exists within the dimension of linear time. The higher self exists in a dimension not restricted by linear time. This must therefore imply that the higher self was aware of the choices the mind would make before it incarnated into that body. Within the law of karma then, the higher self must have chosen that particular mind because it would provide exactly the experiences required for that lifetime. So whether our mind is intellectual, stubborn, sluggish or skittish, it is perfect for the moment. This is not to say that it does not need to be understood or controlled - quite the contrary - but it will provide the tools of self-awareness if we can persuade it to use them.

As an example, take someone whose mind is full of anger and resentment as a consequence of a childhood of neglect: the thoughts issuing from that mind are like poisoned arrows which taint the life of the thinker as well as those targeted. Remember that the higher self is working with that mind in order to raise its own awareness so there must be something of great value to be gained. Within that person's lifetime will be opportunities for gaining a deeper understanding of their experiences. The mind will then decide whether to remain in the emotional reaction to their conditioning or to look beyond it. That choice is the area of growth. The thoughts that govern choice transcend time, so opportunities 'missed' in one lifetime will be carried forward in this or other lifetimes until the awareness of that issue is finally achieved. This inexorable process of awareness is governed by the universal law of karma.

Extracted from The Teachings of Zed by Jane Tinworth
and submitted by Brian Weld.