Increasingly, today, we are aware that our thoughts make a difference to the outcome of things, both in terms of healing our emotions and our bodies, and even for the unfoldment of events that are outside of ourselves.  Some hold this understanding as an article of faith, and some have seen, firsthand, the ways in which thought creates reality. 

The guiding principle that 'thought creates reality' is universally true, if by 'thought' we mean consciousness at all its many levels.  For our conscious thought process is but one part of a many-layered landscape of flowing awareness, with contributing streams that come from every layer.  From both the stream of thought that flows within our conscious minds and from sources beyond this, we need to ask: what thoughts do we believe or hold as true, and with what degree of belief and conviction do we hold them?  These are critical factors that shape reality, for the complex interaction of different layers of thought means that what we hold to be true on a conscious level may be different from or conflict with what we hold to be true on an unconscious level. Therefore, things that we affirm or think with our conscious minds may take longer to materialize, because other beliefs may be different from or interfering with these. An example of such a phenomenon are beliefs acquired during childhood which, as adults, we have intentionally set aside, yet which may have a residual effect on us in any case.

In shaping reality, there is the difference between conscious and unconscious thought to consider and the influence of each, and there is also another layer of thought which may be described as the 'thought of the soul'.  This layer is determined by our soul-purpose which incarnates within our body and psyche for a particular lifetime  and may or may not be known to the conscious self.  In some instances, 'soul-thoughts' reveal themselves as our higher ideals or as the things we stand for or are driven to do or learn.  In other instances they are less visible.  They are seeded into our deeper being and their power to define the trajectory of our life is very great, whether our conscious self is aware of them or not.  For this reason, too, what we think with our conscious minds may not be the primary determinant when it comes to forming what outpictures as the direction of our life.

Finally, what is critical to understand is that human beings as co-creators with God do not exist alone in the universe.  We exist as a part of a complex and light-filled hierarchy of spiritual realms, all of which have an effect on our own dimension and on each other.  This spiritual hierarchy is not a hierarchy of worth or of value, for all are valuable within God.  Rather, it is a hierarchy of 'being' in the process of 'becoming'.  Each being, at every level within this hierarchy, is evolving, and no one is limited in their movement by any other factor other than the choices that their own soul makes.

As a result of this spiritual picture, those beings who are further along in the evolutionary process are able to help and assist those who have further to go, and, where such help, guidance, and support is welcomed, the guidance and thoughts of the ones in higher realms are infused into the physical realm in order to help humanity as a whole advance.

Receptivity to guidance from the spiritual realms and from God, directly, are fundamental aspects of spiritual growth, especially since the more light-filled ideas and directions that come from the One Mind do not correspond, at present, to what takes place generally within conscious human perception.  Such guidance, however, does not interfere with the full flowering of creatorship that human beings are moving toward.  That would be like asserting that God's purpose for us could interfere with our own purpose for ourselves. Rather, such guidance is empowering of this creatorship, helping to reduce and eliminate the obstacles that stand in the way and to guide the self, step by step, toward the direction of the highest purpose held by the individual soul.

The thoughts received as guidance from higher realms are a significant aspect of consciousness, defining, for many, a major axis of life, and contributing to the underlying awareness that creates reality.  When we are open to guidance and to having thoughts that are instructive, inspired, or helpful that emanate from the One Mind of God, we become learners and willing receivers in our growth, with the help of all parts of Creation that are available to assist us on our way.  By virtue of this relationship, we place our own thought process in the larger container of God's thought process, and allow a higher purpose to direct our life and the shaping of our reality.

For some, the picture of spiritual hierarchy may appear to be in conflict with the idea of man as co-creator, yet this is based on an incomplete understanding of what it means to create.  For one can create from the self-as-it-is today, with all its limitations and capacity to be influenced by conditioned thinking,  or one can create from the self-that-is-linked with-the-higher-Self and with the Mind of God.  As part of co-creatorship, we choose which aspect of our multi-layered self we wish to be in charge of the co-creative process.

Ultimately, there will come a time of balance between the portion of creatorship whose source is the conscious self – the point of light that is individualized within our awareness, and the portion of creatorship that is based on the infusion of light from Universal Mind which includes all beings of light within the higher realms.  For now, however, we must decide what source our choices will rely on, and whether we wish to choose from the highest part of ourselves.  If we open ourselves through prayer and through requesting help, we will be guided to know which choice we might make corresponds to the highest and best possible choice for us, and will come to intuitively feel the rightness of such choices with ever increasing degrees of certainty.

Related Writings:

A Sense of Purpose: Co-Creating Our Life

The Time Has Come - The Power of Our Thoughts

The Power of Our Thoughts

The Significance of Being Embodied

Article Section -  A New Consciousness