One of the most powerful quotes on the power of thought that I came across not so long ago (author unknown) reads thus:
Watch your thoughts,
they become your words.
W

atch your words,
they become your actions.
Watch your actions,
they become your habits.
Watch your habits,
they become your character.
Watch your character,
it becomes your destiny.
What is fascinating about this quote is how it traces the almost seamless link from thoughts to words to actions to habits to character to finally destiny! This underlines the fact about how important it is for one to think the right thoughts in order to perform the right actions and acquire strength of character and ultimately attract the destiny one has always dreamt of. Of course, this is easier said than done!
Nevertheless, it all boils down to the very seed of it all — the right thoughts and where it all begins — in the mind. For centuries, great thinkers right from the time of Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed to even modern-day bestsellers like The Secret, have emphasised on the power of thought. All these show how one needs to first think the situation out in one’s head and live the dream to actually achieve it.
Which also brings us to an important issue: if our minds are what lead to actions, then is war also a result of negative thoughts? Years ago the Preamble to the Unesco constitution figured it all out and went to the very root of the problem for this is what an extract says, “Since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” Gautama Buddha too thought deeply and came up with some absolute gems on the power of thought and the need to think the right thoughts. “What we think, we become. We are formed and moulded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.”
But how does the thought process translate into reality? Both the idea and the process of this is quite baffling and many thinkers have sought to unravel the mystery. Self-development guru Dr Wayne Dyer’s books Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life and the best-seller The Power of Intention shows us the way. Talking about merging your individual thoughts with the universal mind, Dr Dyer says, “When you form a thought within you that’s commensurate with spirit, you form a spiritual prototype that connects you to intention and sets into motion the manifestation of your desires.”
If you think all this sounds highly philosophical, here is an everyday example on the power of thought. Just do a mental comparison between your spouse’s cooking or your mother or grandmother’s cooking and the maid’s cooking. Why is it that although the same ingredients are used and the recipe is standardised, the taste is so very different? The answer lies in the power of thought — when one of your own cooks for you (as long as you have not had a terrible spat with your spouse) it is filled with thoughts of love and caring. The dish is quite simply a symbol of that. For the maid or cook it’s a job to be done and got over with.
The power of thought also plays a very important role in healing. Medical history has documented cases of scores of patients on whom doctors had given up hope, but who went on to prove their healers wrong. It is because the patients believed they would make it, supported by the will to live and a ‘never-say-die’ spirit.
Visualisation and positive affirmation play a very important role in cancer cure these days in addition to the right treatment. Patients who in their mind’s eye saw themselves being completely cured and disease-free and internalised this belief usually had better chances of recovery than others. Psychologists have an explanation for this — that if you frame a strong picture on the screen in your mind of what you’d like to achieve or happen in your life and keep reinforcing this with a strong belief and doing everything you need to get there, chances are you will get there soon enough.
The power of thought — go right ahead and harness it!

The writer has a keen interest in both spirituality and philosophy