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More Words of Wisdom

• Wisdom: The wonders of water
• Wisdom: The virtue of gratitude
• Words of Wisdom: Nature’s creation: The rainbow

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To think about something is to contemplate and reflect on it; to give it serious consideration.

Thought allows us to mix, match, merge, sift, and sort concepts, observations and experiences. Subsequent to thought, a reasoned belief or logical opinion can then be potentially formed in the mind. This thought process is called reasoning.

The science of reasoning is called logic. Because the oak lies within the acorn, any of human history’s greatest achievements or purposes all first began... as just a thought.

It was the ancient philosopher Plato who said, “Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself.”

The more one thinks, the more thoughts are able to express themselves in the form of ideas. Any person’s thoughts can be compared to a garden. The garden may be cultivated, fertilized, and weeded or it can be allowed to run wild. Oftentimes good thoughts give rise to good actions and bad thoughts give rise to bad actions. Any person becomes the summation of all of their thoughts and actions. So, a man is literally what he or she thinks.

Thoughts are often the seeds of action and all of our thoughts and subsequent actions together ultimately mold our character. Thought and character are interlocked. The actions and outer manifestations of a person’s life are in sync with their inner state. Thought can build character; thought can diminish character. But, in terms of thought’s relation to character; thinking is not simply just being who we are, it is also becoming who we shall be.

In essence, what your thoughts are; that is your real self and ultimately, your God is what/who you spend the majority of your time thinking about.

Everything in the universe is a part of the inward experience of our thoughts. What is without is merely a reflection of what is within. All that is bliss or ugliness or anywhere in between; our thoughts comprise our world.

Hebrew scholars wrote several books on Jewish thought in addition to the Torah, these are called The Wisdom Books of the bible. In the Christian New Testament, we are told, “Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, think about these things.” (Phil 4:8)

And in the Buddhist Path of Perfection, “Right Thinking” is a second step, following “Right Understanding” and these two constitute the finding of wisdom. In Right Thinking, all thoughts of selfish desire, hate, negativity, anger, or violence begin to cease. It has been said that in any thought process, as a general rule, in matters that pertain to conscience, first thoughts are best. On the other hand, in matters that pertain to prudence, last thoughts are best.

One of the deepest thinkers of all time was the French Jesuit philosopher, Rene Descartes, who has been called The Father of Modern Philosophy. He is responsible for the statement, “I think therefore I am.” He doubted and questioned everything that was thought and known to mankind before him, but came to the conclusion that the only thing he couldn’t doubt was that he was doubting. This told him that thought exists and he defined thought as his essence and the only knowledge about himself that couldn’t be doubted. Essentially, because he thought, he knew he existed.

Finally, the ocean of thought is fathomless. One of my favorite poets is the Sufi Mystic poet, Rumi. It was he who once said, “Waves of thought arise from the ocean of wisdom, they assume the forms of sound and speech, and then cast themselves back into the ocean.”

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Michael Hickey is a local writer and poet. His book, “Get Wisdom,”, is published by Xlibris Div. Random House Publishing and is available at 1-888-795-4274 Ext. 822, at www.Xlibris.com, or your local bookstore. E-mail Mike Hickey at Mikehic@nii.net.

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Putting Descartes

Before The Horse

by Michael Hickey

“I think therefore I am”

I become therefore I be

I act therefore I do

I choose therefore I decide

I exist therefore I change

I create therefore I unite

I believe therefore I hope

I love therefore I know

I orient therefore I transcend

I begin therefore I end

Where I end you begin

Therefore I think

Who am I?