We Are Our Thoughts
In the book, Action and Reaction, by Francisco (Chico) C. Xavier, inspired by the spirit Andre Luiz there is a discussion about the power of thought. Andre was at a shelter, built and sponsored by Andre's celestial city, Nosso Lar. The shelter, "Mansao Paz", which means Mansion of Peace in English, is in the Lower Zone, so it can be close to the souls who wish to leave their material passions behind and ascend.
Inside the shelter there are poor souls who are disfigured. They are disfigured because their minds control their outward appearance. The person Andre talks to bring up the subject of radio and TV signals. Andre ask how is this pertinent, the learned spirit tells him about thoughts and the power of our mind:
"I'm referring to the subject to remind you that in radio and TV broadcasting, the electrons that carry voice modulations and the elements that form the images travel through space at the speed of light, that is, 186,000 miles per second. That means that in just one location a broadcasting and a receiving station can both operate at the same time; hence, in one second, images and words can be sent and received simultaneously after having crossed immense distances in space in an infinitesimal fraction of time. Now let's picture our thought as a living and active force, whose speed is even faster that light. Emitted by us, it unavoidably returns to us, compelling us to live of our own accord in its wave of created forms, which naturally fix themselves in our mind when fed by the fuel of our desires or attention."[i]
First note that our thoughts move faster than the speed of light. In the spirit plane, the speed of light isn't the universal speed limit. Second, we receive thoughts and process them. While in an incarnate state we do so subconsciously. We live in a world where we are being affected by forces that we do not detect.
The wise spirit continues on:
"Hence, the vital need for us always to keep ourselves in the noblest ideals and purest purposes of life, due to the fact that energies attract other energies of the same kind. Thus, when we dwell on vice or darkness, the mental forces that we exteriorize then return to our mind, forces which are reanimated and intensified by the elements in tune with them. Consequently, we reinforce the bars of the prison in which we thoughtlessly remain, making our soul a closed world, where the voices and images of our own thoughts combine with the suggestions of those who are in tune with our behavior, thereby imposing recurrent hallucinations on us and temporarily neutralizing our senses." [ii]
Our negative thoughts attract other negative thoughts, creating an ever stronger feedback loop. This is why the advice to get yourself out of a depression is to think positive or become preoccupied with something else is actually an excellent suggestion. We need to break the cycle and cease reinforcing reasons for our failure.
Instead, we should strive to prepare ourselves now for our life as a spirit and recognize the power of thought and train our minds to remain positive and caring. When problems arise, we should trust in our life blueprint and know that any trial ahead is one that we requested. Staying calm and focused during any difficult episode is half the battle.
[[i]] Xavier, Francisco C., Action and Reaction, International Spiritist Council, p. 52 [[ii]] Xavier, Francisco C., Action and Reaction, International Spiritist Council, p. 53