Inception
are your thoughts really your own ?

I’m raving about Inception the new Christopher Nolan film at the moment. It’s one of the best flicks to come along in a long time. But could it possibly happen? That is, could someone implant a thought in your mind in such a way that you would never know and think it’s yours?

Well, the answer is yes! In fact we do it all the time. But not in as sinister a way as the film projects. Each of us walks around with other people's thoughts in our head. Every time you talk to someone about a new idea you’re excited about you plant a new thought in their head. It’s called seeding.

The whole New Age culture tells you your thoughts are creating your reality. Now this is true but it’s only part of the story. Most of your thoughts are complete nonsense and will create nothing other than mental indigestion. But thoughts are big business at the moment and there’s a bit of hysteria too (remember the Secret?) to the extent that some people are actually frightened of their thoughts. There’s even a new medical term for it, it’s called ‘new age angst’.

You have something like 90,000 thoughts going through your head every day. I read this statistic somewhere, I don’t know if anybody actually counted them. I doubt it. 90,000. Jeepers! that’s a lot of thoughts! Not to mention all the unconscious ones. How on earth are you going to watch them? What if a one escaped? Perish the thought (ouch! nasty pun). There could be a thought of yours out there right now running around doing untold damage. It may spark off another banking crisis. The UN may have to investigate. If I see it I’ll box its ears and send it back to you. Just make sure you put a padlock on it and not let it escape again.

In truth only what you think about repeatedly, on a regular basis, with intent will come about. So you can relax. Your thoughts are not dangerous. But they are powerful. Do you persistently think about financial ruin because you hear so much about it these days, or the state of your health, or any other worry you may care to mention? Well, if you do this may have a detrimental effect on your life. At a core level what you think about is creating your life. But most of what goes through our minds on a day to day basis is simply effluent. Sludge that carries the few gems to the shore.

What colour are your thoughts ?

What are thoughts anyway? What does a thought look like? Is it a little skinny fellow, all shrivelled up, or round and plump and happy with itself like one of those emoticons? Can we measure a thought? Can we weigh it? Where do they come from? Do they just drop down from the sky and pop into your head, or do you generate them in your brain? Is there a miniature factory in there that churns out millions of thoughts? People often say ‘that thought just popped into my head’. How did that happen? Did it come in through their ear?

You need to watch that.

Can you catch a thought from someone else, the way you would a cold? Of course. Thoughts are transmitted from one brain to another all the time, through conversation, reading, also telepathically. This is how creativity works. You can get a thought from the fellow next to you on the bus or you can get it from Plato. That is if you read him. Plato won’t be on the bus.

There is growing evidence that we become more like, in our thinking, the people we habitually hang out with; therefore, good reason to choose your mates well. Seriously, do spend quality time with like-minded, higher-consciousness, truth-seekers. Ever notice after spending some time with a moan you feel down?

Advertising agencies are experts in this. They know how to make suggestions, plant the appropriate idea at the right time. A good advertiser will never tell you go out and buy this really expensive car that you don’t need, and that won’t perform any better than the one you have. If they did you’d just laugh at them. Instead what they do is show you some guy driving along a winding cliff overlooking a magnificent sea. Don’t you just look so cool in that set of wheels? It is you isn’t it? Course it is, and you can’t wait for the showroom to open.

Transmission of thought. Inception.

The idea is now planted in your head. You incorporate all the information you want and leave out what doesn't fit, making subtle alterations in your personal memory bank. A person doesn’t have to get into your dreams to get into your head. In truth no adman ever sold you anything, you sell it to yourself. Every time.

Here’s a question. Do you think the smartest adman on the planet could’ve sold that car to Gandhi?

No way!

Seeding – the real inception

We seed each other’s thoughts all the time. A casual conversation can give you an idea for something that is only indirectly related to the topic. In fact we need other people and their rich thoughts to inseminate our own. Enlightenment doesn’t come from sitting on a lofty mountain peak. Sorry if you were heading out the door to the Himalayas.

Just imagine if every thought you had manifested into reality. How chaotic would that be. Maybe you shouldn’t imagine it. You never know how powerful you are!

Yes, most of our thoughts are rubbish. Let’s be honest! But amongst the rubbish are the ones that will shape your future. Make sure they include thoughts and pictures of you doing the things you love, with the people you love. See yourself in full health, wildly happy, and insanely rich.

Inception is a film. Your life is real.

Your thoughts are your own. Make them gems.

Return from Inception to home page.