Clarity of Thought
- olivierbranford
- Feb 23
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 25
The clarity of your thinking determines the quality of your life and your ability to have success in every domain of your life.
What prevents clarity of thought? How does it relate to consciousness? How does it relate to intuition? How do you achieve clarity of thought? In what ways does the clarity of your thinking benefit your life?
Clarity of thought: How do switch on the light?
Have you seen the film 'Limitless' with Bradley Cooper? In it he is given a pill that allows you to access the whole of your brain, and with it, you can overcome any challenge. By the end of the film he no longer needs the pills and can still access all the parts of his brain. But is this really a fictional story? What if you could do this?
Bradley Cooper in the film 'Limitless.'
What prevents clarity of thought?
Our mind is full of constant chatter - the Buddhists call it 'The Monkey Mind'. It produces on average 60,000 negative, repetitive, catastrophising, 'awfulising' thoughts per day. These thoughts are almost all related to egocentric fear. This chatter is like a crowd all speaking at once and you are trying to hear just one person who is speaking softly and quietly but you can't hear them at all. Perhaps you never have heard them? That is the voice of your soul.
How does it relate to consciousness?
There is a spiritual equation: 'Man minus mind equals God.' This means that by escaping your intrusive thoughts you can access Universal consciousness and Universal intelligence.
How does it relate to intuition?
As your mind quietens, the intuitive thoughts of your soul will come. You will hear that still quiet voice in the crowd. The more you practice this, the clearer it becomes.
How do you achieve clarity of thought?
Meditation and mindfulness give you unparalleled clarity by giving you an empty mind, which allows you to access intuition and also access access Universal consciousness and Universal intelligence. This is way more powerful than the limited single brain in the film 'Limitless.' And being dependent on a pill makes you limited.
The idea of 'no-mind' is originally connected to a Buddhist practice which allows one to be aware of the originally Enlightened Buddha-Nature in all BEings, which is the ultimate reality and the nature of mind. No-mind is a mental state that is important in East Asian religions, Asian culture, and the arts. The idea is discussed in classic Zen Buddhist texts and has been described as "the experience of an instantaneous severing of thought that occurs in the course of a thoroughgoing pursuit of a Buddhist meditative exercise." It is not necessarily a total absence of thinking however, instead, it can refer to an absence of clinging, conceptual proliferation, or being stuck in thought. Chinese Buddhist texts also link this experience with Buddhist metaphysical concepts, like Dharmakaya. The term is also found in Daoist literature, including the Zhuangzi. This idea eventually influenced other aspects of Asian culture and the arts. Thus, the effortless state of "no mind" is one which is cultivated by artists, poets, craftsmen, performers, sporting greats, and trained martial artists, who may or may not be associated with Buddhism or Daoism. This has been compared to the psychological concept of flow states and "being in the zone".
In the Vedantic tradition, this 'union of luminosity and emptiness' is described as the union of consciousness and BEing. The thoughtless state or mind during meditation is called “Sunyata”.
Another term for this is 'Christ Consciousness', which is 'higher consciousness.' It is an elevated way of thinking that transcends beyond fear. This was the way of thinking and living that Jesus and all other Enlightened beings of the ages possessed, including Buddha, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is also referred to as 'God Consciousness'.
You can get to it via meditation and mindfulness, which is meditation as you go about your day. Meditate before taking any big decisions. Start every meeting with a 3 minute silent meditation, even at work.
By 'emptying your cup (your mind)', you allow and enable your thinking to be refilled by a higher consciousness. Quietening the human mind, the ego, during meditation opens up the pathway for becoming acquainted with our Higher Selves, our souls, which can lead to Enlightenment. Jesus spoke about who we “really” are as humans in this way, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within You” (Luke 17:21): Within each of us. An "imprisoned splendour” just waiting to be let out according to Robert Browning. This is what higher forms of meditation promote.
Be fully present - be here now.
Respond, and never react. Pause. Responding may include waiting or taking no action as an action.
Never board the train of negative thinking as it will lead to negative emotions which will cloud your thinking.
Become the witness: Cease to be caught in the rough waters of your mind. This allows you to achieve witness consciousness.
Have no attachment to likes or dislikes as this makes your mind want to control everything including your thinking. Nothing is either good or bad: It is only your mind that makes it so.
Practice acceptance and non-resistance to reality.
Stop trying to control the Universe. Stop fighting the world.
Journalling may help you to organise your thinking.
Action based on intuition will give you clarity, like a feedback loop to get clearer and clearer. Action also reduces fear, by coming out of 'limbo.'
Sleep: Make sure that you get enough sleep to achieve mental clarity.
Ensure a healthy balanced diet. You may want to take supplements such as B vitamins and omega-3.
Be free from anger, fear, and resentment. This is how you beat any opponent who isn't free of these, as they will be confused, won't have mental clarity, and won't have intuitive thoughts from a place of presence as they will be stuck in a 'Drama Triangle.'
The 12-step 'Big Book' is the most concise spiritual text since the Bible and is imbued with Jungian concepts. It states "Much has already been said about receiving strength, inspiration, and direction from Him who has all knowledge and power. If we have carefully followed directions, we have begun to sense the flow of His Spirit into us. To some extent we have become God-conscious. We have begun to develop this vital sixth sense. But we must go further and that means more action. Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives. In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while. What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it. We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn’t work. You can easily see why. As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.’’ We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. It works—it really does… We let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. “Faith without works is dead.’’"
In what ways does the clarity of your thinking benefit your life?
The clarity of your thinking will affect every domain of your life including interpersonal relationships, work, professional and leadership environments, your daily spiritual practice, your emotional wellbeing, and much more. This will lead to spiritual and financial abundance. You will also become an unbeatable opponent in any conflict situation.
Namaste.
Olly
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