The Originality of Thought
Original thought is completely necessary. As individuals, we must come to our own conclusions and arrive at our own truths. It doesn’t matter whether that truth is a widely held belief or not, if a conclusion has been reached in the mind of the individual, then it’s necessary. It’s a far more powerful truth than that of believing a truth arrived at by others.
Through learning and experience we come to know our own truths, these can change over time as we gain more knowledge and deeper understanding. In this moment of our evolution, we believe we’re as evolved and intelligent as we have ever been, but simultaneously completely ignorant and utterly stupid.
How could it be any other way? Look back 5 years, are you smarter now? Do you cringe at some of your thoughts, beliefs and conversations? Only with this awareness and willingness to change what we have previously perceived as known truths we can reach originality of thought.
Confidence in experienced knowledge and false truths is one way our mind navigates, using each point as a stepping stone to arrive at our own thoughts and conclusions. There is no point regurgitating the thoughts of others or reciting chapters of books or speeches from our peers. They are not authentic and have no weight to us, they are empty as we did not arrive at our own conclusion and we do not fully understand what we are saying. A false truth said with belief is far more powerful than a widely held truth that is not fully understood.
There is an old idea, in order to reach the top of a mountain, you must first complete the climb. Without going through the full process for yourself you will never fully appreciate the view from the top. The feeling and emotions attached to someone else’s journey will never be as authentic spoken by the voice of another.
Arriving at Original Thought
A challenge in itself and incredibly difficult. Every method of learning is unique to the individual, but spending significant time in meditation and study will help. An idea or thought to be fully understood, first needs to flow through the creative and logical process centres in the mind. It needs to be dissected, analysed and viewed from every possible angle. It needs belief to be added, feelings and emotions wrestled with and attached. It needs time to process, filtering through every aspect of self and our head, heart and gut. Only then will it start to become authentic to the individual. We then have the ability to speak our original thought with great passion and impact.
Many times, I have read a passage or listened to a podcast and only weeks, months or even years later felt a ‘eureka’ moment. Something has finally finished processing, clicked in my mind unlocking a greater understanding. Further study is still required, asking yourself the question, ‘How do I feel about this?’
Greater knowledge and inspiration can offer new insights, spending time in nature or speaking with others can also be trigger points. It must be felt, authenticity only comes to a thought with the addition of ‘emotion’ and ‘knowing’.
Conveying Original Thought
Undergoing this process is not for the faint hearted. An individual may feel it’s their responsibility to share their new insight and original thought. This is where another process must begin. There is only the mind of the individual who understands it to that degree. This becomes a new starting point and asks the question how can I share this information to others who have not all been through a similar process and reached similar conclusions?
There is an old strategy in marketing content. Take a page of text, reduce it to a paragraph, reduce that to a sentence, reduce again to a tagline, reduce again until you finally end up with one word. In one word the same message as the whole page should be conveyed.
How is this possible? It is not just saying the word, it’s the conviction, sentiment, knowing, feeling, energy and truth which is also conveyed when the word is spoken. All of this should be passed on gracefully and freely, and others will be able to connect with parts that resonate with them. It becomes their starting point on their journey to the realisation of their truths and their originality of thought.
Written by Richard Stuttle
WORKSHOPS
Unlocking Potential
Experimental workshops look deeper into personal development and understanding. Through learning more about what the world around us means to us, we can forge deeper connections with people, places and things in daily life.
By exploring these questions we can gain a greater understanding of ourselves and our general wellbeing.
