Thought Forms – Basic Unraveling Method By Jan Engels-Smith

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.”  ~The Dalai Lama

The results of our actions are a product of the mental orientations and attitudes that we create as we formulate intents, make decisions, and engage in the activities of our lives. We always act from a place of intention—whether positive or negative—and those intentions generate a field of energy that permeates its surroundings, influences adjacent and distant conditions, and perpetuates itself in infinite encounters. Our intentions create thought forms and we are responsible for them. Thought forms can be viewed as an overarching concept for many different matrices of energy across the wide spectrum of life.

We create thought forms from something as innocent as the planning of a wedding with all the associated intents, dreams, and hopes that we assign to the activity or as negative as thoughts of envy, resentment, or callousness. We may create thought forms from acts of aggression and destructive behavior in times that we might be angry or frustrated. Life is filled with events that people often view as independent of their influence, but the energies they project on to those events create a field of effect and are stamped with our signature. No matter what the topic, if a person is investing time, words, or emotions into a situation or circumstance there is a thought form being created that holds all of the energy that the individual has generated and that energy lingers perpetually among the matrices of others’ thought forms energetically tying us together in the thought form.

In shamanic healing, I have seen many individuals who suffer from problems that they have assumed were only products of outside forces and over which they had little control. Outside forces can and do impact us all, but we either compound or ameliorate these forces by the thoughts that we create in reaction. The process of dealing with the creation of our thought forms I directly relate to the fields of energy that exist throughout space and time. What is initiated persists and what is added to grows in influence and effect. Developing a consciousness of the nature of our thoughts and especially their impact on others and ourselves is fundamental to becoming a well being and healing both physically and spiritually.

Many times our own feelings of loss, helplessness, and pain may be compounded by projections from others, either intentionally or by happenstance. Serious forms of negative energy, which can cause illness or disease, may be the results of others’ negative thought forms. Curses, spells, and projected hatred, jealousy or fear create thought forms of energy that must be addressed if one is to feel well and happy. The Inquisition, which I referenced in my last article, is a good example of how extreme negative thought forms might create a devastating field of energy that persists beyond its historical context.

Whether of minor consequence to the individual or of historical proportion, negative thought forms can be addressed through the process of unraveling. Unraveling involves the peeling back of the external appearance of a condition to discover the core of the circumstance that is the true cause of the suffering or anguish that one might feel. Let me use an example to illustrate the process. Let us suppose that an individual was raised in a strongly religious home where beliefs were rigidly defined for all members of the family and the expectation of behavior was considered as inflexible and necessary. And suppose that this individual had acquired a different set of personal beliefs that conflicted with the family tradition. The individual might feel many emotions in the aftermath of the discovery of his new belief system and after his family has expressed their concern with his straying from their prescribed principles. Feelings of fear, anger, resentment, depression, guilt, and anxiety may intermingle in the thoughts of one moving away from a life well defined to a life with a new definition. Such emotions might easily create a condition that negatively affects the individual’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. In shamanic healing, the unraveling process allows for the discovery of energy dynamics that are created by different thought forms and allows for the root causes to be addressed in a positive and productive way. The first question to be asked is: “What are the fields of energy that are in play in the circumstance?” In this example, the individual who has left the church feels put upon by the other members of his family. He might have the impression that a curse or spell has been cast through their prayers and entreaties. He can palpably feel the energy emanating from others and he might perceive it as having a negative effect on his being—even to the point of physical illness. On the other hand, the members of the family who are praying for the soul of the individual, who has “strayed from the one true way,” may well have acted with all the best intentions and in the belief that what they were doing was necessary to express their love for their “lost” relative and to save him from himself. When these opposing forces are unraveled, the individual can better understand that his fear and guilt and anxiety are contributing to the power of the energy field that is oppressing him. When he comes to understand the motives of his family and recognizes that he has a choice in choosing the thoughts that express his free will and that focus away from the perception that he is under attack, he is able then to create new thought forms of confidence in his choice, a newfound strength in his self esteem, and an appreciation for the positive intentions of his family. He need not change his decision to defy the traditional beliefs of his family but he can create the positive thought forms that emphasize the self-love that allows him to function effectively and productively in his newfound freedom.

Thought forms take many identities and emanate from many sources. They are not necessarily negative. Desires, goals, visualizations, dreams, oaths, vows, promises, declarations, contracts, or enchantments are all ways of creating though words and thoughts and contribute to the creation of fields of energy or add to existing fields.

In all cases your thoughts and your emotions carry your divine essence or your signature. Once your essence is caught in a thought form it is unavailable to you. This can have a compounding affect whereas our essence is part of our vitality. Thus unraveling thought forms is a way to release your divine essence and have it return to you.

A good question to ask may be, “Where I have invested much of my thoughts and emotions?” Scan your life. Were you invested in a marriage that doesn’t exist anymore? Were you an advocate for an issue that is now closed? Have you ever been involved in a law case? Again, where have you invested enormous amounts of thought and emotion? Chances are that all that invested energy is still caught in that situation. The unraveling process releases that energy back to you.

A shaman knows how to unravel energy or thought forms while in a journey; however, you too can be very successful in unraveling using this simple prayer. In the blank, insert the name of the circumstance you are addressing.

Thank you great ones that love me and are compassionate to my needs. Please reach into the thoughtform of (BLANK) and pull my energy signature out. Let this energy be cleansed. Transmute it to divine love and return it to me. Let it then fuel any new desires that I may have.

This simple yet powerful intention will dismantle or unravel thought forms that hold your focus and emotions. The return of this energy in its divine form can feel tremendously revitalizing and fortifying.

© Artwork by Margie McMahan