February 28, 2023 - Reading time: 3 minutes
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16269/16269-8.txt
Title: Thought-Forms
Author: Annie Besant
C.W. Leadbeater
Release Date: July 12, 2005 [EBook #16269]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Melissa Er-Raqabi and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
THOUGHT-FORMS
BY ANNIE BESANT
AND C.W. LEADBEATER
[Illustration: Publisher Logo]
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING HOUSE LTD
38 GREAT ORMOND STREET, LONDON, W.C. 1
_First Printed_ 1901
_Reprint_ 1905
_Reprint_ 1925
_Made and Printed in Great Britain by_
PERCY LUND, HUMPHRIES & CO LTD
THE COUNTRY PRESS
BRADFORD
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE--MEANING OF THE COLOURS--(see html version
for this and other illustrations.)]
FOREWORD
The text of this little book is the joint work of Mr Leadbeater and
myself; some of it has already appeared as an article in _Lucifer_ (now
the _Theosophical Review_), but the greater part of it is new. The
drawing and painting of the Thought-Forms observed by Mr Leadbeater or
by myself, or by both of us together, has been done by three friends--Mr
John Varley, Mr Prince, and Miss Macfarlane, to each of whom we tender
our cordial thanks. To paint in earth's dull colours the forms clothed
in the living light of other worlds is a hard and thankless task; so
much the more gratitude is due to those who have attempted it. They
needed coloured fire, and had only ground earths. We have also to thank
Mr F. Bligh Bond for allowing us to use his essay on _Vibration
Figures_, and some of his exquisite drawings. Another friend, who sent
us some notes and a few drawings, insists on remaining anonymous, so we
can only send our thanks to him with similar anonymity.
It is our earnest hope--as it is our belief--that this little book will
serve as a striking moral lesson to every reader, making him realise the
nature and power of his thoughts, acting as a stimulus to the noble, a
curb on the base. With this belief and hope we send it on its way.
ANNIE BESANT.
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD 6
INTRODUCTION 11
THE DIFFICULTY OF REPRESENTATION 16
THE TWO EFFECTS OF THOUGHT 21
HOW THE VIBRATION ACTS 23
THE FORM AND ITS EFFECT 25
THE MEANING OF THE COLOURS 32
THREE CLASSES OF THOUGHT-FORMS 36
ILLUSTRATIVE THOUGHT-FORMS 40
AFFECTION 40-44
DEVOTION 44-49
INTELLECT 49-50
AMBITION 51
ANGER 52
SYMPATHY 55
FEAR 55
GREED 56
VARIOUS EMOTIONS 57
SHIPWRECK 57
ON THE FIRST NIGHT 59
THE GAMBLERS 60
AT A STREET ACCIDENT 61
AT A FUNERAL 61
ON MEETING A FRIEND 64
APPRECIATION OF A PICTURE 65
FORMS SEEN IN MEDITATION 66
SYMPATHY AND LOVE FOR ALL 66
AN ASPIRATION TO ENFOLD ALL 66
IN THE SIX DIRECTIONS 67
COSMIC ORDER 68
THE LOGOS AS MANIFESTED IN MAN 69
THE LOGOS PERVADING ALL 70
ANOTHER CONCEPTION 71
THE THREEFOLD MANIFESTATION 71
THE SEVENFOLD MANIFESTATION 72
INTELLECTUAL ASPIRATION 72
HELPFUL THOUGHTS 74
FORMS BUILT BY MUSIC 75
MENDELSSOHN 77
GOUNOD 80
WAGNER 82
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. PAGE
MEANING OF THE COLOURS _Frontispiece_
CHLADNI'S SOUND PLATE 1 28
FORMS PRODUCED IN SAND 2 28
FORMS PRODUCED IN SAND 3 29
FORMS PRODUCED BY PENDULUMS 4-7 30
VAGUE PURE AFFECTION 8 40
VAGUE SELFISH AFFECTION 9 40
DEFINITE AFFECTION 10 42
RADIATING AFFECTION 11 43
PEACE AND PROTECTION 12 42
GRASPING ANIMAL AFFECTION 13 43
VAGUE RELIGIOUS FEELING 14 44
UPWARD RUSH OF DEVOTION 15 46
SELF-RENUNCIATION 16 44
RESPONSE TO DEVOTION 17 46
VAGUE INTELLECTUAL PLEASURE 18 50
VAGUE SYMPATHY 18A 50
THE INTENTION TO KNOW 19 51
HIGH AMBITION 20 52
SELFISH AMBITION 21 52
MURDEROUS RAGE 22 53
SUSTAINED ANGER 23 53
EXPLOSIVE ANGER 24 51
WATCHFUL JEALOUSY 25 54
ANGRY JEALOUSY 26 54
SUDDEN FRIGHT 27 55
SELFISH GREED 28 56
GREED FOR DRINK 29 56
AT A SHIPWRECK 30 58
ON THE FIRST NIGHT 31 59
THE GAMBLERS 32 60
AT A STREET ACCIDENT 33 61
AT A FUNERAL 34 62
ON MEETING A FRIEND 35 64
THE APPRECIATION OF A PICTURE 36 64
SYMPATHY AND LOVE FOR ALL 37 66
AN ASPIRATION TO ENFOLD ALL 38 67
IN THE SIX DIRECTIONS 39 66
AN INTELLECTUAL CONCEPTION OF COSMIC ORDER 40 69
THE LOGOS AS MANIFESTED IN MAN 41 69
THE LOGOS PERVADING ALL 42 and 44 70
ANOTHER CONCEPTION 45 70
THE THREEFOLD MANIFESTATION 46 70
THE SEVENFOLD MANIFESTATION 47 70
INTELLECTUAL ASPIRATION 43 72
HELPFUL THOUGHTS 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54 74
PLATE
MUSIC OF MENDELSSOHN M 78
MUSIC OF GOUNOD G 80
MUSIC OF WAGNER W 82
[Transcriber's Note: Some of the plates are displayed out of sequence to
correspond with references to them in the text.]