Thoughtform
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The Tibetin Buddhist practice of thoughtform provides an interesting parallel to our pathway. This is the Tantra practice of the visualization of a fully realized assembly. The assembly that results is typically what we term a mandala. It is only thru a holistic visualization that an authentic artwork can be created that is of sufficient spirituality to warrant support for a deity.
A parallel term for thoughtform is tulpa, which is an object (or being) which is created via intense focus of mental powers. In many discussions, the terms tulpa and thoughtform are used interchangeably.
Holistic understanding and visualization. Complete realization. Focus as a way of manifesting an object. A visualization method that prioritizes authenticity. All of these precepts ring true to our interests.
And I’m sure that my painfully short summary of a practice that is thousands of years old is painful to those who actually understand the interdependencies and how all of this weaves together. Nothing like some simple minded westerner wading into a rich and rewarding spiritual practice and attempting to summarize it in a few sentences. Yet, simple or not, here we have yet another cultural tradition that values holistic visualization as a prerequisite to knowledge.
Many have said that thoughtform practices tend toward the paranormal and the occult. Practitioners imbue the thoughtform / tulpa with sufficient spirit that the object naturally begins to manifest as a real being. While that may be, these paranormal aspects should not concern us.
If nothing else, I just like the term thoughtform. We could use it, for example, interchangeably with the term concept. As in, I really like your thoughtform. You’ve got to agree that the term thoughtform in this context is more operational than the term concept. Or, what if, as part of our method, we actually use this practice of focused visualization before we start to draw?
A few pages ago, we looked at the Canadian Woodland tradition of the holistic and spiritual correlation of objects, such as a moose. We have addressed many times the Asian visual practice of holistic understanding which rejects western representation. And here is another rich cultural tradition that provides an interesting sympathy to our purposes.
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