--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thought has produced tremendous effects…" description: "\"“Thought has produced tremendous effects outwardly. And, as we'll discuss further on, it produces tremendous effects inwardly in each person. Yet the g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/david-bohm-4805_philosophy-of-mind_thought-has-produced-tremendous-effects_1289610.jpg" --- # Thought has produced tremendous effects outwardly. And, as… ![“Thought has produced tremendous effects outwardly. And, as we'll discuss further on, it produces tremendous effects inwardly in each person. Yet the general tacit assumption in thought is that it's just telling you the way things are and that is not doing anything—that 'you' are inside there…” quote by David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/david-bohm-4805_philosophy-of-mind_thought-has-produced-tremendous-effects_1289610.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/david-bohm-4805_philosophy-of-mind_thought-has-produced-tremendous-effects_1289610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a32/david-bohm-4805_philosophy-of-mind_thought-has-produced-tremendous-effects_1289610.jpg) > ““Thought has produced tremendous effects outwardly. And, as we'll discuss further on, it produces tremendous effects inwardly in each person. Yet the general tacit assumption in thought is that it's just telling you the way things are and that is not doing anything—that 'you' are inside there, deciding what to do with the information. But I want to say that you don't decide what to do with the information. The information takes over. It runs you. Thought runs you. Thought, however, gives the false information that you are running it, that you are the one who controls thought, whereas actually thought is the one which controls each one of us. Until thought is understood—better yet, more than understood, perceived—it will actually control us; but it will create the impression that it is our servant, that it is just doing what we want it to do. That's the difficulty. Thought is participating and then saying it's not participating. But it is taking part in everything. Fragmentation is a particular case of that. Thought is creating divisions out of itself and then saying that they are there naturally.”” [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thought appears to be a tool but actually governs us, creating illusion of control and division **In simple terms:** Thought controls us, not the other way around Key Takeaway Awareness of thought’s influence can reduce its unconscious domination Themes mindfulness self-awareness illusion of control fragmentation Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - meditation practice - decision making - creative brainstorming - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy of mind cognitive science psychology Questions to Reflect On - Can you truly observe thought without being influenced by it? - How can we cultivate thought that serves rather than dominates? A Different Perspective The view may underplay conscious agency and the role of intentional practice in shaping thought ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [But you don't decide what to do with the info. Thought runs you. Thought, however, gives false info that you are running it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/but-you-don-t-decide-what-to-do-with-the-info-thought-runs-you/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Thought is creating divisions out of itself and then saying that they are there naturally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/thought-is-creating-divisions-out-of-itself-and-then-saying-that-they/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Most movies, I forget about them while I'm watching them. 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So keep your thoughts on the positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/constantly-through-thought-you-are-creating-your-inner-conditions-and/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [...consciousness is a coherent whole, which is never static or complete, but which is in an unending process of movement and unfoldment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/consciousness-is-a-coherent-whole-which-is-never-static-or-complete/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [ The system \[of thought\] doesn't stay with the difficult problem that produces unpleasant feelings. 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It's conditioned somehow to move as fast as it can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/the-system-of-thought-doesn-t-stay-with-the-difficult-problem-that/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [Space is not empty. 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Bohm: Why do you say that? Q: Are there not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/q-isn-t-the-employment-of-thought-in-the-psychological-sense/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) [Explore all 105 David Bohm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. 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To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. 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Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Thought has produced tremendous effects outwardly. And, as we'll discuss further on, it produces tremendous effects inwardly in each person. Yet the general tacit assumption in thought is that it's just telling you the way things are and that is not doing anything—that 'you' are inside there, deciding what to do with the information. But I want to say that you don't decide what to do with the information. The information takes over. It runs you. Thought runs you. Thought, however, gives the false information that you are running it, that you are the one who controls thought, whereas actually thought is the one which controls each one of us. Until thought is understood—better yet, more than understood, perceived—it will actually control us; but it will create the impression that it is our servant, that it is just doing what we want it to do. That's the difficulty. Thought is participating and then saying it's not participating. But it is taking part in everything. Fragmentation is a particular case of that. 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