Thought Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation, is based on the idea that 'thoughts are things' and that a person's emotions emit colorful auras of pattern and form. Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant attempt to help us conceive this truth by describing their clairvoyant observations to painters who produced the 58 illustrations contained in the book and then by providing their interpretations of those illustrations.At the core of the book is the idea that thoughts are not just abstract mental concepts, but are real and tangible forms that have a powerful influence on the physical world. The authors argue that every thought we have creates a corresponding "thought form" that exists in the ether and has a real and tangible impact on the world around us.
Throughout the book, the authors explore the different types of thought forms that exist, including those that are positive and negative, and those that are related to different emotions and states of consciousness. They also offer practical advice for using the power of thought to create positive change in the world.
Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant wrote that, "It is well for us ever to bear in mind that there is a hidden side to life?that each act and word and thought has its consequence in the unseen world which is always so near to us, and that usually these unseen results are of infinitely greater importance than those which are visible to all upon the physical plane."
Thought Forms is considered to have had a major influence on abstract artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Hilma Af Klint, and Paul Klee.
Annie Besant was a well respected orator, writer, social rights activist, and president of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India from 1907 to her death in 1933. Charles Webster Leadbeater was known for his writings, his clairvoyant observations, and his raising and educating of Jiddu Krishnamurti. Leadbeater went on to write over 60 books and pamphlets and gave lectures until his death in 1934.