Perhaps all thought is just that. Source manifesting through individual and collective channels. All one thing.

There does seem to be a continuity, an observable continuity and patterns. One theory is that there is a "Universal LIbrary", "Akashic Record", "Universal Unconsciousness" that becomes conscious as ideas are 'released' from that realm.

Regard simultaneous "discoveries" around the world by unconnected individuals. See Rupert Sheldrake's Morphic Fields.

Dig into this guy's work, you will find some fascinating answers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Sheldrake

Sheldrake

My answer here is the inspiration to the comment under the question.

If you observe the experiences of those who formulated a theory on subjects that are at the periphery of human understanding, you will find that most of them were original thinkers.

They arrived at an understanding by letting curiosity expand with inner confidence.

They didn't destroy that confidence with the question "but what If I am wrong?"....or kill that curiosity with the question "how do I know if I am right?"

If you venture into the understanding of the nature of your own consciousness without clouding your curiosity with an existing concept, you are far more likely to come into alignment with the intent that is driving your desire to know.

As you begin to formulate your own idea of where your thoughts come from, you can then compare your understanding with other concepts already out there.

In this comparison, you will find, to you surprise, that you are stumbling upon ideas and concepts that already occurred in the minds of others, however you will not agree completely with any or all of them.

NOW DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASKING, "whose answer is the right one?"

You are aligning with an understanding that was meant for YOU and YOUR EXPANSION.

Then again, not everyone is ready trust his or her own intuition and inner guidance.

If you are inspired to ask the question, "What If I am inspired to commit murder?” you are definitely not yet ready to know difference between possession and inspiration.

There are no right answers to the type of questions we ask here.

It is as if we are all in a creative drawing class and the instructor has given each one of us a blank paper and a pencil and says, "Ok go ahead and draw"

If you trust your intuition, you will start drawing right away.

If you do not you will most likely peek at the next person to see what they are drawing, or worse yet, you will put up your hand and ask "What exactly are we supposed to draw?"

Now let us take this example a little further.

Let us say that someone says, "It is OK if I draw just a square?", and the instructor says, "Sure go ahead...”

Now you may start at that point and draw a different type of square or think that you are far more original and instead draw a circle or a triangle.

What you do not realize is that your so-called "originality" is still constrained by the permission obtained by the square.

At this stage (of reading this answer), you may respond to the above example with the previous reaction of "Well we need guidance...because without it we may choose to just murder each other without provocation"...and take yourself back down to the common denominator of the mindless follower.

Alternatively, you may stay in that class, draw the most beautiful circle or triangle, and feel good about your achievement in originality.

However, what if you drew a tree...a cloud...an ant...or a dot, followed by a scribble?

What if you hand that drawing in and you choose NOT TO ask the instructor "Is this drawing OK?"

Could you live with NOT KNOWING if the drawing you handed in was CORRECT?

IF you can...then you are ready for inner expansion.

Because your thoughts are an attempt to quantify the non-physical energy of perfect fluidity of creation into the very solid and very static reality of "things" and "concepts"

Conceptualizing forces the fluidity of creation into static moments like expecting a single photograph of a house to convey everything that happened within it.

You cannot experience the house by looking at the picture, but the picture can trigger the memory of an actual experience.

You cannot understand where your thoughts come from by conceptualizing it into a question here and then studying the answers associated with it.

You have to search within yourself for your own understanding because the question is a key meant to unlock a connection within you.

You are not turning the key when you learn by comparing answers, because you are remaining within thought and analysis instead of observing the source of your thought.

Thinking about the source of thought is the same as dissecting a frog in order to discover its source of life.

You will only end up with thousands of dead frogs and thousands of "techniques" on how to reach the source of your consciousness.

Thought is matter according to J. Krishnamurti

What is thought made of?

Is thought the cause of all division, of all fragmentation in life? What is thought made of? What is the substance of those pieces of thread woven into that complex cloth we call the mind? Thought is matter, probably measurable. And it comes from the accumulated memory, which is matter, stored in the brain. Thought has its origin in the past, recent or remote. - Eight Conversations,19

That would qualify Haanels take on it also. As Einstein put it "E=MC2"

The take that Bashar has laid out is really a spiral not a straight line because after Action we reinforce our beliefs. So this spiral can go up (positive) or down (negative) depending on your perception of the resulting of the action
...Action ==> Beliefs...
My take on the Zen "thoughts are like passing clouds" is that they can be ephemeral and without real substance, It depends on your focus,where you find yourself at the moment.In times of mediation and self-realization this is true.They are just whisps of fluff. At other times when doing tasks ,in the now.We should be mindful of these clouds.
Negative, nonproductive thoughts= thunder clouds.... Positive productive thoughts =the thin Cirrus uncinus As our White Tiger says "experience and enjoy"

If you go back to life as an infant at birth.Where do those thoughts come from? Comfort. Basic instinct, food ,warmth and comfort. It all expands from that point.
Now with that said do not confuse thoughts with messages.We receive messages and translate them into thought, and the spiral continues

peace

My perspective is that thoughts originate from Divine Consciousness and we receive those thoughts that resonate with the frequency at which we are vibrating at any given moment.

I believe thoughts = spirit.

This doesn't mean, for me, that individual thoughts equal individual spirit(s).

I observe thoughts correlating with mind/brain. Yet, I don't think individual brains are the source of thoughts. And interestingly, one must have a thought about brains to then have the thought that concludes brains cause thoughts. Seems to jump to a conclusion without (really) going through the steps to establish reality of 'brain.'

I believe thoughts create, or perhaps better word is manifest. I think the thoughts that manifest as 'individual thinking' (i.e. I love chocolate and hate strawberry) are based on a distortion of Self (aka distortion of spiritual being). Distortion doesn't make it bad, evil, nor harmful. I think that distortion occurs at a level that is very very challenging for a conscious, or intellectual, mind to (fully) realize. But I do think that distortion has manifested an incredibly vast world known as the physical universe.

I think within (each of) us is an awareness that the world is manifested through my/our thinking. I actually believe this awareness isn't challenging to realize. In fact, I have experienced it as 'obvious' and as 'how could I not know this (before)?' That experience could be deemed 'enlightenment' but I think of it as closer to self evident. Yet, with the distortion at work, a veil is pulled over the awareness. When something presents itself as pointing out the distortion/illusion, the core of that distortion is revealed, but is not readily apparent because of the concept of defense - which is central to the distortion. I think that we think if we were to give up the distortion or give up our sense of perception / understanding that ALL would be lost. The reality, from my experience, is that true self remains, is perceived clearly (far less distortion) and that truth of who I am is without need of ANY defense.

Anyway, I identify God as the source of all real thoughts and God's Creation (us) as manifesting thoughts that are distorted to the degree where a 'visible' separation from God (our Source) appears 'real.'

thoughts come when you are aware of something's outside of the cup or inside of the cup the one that is aware of this thought and control it through awareness, understanding, wisdom knowledge with a pure heart of love,righteous and truth is the living one the spirit that you are made in the image of God. You can call it the higher self if it please you. the one that comes from above is above all.

Let there be light, Be the light that you can be, experience and enjoy.