The law of attraction debunked

What do you want out of life?

So what made you look into going into business for yourself, or -if you’re not there yet- at least entertain the idea? Are you tired of working –and therefore living- on someone else’s terms? Is your income not meeting your desires? Is it even meeting your needs? Tired of letting someone else tell you when you have can have a break or when you’re allowed to go on vacation and for how long? Perhaps you found out you like spending time with your friends and/or family better than spending it at a job. Maybe you finally figured out that profits are something you can control and wages are not. Or you decided you deserved to be paid before the IRS does since you are doing all the work. Perhaps you decided you weren’t ready to give up on your hopes and dreams and discovered that job security in the 21st century is a fallacy. So what do you really want in life? Many of us can outline in general terms what we desire, and it usually amounts to a well-rehearsed lineup of health, happiness, and world peace. Some are daring enough to throw wealth in there as well. But many parents and teachers will stifle our desire for financial abundance at an early age when we’re taught fallacies like “money doesn’t make one happy” and “a steady job will offer security”. Those are not only foolish notions concocted by those too scared, lazy, or misguided to get into drivers’ seat, but it has been proven wrong scientifically to put the matter to rest. Numerous studies that compare depression to demographics and income find people with higher income and net worth to be generally happier. I won’t waste space quoting any, you have Google for that purpose, so put it to use. Get specific about what you want Something many of us don't recognize is the stark contrast between greed and living in abundance. Many also fail to realize that wealth isn’t always defined in monetary terms. Some find wealth in the freedom of time, or having the financial means to help others, or simply living life on their own terms. So reach back to your inner child and get specific about your dreams. Start asking yourself new questions about what makes you feel good. Get excited! Liken the experience to that of a child writing a wish list for the Holidays or a birthday. Decide where you want to live, the car you want to drive, the places you want to visit, the people and charities you want to help, the level of business success you wish to achieve, the net worth you wish to attain at a certain point in time and so on. Nobody else cares about your goals as much as you do, so take ownership of them! You have to be really specific so make your goals as detailed as possible. ,,If you can’t articulate your goals, you can’t achieve them”-Pari Livermore The law of attraction Ever since the release of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret it has finally become more acceptable (dare I say fashionable?) to openly discuss the phenomenon of manifestation, or as they call it: the law of attraction. The Secret calls the driving force that regulates the law of attraction “The Universe”. Some will substitute Universe here for God or infinite intelligence. Whatever you decide to call it, the core philosophy remains the same. Though the overproduced Hollywood blockbuster style opening scene might cause you to think twice about sitting through the whole thing, you will be glad you did. Though dispelled by some staunch realists (often pessimists with identity crisis) as happy-thought nonsense, few can argue that the points being made are common sense in large part. I will admit right now that I was quite skeptical and ridiculing my wife for wasting money on this happy-talk self-help DVD. But you can’t judge a book by its cover and the same applied here. I have never endured as many ahah-moments as during that little movie. The central theme here is that your life is a direct manifestation of your mental focus. Now you may not be able to affect the universe metaphysically –you cannot levitate boulders with this mental power-, but your focus will make you aware of certain opportunities. Without this awareness you may have missed them. One fateful introduction or opportunity will lead to another and soon the snowball effect takes hold. From that point on you see how one thing resulted in another and you come to understand that after directing your focus things started to fall into place. Conversely, if you focus on everything you don’t want, like clockwork the Universe will deliver more of it. What if bad things happen Now you’re saying “wait a minute, I didn’t focus on –fill in the blank- to happen to me.” Even though we do attract some of the bad things that take place in our lives, there are indeed events we did not bring upon ourselves. What may surprise you is that many of those unfortunate events can still serve a useful purpose depending on the meaning we attribute to them. This frequently doesn’t become clear until much later, sometimes years or even decades later. The main lesson here is to be mindful of your thoughts. The Universe does not distinguish between positive and negative thought impulses; it is only concerned with delivering on what’s on your mind. If you direct your thoughts mostly on all the things that don’t work in your life, you will generally attract more of the same. The Universe is concerned with is bringing balance between your thoughts and the physical world. Ever notice how some people ‘spiral’ out of control or how sometimes you can have a bad day? Sometimes things just keep piling up because you just happen to be on the frequency! Of course sometimes bad things happen to people who had no intention of attraction such events, but it’s what meaning you give to it that will shape you. Many will ask themselves repeatedly “why has this happened to me?” But that’s a question you will never get an answer to. Don’t dwell on it! The Universe doesn’t have much use for those in constant state of need, people in that category have quit trying and gave up on themselves and anyone that counted on them. These are the folks that are waiting for someone to bail them out, don’t count yourself among them if you wish to attain anything meaningful in life. Life = decisions Life is 98 percent what you make it and 2 percent circumstance and how you decide to think and subsequently feel about it which ultimate dictates your actions. Decide what meaning you could associate with the unfortunate events in your life and how they may empower you to advance to a better place than you were before. At the very least, recognize how they may have kept you from pursuing your objectives. Free yourself of doubt and worry and have faith in yourself. The way is not always immediately clear, but it will always reveal itself in time if you allow it to. Have long term goals and remember why you set them, but don’t be too concerned with the how part of the equation. Just be concerned with taking it day by day and with continued improvement; looking too far ahead on your to-do list can derail you or even discourage from starting anything to begin with. So be mindful of what you allow into your mind. Your life is created from the thoughts and dreams you occupy it with and that is not something to be taken lightly. Metaphysician Joe Vitale (who is featured on the The Scret) is very active in the online marketing world and founded Hypnotic Marketing. If you take an interest in these topics I would highly recommend getting on his newsletter as he organizes frequent live events surrounding these themes and with incredible results.

Have a great day all, so long for now and as Dr. Joe says: "Dare something worthy"!

-Tiemen Staal