Do You Let Negative Thoughts Rule Your Life

Okay, that’s what I thought.   I've been gone the last couple of months volunteering as watch stander aboard the Training Ship State of Maine, the cadet training ship for my alma mater Maine Maritime Academy.  In other words,I trained students to become deck officers in the merchant marine.  After two months I was ready to get home, so I did as I always do and visualized the experience I expected to have flying home.  No long lines.  Flights on time.  No lost luggage.  Well, you get the picture.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, but I had already prepared myself to be angry for having to pay for my bags.   You see the airline had emailed me saying that my second bag would cost me money.   I already had a response prepared for when they asked for more money.   I put both bags on the scale. They both hovered around 49 lbs so I got in under the wire on baggage weight.  Now was the time when they'll ask for money.   I was ready.  But she just passed me my ticket and said have a nice trip.  Hey! Wait a minute, ask me for money! I have a lot of emotional time invested on being upset for the injustice of paying for the second bag!  All a waste of time. I could have spent that time doing something fun.

I noticed that my seats had changed for the second leg - the 5 hour leg - of my journey.  No aisle seat for me - now I was in the middle.  Oh the injustice!  I bought my ticket 3 months ago for an aisle seat and they gave me a middle seat.  They explained the flight was overbooked and they had changed the plane at the last minute.  There was nothing they could do.  Externally, I was polite - it wasn't the fault of the airline people behind the counter.  Internally I was furious, so my inner self started working negatively.  Hey, what about this intention I made?  This law of attraction mumbo jumbo doesn't work and I now have proof.  The heck with Law of Attraction Simplified.  There was nothing simple about this!

On the flight to Newark I internally preparing myself to give the airline representative a piece of my mind.  Hey, you've had my money for 3 months and this is what I get.  It’s no wonder everyone hates you guys. My inner self was working overtime putting me into a frenzy.  Well, the airline representative had an attitude to match my attitude so I didn't get very far.  The flight was really overbooked and they were even asking for volunteers to give up their seats.  So my inner self started saying, so much for this law of attraction stuff.  So it’s worked a couple times in the past but this is proof this LOA stuff just doesn't work.  That’s what my inner self was telling me and I was starting to believe it.   I went back in time for a few minutes and visualized some of my previous law of attraction accomplishments.  Sure they worked, but that was then and this is now.

I'm sitting in Newark airport watching the people go by when I get a call from the airline representative.  My inner self started thinking the worst. So I go up to the desk and the representative said they had changed my seat.  Oh great, probably a middle seat further back in the plane.  She said that a family needed two seats together.  Great, my inner self said, what am I, a pawn in a chess game?  So she gave me my new seat up front and on an aisle.  Hey, my inner self said, hey, this is not fair - I have too much time spent being mad.  You can't give me this great seat now, and beside this might prove that the law of attraction works.

Sorry, Law of Attraction.  I guess you were testing me.  How many of you people allow your negative inner self to dictate your feelings and emotions?  How many of you waste way too many hours of your life preparing for the bad things that just might come up?  Start spending your time on something more productive.  Don't give up on the LOA. 

law of attraction loa mind negative thinkinglaw of attraction loa mind negative thinking

Who Had Heard of the Law of Attraction in 2003?

Do you think many people had heard of the principle of the law of attraction prior to the movie "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne?  Not really.  There was a group who practiced it without knowing what it was called. A few people have read the teachings of Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks.  There are those who have read Wallace Wattles book 'The Science of Getting Rich'.  Bob Proctor has been teaching these principles for years but hasn't made the Law of Attraction or Wallace Wattles a household name. These materials have been followed mainly by the hard core self-improvement circles but aren't common to the general public.

So what Rhonda Byrne did was simply amazing.   She has made the Law of Attraction a household word. Many of its teachers, such as Earl Nightingale, Bob Proctor, and Napoleon Hill just to name a few, were never able to bring it to the level Rhonda has.  So how did she do it?

She used a medium of the masses, great marketing techniques in her DVD, and made the law of attraction popular.  Talking heads, sound bites, extravagant promises.  The Secret and its success is an advertiser's dream.  Oprah has had guests on her television show who had watched the movie in excess of fifty times. It seems everyone who watches the movie can relate to some portion of it.   Everyone wants to improve themselves in some way. It’s hard to find anyone who doesn't want a few extra dollars, to lose those few pounds or to find that perfect mate, and the list goes on.

Is the Law of Attraction here to stay?  It certainly seems so.  It seems to be all the talk in Hollywood and Saturday Night Live started doing skits.  Once you've made it to SNL, you have made it to the big time.  If you listen to Rhonda, you will hear her say that she used the Law of Attraction to make a success with the Law of Attraction.

Tags: Earl Nighingale, Oprah, law of attraction simplified, Napoleon Hill, Bob Procotor, Rhonda Byrne

law of attraction law of attraction contagious the secretlaw of attraction law of attraction contagious the secret

Is Satan Tempting You with The Secret?

I just finished a forum thread called The Law of Attraction and Christianity on Bible.org.  Although the topic is the Law of Attraction, much of the discussion was centered around The Secret DVD and book.  It was fascinating reading the discussion from an outsider's viewpoint.  By outsider, I mean that this was a totally new website and forum and I had no vested interest in any of the participants or their comments. 

Wealth Is Bad

The posts seemed to break down into the expected camps.  There were people who had strong opinions who have neither seen The Secret DVD nor read the book.  There were people who had reviewed the material who see the Law of Attraction as an effort of the devil to lead people from the true path of Jesus, and that the books, DVDs and seminars are produced and promoted merely for the sake of increasing the wealth of the authors - which, of course, is bad.  The scientists stepped up and pointed out that in magnetism, opposites attract, therefore, the Law of Attraction cannot work.   

Faith Can Move Mountains

On the other hand, there were some who felt that the Law of Attraction goes hand in hand with Christianity.  "Ask and you shall receive" and having the "faith of a mustard seed" were some of the quotations used in support of connecting the Bible and the 'ask, believe, receive' of The Secret. 

Then, of course, there was the one expected post on how "Great Men and Women of God" are preaching "for the sake of collecting a offering".

What Is the 'Real' Truth?

Your truth is what you believe.  And what you believe is what you will see.  At one time it was accepted as truth that the world was flat.  Now that isn't accepted as truth. 

One of the most difficult things in the world is to view both sides of a discussion and to see what is valid and what may be skewed on either side.  One of my personal beliefs is that people who have very strong feelings about something, when they have not reviewed the material, are probably acting out of fear, whether they recognize it or not.  Myself included.  Another thing I believe is that something that is positive, that encourages people to do better, be happier, to improve themselves, is good, no matter who says it.

But, it is also a darned good thing to bring a little common sense to the table, too.  Just because the Wright brothers passionately wanted to fly didn't mean that they believed they could and then jumped off of the nearest cliff.  I wouldn't try to cure a disease by faith or belief alone - I'd use everything available, from a medical specialist to prayer.

Will the Real God Please Step Forward

Here is where the rubber meets the road for many when it comes to the Law of Attraction and The Secret and religion.  How big or how limited is their, or your, God?  Are the Universe and God separate?  Or is God in everything, or is God everything, period?  Even given free will, does God know everything even before it happens?  Is God truly omnipotent and omniscient, or is he like a parent who merely finds things out after the fact?  Just how big is your God? 

Whether you think The Secret is a way that "the Devil is trying to deceive innocent people into following him" or you believe that The Secret just increases awareness that how a person thinks influences the direction of his life is less dependant on a book, a DVD, or a seminar than it is on you yourself.  Where do you stand on The Secret, the Law of Attraction and Christianity?

 

christianity the law of attraction the secretchristianity the law of attraction the secret

Is the First Step in the Law of Attraction To Ask?

That's what the teachers in The Secret say.  Has that worked for you?  Most people don't even know what to ask for.  When I was a kid, anything and everything was possible.  We lived in a world of possibilities. As we grew up, we became more 'practical and responsible' and limited ourselves.  We put off until tomorrow so long that we can't always remember what we really want.

Okay, so how do you decide what you want?  Success and motivation experts tell you to make a long list of 'everything you want to be, do, and have'.  Have you ever tried that?  You know what happens?  I begin listing all of these cool things and haven't achieved any of them.  I make another list that looks pretty good and find that those things are still on the list for next time.  One day I took a look at my list and it looked a lot like the things that everyone wants in life.  Turns out that I'm not everyone.  That day I got really real about the top three things I wanted at that moment and achieved two of them within a week.  Turns out I wanted 1) someone to clean the house, 2) someone to do the ironing, and 3) someone to do the cooking.  Got the first two worked out within a matter of days without straining the budget, so now I have time to do more of the things I'd rather do.  The third one I'm still working on - but I have got Mike to cook half of the time    so I guess I'm half way there on that one. 

What am I saying here? Are the goals you are pursuing something your spouse, kids or parents want?  Are they something advertising says you should want? Learning to tie all of the knots in the mariners' handbook sure isn't as cool sounding as going on a trip to Italy. Taking the time to pursue spiritual goals won't show up on a list of material items, but it may be more important to you than having a cool car.  You aren't going to find the motivation to follow your dreams through to the end if they aren't really your dreams. 

goals law of attraction motivation spirituality the secretgoals law of attraction motivation spirituality the secret

Which One Will Keep Me on Track?

There are hundreds of programs professing to teach how to manifest, how to harness the Law of Attraction, how to reach your goals, how to, how to, how to.  Then there are the "The Very Last XYZ That You Will Ever Need" courses, books, programs.  How do you know which one will work for you?  Why would you need more than one?  It's true that many self actualization gurus are in the arena to help people and on the other side many have merely jumped on the bandwagon to make money on a hot topic.  I'll leave that discussion for another day.   Now back to You.

Finding Your Personal Inspiration

How do you know which one will work?  Even though there are lots of really great programs out there, they might not work for you.  Unfortunately, the only way to find out which one gets you revved up and causes you to follow through is to try it.  You can do some background legwork and see what other people have to say.  If there are short courses or free trial lessons, check those out to see if it speaks your language.  Trial and error, paying attention, and a little bit of luck is what will find you what you need.

Experiences and Learning Styles Count

We all have different experiences and backgrounds that we bring to a learning experience.  They determine how we relate to the material we're looking at.  We take away what we are able to at that point.  If we revisit the same material months or years later, once again we will find new things because we bring new experiences to our understanding of the material.

There are a wide variety of learning styles, and some of us not only prefer to learn with one style, we may assimilate the material better or "hear" what is being said better.  I'm more visual and kinesthetic than auditory.  If I have to listen to a pure audio presentation with no materials to look at, I'll forget to pay attention.  Exercises where I actually have to do something work great.  If I get to an audio presentation that builds on something I'm already familiar with, then I'll get a lot more out of it. 

What Self Development Program Do You Need?

So why do you need more than one program?  Maybe you don't, but the chances are that your first purchase won't hit on the one that really wakes you up, sets you in the right direction, and keeps you going.  You may very well find that you need something different for each part of redirecting your life. You also may find that life has a way of getting you off track and that a nudge in new words from a new teacher is just what you need to get your enthusiasm back on line.

learning style personal development self developmentlearning style personal development self development