You've Created Everything In Your Life, Good or Bad...
The Universal Principle - Like Attracts Like
Whether you know it or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not, you have created everything in your life. You've done this through the Law of Attraction, or simply, what you put your focus on. Whenever you're thinking at all, you're using the Law of Attraction. Whether you're in debt, going through divorce, overweight, been cheated, or whether you're business is booming, your creativity is flowing, your love is blossoming - whatever you are experiencing or have ever experienced - you attracted into your life by what you focused on either consciously or subconsciously. (If you focus on something consciously, but your subconscious disagrees - you'll likely end up with what your subconscious believes - one reason some people don't seem to understand or believe in the Law of Attraction.)
Successful People Know & Use This Principle
Many, if not all, of the most successful people in the world, understand the power of this principle. Oprah says she's been living by The Secret for over 20 years, but she never knew it was a secret! In Oprah's words, she believes "what you focus on expands." Big-name spiritual and self-help gurus Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and others all know that what you think about expands so they only ever think about good things, being happy, and being successful in life - they all know that if they let themselves think of what could go wrong, it will, so they just think about things going right! In Napoleon Hill's best selling book, "Think and Grow Rich" he writes on over 25 years of research based on the wealthiest people in the country and they all lived by The Secret. Bill Gates even lives by The Secret!!! Though these people don't all refer to it as The Secret or even the Law of Attraction - they may just know that when they focus on what they want, they get what they want or better, and when they focus on what they don't want, they get what they don't want!
Haven't You Already Been Using It? - Now Use It to Your Advantage
You can also describe the concept that "like attracts like" as "you get what you expect in life". What you expect can be conscious or unconscious thoughts. Don't you find it's far more common that you get what you expect rather than getting something other than what you expected it? How you think about yourself is pretty much how you expect others to treat you, and how you expect people to treat you is usually how you are treated, right? If you think of yourself as dumb, ugly, awkward, or useless, etc. - you expect that others think of you that way too, and don't they seem to treat you that way? What happens if you start appreciated all the things you like about yourself, like "I'm always up to date on the news" or "at least if I do something dumb, I can make someone else laugh in the process" or "I treat my friends and family well" etc. - anything you like about yourself, acknowledge more and more. You'll start finding more you like about yourself, you'll expect others to see yourself as you see yourself, and they will! What about those people who act like everyone should kiss the ground they walk on, and for the life of you, you can't see why everyone practically does!? They think of themselves highly and they expect others to see them the same way, and they do! This doesn't mean you need to be arrogant - loving yourself and your qualities does not mean judging others - more likely when you truly love yourself you love others equally.
If you want more information on how to use The Law of Attraction, and attract what you want into your life instead of what you don't want... you can see the articles on this website: http://goodkarma.org/node/19 (Think and Grow Rich method), http://goodkarma.org/node/18 (Visualization method), http://goodkarma.org/node/17 (Vision Board method), or check the Forums and other Blog entries.
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The Materiaism of 'The Secret'
I have recently made two posts on my own blog regarding this topic. My first post was stating the obvious; which is simply that none of this is a 'secret'. My second, and most recent, post was about the crass materialism that is being promoted by 'The Secret' and, worse yet, by Oprah Winfrey.
The concept of using the 'law of attraction' to achieve personal amd material gain is antithetical in principle to the *true* teachings of the Mysteries. It is not a path for spiritual growth or enlightenment.
You can find my blog entries here: http://jratcliffscarab.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
John
"The Secret", Materialism, and Spiritual Enlightenment...
I want to thank John for his comment because it gives me the opportunity to respond with more depth and specifics about a topic which truly interests me and which I believe helps others in a big way. I responded to John's comments on his blog (not quite as eloquently as I have responded below).
Firstly, whether or not this information is a "secret" (meaning not generally apparent) depends on whose perspective you take - if you know it, then it's not a secret to you, but if you don't know it (which is likely the majority of Americans, based on statistics of happiness, health, wealth, and other things) then it is a secret. Moreover, the movie and book, "The Secret" and the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" would not have been nearly as successful if everyone already knew this stuff! But whether or not it is an actual "secret" is not important - these movies and these ideas not only give people hope, and tell us how to direct our lives toward what we want, but it tells us that happiness is a choice - a choice we get to make right now and in every moment, and it inspires us to pursue wealth and abundance in every aspect of the word - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially!
Secondly, "materialism" is defined in several different dictionaries, including American Herritage and Webster, as:
1. Preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.
2. The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life.
3. A great or excessive regard for worldly concerns.
4. A desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters.
5. A preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things.
If you watch Oprah's show, ever, or know anything about her as a person, I don't think you could call her materialistic or promoting of materialism. She is a spiritual and Christian woman who puts faith in God and talks about her beliefs in God; she does her show to help others - to reach people on mass levels because she believes she's providing value, not because she needs more money; she donates millions of her own dollars every year to charities she believes in - helping those in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, especially Africa; she is an intelligent woman who discusses politics and other important issues, and she loves and supports the arts, especially the writings of Maya Angelou. When Oprah features her favorite t-shirt or other item on her show, she says you have to buy this t-shirt because it's a great product, in that it's comfortable, durable, flattering, whatever - she does not say you have to buy this t-shirt because it's important as a material thing and more important than spirituality, ethics, or intellect! I think most people would consider Oprah a well balanced individual, if not a more pro-active and charitable individual than most, and wealthy in every sense of the word. By definition, Oprah Winfrey is not materialistic, nor does she promote materialism.
"The Secret" also does not promote, by definition, materialism. It teaches us, like quantum physics, that we are all connected by the same energy. "The Secret" calls this one universal energy, God. It highly supports the acceptance and practice of spirituality, while its main focus is to simply be happy. It doesn't say to seek pleasures that will make you happy - "The Secret" specifically says that nothing and no one but yourself can make you happy - it's your choice. But in addition to being happy, you can have other things added to your life that are material things, but these things are not to be valued above God (which is everything including you, other people, animals, oxygen, objects, etc.). I don't mean to say that materialism is not a problem in our country, but I believe that "The Secret" actually helps to eradicate materialism more than it helps to support it.
Furthermore, the Law of Attraction (the universal principle that like attracts like) (explained in "The Secret") is not necessarily meant to be used for spiritual growth or enlightenment. "The Secret" promotes spiritual growth and enlightenment in its concept of God, as well as self-reflection, and the practice of meditation. The Law of Attraction is merely meant to add things to people's lives once they are already spiritual and happy. People who are happy don't need things to make them feel happy or feel complete or feel better, so the possession of things in and of itself is not bad. It is only unfortunate for the individual, and the whole, when the individual thinks that possession of certain things will make them happy and that those things are more important than anything else - "materialism".
I would also like to add the best definition I found of "enlightenment": 'A blessed state in which the individual transcends desire and suffering and attains Nirvana (a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world).' I just want to suggest here, that there are many people who claim to be "enlightened" or "spiritually superior" to others because they renounce material things, but they aren't actually enlightened because they have not truly transcended and accepted what is, but rather are fighting against what is, as if there is a right and wrong, but there is no judgement in the state of enlightenment. Just food for thought! I welcome your comments!
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