Very wise words here. You are what you think you are. You can control your thoughts and actions. You can't control those of anyone else but you can control your own.
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Very wise words here. You are what you think you are. You can control your thoughts and actions. You can't control those of anyone else but you can control your own.
I hear what your saying and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing but I don't think you can wish for someone if there thoughts are not condusive with your own. In other words I don't think you can say I want "John." I think you can say though, "I want a man that can cook, likes science, dog lover, etc" and then a person matching that description may come to you if what he's wanting is what you have. Bluerose can probably provide a better explanation because she knows this much better then I do.Quote:
Originally Posted by faithl
As far as everybody being millionaires, that was actually covered in the movie and quite honesty that is the one part I seem to understand or was explained better then any other. Most people say they want to be millionaires but then go home and watch TV or surf the internet for hours (of which I'm completely guilty of) and then when the bills start coming in they complain about them or they ask themselves, "Why do I just get bills" or "Where am I always broke." People in mass are told from a young age that "money doesn't grow on trees" and "we can't afford that" and "maybe when we win the lottery." In other words people, unknowingly plant the seeds in children that money or an abundance of money is a bad thing. That is there focus and that is what they get. In other words they say they want money but they also have beliefs that tell them otherwise so they don't do anything that allows the money to come in.
In the movie, there was a part where Jack Canfield, who writes the "chicken soup for the soul" book talks about how he became a millionaire. The first time he tried it he was making $8000 a year and just asked for a $100,000 the following year. He then started to focus on that number and he kept doing it. After some time passed he came up with an idea for his book and followed it. He even throws you a curve ball and admits that he didn't make $100,000 that year. No, he "only" made $93,000. But he never would have got to $93,000 if he didn't focus his thoughts and continue to ask for the $100,000. He would still be stuck making $8000 doing what people who are broke usually do, and that is focus on being broke.
He then set his sights on a million and was the first author his publisher ever paid a million dollars too.
And one must remember that we have to take into account what 'John' is thinking. His mind may be set on getting something completely different to what you are after. As you say Chuff it isn't as simple as just focusing on something and it coming true. It is much deeper than that!Quote:
Originally Posted by chuff
It isn't even to do with what you focus on. You are creating everything and every outcome in your life through your thoughts.
It isn't about focusing on what you want. It's more about focusing on the fact that you are bringing everything into your life - whether you focus or whether you are even conscious of the fact, you are already doing it.
Your job is simply to pay attention to your thoughts and keep them as positive as is humanly possible in order to improve the quality of your life.
Here are some more thoughts on this for hopefully your amusement:
What we believe influences everything we do -- every feeling, every decision, every attraction or repelling of anything. So its reaaaaaaaaally important that we know what we believe, consciously and that it be accurate, accurate for who we are AND how the world works. Where it isn't accurate, we will experience trouble and mostly in proportion to how inaccuate it is. That trouble gets routinely misinterpreted. Its meant to tell us to look there, see, there is something off in what you do, feel, think... believe! Mostly what people do with that trouble is bury it in denial, the big killer of personal growth.
Let's look at someone employs denial. She is someone who is stuck with an emotional problem. She tells herself it will take more than she has to fix -- more time, more money, more effort. That is a lie but she tells it anyway and believes it. So what she now has to resort to in order to cover that lie is denial. She'll deny every piece of evidence that comes down the pike that could reveal this emotional problem she is letting remain unfixed and lying to herself about. That would be her business and it would be all fine and well if it were not for this...
What that tells the world at large is here is a person who has so little regard for herself that she won't bother to fix or even attempt to fix a problem. So who do you think that attracts? We are all subject to the millions and millions of tiny bits of information about each other that influences this stuff, don't kid yourself here. Who that attracts is someone who won't care very much about her or who doesn't care about themselves either-- in other words, careless people like herself. The rest of us will somehow know to intuitively back away or not engage her. So the person with the problem that she refuse to fix is very likely to get hurt by someone she attracted and cry "Oh, its not my fault -- look at how they blah blah blah!"
How the other person is... is not her fault but who she attracted is. She won't bother making that distinction but instead will cling fast to her denial system, thereby ensuring she'll continue to have that sort of problem-attraction-denial merrygoround experience. Eventually that denial will move into her subconscious and she won't even be aware of it.
It works something like this only this is a very very very one dimensional simplistic version of one tiny aspect of it. There are dozens of others I am aware of and I have only begun to scratch the surface.
Once a person makes the necessary awarenesses and connections in their own life about matters such as these, they talk a different language. Those who haven't won't understand fully unless and until they do likewise. This is exactly how I understand as much as I do about others. I understand exactly that much about myself. If I can't relate to something someone does, I can only guess or give opinions, not actual tried and tested solutions. That is why there is such power in the solution that begins... "here is what I did, learned, saw, came to understand."
Phew, sorry, I wrote a whole chapter here and didn't realise it. We can talk about conscious versus subconscious later, I guess. LOL
Chuff said this cool thing in another thread but I think it belongs here too...
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuff
I agree with you for the most part…..
The connection and the effect we have on each others lives…
But I believe we can learn to 'fine tune' that. Fixing it so that we have much more control over our own life and reality.
We begin to realise that everyone is on a journey, a personal journey, and we have no right to interfere with their journey any more than they have the right to interfere with ours.
In most cases where we think we are helping them we are in fact hindering them - holding them back.
There must come a time when you stop being 'in the crowd', a time when you become, and then stop being, a spectator (I feel quite a few of us are at this stage), and then the time comes to realise that it is you doing it.
We can help our family and friends by silently wishing them well, and by having positive thoughts about them, and perhaps wanting, not what we want for them but, what they want for themselves.
We are very capable of writing our own scripts, creating a beautiful plan for our life, a blueprint for happiness, peace and prosperity.
"The trick is to always know my intentions and should they become temporarily suspect, take a break until it passes."
Totally agree, I try try try to do this as best I can, I think it's a very healthy thing to do. I find that it's really hard for me at times though, (taking a break, letting go) but I am still learning this whole law of attraction deal, it's all new to me.
The truth is that it is happening all the time. With every thought you have you draw stuff to you. The important thing is to be more positive in your thinking.
100 Quotes From - The Secret
"
1. We all work with one infinite power
2. The Secret is the Law of Attraction (LOA)
3. Whatever is going on in your mind is what you are attracting
4. We are like magnets - like attract like. You become AND attract what you think
5. Every thought has a frequency. Thoughts send out a magnetic energy
6. People think about what they don't want and attract more of the same
7. Thought = creation. If these thoughts are attached to powerful emotions (good or bad) that speeds the creation
8. You attract your dominant thoughts
9. Those who speak most of illness have illness, those who speak most of prosperity have it..etc..
10. It's not "wishful" thinking.
11. You can't have a universe without the mind entering into it
12. Choose your thoughts carefully .. you are a masterpiece of your life
13. It's OK that thoughts don't manifest into reality immediately (if we saw a picture of an elephant and it instantly appeared, that would be too soon)
14. EVERYTHING in your life you have attracted .. accept that fact .. it's true.
15. Your thoughts cause your feelings
16. We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.
17. Thoughts that bring about good feelings mean you are on the right track. Thoughts that bring about bad feelings means you are not on the right track.
18. Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming
19. You get exactly what you are FEELING
20. Happy feelings will attract more happy circumstances
21. You can begin feeling whatever you want (even if it's not there).. the universe will correspond to the nature of your song
22. What you focus on with your thought and feeling is what you attract into your experience
23. What you think and what you feel and what actually manifests is ALWAYS a match - no exception
24. Shift your awareness
25. "You create your own universe as you go along" Winston Churchill
26. It's important to feel good ( ( ( (((good))) ) ) )
27. You can change your emotion immediately .. by thinking of something joyful, or singing a song, or remembering a happy experience
28. When you get the hang of this, before you know it you will KNOW you are the creator
29. Life can and should be phenomenal .. and it will be when you consciously apply the Law of Attraction
30. Universe will re-arrange itself accordingly
31. Start by using this sentence for all of your wants: "I'm so happy and grateful now that.... "
32. You don't need to know HOW the universe is going to rearrange itself
33. LOA is simply figuring out for yourself what will generate the positive feelings of having it NOW
34. You might get an inspired thought or idea to help you move towards what you want faster
35. The universe likes SPEED. Don't delay, don't second-guess, don't doubt..
36. When the opportunity or impulse is there .. ACT
37. You will attract everything you require - money, people, connections.. PAY ATTENTION to what's being set in front of you
38. You can start with nothing .. and out of nothing or no way - a WAY will be provided.
39. HOW LONG??? No rules on time .. the more aligned you are with positive feelings the quicker things happen
40. Size is nothing to the universe (unlimited abundance if that's what you wish) We make the rules on size and time
41. No rules according to the universe .. you provide the feelings of having it now and the universe will respond
42. Most people offer the majority of their thought in response to what they are observing (bills in the mail, being late, having bad luck...etc..)
43. You have to find a different approach to what is through a different vantage point
44. "All that we are is a result of what we have thought" - Buddha
45. What can you do right now to turn your life around?? Gratitude
46. Gratitude will bring more into our lives immediately
47. What we think about and THANK about is what we bring about
48. What are the things you are grateful for?? Feel the gratitude.. focus on what you have right now that you are grateful for
49. Play the picture in your mind - focus on the end result
50. VISUALIZE!!! Rehe**** your future
51. VISUALIZE!!! See it, feel it! This is where action begins
52. Feel the joy .. feel the happiness )
53. An affirmative thought is 100 times more powerful than a negative one
54. "What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists." Alexander Graham Bell
55. Our job is not to worry about the "How". The "How" will show up out of the commitment and belief in the "what"
56. The Hows are the domain of the universe. It always knows the quickest, fastest, most harmonious way between you and your dream
57. If you turn it over to the universe, you will be surprised and dazzled by what is delivered .. this is where magic and miracles happen
58. Turn it over to the universe daily.. but it should never be a chore.
59. Feel exhilarated by the whole process .. high, happy, in tune
60. The only difference between people who are really living this way is they have habituated ways of being.
61. They remember to do it all the time
62. Create a Vision Board .. pictures of what you want to attract .. every day look at it and get into the feeling state of already having acquired these wants
63. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein
64. Decide what you want .. believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it's possible for you
65. Close your eyes and visualize having what you already want - and the feeling of having it already.
66. Focus on being grateful for what you have already .. enjoy it!! Then release into the universe. The universe will manifest it.
67. "Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve" W. Clement Stone
68. Set a goal so big that if you achieved it, it would blow your mind.
69. When you have an inspired thought, you must trust it and act on it.
70. How can you become more prosperous?? INTEND IT!!
71. 'Checks are coming in the mail regularly'... or change your bank statement to whatever balance you want in there... and get behind the feeling of having it.
72. Life is meant to be abundant in ALL areas...
73. Go for the sense of inner joy and peace then all outside things appear
74. We are the creators of our universe
75. Relationships: Treat yourself the way you want to be treated by others .. love yourself and you will be loved
76. Healthy respect for yourself
77. For those you work with or interact with regularly .. get a notebook and write down positive aspects of each of those people.
78. Write down the things you like most about them (don't expect change from them). Law of attraction will not put you in the same space together if you frequencies don't match
79. When you realize your potential to feel good, you will ask no one to be different in order for you to feel good.
80. You will free yourself from the cumbersome impossibilities of needing to control the world, your friends, your mate, your children....
81. You are the only one that creates your reality
82. No one else can think or feel for you .. its YOU .. ONLY YOU.
83. Health: thank the universe for your own healing. Laugh, stress free happiness will keep you healthy.
84. Immune system will heal itself
85. Parts of our bodies are replace every day, every week..etc... Within a few years we have a brand new body
86. See yourself living in a new body. Hopeful = recovery. Happy = happier biochemistry. Stress degrades the bod.
87. Remove stress from the body and the body regenerates itself. You can heal yourself
88. Learn to become still .. and take your attention away from what you don't want, and place your attention on what you wish to experience
89. When the voice and vision on the inside become more profound and clear than the opinions on the outside, then you have mastered your life
90. You are not here to try to get the world to be just as you want it. You are here to create the world around you that you choose.
91. And allow the world as others choose to see it, exist as well
92. People think that if everyone knows the power of the LOA there won't be enough to go around .. This is a lie that's been ingrained in us and makes so many greedy.
93. The truth is there is more than enough love, creative ideas, power, joy, happiness to go around.
94. All of this abundance begins to shine through a mind that is aware of it's own infinite nature. There's enough for everyone. See it. Believe it. it will show up for you.
95. So let the variety of your reality thrill you as you choose all the things you want.. get behind the good feelings of all your wants.
96. Write your script. When you see things you don't want, don't think about them, write about them, talk about them, push against them, or join groups that focus on the don't wants... remove your attention from don't wants.. and place them on do wants
97. We are mass energy. Everything is energy. EVERYTHING.
98. Don't define yourself by your body .. it's the infinite being that's connected to everything in the universe.
99. One energy field. Our bodies have distracted us from our energy. We are the infinite field of unfolding possibilities. The creative force.
100. Are your thoughts worthy of you? If not - NOW is the time to change them. You can begin right were you are right now. Nothing matters but this moment and what you are focusing your attention on.
Not to be a grinch about it, but this does have a dark side to it. What does it mean if a tornado takes away your house with your children in it, or a tsunami hits your beach or a hurricane hits your city, or a loved one is gravely injured or dies in a terrible accident, or is diagnosed with a gruesome and disabling illness, or any other of the million tragedies that flesh is heir to? If we're not very careful, all this happy talk about creating your own reality can turn to blaming the victim for secretly harboring negative thoughts that manifest as tragedy. If the tragedy happens to us, we may feel guilty for bringing it on ourselves; if it happens to others, we may feel smug and superior. Here's a link to a review of "The Secret" that makes the point more eloquently than I can.
For myself, I do see the importance of having an optomistic outlook, not continually dwelling on negative or morbid thoughts, looking for the silver lining, and all the rest of it. But all of that has to do with internal attitude, not external events and circumstances. As soon as we make the leap to believing that our positive thoughts will prevent any bad or tragic events from happening to us, we're setting ourselves up for some hard lessons. Our true character is revealed more by how we handle life's inevitable losses than how we deal with success and good fortune. Sure, success and plenty is more fun, but failure and loss may be more revealing, and ultimately more valuable. The real trick is to know and act from the highest center of our being that is serene, secure and unmoved by either success or failure, triumph or tragedy.
I have only read about The Secret on the net.
I read a much better book back in my twenties which I believe the others to be based on. It comes in twenty-four parts and you are advised to read one part a week and give your brain time to digest the information.
I agree that it is like a kind of brain washing and not for everyone. But if you, like me, had had an awful abusive childhood with no real guidance, it is a wonderful tool for getting us broken people back on track.
I personally think a warning should come with The Secret. I think one does with The Masterkey -
Free Ebook - The Master Key System
PsiTek - The Master Key System - FREE
I swear by this book.
I have hesitated getting the other one, I don't really know why except to say that I don't trust it.
The list above was from the web and I thought it might be interesting to add it to this thread. This is not to say that I agree with the whole list.
I also agree with you about the meaning and the result of taking responsibility for our own lives. In doing so we accept responsibility for everything that happens to us - to Us - not anyone else. We each need to take responsibility for our own life, and the fact that we are what we think, and we get what we think we are going to get.
I believe the whole point if the matter is that we are just becoming awake to this fact and yes there will be a lot of blaming and victims but not once we get the full grasp of what The Law Of Attraction means.
All that we feel responsible for now won't be here for us to worry about once we get the hang of creating our own reality.
I’m happy to discuss this some more.
It is rather a difficult concept to get our heads around.
In the end, we all have our own beliefs and rightly so. But we can discuss and share other’s beliefs without taking them onboard.
"They all endorse a book, with its clever "Da Vinci Code"-like cover, that presents the law of attraction as the ultimate shortcut to success and the American dream. Anyone who wants it badly enough can be a millionaire, the president, even an American Idol."
This is where The Secret lets itself down. Makes it sound like another 'How To Get Rich Quick' book.
This is such a shame because it hides the real meaning of The Law Of Attraction. And it is not about getting rich. It is about realising that you are getting everything you think about, dwell on, on a subconscious level. Your worries and your fears. Worry about debt and you get more debt, worry about your house catching fire and your house catches fire. Then you say, "I knew that was going to happen."
Forget about getting rich. And, instead, begin to cultivate positive thinking.
The quality of your life will depend on the quality of your thoughts.
People are just beginning to realise that they can control their thoughts. And the next step is to think about what you want not what you don't want.
PLAN to see the best in everyone you meet. PLAN a positive future. PLAN to live forever!
We are done with 'Go with the flow'. It is time to create a plan for your life. A beautiful blueprint for your future.
You are getting what you think about the most. Try a few little experiments - think of something you want, something small and quite obtainable. You can get to the bigger stuff as your confidence in this grows.
"Still worse is the insidious flip side of Byrne's philosophy: If bad things happen to you, it's all your fault. As surely as your thoughts bring health, wealth and love, they are also responsible for any illness, poverty or misery that comes your way."
It's not about fault. There is no fault you can only be at fault if you knew you were doing wrong. Most don't know or even understand how this works, therefore, they are not at fault.
"That isn't just implied, it's spelled out: "The only reason why people do not have what they want is because they are thinking more about what they don't want than what they do want." By this logic, Holocaust victims brought it on themselves, as did those who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina. Come on, New Orleans, get over it! Think positive!"
This is a very good point. But it can be true without being their fault.
Jesus on the cross said, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."
I know this has nothing to do with Jesus but that statement rings true for all of us in the context of The Masterkey (perhaps not The Secret) - which was banned by the catholic church back in 1700s because I suspect they also thought the information would be dangerous in the wrong hands - But we must also forgive ourselves.
"For a few weeks, I joked with customers about this nonsense. One evening, I was talking to a regular who said she had come in to buy "The Secret" to "see what the fuss is about." A problem with the book, we agreed, is that it says nothing about old-fashioned luck. We hit on the word at the same time and laughed. But after she left, I took a closer look, and all at once the book's blame-the-victim philosophy didn't seem so funny."
I don't believe in 'luck' or 'accident' or 'coincidence' - Can't explain it. Just know that there is a reason for everything. And that reason lies in what we think about the most.
"Not even "Saturday Night Live," taking a poke at "The Secret's" finger-pointing fallacies, could make it so. One recent weekend, the show featured a skit about a man in Darfur being interviewed by Winfrey and Byrne. They scolded him when he lamented that his people were starving, saying it was all the result of his lousy attitude. That was played for laughs, but later that week I watched Bob Proctor, author of "You Were Born Rich" and one of the "gurus" Byrne quotes most often, being asked on "Nightline" whether the starving children of Darfur had "manifested" -- that is, visualized -- their own misery. In utter seriousness, he replied, "I think the country probably has.""
This may sound completely bazaar but did your mother ever tell you to eat all your food because you didn't know how lucky you are because there are people starving in Africa?
As well as creating our own reality, we need to be aware of how that effects other people.
Sorry, I know how bazaar this is all sounding.
I used to complain, when I was tired after doing shopping, "Oh, my back is killing me." I suffered for three years with a serious back problem until I decided to stop saying that. When I got frustrated with my children's demands I used to say, "You are a pain in the neck." I suffered with neck pain for a while until I decided to stop saying that. I just don't know how else to explain it. I always find a parking space, I always have a green light. My whole life is so much easier. I didn't deal too well with stress, I actually got a pain in my chest when I felt harassed. Now I simply sit back knowing everything is happening for a reason and any changes that happen ARE for the best.
"Imperfect thoughts are the cause of humanity's ills."
It's more a case of negative and positive thoughts. Not imperfections. Some of the terminology is unfortunate. Positive is good but this doesn't mean that negative is bad. Negative is not bad it simply draws our attention to things we should deal with. If we ignore these things what we get are negative results and those could be harmful.
"Poverty? "The only reason any person does not have enough money is because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thoughts.""
There isn't only one reason why people are not getting money. I don't want money. I have had money. I am one of those strange people who would give money away. Money doesn't mean anything to me beyond keeping a roof over my head and food in my fridge. I want more. I want to feel good about myself. I want to believe that there is more to life than living and dying. I'm not religious because religion only goes so far - I have read The Masterkey and I have read The Bible. Now what? Where do I go from here. I want to know who and what I am. I want to know why I am here and where I am going when I'm done here.
Who really needs money when you can think about what you want and have it - money is the middle man, cut out the middle man. Learn about The Law Of Attrition.
"Illness? "You cannot 'catch' anything unless you think you can. . . . You are also inviting illness if you are listening to people talking about their illness." So . . . got any sick friends who need a shoulder to cry on? Tell 'em to bug off! As for Elizabeth Edwards -- how selfish is she? By making people think about her cancer, she's basically giving them the disease."
There is no need to tell sick people to 'bug off' once you understand the law of attraction - learn to attract only that which you so desire.
"The law of attraction "is not the answer to everything. It is not the answer to atrocities or every tragedy. It is just one law. Not the only law. And certainly, certainly, certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme." - Winfrey
I'll go along with that. There is a whole lot more to it. We need to forget about getting rich and simply think about improving the quality of our lives and life on this planet.
Just some thoughts of mine.
A story -
This Easter weekend I had two little grandsons coming over to stay. They bring their movies and their game consoles with them. I have one TV on which I only watch DVDs and videos, I don't watch TV. There is a spare TV in the bedroom on which the kids watch their movies and play their games. I like them to play quietly as I have an elderly neighbour in the flat below me. On Friday one TV conked out, nothing, dead. I brought the other one into the sitting room, thought I'd put it back when the kids came over later. The picture began to flicker. They are or were quite old but of all the weekend for them to breakdown. Now what do I do with two little kids who loved their movies and their games.. . And just for the record yes I had been thinking I need to get a new TV there not going to last much longer - wrong I know, I should have been more positive.. . Anyway, just as the kids are arriving on Friday evening, being helped up the stairs with their stuff by mum and dad, my next door neighbour opened his door and said, "Do you have any use for a TV?! I have one going spare and just thought the kids might like it."
More debt is the result of spending more than you take in. If you stop worrying but keep spending, debt will still grow. And what if you DON'T worry about your house catching fire but it DOES catch fire? Whose thoughts caused that to happen?Quote:
Originally Posted by bluerose
This I agree with wholeheartedly. But the quality of your life does NOT depend on getting what you want and having good things rather than bad things happen to you. High-quality thoughts are what allow us to endure even the bad things in life with equanimity.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluerose
I just don't see it as having much to do with wanting and getting. The physical world (which includes our body and our brain) is a wild and dangerous place. No one gets out alive and without some measure of loss, suffering and disappointment. To pretend otherwise is just delusional. The power of positive thinking is the power to rise above the physical world and make something beautiful and meaningful and satisfying out of even the bad events and circumstances that bedevil us. It is not the power to prevent all the bad things and cause only good things to happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluerose
ordinaryguy,
Hi! Don't you just love a good debate? Lol
Thanks for sharing.
I don't always agree with this stuff. But then something will happen to bring me back to it again and again.
I am just now re-reading The Masterkey System. I think that's what has sparked this all off again.
I don't usually discuss my views about it but when a thread or a post hits on it, I'm right in there. Lol
Please don't let anything I say bother you. I'm still searching for answers myself. And my curiosity is enormous where this subject is concerned.
I enjoy reading your take on things and I enjoyed reading from the link you left.
I'm quite open minded and don't mind my views and opinions being stirred up on occasion, keeps me from getting too set in my ways.
Happy to hear about any thoughts you may have on this topic.
May I ask if you have read The Masterkey or The Secret?
Made a mistake posted twice. Sorry.
You have my permission to take this with a pinch of salt.
"More debt is the result of spending more than you take in. If you stop worrying but keep spending, debt will still grow."
No. Think about being debt free and the Universe sets in motion whatever it will take to get you out of debt - You begin to spend less!
"And what if you DON'T worry about your house catching fire but it DOES catch fire? Whose thoughts caused that to happen?"
A jealous neighbour? Another reason why it is important to get on with other people. Seriously.
"I just don't see it as having much to do with wanting and getting."
I agree. Just words. It is more to do with what we think about and worry about the most.
"No one gets out alive and without some measure of loss, suffering and disappointment."
True. But what we are becoming aware of is that in the past people used to just accept these things as 'just the way life is'. Today we have so much more choice. We learn to counter-act rather than react. We know if we don't do what we can some situations will only get worse. I think it's more about dealing with what comes as positively as we can. Doesn't mean bad stuff will just go away. We still have to contend with what other people think of us.
"The power of positive thinking is the power to rise above the physical world and make something beautiful and meaningful and satisfying out of even the bad events and circumstances that bedevil us."
True.
Bluerose--
Yes. I do enjoy a good debate, especially with someone like you who can do it without getting all ego-threatened.
I guess for me the central issue is whether thoughts (or prayer, or God, or "The Universe") CAUSE things to happen in the physical world. More specifically, whether EVERYTHING that happens in the physical world is caused by some sentient being's thought, whether consciously or unconsciously. Honestly, I doubt it. For example, the movement of tectonic plates causes an earthquake that causes a tsunami. I really don't see much of a role for thoughts in that chain of events. But then there's the discarded cigarette butt that starts a forest fire. In that case, a thought-less act is at least part of the cause, aided by dry conditions and a strong enough wind from the right direction. But if a lightning strike starts the fire, then we're back to a thought-free cause.
I guess I'm somewhat more comfortable with the idea of influence than cause. What I mean is that there may be many influences, including but not limited to the thoughts of one or more persons, that combine to bring events to fruition. This could explain why each person's individual thoughts don't usually manifest immediately as events.
It also seems to me that there's a distinction to be made between the cause of an event and the reason for it. You mentioned that you believe that "everything happens for a reason". I'm not so sure I do, but maybe I don't really understand what you mean by that. Do you mean that every event in the physical world is initiated by the thought or will of a conscious being with a specific purpose or goal in mind? Or maybe do you mean that we humans can MAKE meaning (a reason) out of events that are caused by the impersonal working of the laws of physics, without help from anybody's thoughts?
I find myself ambivalent bordering on dismissive of a lot of the new-agey pseudo-religious happy talk about such things. On the other hand, a strictly mechanistic 19th century scientific view of the world doesn't fit too comfortably either. There does seem to be a lot more going on here than meets the eye, and a certain measure of humility and tentativeness is called for in all attempts to explain the interconnections between mind, energy and matter, it seems to me.
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