How much of “the way of the world” do we truly understand consciously? Is it possible we understand it more unconsciously than we do consciously?

Or in other words, do we have an awareness of how the world works that is deeper and broader than our conscious awareness?

It seems to me that some people are very comfortable answering Yes to this question. I definitely fall into this category.

Then there are those that seem to carry a deep seated disdain for this type of thinking. To me, it seems that these folks fear or resent or simply invalidate the idea that inner-thinking and inner-experience can reveal any sort of truth about the world outside.

But I would ask… no matter how much we learn through science, no matter how much we measure all the amazing objects “out there”… how much do we really know about them?

If anything, we have a tendency to replace the open and mysterious with poorly understood concepts. In the end, these concepts simply become props on the stage upon which we play out our lives’ greatest acts.

A great example of this is our very understanding of this thing we call The Universe.

Much like the term God, this term… “The Universe” will mean very different things to different people. I got a chuckle out of this patronizing and snide post that belittles a person for feeling gratitude toward The Universe. After all, how could another person’s belief system possibly measure up to our own?

Ours is right. Ours is true. Ours makes sense.

Even if we simply try to comprehend a more or less scientific understanding of The Universe - what the heck is it? I am college educated. I understand the basics. But the more we know, the more we learn about what we do not know.

I mean, I “get it” — to a degree.

But still… c’mon. Just how big is it? What’s outside of it? Nothing, you say? Am I able to truly comprehend nothingness? Seriously… how can my brain truly comprehend the age, size, or complexity of something like “The Universe”??? And yet, there it is - a word used in everyday language that we all just assume means something more or less specific.

I will never forget sitting in front of the TV as a kid watching in absolute amazement as Carl Sagan talked to me about the science of the Universe. I love this quote:

“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”

~ Carl Sagan

I agree entirely, and can only guess that we would go about our grasping by different means :)

I also appreciate the work of Stephen W. Hawking, who said:

“Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?”

Indeed… what is it that breathes fire into the equations?

Any answer offered up rides on waves of language from you to me. Verbal Conscious Language is inherently limited.

And so we come back to the root of the question… how do we know?

Knowing bubbles up from within. Only when a deep inner knowing matches the language and words coming to us through Verbal-Conscious-Language do we recognize it. There must be a mutual context, a shared world view… you and I must co-exist in the same ecosystem of thought for us to even see one another as valid Providers and Consumers of Language and Thought.

What’s more - this deep inner knowing is larger and broader than the outer knowing. Our lives are full of opportunities to see this knowing play out in a variety of contrasting ways. For any shallow prop on the stage, we can knock it down and replace it with the real thing. A thing of depth and dimension.

This play of life is what life is about. It is about creativity, exploration, and Joy. And when our deep inner-knowing aligns with our outer awareness, things feel lighter and easier. Things happen. There is more Joy. There is inherently less conflict.

In this state of being, there is resonance.

Resonance is defined as: “the state of a system in which an abnormally large vibration is produced in response to an external stimulus, occurring when the frequency of the stimulus is the same, or nearly the same, as the natural vibration frequency of the system”.

The Universe is a word that points to an idea… and for me, this idea is a place which is a system. It is a system of energetic information. I am part of that system. I am of the system. Does the system care about me? Yes - very much so. And No - not at all. This is the problem with language. Just because I can ask a question does not mean it is a valid question. Just because I answer it one way does not mean I cannot answer it another.

When Abraham-Hicks states “there is great love for you here”, we will each hear what we are drawn to hearing. Our understanding will depend on our alignment with the words and thoughts.

I’ll leave you with a big Thank You for reading these thoughts, and with this quote from Alan Watts:

“You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean. The ocean waves, and the universe peoples. And as I wave and say to you ‘Yoo-hoo!’ the world is waving with me at you and saying ‘Hi! I’m here!’ “

Have you found yourself asking… Does this Law of Attraction stuff really work? How does it work?

If so, I would like to pose a couple of other questions to you…

1. What do you have to lose to try it?

2. Why do you care about how it works?

As word spreads about the site, and new members sign up, I am still a primary contributor to the high Vibe it site. The topic of interest to me these days has been the Law of Attraction material. As I read up, it still amuses me how much hype there is pro and con surrounding the movie The Secret.

I am also struck by the number of extremely judgmental and hyper-critical posts and commentary on the topic. The comments seem to fall into a few broad categories… (this is where I get to be extreme and judgmental* :)

* note: - I am responding here to comments I have come across in blogs… I am not judging whole segments of the population at large…

1. I am a scientist, or a “believer” in science. Your voodoo is not scientific, therefore, it must be rubbish. And, by the way, you are stupid for thinking these things. We all know science answers all of the important questions in life, and if science can’t prove it, then you might as well be worshipping the tooth fairy as far as I am concerned.
2. I am a Christian… and we Christians know that JC is the ONLY way to salvation and heaven. You “Secret” people are a scary, scary materialistic cult that wants nothing but money, money, money. Therefore you must be evil. I think the devil might even be behind the Secret. (You could write a variation of this item for each religious tradition.)
3. Then there are the people that consider themselves already so enlightened about the misery inherent in existence that it just plain strikes them as absurd that anyone could suggest otherwise.
4. To be fair, I believe there are people who have evolved their own sense of things to the degree that they are already quite liberated from the common baggage that life brings with it. These individuals have no need to understand a different system because theirs already works just fine, thank you very much. I also believe that these individuals can thrive in a multitude of belief systems, and function well within the confines of long standing traditions.

Well friends, if I were to put on my Law of Attraction colored glasses - I would see that everyone that falls into the above categories are correct! That’s right… their opinions match the world they live in. The world they live in is created by their thoughts about that world. For some, it works very well. For others, life is nothing but a constant stream of conflict and failure. In other cases, it’s just a mixture that appears to be randomly served up by existence… sometimes good, sometimes hard.

This reminds me of the Dr. Wayne Dyer quote:

“Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.”

If any of this critical thinking about The Law of Attraction concerns you, I would offer up a few ideas to stir the pot o’ thoughts in your noggin…

1. Many of the critics are responding to “The Secret”, and what’s more… some of them haven’t even seen it, and are simply reacting to and resisting the hype and the media treatment of the movie. From what I understand, The Secret is a highly marketed and simplified version of some of the teachings of The Law of Attraction. It does not deal with the complex issues. No movie could deal with these complexities in a period of a couple of hours. Also, keep in mind that The Secret is new. The Law of Attraction is anything but.
2. The Law of Attraction is many things to many people. This really bothers some people. It makes perfect sense to me. Abraham-Hicks teaches that their interpretation of TLOA is just one interpretation, and encourage everyone to find the interpretation that makes the most sense to them. This is radical… in that it directs the individual to trust themselves above organized institutions… that is to say, trust their real selves… their higher power, inner-self, inner being. Many of the critics seem very afraid of this concept. I think this fear is based on deeply held beliefs that people are inherently weak, stupid, sinful, or whatever other negative term you want to throw in there. The teachings I have tuned in to from the Abraham-Hicks material align much more closely with the idea that we are born as inherently good beings, and then we allow ourselves to become negative.
3. Like any belief based system, you have to believe in order to get the benefits of the system. Critics, by definition, are not believers. Of course they don’t see the benefits.
4. The teachings of The Law of Attraction will manifest in alignment with the belief system of the person receiving the teachings. What does this mean? It means that if a Christian has an open mind, and hears the message, this person is likely to benefit and actively, deliberately CREATE a more Christian life. If a person who is focused on the material plane of life listens and absorbs the message, this person will find greater happiness, and greater material prosperity. How is this different from any belief system??? It’s not.

So, let’s revisit the questions with which we began…

Does this Law of Attraction stuff really work?

I have yet to come across very many voices that have given it a real chance and walked away convinced that there is nothing to it. What is more common is to find people who have studied and worked with it for years, and have evolved their thinking and understanding well beyond the messages being broadcast by The Secret movie.

How does it work?

You will find many answers to this question on the web, and all around you. I believe the variety of answers to the How question directly correlates to the wonderful diversity of life experience and thought systems present in the people that come to experience the benefits of this way of thinking.

My response is to restate these questions:

What do you have to lose to try it?

If you are an open minded person, and looking for ways to extend your mind and spirit… you have nothing to lose. There are processes you will learn that will benefit you for a long time to come… whether you work with this material for one week or one year. Despite the attempts by the media to find a new boogie man here, there is nothing inherently risky, damaging, or destructive in the teachings of The Law of Attraction.

An honest dive into this material will bring to you more self-awareness and more self-knowledge. Those are always benefits according to my world view :)

Why do you care about how it works?

If you reason for caring is fear based, you might want to take a closer look at that fear first.

If you are worried about what others will think, or afraid it will take you places you don’t want to go… these are very self-limiting fears and constraints. You might find some relief from these constraints in the teachings of The Law of Attraction. You will certainly benefit from these teachings to a far greater degree if you set yourself free from these constraints early in the process.

The bigger point here is - why does it matter how it works, so long as it works? Of course, what it means “to work” will be different for everyone.

As my father always said “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. I believe that trying to answer the How question is trying to fix a problem we haven’t really yet identified.

To borrow from the Abraham-Hicks teachings… do you really care how the water gets to your faucet when you are thirsty? Stop and think for a minute about the amazing variety and number of things we do each day as inputs into systems - the mechanics of which we don’t really understand.

So, How Does the Law of Attraction work?

Ok… let’s say you still want to know what I think about this question.

I’ll preface my answer with three important notes…

1. My primary teachers on the topic of Intention and The Law of Attraction have been Dr. Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and the Abraham-Hicks material.
2. My thinking is also heavily influenced by my exposure to the teachings of Christ, A Course in Miracles, and my training in college studying psychology and philosophy.
3. Like you, I am always learning… my answer tomorrow will be slightly different from my answer today.

I tend to believe we have this thing I’ll call the brain-mind. The brain, from what I can tell, is a highly evolved and complex organ capable of reflection upon itself, and as such… is capable of reflecting on the nature of the Universe. Where the physical brain meets this element of self-awareness which is a 100% mirror of awareness of “other”… this is the brain-mind. Or, if you suits you better, you can call it the mind-brain :)

I tend to think of The Law of Attraction works by teaching us how to better use our brain-mind. It changes the focus. It helps us understand our point of Power… which is the Choice we have each and every moment.

Choice = Freedom = Power

It helps direct us to the Moment, where all possibilities unfold.

It liberates us from our self-created drama. Drama requires time. A past, and a future. The Now is drama free.

It reminds us that life is inherently Joyful. Our very existence is a demonstration of Abundance in the Universe. There is Joy in Being. To quote Abraham-Hicks… this is why we are called human beings, not human doings.

How The Law of Attraction works is by teaching the brain-mind to recognize patterns of how things work inside and outside of itself, and by teaching it how to use it’s own energy more efficiently, effectively, and in a way that is inherently more Joyful.

But don’t take my word for it. Give it whirl. Have some fun. Enjoy the journey!

Take a look at the high Vibe it site for more on the topic of The Law of Attraction. Have resources you’d like to share? Please submit them here for the benefit of others!

This is a “just for me” kind of post… I just want to write about memories that remind me of the love and joy I have been so blessed to find in my life.

These are a few good memories - just a random snapshot of the things that come to mind when I find a good feeling inside and float back through time when I felt these kinds of things…

The Concrete Blonde concert - it was the early 90s. I felt great. Life seemed completely open to me. I was with my best friends, and the music was awesome. It was the first time I heard Smashing Pumpkins - they were passing out promo music… little did I dream I would be moving to Chicago someday!

The mountain in Vermont - It was the mid eighties… but the memories are timeless. I have never before or since felt such a palpable sensation of the life around me. I arrived in early summer, and it just seemed you could feel the growth of the mountain trees and plants - feel it deep inside your chest. The air was thick and rich. The nights were peaceful. The people I met that summer in Vermont hold a special place in my heart to this day.

I have fond memories of writing letters to my friends back in Ohio. I was blown away on a recent visit back to my hometown when a good friend of mine handed me letters I had written from way back then!

Many stories come from that summer - including the overly friendly raccoon that befriended me at my night job at the lumber yard, the night we visited my roommate’s father’s place of business - the funeral home - in the middle of the night, and the Jehovah’s witnesses that took me in towards the end of the summer and gave me a painting job. Too bad we never really got around to painting much!

Six Flags in September of 2001 - I have this fantastic memory of visiting Six Flags with my happy little family just before 9/11… I was happily married at that time, and my wife was carrying our daughter… and our son was six years old… it was September, sunny, and everything seemed absolutely perfect. I felt proud, strong, happy, safe, and so satisfied with life. Almost feels like a postcard in my mind!

My last Thanksgiving with my mom - my mother loved the holidays… and Thanksgiving was always a special one for our family. My mother passed away this last December. I miss her terribly. Even though she was already very sick last Thanksgiving, I remember seeing the pride in her eyes as she looked around the table at her children and grandchildren with so much love. The food was prepared by the kids - but under her direction and using her dishes - so it felt like old times to me! I found myself facing so much loss on a day that was meant for giving Thanks - and felt blessed that I was able to be with my mother on that day.

I am so grateful for the people I have known, the places I have lived, and for all of the gifts of love and support I have received in my life.

There are things in my past that I find myself missing profoundly at times… but I just have to remind myself how important it is to let go in order to make way for new experiences and new life.

And what better time of year to contemplate the gifts of death and of renewal? New life comes from the death and letting go of old life. Nothing lasts forever.

Joy in life comes from Presence - being present in the moment… Life is Now.

Just allowing myself to get into the habit of noting the many things for which I feel gratitude from time to time.

Today the list includes:

• My kids - they rock & add more richness to my life than I could have ever imagined
• My friends and family - you know who you are :)
• Coffee - today is Seattle’s Best, Henry’s blend
• Music - so far today it’s Superchick, Regina Spektor, Three Days Grace
• “The Internets” - each and every one of ‘em!
• My job, coworkers, home, car, bike, the rain, my pillows, the moon, my dry basement, all of my dreams, and list just goes on and on.

I am also grateful that so many people are writing and blogging on the web… sharing their stories and interests. We live in an amazing time. There is an abundance of information and knowledge swirling all around us all the time.

When before in the history of mankind could someone so easily access the wisdom and voices of priests, gurus, teachers, and masters from so many different traditions?

The world of thought is expanding at an ever increasing pace. It is only natural that there will be much resistance… but for today, I am feeling grateful for the expansion itself… and am happy to be here now experiencing the ride from my own unique perspective in time and space.

Peace.

I came across a post today reviewing a comment Deepak Chopra apparently made on the Bill Maher show the other night about how Positive Thinking is stressful because the person who is always thinking positively is working so hard to avoid negative thoughts… or some such thing. If I stumble across the quote, I’ll come back and post it here.

What interested me most on this was that I felt negative emotions reading it.

What the teachings of Abraham-Hicks say to me is this - use your emotional guidance system to get in alignment with the thing that causes you problems.

I do not believe the Law of Attraction teaches us to never think or deal with a negative thought. However, it does teach that dwelling on negative thoughts is bound to have a negative effect on your life - but this does not mean that your aim is to have a 100% perfect life - indeed, they explicitly state that life is all about desire and learning, and you will never be perfect or arrive at perfection.

So the negative emotions I felt were because of a conflict between different beliefs - on the one hand, I believe Deepak Chopra is a wise man who “gets it”, and on the other hand, I have personally witnessed the Power of positive thinking, and believe that following some of these principles leads to a far less stressful life.

I could have chosen to ignore Deepak… but that is not the goal. The goal is to come into alignment - not to run off and put one’s head in the sand and ignore all negative things.

And thankfully, after a short while pondering this conflict in beliefs, I arrived at a much clearer understanding of what I mean by positive thinking, which brought me to understand that it is not the same thing that Deepak was referring to at all.

To me, the choice of thinking about things more positively when that choice is present is simply about being in the moment and going with the flow. When you are going with the flow, you are in synch with the world around you. Things resonate with you. You are NOT resisting that which is.

When you are fighting reality, you are experiencing negative emotions. It is very easy to cling to negative emotions. It is also easy to cling to positive emotions. So it is equally important to LET GO of either kind of emotion… so as to remain in the flow and aware of that which presents itself you in each moment.

Thinking Positively is simply the adoption of the tendency towards positive emotions - such as gratitude, kindness, and love. When you develop these habits, you are paving the way for more Positive moments… and you can let go of each knowing more good moments will come… and when you hit a bad moment, you are still OK, because after all, you realize more good moments are bound to come your way.

It is a way of experiencing the abundance of life that is already in you, and all around you.

If someone picks up the idea that the goal in life is to think and experience only positive emotions and thought, then this person would surely set out to control his or her experience, and may indeed expend a good deal of energy resisting negative thought.

And so here is the trick - resisting negative thought IS negative thought.

I have been very attuned lately to this issue of resistance. In my humble opinion, it is tied to the teachings of Christ. Jesus famously taught us to “turn the other cheek”. Much could be written on this topic… but fundamentally, I believe the teaching is a way of letting us KNOW that when we resist or fight back - we are matching the wave length of the attacker, we are becoming the attacker, and in the end, we are committing the same sins.

My interpretation of Thinking Positively means shining a light on life. It means bring my best to every moment and every situation. It does not mean I ignore the negative. It means I bring my best to the negative.

I am reminded of the Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

* After thinking these things a bit today, I also stumbled across an article that gave much greater clarity to some of the different ways Deepak Chopra considers Positive Thinking… I have posted this article to the high Vibe it site here. If you like this article and would like others to see it, be sure to click the “high Vibe it” text under the vibe counter. This will elevate it in the various story lists on the high Vibe it site.