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My Views on The Law of Attraction (including Pros & Cons Lists)

By Paganism, ThinkingNo Comments

The Law of Attraction arguably became famous with the book: The Secret. Later, a film was made about The Law of Attraction with the same title as the book.

The basic theory of The Law of Attraction is that your thoughts and emotions attract people, things and events into your life. Whether or not you realise it.

Each thought or emotion is energy that is transmitted into the Universe. By changing your thoughts and emotions, you can attract whatever you want into your life. The Universe is essentially an abundant cosmic ordering system. Your orders are always fulfilled, but what you get depends on what you order through your transmitted thoughts and emotions.

The Law of Attraction theory does have some merits, but also in my opinion some fundamental flaws. I will discuss these in Pros/Cons lists below. But first, a full disclosure: I’ve watched the film, not read the book. But this shouldn’t matter as I’d imagine they both essentially contain the same basic theory.

ProsCons
Thoughts and feelings are energy is true. If they were not, our brains would use quite so much energy.One of the core concepts of The Law of Attraction is that where you are today (your current circumstances) is a direct result of your past thoughts and emotions.

There is an element of blame associated with this concept, that could lead to feelings of guilt and shame (both really negative emotions that are good for nothing).

Guilt and shame have been used as tools in the Roman Catholic Church to manipulate and control people.

This concept also has no mention of actions. People’s direct actions lead to direct consequences. For example, if a person drinks a litre of vodka daily, sooner or later the direct consequence is going to be cirrhosis of the liver.
The first step is to ask the Universe for what you want by wishing for it. Wishing is a common concept in every Spiritual/Religion system I have ever come across. Different systems just give it different names, such as prayer or spell craft.Blind belief is required. If what your thinking about is not manifesting into your life, you mustn’t be believing that it will and therefore are self-sabotaging. This again feels like blame (see point above as to why that’s bad).
Positive thinking through gratitude can be helpful and have a positive impact on your life. This is true and evidence in the form of research studies are proving this. There’s a reason that there’s been an explosion of gratitude journals on commercial markets across the world in recent years.That you can make every area of your life exactly as you want it to be at all times. Essentially, that you can make your life perfect, all the time, forever. Whilst a lovely thought, I think this idea is a cult-like belief aimed to attract and exploit the vulnerable in our society.

Let’s just consider it for a moment. Okay, what areas of my life have I got going on? Health, wealth/money, home, career, social relationships, romantic relationship and spirituality. It is highly unlikely that anyone could ever get all these areas to line up and be perfect.

I have never met someone who essentially has got life perfect. The exact way they want it. Have you? No, I expected not. But just remember there’s blame again if your life isn’t perfect: you must be thinking or feeling wrong.

The Universe is infinitely complex and this is another reason this doesn’t work for me.
Emotion is stronger than thoughts and is more effective at bringing into your life what you want. From personal experience, when I feel emotions and thread that energy into my spell work, my spells are more than x10 times effective, than casting with thoughts alone.
The Law of Attraction doesn’t explore how our thoughts, emotions and actions impact on the lives of others. This is despite it briefly being mentioned.

A universal truth for me is that our thoughts, emotions, actions or inaction can and do affect others.
That words and wording are extremely important. I believe this to be true. I often see Wiccan’s add: But do no harm to anyone at the end of spells. Then they get frustrated when their spells don’t work, you are essentially tying the Universe’s figurative hands by saying & thinking this.

For example, in order for you to get money by casting a spell for it, someone has to lose it. Therefore the person losing money is harmed.

The Law of Attraction has an interesting idea on the importance of the use of language. Say you want to be debt-free. Don’t use the word debt-free. As the Universe might think you want debt because you’ve mentioned it and therefore attract more of it in your life. Instead, say something like: I am financially secure and prosperous or I have millions of pounds in the bank.
The Law of Attraction doesn’t explain or even mention how other people’s thoughts, emotions or actions can affect your life. And these most certainly do.
I like that The Law of Attraction is empowering and does mention something about sharing good events and fortune with others. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t go into more detail of this.
Visualisation is really important. If you can’t visualise it happening, it’s very unlikely happen.
Repetition is important in terms of both thoughts (intentions) and emotions. This is why Witch’s often repeat spells 3, 6, 9 or 12 times. Three is a very magical number.

There are more Pros than Cons when it comes to The Law of Attraction. The problem is that the Cons are pretty big ones.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Tech Review: CHUWI 13 Inch Laptop

By Amazon, TechnologyNo Comments
CHUWI 13 Inch Laptop (1)
CHUWI 13 Inch Laptop (2)

I recently bought myself this CHUWI 13 Inch Laptop. Here are its features:

  • 13 Inch Screen
  • 12GB RAM
  • 256GB SSD
  • Wifi
  • It’s Thin & Light-weight
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • Touch Pad
  • Comes with Windows 10

Here are the Pros and Cons to help you decide if it’s the right laptop for you.

Pros

  • Great Battery Life and power-saving options.
  • It’s fast and with the 12GB RAM tasks are instantly completed.
  • It’s cheap, being only £399 on Amazon at time of this review.
  • It’s easy to set up, use and is obviously made for productivity.
  • I love the backlit keyboard, it really helps me type well in low lighting.

Cons

  • It comes with only 1 USB port.
  • There is no HDMI connection.
  • There is no Ethernet connection.
  • The charging wire is too short – being less than 2 metres.
  • The touch pad is a little stiff and not the most sensitive. This might be because it is new.

Overall it’s a great laptop for the price. Review soon,

Antony

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The FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System: Getting Started on My New Health Plan

By Health, Technology, Thinking9 Comments

Hello all,

I’m a type 1 diabetic who has always struggled to have good control of my blood sugars.

I’ve been using a traditional glucose meter (a TEE2). Every diabetic will have a glucose meter. The meter tells the tester what their blood sugar is at the time that the reading is taken.

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My traditional glucose meter the TEE2 by Spirit Healthcare Ltd.

Nothing had really changed in the management or treatment of my diabetes for the last decade. That was until just over a week ago. It started when I saw this photo in the media:

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I saw this photo of Theresa May (the current Prime Minister) who is Type 1 diabetic. I wondered what it was on her arm. (I’ve added on the circle and arrow on to the photo.)

I posted the photo on Facebook and asked if anyone knew what it was. I quickly learned that it was a sensor for the FreeStyle Libre Glucose Monitoring System.

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The FreeStyle Libre Sensor (left) and Reader (right).

The FreeStyle Libre Glucose Monitoring System is a revolutionary and life changing way to monitor blood sugars for diabetics.

A sensor that has a needle that goes into the interstitial fluid is placed on the back of an arm. The sensor on the skin is about the size of a two pound coin. The sensor takes a reading every minute and stores readings at 15 minute intervals. The sensor can store 8 hours of data. A sensor lasts 14 days.

A Reader downloads data from the sensor, including the most current blood sugar reading by placing the reader near the sensor (using Fear Field Communication (NFC)). You don’t even need a Reader if you have a phone with NFC. You can download an App available for both Android and Apple smartphones that allows you to use your phone as a reader. I haven’t got a phone with NFC, so would need a reader.

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So I did some research. I read the entire FreeStyle Libre website including watching tutorial videos and FAQs. Then I read some posts on the Diabetes UK Forums. I watched every video about the FreeStyle Libre on YouTube.

I discovered that in November of last year (2017) the FreeStyle Libre became available on the NHS. However from reading the forums it seemed that availability depended on local criteria.

I decided I needed to trial the FreeStyle Libre as part of a new health plan to improve my health and prevent illness where possible.

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I managed to buy two sensors at my local Boots Pharmacy. A sensor cost more than £50 each. This was because I thought I’d probably have to self-fund due to the cost to the NHS.

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But I couldn’t buy a Reader anywhere. I rang my local Diabetes Specialists Centre. Their criteria for starting me on the FreeStlye Libre is: 1. is type one diabetic and 2. testing blood sugar 6-10 times a day. I met the criteria so they sorted me out with a Reader.

The Diabetic Specialist Nurse at my local Diabetes Centre was amazing. She sorted me a Reader. I saw the Diabetic Consultant in January and have been awaiting an appointment with a Dietitian. She said she’d chase this.

The Diabetic Specialist Nurse and I also arranged an appointment together in a few weeks time. This is so I can give her an update on my use of the FreeStyle Libre and so that she could write to my GP about putting the sensors on prescription. She informed me that if there was no improvement in my blood sugar control after 6 months, that my GP may choose to stop prescribing the sensors.

Excited I put on the sensor:

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The sensor should be placed on the back of the arm. Start by cleaning with a pre-injection swab (provided with the sensor).

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The sensor is assembled by pulling off the lid of the white tub, then matching up the gray lines and pressing down. Really easy and simple.

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Place to your skin and press down. It’s painless and makes a clicking sound.

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There it is. Sensor on.

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I’ve chosen to put a 10cmx10cm dressing on my sensor to better protect it.

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All set up. Quick, easy and simple. I’ll let you know how I go on.

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I’ve been wearing the sensor and using the reader for a few days now. So here’s the pros and cons I’ve discovered so far:

Pros Cons
  • The sensor isn’t noticed by others being on the back of my arm (covered even by short sleeves).
  • I don’t feel the sensor in my arm at all. No discomfort or pain.
  • The reader is pocked sized.
  • It’s quick and easy. A quick swipe and you have your current blood sugar along with a line graph showing your blood sugar throughout the day (and night) from readings the sensor has taken.
  • It’s more discrete swiping the reader near your arm, rather than getting out your glucose meter and pricking your finger.
  • I can check my blood sugar as often as I want, without worrying about running out of testing strips.
  • The reader has a whole host of useful features including: reading alarm reminders, logbook, daily graph, average glucose, daily patterns, time in target glucose range (which you set when you setup the reader), sensor usage, add notes to go with readings (including units of rapid-acting insulin, units of long-acting insulin, food – carbs, medicine and exercise).
  • It tells you how many days you have before you need to change the senor on the home screen.
  • The daily graph along with arrows showing whether your blood sugar is increasing (and how quickly), stable or decreasing (and how quickly) are enabling me to make better bolus insulin adjustments. The food notes will enable me to better match the number of rapid insulin units I need to administer based on the number carbs I’ve eaten.
  • The reader is helping me to identify trends in my blood sugars and helping me prevent my blood sugar from rising too high.
  • FreeStyle have software for both Windows on Mac that uses the data to create reports that you can share with Health Professionals.
  • If you have a phone with NFC you can use an App on your phone rather than using the reader. The Apps appear to have all the same features as the Reader.
  • The reader comes with with a USB wire (for connecting to computers) and has a plug to charge it from mains. According to the manufacturer, a full charge lasts about a week with average use.
  • The sensor takes the reading from interstitial fluid rather than blood. This means that the reading is 10-15 mins behind. This is not an issue if your blood sugar is stable, but could be an issue if it’s dropping.
  • The reader feels a little flimsy and doesn’t come with any cover or pouch to protect it from damage and general wear and tear.
  • The DVLA don’t currently allow readings from this monitor to count as a before driving test. Therefore a traditional glucose meter and finger pricking is still required prior to driving.
  • The sensors are expensive, costing over £50 each. This is a Con whether you are paying for them privately or whether the NHS is being charged for them (as we pay for the NHS through our taxes).

I was going to do this blog posts as a vlog (video blog). But I couldn’t get my head around the video editing software, so opted for the written method instead. That’s why the photos of me look like image captures from a video, because they are.

The FreeStyle Libre Glucose Monitoring System is just one part of my new health plan. I also want to become SmokeFree for good and lose weight through a better diet and regular exercise.

Write soon,

Antony



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Productivity Journal Review: Inspire Now Journal by Inspire Now Daily

By Amazon, Inspiration, Life, Reviews, Shopping, The Web, Thinking2 Comments

The Inspire Now Journal by Inspire Now Daily is the best goal-focused journal aimed at increasing productivity and helping you to achieve your goals on the market.

Here are some images of the Inspire Now Journal:

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The Inspire Now Journal Cover

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Inspire Now Journal contents.

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Monthly Planner.

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Birthdays and Glossy Quote pages.

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Long and short term goals.

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Short term goals and glossy quote pages.

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Weekly and Daily Planning pages.

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Weekly Reflection page.

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Savings Chart.

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Debt Management pages.

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Payment Checklist pages.

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Project pages.

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Fitness Planning pages.

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Travel pages.

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Books, Films and Contacts.

Like any productivity journal the Inspire Now Journal has Pros and Cons. Here they are:

Pros Cons
  • Its design is appealing – brown leather cover and ever every page has colour.
  • It’s dateless, meaning you can start using it at any time.
  • It has a 7 day week.
  • It prioritises tasks into: One task must be completed today, top three tasks and other tasks and actions.
  • It has inspirational quotes throughout. Including one for every day.
  • Daily pages also include the following sections: Reminders/Shopping Lists/Appointments, Reward for achieving goals, health & well-being actions, self-development actions and things I am grateful for today.
  • Weekly pages include the following sections: goals – split into categories (Career & Finance, Personal Development & Learning, Health & Wellness, Family & Social, Physical Environment and Spiritual), habit tracker and reward for achieving my goals this week.
  • Past Week Reflection pages include: big achievements this week were, how I was able to achieve these, next week I will take the following steps to avoid distractions, I learnt, I will use lessons I learnt last week to improve next week by and a Achievements Score (1-10) for the week.
  • It has Calendars for 2016-2019.
  • It has Month At a Glance pages.
  • It has a Birthday List page.
  • It has Long Term & Short Term Goal pages, along with Ideas & Notes pages to go with these.
  • It has a Savings Chart page, Debt Management pages, Payment Checklist pages, Project pages, Fitness Plan pages, Travel Checklist pages, Books to Read & Movies to See page, Contacts pages and Notes pages.
  • It has a bookmark ribbon and an elasticated closure.
  • The tasks & actions on the daily pages are too small to write in. I usually have to write over two lines.
  • No daily rating for achievements.
  • No specific section on daily pages for General Notes & Ideas.
  • There are undoubtably pages/sections that you wont use. For example, I will never use the Debt Management pages, Payment Checklist pages and Fitness Plan pages.
  • The planner only has 6 months worth of pages in it. However it would be impossible to make the journal any bigger.

The Inspire Now Journal is brilliant and a journal that I love. Once you get in the routine of using it, you will wonder how you have ever managed without it.

I’d highly recommend the Inspire Now Journal, which is available to buy on Amazon.

Write soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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