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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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What are some of the most difficult questions in life?

By Life, ThinkingNo Comments

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Here are some of the most difficult questions in life, along with my current partial answers to them. None of these complex questions have simple answers. If you have a better answer than the one I have, or would like to share your answer to these questions, please leave a comment below.

Who am I?

Who I am is fluid rather than fixed and changes constantly. It encompasses my thoughts, feelings, intentions, actions, omissions, behaviours and my soul. Who I am changes as quickly as each encompassed element can change.

What is consciousness?

Consciousness is a result of billions of neurons in the brain firing electrical signals to other neurons. Our body allows us to sense the world (through taste, sight, touch, smell, sound and psychic intuition) and then create thoughts and feelings based on the now, memory and past experiences, dreams and hopes for the future.

What’s the meaning of life?

I have no idea what the meaning of life is. But I’ve got a feeling that it’s different for every life. I do know that you should decide on the purpose or ideally purposes of your life.

Purposes may include: dedication to family/friends, goals/achievements of your own, contribution to the wellbeing of others, learning/studying/growth, to create or destroy, to consume and enjoy, to travel, to adventure and experience, to improve humanity, to love, the list goes on and on.

Where does creativity come from?

Perhaps the question should read: what inspires creativity? A large number of things can inspire creativity, including: nature, research, other people’s creative works (art, music, literature, sculpture, etc.), curiosity, questions, past experiences, daily life, failures, logic/illogic, other people’s ideas, emotions, procrastination, through play, again the list goes on and on.

Does God exist?

Pagans are polytheistic, meaning that they worship many Gods and Goddesses. I personally believe that these Gods and Goddesses represent humanistic aspects of a Divine Energy.

This Divine Energy is infinitely complex and incomprehensible by the limited human mind. This Divine Energy is within everything that ever was, is and will ever be. It is timeless, interconnects everything and keeps the universe in balance through constant creation, change and destruction.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

We all have a sense of fair play. When we see bad things happen to good people, we notice it as it feels unfair. We notice it more because the person is a good person. But life events are simply what they are.

Sometimes bad things appear at random and sometimes they are methodological. They can be difficult to accept and it is normal to feel a sense of injustice and unfairness.

Reframing your thoughts to acknowledge that bad things happen regardless of whether a person is good or not is a way to balance your thinking. It is also useful in breaking the association between behaviours (being a good person) and negative life events (the bad things).

What happens after we die?

The cells, tissues and organs in your body die (necrosis). Your body decays until the point that only your skeleton is left (skeletonisation).

But when most people ask this question, they are referring to what happens to the soul after death. Well most believe in heaven or an afterlife of some sort. Others believe in reincarnation (being reborn as another person, animal or plant).

I personally believe in both an afterlife and reincarnation. I think that your soul is energy and is released from your body on your death. It travels to another plane of existence (the astral plane).

The astral plane is like an afterlife but not like a traditional version of heaven. You are reunited with other souls that you have known (possibly over several lifetimes and the times in-between). You have the choice of if and when (although there is no concept of time in this place) you want to be reincarnated.

The purpose of being reincarnated is so that you can grow as a soul, but also so you can do some of the things that only physical entities can do (such as enjoy food, music, dance, sex).

What is love?

Poets, Writers, Musicians and Artists have all been exploring what love is and how it is expressed since humans were first able to feel and think. I think any type of love starts with vulnerability, connection and intimacy. From there it grows into trust, warmth and attachment.

For me there are different types of love:

  • Love shared with friends. Familiarity, shared interests, shared values and loyalty.
  • Love shared with family. Familiarity, growing together, mutual respect and unconditional acceptance.
  • Love shared with a lover. Romance, possibility, comfort, sensuality and sex. (I should note here that I am single.)
  • Unexpressed love. Fantasy, a crush, desire and longing.

Have I met Mr/Mrs Right?

How the heck should I know? But I would ask yourself: Does he/she make you laugh? Can you tell them anything? Does he/she build you up and support you? Does he/she add something to your life? Does he/she have their own life, with their own friends, dreams and ambitions? What do your friends and family honestly think about them and you as a couple?

Hopefully answering these questions will give you more insight.

Can love last a lifetime?

Yes. As long as both partners continue to grow independently as well as growing together. And as long as they continue to love one another. I believe love can last, not just a lifetime, but into the afterlife and beyond.

Write soon,

Antony

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Book Review: How To Be Human – The Manual by Ruby Wax

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
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Ruby Wax’s latest book is called How To Be Human – The Manual. It’s insightful, funny, warm and engaging. A pleasure to read. It’s like somebody is pouring wisdom into your head while you’re having a chat with them.

Each chapter covers a topic and is wittily written by Wax. For each chapter Wax has consulted with Ash Ranpura, a Neuroscientist and Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist Monk.

At the end of each chapter are fascinating transcripts of these discussions. Interspersed throughout How To Be Human Wax shares some of her own mental illness story.

So what exactly does Wax cover in How To Be Human? Pretty much everything. Here is each chapter title:

  • Evolution
  • Thoughts
  • Emotions
  • The Body
  • Compassion
  • Relationships
  • Sex
  • Kids
  • Addiction
  • The Future
  • Mindfulness Exercises
  • Forgiveness

How To Be Human builds on the strong foundations of Wax’s two previously published books: Sane New World – Taming the Mind, which I have reviewed here and A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, which I have reviewed here.

You can also learn more about Wax by reading her autobiography How Do You Want Me?, which I have reviewed here.

How To Be Human is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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The Next General Election – Why I’ll Be Voting For Labour

By PoliticalNo Comments

So the next General Election has been announced and will take place on Thursday 8th June 2017. Neither of the two main political parties have released their manifestos yet. But Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of The Labour Party has released his 10 Pledges To Transform Britain.

The Labour Party are doing a few interesting things at the moment. Firstly they’re reaching out to people through the use of social media. Social media’s influence on politics was recently shown in the USA election and if the results are anything to go by (Donald Trump used social media and got elected to The White House) it’s a good move.

The mainstream media has been at best barely mentioning The Labour Party and worst highly critical of them. The mainstream media has become like reading a Conservative party pamphlet. The same lies and bogus phrases repeated again and again.

Secondly The Labour Party is reaching out to people and encouraging them to register to vote. In particular young people. This is clever as it recognises that Labour must reach out to disenfranchised young people who wouldn’t normally vote at all. This isn’t a new Labour idea, it was tried before the last General Election, it just wasn’t done very well then. Hopefully it will be done better this time. But it is also part of a larger vision for Labour to broaden its appeal to all.

Thirdly The Labour Party is doing something unique (at least to UK politics), fascinating and potentially election winning. The Labour Party is running an online National Policy Forum Consultation 2017, where everybody – both members of the public and Labour party members are invited to give their thoughts, opinions, ideas and views in 8 policy areas covering every part of Government.

labours-national-policy-forum-2017

The Labour Party are already doing things differently than the political norm. They’re running an online National Policy Forum Consultation, where everybody – both members of the public and Labour party members are invited to give their thoughts, opinions, ideas and views in 8 policy areas covering every part of Government.

The 8 policy areas are: Economy, Business and Trade; International; Health and Social Care; Early Years, Education and Skills; Justice and Home Affairs; Housing, Local Government and Transport; Work, Pensions and Equality; and Environment, Energy and Culture.

For each area you read a short policy document (around 7-8 pages with plenty of spacing) and then can submit your thoughts, opinions, ideas and views. You can also read what others have wrote and comment on their input.

National Policy Forum Consultation 2017 comments are then fed in Policy Commission meetings. These meetings will likely decide what Labour policy is and form The Labour Party’s manifesto. This is a way to involve and empower people who usually don’t feel listened to by Politicians. A genius idea.

I’m voting for Jeremy Corbyn and The Labour Party in this upcoming election. Why? Because I think and feel that Labour Government will:

  • Tackle the growing inequality in our society. At the moment the rich are getting much more richer than ever before, while the poor are becoming destitute.
  • Properly fund and resource our National Health Service (NHS), Social Care and Public Services – all of which feel like they are so close to shattering right now.
  • Deal with decreasing opportunities for young people.
  • Build more affordable homes and address homelessness which is now visually evident in every town and city in the UK.
  • Get control of the rapidly rising cost of living (including fair energy prices and reduced public transport costs).
  • Increase worker’s rights and protections.
  • Keep The Human Rights Act (1998).

Some people say that they aren’t keen on Jeremy Corbyn. Sometimes with poor or no reasons for their dislike. I can only put that down to the power of the mainstream media.

My impression of Jeremy Corbyn is that he’s honest (refreshing for a politician), he’s passionate, he genuinely cares about people, he’s got a lot of experience (both as a politician and working within Trade Unions), he’s been on the right side of history (check out his voting history here), he listens and he wants to empower people. He wants a country that works for the many and not the few. All good qualities for the next Prime Minister.

Still unsure about Jeremy Corbyn? Read this article: Here are 16 reasons to vote for Jeremy Corbyn by The Independent.

Write soon,

Antony

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