Stupid people are hijacking the Law of Attraction. I am sick of it, and it’s time to take it back.
Since I first heard about the concepts of attraction and manifestation, I knew they were for me. They fit perfectly with everything I’d believed about life, and how my life works, for many years. When I watched The Secret I recognized it as truth, not rocket science—but truth. Yes, this is what I understand to be true about life.
When Oprah started talking about it, I had mixed feelings. The “O” stamp of approval meant countless numbers of people would discover this truth (woohoo!), but sadly many of them would manipulate the message for their own gain (boo). If I had a dollar for every goon who claims that they can make me a millionaire by teaching me how to teach others how to be a millionaire… well, I’d be a millionaire.
So many people are saying that you can change your weight, the balance in your checking account, the way your mother-in-law talks to you, and the color of the paint on the walls by banishing your negative thoughts. They say that if you want to make more money, you have to say you make more money and you will begin to make more money. So, if you make $50,000 a year and you want to make $150,000 a year, just starting telling yourself (and everybody else) that you make $150,000 a year….
Now, I don’t know if this is my militant, United States Air Force upbringing, but my daddy calls that a lie, and no matter how badly I wanted to make more money, when I tried to banish my I’m-broke-as-hell thoughts with delusions of grandeur, nothing good came of it.
So, here is my take on the Law of Attraction… it is about changing your life experience by changing the way you experience your life. I’m going to say that again, because it is big and I want you to be able to take it home with you… The Law of Attraction is about changing your life experience by changing the way you experience your life. When you adjust your perception of reality, reality changes.
The key to manifesting is not to pretend you have something that you do not have. Pretending won’t get you anywhere, except maybe writing a hot check to the bakery for a half-sheet birthday cake that you pretend won’t make you feel terrible and look like… well, I don’t know, what kind of impact would a half-sheet birthday cake have on the fit of your favorite blue jeans? It’s been a while since I went “there” with the birthday cake, but you know what I’m saying, right?
The key to manifesting the life you desire is to imagine. Can we remember imagination? Anyone? Imagination is that fun and beautiful quality that is born into every infant, but from which most of us completely disconnected by the time we crossed the threshold for our first day of middle school… except the artists, of course – you know who you are. It’s the state of mind that makes the box better to play with than the toy inside, the thing that makes fiction writing possible, and that made me wonder at times if my pre-schooler was “playing” or really just a pathological liar with no connection to reality.
So, take a moment right now to imagine. Think playful… creative… imagine… you remember? Okay, let’s go:
Imagine what it feels like to take those first steps out on the sand when you arrive at the beach for summer vacation. Can you hear the waves crashing? Can you smell the salty air? Can you feel the way the sand shifts and slides under your bare feet? Can you feel the tide pulling you back and forth?
That is imagination, not pretending you can afford to vacation or even pretending you are going on vacation, but stepping off the merry-go-round of your daily life to actually IMAGINE you are already there. Feel it.
That is manifesting. So, what do you want to bring into your life? What would it feel like to experience it? What are the sounds you would hear in that experience? What are the tastes you would experience? What would it feel like to experience it? What colors would you see during that experience? What would you be touching? Think temperature, texture, are there people with you? Who would you share that experience with?
Take time every day, as frequently as you can, to imagine this. Look for ways to bring it closer to you, and joyfully accept opportunities when they arise. Oh…the opportunities will come; that is what they were born to do.
