Last week we discussed the phenomenon that prompted millions of us to buy into the claim that the Law of Attraction was a “secret.” After spending our hard-earned money, we discovered that we’d known the “secret” since childhood: You reap what you sow.The Law of Attraction/Reciprocity has now been reincarnated, reinterpreted, repackaged and monetized as a means by which we can we sow positive thoughts and reap desired possessions, conditions and people into our lives. Thinkers: What do we know about laws? Physical or spiritual, they produce the same outcome 100% of the time for 100% of the people.
Positive thoughts, affirmations and visualizations have no impact on a law. Visualize yourself releasing a brick from your hand. Meditate on it floating into the sky. Feel the excitement of defying gravity. Now, let the brick go. Did it fall up?
How does the Law of Attraction work in its 21st Century incarnation, exactly? Does it enable us to attract our every desire 100% of the time? Shouldn't it, if it's called a law? What if we all want to have lots of money without working? Can we leverage the Law for that? Shouldn't we be able to?
I read a story today about a guy in
“When I hit $75,000, I figured lighting struck once, it won't ever hit again,” he said. “This one knocked me flat!”
OK, so the Law didn’t have anything to do with it. He had consciously rejected the idea of beating the odds again; but it happened anyway. I'm confused. That's not the way it's supposed to work. Is it? Generally, when the Law doesn't work as predicted, the explanation usually includes some tactical error: didn't do enough this or did too much of that. I am not convinced, for any number of reasons. Let me just cite a few:
Years ago, budding actor Dustin Hoffman wanted only to enjoy practicing his craft; he didn’t want to be famous. But it happened anyway. Years later, Oprah Winfrey was scared to death when our general manager decided to move her time slot to compete directly with Phil Donahue. She was sure that Donahue would annihilate her in the ratings; her dominant thought was fear. But she became the world’s most successful talk show host anyway.
What does this say about the power of thought and the Law of Attraction? Perhaps it’s this: You're experiencing your soul’s life, not your body’s. Your physical brain and the desires of your body cannot reroute your eternal soul’s path. If your body and soul are not in agreement, your body will not get what it wants, when it wants it, no matter what metaphysical principles you practice.
Consider the possibility that each eternal soul’s finite experience on Earth has a purpose. That purpose is sometimes lofty, sometimes not. On occasion, a soul wants to experiment, push the envelope, and explore the possibilities on Planet Earth. Other times, a soul paves a distinct path, and everyone that it is destined to meet and all of the experiences that it has designed for its pleasure or growth are awaiting its arrival. In other words, as I like to say, the script is already written. Then someone tells your body that it can write a new script. Let's climb into the balcony and see what that looks like:
INTERIOR: GOD’S FAMILY ROOM, FLOODED WITH LIGHT AND FILLED WITH FROLICKING KIDS
God is relaxing, watching them play, when a very serious looking child who has been staring out of the window suddenly beams himself next to his Father’s side. God leans over and kisses the child’s forehead.
GOD
(smiling)
Well, hello there, my little cherub. You’re looking awfully unhappy. What’s on your mind?
BLISS
Joy needs you over there on Earth. You’ve got to go help! I know that you can hear her. Why are you ignoring her?
GOD
Ignoring Joy? I don’t think that’s possible. Are you sure?
BLISS
(impatiently)
Yes, I’m sure.
BLISS points to the window where he had been intently watching the flurry of activity on Earth.
BLISS
See? Joy’s just talking, talking, talking to you over there, and you’re over here, not paying attention!
GOD
(A twinkle in his eyes)
Bliss, listen to me carefully. You know how much I love Joy, right?
BLISS
(nodding)
Yes.
GOD lifts BLISS and places him on His knee.
GOD
I love Joy unconditionally—the same way I love all of my children. No matter what she does or what she says, she’s mine and I love her. True?
BLISS nods
GOD
(Holding Bliss’s little face in His hands)
Now here’s what I want you to do: Close your eyes and bring Joy into your mind.
(He pauses)
Can you see her?
BLISS
Yes. She’s still talking to you, but she keeps looking at the sky.
(He frowns, puzzled)
Why is she doing that?
GOD
She thinks I'm in the sky. But never mind that.
Now. What else do you see?
BLISS’s eyes pop open. He’s surprised—and delighted.
BLISS
I see YOU, Daddy! You’re right there with her. I see her Light. Joy still has her Light!
GOD
(smiling)
That’s right, son. There is no spot where I am not.
Now close your eyes again. What else do you see?
BLISS
You’re whispering to her. You’re telling her that what she wants right now will stop her from fulfilling the mission she created before she left home.
But Daddy--she’s won't stop talking so that she can’t hear you. She’s really, really upset that you’re not giving her what she wants.
Tears begin to stream down BLISS'S face. GOD tries to comfort him with a big hug.
BLISS
Why doesn’t she just shut up and listen to what you're trying to tell her? Why, Daddy?
GOD
Joy has simply forgot that I am there. She’s lost touch. She's been told so many times that I am far away, in the sky. Now she believes it, too.
BLISS
(sighing)
She doesn’t know that you’re right there? Can’t she see her Light? How is she going to keep from making a mess if she’s not listening?
GOD
(nodding sympathetically)
That’s the challenge all my children face when they pass through the Veil of Forgetfulness to the domain of the ego.
You know, the ego can only survive in the physical world.
BLISS
Really? It can’t beam itself anywhere else in the Universe like us souls?
GOD
No, so you can understand its frustration. Being bound to the physical world is a huge limitation. The ego would be all alone if no souls visited Earth. He makes them want to stay longer by keeping some kind of conflict going, whether it's in their heads or with each other.
Ego makes them believe that Earth is the real world, and they believe it. He promises them that they can have anything they want—and he's right. But because they think that Earth is all there is, they only want physical things.
BLISS
That's all? Just physical things? But that stuff's not forever. It's not real.
GOD
I know. Ego doesn't want them to know that. If they knew that they had as much power as they do, and they knew that the Source of that power was within them, they wouldn’t want to spend as much time over there entertaining Ego.
That’s why they’re weighed down with bodies the moment they arrive over there. It doesn't take long for them to believe that they are bodies, not souls.
BLISS
(incredulous)
No!
GOD
Yes. They’ve forgotten who they are. They’ve forgotten that they all came from the same family. They’ve forgotten their Source. They look for answers outside of themselves, when everything they need is within.
Ego encourages them to fight with each other, yearn for money and possessions, and feed the drama of Earth. They act as if Earth is the center of the Universe.
BLISS
(bursting into a giggle)
You’re telling a story, Daddy! That’s too stupid to be true.
GOD
(smiling)
We don’t judge over here, remember?
No, it’s true, son. Let me explain it to you this way: The ego has a vested interest in focusing your brothers’ and sisters’ attention on the Earth’s stage, instead of on Home.
Ego drives a wedge between us by telling them that they were born evil, and that I’m really mad at them and think they’re unworthy. It even tells them that I plan to torture most of them forever because they’re so bad. They hear it so much that they believe it.
BLISS
(alarmed)
That’s crazy! They know that you are Love, Daddy!
GOD
They knew it before they left home. But they don’t stop to ask, “Would Love do that?” Instead, they believe that I hurt people.
BLISS
But if they really believe that, why would they ask you to help them when they’re in trouble? Why would they expect anyone so mean to really help them?
GOD
Because Ego also told them that even though I’m a tyrant who demands worship, I also am a loving Father. So if they beg just the right way and do just the right things, I’ll grant their requests.
BLISS
And they believe THAT? Are tyrants loving? Does a loving Father torture? That’s stu— I mean, that doesn’t make any sense!
So how do they get what they want? And what if the thing they want isn’t the right thing for them? They expect you to just say yes? That must be the tyrant part, not the loving Father part, right?
GOD
I know it’s confusing. But that’s what happens when souls rely on human brains for understanding, instead of seeking Divine Guidance. It’s a challenge. In fact, Joy and I talked about this before she left.
BLISS
(concerned)
But, Daddy, she forgot! Wha-what’s going to happen to her now? Look at her; she’s working so hard to make things go her way. She’s so sure that this is the right thing.
GOD
(nodding)
I know.
BLISS
It’s not right for her, is it?
GOD
No, son, it’s not. But she has free will. She controls her outcomes, not me. There’s a natural consequence for every decision she makes. If she keeps doing what she’s doing and keeps meeting disappointment and heartache, she may decide to be still and listen to the still small voice within her.
I am not going anywhere. I’ll be there whenever she wants to talk to me, and I will give her guidance whenever she wants to listen.
BLISS
(gently leaning his head on God’s chest)
Thanks, Daddy. What would we do without you?
GOD
(leaning over to kiss BLISS forehead)
You’ll never have to find out, son. You’ll never have to find out.
LIGHT FADES,
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