I am often asked about manifestation. How to, and does it work. I am not quite sure why i get so many of these questions on the law of attraction. Maybe it is because I teach meditation, and that therefore I go into the woo woo and esoteric category?
Probably.
The question really that is being asked is this: can I make my dreams come true by closing my eyes and wishing for them to happen?
The answer is simple. No. Wishful thinking has never had any consequences on anything.
There is a reason why the law of attraction is so popular. For me, it goes hand in hand with the “become a millionaire in 1 week by working 15 minutes per day” programs, or the “lose 30 pounds in 7 days without working out and by eating pizza and ice cream at every meal”.
These programs exist. They are all over the internet. New ones come out every single day. You know why? Because they work! Of course, I mean they work for the people making them, not for the well intentioned people that buy them. They just lose their money. But people buy them. Why? And why are these programs and the law of attraction get more popular every year?
The answer is simple. Not only have we become more lazy in the age on information, we have been craving speed over everything else for the last decade.
In 2021, I suspect very few people sit on the toilet without a phone or an iPad of some sort in their hands. Nobody waits for the bus without their devices. Even in restaurants, although going out is more of a treat in these pandemic days, you see friends, and couples, all glued to their devices.
Why? Because we want answers fast. We want information fast. And we want satisfaction, fast. It doesn’t matter if the quality is bad, as long as its given promptly.
And so, instead of engaging in a meaningful conversation about an interesting topic, we quickly google it. We find the millions of shortcuts to all our shortcomings on the internet. A like on a picture of us on a mountain on facebook gives way more satisfaction and pleasure than the experience on that mountain. We are becoming completely lost, insane. We have lost touch with reality.
And so back to the law of attraction. Of course it is a scam, of course it is a hoax. I read the secret, for a bit of a laugh. That guy saying that he wished to be rich and so he received a check of 10 million dollars in the mail? Seriously?
Some people spend all their hard earned money on lottery tickets. They wish for the law of attraction. They buy into crazy financial and weight loss programs.
And notice that they all have one thing in common: They are easy, require no effort, cut out all work, and promise fast results. And those results? All extrinsic. Money, love (from others as opposed to to others), big cars, houses, abs, fame, you name it.
And so will this make you happy? Will this give you joy?
Even if it were true. Would you gain self-respect that way? Would you be proud? Would you feel dignified?
Probably not.
Don’t follow these charlatans. You want success? Analyse successful people, notice the patterns and model them. Do your best work. Create value. Live with a purpose to serve with integrity. Notice, that it’s all about the connection and the symbiosis to something way bigger. Way more important than a million dollars.
You know what else this law of attraction or “manifestation” also produce?
A feeling that we are individuals that are separated from all other people. Separated from nature.
That we, the I, the ego, the self, is more important than any other person or being int he universe.
Me me me me me me me me myself and I.
It nurtures greed, it nurtures selfishness, it nurtures entitlement, it nurtures vice.
“I am so special” - but who or what is that “I”?
“I deserve good things to happen to me without me being a good thing to others” - but who is that “I”?
Think again. Don’t get fooled, and most importantly, don’t fool yourself with this naive optimism, this wishful thinking.
Do the work. Live with virtue (or at least try). Every day. And then, try again.
Remember. If you want to grow high, you have to dive deep.
