Monday, October 1, 2007

The Flaw Of Attraction

All the rage today is centered around some ideas put out by some New Age practitioners who have labeled a so-called new discovery "The Secret". It has caught on like wildfire and the mass media is promoting them to no end. From what I hear it was created by a woman (not sure where she's from) and now droves of experts have joined forces with her to get this very important message out to the world. Truth is, they're a little late........like several thousands of years late. This 'secret' that they are slowly revealing to the world has been known for eons by many groups from many cultures. The whole concept is based on 'the law of attraction", "focal intention", "like attracts like", create-your-own-reality, and so on. If you can think it, they say, then you can manifest it....just like that. Hmmmmm. Wouldn't it be nice to bypass Heavens plan and change our destiny pattern any old way we choose. Wouldn't it be nice to over-ride God's decisions and alter them to fit our own desires. Who needs Gods and Heavens when we have the 'Secret'. It's all a bit superficial.

The law of attraction has been preached by many people...Jane Roberts/Seth, Hicks/Abraham, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Gary Zucav, and millions of others. They are all basically saying the same thing and people keep paying them money and making them millionaires to hear the same message over and over. It is strange to note, that if these people really believed that the law of attraction works why are the unattractive, out-of-shape, and unhealthy law of attraction promoters of 10 years ago, still unattractive, out-of-shape, and unhealthy today. Why has the law of attraction not worked for them. Many of the biggest names have battled alcohol and drug addictions and a host of other problems. If the law of attraction worked the way they say it does, the world could be saved in a day. Could it be that all these people are lying.......perhaps we should not be too harsh on them and just accept that they were probably misinformed and got a little over-excited in promoting their misinformed ideas.

I doubt that Pythagoras believed in the law of attraction. I would say that Shao Yung certainly did not buy into it.......unless of course you were a sage. Master Shao believed that things could be created with the mind because the mind can be equated with Tao. But only rare and certain people could accomplish this mind/Tao connection. Master Shao called this person a sage, and he unfortunately states that " I have never seen one with my own eyes". In one of Wayne Dyer's book he is referred to as a modern sage. I wonder if Shao Yung would consider Wayne Dyer a sage ??? If Dyer is a sage then we are seeing something that some of the greatest masters and philosophers of the Neo-Confucian era have not seen. At the time Dyer was called a sage, Dyer himself admitted to having a alcohol dependency problem. This was kept very quiet from the public because it would not look good for the publishers to promote a "Drunken Sage". Does all this seem a bit strange to you.

I would agree with Shao Yung in believing that anyone and everyone has the ability to create their own reality or even to become a sage, but...."amongst men he is one in a billion" to use his own words. It is like saying that everyone has a chance to win the 50 million dollar lottery but how many actually do it...some spend their whole life trying but get nowhere. It is probably much easier to hit the 50 million dollar lottery than it is to alter heavens patterns or to become a sage. The "Secret" crew/cult will very likely accumulate 50 million dollars at the rate they are going...and they don't have to alter Heaven's plan, become a sage, or hit the lottery. They just need to convince simple saps like us.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hear, hear;

Whilst I do believe in staying positive, getting educated, treating people as I would like to be treated etc, there are many around me who now believe that they can do anything they want because it is the Law of Attraction. I would love to do some 4P research on these guru's to see where their real luck is coming from. There's also a Law of Karma as well...

Andy Nicola said...

Hello -

Nice comments. The late spiritual guru Osho would not necessarily believe in staying positive.......or negatative, but rather staying balanced. Staying positive all the time will eventually make you unbalanced so Osho believed in accepting everything until the point where you can 'reside in the center'. In the center, nothing can harm you. Perhaps the reason people are so unbalanced today is because they are concentrating so hard on the positive and living so much in the negative...just a thought.

By the way, I think you have a great point. Let's do some 4P on the guru's and see what the real story is. Thanks for your comments and have a great day.

Andy

Anonymous said...

Andy,

We should not be too surprised. The world today is about packaging. A not-so-new idea relies on new packaging to sell. I visit bookshops regularly, always zooming in on the Chinese metaphysics shelves, to see what are the new ideas to broaden my perspective. Most of the time, I get to see new, attractive, or even exaggerated titles, but dealing on the same old contents. It is how it is today.

I have been enjoying my quiet reading here. It beats the trips to bookshops. Keep it up!

Warmest regards,
Tony Tan

Anonymous said...

Well isnt it what you beleive in your heart that creates your destiny?
I do not agree with your sarcasm in negating others beleifs, that is confusing to me. As one Wise Man said, "You used to smile all of the time, you were always happy" until you were consumed by a darkness with many lies that made up a soul came to you. And the other said you were to dumb to know u werent happy. The smile was the happiness. The darkeness got in because it was let in.I belive in the Laws of Atraction, I beleive that you invite in what you get, if you are willing to put yourself on the line to feel whatever you feel, it is your responsibility to accept it or change it.
Luck is a state of mind some will feel they are lucky to hit the lottery, some will feel thay are lucky to have a great friend as a sparring partner.
xoxo, Madam B

Andy Nicola said...

Hello Tony -

Your words ring so true. The world today really is all about packaging, and it certainly takes a lot to surprise me anymore. I will say, however, that these 'packaging specialists' are quite creative and ambitious these days and every now and then ....when I think I've seen it all...something takes me completely by surprise. I have given up looking at the bookstores for new material to expand my knowledge. As we've talked about before...I believe we can learn more by going to sleep than by visiting bookstores.

I am quite happy to hear that you are enjoying my blog. It surely brings a smile to me. Thank you for your comments. It is always a pleasure to hear from you.

Very Best Wishes

Andy

Andy Nicola said...

Hello Madam B -

A smile on a person's face does not mean they are happy. A frown does not mean they are sad. A used-car salesman is always smiling...does this mean they are happy? A person trying to sell you something is always smiling but are very rarely happy (unless you buy their product of course, and even then they are at times unhappy). You are confusing happiness with contentment. Many wise people believe that contentment has more value than happiness If you ask me, happiness has too many responsibilities and after awhile you forget what you're happy about because you're too busy trying to keep it all in order. I'm not talking about bliss here...I'm talking about happiness.

Perhaps what you believe in your heart does create your destiny as you mentioned, but the problem is that people today have no clue how to manage the 'affairs of the heart'. Then they have councilers, doctors, drugs, guru, masters, etc. calling the shots for them. Then a vicious cycle starts and people become over-dependant on them and can't get off the merry-go-round. In my opinion this is what is happening with Deepak, Dyer, The Secret, and all the rest.

You said that you believe in the 'law of attraction'. You may believe it...but do you UNDERSTAND it ? Some believe in Santa Clause and Tooth-fairies because they don't understand the realities of the lies they were told/forced to accept. If a mother and father can lie to their child, do you believe for a moment that The Secret or other new-age groups would have a problem lying to you...a mere stranger.

I believe in the law of attraction. I believe in creating your own reality. I believe in vibrational manifesation. But I don't believe it at the level that the new age charlatans are begging us to accept. It is too much to talk about right now.

Hope I didn't upset you Madam B. Sometimes I feel as though I would rather get in the ring with Mike Tyson than to go a round or two with you :-))) Have a great day Madam B.

Andy

Anonymous said...

Dear Andy,
Very interesting your Flaw of Attraction!
I must admit that I belive in the Law of Attraction as much as I believe in the Flaw of It.

I'm not particularly impressed with "The Secret", but I have friends who think that they started "manifesting" things after "applying" the secret to their lives.
I personally don't think that staring day and night at $100 bill will make one rich, but I think that one can easily become "obsessed" with it, creating a certain "emotion", which can easily become an "attachment".

Now, we both know that everything is energy and ....we are energy too :-)
Our minds work as antennas tuned to different vibrations or frequencies. Being positive is more beneficial to one's well being then being negative.

The Law of Attraction works in Feng Shui - that's the reason we place different objects (cures/adjustments) to "attract" positive things or to enhance specific specific aspects of our lives.

From ancient times people tried to change or improve their destiny.
From ancient times people have practiced different rituals to attract wealth; the "money tree" in Asia, rituals dedicated to Lakshimi in India, or Water Placement in Feng Shui.

Do you really think that people gamble just to prove the theory of probability? Or they use water placements or fight San Sha to prove that Chinese Metaphysics work? No, most of them want to get rich quick!
Greediness is not only a deadly sin, but a strong attachment too.

I'm sure you are well aware of all these things. What I think it's really bothering you it is "the packaging" it comes with - as Tony said.
It's not the first time when you are disturbed by some people's greediness and with all good intentions you tried to save "the innocents". For this...some love you and some hate you :-)
And sadly enough, sometimes "the innocents" don't want to be saved.

Back in the early 90's, a friend of mine from New York tried to convince me to attend a "get rich quick" seminar. She insisted so much that it was kind of offensive to her not to go.
So I went and what did I see? A large room, full with people rushing to pay for stupid tips on "how to become rich". What amazed me then was the fact that "the innocents" were putting much more energy into letting themselves be robbed then even their predators.

Wouldn't be nice to change the world?
As Osho said: "my message is not a philosophy or a religion. My message is Alchemy, a science of transformation. If you follow me you have to be willing "to die" and be born again".

But how many are willing to go through this transformation?

Since I'm talking about your friend Osho :-) I would like to mention just a "minor" fact - that Osho became enlightened when he was 21 years old.

He transcended the aspect of being positive or negative. He was above "emotions" or "attachments".
As you know, he was quite wealthy during his life, but he wasn't affected by this in any way.

You know that I'm not that crazy about Osho, but I admire him for being highly spiritual.
I admire him for studying philosophy (at the University in Sogar) and then, teaching it for 9 years at the University in Jabalpur, India.
He lectured extensively on "all levels of human conscience" (one of my favorite subjects).
He studied everything from Sigmund Freud to Chung Tzu, from George Gurdjieff to Gautama Buddha, from Jesus Christ to Rabindranath Tagore.
He got the "essence" from all teachings, but never associated himself with one religion or philosophy or tradition. Just like you!

If you'll meet Shao tonight, please tell him that I met two sages in my life. And I'm not kidding :-)

Cheerful wishes,
P&S

Andy Nicola said...

Hello P & S

WOW !!! What an absolutely insightful response. It is one I will read over and over again. I read each and every word you wrote with great zest. If I respond to all your valueable points this will become a book...so I'll keep it relatively short.

I like your $100 bill analysis a lot. It is like asking the I Ching how to find $100 and later that day you find a $100 bill lying in the corner. One then starts to believe that 1) they created the money...or 2) The I Ching created it. They never stop to think that perhaps they were able to witness the energy of $100 comming into their life by using the symbolic trigrams/hexagrams as a guide. The I Ching didn't create it per se, but reavealed an energy pattern that was about to manifest. Some believe that the I Ching is more of a "revealer" than a "creator". Much could be said about this.

You are very accurate when you said that it's the "packaging" and the greed that I sometimes have a difficult time with. With greed comes lies, with lies comes distrust, and so on and on. I am happy to see that you and Tony Tan and more and more people are wise to the ways of the "packaging wizards". To me it certainly seems to be a step in the right direction and progressive. I salute and respect all the people today who refuse to be dazzled by the false and phoney claims.

Yes, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Shao Yung and Osho. Both were rebels in their own way. Shao Yung has been accused of being an unemployed, immoral, and socially irresponsible individual. Osho, many believed, was an outright crimminal. But whatever the case, neither let the opinions of others affect their metaphysical and spiritual path. I hold them both in deep regard. I dream of Shao and Osho more times than I see my friends and relatives in daily life. I communicate more frequently with them than my physical aquaintances. Yor're right, Osho studied everything but never necessarily associated himself with a specific religion or philosophy. As for Shao, well...I could go on forever.

Thank You for the inspiration and nourishment with your insighful comments.

Very Warm Wishes

Andy