Thoughts on Thinking

"When somebody persuades me that I am wrong, I change my mind. What do you do?" John Maynard Keynes

"If you're unhappy with your life, change your thinking." Charles Fillmore

"The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it." Eckhart Tolle

"People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." Epictetus

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

"Consciousness is a terrible thing to waste." PunditGeorge

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Getting the Point.


Many people are enjoying their lives more and more.  Others are not.  Why is this?  There are many variations, but the common theme is attention.  People who give their attention to what they appreciate (in Life) will see more of it and have more of it in their experience.  Others give their attention to what they dislike (in Life) and they see more of it and have more of what they dislike in their experience.

The former, either consciously or not, practice creation - their experience is a result of their thinking.  The latter, either consciously or not, react to a perceived external universe, and thus can only have a better experience if the external world changes.  One is possible.  One is impossible.

The adage "knowledge is power" is true.  The contrary is also true - ignorance is weakness.  Many people are enjoying their lives more and more as they better understand, and practice in their daily life, the Law of Attraction.  Others, ignorant of the Law of Attraction, are still ruled by it.  Their world is a confounding place of capricious forces resulting in constant struggle.

The universal Law of Attraction is the way the Universe manages.  Similar frequencies cluster.  Birds of a feather, flock together.  It is self-evident.  In a curious paradox, the Law demonstrates itself to those people who reject it.  One who thinks "there is no such thing as a law of attraction" is, by Law, going to cluster similar thoughts and manifestations - more evidence that there is no such law.  Like gravity, the Law of Attraction operates whether recognized or not.  It is what it is and it does what it does.  Working with the Law (like gravity) is "going with the flow" or the path of least resistance. 

A popular practice utilizing the Law to create a more satisfying life is the "Complaint Free" concept.  The exercise is to become more aware of complaining - thinking and spoken.  One is often surprised at how much conversation is an exchange of complaints!  Next, the challenge is to stop complaining.  Now why on Earth would anyone do that?  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

Back to worldview.  People complain when they see/experience something they do not like.  In order to feel better, the object/situation has to be removed or eliminated.  Someone or something has to do that.  That will take energy and resources, which the person gives up to get rid of the object of complaint.  Also known as struggle.  Yes what is the result?  More unpleasant conditions/situations are observed, which mean greater effort must be made to make the world pleasant so the observer can feel better about his/her life.  This is a materialistic approach based on the premise that the universe/world is a separate physical structure.  If you understand "people are a result of their environment" then you understand the materialistic approach.  The Law of Attraction will insure that you experience this materialistic approach if that is your intent.

People who spend less mental energy observing what they do not desire to experience and giving attention to what they appreciate in Life will, by Law, have more of what they appreciate in their daily life.  They will feel better and enjoy life more.  It's the same Law, but two different applications.  That's the difference between knowledge and ignorance.  Ignorance isn't stupid, it's the absence of knowledge and one cannot know what one does not know.  Ergo, those that get it, get it.  Those that don't, can't.

 The people who practice complaint-free notice the effects quickly.  They become very sensitive to complaining.  It is an unpleasant experience, one they do not wish to experience, and thus move their attention (and often physical self) away.  This shift in attention often means new friends, changes in relationships - birds of a feather flock together.  A person is not chained to a particular environment or condition.  Note:  The complaining/unhappy person will likely resent the complaint-free person. It's the Crab-bucket effect.

Releasing old/established relationships/patterns is often described as "following your heart" or dreams.  It is true.  Only you know what is best for you.  There are, of course, quite a number of materialists who know precisely what is good for you and will go to great lengths to "help you."  They believe they will feel better once you act right, so to speak.   You may choose to resist them, thus attracting (creating) more struggle, or you can direct your attention to what you wish to experience (appreciate) and supplant the struggle with desired experience.

It's not a matter of right or wrong.  As Henry Ford is alleged to have said, "If you believe you can, or if you believe you can't, you're right."  Abe Lincoln is alleged to have remarked that "most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Going back in time, we find similar observations:  "People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." Epictetus.



"We inhabit a cosmos made real in part by our own observations…our observations influence the universe at the most fundamental levels.”   Physicist John Wheeler (coined the phrase "Black Hole.)  Observation = attention.  Attention = thinking.

Author Eckert Tolle put it nicely: "Complaining is not to be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be put right. And to refrain from complaining doesn’t necessarily mean putting up with bad quality of behavior. There is no ego in telling the waiter your soup is cold and needs to be heated up – if you stick to the facts, which are always neutral.
'How dare you serve me cold soup!'. . . That’s complaining."

The Law of Attraction.  Use it consciously.  It's in play, regardless.


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