"Our circumstances and environment are formed by our thoughts."

 Charles Haanel

‘The Master Key’, (1917)

*** 

You either believe that, disbelieve it, or you are not quite sure. 

Only one of those three choices excuses you from an obligation to exercise your power of will. 

Only one of those three choices places your success firmly in your hands - and before that, firmly in your thoughts.

The following 'picture' comes to mind...

When I was a child, adults used a saying, "It takes all kinds". That saying was uttered in response to someone else acting in a strange way. It was a quick way of signaling the fact people behave in many different ways. That is true: people do behave in very different ways. Often, regardless of their deep beliefs, people behave in very different and unpredictable ways. And, sometimes people behave in fickle, inconsistent ways.

In fact, when you really stop and observe, people are walking/talking contradictions. If that were not the case then we wouldn't have had tom come up with that admonition, "Talk the talk and walk the walk".

Back to, or at least toward, the point behind this post...

Every rational person, at least to a degree, behaves in ways that confirm belief in the view that our circumstances and environment are formed by our thoughts. Every rational person knows that thought precedes action, some of the time if not most of the time. And, every rational person knows that tomorrow’s ‘future circumstances and environment’ are affected by today’s actions, some of which are the consequences of today’s [or yesterday’s] thoughts.

So, every rational person embraces [at least to a small degree] the ‘Law of Attraction’.

And, every rational person places at least a small amount of belief in ‘Power of Will’.

It is only a matter of degree…

...and how we intend to put this belief to good, constructive use.

Some people believe the Law of Attraction [is a, if not the, fundamental law of the Universe. The Law is often described in terms of Universal Mind or Universal Intelligence.  Many thoughtful people believe there is a fundamental/universal/spiritual law that permeates everything in the Universe, including the people on planet Earth. 

These people believe this law is pervasive - at the core of everything: it is a law of Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence. These people believe this law knows no boundaries:

• It is all-powerful
• It is all-knowing
• It is everywhere

A number of proponents of this ‘fundamentalist’ Law of Attraction viewpoint have made claims about scientific verification where the human sub/unconscious 'mind' is the conduit between Universal Intelligence and (conscious) human thought.  In summary, they believe if we can control our conscious thought and direct it toward our long-term goals then after much repetition our subconscious mind will link with Universal Intelligence and deliver to us the things we think about. 

The Law of Attraction is a double-edged sword. If we think about the worthwhile things tied to our long-term goals then we receive those worthwhile things and achieve our long-term goals. Conversely, if we think fearful and worrisome thoughts then we attract and bring to ourselves those things we fear and worry about.  Integral to this viewpoint is the conclusion that Universal Intelligence has no filter and our thoughts are connected to unlimited consequences, both good and bad.

Three early 20^th-Century examples:

Charles Haanel, American New-Thought Author and Philosopher (1866-1949)

Author of ‘The Master Key’ (circa 1917)

Napoleon Hill, American New-Thought and Personal-Success Author (1883-1970)

author of ‘The Law of Success’ (1925) and ‘Think and Grow Rich’ (1937)

Robert Collier, American New-Thought and Self-Help Author (1885-1950)

Author of ‘The Secret of the Ages’ (1926)

These early-20^th Century authors believed strongly in the natural-state spiritual aspects of the Law of Attraction as described above…and to various degrees they believed the Law of Attraction was founded on scientific proof. These authors brought their religious beliefs to bear, some of their master works link the Law of Attraction to the teachings of Jesus as written the Christian Bible.

One highlight about each of those early-20^th Century authors:

• Charles Haanel presented a wonderful process for improving focus and concentration
• Napoleon Hill served as U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s special assistant for many years, at $1/year…perhaps, Hill coined the ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself’ message?
• Robert Collier, from the famous Collier publishing family, believed the Law of Attraction could be called upon to overcome death

Other people, for example Esther Hicks [with the help of her husband Jerry and a multi-faceted supernatural entity she called ‘Abraham’], presented following-generation examples of Law of Attraction beliefs and messages.  

Esther Hicks, American Inspirational Author (1948- present)...with husband, Jerry

Author of ‘The Law of Attraction – The Teachings of Abraham’ (2007)

And, most-recently Deepak Chopra has expanded upon the scientific aspects by presenting physics-based explanations…information stored in waves...essentially saying that the vibrations of thought permeate the cosmos - omniscient, omnipresent and perhaps omnipotent.

Deepak Chopra, Indian-born, American Author (1947-present)

***

The Law of Attraction...I have read much about this...I have personal views...and I am very interested in other people's views.

The Law of Attraction...a feel-good thought or a Fundamental Universal Law?

• What do you think?
• Do you believe in the Law of Attraction?
• If so, how do you define it?
• Do you consider your Law of Attraction beliefs to be a solely spiritual [faith-based] or are they science-proven beliefs?

Time is not the scourge of us.

We are not pawns to be battered about by heartless Time.

And, Time cannot be our scapegoat or our excuse for lack of success.

Think of the Sun’s role in all of this. Here we are elipsing around that nearby star. Each time we complete an orbit we write off another year…call it 12 months…or 365 days…or 8,760 hours…or about 525,600 minutes…etc.

Without our Sun, Time as we know it would vanish. That considered, rather than blaming Time for our shortcomings, it makes much more sense to blame the Sun...at least for our lack of planning, our lack of action, our lack of results, and our lack of success.

Instead of saying things like, “Sorry, I didn’t have Time” we should be saying things like “Sorry, the Sun made me not do it”.

Yes, clearly, that makes a lot more sense!