12 June 2010 19 Comments

Gaping Hole in Law of Attraction Thinking: Suffering from Positive Actions

Frankly I’m fed up with saccharin, pseudo-spiritual talk that leads people to imagine that getting what you want is the aim of spiritual life. That’s just marketers playing off your ego.

Why do these representations bother me? Because they feed illusion. Spirituality is aboutTransAwake encountering and embracing life in its entirety, not about insulating ourselves from life and turning the universe into a wish-fulfillment machine.

Am I saying desire is wrong? Not at all. Desire drives experience. Desire launches us into the learning ground of life.

What I am saying is that all of life is spiritual when we bring ourselves to it with full, open attention.

Quit telling everyone who is in pain that what they are experiencing is because of what they have been thinking. Yes, it IS true! So why do I say to stop?:

  • Such statements usually involve judging others for experiencing things we do not actually understand ourselves.
  • What usually happens next is that we scan our surface thoughts and try to control them instead of engaging in authentic self-exploration.
  • These trite statements usually imply that if we have any troubles we are somehow spiritually inadequate: We are ‘supposed to’ be able to control life better so we do not create and experience discomfort.

Please consider the following:

Discomfort is guidance. It leads to insight. Yes we also learn through joy, but duality and polarity of experience are part and parcel with the way the universe is constructed, and function to bring about awareness. Not denial of what we don’t like. Awareness. What makes experience positive or negative depends less on the experience than the use to which we put it.

There are two main types of suffering:

One type is caused by action that does not work with the natural laws. Pain from inappropriate eating or from harming others is necessary feedback, if we are to honor life.

The second type of suffering comes from exceptionally positive action. Examples:

  • Intensive spiritual work can bring about extreme symptoms as our bodies, emotional life, or life events go into upheaval from rapid change.
  • Prayer, like praying to be of service, can place you in painful and difficult circumstances, both to serve, and to develop the compassion and insight that prepares you to do so.
  • When you cleanse the body and become ill during detoxification.
  • Coming clean by beginning to be authentic in relationship may be initially frightening and painful but leads to much deeper intimacy.

RoseLIghtThe most spiritually advanced beings I have known do not have perfectly smooth lives. They deal with the intense issues and dramas of those they serve, and the process is not always easy on them. They may indeed feel bliss even at the same time, but this does not mean they do not experience discomfort. They just don’t make their discomfort into a big deal.

If you know what someone is creating from the depths of his or her spiritual purpose and process, go ahead and tell them what they are creating. If you do not, please avoid confusing or shaming people with trite comments that imply that they must be in error if they are in pain.

Please comment below, and pass this post along to those who may find it useful.

19 Responses to “Gaping Hole in Law of Attraction Thinking: Suffering from Positive Actions”

  1. Using the Law of Attraction Positively – Positive Energy Guide

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