Tag: law of attraction

Personal Mantras used in Meditation

It has been quite a while since my last post In The Buddha’s Words and I have no valid excuse for not being more prolific with my writing. This post will provide a justification if you will for using mantras when meditating. I like many of you suffer from a monkey mind that cannot seem to turn itself off while sitting on the cushion. All the thoughts of things you need to do, issues in your life, and a general inability to let it all go are preventing you from just focusing on your breathing. One method of blocking out the monkey mind is to use a mantra during your meditation practice.

Definition of a Mantra

  1. Hinduism. a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
  2. an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism: If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more

This definition is somewhat incomplete as mantras are used in Buddhism during mediation and have many other uses. A mantra can more generally be described as repeating a word or phrase as a way of programming your mind as those who believe in the law of attraction, but in our case, the mantras I’m interested in will be used during meditation and not used to manifest anything.

If you are at the point in your meditation practice where you don’t need a mantra or two to block out the monkey mind, then more power to you, but for me, it’s a useful practice. The mantra I am using currently using goes something like this:

There is no pain, there is no suffering, there is only peace and contentment

I am saying these phrases to myself, not audibly, but thinking them. On the first breath “there is no pain”, on the second breath “there is no suffering”, on the third breath “there is only peace”, and finally on the fourth breath “and contentment”. By taking the time to think about each of these sub phrases individually during each breath you increase the emphasis on the meaning. The mantra can totally block out all other thoughts as it is repeated over and over again. For me, the act of meditation is about leaving any state of pain, suffering, and creating a state of peace and contentment.

Note I’m not trying to manifest a new car or more money. I’m also not trying to bolster my ego by telling myself how great I am, nor am I trying to practice some bullshit self-improvement technique. For me, meditation is not some tool I use to create a better version of myself or God forbid correct all my faults. As the Buddha taught pain and suffering exists all around us as an innate result of experiencing life. I prefer even if it is only during my meditation session to create a state of no pain, no suffering, only peace, and contentment. You might view this as an escape from life, but I contend it is more than that. I’ve come recently to experience my meditation practice as more of a revelation of what is truly authentic. Maybe another way to put it is that through meditation I am experiencing my most authentic self. I’m not saying meditation is the only way to be more like who you really are, but it is certainly one of the best ways. Most other activities in life have you playing a role, trying to gain something, achieve a goal, satisfying some desire, or are generally concerned with improving some aspect of your life by doing stuff. You know, the way we spend the vast majority of your days.

Most human beings are very goal oriented always seeking to improve themselves, gaining some satisfaction from checking off one goal after another on the list, but strangely enough still largely unsatisfied with their existence. This strong attraction to acquiring things and the subsequent brainwashing that has occurred over the many hundreds or years has done nothing to nurture our true nature or foster even a modicome of self awareness. If someone deviates from path (norm) they are either lazy or insane by the standards of society. Meditation and the use of mantras can help you undo some of this conditioning. The Buddha provided the Noble Eightfold Path as a means of escaping all this self induced suffering. Regarding meditation and the discovery of your true self the focus should be on right mindfulness and right concentration.

Other mantras I’ve used in addition the afore mentioned one includes:

Zazen is life

I am here, I am present

I am happy to be alive today

I give thanks for the Buddha, I give thanks for the Dhamma, and I give thanks for the Sangha

If I have any advice it would be to not make your mantra too complex. Shorter phrases fit better within the span of a breath and can be more impactful. You can also intersperse periods of just observing your breathing and when the monkey mind begins to take over, go back to your mantras.

Namaste

Reframing goal setting

One of the books I have been reading is called “Ask and It Is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks and in that book, they have exercises for helping you manifest what you want with the law of attraction. One of the exercises they advocate is basically framed as:

I want “something” because “what it provides you”.

The idea is to list what you want and why for various categories of your life such as material things, career, relationships, health, etc. So naturally, I start listing shit I want such as a bigger house, a new car, a boat, and some gym equipment. Why did I jump right to listing the stuff I wanted instead of experiences, new behaviors, or being more mindful? I think much of this is the programming we receive from society and the media. Take Instagram for instance and you see all of these posts with expensive cars, extravagant homes, and private jets. We are literally being programmed to think first of acquiring more shit, when we know in our hearts the satisfaction from all this stuff has but a momentary effect on our happiness then it is off to buy the next piece of crap we don’t really want or need.

Now I’m pissed off for wasting my precious time dreaming about shit I don’t need when the things I really want have little do anything in the material realm. So it occurred to me that I needed to reframe the way I think about setting goals and what I really want in life. Let me be clear I’m not saying material things shouldn’t be on your list, but there is a price you pay for pursuing those things often at the expense of goals such as cultivating a more mindful existence. Let’s say we flip this paradigm upside down and our goal categories become something like this:

  1. Mindfulness
  2. Relationships
  3. Experiences
  4. Knowledge
  5. Health
  6. Career
  7. Finances
  8. Material Things

What the hell, now we have some really worthwhile things to focus on, things that bring happiness and personal development, and guess what items one through five either cost nothing or are relatively inexpensive. This revelation came to me after I had completed that law of attraction exercise and still felt uninspired. I need to go back now and rework my list to look something like the one above and dig deep into each category and focus on those things that will really enhance my life and not just drain my bank account.

To be continued………..

Namaste


This post was proofread by Grammarly.

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Embrace acceptance

We wake up every day, and most of us start out the day with some expectations. We might think this will be an easy day, I have time for some of my hobbies, and 10 minutes later you log in at work and fuck the world is coming to an end and you are asked to address a whole bunch of shit that you had not expected. You become upset, not so much that all this shit was thrust upon your plate, but because you expected a different kind of day. You had a plan or expectation for your day, and it got thrown out the window.

Welcome to reality! Not the stupid planned reality created by your expectations, but the kick you in the ass reality called life. Ouch! As I have observed the most painful periods in my life, they are painful because I expected one thing and life said so what and providing something else. Of course, now I’m pissed off because things didn’t go the way I expected, and not only am I angry, I become negative as hell and start acting like an asshole.

Consider that expectations are either in the present or in the future. I think planning is a good thing, but having an expectation that I will execute all the tasks or adhere to a timeline called out in the plan is where the problems begin. The world and other people don’t care about your plan, so accept you have much less control over what will transpire each day than you might think. Go in with a plan and adapt as needed without all your expectations weighing you down. Well, you might say well shouldn’t I expect good things to happen for me today? My advice is that it would be nice, but if you do and things turn out differently you end up crushed because life didn’t meet your expectations.

All you can do is stay present, drop the stupid expectations, and start accepting what life throws at you. I’m not going to take on the Law of Attraction movement, which I have written about before and have some belief in, but much of it is predicated on you believing (expecting) something to come into being in your life and that will cause the Universe to make it happen. Life, on the other hand, will provide plenty of chaos and contrary results that provide disappointment after disappointment if you keep expecting a certain outcome. Choose to dream, have a vision, and be positive, but stay away from expecting too much on a daily basis.

I am going to try and accept what happens to me today, without expectations.

Namaste

 

If you would like to support this blog, check out the awesome selection of eBooks at:

Mind, Body, Spirit books at eBooks.com

If eBooks aren’t your thing, check out my Resources page for additional ways to support this blog.

Visit my other blog Inspirational Book Reviews where I review some incredible literature.

Tune Yourself

If you believe in the law of attraction and understand that what you think you become then read on, otherwise you are wasting your time by reading the rest of this post. I say that because if you don’t believe in the law of attraction what I’m about to explain becomes somewhat pointless.

how-to-manifest-law-of-attraction

In a recent post I wrote about how to stop reacting to life and begin controlling your thoughts to increase your level of happiness. I would like to think that what I’m about to say builds on this idea, refining and expanding upon it. If you believe that what you think about becomes your reality then you must make sure you are feeding your mind good thoughts. If you have a shred of introspection in your mind, you will begin to recognize when  you go from good to bad thoughts and you can then begin to catch yourself steering your thoughts back into the right direction. It doesn’t take much to go from thinking good thoughts about things that make you happy to reversing it and becoming critical. We often obsess over problems we are experiencing and in doing so we have blocked the good thoughts from taking their place. Obsessing over perceived problems is one of the toughest negative thinking patterns to break.

I like this quote because this is your only way out of the negative thinking patterns that come from obsessing over problems.

I dont fix problems-quote

There are basically two choices when it comes to creating that positive mindset that allow the law of attraction to work for you instead of against you.

  1. Stop the negative pattern from appearing in the first place.
  2. Using your ability to realize that you have slipped into a negative state of mind and replace it with positive thoughts.

Let’s take the first one. What are some ways we can stop the negative thinking pattern from occurring? Here are a few things to consider:

  • The best time to set the stage for your thinking is when you first get up in the morning. Remember the idea here is to put those good thoughts in your head so that they become the dominant things on our mind.
  • I find that yoga and meditation both are great ways to start your day on a positive note.
  • Maybe for you it is music or watching some uplifting YouTube videos like the one below:

What about the second scenario where you have already allowed the negative thoughts to become predominant? We would all prefer that this doesn’t happen, but let’s be realistic we all must learn to cope with the negative thinking pattern that now has control. Here are a few ways to overcome the negative thought pattern and turn it into a positive one:

  • First you must understand the damage that is being done. You have now set the law of attraction into motion attracting more negative thoughts. Remember what you think you become, so if you think negative thoughts you become negative and negative things are now being attracted to you. All I’m saying is you have sufficient motivation to change the way you are thinking.
  • The longer you wallow in your negative thoughts the greater the damage, so you need to start catching yourself as your thoughts go from positive to negative. These are the moments when you say to yourself, I wish I hadn’t said that or reacted that way. Recognize this is very good, because you are not only aware of the negative thought pattern, but you are putting yourself in the state of mind to change it.
  • Once you recognize you have negative thoughts pervading your mind then you need to do something immediately to limit the damage and turn things around. Tune into something that you love, which sometimes means removing yourself from the thing you are doing if possible. Here are few ways you can snap yourself out of the negative and tune yourself to the positive:
    • Get up and take a walk for 10-15 minutes, this alone will give you a chance to think about something else.
    • Take a break. They have done a lot of studies that say every 45-60 minutes you need to take a break from what your doing and give your mind and body a chance to recover.
    • Think about some of the things you really enjoy like music, people you love, hobbies, areas of interest, your dog or cat, sitting on a beach, walking on a wooded trail. Add to this list the things that make you feel good. Oh I almost forgot as you think about those things you enjoy, smile!
    • Think about something or someone you are grateful for. As you think about each thing you are grateful for really focus on it for a couple minutes. It’s tough to be negative when you feel grateful.

The law of attraction is a powerful reality and it responds to what you are thinking, so it is imperative that you spend the majority of your time focused on good thoughts. What you think about is a choice so choose wisely. Ultimately it is you that controls the world that you see. Control your thoughts and control your reality.

Namaste

 

The Law of Attraction – Money

law of attraction - money

Can you use the law of attraction to become wealthy? Many people seeking more wealth are drawn to the law of attraction and there are countless videos and books on how you can use it to garner large sums of money. Of course the law of attraction can help you acquire all the money you want in your life, but like anything else that you are trying to attract it must be upper most in your mind. To attract wealth you must be thinking about wealth. You should not be thinking about the debt you have incurred and the lack of money you have in your life right now.

When you see that car or house you should be telling yourself I can afford it, because this is what puts the wheels in motion. You are asking, believing it can be yours, and feeling as if you have received it. If you want to accelerate the process then giving money away sends a signal to the universe that you have more than enough and it will find ways to return the favor making more money available to you. The wealthiest people in the world give away incredible amounts of money as they understand the good karma it creates.

Most of us have been told that we don’t need money to be happy, and that money if the root of all evil. We have also been told that to want more wealth is greedy and selfish. Listen all this is just a bunch of crap, perpetuated by people who don’t have any money. We have also been taught that money doesn’t come easy and that we need to struggle to acquire it. This is the wrong mindset and it sends out a frequency that impedes you acquiring the wealth you want. You spend more time worry about the how instead of feeling grateful for what you have and asking for what you want. Another misconception that is if we acquire great wealth we have taken this from someone else, again this is not true; there is plenty to go around. Replace those old tired philosophies with affirmations like:

  • I am a magnet for prosperity, happiness, and abundance!
  • I am healthy, wealthy, and wise!
  • Prosperity overflows in my life, I have everything in abundance!
  • I have more money than I know what to do with!

The most important lesson to be learned is that you must start with the premise that being happy puts you in a position to attract more of everything to you, and that includes wealth. Secondly you must decide (ask) that you want more money, believing that you already have it, and that it will come to you.

You attract what you think about, so focus on the feeling of having more wealth, not the lack of it. It all starts with you and your feelings about money. Remember the more you have, the more you can give to others. Most of us seeking more wealth do so with the desire to do more for our families, friends, and charities that we support. The creator did not put us on this earth to struggle in poverty.

Namaste

Previous law of attraction posts include:

Law of Attraction #1

Law of Attraction #2

The Law of Attraction #3

The Law of Attraction #4

The Law of Attraction #5

 

The Law of Attraction #5

 

 

gratitude 3

I just finished reading the chapter “Powerful Processes” in The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. This is the fifth post on the law of attraction that I am sharing with you on my blog. I have enjoyed reading The Secret and studying the law of attraction so much because it is beginning to have a profound impact on my own life and hopefully it will inspire you to begin your own study.

I have written other posts on gratitude because I always felt it was a key to happiness, but putting it into context on how it helps the law of attraction work for you is something new to me. Being grateful for what you have sets the stage in your mind to receive more; attracting more of what you are grateful for. When you are grateful you open up a world of possibilities for yourself and it changes the way you approach everything else. A good practice is to do this when you get out of bed in the morning. Be thankful for being alive, for the chance to enjoy another day, to be happy, and to contribute something to this world. I know this sounds simplistic, but if you will start your day with some type of gratitude practice you set the stage for a positive outcome and this makes you aware of things you can be thankful for throughout the day. As the day progresses you are viewing the world as events or things that you are grateful for and enjoy. Here are a few examples of what happens when you embrace a grateful attitude:

  • My drive into work was easy today.
  • My lunch was very good, the broccoli was crisp and not overcooked.
  • The meeting I attended with a colleague at work was very productive and we came to agreement on some key ways to improve the process we were developing.
  • I enjoyed the walk in the sunshine today, which gave me some time to think and a bit of exercise.
  • I am very grateful that my children get along with each other so well. It gives me great pleasure to see them talking and laughing together.
  • When I see my 1 year old granddaughter I am filled with joy and I can’t stop smiling.

A grateful practice will change the way you look at the world and this sets things in motion for the universe to respond to your wishes and give  you more to be grateful for.

Another process that was explained in this chapter was the use of visualization. For those not familiar with this technique, you create pictures of what you want in your mind. This might be some thing, relationship, or really just about anything you are asking for. For visualization to work you must believe you already have it from the perspective about how you feel about possessing it. Let’s say you would like new house on 5 acres of land with a pond or lake on it. Visualize what it would look like when you open the door or look out your window at the water or mountains. Visualize the style of the house, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, living areas, and the type of flooring and finishes. When you visualize think about what it feels like owning this property. Above all don’t worry about how you will acquire this home, or engage any doubts about it being yours.

Many people use vision boards and post pictures of what they want in their office or a room in the house that they use everyday. The vision board will inspire you every day to dream and visualize in your mind what you want from the universe. As these things are manifested and received, you can pull them down and put new ones in their place.

A grateful attitude and the ability to visualize what you want will take you far, and most of all you will be a happier person.

Note: I use an Android app called Bliss from positive psychology, which reminds me every morning to enter in what I am grateful for. Sometimes it is fun to just scroll through what you entered into the app to remind yourself of all the things you were grateful for over time. This app is also available for Apple phones

Namaste

Previous law of attraction posts include:

Law of Attraction #1

Law of Attraction #2

The Law of Attraction #3

The Law of Attraction #4

 

The Law of Attraction #4

law of attraction ask believe receive

If you have read any of my previous posts on the law of attraction you know that I am reading The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. In the chapter “How to use the law of attraction” a three stop process is revealed:

  1. Ask
  2. Believe
  3. Receive

Seems pretty simple doesn’t it, but let’s delve into this a bit more.

Asking means to be clear about what you want. Don’t send mixed signals here, just think about what you want, no strings attached, no limitations. Once you have asked let it be, you don’t need to ask again and again.

When we talk about believing we mean thinking as if you already received it. This is the step where you are creating a frequency that helps to manifest it. This means thinking as if you already have it. You might want to write down what you are asking for in the present tense. An example might be something like this “I really enjoy sharing my business opportunity with others, helping them become financially independent”. The key is to believe you already have it.

Receiving is more about feeling how it will be when what you are asking for has manifested. Think about it for a minute, you are creating the feeling of having it and the joy associated with it. Don’t destroy the good frequency you are creating by wondering when or how it will arrive, this only creates self doubt and negates the process.

It is important that you do not introduce an over analytical approach that puts time limits on when what you want is actually manifested. It is enough that you believe that it is happening and you feel good about it. Don’t look for reasons why you will not have it because the law of attraction will give you what you are thinking about. If you are clear about what you want, believe it is yours and that you received it the universe will make it happen. This will also cause your actions to be in line with your thoughts.

If you need proof that the law of attraction works then start with something small. Let’s say you want to develop a meditation practice. You might start out by saying “I really enjoy my daily meditation practice, which has provided so much clarity and peace of mind and is having a profound impact on all areas of my life”. Write this down where you can see it and think about how it can change your life. Without much effort you will be studying about the different kinds of meditation practices, making time for it in the morning or at night, and before long what you asked for and believed you received is now a habit.

Keep it simple, don’t over think things, don’t worry about the how, instead focus on feeling good about what you are asking for and you will receive it. Remember we have spent our lives being told to be realistic, to take safe route, and we are filled with self doubt, created by past experience and thoughts.

Use the law of attraction to change all that and discard your baggage it is a new day.

Namaste

 

Previous law of attraction posts include:

Law of Attraction #1

Law of Attraction #2

The Law of Attraction #3

The Law of Attraction #3

 

law of attraction 21

In my previous posts The Law of Attraction #1 and The Law of Attraction #2 I attempted to explain some fundamental concepts and ways you can start using the law of attraction in your own life. I have been reading The Secret and I thought it might be useful to provide a summary of some of the things I have been learning. I really encourage you to acquire the book, it is incredible, and contains some great quotes interspersed between the writing of the author Rhonda Bryne. Not only is this an excellent book, but it is so well made, printed, and illustrated. I have the hardcover version, which I highly recommend. I can’t speak to the quality of the paperback version.

The second chapter of The Secret is “The Secret Made Simple”, some of the key concepts shared in that chapter include:

  • The law of attraction is a law of nature and as such is always working. It is not something you need to invoke.
  • It is very important to know how you are feeling. If you want to understand what you are thinking you must ask yourself what am I feeling. If I am feeling good it would be impossible to be thinking bad thoughts.
  • Thoughts determine what frequency you are on. If you are feeling bad you are on  frequency that is attracting more bad things into your life, conversely if you are feeling good then you are on a frequency that will attract more good things.
  • There is this concept of secret shifters, which is merely a set of thoughts or activities that you can use to break the pattern of bad thoughts. These can be personal experiences, nature, music, or maybe even a form of exercise that can be used to break the pattern of bad thoughts. Try as we may we will all slip into a negative thinking pattern from time to time and need to have some ready ways to shift our thoughts back in a positive direction.
  • When it comes to frequency the feeling of love is the strongest frequency you can possess. Strive to embrace the feeling of love as much as possible, because it will enhance your results.

The real takeaway here is that the way you feel is critically important. The way you feel will guide you to change your thoughts, because the thoughts you are thinking are making you feel good or bad. Pay attention to how you feel as it is a key indicator of what is going on in your mind, and will help you stay on course or make a correction.

In my next post I will share more of what I am learning from The Secret and how to use the law of attraction.

Namaste

 

 

 

Law of Attraction #2

law-of-attraction-5

In the last post Law of Attraction #1 I attempted to explain my macro level view of the law of attraction. I promised that I would try to explain how the law of attraction can be used to help you be happy and fulfilled in your own life. The overall goal for the law of attraction is for you to be happy with your life and to obtain what you want out of life.

For myself I have used the law of attraction to greatly reduce negative thoughts and increase positive results. Remember the law of attraction isn’t some feel good approach to life, although you will feel much better about yourself and others. The law of attraction is a state of the way things work and will exist and function whether you believe it or not. Here are a few ways to start using it to your advantage:

  • Take some time and think about what you want. These can be material things, something you would like to do, places you would like to live or visit, or work that you enjoy. Examples might include but not limited to:
    • A new car (Mustang GT)
    • My own business
    • Enjoying a vacation in Cancun
    • A fulfilling relationship with my significant other
  • Think about why you want these things in a positive way.
  • Write these things down somewhere that you can see them daily, focus on them, feel yourself receiving them.
    • Maybe you put them on a whiteboard, on paper, or some electronic form (computer, phone, etc.). It must be somewhere that will be visible to you as a reminder to yourself where you will focus your thoughts.
  • Do not think about what you don’t want. This is the hardest part because what you think about will be what you are attracting. Don’t fall into the trap that thinking about what you don’t want will motivate you to achieve something else, instead keep the focus only on what you want.
  • Every time you find yourself focusing on something you don’t want consciously make a shift and focus instead on what you want. This gets easier as time goes by and you begin to catch yourself thinking a negative thought and you will quickly remove it from your focus.
  • Begin to monitor what you are exposing yourself to. For me it was turning off the television so that I wasn’t wasting time watching cable news, which was only creating negative thought patterns. Use that time to feed your mind positive information and focus on what you want to attract.
  • Go with the flow, provide your input and advice, but when people don’t act upon it just accept it. Stop focusing on things you cannot change, go with the path of least resistance, it will always be easier to manifest.
  • Believe in yourself, in your dreams, and in the talents you possess. You are a unique creation and you have an unlimited potential to share your talent with the universe.
  • Finally practice being grateful. Being grateful reinforces the power of the law of attraction in a positive way. The power of expressing gratitude alone will only lead to a happier existence.

I think that is enough for today. I would love to hear what you are doing to use the law of attraction to improve your life. More to come on this wonderful subject.

Namaste

Law of Attraction #1

law-of-attraction-6

Over the past 6 months or so, I have been spending a good amount of time studying the Law of Attraction, including reading The Secret and watching countless Abraham Hicks videos on YouTube. I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover this theory, but it did. Put in the simplest of forms you can think of the law of attraction as:

What you think about you attract!

There is more to it than this, but let’s start here with whatever you are thinking about you are attracting. Maybe this is just simple psychology in the sense that if I am worried about something it is self-perpetuating and I worry about it more, or conversely if I am focused on something positive I become more positive. It is undeniable that if you are depressed you just get more of the same and if you are happy you feel this happiness, until you shift your emotions in another direction. According to the law of attraction that which I focus on is attracted to me.

Another way to look at the law of attraction is that if you want something, but wanting it may be the opposite of something you really dislike; you are in effect emitting both a positive and negative emotions. It is unlikely you will attract what you really want if you are focused on why you don’t want something else. You might view this as a one way street, your emotions and focus including how you feel must be on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

Have you ever had a job, where you are so focused on what you hate about it, that you can’t sleep at night, and you struggle to maintain any semblance of a positive attitude because you are so focused on what you dislike? This is the law of attraction working just as it should, giving you more of what you think about. I think the Buddha understood the law of attraction.

Buddha - What you think you become.png

In the next post, I would like to spend a little time talking about how you make the law of attraction work for you as it beginning to work for me.

Namaste