The Law of Attraction

Do these statements look familiar?

“When you’re down people kick you.” – Well, what happens when you are up?

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?” – Well, why can’t we think of the best things?

It is interesting how we have been trained to focus on the negatives. In our lives, this is how we create the negative things. It is called: The Law of Attraction. Why don’t we instead attract something good?

In studying Spiritual Psychology we focus on more than thinking positive and applying love to our wounds, but also our energy. When it comes right down to it, we are more powerful than you realize. If you wanted something in your life with all your heart, did you get it? When we really believe we can do something we can. Shoot, I remember climbing into the batter’s box in a high school game where the pitcher was throwing over 90 MPH. 90 MPH! It was scary how fast that ball was traveling. In fact, you could hear the air whistling off of it. At that point, I knew I could hit it if I sped things up. So, the pitcher went into his windup, I started my swing and when he let go of the ball my bat was in mid-swing. Wouldn’t you know I hit that damn thing and got a double? Yeah, no kidding. I was sure I could do it and did it.

We don’t realize the one intangible we all have is the power of intention. If we intend to make something happen we can. But why don’t we use this ability instead of keeping ourselves addicted, dependent, and hopeless? Why can’t we choose to focus on making ourselves the very best?

If we want something with all our heart, we can obtain it. It just takes desire and of course effort.  

 If you think you can, if you think you cannot, you’re right.

– Henry Ford

A few years ago, I asked a woman why she wasn’t putting effort into the treatment program. She had invested time and money but wasn’t fully there. She replied that if she put in her effort and failed it would prove to her that she was a total loser, so if she didn’t try she could make believe the treatment sucked and it wouldn’t work anyway. Yeah, that didn’t last very long, once the group got involved.   

Let’s imagine having that mindset. Without any effort, it would be like living in the Groundhogs Day movie and experiencing the same issues on a daily basis. Change does take effort and risk and failure. But that is life: “No pain, no gain.” At some point, we have to risk the failures in order to learn and grow. When we try something and fail, we have the opportunity to learn and adjust, this is how we change.   

 

 

A man interviewed Thomas Edison while he tinkered with creating a battery. He had tried over 200 times and the interviewer remarked that he was a failure. Edison told him he didn’t feel like a failure, he just knew 200 ways on how not to make a battery. We can choose to beat ourselves up or make believe we are a failure, or know that we aren’t losers but in the process of growing. Wayne Dyer was known for his statement, “Don’t die with your music still inside of you.” When was the last time you sang?

We create our own identities. You may have been told by others that you would never amount to anything and bought into it. People who point their finger at you have three fingers pointing back to them. They see themselves in you, period. You can make believe they are true, but psychologically speaking we refer to this as creating a false sense of self. It is not valid. Down deep we are awesome, it is important to connect up to the beautiful person within and let that part run the show.

I was telling somebody about the key moment in my education when I enrolled in California State University Northridge to get my bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I had attempted school numerous times dropped out a few years earlier and figured that changing to Psychology would be the easiest thing to do. In the first semester, I turned in a paper and was recognized by the teacher in front of 150 students that my paper was one of the best! I was shocked! My sister was the smart one, I was a dumb shit, or at least I thought. I went on to receive all A’s from that moment on! Basically, my self-image had changed.

Keep trying. Break things down into easy steps. You might be faced with a lot on your plate, but by focusing on one at a time you eventually clean that plate. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  

Many people see failure as bad. They worry about what other people will think. Who cares? What is important is how you think. I hear clients tell me they go to extravagant measures to please people in order to get some love in return, but never obtain it. Why not treat yourself the way you treat others? In doing so you will heal.

I helped produce a television pilot called “Star Power” many years ago. My friend knew a lot of famous people and interviewed them about the adversary they suffered before making it to the top. It was heartbreaking to hear the people talk about close friends and family telling them they would never make it. Omar Sharif and Faith Ford are the people I remember her interviewing and they were incredibly open and honest. Omar talked about having a gambling problem and almost losing everything, then became a star and bought the casino that almost bankrupted him.

It’s interesting looking back on all the things I have done, each was a risk. Who knew what would happen, but I was curious. Why not try school, operate a video camera, and run my own business? I could remain stuck in my parent’s house and punching some time clock at a menial job or explore the world around me.

What is the best thing that can happen? When you are up, you attract up. If you want more love be more loving. Happiness works the same way. Try something new. Not all efforts fail right off the bat, and so what if they did? Keep trying, and have faith.

Compassionate Care is Always Available

There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.

For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry. We are here virtually and in-person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.

May you have good mental health.