Building Wealth:
What Abundance Gurus Don't Tell You About the Law of Attraction
by Molly Gordon, MCC
If you have, ummm, "issues" related to building
wealth, abundance and scarcity, it's likely that you have explored positive
thinking, visualization, and the Law of Attraction. If you are getting
what you want from applying these principles, you can stop reading now.
(But wait! Please read on and then tell me what you think
about all of this. Send your thoughts and reflections to me at letters@authenticpromotion.com.)
When a sweet idea turns sour
If you love the idea of attraction but stub your toes when it comes
to getting consistent results, believe me, I understand.
Perhaps, like me, you remember a time when you first realized the power
of your thoughts. Wow! There you were, confidently stepping into a future
that was not determined by your past, and the whole enterprise was imbued
with enthusiasm (en-theos; filled with God) and lightness. What's not
to love?
And then perhaps, attraction and positive thinking seemed to stop working.
No matter how you badgered yourself, regardless of how much inspirational
literature you read, you appeared stuck in an unsatisfactory current reality.
And then, maybe, you tried harder.
You can't steer when you are holding on for dear life
Trying to make the Law of Attraction work against apparent evidence
to the contrary is like climbing onto a unicycle at the top of a hill
and trusting momentum to keep you from falling. The more energy you put
into your carefully crafted (and sincere) intentions, the harder you hit
the ground when intention crashes into Reality.
When the Law of Attraction is working, the rewards far exceed your efforts.
When it isn't, no matter how much energy you put in, you stay stuck. Fortunately,
there is an explanation for both outcomes, and it can restore you to right
relationship with infinite possibility.
A short, painless detour through physics
It's impossible to get more energy out of a system than it is put in.
That's the law of conservation of matter and energy, and neither you nor
I are in a good position to contravene it. When the Law of Attraction
produces results that outstrip your efforts, the only possible explanation
is another source of power.
I call that power Reality. You may call it God, Spirit, Consciousness,
The Universe – the name is immaterial. What matters is recognizing
that attraction works by virtue of a power other than and greater than
yourself.
Good news and bad news
The good news about the Law of Attraction is that it works. The bad news
is that you are the Tonto to Reality's Lone Ranger, the Sancho Panza to
Reality's Don Quixote. And that, friends, is why your best efforts can
run you ragged instead of producing the results you long for, be it building
wealth or anything else.
Whenever you use The Law of Attraction to escape something undesirable
or get to something you think will be better, it is doomed to failure.
That's because you are objecting to Reality, the senior partner in your
enterprise.
When you try to manifest change without accepting Reality, you are up
against the principles of leverage and traction.
When a lever is just a stick in the mud
The Law of Attraction magnifies your intentions and actions to
produce significant change just as leverage amplifies a relatively small
force to produce a relatively large result.
Investors use leverage when they borrow money in the expectation that
the rate of return will exceed the cost of the loan, thus making it possible
to generate earnings even when they don't have the cash for an investment.
In mechanics, leverage is produced when you push down on the long end
of a stick resting on a fulcrum so that the short end moves upward with
great force.
In physics and metaphysics, no fulcrum = no leverage. If you can't repay
a loan, you won't profit from borrowing money. Push on a stick without
a fulcrum, and, at best, you sink the stick in the mud.
If you rely on the Law of Attraction to produce results without grounding
your vision in current reality, no amount of positive thinking or visualization
will be sufficient to get what you want.
Reality is the fulcrum without which the lever of attraction is useless.
Power without traction equals spin out
If you've ever hit the gas when driving on a wet or icy road, you
know that adding power when you don't have traction results in loss of
control. You can go fast, but without traction you have no control over
where you are going.
Similarly, when you use affirmations and positive thinking to ramp up
your energy without being firmly rooted in acceptance of What Is, you
will spin your wheels every time.
Accepting – even loving – Reality is where the rubber meets
the road. It is the key to traction.
The power of attraction starts with loving what is
Accepting yourself and reality here and now is the missing piece
of the attraction puzzle, but how do you do that? What if you find yourself
devoutly wishing that someone would just put you away so you won't have
to deal with yourself for a while? (Or am I the only one who feels that
way sometimes?)
When the truth is that you don't like the way things are, then that's
the place to begin your practice of acceptance. Stop. Look. Listen to
yourself. Make room for the uncomfortable thoughts and beliefs that you
are so eager to get rid of.
There's a lovely story of the Tibetan saint, Milarepa. One day he was
meditating in front of his cave when the demons of anger, greed, and fear
arose before him. They were truly horrible being, and the sounds they
made were gut wrenching.
Rather than push them away, Milarepa invited the demons in for tea. One
by one they entered his cave, and in the light of his clear regard, they
dissolved.
Finally, only one demon remained, the most terrifying of them all. It
roared and howled, and far from dissolving, it grew. At last, Milarepa
stood and bowed, baring his neck and thrusting his head between the demon's
fangs. As he breathed in the sulfurous stench of the creature's breath,
Milarepa whispered, "Teach me your pain."
When your own demons howl in protest at what is, when doubts assail you
and you feel like divorcing your sweet self, it's time for tea and radical
surrender.
Are you still with me? I hope so, because here's the magic formula that
restores balance to the Law of Attraction. Acknowledge, accept, and question
(not argue with) your stressful thoughts. Sit in the answers that arise
from within.
How do you do that? The best way I know is The Work® of Byron Katie.
The Work is a direct route to acceptance, and from acceptance, creative
ambition can't help but flower.
* * *
* * *
When it feels like you can't live with money
and you can't live without it, it might be time to step back and take
another look.
Announcing:
Authentic Wealth, Getting into Right Relationship with Money
Money doesn't have to be a source of pain. In just eight sessions with
the Authentic Wealth tele-retreat you'll learn how to drop both ends of
the rope so you can have a balanced and authentic relationship with wealth.
A number of places are spoken for, and several more may be gone
by the time you read this. Pause. Think back over the past year.
Have you felt hopeful, free, and creative about building wealth? If not,
please give this tele-retreat serious consideration. If I can heal my
relationship with money, so can you.
Don't wait. Complete your application now. Apply
here. (Why do you have to apply? Because you deserve to know if this
retreat is really a good fit for you. There's also a place to ask me any
questions you might have about Authentic Wealth. I'll contact you when
I receive your application and we'll make the decision together.
* * *
 Learn
more about Authentic Promotion - a comprehensive small
business marketing resource that turns marketing and self promotion into
a path of increasing self-awareness, authenticity, and right livelihood.
In particular, the strategies for building wealth you will learn to apply
will build the solid foundation for your authentic prosperity as an entrepreneur.
* * *
Contact Master Certified Coach
Molly Gordon at:
Shaboom Inc. Life could be a dream…
PO Box 195
Suquamish, WA 98392-0195
mgordon@authenticpromotion.com
As a business coach and small
business marketing consultant, Molly Gordon, MCC, is available in Greater
Seattle Area and internationally |
