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Everyone has a center. The center determines one's balance. We know it exist but at times we fail to acknowledge it. Understanding one's center provides knowledge in achieving inner peace and wisdom. Have you found yours?
If you chose to read this article, I have succeeded in achieving what I wanted !
Get more readers to read.
If you have read or watched The Secret , you will probably be smiling right now - and that has helped me achieve my second objective: - Making You Smile.
It seems that The LAW OF ATTRACTION is working its cosmic effect to attract you to read this article.
So, how does the law of attraction work?
The message from "The Secret" is simple but yet difficult to fully comprehend. The message simply states that the Law of Attraction exist. The world do revolves around you. If you wish and believe hard enough; your wishes will be granted.
If you crystallize the message from "The Secret" it will just simply mean:-
Think Positively and Positive Actions will follow; therefore desired results will be achieved.
The producer is also clever to add caveat to "The Secret" that the desired outcome may not always materialise and the prediction of when it does can never be anticipated.
But, if one truly believes the power prescribed by "The Secret" one will never complain when the wishes do not materialise and shall remain ever wishful that someday it will happen !
And that sets "The Secret" as a truly powerful tool that may shape life. The power of Optimism and Positivism.
In the Secret, a mention of gratitude is embedded in its message and this; I feel is the most important message of all. No doubt, the movie encourages one to think positively and act positively with pure optimism. I believe such actions set a person in the right path to achieve their heart's desire.
By undergoing the wishing process, the mind is trained to perceive the endpoint and the actions required to achieve it. Subconsciously, one will be programmed to achieve it through a series of action that one may not even realise. Piecing the act together subconsciously draws one closer to the endpoint. To illustrate this, how often do we realise that we are breathing? Fact is we do.
Our brain is hard wired to perform vital functions and hence when we program our brain to think positive, we will act positively. This has been mentioned many times in Buddha's Dharma on being mindful of all actions and creating wholesome thoughts to gain insights and wisdom.
The phenomena of POSITIVITY breeds POSITIVITY is more evidently seen in children (due to less inhibition and the non existence of grownup's egoistic facade). To put a case in point, a child who shares toys or food are usually the more popular kid than those who hide and sulk all day.
During the application of the law of attraction, one may lose sight of one's current situation and become more lost in their own pursuit especially if the impatience sets in and cravings to achieve arises.
The mind then become attached to the need for achieving the objectives and very often the case, the harder the chase the slower it comes to them.
DESIRE= GREED ?
This is a point worth noting and again Buddha's Dharma has predicted this to occur. Desires, lust and passion leads to craving. Craving leads to sufferings. After all, we may achieve the goals and dreams in the end but it will be impermanent. This needs to be understood because no one lives forever and everything is impermanent.
Craving for more equates to GREED and in all major religions, GREED is a verb that is shun by all. Bible has warned against GREED and so has the Dharma.
I do not think that The Secret producer is trying to spread greed but the message may be misinterpreted. There are much emphasis placed in the movie on the Aladdin and the genie scene. In its context, the genie signifies the universe and the boy- you.
The scene depicts that the wish of an individual will be granted if one understood & apply the law of attraction. In the story, the boy’s wishes are unlimited unlike the conventional Aladdin story which is limited to 3. A possible misinterpretation may arise that it is good to wish for more. Hence, this will lead to greed and cravings.
All humans have the innate ability to find a solution to live better. After all, we are averse to pain and suffering, hence motivating us to avoid all unpleasant experiences. The constant need to source for better job, partner, relationship etc will be present and at times greed is a strong motivating factor to achieve it.
With gratitude, one can be easily filled with content and the need to achieve more may not arise. Therefore, GRATITUDE is an utmost important virtue to have. By being thankful and grateful to what we already have, we will keep the cravings at bay.
Is The Secret related to Buddha's Dharma ?
A strong resounding YES. In fact, I believe that Buddha understood the secret much earlier and knew of the negative implications that may arise from achieving without keeping a check and balance on cravings and greed.
Without doubt, Positive thinking projects positivity and draws positive results. However, one has to remain mindful on being GRATEFUL. With that, HAPPINESS surely entails. After all, the goal of most human is in the pursuit of Happiness.
Quotes from THE SECRED DVD :-
“So you want to become aware of your thoughts, you want to choose your thoughts carefully and you want to have fun with this, because you are the masterpiece of your own life. You are the Michelangelo of your own life. The David that you are sculpting is you. And you do it with your thoughts." ~Joe Vitale~
“You end up attracting to you the predominant thoughts that you are holding in your awareness. Whether those thoughts are conscious or they’re unconscious.”~Rev. Michael Beckwith~
Buddha's teachings (Dhammapada) placed strong emphasis on the need to free the mind from unwholesome negative thoughts and to cultivate positive thinking. What is astounding to note is that his teachings have a far greater insights to the pitfalls of craving and ignoring gratitude.
Some examples of Buddha's Dharma:-
"We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves"
"Beset by craving, people run about like an entrapped hare. Held fast by mental fetters, they come to suffering again and again for a long time. Therefore, one who yearns to be passion-free should destroy his own craving."
"There is no fire like lust and no crime like hatred. There is no ill like the aggregates of existence and no bliss higher than the peace of Nibbana"
In the pursuit of goals and dreams, let us all be careful of the pitfalls of lust and craving, failure to note these unwholesome thoughts will bring one greater unhappiness than what the law of attraction can offer on one's plate.
If we were to analyse our decision making concept , you will find that we think on the after-effects(outcomes) of the decision and hence this influences one's choice in deciding to choose the path that one will take. So in a nutshell, we decide based on outcomes and eventually an outcome will become an event and an event will eventually become a fact- unfortunately facts cannot be changed.
What do you do when the outcome does not come to your liking or is not close to your expectation?
Lament over it?
Wished you never had made that decision ? Wished that the outcome can change?
Outcomes can’t be changed, we merely adapt to it and make it easier to live with the issue hence making the unbearable situation a "soft landing” Since the outcome cannot be changed, we often blame our perceived “silly” decision. If you analyse how you behave, you may be thinking in either of these 3 scenarios
Self-Blame
Perhaps I should not have chosen; therefore the disastrous outcome can be avoided. I am inept in making such a decision because I have never encountered such a problem.
3rd Party: Blame
Perhaps if I have listened to my mother I would have made a better decision ( pls replace mother with friend / anyone where you think is appropriate)
Outcome Blame :
Perhaps someone up there wants it to happen that way. i.e Spiritual Reasoning.The outcome did not turn out to be your expectation based on your decision but due to external factors .A higher being is controlling the destiny; leave it to Him to decide for you.
Such thought processes only leave us in a never ending loop question of oneself's ability to make decision and fearing the worst for the outcome.
Decision is defined as the act of making up your mind about something and outcome is defined as something that results.
It makes perfect sense to note that, based on this definition, an outcome is a result of decision but if you analyse our thinking we decide based on the outcomes.
During the process of decision we may have this thought that we feel like doing this, or because my gut feel knows that… therefore I know. You may not be aware that when you say you feel you actually think. You think of the outcome to make your decision.
Still not convinced? If you pay attention to yourself, there are more than millions of processes happening without you knowing. How many times have you sucked in air through your nostrils today? Not being aware of sucking in air ..does not equate to lungs not sucking.
You may have fondly heard of the term sub-conscious mind. This is the other special ability that all mammals have. The central nervous system that controls most of the vital processes of our organs leaving decision making processes to us, the conscious mind. What happens when your decision is generated from your subconscious mind? Answer: Gut feel.
Since I have established the fact that decision is inadvertently being generated by thinking on the outcome and outcome is something in the future and we are not granted the ability to predict the future, we will never be able to make the right decision or the forbidden wrong decision. So, how do we ensure that choice/ decision that we make is correct? I can’t seem to find an answer despite numerous nights of thinking of a formula or method that can aid us make the right decision. After much searching, I came to a conclusion that there is no correct way. A friend once like to use the term in colloquial Malaysian-English RIGHT or LEFT to mean correct or wrong.
I adamantly still argue that there is no Right or Wrong decision but RIGHT or LEFT decision ( borrowing the term- thanks) No matter what choice you make or decision you have decided, there can never be a right decision due to the inability to see the future or change outcome. Since we can’t influence our decision or outcome, what can we do? This is when we need to realize this and stop thinking what if and why we make decision or why outcomes become the way it is.
Dont think WHY think HOW ..
I am a firm believer of adaptation and survival of the fittest. Adaptation is vital to continue surviving. When humans interact/ socialize we adapt to the situation, a sane being will not crack jokes or try to be funny in a funeral despite the fact that he enjoys doing so; unless its from a special request and this becomes intentional. You don’t just jump into a pool fully clothed for your swimming sessions.
You adapt and conform to rules and regulations hence you change into your swim gear. We are very capable of adapting , we adapt subconsciously, we adapt without thinking because we have the cognitive skill to do so. We are trained to adapt. We only need to apply this skill in situation where our sanity may be compromised by an event that is deemed traumatic enough. All we really need to is to be aware that we are capable of making adaptation BUT NOT decision, and if we keep a conscious effort to remember this, we will be able to adapt.
No one can teach you how to adapt, this article merely serves as pointers on how you can invoke your pre-learned adaptation skills to the situation.
No one can teach you because you know best !
Stop asking why and start thinking how you can adapt.
—The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)
Lets study an excerpt from the conversation of
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
YODA: Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering. ( All the Noble Eightfold Path which is in Buddhadharma)
Anakin : What’s that got to do with anything? ( Ignorance)
YODA : Eveything. Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering.
ANAKIN : I am not afraid! ( More ignorance)
YODA : A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. I sense much fear in you. ( Right concentration- Noble Eightfold Path)This phenomenon is already described in the Dharma (law, doctrine, truth); the 4 Noble Truth and Noble Eightfold Path.
Unfortunately for Anakin, he is blinded by sheer ignorance and followed the path of darkness with no return.Althought Star Wars lives in the realm of fantasy,I can assure to you that, in our daily lives we will come across people who resemble characters from Star Wars.
Master Yoda should serve as a reminder to us that we are all padawans each seeking to live our karma and making the right choices for our karma. For non Buddhists, perhaps it’s a time to view Buddhism with an open mind that Buddhism is a teaching that helps us live our life and withstand the test of time or science.
Trivia : Do you know that Yoda is derived from Yoddha, the Sanskrit word for "warrior."