The Movement of Nature

If we take a glance at nature -- just a glance is needed, nothing more -- we'll come to the same, inspiring observation: it is always in motion. In fact, the word "nature" is probably not the best way to describe what is really happening out there. It would be more insightful to call it naturing or something that implies motion or change; because even the tallest, oldest tree that seems firmly rooted and immovable is constantly changing. It is growing; it is expanding down into the earth and up into the sky. Indeed, by our human "stopwatch" standards, this change and growth may seem very slow. But that's really a perception and not a reality. What seems slow to a human being may seem rapid to a tree. In fact, what seems slow to one person can seem rapid to another!

As people, we are constantly changing and moving as well -- both outside, in our outer shapes and sizes, but more profoundly and more importantly, inside as well: in our consciousness and awareness.

The challenge occurs, however, when we want to stop changing. When we say to the world: no, that's it, I'm not going to grow. Period. End of story. No chance. ZERO!

Nature simply doesn't speak the language of "stop" or "end of story." Nature is a constantly moving story -- a story that is constantly being written. You can go to the Amazon rain forest or the to the tiny, neglected patch of grass near your home. You can go to the Himalayas or you can go to a busy park full of happy children. It doesn't matter. Nature is nature, and if you honestly and openly look at it -- and allow your real eyes to see and not just your imposed expectations -- you'll become aware that nature is constantly moving. It is a movement. It is a dance; a symphony of forms and the formless; of potential, of growth.

The biggest challenge a human being faces -- any human being, anywhere, doing whatever -- is to answer the call to change. Indeed, that call is constant and ceaseless; just as nature is constantly and ceaselessly changing and growing.

Are YOU listening to the call? Are you allowing change to happen in your life? Or, are you trying to "stop nature" from being nature? Are you trying to put your hand flat down on the page that you're on, and say: this book is finished! I don't' want change!

Remember: life is change. It's dynamic; it's organic. It cannot be otherwise -- and neither can you.

Yes, you can try and close the doors to change...but you will still change; but in a destructive and quite miserable way.

You are nature. You are the dance. You are meant to change.

Look deep in yourself and see if you are really, in fact, giving yourself permission to change. If not, then this is where you must start before anything else happens. It's the first step.

More on LOA and Change

Hello again friends. Last time we met here, we asked "whether you were embracing change?" and looked at how life is change -- and therefore, that the Law of Attraction (LOA) is change, too. We looked at how a situation may be trying to change in ways that, deep down inside, we may be resisting simply because the change isn't what we expected, envisioned or even dreamed of.

Today, I'd like to elaborate a bit more on this, because I think this particular issue -- change -- is really the defining element (for lack of a better word) of whether LOA will work for you or won't. True, there are many other aspects to consider, but I think that this is the MAJOR roadblock for some: dealing with change.

You see, it's not that change can "occur" in ways that we didn't envision; it's that the change we're seeing may seem negative from our short-term, limited perspective. And that can really SCARE us from pursuing anything remotely connected to LOA; and ultimately, squash our dreams before they have a chance to manifest in our lives.

For example, let's say that you "hang around" with people who share with you a unifying common denominator: you complain about things that you don't like about life. Now, these complaints may not be very mean-spirited (or then again, they might be). And some of those complains may be quite valid, from a "common sense" point of view (or then again, they might not). But whatever the unique configuration of your complaint-based-relationship may be, it's enough to say that the glue that holds it together is a kind of chronic, ongoing, endless, aimless, rather dedicated effort to complain about something not being the way it should.

And this may have gone on for so long -- decades, perhaps -- that, oddly, there is a kind of...enjoyable tolerance of the misery of complaining. There is a kind of nourishment that comes from it; a kind of therapy, really, from complaining. It's kind of like scratching an itch; it feels GOOD to scratch an itch, but if you keep scratching it for years and years, not only will you do some really serious damage to whatever you happen to be scratching (your leg, your face, whatever), but you'll also never actually SOLVE the itch. You'll just scratch the symptom.

Complaining, in and of itself, unmotivated and without any actual purpose, is like scratching a mental itch. It feels good, but if you do it for the long term, it's kind of...well, it's really kind of insane, really. Of course, so many people do it, that it seems normal; or, at least, there are so many more abnormal things out there that are worthy of the term abnormal. I mean, with people getting out of their cars and beating each other up, or people doing all kinds of other mad things, mere complaint seems to be the least of our social or personal problems.

Be that as it may...

Now, let's say that you start bringing LOA principles into your life. You start finding things to be grateful for. You start seeing solutions instead of problems. You start seeing beneficial opportunities for creation (even if they're very small and minor). You start becoming friendly with life itself; in a way that, perhaps, you haven't done since you were a small child.

Guess what's going to happen to your chronic "complaint-based-relationship"? It's going to change. It has to change.

And for many people, that can be a big emotional problem -- because who wants relationships to change and crumble; even if those relationships aren't nourishing, helpful or positive? We all want to think that friendships are stronger than preferences; that there is something deep and abiding about them. This is, ideally, true.

But it's simply a question of balance: by adding LOA into your life, other things will change. You don't even have to change them; in fact, you almost certainly WON'T have to change anything. New people will simply enter your life -- that's the fun part. And existing people will EXIT YOUR LIFE or at least take a much reduced role in it; and THAT can be difficult. It can make you feel like a bad friend, a bad person, or even expose you to rather dreadful criticism from people who are offended that you have the audacity to change. Maybe in the past you complained as much as anyone else in the group, and now, you simply don't contribute. You don't PREACH your views of LOA or anything else (don't do that!), but you simply don't contribute in the ways that you used to.

This can, will, and does offend people who aren't on the same path as you.

Some will follow and be inspired by what is changing in you. That's wonderful.

Some...will resent you, ridicule you, maybe even attack you -- YOU can become the subject of that criticism, all of a sudden.

This can make you feel incredibly sad inside; and may shake your commitment to transforming your life.

The choice -- as it has always been -- is up to you.

Things will come to you -- things that you like. That is positive change. Things will LEAVE you -- things that you thought you liked -- and that can seem negative.

It's up to YOU to alertly, and with awareness, embrace the new, and gently let go of what has to go. It may be relationships. It may be habits and behavior patterns. It may be small things -- it may be big things.

Remember, some things will leave you WITHOUT first "asking you" if it's okay :) And this may seem very negative. A job may leave you. Something else that you valued may leave you.

Again: stay alert, be aware, and give yourself the chance to really SEE what is happening. Don't react to events; respond to them. Adjust to them. And embrace change -- change is LIFE.

Are You Embracing Change?

One of the enduring aspects of The Secret is, of course, it’s underlying reference to the Law of Attraction (LOA).

And while LOA is quite simple in and of itself – it’s essentially the principle of like attracts like – there are aspects about it that are a bit more sophisticated and quite elegant. Understanding this deeper level will likely help you understand why LOA is working for you or why it ISN’T working for you.

This deeper elegance of LOA is really about the most emotionally-loaded word in the language; and probably, the word most responsible for more creation, more destruction, more love, more hate, more peace, more war, and more everything than anything else.

This word, of course, is change.

Life is not merely “about change” – it is synonymous with change. If the word “life” were to somehow disappear altogether from the English language, it could (and perhaps even should) be replaced by the word ‘change.’

Life cannot be static. Even if it seems to be routine, ritualistic or just plain repetitive at times, this is a perception; not a reality. As old Hereclitis says: you cannot step in the same river twice. He’s right. Change is built into the very fabric of life. It is the raw ingredient from which life is created, expressed, and ultimately, transformed from one form to another.

Now, here’s the thing: since LOA is an aspect of life, this must mean that LOA is an aspect of change. In other words: if you want to benefit from LOA, you must – by definition – accept change as part of your life.

And that, for many people is…well, it’s a problem! Because change means opening up to something new; it means, fundamentally, surrendering yourself to unimagined possibilities. It means letting go of what you think you know, because what you don’t know may very well be the change that needs to come into your life for LOA to “work” in the way that you want.

Let’s look at a practical example to help illustrate this.

Imagine that you’re in a stressful corporate-type job and it’s just becoming an exhaustive, draining, depressing experience. Instead of looking forward to another day on the job, you’re dreading it. And worse, because you’re getting “older” each day, you find yourself with less energy to stay alive (or merely survive) in your unfriendly, political and “left-brain dominated” corporate landscape.

Now, let’s say that you watch The Secret (click the link to get a copy if you haven’t seen it yet) and accept that, yes, LOA could help you free yourself from this knot of corporate pain and start your own home-based business. You may even have a friend or family member who has started their own home-based business, or you may have seen an Internet site or been to a seminar, and so you have an “idea” of what a home-based business could be about: and you want it!

And so you start absorbing and expressing the LOA principles: ask, believe, receive. And you do this with sincere intensity for several weeks, but…nothing happens. Things at work may have even become worse (it’s possible).

What might be happening here?

Paradoxically, the belief that the ONLY way to change your negative work situation is to start a home-based business (of one kind or another) may, actually, be PREVENTING your solution from manifesting itself! In other words: because you are “locked into” solving your problem a certain way, you may be resisting the change that has to take place into your life. You’re basically trying to PRESCRIBE the universe on “how to help you.” You're directing; not accepting.

The universe, fortunately, doesn’t work that way. Can you imagine the tires on a car all “intent” on going in a different direction – even of those different directions were, in themselves, ethical and “good”? The car would come apart. It would be destroyed; and the tires would actually lose far, far more than they gain, because the very vehicle that “drove” them – the body of their being – would be broken and unable to move them anywhere at all.

The message for you today, is to accept that, maybe, the change that has to happen in your life ISN’T what you envision it to be. Yes, your work situation may be a kind of living hell right now (and many work situations certainly are!). But maybe a home-based business isn’t the kind of positive change that you need. Maybe what you need to do is take a class in the evening, or maybe volunteer some of your time, or let something ELSE come into your life that will, ultimately, create a better situation for you. Maybe your workplace will start letting you do more work at home through the Internet.

Or it may be something that you can’t even imagine right now.

Yes, LOA promises that a solution to your problem is “on the way.” Now it’s up to YOU to position yourself to receive that solution. If you become obsessed with receiving only a particular solution – one that “fits” with your vision of what it “should be,” then you will almost certainly miss out on what is meant for you.

Be open, be alert, be welcome, and be aware. Watch how the universe conspires (in the nice way) to CHANGE your situation to the better.

The universe is always – always – focused on positive change. Always.

Embrace change. And then see how LOA “works” FOR you!