I don't understand the appeal of the Secret

[DiscoDan]

As the title of this thread states, I don't understand its appeal. I'm not trying to debate whether or not the Law of Attraction is true (in either its strong or weak form), but what I am trying to figure out is why I would want to believe in something that takes away so much of the fun of life.

For me personally, the reason I set goals is not so much that I want to achieve those goals, as much as it is that I want to develop a path in life such that I can go through times of difficulty and hardship in order to achieve them. In short, I set goals in order to create the path toward them. Maybe it's just me, but isn't the fun of getting a new car, making millions of dollars, etc. in the hard work required to achieve such goals, and not in the actual achieving of them? I don't want these things to appear in front of me just because I thought about them. I want to sweat for them. I want obstacles that I find impossible to overcome. And then I want to work as hard as I possibly can to achieve them. I don't care about what that goal is, so long as I can work hard to get there. Isn't this the fun of life? Am I the only person who thinks like this?

[Angela]

Hey, DiscoDan -- I'm not such a proponent of The Secret, but I find the Law of Attraction as outlined by the Hicks's very appealing. In that world, since you really love the feeling of 'striving for', you are surely cleverly creating lots of 'striving for' in your life. So it's not so much that you're creating your goals as it is that you're creating a feeling for yourself.

Striving, hard work and sweat are fun for you, but everyone has their own idea of what feels good. I think a lot of people have been hornswaggled into thinking that it's the car or the parking spot or the supermodel girlfriend which is going to create their good feelings; you're way ahead of the game because you have boiled it down to the essence of what you really want, underneath all the material hogwash. You are Being rather than Getting. That's the best part of the Law of Attraction, as far as I'm concerned.

Love,
Angela

[starlet]

Personally, I don't choose to believe that it takes hard work to achieve my goals. To me, its aligning myself with my inner being, and finding the joys in life that come from just being here on earth. Its not so much manifesting what I want, but the excitement of creating the scenerio in my mind and seeing it come to life, like a work of art, and looking at it and saying "I did that! Me!"

When my visions manifest it means I am totally aligned with Universal joy and to keep up with that joy I find new things to create. So I might as well think of really cool things to create. Abraham says creations are 99% created before they manifest, that 99% is the most important part, getting aligned. The 1%, the manifestaion, is merely the step on which to launch your next creation.

[judge45]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

]I don't care about what that goal is, so long as I can work hard to get there. Isn't this the fun of life? Am I the only person who thinks like this?

I think what you're trying to say is that the journey to the goal is more important than the goal itself and if you work really hard for the goal the achievement of that goal will be more rewarding.

That's probably a common belief.

Personally I worked very hard for over 20 years and didn't have much to show for it. The biggest money I ever made was not only enjoyable, but easy comparitively. Some action is required to get you to your goal, I suppose the level of action you're willing to do is a reflection of your beliefs.

Generally society has brainwashed us to believe (wrongly I believe) that getting what you want has to be difficult, take a long time or be incredibly complex and stressful.

Some people don't achieve their goals like that, for some it's not about hard work at all. I suppose it's what you believe.

HTH

Jeff

[judge45]

Originally Posted by Angela

I think a lot of people have been hornswaggled into thinking that it's the car or the parking spot or the supermodel girlfriend which is going to create their good feelings; you're way ahead of the game because you have boiled it down to the essence of what you really want, underneath all the material hogwash. You are Being rather than Getting. That's the best part of the Law of Attraction, as far as I'm concerned.

Being and getting go hand in hand. No point working hard if you don't have a goal, no point having a goal and expecting it to magiaclly appear without some kind of effort on some level.

I think focusing on being more than getting is a denial of physical existance.

Material possessions are very important, that's why we have most of our goals. It's how you feel about material possessions that defines what you're prepared to do to get them.

I'm not convinced that we have to or should suffer to get material stuff. Material stuff is part of being in this physical universe, unless you want to live on a mountain top pondering the universe, some work and some stuff is a requirement, how you feel about work and stuff is defining in itself.

HTH

Jeff

[starlet]

Originally Posted by judge45

I'm not convinced that we have to or should suffer to get material stuff. Material stuff is part of being in this physical universe, unless you want to live on a mountain top pondering the universe, some work and some stuff is a requirement, how you feel about work and stuff is defining in itself.

Exactly! Its the "you can't take it with you" minset. I KNOW I can't, but while I am here on this physical plane, I might as well enjoy myself. Its why I chose to take on a corporeal form.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by judge45

how you feel about work and stuff is defining in itself.

I agree with you. What good is having stuff you want if once you have it, you're being something you don't want to be?

I understood from DiscoDan's post that he feels good when he's on the path to achieving his goals, even more than when he actually achieves them. That doesn't sound like "suffering" to me. It sounds like power, for DiscoDan.

Jeff, you say "material possessions are very important, that's why we have most of our goals." For me, very few of my goals are about getting material possessions. Well, maybe my trip to the market tonight for couscous and moisturizer. But my big goals, my real hearts' desires, don't have anything to do with Getting Stuff. I don't want to have to pay for insurance.

[judge45]

No one is ever right or wrong here, it's always very personal beliefs. I've decided to be here in this physical reality to enjoy everything that it can offer and that includes millions of dollars and true love.

I'm blessed, I have a fantastic family, a beautiful (inside and out ) wife and I live in a wonderful place, but I've always had a problem with making the level of money I desire and I think that's because I feel I don't deserve it on some level.

I'm working on this and it is starting to change, I'm a greedy little human and I want it all, I want the deluxe life pacakge with all the trimmings, I don't think the universe or our true selves really want's to see us suffer or be disappointed on any level while we are here.

It's more of a social conditioning than a real truth.

HTH

Jeff

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

As the title of this thread states, I don't understand its appeal. I'm not trying to debate whether or not the Law of Attraction is true (in either its strong or weak form), but what I am trying to figure out is why I would want to believe in something that takes away so much of the fun of life.

For me personally, the reason I set goals is not so much that I want to achieve those goals, as much as it is that I want to develop a path in life such that I can go through times of difficulty and hardship in order to achieve them. In short, I set goals in order to create the path toward them. Maybe it's just me, but isn't the fun of getting a new car, making millions of dollars, etc. in the hard work required to achieve such goals, and not in the actual achieving of them? I don't want these things to appear in front of me just because I thought about them. I want to sweat for them. I want obstacles that I find impossible to overcome. And then I want to work as hard as I possibly can to achieve them. I don't care about what that goal is, so long as I can work hard to get there. Isn't this the fun of life? Am I the only person who thinks like this?

Just use The Secret to attract goals while learning / growing / enjoying the process to it's full extent. You don't have to skip any of that. The only thing you might want to choose to skip is repetiveness that doesn't result in growth/fun/joy.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by judge45

No one is ever right or wrong here, it's always very personal beliefs. I've decided to be here in this physical reality to enjoy everything that it can offer and that includes millions of dollars and true love.

I'm blessed, I have a fantastic family, a beautiful (inside and out ) wife and I live in a wonderful place, but I've always had a problem with making the level of money I desire and I think that's because I feel I don't deserve it on some level.

Hey, Jeff. Please don't think I was saying it's wrong to want material possessions -- not at all! Big money is well worth having, I think. But let's say you get your $millions (and I am sending loving green intentions for you to get them) -- do you think that the feeling of not deserving it on some level will just go away? I'll bet those same feelings are what cause lottery winners to fritter away their prize. That's one example of why I feel the Being is more of a priority than the Getting. If you Be what you want to Be (like being true love, for instance), then when you get the money you will handle it powerfully, wisely, and in accordance with your true self. If you Be "not deserving".... Poof! like Kaiser Soze.

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by judge45

I think what you're trying to say is that the journey to the goal is more important than the goal itself and if you work really hard for the goal the achievement of that goal will be more rewarding.

This only captures part of what I'm saying. I find it true that a goal is more rewarding if you work hard for it. But I also find the hard work itself to be fun. The struggle, the toil, the sweat, I find all of that to be fun. I know it may sound strange, but I enjoy every second of it. I would never want anything to just "appear before my eyes," as I'm not only missing out the exciting struggle to get there, but also the pride in knowing I worked hard to get what I did. To me, having a life where I can get anything I want without any work would leave out the most exciting part.

Originally Posted by judge45

Personally I worked very hard for over 20 years and didn't have much to show for it. The biggest money I ever made was not only enjoyable, but easy comparitively. Some action is required to get you to your goal, I suppose the level of action you're willing to do is a reflection of your beliefs.

Maybe you misunderstand what I mean by "hard work." I don't mean working until you burn out towards a goal that you might be unsure of. The kind of "hard work" I'm talking about is in setting a goal, then doing whatever it takes to achieve it. It's in this doing whatever it takes part that I find myself enjoying life the most. Sure, money would be a fine goal in creating such "hard work," but the goal of getting money would only be a means of creating a goal to work toward.

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by judge45

Material possessions are very important, that's why we have most of our goals. It's how you feel about material possessions that defines what you're prepared to do to get them.

I completely agree with Angela. I'm not saying material possessions aren't important. What I am saying is that the hard work in getting such a material possession is just as fun (and probably more so) than in actually getting it.

You say we don't have to suffer in getting what we want. But I want to suffer in order to get what I want. I want to get my hands dirty, I want to feel as much suffering and pain in this life (at least with respect to achieving goals) as I do joy and comfort. I want everything from life, the good and the bad, because, to me, anything less would be missing out on what life has to offer.

I guess this is why I don't understand the appeal of the Secret. Why would I only want an easy, comfortable life when there's so much more to be had?

[starlet]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

I guess this is why I don't understand the appeal of the Secret. Why would I only want an easy, comfortable life when there's so much more to be had?

Because your average human being is lazy and wants everything now now now. No kidding, I was at McDonald's the other day, the guy behind me ordered, and wondered why, 30 seconds later, he did not have his food yet.

I do not mind work myself, but I only want to take inspired action, work that feels good. To me, when you say suffering, all I can think of is my last job, the mortgage job that stole my soul and my life. I'm sick of suffering. Action is life here on the mortal plane, but to me I want it without suffering and pain. Life, to me, is all about joy and love and happiness.

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by starlet

I do not mind work myself, but I only want to take inspired action, work that feels good. To me, when you say suffering, all I can think of is my last job, the mortgage job that stole my soul and my life. I'm sick of suffering. Action is life here on the mortal plane, but to me I want it without suffering and pain. Life, to me, is all about joy and love and happiness.

OK, OK, maybe suffering was a bad word to use. I guess a better word to describe what I'm looking for is "challenges." I want to be challenged in achieving my goals. I want to hit roadblocks so big I think to myself, "I don't think I can do this anymore."

And then I work my butt off searching for a way that makes it possible. It's that working that I want out of my goals. Not the car, not the money, not the fantastic, comfortably easy life everybody strives to have, but the "I don't think I can do this anymore" moments, and the struggle in changing the "I can't do this" to "I did this." that follows.

If I had the "I did this," or "I have this," without any kind of "I didn't think I could," then I wouldn't be satisfied with just having money, just having a Porsche, just having the perfect, comfortable life everybody strives to have, because I would be missing out on the best part.

Is it really the material possessions that people strive for when making goals for themselves?

[judge45]

Well, DiscoDan, don't buy lottery tickets, because if you win, you wouldn't be happy

There really is no right or wrong. The way you look at it is perfectly good. You love a challenge, that's great, me I'm lazy, I want it as simple as possible. I love the idea of winning millions, but I don't depend on it, I'm working towards something and trying to add some social value along the way.

We're all different. The LoA is often misunderstood and packaged up as a means of instant gratification for people who are desperate and miserable. A sort of 'fix it all now for me so I don't have to change' kind of magical pill.

HTH

Jeff

[starlet]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

And then I work my butt off searching for a way that makes it possible. It's that working that I want out of my goals. Not the car, not the money, not the fantastic, comfortably easy life everybody strives to have, but the "I don't think I can do this anymore" moments, and the struggle in changing the "I can't do this" to "I did this." that follows.

Ah, that's our main difference then - I don't want to search for a way, as to me, that is a waste of energy. The way will be shown to me, and I will be more productive because my energy will be focused on the correct path.

The material things are nice - I want a Mustang convertible and a home overlooking the beach and to have a disgusting amount of money But the path, feeling my way to alignment is the best part. Personally, my life is 100% perfect right now. These material objects will sastify a part of me, but are not the big picture.

Personally, I see the goal achievement part as an adventure, because once those things manifest, my life will change in some way. Its the whole "who knows what tomorrow may bring" thing. Each new desire takes me on a new adventure.

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by judge45

Well, DiscoDan, don't buy lottery tickets, because if you win, you wouldn't be happy

The only real satisfaction I would get in winning the lottery is in the fact that I'd be able to pay my parents back for paying for my education, treat my friends to dinner, donate money to help out in Darfur, etc. The fact that I could move to a bigger house, buy a bigger tv, etc. would have no bearing on my mental state. I really don't care about any of those things. They've not had a positive impact on me in the past, so I see no reason to expect that they'd have any positive impact on me in the future.

Originally Posted by judge45

There really is no right or wrong. The way you look at it is perfectly good. You love a challenge, that's great, me I'm lazy, I want it as simple as possible. I love the idea of winning millions, but I don't depend on it, I'm working towards something and trying to add some social value along the way.

Alright, I guess I can accept that. I still have trouble understanding it though. Like if God himself came down and told you, "Judge45, you can have all of the goals you could ever want come true tomorrow if you say the word." And then you say yes. What would you do with the rest of your life?

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by starlet

Personally, I see the goal achievement part as an adventure, because once those things manifest, my life will change in some way. Its the whole "who knows what tomorrow may bring" thing. Each new desire takes me on a new adventure.

Ahh, worded this way I can understand a little bit better. I guess it is just adventure means something different to both of us.