Arbeit Macht Frei (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Arbeit Macht Frei

[Shift]

As I started reading this, I was thinking, "Steve's writing has sure gotten a lot better!". Not that it was crap before, lol... There is just a noticeable improvement.

Quite inspiring. I'm going to try applying this mindset more consciously (and unconsciously through hypnosis!).

[kat]

It's a good article, and makes good points.

However, as a speaker of German, I found the title to be horribly distracting and quite disturbing. It's a slogan which was involved in the deaths of millions. Using it like this was in incredibly poor taste.

[Lioness]

Fulfillment is earned, not bestowed. ..I still consider it a lazy and slothful mindset to expect the universe to open the floodgates of abundance in such cases...It’s a serious character weakness to think you can get something of value for little or nothing, to believe that life will flood you with abundance when you won’t commit yourself to delivering your best contribution in exchange. ..I do believe it’s well and good to adopt an abundance mindset. ...only behind Door #2: Intelligent Hard Work, Doing Your Best, and Making a Meaningful Social Contribution.

So what do the LOA people say to this? Those who believe manifestation requires no work?

Also this seems to contradict something Steve wrote earlier about going to alpha or theta and manifesting through the mind only.

[Shift]

Originally Posted by kat

It's a good article, and makes good points.

However, as a speaker of German, I found the title to be horribly distracting and quite disturbing. It's a slogan which was involved in the deaths of millions. Using it like this was in incredibly poor taste.

Although this slogan was present at some concentration camps, that was 70 years ago. I say this with the utmost amount of compassion for those people... but wouldn't it be OK after all this time to use this slogan and not feel bad about it?

[James Fletcher]

Originally Posted by kat

It's a good article, and makes good points.

However, as a speaker of German, I found the title to be horribly distracting and quite disturbing. It's a slogan which was involved in the deaths of millions. Using it like this was in incredibly poor taste.

Personal growth from within the confines of a politically friendly comfort zone would be well and good if we had lifespans of, say, 200+ years.

I actually think that Germany as a whole sets an excellent example of the benefits of the virtue of hard work. The country was twice defeated, humiliated and demoralized in two world wars, between these two incidents had their economy shattered from hyperinflation, and had their territory physically split in half during the Cold War. Through the cultural integration of a higher standard of effort in all industries, they gradually re-earned their place as an economic powerhouse.

--

BTW Love Steve's new avatar. Very Charlie Sheen :P

[Bradshaw]

Originally Posted by Lioness

So what do the LOA people say to this? Those who believe manifestation requires no work?

Also this seems to contradict something Steve wrote earlier about going to alpha or theta and manifesting through the mind only.

I disagree with a lot of of points in the article to be honest. Although he does make some good points. I especially liked that he mentioned Kaizen.

Steve's writing is often a common blend of truth and non-truth. He, like mostly everyone else, writes from his experience. He can only offer you perspectives that match his own experience.

I've personally manifested tons and tons of stuff without "earning" it.

The concept of earning is all in your head, and a lot of it comes from social conditioning. "Earning your living".

I've manifested tons of stuff without "earning" it. What the heck is "earning" anyway?

You are correct in that manifesting things into reality requires "work". I would hardly call it "work" though, but I suppose that's subjective. Some people say that changing your own patterns of thinking and behavior is the hardest thing you can ever do in this world. I personally find it to be fun and enjoyable though. Challenging, yes. Work? You decide.

[Shift]

For a large chunk of my life, I also had a lot of things manifest without earning them. The well has dried up in recent years and my theory is that I had a surplus of "earnings" from a previous life. Those earnings are now gone and it's time to apply what I'm reading here. Just a theory.

PS. Did a past life regression a while back and my previous life came to me as a soldier in either WW1 or WW2.

[waizen]

Originally Posted by James Fletcher

Personal growth from within the confines ...

BTW Love Steve's new avatar. Very Charlie Sheen :P

I guess he's back to checking out the contents of the forum again, maybe? Why else would he bother with a new avatar?

Good to have you back, Steve.

BTW: I'm of German ancestry and a former German citizen, having changed my citizenship to US back in '82. Really, I don't find the use of the phrase offensive.

Steve was obviously not using it in any offensive manner. It's not the words themselves that count...it's the motive behind them. The words themselves don't have any power...the thoughts behind them do. I see the thoughts associated with the phrase Steve used in the post as used in a positive way, regardless of the historical use of it at the camps. You need to see the whole picture of the usage of the words in this case. He was using it as a positive teaching tool.

No worries.

However, I must say that I have successfully used LoA for many 'free' things (or nearly so), without seeming to work for it. Amazingly expensive things that blew my mind, especially considering my current financial status. Things that by rights I would not be able to have, if it wasn't for the existence of LoA. Yes, they came easily when they did come.

I agree that many things require action...probably most things. The action is all part of the manifestation, probably because the actions behind them are what is 'expected' to take place for you to believe them to come true in the first place. Would you believe in your own successful business if there was no hard work behind it to begin with? The hard work itself was all part of the manifestation, not necessarily the reason for it.

Notice how many people have very successful businesses without putting in a lot of hard work. It does exist.

[Sam988]

Good article. The right mindset + hard work = success. Barring some lucky few, that's the only way.

[Fred Tracy]

Ironically, the latest post is entitled "Hard Work Never Pays Off" in Steve's latest post is all about how we should work hard to achieve success.

All the two seem contradictory, they aren't at all if you read them.

Mine's mainly about not burning out and instead working consistently toward your goals.

Steve's is all about working hard for your aligned with.

Mine is definitely less of a go-getter type article, but then again, I'm not much of a go-getter in the first place.

I think we both agree that laziness sucks.

[MariconesUnited]

That was just what I needed to read Steve, thanks!