Kevin-Doherty.com

Just like millions of other people on the planet, I have been captivated by the law of attraction and the notion of manifesting abundance. I saw the movie the Secret a couple times and have read many books by the people in the movie.

I even wrote my own book, released a few months ago, called the Purpose Principle which explores the concept of life purpose as it relates to many of the themes discussed in the Secret.

I have studied many of the ancient religious traditions, along with some of the more contemporary spiritual movements led by teachers such as Andrew Cohen, Ken Wilber, and Adyashanti. I am fascinated by all of it, yet not associated with any one specific viewpoint or tradition.

I have heard all kinds of opinions about the law of attraction and manifestation. I have heard some people call the Secret new age, narcissistic, spiritually materialistic, watered-down, ego-centered, superstitious nonsense. I have heard others call it the most transformative, moving, beautiful, and powerful movie they have ever seen.

Some people say they tried to manifest abundance, but it did not work so now they believe it is all a bunch of rubbish. Others report that right when they started working with their minds to manifest more of what they want, nothing short of miracles began showing up in their lives.

Here is what I have noticed in my own life…

I have had way too many uncanny experiences to NOT have a basic level of respect for the law of attraction.  I don’t believe in it so much as I experience it.  In fact, just today, I had 2 experiences that reminded of the fact that there really is no such thing as randomness or coincidence.

I took my daughter Juniper to Barnes and Noble to read for a couple hours (one of our favorite things to do together).  I had no idea what I wanted to read when I entered the store, but right away was drawn to the book The Key by Joe Vitale.  I was immersed in the book for the whole time and at one point, my Juniper looked up and saw what I was reading and said, ‘you’re hopeless, daddy.’  She thinks I am a bit too obsessed with this stuff… and she’s probably right.

Anyhow, I was reflecting on the book on our drive home and we were listening to a CD that we had put in when we left for the bookstore.  As I was driving, I looked down at the CD player and saw that 9 songs had played already and I thought to myself, ‘wow, that is amazing that this CD has played this whole way through without skipping (the CD was really scratched up).

Then right after that, I had the thought, ‘This CD will probably stop working.’  That thought passed through my mind with total clarity.  And guess what?  The CD literally stopped working within 3 seconds of me thinking that.  Just went totally dead.  Now, how do you explain that??

Then, this afternoon, my family went to the new Warren Miller ski movie (our friend Josh is the producer for the movie).  I was in a negative state of mind because it took 20 minutes to get a box of popcorn and a couple sodas.  I was feeling really irritated by this, as it seemed like the bartender was helping everyone around me and only took my order when I was the last person there.

Shortly after, my son Ezra had to use the bathroom.  I led the way for him.. still in a totally negative frame of mind.  As I was helping him, another thought came to my mind:  ‘Wouldn’t it be awful if my blackberry fell in the toilet?’  It was propped in my shirt pocket at the time.

About 30 seconds later, my son was pulling on my pants nagging at me to help him.  The bathroom had about 100 people in it and I was getting more impatient.  I bent down just a little bit–barely at all– and guess what happened?  Yup.  Blackberry goes splash.

At first, I was just mortified (I have a rather deep attachment to my blackberry).  But then, my son who is 5 yelled, AWWW, DAMMMITT!!  WHY DID THAT BLACKBERRY HAVE TO DO THAT??

I mean, everyone in that restroom heard this from behind the door.  I just had to burst out laughing.  Now my blackberry is getting some emergency therapy to see if I can resuscitate it.. we’ll see.

The point is that these things are always happening to all of us, if only we are aware enough to notice the little details of our lives.  When we carry negative energy in the form of thought and emotion, negative things will often happen.  When we feel gratitude, peace, and acceptance, the stage is set for more abundant circumstances to show up in our lives.

This seems absolutely indisputable to me, as I have just had too many experiences that validate this for me time and again.

I have come to realize that there are a couple really key factors that determine our ability to manifest abundance.

1.  Being present– This very moment is the only one that we have, yet so often we think abundance will come at some future time when a certain set of conditions have been met.  If you can’t feel the energy of abundance around and within you right NOW, then this is where the work begins.  NOTHING ELSE MATTERS BUT NOW.  In order for abundance to manifest in the future, we must plant the seed of abundance in this moment.  That is the only way for abundance to grow in our lives.

Doesn’t matter what is showing up outside of us right now; there is always the opportunity, the choice to perceive abundance.  We can always drop our ego-based attachment to our problems.

2.  Present-moment transformation– Being present really is about 80% of what it takes to create a life of fulfillment and abundance.  The other piece of the puzzle is knowing how to relate to negative emotion when it surfaces so we can neutralize and transform it.

For instance, when I was feeling invisible trying to get my kids some popcorn and drinks, I was really irked for a few minutes.  This pushed some buttons for me.  As we went back to our seats, I felt a hot stifling sensation in my chest and stomach.  I could have just let that play out and I could have gotten really into it–focusing on how this bartender had really been a jerk and how life isn’t fair.

Instead, I closed my eyes for a couple minutes and set an intention to let in some compassion and to let go of that pain.  Shortly after, my son had to use the bathroom.  Now, I was still pissed off as I was walking him to the bathroom, but there was a glimmer of relief in that, a sliver of awareness that created space around my personal pain.

I really think that this is why I was able to laugh when my son blurted out DAMMIT! as loud as he could when my cherished blackberry leapt into the public toilet abyss (it’s still painful to talk about).  I had created just enough openness that I attracted my son saying something incredibly funny in that moment.

In conclusion, my experience has been that if you want more abundance in any aspect of your life, the same principle always applies:  Be completely present with what is showing up right now in your life.  Recognize clearly what your blocks are.  Call out the part of yourself that doesn’t want to change, that needs to be right, that wants to stay stuck.. even if it’s in a painful place.

Out of this awareness, set an intention to let go of your ego.  Just blow it away.  Visualize it melting out of your being.  Feel the energy in your body opening.  This can only happen in this moment.  Don’t believe that you can get to it later.  There is no such thing.  Be very clear about what you want more of in your life.  At the same time, be completely present to and accepting of what you have right now.

If you keep your senses open, you come to realize that the law of attraction is happening all of the time.  We can easily be cynical about it or turn it into some kind of spiritual trip.  We can also choose to learn from and respect it and live a more fulfilling and abundant life in the process.

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