On second thought …

I’m wondering if the study of how to endure might be too limited, too much of an existential downer. Who endeavors to merely endure? Baby, I want to live! So let’s reconsider our exploration, expand it, en-lighten it, en-liven it. We’re not here to merely survive, overcome pain, avoid suffering, postpone death. Rather, I’d like to think we’re here to love, to feel, to grow, to give, to experience, to live. But I digress; more on that later –

Getting back to our list … Let’s take each philosophy/theory/belief system, whatever you’d like to call them, individually, and look at the pros, the cons, the benefits and caveats inherent in each. We’ll start with my person favorite, the ever-popular platform espousing the power of the individual to manifest whatever he/she wants out of thin air and co-create of life he/she desires …

Several years ago, a group of enlightened insiders introduced the “The Secret” of unlimited health, wealth and happiness to the great unwashed masses through the book and video of the same name. Apparently this (meta)physical law of the universe, “the law of attraction,” at play since time immemorial and accessible to all, had been kept secret by a select few who have used it exclusively for their benefit. Until now.

Now, thanks to these generous, learned souls who wish to share the secret, we all may benefit. By simply focusing our attention and emotions and energies on what we want in life - the ideal mate, a great job, more money, a house in the country, perfect health, you name it - we can put ourselves in vibrational alignment with the universe and “attract” it all into our life. How great is that? By simply envisioning our ideal life as if we are already experiencing, savoring and enjoying it, we attract it, extract it out of the cosmos and make it manifest here on earth. Wow. We are god-like in our power, omnipotent. Everything we can every want, need or have is all right there for the attracting.

Simple! But not easy. If one believes that it is we who exclusively, actively create our life through our thoughts, emotions, attention and actions, that makes us 100% responsible for any outcomes we experience in the here and now. Great. But beware: because we tend to pine for and stress over what we don’t have, what we lack, what we desire, we actually attract more of that – the not having, the lack, the want and worry - into existence. Ironically, through this dynamic which (supposedly) can make all our dreams come true, we mostly call our nightmares into being. We “create our own cancer” as well as our health and wealth. (This brings “blaming the victim” to a whole new level.) If/when we fail, there’s no one else to blame: not God, not the neighbors, not the boss, not the economy. It’s all you, all the time; if not properly focused, our absolute power has the power to corrupt absolutely.

For a time, I wholeheartedly embraced this belief system, touting the power of the individual to consciously create his/her life according to his/her design. Just banish the negative! Keep your eye on the prize! Concentrate on the positive! On the life you want for yourself! Act, think, feel “as if”! What I didn’t factor in: the individual’s unconscious ability to sabotage his/her best laid plans. The realization, as the frequently do, came out of the blue, unanticipated - and hurt.

As did this epiphany, a biker struck me while strolling along the Hudson one sunny spring afternoon. My fault, according to this principle – some way, some how, I willed it, I called it into being: I wanted to go flying through the air, slam belly-first onto the dirty pavement, pass out from the pain, and be taken in shock to the emergency room on Mothers’ Day. The cyclist wanted to hit me, bend his expensive Cannondale out of whack, scrape his knees and elbows, land flat on top of me …

This event sent me into an existential tailspin: if nothing is random, everything intentional and inspired by our energies, how, who, what, where and why on earth would I, or anyone for that matter, call pain, misfortune and suffering into their life? Into the world? What do we really want; what dark, mysterious internal forces were really compelling us? Are we just evil? Ignorant? Simply untrained, unenlightened? What important lesson have we yet to learn? And why do we choose such roundabout teaching methods? And what about wars, poverty, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes - where do they come from? How might my negative energy be complicit in creating those?

Oy, vay. All this power was beginning to exhaust me. I loved the concept, but in practice, not so much ...

Might this just be an example of our ego, our sense of importance, of sitting at the center of the universe - run amok? As my friend John insists, “the universe is not an ATM machine!”

So what’s the alternative? I still believe in the individual’s inherent, formidable power to co-create his or her wonderful life. In fact, I feel we are way more influential in writing our own script than we give ourselves credit, way more responsible for our own happiness, our own experience here on earth, than we even admit. I’ve come to believe that it’s less about attracting than allowing. For myriad reasons, we’ve become blind to the beauty and possibilities unfolding constantly around us, surrounding us, there for the tasting and the taking. All within reach. But we fail to see them, and fail to reach for them. That is, until we’re ready; then we avail ourselves of the wonders that the universe has always had to offer ...

But more on this later. To be continued ...

© 2010 Theresa Quadrozzi - A Muse In Manhattan