The Law of Abundance

[treegod]

There are physical laws governing this universe, yet also hidden spiritual ones. I've found a list and I want to occasionally introduce them here, see what each of us make of them...

The Law of Abundance says that if you visualise abundance/success then you can "attract" it to you.

So, what d'ya make of this one?

[DJ Droood]

The Law of Abundance says that if you visualise abundance/success then you can "attract" it to you.

I think this is 100% true...the problem, of course, is the visualizer's understanding of "abundance/success". I see people all the time, driving past me in their expensive vehicles, driving home to their big houses...I wonder if they have really visualized a lobster trap.

I wonder how much of our visualizing is really just day-dreaming about memes we have been fed? I am reading a book right now called Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, by Daniel Dennett. (I thought it would be better than it is...I'm half-way through and he still seems to be explaining *why* he is writing the book) He describes some memes, or cultural ideas, as akin to a virus...something that doesn't necessarily benefit the host, but uses the host to copy and replicate itself.

Perhaps "visualization" is the way cultural ideas of success/failure, etc. get passed along, but they have a life and agenda above and beyond the visualizer.

[Merlyn]

Good subject to be skeptical about
As they say, be careful what you ask for
Many pray for riches, only to anger the earth dragon and fall into greed. (to look across the altar from the earth dragon and see that the fire dragon is the needed balance of change to truly know our talents is a far better thing)
Using the inner grove will provide a very strong method to abundance, and it is far more important to have a clear view of all that is involved. I feel that druidry aims at the balance to our goals, and rather how our efforts and aims can benefit in a mutual way, showing the abundance all around us which is already there.

Perhaps this is the law of abundance, like any working part of the universe, it is a thing in motion, not something to horde, or own.
Books all too often are more contradiction, often justifying their goal by pointing out faults of other ways. When I see this, I scrap the book. Too many are devoting the first chapter or even the entire book to blame or faults rather than how or why the author thinks his subject is functional, positive and progressive.

Merlyn

[FoxPhantom]

Abundance is probably meaning of what you need, rather then what you greed.

Other then that, I do agree about this subject, and furthermore, It's a bit tricky to get in to.

[Merlyn]

True,
It can mean a few things,
Riches (obviously)
Family, great times, lots of food, long life, and as DJ suggests, trouble or a trap

Trouble if abundance is want like FoxPhantom suggests, need vs. want.

Merlyn

[DJ Droood]

"Abundance" and "prosperity" also seems to be lucrative catch phrases for people marketing quasi-religious schemes of various sorts...it appeals to people suffering through tough times, or those in envy of the TV people who seem so happy....just google "prosperity gospel" or purchase "The Secret", now availble for download to iphone for only $14.99.

[skh]

I think it is working rather well for the authors of the respective books.

peace /|\
Sonja

[DJ Droood]

I think it is working rather well for the authors of the respective books.

peace /|\
Sonja

of course, "visualizing" is just step one...step two is to make a pot of coffee and sit down at your keyboard and start writing your book or Praise The Lord shtick....I believe that is the Law of Hard Work....The Law of Talent makes this job much easier.

[Merlyn]

Just buy my new book "free money" for "only" $10.00 and I will tell you the secret to free money

More seriously, I think abundance is something we take for granted, like the abundance of air we have to breathe...

[Corwen]

Obviously visualising failure isn't going to help you relax and therefore succeed, but the opposite isn't necessarily true! I dare say the starving do nothing but visualise food, and yet they don't always get fed.

[Oneonine]

Sounds like one of the nine metaphysical laws that I have on a similar list.

I thought the whole point was that you didn't concentrate on any one law without considering them in relation to one another. When you see it as part of the whole list, the law of abundance is manifestly limited and affected by other of the laws, for instance.

[bayemtur]

The Law of Attraction (abundance) is a concept put forth by the so called "New Thought" movement. It's definitely an interesting concept, but also very worthy of skepticism. Here's my understanding of it.

To the New Thought Movement "visualizing" something and "imagining" it are two separate things. So, when people are starving they may visualize food but they don't get fed. The act of "imagining" must incorporate the entirety of the senses and emotions. So for example, when one visualizes an apple they can see the apple. But they also have to feel it, taste it, smell it, hear the sound of it when one is biting it and feel the emotions that eating the apple would bring. If this is done fully, then one would attract an apple to them. This is what their definition of "imagining" is. Whether or not there is anything mystical, magical or inherently universal is of course debatable.

I do find the origins of the ideas (as I understand them) to be quite interesting. My knowledge of it comes mostly from the writings of Neville Goddard. Goddard believes that this is one of the main mystical teachings of the Bible. He believes that the Bible tells us that God is inside of us and that is what distinguishes humans from animals. So God is inside humans but not other animals. What is it that animals don't have? According to Goddard, it's imagination. So if God is imagination, and God is the creator then the power of God is in the Imagination. So humans can manifest things in their lives through that power, but in order to manifest it, you must first create if completely in the imagination. He states at another point that that is one of the main things human beings are here to do, to remember that we are God and that God dwells within us.

Emotion is considered one of the major reasons why "true imagining" is difficult. When trying to imagine something one wants one typically feels the opposite of the emotion they would have when they receive that thing. So if a man really wants to find an amazing beautiful partner, he may be able to imagine that person but the emotion he feels is loneliness for not yet being with them. And since emotion is so powerful it may result in the opposite. In other words in order to attract something you desire you have to imagine in such a powerful way that the imagining fulfills your desire to the point that you know longer have that desire. Only at that point will it manifest.

Goddard also quotes William Blake literally, his main Blake quote that is used very often is:
"..all that you behold, tho'it appears without, it is within. In your imagination of which this world of mortality is but a shadow"


...ok, so that's my understanding of it. Now for criticisms.
1. It has an inherent Christian mythology around it (at least Neville's version), which makes it hard to swallow if you're not Christian.

2. There's no way to prove it works one way or another. If you didn't achieve the desired result, well you must have done it wrong.

3. How does one know if you are doing it wrong, or maybe someone else wants the opposite and their imagination is more developed?

4. The idea that what happens in your life is completely your creation from imagining. So, if I walk down the street late at night and am robbed and murdered, I somehow created that. Don't put the murderer in prison, I chose to be murdered.

5. Ever since "The Secret" , it has turned into big big business. Lots of scoundrels are making lots of money off of it. It has become a very good way of making money off of rich people's insecurities (some of these "spiritual workshops" literally cost $10,000 to attend)

I think it is working rather well for the authors of the respective books.

-Not for all of them, just do a search on "James Arthur Ray" and sweatlodge. You'll see what I'm saying. That guy is slimy. But then again he's just one slimy guy and doesn't represent the entirety of the people that believe in it.

Cheers,
Chad

[StoneDragon]

Just buy my new book "free money" for "only" $10.00 and I will tell you the secret to free money

More seriously, I think abundance is something we take for granted, like the abundance of air we have to breathe...

Or, "Just send me $1,000 seed money, and I guarantee that for the next 90 days you will see nothing but abundance in your life." False prophets?

[Astrid]

So I read the secret... but i think it's the happy meal version of the law of abundance I think that if you really want to understand the law of abundance you must read the "conversations with god" triology

and I think it's a fault in our society that we have such a suspicious realationship with money. I mean for gods sake it's just paper and metals You need to be cautious of greed in all aspects of life but I think it's also very important NOT to settle!

You can say greed vs need but i think it's an out dated thought - why not have more than you need? that way you can spread it around or overpopulate the world with trees

There are plenty of ways to get wealthy financially and still be full rounded spiritual and good human being

ps. morning y'all

[merryb]

I am grateful every day for so many things in my life.But every now and then someone mentions the law of abundance and I decide to have a go.
I do agree that you have be very careful what you ask for. This is the story of my lastest deliberate attempt at asking for abundance.

I have an allotment and I work it on my own. Family and friends often come down and sit and watch me work. After hard work digging out grass
my friend who was sitting drinking a cup of tea mentioned the law of abundance - I did it I asked for someone to come along and give my a hand.
An hour later a yorkshire man, a hardly knew stepped onto my plot, grabbed my abandoned spade - I was emptying the wheel barrow at the time,
and he started digging and telling me what I needed to do!

I was polite and eventually he went away only to return and return and return. He then produced a tin of paint and said he would paint my shed for me.
I love my shed it is a natural colour - too much, I manged to be polite and removed the paint brush from his hand and said No!!! He went

I realise that working on my own is just the way I like it. It may be hard work but my allotment is my retreat.

writing a book about might be good perhaps I should......NO!!

I feel being grateful is more powerful

This is an extract from the meditation card I picked this morning

When you drink a cup of water
and are aware that you are drinking a cup of water
deeply with your whole being....
You can get joy peace, and happiness
just from drinking a cup of water.

thich nhat hanh

Many people in this world do not have fresh water to drink

with blessing
Merryb

[treegod]

Blimey, what a response!

Visualisation is used effectively in sports. Have heard at least once that basketball players visualise themselves shooting the hoops to improve performance.

Attitude influences our choices and behaviour, and this is turn can be influenced by our thought patterns. Visualiting something, or imagining as Bayemtur describes, creates certain thought patterns, and these in turn have effects in our attitude to the world, our choices and behaviour.

Visualise and/or imagine abundance or success enough and something in you will lead you to it, somehow.

The other side of the coin is what values do you have? What does success and abundance mean to you?

It could be a materialistic kind of abundance you want to attract in your life, or perhaps something with more spiritual values.

I think this activity has limits and pit falls, and has more to do with cultivating a certain attitude to things rather than cultivating material wealth. Any wealth is a side-effect of this attitude.

[Merlyn]

He he, yes.
My wife is one who hits the numbers, so to speak. She says her right palm itches and she knows she can win if she plays the tickets or the slot machines. Oddly it works, most of the time. She tells me she visualizes herself walking away "heavy" with winnings. That does not work for me. Gambling always ends up being a wash for me so to speak. Perhaps I should imagine it works, and even if it doesn't I will have convinced myself it does.

Money IMO is not abundance.
The emotion causing us not to realize our goals is the red (druid) or black (native American) (East to West) road. The balance of emotion and inspired thought is the easy road and does not move us forward. It does however temper the white road (South to North). The white road is that of change and hidden talent or our "wealth". To access our inner wealth we must realize change within us to affect our life to reach our goals. This however can be self defeating if we think other things must change, it is really us that changes. This is the tempering of the red road. The two roads can lead us from the center of our circle and soul, if we allow any one direction to lord over our thoughts and actions.

So....
How does this affect the law of abundance?
Skeptically, it is often that any one road or direction is said to be the way to abundance. Truth is this is not at all so.
"All comes to those who wait" is not an end to a means, but what this points out is for us to achieve our goals is to balance the roads and this allow good to come to us by our own inner balance.

The weaving of the outer circle we cast, is that constant movement of all things which will pass us up if we allow it to. The lurking dragons cause chaos and this is the seed of our goals. We are different from animals as we are able to form order from chaos withing ourselves. As mentioned, this is often thought to be "god" inside us.
This ability has built the great pyramids, amazing stone henges and all, because we can.

To this end is not money, as money is a debt note. That is bad vuvu.
If one realizes that money is causing debt from another then we see it for what it is, like a bad spell which will cause bad karma if we hoard it.
Money is something to let flow, as a balance to our own labor. Having plenty of money most often results in eventual poverty for reasons just stated.

Abundance is as mentioned, a glass of water, a breath of air, and all that is already around us.
That law of abundance can make a poor (by cash) person seem rich with life.

It is an interesting thing to ponder..

[Oneonine]

THE NINE METAPHYSICAL LAWS

The Law of Rebound: The Lesser Authority's force will always rebound from a Superior Authority's force.

The Law of Summoning: The Adept's degree of Authority always decrees the degree of success achievable.

The Law of Manifesting: An Adept manifests Authority thrice over. Uttered in three Spheres of Influence.

The Law of Challenge: A message from beyond the Mundane should be Thrice Challenged against delusion.

The Law of Polarity: The Highest levels of Authority are only attainable by perfectly polarized individuals.

The Law of Equality: If two equal forces meet, one will eventually rise in its Authority to surpass the other.

The Law of Equipoise: Endeavours undertaken have fitting expenditure of effort, and life a healthy balance.

The Law of Abundance: Use like for like; in endeavours undertaken, and in rewards requested or bestowed.

The Law of Cause and Effect: Those ignoring the Law of Abundance; receive its balancing returns anyway.

This is one version of the nine metaphysical laws. The law of abundance here is not quite the same as the new age visualisation concept of the same name. But then the new age version of orbs takes no account of digital pixelation, and the new age concept of memes (and meme-ories ) bears little resemblance to the sales demagraphic list it was first based on either.

[DJ Droood]

The Law of Cause and Effect: Those ignoring the Law of Abundance; receive its balancing returns anyway.

I like laws like this...be ignorant of them, and they *still* work in your favour. Sign me on to this constitution!

[Merlyn]

Those ignoring the Law of Abundance; receive its balancing returns anyway

Truly then, I will be a billionaire in the very near future, as the gods know I have put out enough to be deserving of it!