The Laws of cause and effect... etc

[Chicken]

Hi All,

I am doing a little reading and research on a topic that has interested me in the past about the LAWS, I don't know what they are laws of exactly, hence the reason for this post...

but some are called:

The Law of cause and effect
The Law of abundance
The Law of Attraction etc etc

Can anyone help me out there?  What are they Laws of??  Where do they come from?  what or who's idea?  Is it Buddhism?  Just need to know this so I know where to look for more info

I bought this book, I think it sounds good... waiting for it to be delivered from Amazon

Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires 
Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401904599/qid=1128075074/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/202-4114543-2039866

Another book along the same lines is: THE VALUE IN THE VALLEY by IYANLA VANZANI, beautiful book written by a Black woman for black woman but it works for all ethic backgrounds...  She talks about God a bit but you can substitiute that word for whatever God means for you.

Does anyone believe in the Laws? 

I am trying to succeed in the creative industry and I feel like I am lacking belief that I can succeed and this is where I am going wrong... 

Any Ideas?

[Sallying Forth]

I am trying to succeed in the creative industry and I feel like I am lacking belief that I can succeed and this is where I am going wrong... 

Any Ideas?

What area of the creative industry?

http://www.dbi.com.au/~rsharah/spiritual/spiritual.html

This web site has the following:
Law of Abundance; Law of Attraction; Law of Balance; Law of Cause and Effect; Law of Cycles;
Law of Desire; Law of Energy; Law of Forgiveness; Law of Free Will and Predestination; Law of Giving;
Law of Gratitude; Law of Harmony; Law of Healing; Law of Help; Law of Increase; Law of Karma;
Law of Love; Law of One; Law of Permanence; Law of Polarities; Law of Praise; Law of Prayer;
Law of Productivity; Law of Progress; Law of Reflection; Law of Release; Law of Speech;
Law of Symbols; Law of Thought; Law of Transmutation; Law of Vibration; Law of Vision

[Chicken]

I would rather not say Sallying, if that's ok.  Any aspect of the creative/arts industry is tough to make a living from i realise.  What annoys me is that my friends whom I was in college with are employed and doing well.  I am not, and I am talented.  I must be doing something wrong and it's got to be my negative thinking or my lack of belief in myself.  One may think, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  I am full of self doubt and beating myself up because i am not moving forward, but the reason I am feeling like this is because I am not moving forward!!  How do I break the cycle?  I did have a friend at college, whom is now very successful and she always did the affirmations thing and always had belief in herself and in how it all works, the laws etc. 

I am thinking, am I keeping myself here by thinking of this stuff?  If I snap out of it and stop wallowing in this stuff, will I bring myself to a brighter place?  I do believe in these laws and their philosophy to a certain extent...  I think that if you think about something, that something becomes your reality.  I have to figure this out and become successful in the career I have chosen. 

It's so unfair to be passionate about something that is so sparce in your life...

[Chicken]

Thanks for that link Sallying, so I guess they are called the Universal Laws or Eternal Laws...  Thanks

I have now found another site:

http://www.1-spirit.net/pages/metaphysics/laws.htm

That'll keep me going for a while!

[Sallying Forth]

I would rather not say Sallying, if that's ok.  Any aspect of the creative/arts industry is tough to make a living from i realise.  What annoys me is that my friends whom I was in college with are employed and doing well.  I am not, and I am talented.  I must be doing something wrong and it's got to be my negative thinking or my lack of belief in myself.  One may think, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  I am full of self doubt and beating myself up because i am not moving forward, but the reason I am feeling like this is because I am not moving forward!!  How do I break the cycle?  I did have a friend at college, whom is now very successful and she always did the affirmations thing and always had belief in herself and in how it all works, the laws etc.

That's all right Selkie.

I was not able to get going in my career until I dealt with my issues from childhood. The self doubt, beating myself up, lack of belief in myself, thinking I wasn't worth it all held me back. I am in the creative industry and it has taken me years to feel worthy enough to even to ask for what I am worth. Even my h kept telling me I was charging too much. However I found out otherwise. I am actually slightly below the acceptable price range for my area of expertise and geographical area. Next year I'm raising my prices!   I am getting where I want to be little by little. It took healing from my past to get functional enough to do the work I was meant to do and get paid enough for it.

One client recently got bent out of shape because of what I charge. I told him my time is worth money. His reply, which was said sarcastically, "well I guess you have to make a living." Do tell dip sh*t! I am sure he charges for his services. Some people I'll never understand. Most clients are more than willing to pay for my services. The difference now is I know I am worth it.

When I was healing I didn't think I was worth the money, worth the time, worth anything. I was worthless. It wasn't about knowing the Universal Laws which changed me. It was learning about myself, trusting myself and loving myself which changed how I feel about my self worth.

[mum]

Hi, Selkie. Well, laws (any laws) are something that has been agreed upon by a number of people. The concept of "universal law" is not new, and maybe my take on it would be argued by adherents to it: but my understanding is this.
The universe is made up of energy.  The universe only gives back to us the energy we put out, thus giving us exactly what we are "asking" for (whether we are consious of it or not).  The concept of Karma, getting only what we actually need as a soul to learn and progress is not so different.
So, if we are putting out a negative energy vibration (Wayne Dyer calls this a low frequency vibration) we are presented with the same negative energy in our circumstances (the law of attraction).  If we can instead give out higher, positive energy, we attract that back to us in our circumstances. 
Certainly this takes a belief system to support such an idea/make it work and that is where I think Sallying's comments about looking at ourselves and our choices, and healing our core beliefs about ourselves comes in.
  Many sources discuss what exactly makes up a higher or positive energy: and besides the obvious being a happy, loving person....gratitude, prayer, meditation, faith are all counted among the practices to stay in the higher vibrations.
For those who would find this pretty "airy fairy", I would say check with almost any religion....at it's core, these are common beliefs, called by different names.
Wayne Dyer's book, "A Spiritual Solution for Every Problem" talks a lot about this.
I also study Buddhist teachings, and am still trying to reconcile the acceptance, unconditionally, of all experiences AND the idea that change can be manifested by people without restraint if one believes strongly enough in one's intention.
But I will say, studying both of those idealogies has deepened my relationship with the divine and changed my life in many good ways.
There are a few other places you might check out on the web (although, the money making component of them is hard to ignore sometimes). One is: successconsiousness.com and the other is CarolTuttle.com
Have fun!!

[October]

So, if we are putting out a negative energy vibration (Wayne Dyer calls this a low frequency vibration) we are presented with the same negative energy in our circumstances (the law of attraction).  If we can instead give out higher, positive energy, we attract that back to us in our circumstances. 
Certainly this takes a belief system to support such an idea/make it work and that is where I think Sallying's comments about looking at ourselves and our choices, and healing our core beliefs about ourselves comes in.
 
Have fun!!

While there is probably some truth that a positive attitude will help towards success, there is also the alternative side of things, which is that it is not always the best people who are successful.  Sometimes it is down to chance.  I personally do not believe in magical thinking; that I can make something happen by having the right attitude.  But maybe that is why I am a complete failure at everything I do.   

The best way to achieve success in any field, in my view, is to work hard at it.  If you see other people who are not as good as you, seeming to achieve everything effortlessly, try not to regard yourself in competition with them.  They have their own lives and their own blessings and sorrows to face.  The only person you need to compete against is yourself.  Can you do better this year than last, this job than the last one?

If you cannot believe that you can succeed, Selkie, I would recommend just trying to believe that you will try your best, and work hard.  Believe me, that will be more than enough.  Everyone else out there is not superb at their job.  There are millions and millions of people out there doing a pretty well mundane job in a pretty well average to poor way.  All you need to succeed is to keep your love of the work, and do it as well as you can.  You will be head and shoulders above them all. 

[mum]

October, I think you may be just a right as anyone on this.  But it's such an interesting concept....

Ironically, I had a long talk with an old friend last night who has been through hell and back again. I won't go into her story, but it was every educator's nightmare and involved the courts and the media. It was the worst thing this particular person, as true an advocate for children if ever I met one, could possibly go through. Anyway, she came through it all right, not after her career was trashed, etc....and now she has a better/more fulfilling job that she loves....etc. all things actually working out to her benefit.

So, since I am still in a challenging situation, I was asking her about this very thing....positive thinking and did she think it had any effect on her outcome.  And I must add, that she was not "Miss Positive" during this whole thing. She felt her pain and expressed it heartily!
She said, (in retrospect, of course) that of the three WORST things that could've happened to her (media coverage, carreer lost, jail) two happened, and the last (jail) probably never would have (there was such a public outcry as it was).
What she was aware of, was that she NEVER entertained the thought that jail would happen for her, and she said she ALWAYS knew she would be exonnerated (sp?).  Now, that doesn't mean she was happy during this time....she was miserable, just beyond words.  But she said she made friends with pain.....learned to just be IN it and accept it. She said she figured out that if she felt it fully, she could get through it, and if not, it would still be there, waiting for her.  Mind you, she does not study Buddhism, or read any "positive thinking" stuff....this is just what she figured out for herself...
OH< but she DID seek psychotherapy.  And that made a huge difference in her being able to put things in perspective (ok, so she did have help with this).
Anyway, the image of a POSITIVE outcome NEVER vanished for her.  The road there was awful, but she did get there. So hey, whether that is a testimony to positive thinking or not, I don't know.
And yes, there are plenty of unworthy (IMO) people who are very successful. My ex won the first court case against me....but I have no doubt, that he never let into his head  that I would actually win.  And I was a wreck with the possibility of losing...and I did.

I DO know that if I SAY I won't do something (like eat meat) it won't happen BECAUSE OF MY ACTIONS in keeping with that intention. So maybe it works that way with anything. OF COURSE just saying and wishing does nothing.....but visualizing it, saying it and then ACTING in accordance with those beliefs WILL bring you a better chance of success than saying "I doubt it".

[Sallying Forth]

While there is probably some truth that a positive attitude will help towards success, there is also the alternative side of things, which is that it is not always the best people who are successful.  Sometimes it is down to chance.  I personally do not believe in magical thinking; that I can make something happen by having the right attitude.  But maybe that is why I am a complete failure at everything I do.    

The best way to achieve success in any field, in my view, is to work hard at it.  If you see other people who are not as good as you, seeming to achieve everything effortlessly, try not to regard yourself in competition with them.  They have their own lives and their own blessings and sorrows to face.  The only person you need to compete against is yourself.

What you said October got me thinking about hard work or action versus luck or chance. I found some interesting information on the web on locus of control. There are two types, internal (most desirable) and external. I started to wonder what an external locus of control would mean and how I would feel. Then I found the words which described it: learned helplessness and depression. If I believe that events in my life are outside my control I would feel helplessness and depression. I have felt like that in the past. I was powerless. I might have scored 10 and 10% on the tests to determine locus of control which would have been an external locus of control.

Now I score a 3 and 90% on the tests meaning I view events as resulting from my own actions. Someone with a locus of external control would view events as being under the control of external factors such as luck or chance. I don't get depressed as easily any more. I don't feel helplessness like I did.

Interestingly one web site says that those who grow up in a nurturing environment are more likely to have an internal locus of focus. And another web site says that with psychotherapy the locus of control can change to an internal focus. That is exactly what happened with me.

Here are several sites about this. The first gives an overview of it.

http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/control/overview.shtml

http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LocusofControl-intro.html

The last two here are tests.

http://www.wilderdom.com/games/descriptions/LocusOfControlExercise.html

http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch11/survey11.mhtml

[Chicken]

Hey Sallying,

Interesting stuff...

I am in the process of reading that article now, but I was thinking about internal vs external locus of control...

Is there such a thing as chance or luck?  Is EVERYTHING a direct result of your actions...  ?  Some people would think so, some people think that the reason they have an illness such as cancer or whatever, is a result of suppressed emotion of some sort, anger that's buried or undealt with...  dunno how I feel about that, the question that will remain is "where do you draw the line?"

For me, I work damn hard and I know I do a lot of background work promoting myself etc but to no avail...  Where is all this energy going and why am I not reaping the rewards?  Why isn't it coming back to me?  I thought that's how it worked!

 

meanwhile back at the ranch, my mates who do not put anything into it, and who don't seem to be as passionate about it as me, get all the work, and sometimes even blow their chances by being careless...take for example, a friend of a friend, he got drunk the night before a very very important event, which could potentially lead to further amazing things... (an event that I would sell my soul to be part of) and failed to turn up!!!  (because he winded up taking drugs as well)

Am I wanting it too much?  Maybe I am pushing it away because I am too full on ...  like an unhealthy relationship!?  Is everything ONE?  Do I need to chill out and let it come to me?

 

[Sallying Forth]

hi selkie,
I belong to a support list for bodybuilding and weight loss. I can't count the times people have written to the list saying they aren't having results or they're stalled or they're gaining rather than losing. Their stories are ALWAYS the same, "I am doing everything right but I am not having results." What I have learned about the ebook and program is that if one follows it they will have results. They can't help but have results. I have had steady success following the program. So when these people write in I ask each of them the same thing, "Are you following the program? Are you doing the work which makes the program work?" They will invariably reply, "yes." Then we get down to the basics - it is 70% nutrition and 30% exercise. I ask, "are you eating enough calories?" And the answer is usually, "well I think I am." I repeat my question, "are you eating enough calories?" Then the truth comes out. They're barely eating enough calories to sustain life yet expecting to lose fat and gain muscle. It is simply not possible! I repeat the basics to them and tell them to use the formulas to find their proper caloric intake. After about 6 weeks they write back to the list all excited because they are now seeing the results.

I have researched the publishing industry and it is very tough to be a new writer. There are procedures to follow. There's writing and editing and writing and editing again and again. There are certain attitudes one must have. One has to be willing to get rejected many times before getting published. There are specific people to contact. There is protocol for contacting publishers - if you don't follow the submission guidelines to the "T" they'll throw your manuscript in the trash without even reading it. Some of the most popular and profitable writers have used unconventional avenues to promote themselves when they first began their careers. Those unconventional avenues still had guidelines and protocol to follow.

When most people start a business they spend time researching how to succeed in that business. They find out all the angles before deciding to start the business. They research the market, how to be successful, where to start, how to start, what equipment they will need, etc.


I told you about these because there is obviously something you are NOT doing which will bring you success. There is something your mates ARE doing. Is it connections? Is it attitude? Is it ... ? I don't know because I don't know your creative industry.

If you've done your research, are working hard and are promoting yourself you will succeed. It may take many failures and false starts just as it would when losing weight or publishing a book and eventually you will be successful. However if there is a missing ingredient to your success, you may try again and again and continue to fail over and over again.


I could be wrong ... maybe you've done your research ...

[Sallying Forth]

Hey Sallying,

Interesting stuff...

I am in the process of reading that article now, but I was thinking about internal vs external locus of control...

Is there such a thing as chance or luck?  Is EVERYTHING a direct result of your actions...  ?  Some people would think so, some people think that the reason they have an illness such as cancer or whatever, is a result of suppressed emotion of some sort, anger that's buried or undealt with...  dunno how I feel about that, the question that will remain is "where do you draw the line?"

I don't believe EVERYTHING is a direct result of my actions. Like cancer or diabetes or heart disease, it could be hereditary or it could be attitude/emotions or it could be both. When one gets a disease how do they act? Do they throw in the towel? Or do they refuse to let it take them down? In November 2004 I had an elevated blood glucose test. I could have reacted two different ways. Screw it! There's nothing I can do about. It's inevitable. Or take my health into my hands and get fit and healthy. I chose the later.

Chance is:
An unknown or unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to occur one way rather than another.
A risk involving danger.
A possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances.
A measure of how likely it is that some event will occur.
Taking a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome.
Come upon, as if by accident.
A venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury.

Personally I don't want to live my life in that manner, by chance. It doesn't sound very healthy. I would rather be in control of my life.

I think I would draw the line where I can take control over my life.