Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Is the Law of Attraction a Fraud?

Ever look around yourself in complete confusion? 

These people shouldn't be here...

Are these my friends?                                                                                       
Is he as good as it gets? 


Is this my job? 
Why am I here? 

IS THIS MY LIFE?

I've read "The Secret" with an admitted cynicism. I understand the power of positive thinking, but after weeks of visualization boards and taking "can't" and "never" out of my vocabulary, it seems that my grass still isn't green enough. You see, the law of attraction, as it's called, kind of makes you feel crazy. It wants you to see things which are not there yet. The four car garage full of Bentley's when your 2010 Toyota Corolla just got repossessed. It wants you to fall in love with a man who doesn't exist, while you shamefully hike your draws up after another bad hookup. 

Don't get me wrong, the basics have always been something which have worked for me. If I wake up in the morning and tell myself that it will be a great day at work, that I will get all of my work done on time and there won't be any drama, the day actually goes a lot smoother. But as far as red carpets and a six foot mass of muscle laying next to me on Egyptian cotton...

I haven't gotten that far yet.

Is the law of attraction something we humans conjured up to make ourselves feel better about our pathetic lives? Is it a source of hope, similar to the likes of the major religions which paint promised lands in the midst of wars and pestilence? Is it a cash cow philosophy for Rhonda Byrne's, you know, just something to keep the drones dreaming while the charlatans get richer? 

The Capricorn in me has always struggled with the unseen. I've always questioned God and as a preachers kid, that questioning always got me in trouble. I've always wanted proof or at least a receipt. I don't like the idea of praying and waking up the next day to the same bullshit. I don't appreciate a God who is too stubborn to reveal Himself, nor a law of attraction which keeps me seeing unicorns in the land of student loan debt. 

What I can always appreciate, is the idea of hope. That maybe I do have control of my own destiny and all I need to do is just believe that my hard work will pay off. However, the poker faced side of me looks at the one percent of America and concludes that success only comes to those who it's chosen for. 

How powerful are our minds? Are we able to bend the status quo and create a matrimony of prosperity and happiness in the midst of corruption? Is this as good as it gets or are we just unwilling to ATTRACT what we want with our positive thinking? 

Ever since I was in first grade, I've seen myself as THE Isayaah Parker. A celebrated entertainer who no longer walks the earth invisible. The writer who wins awards and changes lives. I've seen myself as greater than the boy who was constantly teased for his stuttering, big ears and feminine behavior. As an adult, I see myself as more successful than the minimum wage jobs I've been enslaved to. I've visualized people respecting me, rather than micromanaging me and treating me like a robot.

I used to create worlds in my bedroom and on the middle school playground. My stuffed animals were my audience and my Pink hair moisturizer was my microphone, used for my Academy Award acceptance speech. Every time the family Volvo would stop in front of Church on Sunday's, I would imagine someone opening my door for me, I'd step out onto the red carpet, cameras flashing and fans screaming. I wouldn't hear my dad yelling at me to hurry up and get out of the car, I wouldn't see the steps of the church, All I would see is lights. I've used the law of attraction, over and over again; Not even on purpose. So why now in my late twenties am I not famous and sitting on a beach writing my next timeless classic? Why am I not turning Tyler Perry down for a role in his new film and accepting an offer from James Cameron? 

Pessimistic as it appears, I've always seen my life as a nefarious plot against me. I like the idea of reality transforming as a result of mere imagination; but it begs the question:

Will I ever be satisfied with my life? 

Ironic.
As the advertisements bewitch us with shit we don't need, as we splurge on self help books and overdose on gadgets which make us feel connected to glorified nothingness, What is it that we are after? No matter how much shit we acquire, we will always want more. Apple will always make what we do have, outdated in less than a year. Someone can always be more famous, more beautiful to the masses. The grass can always be greener, so green that it becomes an unrecognizable color. 




Is anyone ever truly satisfied with their reality? 

Why can't we live in the moment?

Why are we chasing conveyor belts? 

We are raised in a society that indoctrinates feelings of discontentment at an early age. Disney assigns roles and injects dreams of being a princess or a king. No child is ever satisfied being plain ole lil Mike or Gabby, they MUST aspire to be Snow White with seven adoring fans. They want to fly on carpets and sing about a whole new world because their current world is unacceptable. We grew up with bedtime stories and begin the assertion that reality is simply not good enough. We go on to school and work to better our lives, but our lives never truly get better. After all, no matter how much more income we acquire, we owe more money to someone, and we have to work even harder. 


What is the true lie? 

The idea that we can change our lives with daydreams? 

Or the notion that our lives need to be changed at all?

We unknowingly suffer in a society based on fear and messages of unfulfillment. 

You can change a life with a blog. You can be famous in your community. You can meet a friend at the park rather than waiting for two thousand friends on Facebook to like a status. 

Maybe what we need to attract is not the lifestyles of others....

Maybe we need to attract ourselves. 



7 comments:

  1. Well said. Your last comment is so true - we need to attract ourselves first and foremost!

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  2. Wow, Isayaah. Just amazing! :)

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  3. We have to fall in love with the process rather than the realization :)
    The chasing of our dreams can be rewarding if we have the right dreams (and they're different for everyone)

    Great article man!

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  4. I enjoyed this article. It really hit home for me .. keep it up, sir!

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  5. Loved it! I just wrote something similar on my blog www.liveincolor.org

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