(This is an excerpt from the book THIS MYSTICAL LIFE OF OURS by Ralf Waldo Trine, first published in the 1907 and is now in the public domain.)

There is nothing more true in connection with human life than that we grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate. Literally and scientifically and necessarily true is it that, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” The “is” part is his character. His character is the sum total of his habits. His habits have been formed by his conscious acts; but every conscious act is, as we have found, preceded by a thought. And so we have it — thought on the one hand, character, life, destiny on the other. And simple it becomes when we bear in mind that it is simply the thought of the present moment, and the next moment when it is upon us, and then the next, and so on through all time.

One can in this way attain to whatever ideals he would attain to. Two steps are necessary: first, as the days pass, to form one’s ideals; and second, to follow them continually whatever may arise, wherever they may lead him. Always remember that the great and strong character is the one who is ever ready to sacrifice the present pleasure for the future good. He who will thus follow his highest ideals as they present themselves to him day after day, year after year, will find that as Dante, following his beloved from world to world, finally found her at the gates of Paradise, so he will find himself eventually at the same gates. Life is not, we may say, for mere passing pleasure, but for the highest unfoldment that one can attain to, the noblest character that one can grow, and for the greatest service that one can render to all mankind. In this, however, we will find the highest pleasure, for in this the only real pleasure lies. Read the rest of this entry »

(This entry is by Ralph Waldo Trine from his book THIS MYSTICAL LIFE OF OURS written in 1907, and is now in the public domain.)

Each individual life, after it has reached a certain age or degree of intelligence, lives in the midst of the surroundings or environments of its own creation; and this by reason of that wonderful power, the drawing power of mind, which is continually operating in every life, whether it is conscious of it or not.

We are all living, so to speak, in a vast ocean of thought. The very atmosphere about us is charged with the thought-forces that are being continually sent out. When the thought-forces leave the brain, they go out upon the atmosphere, the subtle conducting ether, much the same as sound-waves go out. It is by virtue of this law that thought transference is possible, and has become an established scientific fact, by virtue of which a person can so direct his thought-forces that a person at a distance, and in a receptive attitude, can get the thought much the same as sound, for example, is conducted through the agency of a connecting medium. Even though the thoughts as they leave a particular person, are not consciously directed, they go out; and all may be influenced by them in a greater or less degree, each one in proportion as he or she is more or less sensitively organized, or in proportion as he or she is negative, and so open to forces and influences from without. The law operating here is one with that great law of the universe, — that like attracts like, so that one continually attracts to himself forces and influences most akin to those of his own life. And his own life is determined by the thoughts and emotions he habitually entertains, for each is building his world from within. As within, so without; cause, effect.

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I talked earlier about the concept of Threshold, of reaching a boiling point in your life, of hitting rock bottom and realizing you need to change. But after that, then what? Where do you go from there? Many people have reached that point and they say, “I’m going to make a change, I’m going to turn over a new leaf.” But, you know, they go to bed, they get up the next day, and life goes on and nothing really changes. Well, that’s a good point. Where do you go from there?

Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want

I think many times we focus on the bad habit or behavior that we want to change and that’s where our mind is, that’s where our attention is, that’s where the vision is, the pictures that we have in our mind. Now I’ll go back to the example of the person who overeats. You know they say, “I’ve got to change, I’ve got to go on a diet, I’ve got to quit eating the food.” They put all of their focus on not eating and they are constantly thinking about food, saying things to themselves like; “I can’t eat the chips and salsa. I can’t eat the chocolate cake in the fridge. I’ve got to count calories.” Their whole focus is all on food, and not eating the food. Read the rest of this entry »

“If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” -Unknown

If you look at your life and things are still the same as they’ve always been despite your efforts to change, there is a good reason. You are most likely trying to change the effect without changing the cause.

It’s like treating a cold with the typical over-the-counter cold medicine. It may relieve the symptoms for a while but the cold is still there. To make lasting changes in your life you must work on the root causes.

Henry David Thoreau, 19th century naturalist, wrote these words.

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”

Looking for love in all the wrong places

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to be miserable and unhappy no matter what? I know a woman who has been divorced several times. She goes from one relationship to another and always ends up getting hurt. The guy always turns out to be a dreadful twit.

I know a man who has had so many jobs I can’t even count them. He goes from one job to another and is never happy with where he is currently working. The standard reason he always gives for leaving his last job is because the boss was a big jerk.

There are other people who are never happy with where they are living. They are constantly on the move, looking for happiness and success in the next town.

The problem with these people is they are trying to solve their problems by changing the symptoms and not striking at the root of their problems.

Your mind creates the world you live in

So what is the root of their problems? In each case the roots are different but they all reside within the mind of the individual. The mind must change first. If your mind stays the same it will continue to produce the same results that you have always got. You can change your environment, your spouse, your job or your home but if your mind remains the same you will create the same problems over and over again. Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 6 of my 6-part series of articles on the Law of Attraction. Previously we talked about there being a law. We called it the Law of Attraction, we called it faith, we called it the law of Like Begets Like, or Like Attracts Like. Just as a seed will reproduce itself, your thoughts will reproduce themselves and attract the things you think about.

Where do you begin?

So what does that mean? Let’s say a person is fairly miserable because their life isn’t going so good. They might say to themselves, “Well, that’s all fine and dandy but what does that mean to me? What am I supposed to do? How do I make that happen in my life?” Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 5 of my 6-part series of articles on the Law of Attraction. Today I want to explore the Law of Attraction within the realm of science. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no scientist. But I think we can explore the Law of Attraction using reason and logic and come to understand the possibilities of how it works within the world of science. Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 4 in my 6-part series of articles on the Law of Attraction. Today I want to show how the Law of Attraction involves two creations – a mental creation and a physical creation.

When you read the Bible and you read about God creating the universe, it talks about how the word was spoken and it came about. When you speak a word you have to think about it first. It exists in your mind first. Therefore the universe and this world were first created in the mind of God before the elements were ever brought together to create this world physically. Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 3 in my 6-part series on the Law of Attraction. Today I want to discuss examples of the Law of Attraction working in different people’s lives. I’m sure as I give these examples you can think of real people you know that fit these descriptions. Now, I can’t read minds and neither can you. But when you think of people in your life, people that you are intimately acquainted with, you generally know what these people think about on a regular basis by what they say and do. I think we can agree on that. So here are my examples: Read the rest of this entry »

I began this series of articles on the Law of Attraction by explaining the law in terms of my belief in God and how the Law of Attraction works through Him. You can read about it here: The Law of Attraction Part 1 – My Take.

Today I want to take on the idea that the Law of Attraction has been some big secret throughout the ages and only known by a few select people. I knew that wasn’t so. To prove it I did a simple thing and went to my own personal library at home. I examined a number of my books looking for references to the Law of Attraction. I was amazed at what I found. If the Law of Attraction was a secret it certainly was one of the poorest kept secrets I have encountered. Read the rest of this entry »

I must confess that I got sucked into the whole “Law of Attraction” hype when The Secret DVD first came out. I was very intrigued when I watched it the first time. It all seemed so new yet so familiar. I knew I had heard things like that before but never presented in that way. Most of it sounded and felt right but some of it just didn’t harmonize with what I knew to be true. So I set out on a small quest to study and understand the Law of Attraction and try to make some sense of it.

Most of my concerns had to do with reconciling the things taught about the Law of Attraction and my Christian belief in God. My first thought was that the things they talked about in the video were true. However, I felt some of their explanations of how or why it worked to be in error.

What I want to attempt over the next several articles is to offer my own, personal, explanation of why and how the Law of Attraction works in terms of my belief in God. I don’t know that my ideas and theories are completely correct but I offer them as possibilities of what it is that makes the Law of Attraction work. Read the rest of this entry »