The title was not a typo, I did mean “light path” though I could easily also call it the “right” path.
If you are having a hard time convincing the universe to manifest your intentions, you are not alone. In fact you are in the majority.The universe it waiting to help you but you keep blocking the guidance by giving out conflicting signals. People who are good at intention manifestation are the ones who consciously avoid making this mistake. As you read this post you will start unearthing a new perspective that you might not have considered before.
Your present reality is your making
Whatever you have right now in your life is perfect for you. In other words it couldn’t be different. Don’t get angry with me for saying that, I am just stating a fact. Your life exists in accordance with a simple law – what you believe on the inside becomes your reality on the outside. In fact, this is what “law of attraction” is at the core. So you are always directly responsible for your external reality. If your life is messed up, you are responsible for the mess. Blaming circumstances is a cope out. Look at the example below.
They are both right. The chap on the left will keep getting evidences in his reality to prove his belief – he will get suffering and loneliness. The chap on the right will be flooded with proofs attesting his belief – he will get love, happiness and abundance. The universe is a mirror and it reflects back what you believe.
Your present belief structure or thought pattern has resulted in your current reality. If your reality sucks, you can change it. Real fast. Real quick. The solution is to change your mental model. Change your beliefs and your reality will change on its own. Don’t worry about the outside. Start with the inside; have a hard look at your beliefs and thought patterns. Your beliefs are well within your conscious control. They are in your circle of influence.
Look at the scenario below
This chap, I call him “Hardworking Joe”, will never become rich. Now why would I say such a heartless thing? Two reasons
1. He is working so he can make money. His belief is that the more you work, the more money you make.
2. He thinks that there is a final destination to be arrived at. He says “Once I have a million I don’t have to work”.
It’s common for most people to fall into the trap of “work for money”. I know that’s what we were taught as kids – to get a job so we can earn money. But this model of thinking is highly inefficient. If you are stuck in a job you hate then ask yourself the big question – WHY? Because its pays your bills. But it also chokes you on the inside. What about a Win/Win situation where you love your job and it pays your bills? You might scoff at this suggestion as “impractical”. On the contrary it’s the most practical thing to do.
Two simple rules of reality will show you why “Hardworking Joe” up there will never become rich.
1. If your intention comes from place of desperation, you will have a hard time manifesting it.
2. You can never reach “a state” in the future, you can only be in that state in the present moment.
With respect to rule number 1, “Hardworking Joe” is obviously desperate for money. He thinks the harder he works the more money he gets. So guess what happens. He keeps getting more work because he believes that more work will get him his million. Indirectly he is saying “I need more work so I can make more money”.
The second rule states that there is no final destination to be reached in the future. If you believe something to be true, you will start living it in the present moment right now. The only time when you can exercise your power of choice is in the present moment – in the reality. Future is just a mind projection.
Stop “hoping it” and start “living it”
The past and the future are figments of your imagination. They don’t exist, except as a thought. The only thing that is “real” is the present. If your intent is to be a millionaire, you need to start behaving like one right now. Your reality may be the opposite of what you intend to be, for example you might be extremely poor or in debt. Nevertheless, start making small changes. Follow certain manners and habits of a millionaire. For instance, you can consciously stop thinking about the debts and the bills, a millionaire would never think about financial problems. To make a change in the external reality you have to first change your internal behavior. It has to be done very consciously and very deliberately.
The reason why you are not manifesting what you desire is because you don’t practice the above step. Anyone who is good at intention manifestation will agree that you can’t hope to get something in the future without making radical changes in the present. Start living in the present the way you want to live in the future. You can’t change your present reality completely, but work at small changes which are in your control. Your thoughts are in your control, so stop thinking thoughts which contradict the reality you want. Thinking thoughts of financial scarcity, while intending for financial abundance, will ensure that you never manifest abundance.
Enter the “law of fairness”
Now we dive into a perspective of law of attraction based on the model of “Self serving” VS “Serving the greater good”. Are you a naturally “giving” person or is your nature more inclined towards “getting” things for yourself. In simpler words are you a giver or a moocher? May be you are a bit of both. The nature of your intention may be towards “getting” or towards “giving”. For example, “I want a million” is an intention directed towards “getting” – it’s “self serving”, on the other hand an intention like “I want to write better so I can give value to people” is directed towards “giving” – it’s “service towards greater good”. Law of attraction will work the same way for both types of intentions but the consequences in each case would be different.
An intention of “getting” will result in a scenario where you would need to make a “pay back” to the universe for what you get. An intention of “giving” will result in a reality where you would be “paid back” by the universe. Are you able to detect the difference? It’s not subtle, it’s a major difference.
My financial disaster
Not long back my primary intention was to “get” money. I was stuck in a job I hated because of the pay check. Money was very important to me; all my decisions and behaviors were based on acquiring more money. Books like the “Science of Getting Rich”, influenced me to use law of attraction to get more money into my life. It worked a charm. I was promoted, my pay was hiked, I bought a car and started living lavishly just as I had intended. I also became a spend thrift. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was no more happier now than I was before. In fact it got worse. My finances seemed to go downhill. My spending habit ensured that I ended up with huge debts. The reality became quite tragic – there was a lot of money in my life but most of it was debt and credits.
That’s when my life was all screwed up to the core. Back then, I was not aware of a simple law that you may not be aware of yourself. This law, I call it the “law of fairness” states – “You cannot get something without paying for it”. There is a link between the law of fairness and the law of attraction. Most people who advocate the “law of attraction” for intention manifestation forget to mention the “law of fairness”. Understanding this link is critical to manifesting your intentions.
In fact, I came across the “law of fairness” for the first time while reading “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Something just clicked in place while I was reading about it. I suddenly realized the actual cause of my financial disaster.
The “law of attraction” says you can get whatever you want but the “law of fairness” states that a balance will be maintained between the “inflow” and the “outflow”. There seems to be a contradiction if you look at both the laws together; but in reality there is no contradiction at all. It is just a balancing mechanism. Everything in universe works in balance. If you get something you will have to give something back. If you give something it will naturally follow that you get value back.
The reason why most people fail with the “law of attraction” is because they forget the “law of fairness”. That’s the reason why their life feels all imbalanced even after their intention manifests, like it happened in my case. I got a lot of money but then I also entered into debts which I had to pay back. I hated my job and was not “giving” any useful value through my work; hence the condition of financial imbalance. The balance mechanism just operates naturally.
There is no getting around the “law of fairness”
The law of fairness governs our reality day in and day out without us even realizing it. It states simply that – “you can’t get something for nothing”. It looks unfair if you have a mooching mentality and believe in getting something without paying for it. But in truth, no matter how deviously you work your ploy, everything gets balanced quite quickly. What goes around comes around.
For example, let’s say I cheat someone off $100,000, or I got the money without giving an equivalent value in return. Now I start enjoying my life and think I’ve gotten away with it. I even believe that I deserve the money. Everything looks good for a few days and then the day of reckoning comes bounding by. I either learn my lesson and start paying back or enter into a loop of suffering and loss. The universe can be a harsh collector.
This may look negative from the perspective of “getting”. But it’s has disastrous consequences only when you are a “moocher”. The problem is that most people who use law of attraction for “getting” start exhibiting the “moocher” mentality.
You will get your million if you dedicate yourself to intention manifestation exercises of visualization and affirmation and when you start living congruent to your intention. You can fulfill all your desires, but when the time comes for pay back will you commit to it without any grievance? Or are you afraid of committing to such a thing? It’s a contract you have to sign naturally. You don’t get anything here for free, you pay back for every penny you receive – either by giving value or by losing your peace of mind. I wish I could have sugar coated what I said but am sure you realize the truth in it.
The analogy of “Star Wars”
Now I am going to draw an analogy to help you understand better. Have you seen Star Wars? You’ve not!!!! That’s ok, neither have I. But I know the concept of Star Wars, and it’s interesting because the principles depicted in this movie apply perfectly to real life. The movie shows the presence of “The Dark side” and “The Light Side”. I got this analogy from Steve Pavlina’s blog on polarity.
In simple words, you can belong to either the dark side or the light side as a person – but each side has its pros and cons (depending on the way you look at it). The dark workers are the greedy ones who want everything for themselves, all the pleasures and riches. They don’t mind trampling and killing others to get what they want. They are very powerful because they are clear in their mind about their purpose. They want something and they get it, because they do whatever it takes to attain it. But they suffer the consequences. That’s the reality of life also. You can’t get something without also accepting the consequence of what of you get.
When you ask for a million (for self service or out of greed), you automatically end up on the dark side. You want something for yourself, for satisfying your pleasure quota, and demand it from the universe. You become a dark sider. If you are courageous enough to accept that you will have to face the consequences of such a demand, then you will get what you want almost immediately, in a few days or weeks. The universe will test you and see if you stay true to the commitment. You might even be asked to pay big prices such as losing a relationship. But you as a dark sider will honor the agreement and pay no heed to the consequences.
If you are reading this article, I have believe that you are not a dark sider (at heart) to start with. I’ve known dark siders, they are ruthless and they never care for a friendly conversations let alone a one-sided one. So rest assured, if you have read this far you are definitely light sider material. Look at the strip below, it shows the attitude of a light sider towards universe.
Three essential characterstics of a light sider are illustrated clearly. He is full of Gratitute (no complaining), he loves Giving (when his heart resonates with the cause) and he receives the gifts of universe with grace and much appreciation (without a sense of apprehension).
A light sider is a giver. He gives value to people. He gives because he believes that he is one with the universe. Consider the example of all the open source developers. They give away their work and value for free for the betterment of others like you and me. I made these comic strips using Inkscape – which is a free software, developed, no doubt, by a community of “light siders”.
A Light sider inherently believes in the concept of “Oneness”. That we are the one consciousness not separate from each other in essence. Its like each of us is a cell forming a part of the larger body; so we are different in form but essentially we are part of the same body. When you resonate with this paradigm you will stop feeling hostile towards others because you realize that hating anyone is like hating yourself.
You are consciousness; you are not your body or mind. You are just pure awareness or being. That’s all there is. The one collective consciousness. When you give value to others, you are giving value to yourself. Would you ever give yourself something “second rate”? Wouldn’t you always want the best to yourself? Then why do run away from giving your best to others?
When you give, you are giving to the universe. Since you are part of the universe its like you are giving to yourself. The “best of me” is a very personal thing. What is “best” according to you may not be the standard of best for someone else. It does not matter; you should just look at giving your best. You can give your best value when you do something you are passionate about. It is impossible to give good value while working at a job you hate. If you are skeptical about the scenario that anyone would really want to give value to others without expecting something in return then you have not understood the principle of oneness.
How does law of attraction work for a light sider?
It works beautifully. The major difference between a dark sider and a light sider lies in the nature of the intentions. When your intentions come from the core paradigm of – How can I give more value to people? you operate on the level of a light sider or a giver. Now you are not looking to ask for more but you are intent in giving more. Humans are creative beings and we love to create. We are the happiest when we are creating from our heart. Any creation of yours is a value add for people around you if it comes from your heart center. When you give abundance and value to people you automatically start getting abundance in your life. But you primary intention is always “to create” not “to get”.
You can have a look at the articles on polarity and law of attraction that Steve Pavlina has written. His insights are what lead me on this “light sider path” in the first place. He is a light worker himself and believes in giving. He writes are lot of good content and everything is free on his website, even the podcasts. In fact once you become a light sider you will be stunned at the number of light siders you will encounter. May be its just that you are more aware of the giving qualities in others because of its predominance in you.
Don’t worry about getting just start giving
What if I give and get nothing in return? This fear stems from a scarcity mentality and it’s typical for you to be skeptical about it till you give it a try. Once you become a giver you will live in abundance everyday. Money will come along just to add to the abundance. Financial prosperity will not be your primary source of motivation at all. You feel abundant within because you are living creatively and you are contributing your best towards adding value to everyone.
This attitude brings a quality of richness in your life. Financial abundance will naturally follow. If you are worried about money, you are yet to become a complete light sider. The law of fairness works for the light sider this way – “If you give something you will definitely get it back (many times over)”. The giving has to come from your heart, else the whole purpose is defeated. You shouldn’t crib and complain about your giving. If your heart does not resonate with giving value to others then you are still stuck in the scarcity mentality.
Everyone has a potential to contribute
You might say “I think I am gonna have a hard time being a light sider. I don’t know what to give, I don’t have anything of value”. You think this way because you have set an external standard for yourself. Don’t compare your capacity to give. Each person is unique in his creative abilities. Use your potential for creative expression. For starters you can always do some community service.
When you give love, you are giving value to others. When you give information, you are giving value to others. When you entertain, you are giving value to others. Telling a good joke and bringing a few smiles is value. Start small. Then ask yourself the big question “How can I give my best value?” The natural question to follow would be “What is my best potential, what is it that I am really good at or what is it that I really love doing and how can I use it to give value to others?” The answers will come if your intentions are genuine. If your intentions are tainted with the ulterior purpose of making more money for yourself or being greedy then be assured that you won’t get the right guidance.
The path of a light sider
There is a joy in giving. You will be amazed at what is waiting for you out there. May be you don’t have a penny in your pocket right now but you will still feel rich when you follow this paradigm. You have the capacity to give so how can you be poor? In fact once you start giving away from the heart, financial abundance will follow as a natural consequence. Money will not even be important to you anymore and you will look at using the money to give better value to people. The bottom line is that your life becomes one of abundance and richness. You will realize that feeling rich and happy has nothing to do with money.
So have you made up your mind on what type of intentions you will send out from here on?
You have to decide or else you will go through a life of oscillating between the two sides and that’s a lot of suffering. Does the paradigm of helping people by giving them the best of you make you feel immensely motivated? If it does, then you are a confirmed light sider. You know what to do from here. Remember that your source of guidance is the universe itself.
