People have believed for a long time that fire walking is a result of the power of the mind. They have come to the conclusion that the mind is stronger than external situations and events, to the extent that we can defy the laws of physics and walk over hot coals without getting burned. Many have tried to explain how it could possibly work, and the theory that fire walkers went into a trance-like state was probably the most popular explanation for a long time. Until science found the truth - and it had very little to do with the mind.
The truth is, anyone can walk on hot coals. It is simple science, as tested by Mythbusters. (See more here)
The ashes
form an insulating layer on the coals and if you step lightly and keep walking
at an even pace, you will not get burned. The only part of it that proved to
require some mind-over-matter process is that you need to know that it won't
burn you, and that there is a technique to it. It is that simple.
Why am I
writing about it? Because of the whole mind over matter, (or mind over
fire) religion. In the last few years it was as if the whole world suddenly
jumped on the “Secret” bandwagon. Your thoughts create your world. If
you visualise things in a positive way, and if you really believe, you will
create it. Except, well, no you won’t. I do believe it can contribute but it
doesn't create your entire world. What it does is to define priorities, to
bring things to the foreground in your mind, and this in turn will cause you to
take steps and make decisions and choices that bring you to your goal. There is
certainly also a psychological effect; your belief, and the sense of control
over your world gives you a good boost of confidence, enthusiasm and determination,
and this belief in yourself and your abilities focuses your attention on your
goals and help you to take the actions to realise them.
. I
call it a religion because many people in the West have moved away from
Christianity and other organised religions, and embraced the Law of Attraction.
It is pretty much the same thing though - a belief in something that can't be
proven. For many, who claim to be “spiritual; but not religious” it has become
the new religion. Visualising, manifesting, "putting it out there"
have become the new way of praying. They even left a little back door open,
just as with conventional prayer and faith: If it doesn't work for you, you
probably don't really believe it is possible; your vibration is too low, you
don’t really believe in abundance; deep down you think you are not worthy, you
are not doing it right in whatever way... It is like saying it is not
God's will, not part of his plan, or, sometimes God says no.
I don’t
believe in the law of attraction (LoA) simply because it doesn’t work. Yes,
based on no scientific fact, but only my own experience, because I say
so. Shoot me. I just think that I don’t have to disprove it, since it was
never proven to begin with. A few people’s anecdotal proof is no proof. I
find it quite arrogant to call the law of attraction a "law.” A law is
supposed to yield consistent results without fail, but in ordinary life this so
called "law" fails more often than it succeeds.
In Rhonda
Byrne's book The Secret, she claims it works without fail. She even
has millions of dollars to “prove” it. Wow. If attracting money was that
easy, she should teach this secret law for the good of mankind, for free, and
make her millions elsewhere. Think about a world in which everyone knows this
secret. Julius Malema would disappear and re-appear countless times every
day as some people wish him away and others wish him back. There would be no
more poverty, homelessness, unemployment, crime, suffering or disease because
everyone would just think good thoughts and change the world - but that is not
going to happen, is it? Science tried, and couldn't prove this
"law," and when trying to explain how it works, the LoA gurus can't
do it in any scientific way. Also, it doesn't exactly take a genius to work out
that this law simply isn't a law.
Did you
win the lottery every single time you "put it out there" that you
wanted to, and attached love to it and visualised it etc? No. Did you get
whatever you wanted every time you tried to attract it into your life? No. Has
any person who undergoes regular kidney dialysis ever grown a new set of
kidneys by using the principals of the LoA? No - and I could go on and on.
Then the
law also claims that you don't only attract the good, but also the bad. Your
fears become true, negative thoughts become a negative reality. Take as an
example all those people who died in 9/11. If they hadn't all been so scared
that a plane was going to fly into the building on that morning, it would never
have happened. Oh hang on... apart from the fact that it would be absurd and
cruel to blame them, maybe they weren't all scared that it was going to happen.
Maybe some of them went to work that morning visualising how they were going to
clench that big deal today. I can't prove it scientifically, but I think it is
reasonable to assume that everyone in those buildings didn't fear
that a plane would fly into the WTC on that day. In fact, my personal opinion
would be that it didn't cross the minds of even a handful of people. If the LoA
was true, it would mean if even one person went into that building on that day,
with positive thoughts and died anyway, then the LoA is about as fair as an Old
Testament God of the Bible.
A
dangerous difference between the LoA and religion is that people start blaming
themselves when they can’t create the world they want. A believer who
prayed and didn’t get his wish doesn’t always blame God, because they are
simply not allowed. You are supposed to accept it is not God's will, and
get on with life. When the LoA doesn’t work, blaming yourself is apparently
allowed, even required. Those with the perfect lives that they supposedly
manifested into existence tell you that you are doing something wrong. They
will make you feel bad about your alleged "inability" to create the
life you want.
Are their
lives really perfect? Do they really attract everything they think about?
No they don’t, but they will tell you that it is a work in progress and
it is only a matter of time.
I am not
at all saying we should not take responsibility for things in our lives.
I am also not saying you shouldn’t have goals and dreams, and visualise them
and believe in yourself achieving them , but if you are taking the
necessary action, putting in the effort and doing the work, but things are
not working out for you because "your vibration is too low" you
should try and find an explanation outside of the LoA. Feelings of guilt and
inadequacy because you are not able to create a fantastic life by means of
science fiction are not going to help you! Good things and bad things happen to
everyone. It is just life.
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