Turn Thy Cheek: Ignoring Negative Experiences to Manifest Quicker

This article is about one of the more challenging aspects of the Law of Attraction, namely the idea that it is possible to manifest effectively only if one can ignore one’s current negative experiences.

This blog post focuses on the idea of trying to optimize our daily life, so that we can achieve better and quicker manifestations.

PART 1: TURN THY CHEEK

The particular angle that I am addressing here involves the idea that we must really learn to handle all the curve-balls that life is constantly throwing at us.

So the real proof that we have become competent deliberate creators is when we can stand in the middle of a storm and get only minimally affected. As the saying goes: “It is not how the situation is that is the important thing; it is how we take it, and how we deal with it.“

The overall idea then in this post is that, according to Abraham-Hicks’s version of Law of Attraction, we must be able to, more or less, ignore our current reality with all those curve-balls that life throws at us, and instead be focusing, with a steady mind, on our future, on what kind of life we truly want to experience.

This is, of course, not an easy task. But some of my points below may help the sincere student of Law of Attraction to get a little better at doing that.

But first, let’s look at the story of Jesus that is found in the New Testament. What did Jesus say about (the equivalence of) “curve-balls”, all those years ago?

An Eye for an Eye

For those of you who have a Christian background (like I do), the following speech by Jesus, from the Gospel of Matthew (5:38-42), might be familiar to you (Metzger and Murphy 1991, p. 8 NT):

So there are many ideas that Jesus presented here. In verse 38 Jesus brings up the idea “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. According to Metzger and Murphy (p. 8 NT, note 5:38) “Though this principle controlled retaliation in primitive society, it did not justify it”.

But what do they mean by that? Is not retaliation justified if someone attacks you? Surely that must be a natural and just behavior? I mean, in any society one must be able to defend oneself, right?

However, in saying so, of course, I am not yet talking about what kind of behavior we should offer if we follow the guidelines of Law of Attraction. Here I am just pointing out what appears to me to be a strange comment by the Bible commentators. For, as the commentators mention in that very note, exactly that “retaliation” principle was used in primitive society. And that means presumably that such a behavior was legit, in some way, in those ancient societies.

Anyhow, as the quoted passage above indicates, Jesus reacted to that “eye for an eye” behavior, and instead proposed that one should turn one’s other cheek. And if someone takes your coat, you should also give him a better coat (i.e. a cloak), etc.

So the principles that Jesus tried to promote were that we first of all should stop any “revenge” thoughts and avoid fighting back. And, above all: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44″; Metzger and Murphy 1991, p. 8 NT) .

Turn Thy Cheek, Rev. 2

Now, let’s talk about how we would use the Law of Attraction, in the Abraham-Hicks version, to deal with various everyday problems, challenges, and other emotionally disturbing events.

The first thing we may note, in a more general sense, is that the Law of Attraction material probably would not recommend a literal version of the behavior recommended by Jesus in the quoted passage above. Rather, we would have to be more kind to ourselves than that.

One thing that we should have done differently is that even if we would get struck by an “evildoer” (as in verse 5:39), we do not stand still and wait for a second blow. We just immediately walk away (and also, of course, turn our cheek in that process, moving far away from him), and then avoiding any more communication with that person, if possible.

In other words, there is no need to display any heroic behavior on our part. Law of Attraction students are not worried about whether other people admire them, or not.

All we want to do is to cope with the situation in a very smooth and swift way, using the “least resistance” principle, so that we can return to our normal life as soon as possible, and concentrate on things that we do want, instead of getting stuck with things that we do not want.

It is also important to note that our behavior here would not indicate that we are acting against Jesus’s more general principle of “love your enemies”. Our attitude as “Law of Attraction” followers should always be one of “love” and even “unconditional love”. But we should not love others more than ourselves. Thus, we are not interested in voluntarily accepting being continuously beaten.

Dealing With What-Is

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for most people when they start trying to apply the principles of the Law of Attraction is the “current state of affairs”. This is why Abraham-Hicks says in The Law of Attraction (2006, p. 38):

All this attention on the current state of affairs cements your vibration into a “corner” that is very hard to get out of. This is why most people have a hard time manifesting what they want.

Their attention to “that-which-happens-now” actively hinders any transition to a better set of circumstances. So they mostly stay where they currently are at, because of that.

So what is the “recipe” for more success then? Well, Abraham-Hicks continues on the same page to offer the following advice:

One important thing to note here is that it is not just that you have to give more attention to the way you prefer things to be. You also have to stop thinking about all negative experiences in your current experience (and stop talking about them, and stop blogging about them, etc.).

And the important “extra” thing to remember is this: you cannot use your current negative experience as a reason why you want to come to a better state of affairs. For if you do that, then you activate those negative vibrations again.

Therefore, your question about “Why do I now want this new situation?” should always be answered in a non-historical, non-comparative way, basically focusing mostly on happiness and joy: “I want to meet a wonderful man that makes me happy” (and not: “I want to meet a wonderful man that is a hundred times better than my current foolish and unattractive husband.”)

No More Sloppy Thinking

So the real challenge is that we must get really attentive in our practices. There is no scope for being a “sloppy thinker”, as Abraham-Hicks sometimes describes it in their workshops.

Instead, we have to be “deliberate thinkers”, and deliberately turning our attention only to those topics and subjects and experiences that are positive and uplifting in nature.

If we are strictly practicing those things (and simultaneously focusing less and less on observing what is around you, especially when there are negative aspects around), then we very well may turn sickness into wellness, or bad relationships into good ones, etc.

PART 2: SOME STRATEGIES TO PRACTICE

In the following I am suggesting a few strategies for situations when I experience negative thoughts.

For me, at least, it is not enough just to “master” dealing with other people; instead, I believe that real “mastery” is to get one’s internal “thought climate” under control.

And when one’s own “thought climate” is under control, at all times, or most of the time, then it is quite easy to deal with other people and other external situations as well.

So here are some of my own strategies.

Strategy 1: The Added ‘But’ or ‘However’

Whenever I think a negative thought (“I am not feeling so good”), I am always quick to add the word “but” or “however”, to remind myself that I cannot accept the original negative statement, as it stands.

By adding such a “but” or “however” immediately, I can then just quickly add another sentence to “dampen” the effect of the original sentence, and make the whole thought (the original sentence plus the new sentence, with the “but” or “however” in between) softer and less negative.

Example: If I am thinking this:

Then I am quickly adding something like this:

Or something like this:

Or why not this:

As Abraham-Hicks so often points out: we must continuously make ourselves feel better. And we do that in different ways. But one way is that we must always soothe ourselves. It’s about feeling relief. We should always try to nudge our thoughts and emotions one step at the time, to be able to come to a better circumstance, gradually.

So this added “but” or “however” should be practiced every time we feel a negative thought. The more we practice, the sooner it becomes a powerful habit, that will help us to quickly “nullify” or “soothen” our negative thoughts.

And when I say “quickly” I really mean quickly. This should be done almost before we even have thought the original sentence through. The sooner we can add our “But” or “However”, the more we can prevent a buildup of that negative thought.

As Anthony (Tony) Robbins says in one of his books: We must tame the small elephant before he grows into a big elephant. The idea is that a small thought, only thought once, is easy to deflect and stop thinking about.

But if we do not stop it quickly, once that original negative thought is contemplated further, then the Law of Attraction sends similar thoughts to us (by virtue of the “17 seconds” rule and the “68 seconds” rule), and thereby expands that initial negativity into more negativity.

So we must be very quick in our offering of our words “but” and “however”.

Strategy 2: ‘Now’ Is Old News

Whenever I think a negative thought about something that is happening right now that relates to some manifestation that I am desiring (“Where is my new car??!!”), I can swiftly add the idea that “‘Now’ is old news”, and from there expand on that.

The idea “‘Now’ is old news” comes originally from Abraham-Hicks, who uses this idea in a particular context. According to them, our future manifestations are already created in “The Vortex” (a Non-Physical place), as “sketches” (vibrations) of those future gross-physical manifestations that eventually will be seen and heard and felt in our Earthly world.

So our manifestations are already prepared for being “realized”. Thus, our current physical experiences are old news in relation to all those future manifestations found in the Vortex, which already exist, right now. Those manifestations are already prepared for us, at this very moment, and ready to be delivered to us as soon as we are ready to receive them.

Example: If I am thinking this:

Then I am quickly adding something like this:

Or something like this, for a desired dream house:

CONCLUSION

Ignoring “reality” is not easy, especially when there are negative events and circumstances that show their ugly face. So we need to have a “bag of tricks” ready for action, to be able to quickly recover from any disturbances in our vibration.

I am hoping that the two strategies presented above will nicely assist you when you are trying to become a better, and a more happy, student of the Law of Attraction.

Best of luck with your “thought and emotion” work, and with your manifestations!

Chris Bocay

REFERENCES

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