What are you paying attention to?
What are you experiencing in your life that is causing you problems? Try to get a feel for the emotions when you think about the situation. Now think about what you would like to see happen. How would you feel if you lived that reality now? People often believe that conditions are worse than they appear, which in psychology is known as catastrophic; irrational thoughts that something is worse than it really is. It may be an evolutionary adaptation that has allowed humanity to evolve. However, what you are experiencing may be setting you up for what you asked for.
The universe rarely works as planned, as you may have noticed. Sometimes things happen unexpectedly and we jump to conclusions without allowing the full picture to unfold. In fact, what may be happening is what we have been looking for all along. Our judgment is based on first impressions and we must give things a chance to develop further. For example, the company you work for may downsize and unexpectedly lose your job. Naturally, you are stressed about being unemployed and having to look for work. What if the situation developed in your favor to lead you to the perfect race? Just because we haven’t experienced ideal conditions before doesn’t mean it’s out of the question. We must believe in miracles because the universe works in mysterious ways. What may seem like an obstacle can open doors in unexpected places.
The problem is that we focus on negative conditions for so long and lose sight of attracting good things into our lives. In physical terms, it is called The Observer effect, whereby observing an experience has the potential to change the outcome. Understandably, there is more than I have time to explain in this article. However, if we pay attention to unwanted aspects, they will continue to appear in our lives. The key is to flip the switch and focus on what we want. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? So why do so many people struggle with this idea? It’s because we experience life in three dimensions and there is no dress rehearsal, just the real thing. But as you know, thoughts become things, so what you pay attention to will eventually become your reality.
Trust greater intelligence
Are you with me so far? Are you beginning to see that what you pay attention to creates your reality because of the energy you put into it? It is not all bad news because we can change our thinking environment and attract new circumstances by changing the way we think and feel. I liken it to traveling down a highway and seeing an exit sign up ahead. Take the freeway exit and soon you find yourself on a new road with a change of scenery. All it took was one thought to get off the highway, resulting in a change in the physical landscape. It is true that life does not move as fast as this example. As thoughts turn into things, there is often a time gap between our thoughts and our reality. It has been suggested that it takes approximately 30 days of focused visualizations to evoke a shift in our reality. At this time, the universe will respond to our thoughts by showing us signs that our thoughts are manifesting into existence.
It is good that thoughts take time to manifest because we can change what we think. We may want to add or remove aspects of our imagined future while it is still a thought. For example, you may want to be intimate and imagine the details to the best of your ability. However, the person who appears is not the one you expected. Now, you are stuck in a relationship that does not serve you and you blame yourself for attracting the wrong partner. Everything you experience is what you asked for, although it may not look like this because the image is still taking shape. It requires mental backsliding (detachment) and relying on a higher intelligence that knows exactly what it is doing. This intelligence has been doing its job for thirteen billion years and has a good handle on the process. The universe is not rushing through our timeline, as it has its own schedule. This is what the metaphysical teachers mean when they say trust in divine timing. It requires detachment and letting go of how and when things will appear in our life.
Knowing this, let’s go back to my initial question where I asked you to consider the contrast of your negative situation and how you would like it to play out. The goal of the exercise is to use contrasting states to get an idea of what we want to experience. So for the next several weeks, use this visualization to focus on what you want to bring to life. As you focus on the negative situation, switch to a positive outcome and allow your mind to stay in this positive state longer. It doesn’t have to be more than a minute or two. Invoke the emotions as you think about this positive scenario and observe where you experience the emotions in your body. Only when we examine our thoughts do we realize that our experiences are preparing us for what we ask for.