I have been finding myself beating myself up more than usual over the past few months. It seems to be getting worse... I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel, running in circles with no relief in sight. Many people I have spoken with feel the same way. But, why? As a spiritual and self-awareness writer and teacher, I study spiritual teachings. You'd think I'd have the tools to get off this treadmill. And I thought I did. I have been using the tools... the tools offered by some of the "Law of Attraction" teachers and teachings.
For me, like the majority of people in the US right now, my concerns and issues have been around money and financial abundance. So for the past few months I have been following some of these law of attraction teachings on abundance and putting their practices to use. For one, they teach that what we say becomes our reality. So we should not actually say what our financial situation currently is. We should say what we want it to be. For example, if someone were on unemployment, they wouldn't say, "I'm on unemployment right now and not making any money." They'd say what it is they'd like their financial situation to be. They wouldn't say, "I'm looking for jobs but can't seem to get one." Or, "The job market is so rough out there right now." Get the point?
The next thing a lot of these teachings teach is visualization. Close your eyes, meditate, and visualize yourself in the job that you want, living debt-free, living in the home that you want, having all the money you want, etc. How does it feel? How do you feel living with all that money? Put yourself in the feeling place... I do like visualizations, and I do think they work. However, there comes a time when they become detrimental, when you put all your stock in them. And that time for me, is now.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe in the power of the law of attraction. I do believe that like attracts like. For example, when you wake up in a bad mood, you're pretty much going to have a bad day... everything is going to go wrong. We've all experienced it. Or when we are fully happy and living in our joy, we may meet an incredible person or get an amazing opportunity. So, yes, I do believe in it. And how it works is a whole other article(s).
But I really want to talk about how this can be bad for us. I had a huge breakthrough yesterday. Every single day, twice a day, for the past two months, I have been following a law of attraction financial abundance meditation system. And I have been speaking the situations that I want to be in, as opposed to my actual situation, and nothing has changed. I'm following the teachings and using the tools, and NOTHING is happening! What is wrong with me!?
These teachings say that it doesn't matter what the financial state of the world or the job market we're in actually are... that if we are in alignment with abundance, then we will draw in all the money we want, the jobs that we want, etc. That the financial and economic state around us doesn't matter. So then I just feel worse about myself when I'm following those teachings and still nothing is happening. I wouldn't listen to the people who told me not to be hard on myself, that it's just a horrible time out there right now economically. NO, I'd say, that doesn't matter. That doesn't apply to me. I hold myself to different standards because that's what the teachings say.
And then in a fit of frustration with myself and with my life the other day, I screamed out, "But this is just where I am right now, and it's OK! The economy in the world sucks right now, and it's OK! Almost everyone in the world is having money trouble right now, and that's OK!"
I felt like I could breathe again for the first time in months. I felt such a huge wave of relief. I actually spoke the truth. I acknowledged the truth. And I accepted the truth. And that's OK.
I think that sometimes spiritual teachings, if we interpret them the "wrong" way or hold them up as gospel and law, hurt us way more than they help us. I think that sometimes we need to be with ourselves where we are, and just accept that. We need to be real. And the reality is, we are where we are. The reality is that we won't always be where we are right now. The reality is that we are working on getting out of where we are right now. The reality is that it is a tough time out there, and by not acknowledging that, ignoring it by expecting that those situations don't apply to you, can really hurt you rather than help you. Accept where you are, and what's going on around you. It's OK. And remind yourself that it's not permanent... nothing is. Remind yourself that you are working to change it.
Try this exercise, I've been doing it, and I feel such a huge relief! I've been saying it as many times a day as I need to when I start feeling stressed or panicked, and it calms me right down: "I am where I am right now, and that's OK. " Fill in whatever it is for you: "I'm having a hard time getting a job right now, and that's OK. I'm struggling to pay my bills right now, and that's OK," and so on... Fill in the blanks for yourself.
Truly, you are where you are right now. And that's OK. You won't be there forever.