“
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
—Henry Ford
Fate. Destiny. Belief. The Law of Attraction.
They’re all intertwined. But I believe strongly that one of them, the Law of Attraction, in its current popular configuration, wars with the balance of the others. A belief system not only defines and shapes who we are, but also determines our potential.
Let’s take a look at the popular presentation of this spiritual law. Many among us already have within the past year. And even today, it seems that wherever you go, somebody is reading, has read, or is going to read “The Secret,” the book that contains, as its centerpiece, the Law of Attraction.
Now, as it’s expressed in the book and the DVD, the Law of Attraction, with its concentration on like attracting like for a positive result, and on being grateful for the result, is correct. In all of its positive intentions to spread the word for people to walk through their lives happy and grateful, it’s truly valuable, for gratitude is like music. It’s a high vibration, and so, when you’re experiencing it, you’ve entered a transforming place.
It’s a vortex of hope. Hope is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon anyone. And remember, our forward motion on our path through life comes from the transforming moments and events we experience along that path.
So, “The Secret,” through its use of the Law of Attraction, is giving us a big attitude adjustment. Remember, as I pointed out in a previous column, “Isn’t our attitude our driver’s license in life?” It’s true.
But ...
It’s not all there is. There’s something missing, Much more plays into the intricate equation we call life, and it has to do with the other two words at the top of this column: destiny and fate.
So let’s talk about destiny and fate. We often mix the two terms up, but they aren’t the same. Not at all. Fate is that which has been predetermined before we were born. It’s a fact, a force, a structure, a vessel. And within that vessel or structure is our destiny. That’s the difference between the two.
Think of fate as the hand of cards that life deals us, and destiny as how you play that hand, through your intentions and your choices.
As the author Robert Ohotto puts it, “Destiny is the doing, fate is the being, and both dance together in our lives, forming the sentences, paragraphs, and stories of our experience as human beings.”
Now then. The Law of Attraction, as it’s stated in “The Secret” deals only with our destiny. And “The Secret” goes on to say that if you’re not finding what you want, you’re doing something wrong. But how can that be? In the universe, nothing is wrong. The universe is forever in perfect balance.
Look at it this way: If I want to be married, and I’m not, is it because I’m a bad person or don’t deserve it? The reason I’m not married is that destiny and fate are interacting. Maybe marriage isn’t in the cards for me at this particular moment. Maybe at this particular time in my life, there are other things that I’m doing and learning that take precedence over a relationship: other issues, family, business. Maybe I’m healing.
So it has to do with timing. Fate has set up the timing in my life. The free will I can exercise in the destiny of my life may allow me to create a fulfilling, wonderful, loving partnership. But it will arrive, possibly not in my time, on my schedule, but in universal time.
So it seems there’s something missing in the Law of Attraction. And first of all, it’s this: Our destiny is also an act of creation. And second of all: We’re not creating alone. We’re co-creators, with God.
God’s role is setting up the experiences we must walk through on our path through life. Our destiny, in other words. God is an active participant. Proof? Think of divine intervention—the power of prayer, for instance.
So, if, as “The Secret” posits, we use the Law of Attraction to further the designs of our ego, to make lots of money, or to become popular, it won’t work, because it ignores the role of destiny in realizing the design of our fate. The Law of Attraction can work only within the limitations of our soul’s agreement with fate and destiny, and the role that God plays in playing out this agreement. We can’t leave God out of the equation. The bottom line is: God is still driving the bus.
Christiana McMahon is a practicing clairvoyant medium, available for individual readings in person and by phone (713-412-6254), or online by e-mailing christianamcmahon@yahoo.com.
on Oct 20, 2008