It’s not about STUFF; it’s about JOY
December 18, 2007
Books like The Secret, or The Belief Formula, or any other book that seeks to explain the nature and relationship of thoughts becoming things, can be read by many different people at many different levels of understanding. Though these books seek to explore and explain the importance of our thoughts and thought processes — and how those thoughts actually create and become our life experience — they are often seen as books that teach you how to use your mind to “get STUFF.” Well, it’s not about the STUFF; it’s about JOY!
By “STUFF,” I am referring to things you can buy, eat, wear, drive, live in, play with, etc… Money, and other material goods, seem to be the “STUFF” most people (in America, anyway) seem to be interested in; but try not to miss the point — or the boat. Your stuff is not making you happy — and it never has. Receiving stuff may have caused you to feel elation at one point, and you may enjoy using or looking at some of your stuff; but there is an energetic cost for everything you have, and if it isn’t giving back at least as much energy as it requires to maintain, then your stuff is draining your energy — your life.
When The Secret came out, it received mixed reviews; some loved it, while others complained that it was not “Spiritual” because it was all about getting STUFF — nice houses, pretty wives, big cars, expensive vacations, etc… Spirituality and Health magazine landed on The Secret with both feet and quickly found out how “enlightened” their readership was when floods of response poured in seeking to clarify what S&H magazine had clearly missed — the whole point of what some call, “The Law of Attraction.” That point: “As a man thinketh, so it is done unto him.” In other words, you get what you think about; and it comes in many ways — as determined by the volume and quality of emotional energy (spirit) you put into those thoughts. Sorry guys, but this is no Secret; the only people who don’t realize this are all unhappy and unhealthy — the kinds of people who suffer, complain, judge, and argue.
What they seemed to miss was that only some of the stories were about “getting stuff;” some of the examples used in The Secret were examples of relationships being healed because one person shifted their way of thinking about their spouse and relationship, and one guy who was told by doctors that he would never walk again, and set his mind on proving them wrong. He did. Henry Ford put it this way, “If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right either way!” The success stories in The Secret are stories about people who thought they could — and believed it. Remember, “All things are possible for he who believes.”
The world will be a better place when people understand the importance of their thoughts; but humans need incentive to learn new things. Face it, America is a capitalist country driven by an economy that requires people to be sick, scared, and discontent in order for the economy to thrive. It also requires it’s citizens to be gradually dumbed-down to the point of needing (or believing they need) the things provided by those who created the economy. The entire country is conditioned to respond fearfully to the news and support any authoritative remedy for the problems presented — by those same authorities. And almost the entire population is conditioned to respond to commercials and other forms of advertising, by spending money on STUFF. So, how do you get 300-million Americans to put down the remote control and french fries long enough to learn about who and what they truly are — and how prayer works?
Simple, says the people behind The Secret; you simply start by teaching them how to create something they truly desire. You cannot start by judging and trying to change the desires of hundreds of millions of people; rather, you teach them how things work, where their current situation came from, and how to change their thinking to improve that situation in whatever ways they would recognize as “improvement.” Then, as the reality sets in, and they have an idea about the whole, “Thought-Feeling-Word-Action-Outcome-Feedback” loop, individuals will naturally make the choice to stop creating more STUFF and seek contentment, peace, health, and happiness directly from the source rather than by way of the department store or fast food restaurants. As awareness grows, people naturally become better stewards of their thoughts. The things we ask for naturally change over time.
The complaints about The Secret mostly seemed to be based on the idea that money isn’t spiritual, or that The idea about asking for things isn’t spiritual. Of course, these folks are simply judging the THINGS that people are asking for; and they wouldn’t do that unless they were afraid that those things might happen — or jealous that such things haven’t happened to them yet. They don’t seem to understand that people only want the new Hummer, Ipods, or the new flat screen t.v., because they have been told (programmed) to want it by their television and other forms of media. Where else would humans get such desires? But don’t judge these desires; the rain falls on everyone. And even Jesus taught that, “Whatsoever you desire, when you pray, believing, will be given to you.” You thoughts are being created for you even as you read this; so think wisely. This is where your life comes from.
But why do people chase STUFF, anyway? Simply because they think they need or want it; and they think they need or want it in order to be happier than they are right now. Very few people say to themselves, “Gee, I’m so happy now I think I’ll go buy me a new, red Corvette so I can be unhappy for a while…” People want to be happy; and that’s the entire point of being here. The good news is that happiness is your natural state; so, no matter what happens, you will always end up there. But if you want it right now, you must create it; and you must know how to create things for yourself in order to reliably create what you want for yourself. Which puts us back at The Secret: Today’s people need incentive to learn new things; their innate curiosity has been sedated with consumer goods.
It’s all about JOY. The ancient advice from all religions, cultures, and philosophies is simple: Your life is created and shaped by mental energy — your thoughts or prayers — so be of good cheer, be faithful, judge not, fear not, and think on those things that are good. Religious and spiritual texts are made up of three basic kinds of writings: Explanations of natural laws; Suggestions for the kinds of thinking you should be doing to produce the best fruit possible with those natural laws; and Stories about people and their thoughts and actions — and the resulting outcomes of those thoughts and actions. You aren’t supposed to DO everything the Bible says, for instance; some of those stories are there because you are supposed to learn from the mistakes of others. It is done to you according to your thoughts; so, if you think and act like these folks, you’ll probably end up kind of like them.
So start with JOY. You don’t have to figure out how to get JOY; it is already there. But you must start thinking about it in order to experience it. So start thinking happy, positive thoughts. You may think that is kind of silly, or a waste of time; but what is your reasoning behind the negative thoughts and thinking? And how’s it working for you? Is your negative thinking producing the JOY you truly desire? Have your plans for buying or working your way to JOY paid-off yet? Or are you just more stressed than ever? If you are more stressed, then you probably have changed everything you can without actually changing the way you process your thoughts. Spend more time thinking about thinking instead of thinking about stuff; and you’ll soon find your way to new ways of thinking — which naturally produce new results in your life. Spend your time thinking about JOY; or spend your time thinking about nothing. But you must spend your time thinking about “Whatsoever you desire” if that is what you truly hope to get. Whether you know it or not, you truly desire to be happy.
It’s all about the JOY!
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