People have been asking the same question about the Law of Attraction since it made its public appearance in the mid 1800’s:
“Why doesn’t this stuff work for me?”
In 1926, William E. Towne addressed it in an editorial for his magazine, Nautilus:
“Many New Thought people fail to succeed in their undertaking because they expect the reading of an inspiring book, or the repetition of some good affirmation, to take the place of directed ACTION.”
The caps were his.
That’s how important he regarded ACTION.
He went on to write –
“It is necessary to work in order to get results and to get the best results it is also essential to LOVE your work.”
His answer still works (no pun intended) today.
In other words, sitting around and reading positive articles and inspiring books is fine.
Sitting and praying and intending and visualizing and meditating is also fine.
But at some point you have to get out of bed or out of your chair and do something.
And when you do, it’s smart to have an attitude of love and appreciation, as that feeling will help you get more of the results you prefer.
It seems to me that too many people expect a home run the first time they go up to bat.
They visualize what they want, take a swing, strike out, and say “This positive thinking stuff is BS!”
They don’t seem to realize that you have to repeatedly affirm and visualize and pray — and repeatedly step up to bat, too.
Success is in the moment, and isn’t always measured with dollars or home runs.
The more you can be here now, while taking action in the direction of your dream, the more you will learn, grow, course correct, and keep moving forward.
It’s the way of life – whether in 1926 or 2014.
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS — Check out Miracles Coaching by clicking right here.
“Joe, did you make a deal with the devil?”
“Excuse me?”
“I heard you just recorded a track of saxophone music with Mathew Dixon and then you went and played sax on an album with Ruthie Foster and Daniel Barrett but you’ve only been playing the sax a few months.”
“And that means I made a deal with the devil?”
“You also came out with nine albums in just over three years. How else can you explain such rapid accomplishment?”
“Well, you could credit it to hard work.”
“Come on, what’s your real secret?”
“Truth is, I make deals with angels.”
“Angels?”
“Yes, angels. Most angels are unemployed, you know. Most people don’t ask them to do anything.”
“How does that work?”
“Why would I want to make a deal with the devil when my angels are floating around waiting for me to make a few requests? I keep them busy. I ask for help and guidance for whatever I am doing, like learning how to play the sax.”
“And they help you?”
“You tell me. I just recorded a saxophone track and I’m beginning an entire album of sax music.”
“You are amazing!”
“Not really. I just enlist support from the angels and they come and help.”
“It’s that easy?”
“I’m sure it could be harder if I requested it.”
“Come on, there must be more to your method!”
“Well, okay, here’s what I do to learn anything: I get inspired and I set an intention, I read everything I can find, I listen to everything I can find, I get coaching, and I practice and persist.”
“That sounds like a lot of work!”
“It’s only work if you don’t really want to do it.”
“You want to do all that?”
“Yes, or I wouldn’t do it. We all do what we want.”
“But you really believe in angels?”
“Do you really believe in a devil?”
“I think so.”
“Then read Napoleon Hill’s book, Outwitting the Devil.”
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS — Angels come in all forms. Look for them in my Miracles Coaching program, too.
“Do you believe in God?”
I would get that question after people read my book, The Attractor Factor, or read (or saw the movie) The Secret.
They somehow assumed that the Law of Attraction replaced God.
They somehow assumed that people who practice the Law of Attraction are playing God.
That confused me.
“God gave you the Law of Attraction,” I would explain. “Just as God — or the Divine, Universe, or Nature — gave you gravity. It’s a tool you can use, but it doesn’t replace the person who gave it to you.”
I’d go on to explain that I absolutely believe in God, but usually call that “ultimate force of life” the Divine, to neutralize any emotional buttons people have when they hear the word “God.”
But this unseen force is not only giving us life, It is nudging us in a certain direction, too.
In a way, the force is “pruning” us.
As you go about your life, you get bumped and rocked by events as a way for Life (God, Divine, etc) to direct you where IT wants you to go.
The more you follow the nudges, the easier life gets.
This blog post is an example.
I was sitting, eating dinner with Nerissa, when the idea for this post entered my mind.
I wasn’t looking for an idea.
I was enjoying my dinner.
But I’ve learned to obey the Divine’s inspirations.
So I turned to Nerissa and said, “You know how I get ideas at odd moments?”
She looked at me and said, “See you later.”
She understood.
Here’s another example:
I was in New York City on business and decided to visit Rudy’s Music Store in SoHo.
I knew it was famous, that Rudy Pensa is a renown collector of rare instruments, and I suspected it’d be worth the trip to see it.
It was.
The beautiful store is two stories of new and old guitars, acoustic and electric, some highly collectible, all stunning.
I was in awe of the place.
In a display case was a 1938 D’Angelico New Yorker archtop guitar.
If you know guitars, you just fainted.
The late John D’Angelico is considered the Michelangelo of guitar makers.
His instruments are sought after by collectors, musicians, museums, and fans.
Books have been written about his style and his guitars.
Even Rudy, the owner of the shop, created a mammoth coffee table book (Archtop Guitars) with some of D’Angelico’s guitars described inside, knew D’Angelico, and owns a few of his works.
D’Angelico made 1,164 guitars in his life. (He died in 1964).
He didn’t hand carve all those guitars for fame or fortune.
He said, “Big money? Big title? For what? I want to build guitars under my own name, for my own customers, the way I do it! For me that’s a good life!”
And there I was, staring at one of them.
Gordon, the shop keeper, pulled the 1938 masterpiece out of the case and handed it to me.
“I can play it?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “We want you to experience any guitar you see here.”
I held the archtop as if it was out of a museum.
I strummed it and heard the sound of angels.
I looked it over and saw God’s handiwork in a guitar.
I could tell the guitar was well played, well loved, and still in flawless shape.
“Everything on it is original except the covering on the pick guard,” Gordon said. “We even have the original case.”
Later, Rudy showed me the ledger in his book revealing the serial number for the guitar, year made, and who it was made for, all in D’Angelico’s handwriting.
This is where I felt the inner tug at my heart that I think is the Divine calling me.
I’ve learned to follow those tugs.
After Rudy told me the price, and I gasped, I asked if there was a discount for a guitar lover who would probably buy other guitars from him.
He laughed, ran some numbers, and gave me a slight break.
I bought it.
What does this have to do with God?
Look behind the scenes…
I only felt directed to go to one store in all of New York City.
Rudy’s.
I could have gone anywhere.
And while there, the D’Angelico seemed to call out my name.
I could have ignored it.
I believe all of this was Divinity aiming my direction.
Later, after I left the store and decided to walk two miles back to my hotel, I wondered what would come of my buying an investment grade work of playable art.
Then another inspiration hit me.
(Where do these inspirations come from?)
I realized that my forthcoming book, The Secret Prayer, could be enriched with the story of how I was led to the guitar.
You see, I had said a prayer before I left that morning, asking to be led to the right place and to experience a joyful event.
As I’ve written before, “Prayer is a way to activate the Law of Attraction by requesting an intention and inviting inspiration.”
I said my prayer in a state of gratitude, made a request for an exciting day, and took action by following my hunch to go to Rudy’s.
From there, I simply allowed the miracle.
And it happened.
In other words, God is directing me (and you, too, of course), and we can attract (or allow) miracles when we act on the signs and opportunities we are given.
But we have to participate.
I could have said “I”ll skip Rudy’s and go to Starbucks.”
I could have said, “Nah, that D’Angelico is too expensive.”
I could have said, “No, I’d rather finish dinner than write this post.”
But when you say YES to the inspirations, and take action, you are following Divinity’s plan for you.
When you follow inspiration – whether to build a guitar of the caliber of a D’Angelico, or to buy one – you are following the Divine’s path for you.
But you may need a razor sharp sensitivity to hear the whisper, and total faith to take action on the prompting.
Werner Erhard (founder of est) used to say, “If you knew what God wanted you to do, you’d do it and be happy. Well, what you are doing right now is what God wants you to do.”
So the next time you feel stuck or stopped, ask if Divinity is trying to redirect your path or your process.
Or the next time you receive a nudge to leave dinner early, or buy a guitar, ask if you are ready to step out in faith.
Where is God?
Right here.
Ao Akua,
joe
PS – Rudy’s Music Store in New York City is right here.
PPS – Yes, I was also practicing “prosperous purchasing” by getting the 1938 D’Angelico New Yorker, a concept I explain in my free book, Attract Money Now.
“What makes you think you aren’t enlightened?”
The question came from a quiet man who heard my presentation the day before at the Miracles Coaching event in Utah last month.
He went on to say…
“You write in your books that you are in the third stage of awakening but we all heard you speak, and we feel you are enlightened. We felt the energy in the room. We felt what you did for us. We feel you are there. Why don’t you think you are enlightened?”
I was honored and impressed.
After all, he was accusing me of achieving the very state spiritual seekers have been striving for centuries to attain.
It was a compliment.
But I saw this as a moment for him, not me.
“I love the flattering nature of the question,” I said, “but I think you can ask yourself the same thing.”
He looked at me, waiting for more.
“The only thing stopping you from being enlightened is your thinking about being enlightened,” I explained. “Your mind separates you from the experience. It’s probably as true for you as it is for me.”
I could tell he wanted me to explain, so I did…
“What most of us do is argue with reality,” I said. “Because we fight and complain and get frustrated over what is, we can’t allow ourselves any peace. When we accept reality, and know that all is good, we move in the direction of awakening, or enlightenment. But most of us simply think ourselves out of our bliss.”
But the gentleman persisted.
“The so called gurus of the world claim to be enlightened and act the part,” he countered. “Because they do, others follow them. Maybe you just need to own that you are enlightened.”
Again, I was tickled at the suggestion.
But I knew I would no more declare enlightenment as he would.
Saying “I’m enlightened” feels like what a non-enlightened person would say.
I’m told Buddha awakened and said we were all awakened but didn’t know it.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe the gentleman at the event was right.
Maybe all you and I need to do is own our enlightenment.
I’ve often said that if you want to tell if you’re enlightened or not, go visit your family.
Your family knows your hot buttons.
They put most of them there.
If you can visit them for a week and still feel at peace in every moment, you may be enlightened.
Then again…
I love the question and offer it to you…
“What makes you think you are not enlightened?”
Well?
Ao Akua,
PS — Check out Miracles Coaching right here.
Later this year I’ll be releasing a new book titled, The Secret Prayer.
It will reveal a three-step formula for attracting miracles through right prayer.
Prayer is a way to activate the Law of Attraction by requesting an intention and inviting inspiration.
In researching, I’m reading really old books, such as Prayer: The Forgotten Secret, from 1906, and really new books, such as Healing Words by Larry Dossey and Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson.
From what I can see, prayer has been around since the beginning of time.
But as we all know, they don’t always seem to work.
So what’s the secret to having a prayer deliver?
Let’s look at incorrect prayer first:
First, I don’t think most people actually believe their prayers. They pray without any real belief that anyone is listening or anything will happen. They simply “toss” one to the sky, like a stranded person on an island throwing a note in a bottle into the ocean. They hope someone picks it up. Then they hope someone acts on their plea.
Second, desperation is the other problem. Most prayers are just begging. People pray for help, solutions, miracles, healing, money and more. But when they pray, it’s often because they don’t see a way out and are pleading for intervention.
Third, most people don’t take action. This is a common thing in the world of metaphysics. People think their praying is action, when it’s really an action, but not the entire blueprint to results.
Again, prayer is a way to activate the Law of Attraction by requesting an intention and inviting inspiration.
So what’s the right way to pray?
“When you put yourself into the state of the wish fulfilled and think from it, you are praying, and in a way your reasoning mind does not know, your wish will become a fact in your world. You can be the man or woman you want to be, when you know how to pray.” – Neville, The Right Way to Pray, 1967 lecture, http://realneville.com/txt/the_secret_of_prayer.htm
First, begin with a spirit of gratitude.
To me, this is the core issue. If we all felt more gratitude for what we have, even the things we complain about, we’d shift our focus, our mind, our thoughts, our energies, our spirit, our direction, our action, and more. Gratitude for the now is the number one way to begin any prayer. When you sincerely do it and feel it, you can stop with this step, too. It’s that powerful.
Second, requesting rather than begging is wiser.
After all, we don’t know the big picture or the whole story. Begging for a certain outcome is an ego trip; it’s pretending we know it all. We don’t. We barely know a tiny percentage of what is happening in our personal world at any one time. A wiser approach is to make a request but acknowledge that something better may be more appropriate. End requests with the phrase, “This or something better.” This step requires faith.
Third, acting on the insights, inspiration, intuition.
We co-create results. The Higher Power (God, Divine, Universe, etc) works through you, not for you. When you see an opportunity, seize it. When you receive an inspiration, act on it. You are the missing ingredient in most results from prayer. The famous joke about the man who prayed to win the lottery but was reminded to buy a ticket, is good to remember.
“Prayer is the effort to bring the human soul into tune with the Infinite.” – W. J. Dawson, Prayer: The Forgotten Secret
My book will explore all this and more when it comes out later in the year. For now, I wanted to give you a crash course in prayer.
If you really want your prayers answered, then follow a proven formula:
1. Be grateful.
2. Detached request.
3. Inspired Action.
Try it today and note the difference.
Expect Miracles.
Ao Akua,
joe
PS – If you have other pointers or stories about prayers that work, please let me know with a comment below. Thank you.
PPS – If you want to explore prayers and music, be sure to check out my latest album http://www.InvokingDivinity.com