Where I live, the weather is very unpredictable lately. One moment the temperature soars to balmy above freezing ranges then, within hours, it plummets back down to the freezing below zero Celsius range. The heaps of snow rapidly melt and the resulting puddles flash frost to create slick ice patches on sidewalks and roads everywhere. As I hear the whir of tires spinning on the ice, while the drivers effort to get traction, I'm reminded of the defensive driving instructions I received many years ago in a Driver's instruction class and I marvel at how perfectly it explains one aspect of the Law of Attraction.
In the Driver's Ed. Class, the instructor was teaching us about what to do in wintry weather if we were unfortunate sufficient to hit a bad patch of ice or snow and began having issue controlling the car. In addition to the safe bet - taking one's foot off the gas - my instructor stressed that we needed to look and steer where we wanted to go.
Hard Drive
The logic behind this is that focusing on the ditch or anything we're sliding towards, would only serve to get us there more efficiently. My instructor explained that our hands will automatically steer the car in the direction we're looking. So if we're finding in the direction of the ditch that we're skidding towards, our hands will unconsciously turn the steering wheel in that direction rendering us ineffective at going in any place other than into the ditch.
So the instructor stressed that, without fail, we need to look and steer where we want to go rather than becoming fixated on where the car appeared to be heading.
So how does this Driver's Ed moment have anything to do with the Law of Attraction, you might wonder. Well, in addition to being sound driving advice, it's a pretty good tactic for creating the life you want, complete with all the things you want to be, do, and have.
Let me explain. Often people say "seeing is believing" and while that is genuinely one way to look at things, I'd like to suggest you turn that around and consider that "believing is seeing" instead.
In the "seeing is believing" camp, people look and steer towards what's directly in front of them. So referencing our Driver's Ed example, if they are heading towards the ditch, they focus on the ditch and all the "awfulness" about being in it, and the next thing you know, they land in the ditch and it's every bit as awful as they thought it would be. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy: See it... Believe it is how things are (and will continue to be)... And then touch the situation exactly how you saw it and believed it to be.
In the "believing is seeing" camp on the other hand, even when people are heading towards the ditch, they look and steer in the direction of where they want to go and, they also focus on all the joy associated with being there. Then, the next thing you know, they are on a procedure heading away from the ditch and toward the desired destination. Again a self-fulfilling prophecy, but this time it goes something like: Believe in the existence of the desired outcome regardless of what is right before you, feel all the joy that the desired reality will come with, and then see this reality unfold all around you despite what was previously present.
In the "believing is seeing" example, the rough patch of road is still gift and every bit as uncomfortable and unpleasant as it is in the "seeing is believing" scenario above; but, the driver isn't fixating on the "awfulness" of the current situation. They are focusing on their extreme destination and retention only thoughts and feelings associated with being there.
And just the way our hands will unconsciously steer the car in the direction that we're looking, focusing on where we want to go in life with both thought and feeling, rather than on where we currently are, will unconsciously begin to steer us in that direction.
In the world of the Law of Attraction, this has to do with matching energetic vibrations. And while that's all well and good and piquant stuff, I prefer to construe it in the most down-to-earth way inherent so you can begin using this idea in your life, right now, even if you don't care about the finer details of the Law of Attraction.
Simply put, focusing on all the current unpleasantness about your life (all the people, places and things that aren't great), only makes you feel unpleasant feelings. And feeling lousy about where you are serves to bring more things to you to feel lousy about. (As in, more things that will furnish feelings that match what you're currently feeling - just like finding at the ditch results in the driver sliding directly into the ditch.)
However, rather than getting all caught up and thinking about the current people, places, and situations in your life that furnish lousy feelings, if you instead focus on the people, places and situations that you want to experience, and focus on them so intensely that you touch the feelings of happiness and peace associated with them, right in that current "ditch moment", you'll get to feel the happier lighter feelings that you want regardless of the ditch you're currently facing.
And further, if you focus on these desired experiences with intention and intensity so that you touch the joy and peace right in the current moment, the Law of Attraction (just like your hands on the steering wheel) sets about to make this your reality. You are finding and steering where you want to go and in so doing, you are changing the direction of your reality such that you get there.
And I know, it's often much easier to get caught up in all the "woes" of the day and focus on the discrete ditches currently in your path. But, the truth is that this arrival will only keep you in the ditches. Guaranteed!
Instead, if you truly want to stay on the road and touch the life of your dreams, the next time you find yourself struggling in a reality that isn't what you want, consider selecting this arrival instead. You already know how lousy the ditch can feel, so you genuinely have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by trying this.
So the next time your thoughts begin to drag you towards the ditch (by rehashing all the unpleasantness of what's going on in your life that you're not happy about), emphatically say the phrase: "No! Look and steer where I want to go!" possibly even shake your head "no" and cross your arms across your chest and stomp one foot like a child might do when refusing to eat broccoli. Yes, I'm suggesting you have fun with this because although we've gotten pretty wrapped up in the idea that turn needs to be hard, this is simply an idea and not the truth. So as you go about trying a new pattern, make it fun... Make it an experiment... Make it a fun project that you're trying just to see what might happen. And this is a great rehearsal to be playful with.
So shake your head, cross your arms, and stomp your foot as you assert where you're going to look and then, either in your mind, or by speaking out loud, or even in writing, list all the fantastic experiences you're intending for your life instead of what you're currently experiencing.
State these desired experiences in the first-person, gift tense (affirmation-style) and, while saying or writing about what you're heading towards, allow yourself to bask in all the joyful feelings you know you'll feel once you're there.
Feel them now. Feel the feelings intensely while you present experiencing your destination. And if you're customary with Tapping, (a form of power healing) as you're reciting all the fantastic experiences you're creating for yourself, tap on the discrete tapping points. (And be sure to clear any resistance that comes up by doing Eft on it.)
No matter how many ditches you have in your current path, if you begin finding and steering only where you want to go, instead of focusing on the ditches, I hypothesize you'll be amazed at how you begin to reach your destinations with far more ease and joy than you thought possible. And, even the journey itself becomes infinitely more enjoyable too!
The Law of Attraction in a Driver's Ed episode
