Friday, November 30, 2007
Law of Attraction
History
Some believers in the Law of Attraction cite a famous quotation from Gautama Buddha -- What you have become is the result of what you have thought as proof that the Law of Attraction has been known to mankind for millennia. It is also alleged that the same idea can be found in Hinduism and in the ancient Greek philosophies of the pre-Socratic Sophists. Some proponents also cite The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus as another ancient example of the belief, but a close reading of that text demonstrates that it deals with correspondences (As above, so below) and does not allege a causal relationship between a thought and the circumstances that befall the thinker.
One of the most important early books on this subject in the English language is As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (1864 - 1912), which was published in 1902. The title derives from the ancient Jewish Book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is." Allen took this ambiguous idea of a correspondence between "a man's heart" and his existence to a logical extreme, stating that, "The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires -- and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own."
In America, Allen's idea that "the soul attracts" both that which it desires and that which it fears struck a resonant chord in the New Thought Movement. Working from Allen's premise that one's thoughts attract "circumstances" that affect one's mental and physical situation in life, William Walker Atkinson (1862 - 1932) used the term 'Law of Attraction' to describe the phenomenon in his 1906 book Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. Atkinson was the editor of New Thought magazine and the author of more than 100 books on an assortment on religious, spiritual, and occult topics.
In the wake of Atkinson's success, other authors very quickly wrote their own books promulgating this new principle. For example, in 1907, just one year ater Atkinson's breakthrough was published, Bruce MacLelland brought out Prosperity Through Thought Force, in which he declared that "dwelling on any quality of mind adds that quality to you, whether it be helpful or injurious," and also clearly set forth what was to become a classic New Thought epigram: "You are what you think, not what you think you are."
In the wake of Atkinson's popularization of the Law of Attraction, dozens of authors in the first half of the 20th century addressed the topic under various names, such as "positive thinking", "mental science", "pragmatic Christianity," "New Thought", "practical metaphysics", and the "Law of Attraction."
In March 2006 a film named The Secret presented the "Law of Attraction" to a new generation, and was later developed into a book by the same name. The movie and book sold at a tremendous pace and gained widespread attention across the media from Saturday Night Live to Oprah in the United States.
In September 2006 Hay House published a book by Esther Hicks entitled the 'The Law Of Attraction' which reached the New York Times best-seller list.
21st century Christian bestsellers such as The 4:8 Principle, Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez, and Joel Osteen's recent work in particular present a similar message, although dressed in explicitly Christian terminology with tacit biblical support (such as Philippians 4:8 and the Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10).
Some proponents of a more modern version of the Law of Attraction claim that it has roots in Quantum Physics. According to them, thoughts have an energy that attracts like energy. In order to control this energy, proponents state that people must practice four things:
* Know what one desires and ask the universe for it. (The "universe" is mentioned broadly, stating that it can be anything the individual envisions it to be, from God to an unknown source of energy.)
* Focus one's thought upon the thing desired with great feeling such as enthusiasm or gratitude.
* Feel and behave as if the object of one's desire is already acquired.
* Be open to receiving it.
Thinking of what one does not have, they say, manifests itself in the
perpetuation of not having, while if one abides by these principles,
and avoids "negative" thoughts, the Universe will manifest a person's
desires
This list of four steps, couched in quasi-scientific terms, is quite similar to, and was influenced by, the panetheistic "Seven Steps in Demonstration" first outlined in the famous non-denominational New Thought book Become What You Believe by Mildred Mann
- Desire. Get a strong enthusiasm for that which you want in your life, a real longing for something which is not there now.
- Decision. Know definitely what it is that you want, what it is that you want to do or have, and be willing to pay in spiritual values.
- Ask. [When sure and enthusiastic] ask for it in simple, concise language. . . .
- Believe. Believe in the accomplishment with strong faith, consciously and subconsciously.
- Work. Work at it. . . a few minutes daily, seeing yourself
in the finished picture. Never outline details, but rather see yourself
enjoying the particular thing . . . - Feel gratitude. Always remember to say, "Thank you, God [or
the universe]," and begin to feel the gratitude in your heart. The most
powerful prayer we can ever make is those three words, provided we
really feel it. - Feel expectancy. Train yourself to live in a state of happy expectancy. . . . Act it until it becomes part of you, as it must and will.
- And the most important fact is that, Believe in you Self, for instance, many of my friends tell me that they are lazy, by saying that constantly they actually BELIEVE in themselves and thats what happence, universe says "Your wish is my Command" and these people stays lazy. Rather they should always say I am not Lazy! and that will Work.
So folks remember "What goes around Comes around"; whatever vibes you will send to universe you are gonna get them back!
Nikhil Deshmukh
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Monday, November 5, 2007
Marriage?.. or Market? The Great Indian Marriage Market
Despite the economic and political empowerment of women, gender discrimination is all too alive in the country's marriage market
Have you read matrimonial in news papers? The most common lines you will come across are “Tall, slim, fair”
If you are a Woman and that too Indian, and if you are applying in Indian Marriage Market for the Position of Bride following are the pre-requisites
Tall, slim, fair (as in complexion), convent-educated, a working woman, a homemaker and, above all, `homely'.
These would have us believe that everyone is looking for a superwoman — a formidable deity raring to take on the challenging and often conflicting roles of super mom, glamour doll, a professional, and a compassionate homemaker and Rich.
And, it is this very mythical being whom eligible bachelors and their parents are increasingly seeking. Arranged marriages in India are undergoing a major transition, given the impact of modernisation on basic social values and institutions. Yet, even as modernity has promoted women's empowerment through education, legal reforms, political power and economic autonomy, gender discrimination is all too alive in the marriage market.
If you look at studies in these areas, you will be looking at continuity and change in Indian marriage patterns over a period of 30 years brings up interesting insights on the perceptions and aspirations of young men and women and their families within the institution of marriage.
A significant change, the study reveals, is that the "pretty" and "virgin" bride sought after in the 1960s has given way to a specific female ideal with an emphasis on physical attributes and earning capability. In the 1960s, while caste and family were important, the girl's "merits" were the prime concern.
Beauty was perceived more in terms of talent (like cooking, singling, household) rather than physical attributes; and "decent" dowry were the norm.
While education and caste considerations retained importance in the 1970s, "convent education" (a euphemism for `English-speaking' women), and "smart" were words used in a fairly big way. Specific physical requirements such as height and "fairness" were also mentioned. The 1970s also marked the emergence of the working woman.
The 1980s witnessed an increasing stridency of tone. Physical beauty — in terms of height and skin colour — clearly started becoming very important, to the detriment of "accomplishments" or talent. Adjectives like "pretty" and "virgin" gave way to terms such as "tall and fair". Working women came to stay, and income (the higher the better) became a virtue to be flaunted. During this decade, men put great emphasis on their background, their family, and the part of the world they were settled in, or wanted to settle in.
Adverts in the 1990s demanded the professionally qualified, physically perfect, working woman who was certainly not "pretty". Paradoxically, though, as the desire for the "1990s' woman" grew, there was also a growing yearning for the `homely' daughter-in-law, chosen through a matching of horoscopes.
On the whole, physical attributes of the woman gained importance throughout the period of the study, and acting as parameters of success in the marriage market. For both men and women, more emphasis was placed on professional degrees in the 1990s. In a positive development, women are beginning to get specific about the kind of work their men should be doing. Besides, in adverts for grooms, the requirement of an "only son" has shown a growing trend. This suggests a kind of protection for the bride from living with the pressures associated with the power structures of an extended family. Also, in today's urban context, the fact that the family inheritance is sure to accrue to one's husband is a definite advantage, she adds. However, as far as consideration for brides is concerned, caste, region and family have retained their importance throughout the timeframe of the study. Caste has also remained an important consideration for grooms.
In the face of the decline of the joint family, the demands on the potential bride and her family have become both specific and blatant. In an era of globalisation and free markets flooded with luxury goods, the bride's family is invariably expected to include these goods in the dowry package.
So, has anything really changed — in terms of people's perceptions and how women are viewed — in the Indian marriage market? There is no doubt that the motivation to acquire a bride who has the `right' physical attributes, who can bring in money (whether through a job or a dowry), and generally promote consumerist bliss, has intensified.
On the other hand, despite the growing accent on education and professional qualifications, the straight and narrow tunnel vision on the role of a woman, caste and family background remains unchanged. The relentless demands on woman continue.
Nikhil Deshmukh
http://lateralbol.blogspot.com
Nikhil
