"For the love of wisdom... Why people do these things."
BY ANTHONY ROSS
While doing Vipassana today, I came up with a comparison between this mental practice and the teachings of Abraham Hicks that I would like to share.
Abraham's teachings rest on three main components.
1) An intention.
2) The manifested intention.
3) Receiving this manifested intention.
She uses different words to explain these three steps, through many contextual talks and conversations, but for simplicity's sake, that's what I've labeled them as.
An intention simply means a wish. If your intention is to be happy, that is your wish. If your intention is to get something that you think will make you happy, then that is your wish. Intentions come in many forms and most forms come with some form of contrast. She talks a lot about this. When something unwanted happens, you generally launch an intention of something wanted to happen. When something wanted happens, you launch an intention of wanting more things like it to happen. So you can ultimately, be joyous and live a fulfilled life. That is most people's ultimate wish.
Number two is the understanding that what you've intended already exists. At this step, it is just the knowledge of it, and not the experience. Number three is the experience of number two. Though, each step kind of happens altogether-at-once. When you have an intention (1), the universe actualizes it (2), and then you have to match its actualization to experience it (3).
How do you meet your actualized manifestation? Well, Abraham speaks of the emotional guidance system. Each one of us has our emotions as guidance to let us know if we are on the path of resistance or on the path of receiving what we've put in place with our intentions. Step two is the universe's way of granting us our wishes. When we have an intention, it is done. Step two only occurs as a 'coming into' our manifested intention.
When we are resisting, we won't ever get to step three. We will constantly be pulling the strings of our intentions, never coming to see the reality of them and experience them. This is where I want to bring in Vipassana. Vipassana isn't about intentions. It's about seeing what is already there. As I said above, these three steps of the Law of Attraction are all actually happening together. It's not that you do one step and move on to the next, but they intertwine, as one constitutes the others.
We have all this contextual 'stuff' from our lives that is ready to be experienced. Once we have equanimity, then our intentions are clearer and the manifestation of what intentions we had is upon us. Additionally, the things you want aren't the things you want. The feeling from those things is what you want. Abraham has said this to her audiences, and it reflects this experience of equanimity.
Equanimity means having balance. In Vipassana, you maintain balance not with thoughts or objects, but with the sensations that are experienced on the body. The theory behind this is that these are at the root of your reactions. In other words, your intention starts there. After all, any intention you have starts from where you are. With no observation of where you are, at the depth, all your intentions will lead you astray, even if they are manifested. Sometimes people go so far astray with outward manifestations that they find their way, but that is the long and difficult route to equanimity. Having balance means that the ultimate goal that is most intended for, true happiness, can exist at any time, regardless of what reality has manifested itself. The point of dealing with sensations and having equanimity with those is that that is the first reality that comes to be and everything stems from that.
Therefore, in my personal experience, Vipassana includes and clarifies each step within the Law of Attraction system. Both the law of nature (Dhamma), and the Law of Attraction are universal laws. They exist within everyone, everywhere. To have a greater understanding of them proves to be beneficial, since they are there regardless of our ignorance, working consistently. To develop equanimity of the changing body sensations will paradoxically skip the need for manifesting anything, and enhance the way this system functions.
Step one will be clearer, by being more in touch with the depth of the mind/body experience, so the intentions will have more heart at the base of them. Step two will be easily recognized with a greater balance of change and the manifested reality will be received with ease when it is not pressed upon to be seen. The whole process, with the base of wholesome equanimity, provides greater freedom and true happiness. Thus, the ultimate goal, with every step.
