How do we create our experiences? The answer may vary, depending on who you ask. Physically, the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in our brain acts as a filtering system. There are way too many details out there for us to notice all of them. So the RAS acts as a filter, picking out information that supports our intentions. A blog post in Psychology Today by Bernard D. Beitman M.D. goes into detail about how this works. The bottom line is that the RAS selects what we are seeking to see.
An example
Let’s say you are planning on buying a car, and have decided on the make, model, and color. Because you have an intention about buying this car, you will probably start seeing more of them on the road than you ever noticed before. That’s because your RAS is prioritizing them and sending them through its filter to you.
On the other hand…
If you ask someone who thinks in terms of energy and Universal Laws, you might hear them mention the Law of Attraction (“that which is like unto itself is drawn”). Abraham Hicks has written extensively about this, and there are many other sources.
How does this look?
I’m not an expert at this, but I think most of us have noticed that when we’re in a good mood we tend to run into people who are also in a good mood – there are smiles all around. And when we’re irritated, we tend to bump into people who just make matters worse. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The energy we send out attracts a similar energy.
November doom
We have a couple of major events coming up in the US this month. There’s a presidential election tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome, because of our current polarization, many people’s first response is going to be fear, dread, and despair. We will believe a terrible mistake has been made and that it’s going to have a negative impact on us personally. And if we continue with that belief, those are the consequences we will notice and the experiences we will have. But we could intend to see what is working well. Or what if, instead of looking for how others are different and scary, we started trying to see where we are the same?
Anything good out there?
We will also have Thanksgiving this month. A time to be appreciative of all the good things in our lives. And if we focus on those, we will notice or attract more good things to be grateful for.
Which do you choose?
I don’t know about you, but I prefer the experience of gratitude over fear. If that’s true for you, too, I suggest that you start paying attention to what is positive in your life. If you have something that you want to be true, focus on how it will feel instead of focusing on the lack of that. (Because focusing on lack will bring you more lack!) This is how you create your own experience.
Need more information?
If you want to talk about what might be making this difficult for you, I’d be happy to have a phone conversation with you. Schedule one here.
Leave a Reply