Creating Our Own Reality

In the last several years, the idea that we create our own reality has grown in popularity and acceptance. It is basically centered on the notion of the law of attraction—what we are thinking on a consistent basis attracts things in our life to support that thinking, and in so doing we create our reality. Put in another way, over time, the power and energy of our thoughts manifests into reality.

Looking into our own individual life, if we look with honesty, reflection, and careful observation of our past thought patterns and what has shown up in our life, this idea seems to be very much true. Our thoughts alone have powerful energy and attract people and things to us. In addition, our thoughts create intention and eventually determine our actions and behavior, which obviously affects our reality. Unfortunately, it seems that we often engage in thinking about what we lack, what is bad, how we are suffering, how certain things we want are not possible. If we train ourselves and our minds to shift our focus and thought to what we do want, what we do have that is positive, and really believe it and feel it, it seems only natural that we will start to attract and manifest these things in our lives eventually. Our lives transform because we transform. This isn’t about changing people and things outside of us, because we don’t have power over that. We do have power over ourselves, however. As we go through inner transformation, we will soon see an outer transformation. New things and people will be attracted to us, and we will be led to make new and different choices and actions, letting go of old patterns and situations that don’t work anymore.

The goal is not to only have positive thoughts and feelings. It is natural to feel sad, lonely, depressed, frustrated, and to have thoughts about these feelings. It is even ok to have these thoughts and feelings. Sometimes we receive inspiration and learning from those dark places. What is important is that they are not the majority of our thoughts, and that we don’t spiral into hours upon hours of thinking about how bad things are.

While this seems simple, it is far from easy. It takes a lot of conscious effort and work to train our minds to focus on positive thoughts on a fairly consistent basis, and then to really believe they are possible.

What presents an even greater challenge is the power of subconscious thought. We have thoughts and beliefs that have been formulated and ingrained in us from our childhood and from years and years of living. We learn and formulate values, ideas about money, relationships, gender roles, career possibilities; we learn about our value and worth in society; we even formulate ways of thinking about ourselves through painful and traumatic experiences. These ideas usually limit what we think is possible for our lives. Subconscious thoughts and beliefs are always operating, always there, always attracting things to us and influencing our decisions. However, often we are not fully aware of them because they are so deep within our mind. The good news is, we can overcome the ones that are holding us back! But first we have to become aware of what they are which takes deep analysis and reflection, and at times a counselor or outside source.

An even greater issue that I see is this: not only do we create our own individual reality, but we also create our collective realities through the thoughts of groups of people. Just think of the wars, genocide, and poverty that affect thousands of people everyday all over the world. No one person is responsible for these mass tragedies. It is the result of groups of people holding certain thoughts that then manifest into reality, into actions, into decisions. Let’s look at genocide as an example. First there is the group of people who think another group is inferior and that they must be exterminated. Then there are other groups of people who think they should not or choose not to intervene to help the victims. These shared thoughts determine the actions, which determines the reality that is felt and faced by all groups involved. No one person can make genocide happen; it takes thousands of people, groups of people. Therefore, it takes the work of groups of people to overcome this kind of collective violence and injustice throughout the world. Not only must we must work in our individual lives to change our thoughts, but also collectively as societies to create a better reality for our shared future.

There are still more questions that need to be asked. Some important questions revolve around the greater mystery of our lives, the universe and God. Are humans the only beings that have power in the world and in our reality, or is there something else that affects our reality? Is there any power, like God, who we can turn to when we don't know what to create, when we don't know what is the best outcome? How might God work in or alongside the laws of the universe? How does God offer grace to us? Are there things that show up in our lives that may be "God inspired?" Does God work through our thoughts? Could what we attract in our lives have a deeper purpose than we know?

Let's bring this back to the concrete level of what we are being called to do. It is up to us, as individuals and groups, to be aware of our thoughts and actions, to dig deep and understand our subconscious beliefs and thoughts, to reflect on what is working and what is not working, to be open to what we feel pulled to and attracted to, and to make changes in our thoughts and actions to bring about greater love and fulfillment in our own lives and in the world. And most importantly, we must remain humble to the mysteries of the universe and realize that we do not have everything figured out. Perhaps there is a better way than we can think or imagine.