This post was transferred here from my SuccessWaypoint.com site. It was originally posted there on March 26, 2010.
Lately, I am coming across blog posts and articles that appear to have trouble reconciling the idea of following one’s passion or bliss with what they see as possible destructive outcomes of taking that that course.
I think that confusion comes when we see “passion” and “obsession/addiction” as related conditions. For me, the distinction between the former and the latter is pretty clear-cut.
Passion is almost always about moving *towards* something for positive reasons, while addiction/obsession is almost always about engaging in a powerful distraction to *escape* something unwanted. That “something unwanted” is often emotional pain, but a sense of powerlessness is also a huge driver for aberrant behaviors.
Those of us who have known the bliss that can result from realized passion understand that it is not about mere pleasure, but comes from a nexus of pleasure and thriving inner self/heart… a supreme alignment not achievable through obsession or addiction. While obsession/addiction can bring overwhelming intoxication, we know that intoxication is but a bad facsimile of true bliss.
Law of Attraction Postscript
Those of us who study the law of attraction do well do consider that any “passion” for a fight against something may well qualify as an addiction or obsession instead. Why? Because in Law of Attraction terms a drive against something is not moving in the direction of something wanted, a positive, but is instead taking our vibration in the direction of something unwanted, or negative (from our perspective). We get what we pay attention to.
Deeper digging (feeling) in such a situation often reveals the motivation is distraction from other work or a more expansive direction that we might enjoy, but just as often the “pushing against” is simply a bad habit—a bad habit of thought, if you will.
In these terms it is much better to act and think with a passion for freedom, wellbeing, and sharing our gifts, than to rail against injustice, or strike out in the world as if it is broken and in need of our saving.
This is a good article distinguishing between passion and addiction while reminding one that it’s always better to fill one’s mind with what is ideally desired rather than focus on any negative unhealthy behavior.
Interestingly,
“The Secret” Law of Attraction is all about Newton’s UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION as postulated by Einstein, and others. Scientifically speaking, Gravity not only keeps us “down” on the ground, but it floats Earth’s orbit “up” in outer space while attracting the sun and other celestial bodies to each other.
Like planets and other species, people gravitate their thoughts, passions, and each other – in a cosmic web of perfect co-creation.
Hi Whiffs of Bliss,
As I mentioned a previous reply to you, I think using physical phenomena as metaphors for LOA or other phenomena outside our physical framework (but affecting our physical framework) is a useful approach—to a point.
For example, I often tell clients who wish to discuss LOA, that is a neutral force, like gravity. It is not bad or good. It is not negative or positive. If you are walking, gravity is an ally to your progress; if you are jumping off a 10-story building without special gear or a trampoline under you, you are going to splat. In the latter case, you just used a neutral force in a life-limiting way. In neither scenario did the nature of gravity change, only your choices were different. Gravity just did what gravity does.
LOA works the same way: it is a neutral force. I do not believe LOA is gravity, and I think it is misleading to write about them being one in the same.
I do agree with the analogy that we may use LOA in our lives “like gravity” to attract and co-create.
Best to you,
Mark