My Blonde Spot: The Law of Alignment

We are now to the fourth law of Conscious Creation, The Law of Alignment which states: "Everything we think, say and do must be in alignment with what we want to manifest. When our beliefs and actions are out of alignment with truth, it creates pain and problems in our lives. The more closely our beliefs are aligned with truth, the greater power we have to manifest our creations with ease. (Limitless Booklet)"

Have you ever heard of 'cognitive dissonance' before? If you are like I was, you probably have no idea what that means. It means: "anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or the like (dictionary.com)." In a simpler term it is the feeling of discomfort from holding two conflicting beliefs. When we have conflicting beliefs we feel that we have to change something to eliminate the dissonance. For example (these next examples come from The Conscious Creator book) "Suppose a person is torn by the desire to smoke and the fact that smoking is unhealthy. To eliminate the cognitive dissonance, he would have to align one with the other. In other words, either he'd have to tame his desire to smoke, and align that desire with his desire to be healthy, or he'd have to align his health beliefs with his desire to smoke by convincing himself that he can beat the odds or the smoking will be worth the cost." After reading that I immediately thought of places in my life where cognitive dissonance lives. I want to eat healthy but I like sweets. I want clear skin but I pick at it. I want to be patient but let little things bother me. Here are some more examples in The Conscious Creator that I want to reference, maybe you recognize some cognitive dissonance in your life too. "People say they want world peace, and then they get angry when they get cut off on the highway. Submitting to that anger gives their power away, because it's not aligned with their desire for peace. They say they want more money and prosperity, but then they envy and criticize their prosperous neighbors. they hold conflicting beliefs: On one hand, they think money is the root of all evil, but on the other hand they want more of it. They say they really want to read and learn more, then they spend all their spare time watching TV and lurking on Facebook. They say they want a healthy marriage, then they secretly indulge in pornography, their actions don't back up their supposed desire. What these people really mean is that they want their desires to materialize with minimal effort. They're not willing to pay the price. (The Conscious Creator)" The last line really hit me because I clearly haven't been willing to pay the price for the desires I want, and it has caused me to be out of alignment with myself. I have been annoying myself with my own actions. In order to align I am going to have to change my actions. I'll be honest, at times it feels daunting, never ending and VERY difficult to over come my natural desires to give in to habits that I have had for years. I can't do it all at once and I can't do it all by myself, but it can be done. I am working "to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong (Thomas S. Monson, Choices)."

The Law of Purpose comes before the Law of Alignment for a reason. We can not align ourselves if we don't have a purpose or vision of who we are or who we want to become, otherwise we'd be wandering with no destination (Similar to Alice asking the Cheshire cat which way to go. Since Alice didn't have a destination, it didn't matter much where she went). What is your purpose and vision? And how can you begin aligning? I need to work on solidifying my purpose and vision for myself so that I can become more aligned. I have to decide that I really want my purpose and vision and that I really want to fulfill it, only when I really commit will true alignment happen.

I have been reading a book by Gordon B. Hinckley called 'Standing for Something' (I highly recommend it!) In it he remembers a quote that his father used to tell him 'Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.' Further on Gordon B. Hinckley says 'We are creatures of our thinking. We can talk ourselves into defeat, or we can talk ourselves into victory.' It all takes work and conscious effort but we can overcome the areas of cognitive dissonance in our lives. 'Now ye may suppose that it is foolishness in me, but behold, I say unto you, that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." Alma 37:6