I have a question regarding the law of attraction. If we each have a life plan and certain events are destined to happen, then how does the law of attraction fit into the scheme of things? Just because we always think positively doesn't mean that negative events won't occur in our lives. Also, what if an individual wants something that is just not mean to be? If the law of attraction always prevails, doesn't that mean that events are not predetermined? I look forward to your response!

-Lindsay

Dear Lindsay,

You are correct that most events in our lives are NOT predetermined. The sooner humankind understands that, the sooner we can all get busy creating a better world.

Even our deaths are not predetermined, for we have multiple potential EXIT doors in each lifetime. We can choose to go through any one of those EXIT doors at any time. I have had four car accidents that should have killed me. In each of them, I could have chosen to leave this lifetime, but obviously I did not.

We create what happens to us. If we're ill, it's because we created that sickness at some earlier time in our lives, and that imbalance is just now coming out in our system. If we're broke, it's because we have created financial problems. If a relationship ends, it's because we created it.

Each thing that happens to us is a result of what we create. People who have horrific tragedies befall them such as the death of a child or the loss of a mate will say that they would never have wished those experiences on themselves. While they may not have consciously done so, on some level, their souls agreed to go through that experience.

I'll offer you the example of a friend who has cancer. She's in her mid 40s and has been dealing with all sorts of cancers for about nine years now. As we were doing Reiki and talking, we started to see how holding on to anger and resentment from her early life had made her a bitter, angry person.

She carried those feelings around with her, and they continued to grow over the course of 20 - 30 years. She looked at me with knowing tears in her eyes and said, That's my cancer, isn't it? When she realized what she had done, she accepted Reiki healing, after which her doctor gave her a clean bill of health.

He said he couldn't understand how she became cancer-free - that it was a miracle. Unfortunately, she couldn't believe she was healed and she worried constantly that the cancer would come back. Guess what? It did. She now realizes that she created more cancer in her body by thinking about it all the time.

Things that are just not meant to be or would not really be good for us on some level won't manifest in our experience. Period. I can't create a relationship with someone who doesn't want to be with me. If I decide I want Mike, but Mike is married and doesn't want me, the Law of Attraction will not give him to me no matter how much I visualize that happening.

I can create a relationship with someone who has the qualities I admire, who wants the same things I do and is ready and available for a relationship. The things we don't get, we don't really want anyway. We might think we do, but when we look back on our lives, we see how things worked out for the best.

I wish you great creative powers!

Astrea responds:

Dear Lindsay,

To me, Destiny and the Law of Attraction are completely different things. Believing that Destiny controls our lives is passive. Applying the Law of Attraction is active, for it takes conscious effort.

I don't believe that everyone has some mysterious life plan. Destiny is what you make it. Your Destiny is in your hands, for it will depend on how you choose to live your life. You can change your Destiny with a single tiny step in a new direction.

People often say that things happen for a reason. Well, I feel the REASON things happen is because of the choices people make, not because they were preordained.

By working with the Law of Attraction, you can attract good things into your life via the opportunities you find in the world. This is an active way to live. When we know what we're doing, we can free ourselves from any and all negativity.

Human beings are rebellious by nature, of course, so we don't always do what we know we should. No matter how hard we may try, we also make some poor choices now and then. Choices and consequences are what I look at when I'm reading for people, not some grand destiny that is supposedly all worked out already.

So what about the poor little kid who is born to abusive parents? Is that the child's DESTINY? I can't explain that one, because as children we don't have much choice. I AM a firm believer that the Universe doesn't give us more than we can handle, so perhaps that's a Karmic lesson the child brought from another life.

That's a bigger question than someone like me can answer, but it is an argument for Destiny. However, abused children often grow up to be the most loving and caring parents, and do great things with their lives. That's a matter of CHOICE. Everything in life is a choice.

Is this a popular viewpoint? NO. Many people want to believe that they are victimized by circumstances beyond their control, and that only their wise choices affect their lives - that the poor ones have no impact. That's human nature too. No one likes to be wrong about anything, and we certainly don't want to take responsibility for our mistakes.

However, once it dawns on people that they can CHANGE their destinies, it's not long before they learn how to effectively apply the Law of Attraction to their desires. This is a fun process to observe, and I'm happy to say that I've seen this happen in people's lives thousands of times in the many years I've been a psychic counselor.

It's like the whole world opens up to people when they realize they're actually in charge of their own quality of experience. At the same time, they usually realize they can't control other people (aside from pets or small children), and then they can shed a lot of anger and resentment overnight.