Magic Wands & the ‘Church’ of Abraham

As some of you know, I am a great fan of the teacher known as Abraham. They are the best source for gaining a better understanding of metaphysics, the Law of Attraction, and just how to start soaring through life again when we find ourselves struggling. As a result, I have a number of recordings that I listen to here and there when I need reminders, or just need something to listen to while I do things that require less than my full attention.

One day recently, I wanted to listen to Abraham while I did some stretching, but wanted something I had never heard before. I went to YouTube in search of Abraham recordings and chose the one that lasted about the same length of time I thought my stretching session would last. Generally, the recordings are excerpts from question and answer sessions from around the world. Someone is called upon, asks a question, and Abraham responds. That is the formula. Once you know Abraham well enough and have absorbed the way of thinking, you can predict the kind of answer that will follow, but they so often surprise with the specifics of the answer that it is always worth listening, especially to one you have never heard before or one that addresses a specific issue you’re currently grappling with. I won’t delve into the ins and outs of “who” Abraham is right now. If you do not know, suffice it to say that what they say is more important than who they are. The recording I settled on that day was called How to Become Best Version of Self, which is pretty generic and did not reveal its actual topic. I didn’t realize it would provide me with such a useful metaphor for dealing with one of my own challenges.

People who don’t know me well may not recognize this in me, but anyone who does know me well knows that I am a little too apt to want to “push” my own ways of doing things upon those I love. Truly, this tendency springs from love, as I want them to do things that are healthier for them, but when I’m being pushy, it’s an expression of love that can be annoying. I have finally come to the realization that a truer expression of love is to allow people the space to make their own choices. Duh. As one friend pointed out to me once, if I don’t understand something, I’ll get that bone between my teeth and not let go of it. As you might imagine, it causes issues in my close relationships, and it’s something that I have gotten much better with in the last couple years. And then I listened to this recording and heard my own stubbornness reflected in a completely different kind of “problem.”

It is best to listen for yourself, but I suppose life is such these days that I’ve already asked a lot by asking you to read this. The gist is that the woman who asks the question wants her son to stop asking for a magic wand when he feels anxious, presumably because she thinks it is not realistic or that he’ll be treated poorly by others if he continues to engage in what she calls “magical thinking.” I knew right away that Abraham would be all for magical thinking, or anything that constitutes the path of least resistance for the child. After many rounds of role-playing and attempting to get the woman to allow the boy his magic wand, in whatever form it may take, she finally acquiesced.

My first thought as I listened to the conversation unfold was that if it makes the child feel better, who cares? It reminded me a bit of what they call the placebo effect. If it makes a condition improve, all the better if it’s a placebo rather than a toxic drug, right? Who cares the mechanism as long as it’s not itself a bigger problem than the original one. But the mother couldn’t let go of her resistance, and the dialog dragged on. As it did, I had the random thought that birds are my magic wand. If I am in a sour mood, and a bird lands in my yard, I draw in a sharp breath – and like magic, I feel better. As if I had waved a magic wand. And then I thought of other magic wands: yoga, a hot bath, a nice cocktail, making a great photo.

In turn, those thoughts made me think of a recent conversation with my girlfriend. I can’t understand her continued attachment to the Catholic Church, or her need to attend church every week. At times when her churchgoing has complicated other plans, I have encouraged her to not worry about it, that god is okay with her not going to church. Alternatively, that going to church doesn’t make you spiritual. Ad Nauseum. All of those things are true, but her increasing aggravation resulted in the above-mentioned conversation in which she asked me not to do that anymore, that she goes to church because it makes her feel good. That got me part way there; I’m all for what makes us feel good. But when I had the thought that – oh, church is her magic wand! Then I was all the way there. I have not since wanted to dissuade her from her magic wand. Just as I couldn’t understand why the mother in the recording was so bent on taking away her child’s path to relief, I now can’t understand why I was so bent on taking it away from someone I love either. Why on earth would we want to take anybody’s magic wand from them? I ask you.