Brujería

November 8, 2019 / Divina Ceniceros Dominguez

“You’re only looking at the end result, not what it took to get there.”

My spiritual journey largely started from my mother chastising me for comparing myself to others when I was young, namely when it comes to their success.

“You’re only looking at the end result, not what it took to get there,” she would say in her comforting yet vaguely threatening Spanish. “You won’t get where you want if you keep thinking that way.”

I’ve been hearing her say this for my entire life, but the meaning of her words had sunk to the depths of my subconscious and only surfaced during my late teens. It was during this time of tremendous transformation that I discovered the Law of Attraction — a new age philosophical belief where thought shapes your reality. While positive thoughts attract positive experiences, negative thoughts can just as easily manifest. It is the belief that you can’t get there if your here is not in alignment with the emotions and mindset you wish to achieve.

I was initially skeptical of this concept, especially by the way it was being marketed as a philosophical or even spiritual phenomenon. This trend, if done correctly, has the prowess to bring back a previous lover, give you infinite riches or access to the highest powers of the universe. On the other hand, in theory, you could even manifest an illness, a breakup or any challenge you’re currently facing.

Like I said, I was skeptical. Take what you want from this concept, but frills and bows aside, all thoughts eventually turn into things. You have to think of the sandwich before you make it, just how engineers and architects have to visualize the product before it’s physically right in front of you. In a sense, your thoughts covertly have tremendous influence in dictating your reality.

ALL THOUGHTS EVENTUALLY TURN INTO THINGS.

Some might believe that action plays a larger role in shaping your life, but I would argue otherwise. Action is just a result of something larger — your state of awareness, in my opinion, is what truly defines our life experience. It’s not just about attraction: You could be walking past a potential employer or the partner of your dreams, but if you’re not in a state to receive your blessings, attraction won’t matter. For this reason, it’s important to make a conscious effort to treat our lives with positive intention.

Our thoughts matter.

Our words matter.

They influence every action we take.

Most of us are living life unconsciously. We do a lot of things by habit, or because we feel we need to. Living with awareness, or consciously, is being deliberate with your thoughts and to be intentional with our purpose in this lifetime. Unlike sleeping or breathing, it takes conscious effort to wake up with the dominant intention to live our happiest, most fulfilled life. It might even be difficult to maintain that level of peacefulness or mindfulness throughout our entire day as we interact with others. We’ve become accustomed to prioritizing the demands and needs of others, we’ve lost touch with our own happiness.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAT DOWN AND MADE SPACE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS? WHEN SOMETHING INCONVENIENT HAPPENS, DO YOU LET IT RUIN YOUR DAY?

It’s so easy to react to what is happening around us.

It’s so easy to judge and criticize others, when it is really a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. The fears we have, the things we shove under our beds and hide in our closets.

While I can’t confirm or deny the existence of a higher power or the laws of the universe, I can control how I feel, the things I say and the things I put out. There’s power in staying present, learning from our past and being hopeful in the future. If our thoughts do become things, the only way to truly get what we want is through our deliberate intention to live with love, kindness and respect for everyone around us and most importantly ourselves. •

Photographer: Alyssa Olvera

Models: Erika Takovich & Alejandro Garcia

HMUA: Alora Jones

Stylist: Doris Umezulike