Where is Your Focus?

Have you ever heard it said that the Universe does not hear or register the words “no” or “not”? It’s usually said in the context of how we frame our affirmations. We’re told not to think, “I do not want to be late,” because the Universe will hear, “I want to be late” and we’ll be late. I’ve even heard it said that we should choose our words very carefully or they could come back to haunt us. The example was given of a man who, wanting greater prosperity, affirmed, “I receive big bills” and ended up receiving invoices for large amounts of money he owed!

This advice is well intended and not completely off track, but it’s not totally on course either. First, the Universe to me refers to God, and I know God is not stupid. Scripture repeatedly tells us that God knows our thoughts. In Psalm 139 we read, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me…you discern my thoughts from far away” and “Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” How is it then that God would not know that the man in our story wanted greater abundance and that he meant denomination when he said “bills”? Having to worry about our every word makes God out to be a version of Alex Trebek, waiting to catch us up in a phrasing error.

I don’t think the problem is that the Universe cannot register negations. It’s that when we’re worrying about being on time, we’re thinking about being late. When we want abundance, we’re focusing on eliminating our debt, and our attention is on the debt. We would do better to affirm, “I arrive safely in perfect time,” and “God is my instant, constant, and abundant supply, for which I give thanks.”

To keep the right focus, be aware of your fears. Catch when you are obsessing about what you don’t want or what’s happened in the past that you don’t want to repeat. Turn your thoughts to what you do want. It’s not that the universe doesn’t hear the “not.” It’s that your focus is on the not!