Beads of Attraction

This last Lunar New Year, Lia gave me a Rose Quartz bracelet, carefully sealed in a small zip-lock plastic bag so that no one other than I can touch it since it has been “energized” especially for me.
Being quite fond of the baby pink and black color combination, I decided that a black onyx one would complement it quite nicely so I picked one up today (yes, I know it looks like black olives).

As I was admiring the 2 bracelets together, I asked myself why I was wearing them.
In spite of my fondness for shamrocks and ladybugs, I am probably the least superstitious person you will meet. I’ve always scoffed at Feng Shui, traditional Chinese practices, and even some Catholic practices that seemed to me to be incredibly unreasonable.
And yet, here I was with these two bracelets on my wrist. If I supposedly scoff at these practices then why am I wearing them and why did I go out and spend money – money I don’t have to spend until I get that (insert name of International Educational Institution here) job with accompanying pay-cheque?
The easy answer is that the onyx bracelet complements the pink one so nicely.
But then why am I even wearing the pink one?
The easy answer: because my best friend and her mom went out of their way to get it for me – and because it’s pretty ☺
But if I’m being honest to myself, underneath the “easy answers”, I have to admit that a little part of me, buried deep down somewhere, has a bit of faith and hopes that these trinkets will indeed help bring that which I yearn for.

But how? Why? I mean, I am certain down to my very core that these aren’t “magical” bracelets; that I won’t instantly find my dream job and dream man just because I put these beads on and rub them “for luck” every once in a while.
So what then? Why does that little part of me “believe” (for lack of a better word) in these bracelets?

I think its because I believe in the Law of Attraction and I believe in the power of positive thinking.
I believe that pessimistic people live miserable lives simply because they are only capable of seeing the negative things which in turn make them more miserable – like a vicious cycle. Optimistic people see the good in life; they notice little blessings, however minute, and are appreciative of them so even though they may not receive more blessings and good things in their life in terms of quantity – or even quality - than pessimistic people, it definitely seems that way.
They say that the Law of Attraction is visualizing what you want and it will come to you. I believe that if you always keep your dreams, goals, and desires in the back of your mind then somehow, your subconscious will steer you in the right direction to get to where you need to be to achieve what you are aiming for. Simply visualizing something won’t rearrange the cosmos to get it to you but your subconscious (which is way, way more powerful and more involved in our lives than we realize) will help you make the right decisions and guide you. That mysterious “gut feeling” that we get to do something? That’s our subconscious screaming at us from the attic.

So where do the bracelets fit in?
Well, I (now) think that bracelets can serve as triggers or reminders to us. You know that vision board that the advocates of the law of attraction recommend people do; where you have a board where you put photos of things you want or your goals and you keep it in a place that you see often? Bracelets serve the same purpose. When we see them we are reminded of that which we are aiming for.
Say for example you want to improve your career, so you go out and get yourself a blue tiger’s eye bracelet. Now, every morning when you put it on and every time it catches your eye from your wrist as you go about your life, you are reminded, perhaps subconsciously, of your goal and your desire to move your career ahead, and thus it is constantly kept at the back of your head where your subconscious helps steer you in the right direction and helps you make the right choices.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I believe its not the bracelet, rather its what the bracelet represents. The beads and stones are not what attract your goals to you; rather they help you reach them on your own accord. The bracelets do work on some level, just not how people tend to think. They may seem like tradition or superstition but there’s actually a science to it all… somehow. I guess all those Chinese who have been practicing this for all these years – centuries even – have been right all along. They knew something we didn’t.