We love analogies. When chosen well, they build understanding, intuition, and acceptance. Abraham’s buffet analogy is among the best. Let’s dig in.
The buffet analogy
All teachers resort to analogies, but channeled teachers have the benefit of infinite wisdom and decision-making abilities outside time as we know it. In other words, they provide very good analogies because they have forever to do so. Indeed, their analogies speak to us on many levels and are generally very transferable. Channels tend to reach for relatively few analogies but use them over and over again because the actual rules simply aren’t that complicated.
Abraham’s buffet analogy is no different. When trying to understand why the law of attraction is giving us things we don’t want, this simple analogy reduces a complex world down to its key dynamic.
When you go to a buffet, even though there is a lot behind that glass that you would never put on your plate, you don’t feel bad that it’s there because nobody makes you put it on your plate. In other words, you know you can choose.
You don’t stand behind that glass and say to the nice people behind the counter, ‘I don’t want that, and I don’t want that. What in the world is that doing there? I can’t imagine anybody ever eating that. And that’s awful. Oh, I had that once; don’t want that. Don’t want that.’
That nice person would eventually say, ‘It might go better if you tell me what you do want. What is it that you would like on your plate?’
Abraham, frequently
This is a statement about how most of us spend so much of our time thinking, speaking, and pushing against what we don’t want.
The yucky ingredients
A reader recently asked us why people, inside and outside the buffet analogy, put the yucky ingredients on their plates. We said they “choose” those other ingredients for many reasons.
On purpose
Sometimes, people simply have different tastes and preferences than anything we want for ourselves. It’s a big world full of lots of very diverse perspectives. This is a feature, not a bug. Some animals prefer to eat plants while other animals prefer to eat meat. Many of our four-legged friends enjoy eating turds for very good reason.
Elements of the current culture, while well-meaning of course, prefer that everyone wants and lives the same life experience. We say, what’s the point in that? The whole reason behind exploring this reality is to leverage the freedom of experience and expression to know thyself.
Not on purpose
Sometimes people attract things they don’t want Out of the Oblivious. Once you fully understand the rules of the game, you’ll know that nothing is random or out of your control. Proper feedback is important in learning the rules of any such game. The law of attraction would be doing you a disservice if it didn’t consistently enforce the most consistent rule we can rely on. If Joe attracts X, but nothing matching X appears in Joe’s experience, then how is that fair in the long run for Joe? How is Joe supposed to learn to attract Y? Reinforcing unproductive behavior in anyone now is setting them up for habitually unproductive behaviors in the long run.
Once you know the actual rules, you’ll appreciate the consistency of them. Besides, a little mistake here and there is really a good thing. Every unwanted manifestation is an opportunity to gain further insight into what’s actually wanted. Inconsistent rules aren’t any kind of “fix”.
It always serves a purpose
The only way to truly know whether or not you enjoy something is to actually try it. Whether on purpose or not, exposure to what you don’t want helps you to more clearly know what you do want. Abraham often speaks of the “contrast” in undesired experiences. Without the experience, the contrast doesn’t exist. And without the contrast, your inner being doesn’t become more. Your inner being knows that the spice of life is life itself. Without any contrast, god doesn’t grow, and without contrast in your physical incarnation, your inner being finds something better to do.
Sometimes the distasteful choices remind us where we came from! There’s value in that too. Occasionally seeing how far you’ve come is rewarding, but there’s nothing wrong with where you came from. Everyone starts from somewhere.
Future you and evolving choice
We all begin eating what our parents and communities feed us, but as we obtain our autonomy we make our own food choices. Unfortunately, those food choices are largely by default. Food habits are propagated just as easily as our genetics.
Often, food choices are driven by health goals, but the healthfulness of our numerous food choices fall on a (multidimensional) spectrum. A large percentage of our nutritional wisdom is influenced in the wrong direction by industry groups. It takes time and sometimes experience to properly sort through the vastly different quality research that’s available. But of course, we can always rely on our emotional guidance system. Our understanding continues to evolve in every case.
Sometimes, food choices are driven by unproductive emotional responses. Many people choose convenient food options. Often expense is a factor. With few exceptions, most people would agree that tonight’s dinner choice is driven by some weighted combination of those.
Wouldn’t your food choices evolve as you have more money in the bank? How about when you have lots of free time? As we develop more productive emotional responses, we spend fewer meals eating our feelings. If you gradually increase your vibration over time, you’ll find that you prefer different foods along the way. Our tastes evolve for many reasons.
We don’t ever want to deprive our future self of choice! Nor do we ever want to deprive our children or future incarnations of choice! Similarly, we don’t want to deprive our neighbors of choice!
A valuable learning tool in the buffet analogy
All that was to say, everything available on the buffet is good. Everything (vibrationally) visible to you is a match, so you can’t even see the options not aligned to your vibration. In a very real way, you create everything you observe and experience. If you see something you don’t like, recognize it as valuable input.
Complaining is more counterproductive than you know! You’re taking something that’s already somewhat in your vibration and focusing on it. If we stand in line complaining about bean sprouts long enough, someone’s going to plop some on your plate. The law of attraction makes sure of it.
Exactly like with Abraham’s buffet analogy, our best use of time here on planet Earth is to let our eyes scan for only that which we want. Focus as exclusively as you can on those things!
