The study of Zen Buddhism is often taught through stories and metaphors as a way to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying principles and ideas. One such story tells of a discussion between a teacher and his students:
A Zen teacher once presented a moral problem to his pupils, "If a man is hanging from a branch by only his teeth and a pretty young woman comes along asking for directions, does the man do the honorable thing of opening his mouth to answer her and end up falling to his death ... or does he show the woman great disrespect by ignoring her in order to save his own life?" After several wrong answers one young disciple said, "The man must do whatever is the nature of that man."
This small story demonstrates a key component of easy and effortless intention manifestation -- utilization of personal beliefs and values. The way you perceive yourself and the world around you has a powerful influence over how effective you are in using the Law of Attraction.
Although one prime directive of the unconscious mind is to take actions which allow you to be a "highly moral person," it is important to remember that the definition of morality is subjective. A criminal will perceive certain actions and behaviors as ethically acceptable, however you may disagree. The key here is to realize that each person is allowed their own perceptions on the level of "right" and "wrong."
Even though a person acting in a way you consider to be immoral or unethical still accomplishes the desired outcome that you would achieve by choosing a different behavior, the Law of Attraction (LoA) still applies to both of you. The reason LoA applies in both cases lies within the "Higher Positive Intent" which guides the purpose of every person's actions.
Behind every behavior you ever do in life the unconscious mind will perceive a higher positive intent. That highest positive intention is the purpose which puts direction to LoA, but each individual must make the choices which work best in their model of the world. In this way, two people acting in direct moral conflict with one another can still have the same highest positive intention. In comparison, two people attempting to accomplish the same behavior may find one person fails while the other person succeeds. In this case, LoA is still being directed by the highest positive intention -- for the person who succeeded, the outcome was inline with their highest positive intent. For the person who fails it's more likely that the way they structured their highest positive intention was not best served by achieving their current goal.
An extreme example of this is the basic instinctual need for safety and survival. In the case of a drug user who is "coming down" off a high, his or her mind and body will be experiencing significant forms of pain and anguish. These experiences will drive the person to do whatever is necessary to "survive." Since they feel like they're literally dying, flexibility of choice becomes wide open, which means their morals turn in to something equivalent to nothing more than suggested guidelines for decision making. Where one person might think of armed robbery as a good idea for getting more drugs, the other person might attend a hospital emergency room in hopes of finding assistance.
Both the people in this extreme example are making a choice they each believe will lead to survival; however, because we are not experiencing the same level of suffering, those of us outside the experience have the luxury of judging their choices as right or wrong. The universe has no such sense of good or evil and so, in regard to the LoA, the most important point to consider is how each person forms their highest positive intention. If both people are simply looking to "stop the pain" then it's just as likely the person committing armed robbery may end up being arrested which the universe knows would eventually lead to a prison sentence where he could receive proper detoxification treatment, subsequently "ending his/her pain."
Thus, by taking time to clearly determine what the higher positive intention is behind something you want you will open your awareness to potential choices you may not have originally perceived. As well, you may find that your higher intention may require some minor tweaking in order to be more inline with the outcome you desire. In either case, applying the principles of LoA to your higher positive intentions instead of simply focusing on manifesting your material desires will significantly increase your degree of success. For example, rather than seeking more money in order to feel more confident in life, it would be better to manifest a greater sense of confidence in the life you have. The end results of using LoA in that way is more likely help you see the choices which will ultimately allow you to make more money.
In the end, accepting that your inner thoughts and desires which are motivated by negative emotions such as hate and anger do actually have a higher intention will allow you to find peace. Thinking about stealing, hurting people, drinking your problems away, etc. all have a higher positive intention -- figure out what that higher intention is and you can become aware of better choices to manifest it.
