How life works andrew matthews

How
Life
Works

writtenandillustratedby
AndrewMatthews
SeashellPublishers
AUSTRALIA


HowLifeWorks
Copyright©2014byAndrewMatthews
andSeashellPublishers
Publishedby:
SeashellPublishers,
POBox325,TrinityBeach,
Queensland,Australia,4879
Email:
Visitourwebsite:www.seashell.com.au
Facebook:AndrewMatthewsAuthor
ISBN978-0-9872057-8-0
FirstpublishedMay2014
Nopartofthispublication,textorillustrations,maybe
reproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwisewithoutthe
priorconsentoftheauthorandthepublisher.
Alsobythesameauthor:
“BeingHappy!”
“MakingFriends”
“FollowYourHeart”

“HappinessInaNutshell”
“BeingaHappyTeen”
“HappinessNow”
“HappinessinHardTimes”
“StoptheBullying!”


DEDICATED
ToJockandAngus
THANKYOU
ToJulie,mywifeandpublisher
Youareamazing.
Thankyouforyourloveandguidance.
Thankyouforallyouhavedoneovertwentyyearstotakeour
bookstotheworld.Nobodyknowshowhardyouhaveworked
orthesacrificesyouhavemade.
Iaminaweofyourvision,yourcourage,yourpersistenceand
yourgenerosity.Iamblesseddailybyyourbeautifulspirit.
ToIanWard
Thankyouforpublishingmyfirstbook,BeingHappy!
Whennootherpublisherwantedmyrawmanuscript,youand
Normagavemethechanceofalifetime.Iamsogratefulto
youforyourforesight,yourgenerosityandyourrelentless
commitment.Youchangedmylife.
ToCarolineDey
Thankyouforyourinterestinthisbookfromthebeginning–
andforyourmanyhelpfulsuggestions.Thankyouforbeing
myfriendforthirtyyearsandforalwaysmakingmelaugh.
ToDrGeorgeBlair-West

Foryourfriendship,fortheall-nightchatsonyoursailboat,
forourcountlesssessionsonSkypeandyourgoodadvice
–thankyou,buddy!
ToJuergenSchmidt
Thankyouforsharingyourwisdom–andthank
youforyourencouragement.



Contents
1.WhenBadThingsHappen
2.WhatControlsYourLife
3.WhyDotheSameThingsKeepHappeningtoMe?
4.HowWeSeeOurselves
5.WhatIsaThought?
6.YouGetWhatYouFeel
7.TheLawofAttraction
8.WhentheLawofAttractionFails
9.Imagine!
10.TheWorldIsYourMirror
11.HowimportantIsAction?
12.Resistance
13.LetGo!
14.WhenEverythingIsGoingWrong
15.Acceptance
16.Forgiveness
17.YourMiraculousBody
18.YourHeart
19.WeAreAllConnected

20.Inspiration
21.ABetterWaytoAchieveGoals


22.ASketchofHowLifeWorks
23.BeGrateful
24.LivingintheNow
25.LoveYourself
26.“WhyAmIHere?”
Books
AboutAndrewMatthews
References



1.WhenBadThingsHappen
LateonenightTrentwascruisingdownthehighwaywhena
straycowdecidedtocrosstheroad.Trentswervedbuthitthe
cowhead-on.Hiscarrolled.Thecowdied.
Trentsurvived.Trentfixedhiscar.Buthistroublesweren’tover
...
Trentneededtorelax.Hewentfishingandcuthisfootona
rock.Itwasasmallcutbutitwouldn’theal.Tobesafe,Trent
sawadoctor.Thedocsaid,“Forgetit!Itisonlyaninflamed
tendon.”Butwhenhisrightfootbecamethesizeofa
watermelon,Trentsoughtasecondopinion.Thesurgeontold
him,“Youhaveamassiveinfection.Youmightloseyourleg.”
Trentspentthenexttendaysinhospital.Theysavedhisleg.
Backatwork,Trentwasdrivingdownacountryroadand
roundedacornertodiscoveranout-of-controlToyotaCorolla

onthewrongsideoftheroadcomingstraightathim.Trenthit
thebrakes–andtheCorolla.
Trentsurvived,buthistroublesweren’tover…
Trenthadgottensomefinancialadvice.Heinvestedallhis
moneywithacompanycalledStormFinancial.Everythingwas
perfect–untiltheGlobalFinancialCrisis,whenStormFinancial
hittheperfectstorm.Trentsurvived,butStormFinancial
didn’t.


Trentlosthislifesavings.
Trent’sstoryisyourstory
andmystory.Whydobills
andbaddriverscomein
bunches?
Dowehavecontrolover
seeminglyrandomevents,or
islifealotteryofstraycows
andrampantbacteria?We’llgettothisshortly…

WhenGoodThingsHappen


Janeisthirtyishandsingle.Allhergirlfriendshaveboyfriends
orhusbands.Janewantedone,too.Shewondered,“Whatis
wrongwithme?”
Findingamanbecameherobsession.Whenevershewalked
intoasupermarketoranelevatororontoaplane,shewould
askherself,“Willhebehere?”
Heneverwas.

Whenevershedidhaveadate,itevaporated.Theguygot
pneumoniaandcancelled.Theguy’sItaliangrandmotherhad
aheartattackandheleftthecountry.Janetriedinternet
datingandhatedit.Finally,shehadhadenough.Shetold
herself,“Idon’tneedaman.I’lldosomestudy.I’llgetadog!”
ShejoinedanonlineChineselanguageclass.Shereconnected
witholdgirlfriends.Shewenttothetheatre.Shestarted
enjoyinglife.Sheboughtapuppy.
Andyoucanguesstherest.Thedaysheditchedtheideaofa
boyfriend,menbeganshowingupbythetruckload.
Ahandsomeneighbourrescuedherpuppyfromthe
stairwellandtookheroutforcoffee
Afriendfromhighschool–completewiththe“I’mjust
divorcedandyouaretheonlygirlIeverloved”routine–
trackedherdownonFacebook
Herlandlord’sbrothercametochangealightbulband
stayedforbreakfast.
Shewasn’tlooking;shewasn’teventrying.Sheneverspentone
minuteinaseedybar.Itjusthappened.
Whyisitthatwhengoodthingshappen,moregoodthings
happen?


IsItaCoincidence?
Doesthiseverhappentoyou?
Youareabouttophonesomeoneyouhaven’tcalledina
monthwhensuddenlyshecallsyou
Youhearaboutaninterestingbookanddecideyouwantto
readit.Nextdayyouwalkintoafriend’shouse,orajunk
shop,oryoustepontoatrain,andthereitis

Youstarthumminganoldsong–andthenturnonthe
radio,andit’splaying.
Orthis?
Youareoutonadate,andyouhavethethought,“Iwould
reallyhatetomeetmyex-husband!”Youwalkintothe
restaurant,andthereheiswithhisnewfiancée
Youbuyanewcarandtellyourself,“IhopeIdon’tscratch
it.”Withintwenty-fourhourssomekiddemolishesyourtail
lightwitharunawayshoppingcart
Youspendayearplanningaskiingvacation.Youtell
yourself,“IhopeIdon’tgetsick!”Youcatchthe’fluonthe
flightoutandspendtheweekinyourhotelroom.


Wemayexplainthesethingsawayascoincidence.It’smore
thanthat.
Quantumphysicshasnowprovenwhatspiritualmastershave
taughtforthreethousandyears:thoughtaffectsmatter,and
everybodyandeverythingisconnected.
Thoughtsarerealthings.Yourthoughtscreateyour
circumstances.Butthatisonlyhalfthestory.Whatmatters
mostishowyouFEEL.
ThisbookisaboutwhyGOODTHINGSHAPPENWHENWE
AREFEELINGGOOD,whyBADTHINGSHAPPENWHENWE
AREFEELINGBAD–andhowtofeelbettersothatmoregood
thingshappen.


Intheprocessyoumaygetsomeinsightinto:
whybadthingssometimeshappentogoodpeople

whyplacebosworkanddietsdon’t
whyrichpeoplemakemoney–evenbyaccident
whyJanenowhasboyfriendscomingoutherears.
Whetheryougetthejobofyourdreams,whetheryoustay
healthy,orwhetheryoufindyourperfectlifepartnerdepends
onhowyouFEEL.
HowLifeWorksmayconfirmwhatlogictoldyouisimpossible,
butapartofyoualwaysknew.
Yourlifeisnotalottery.Itneverhasbeen.

TheRedBMW
WhenIwastwenty-six,IdroveanoldDatsun180B.Iwanteda
nicecarandIhadabudgetof$10,000.
Ihadfriendswhostuckphotographsoftheirgoalsontheir
refrigerators.Theytoldme,“Whatyouplantinyour
subconsciousmindyouattract.”SoIcutoutacolourpictureof
abrightred320iBMWfromamagazineandstuckitonthe
wallabovemydeskathome.Nobodysawit.Itoldno-one
aboutthecarIwanted.FromtimetotimeIimaginedhowit
wouldfeeltodrivea320i,butIdidnothingaboutit.
AfewweekslaterIwasinacoffeebarchattingwithmybuddy,
Steven.Helovedcars.Heaskedme,“Whydon’tyouget
yourselfadecentsetofwheels?”
Isaid,“I’mplanningto.”
ButInevertoldhimwhatcarIwantedorwhatmybudgetwas.


Amonthwentby,andIbumpedintoSteven.Hesaid,“There’s
agreatlittlecarforsaleinayardinFranklinSt.”
Isaid,“Whatisit?”

Hesaid,“ABMW.”
Nowhehadmyinterest.“Whatmodel?”
“320i.”
“Whatcolour?”
“Brightred.”
“Howmuch?”
Hesaid,“It’s$11,500butyoucouldoffer$10,000.”
Myeyesalmostpoppedoutofmyhead.Ithought,“Thisis
weird!”
Iboughtthecarfor$10,000–andfiguredthewholethingwas
acoincidence.Afterthirtyyearsofwatchingthesethings
happen–andstudyingpeoplewhomakethingshappen–I
knowitwasn’t.
Hundredsofbookshavebeenwrittenaboutthepowerofthe
subconsciousmind,includingThinkandGrowRich1,Psycho
Cybernetics2,TheMagicofBelieving3andThePowerofPositive
Thinking4.
Themessageinallthesebooksisthatthoughtiscreative,and
themoreyouthinkaboutsomething–whetheryouwantitor
whetheryoudon’t–themorelikelyitistohappen.
Sohowdoesthesubconsciouswork?Andhowimportantis
belief?
Let’stakealook…


2.WhatControlsYourLife
Isthistypical?
MarygoesonthelatestHollywooddiet
Marylosestenkilogramsintenweeksandlooks
sensational

Marypilesontenkilogramsinthenextsixweeksandlooks
liketheusualMary.
Whyisthat?Becausehersubconsciousmindisincontrol.And
soisyours.
Youcanstarveyourselfwithwillpower.Youcaneatgrapefruit
orevengrass.Youcanlose50kilograms.Butuntilyour
subconsciousaccepts“Iamslim”,allweightlossistemporary.
Inabattlebetweenwillpowerandyoursubconsciousmind,
yoursubconsciouswillalwayswin.

SoHowPowerfulIsthe
Subconscious?
Everynightwhenyougotosleep,you
continuebreathing,yourheartkeeps
pumpingandyoucontinuedigesting
dinner.Sowhatiscontrollingallthat?
Andwhatstopsyoufromwettingthe
bed?It’syoursubconsciousmind.
Ninety-ninepercentofyourbrain
powerisinthatpartofyourmindof
whichyouarenotaware.
Amazing,isn’tit?Youcandriveacar


whilemunchingpeanuts,singingtotheradioandplanning
dinner.Everyfewsecondsyousteer,brakeoracceleratewhile
givingnothoughttocontrollingthecar.Sowhoisdoingthe
driving?
It’syoursubconscious.

OneBigRecorder
Ifyouaskatouchtypist,“Whereareallthelettersonyour
keyboard?”she’llprobablyhavenoidea!Shecanpunchout80
wordsperminuteblindfolded,butshecan’tTELLyouwhere
thekeysare–untilshestartstyping.
Why?Thekeyboardisinhersubconscious.
Yoursubconsciousmindisonegiantrecorder.Ithasprograms
youwerebornwith–thatregulateyourbreathing,your
heartbeatandathousandotherbodilyfunctions–andithas
programsyoucreated–likehowtowalk,talk,type,dance,
driveandwhistle.
Itiseasiesttocreatenewprogramsbeforeyouaresixyearsold.

WhyChildrenLearnSoFast
Children’sbrainwavesaredifferent;theyareslower,andthat
iswhychildrenliveinthepresentmoment.Untilyouareabout
six,youareanopenbook,effortlesslydownloading
information.
Childrenhavenoadultconsciousmindsaying,“Thisistoo
hard.”That’swhythree-year-oldspickupRussianorChinese
withouteffort;it’swhyfour-year-oldslearntosnowskiinthree
hours.


Childrenhavenofilters,nobarriers.Thisexplainswhyyoucan
retardalittlechildforlifebytellinghimheisstupid.Whatever
youtellafour-year-old–“Youarebeautiful”,“Youarespecial”,
“Youarealoser”,“YoumakeMummyunhappy”–becomes
lawforhim.
Thesubconsciousexplainsalotof

badbehaviour.Youletafour-yearoldplayendlesscomputergames
withkicking,punchingandswearing
–andwatchmovieswithkicking,
punchingandswearing–andyou
createabrat.Thereisnoadult
consciousmindtofilterwhatisokay
foramovieandwhatisnotokayfor
reallife.Thebehaviourissimplydownloaded.Thenweblame
thekids.
THESUBCONSCIOUSMINDDOESN’TARGUE.ITJUST
ACCEPTSINFORMATIONASFACT.

“IJustWanttoDoNothing”
Yoursubconsciousmindtakesinstructions
veryliterally.
NicoleplannedavacationinBali.Shetoldme,“Inthemonths
beforemyBalitrip,Ikepttellingmyself,‘AllIwanttodoislie
downanddonothing’.”


Iaskedher,“Howwas
Bali?”
Shesaid,“Igotafivedaymigrainethat
transformedintothe
’flu.Ispentthewhole
weekinmyhotel
roomdoingnothing.”
TwoyearslaterNicole
returnedtoBali.She
explained,“Istill

didn’tunderstand
thatIhadhelpedtocreatemyillness.Sobeforethesecondvisit
Ikepttellingmyself,‘WhenIgettoBali,Iwanttoliedownand
donothing’.”SohowwasBali?
Shetoldme,“Icaughtaparasiteondayone;Icouldn’teat,
couldn’tdrink,couldn’tread,couldn’tevensitup.Ispentfive
daysinhospitalonadripdoingabsolutelynothing.”
Whenyouplantathought,yoursubconsciousdelivers.
Nicolewasn’tfinishedwithBali.Shesays,“Formythird
vacationIhadanewstrategy.Ivisualisedmyperfectholiday
aheadoftime.Isawmyselfhealthyandmychildrenhealthy.I
imaginedushappilyplungingdownwaterslides,relaxingby
thepool,enjoyinggreatshoppingandwonderfulfood.
“Finally,wehadtheperfectvacation.”


YourSubconsciousandMoney
William“Bud”Postwon16million
dollarsinthePennsylvaniaStateLottery.
Bud’sbrotherhiredahitmantokillBud
sohecouldinheritit(Budsurvived),his
ex-girlfriendsuedhimforachunkofit,
andhisfamilyhoundedhimfortherest
ofit.
WithinayearBudwasamilliondollars
indebt.Budmightargue,“Myproblemis
myrelatives!”
Butsevenoutoftenlotterywinnerslosethelot.
Ifyouwinten
million

dollarsyouare
justa
temporary
millionaire.

Ifyouwintenmilliondollarsyouarejusta
temporarymillionaire.Whetheryoustay
richhaslittletodowithclawingrelativesor
globalfinancialcrises.Ithaseverythingto
dowithyoursubconscious.

InaNutshell
Yourbeliefswilleventuallytriumphoverwillpower.


3.WhyDotheSameThingsKeep
HappeningtoMe?
Patterns
Haveyounoticedthatsomepeoplearealwaysbroke?Youcan
handthem$10,000cash,andbeforeyouknowittheyneeda
bankloantobuyapizza.
Somepeoplearealwayslate!Theycangetupat6amtobeat
workbynineandattenfifteentheyarestillcombingthehouse
forcarkeysandhuntingfortheirwallet!
Somepeoplearealwaysbusy.
Somepeopleareforevergettingrippedoff–bysalesmen,phone
companies,oldgirlfriendsandlong-lostrelatives.
Didyouevermeetaladywhosaid,“Ialwaysendupdating
jerks.”?Shehasaradarforfindingrude,selfish,lazypeople–
andthenshemarriesthem.

Somepeoplestartanewrelationshipeverysixweeks.

“Ineedspace.”


Togetit,you
havetofeelit.

Somepeoplemakefriendswherevertheygo.
Somepeoplemakemoneywherevertheygo.

Somepeoplehavefunwherevertheygo.
Somefootballersarealwayswheretheballis.
Somepeoplealwayslandontheirfeet.Theirpatternsays,
“Thingsalwaysworkout.”;Ted’scarbreaksdowninthemiddle
ofnowhere,andastrangerpickshimup,driveshimhomeand
thenoffershimajob!
Subconsciouspatternsarewhyhistoryrepeatsitself.So,for
example,Maryalwaysfindswonderfuljobsbutneverfinds
faithfulboyfriends.Billnevergetssickbutkeepsgettingthe
sack!
Noneofthisiscoincidence.Weeachattract–andcreate–our
lifeexperiencesthroughoursubconsciousprograms.
Yousay,“Ifyoursubconsciouspatternscreateyourlife,there


wouldbehappypeoplewhosailfromoneadventuretoanother
andmiserablepeoplewhostaggerfromonedisastertoanother.
Andsomepeoplewouldkeepgettingricher,andsomepeople
wouldkeepgettingpoorer!”

Thatishowitis.Thatishowithasalwaysbeen.

InaNutshell
Lifeunfoldsfromtheinsideout.

TheGoodNews
Here’sthegoodnews:youarenot
yourpatternsandYOUCAN
CHANGEYOURPATTERNS.
Forlifetogetbetter,youdon’tneed
todwellonhowyoucreatedyour
past.Youdon’tneedtoworryaboutwhatyoudid“wrong”.
Youjustneedtounderstandthatyouhelpedcreateitandbegin
tothinkandfeeldifferently.“I’vegotaheadache.”


“I’vegotaheadache.”