The Human Magnet Syndrome (Book Excerpt)

The Human Magnet Syndrome (Book Excerpt)

Chapter 7: The Human Magnet Syndrome

More from YourTango: We Inherit A Relationship GPS

More from YourTango: The Human Magnet Syndrome (Book Excerpt)

Powers greater than ourselves often waylay our well-meaning plans to land on the tropical shores of our dreams.  Experience, maps, radar and even the stars may not be enough to guide us to our intended port of call.   As wayward captains whose ships are regularly diverted to unplanned destinations, we are prone to experience a unique sense of frustration, disappointment and loss.    If only we could control the formidable forces that compel our vessels to sail in directions we did not intend to go and to where we are ultimately left feeling unfulfilled and emotionally stranded.

Even if we know where we intend to set sail or where we will drop our proverbial anchor, powerful influences tend to take control.  These come in two versions: one that is mild and benign and the other wild and treacherous.   Both are intricately tied into the mental health of the ship’s commander.  For the healthy captain, it will be smooth sailing despite landing in a destination that may not have been included in his original itinerary.  The not so healthy and emotionally burdened captain may also find his ship on unfamiliar shores, but will have battled gale force winds and dangerous currents to get there.  Both will ponder the mystery of why they, despite doing everything right, ended up in unplanned places.  Only one will enjoy the island of their dreams.  The other, perhaps a Codependent, will find himself miserable over the outcome.  Even though the Codependents and Emotional Manipulator captains run their ships ashore  landing on a reef, or ending up in Iceland while intending to land in Miami, both may find themselves  back behind the  the helm of their ship,  only repeat their fantastic but dysfunctional voyage.

The captain/boat metaphor aptly illustrates how our relationship preferences may be undermined by powerful unconscious forces that unwittingly bring us to unsatisfying and discontented and dysfunctional relationships, despite our best intentions.  As much as we desire a relationship befitting a dream, a strong magnetic-like energy force prevents us from finding the arms of the person that provides us with the love, respect and care that we had hoped for and believed we deserved.  As much as we aspire to be the captains of our own ships and that our romantic relationships directly result from our well thought out plans and preparations, it is inevitable that we all fall prey to an inherent potent magnetic-like love force.    Its strength draws us to seek idealistic romantic partners who uniquely match up to our distinctive magnetic orientation.  Whether we end up in Iceland or Miami, we will have gotten there due to our innate inclination to drift on a relational path toward a person’s magnetic force that is opposite from our own.