The Law of Attraction:revelation or hoax?
Our mind attracts all our experiences.
Whatever we think and believe is what we birth into reality.
The ‘Law of Attraction’ has been in the limelight since the book and dvd ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne catapulted the idea into the spotlight.
I believe that many of those who are drawn to personal development and Life Success issues have heard of this ‘Law ‘. Since this issue has become so popular it is worth looking into in a bit of detail to explore if it is something we can rely upon to achieve Life Success.
The idea behind the ‘Law of Attraction’ is in a way similar to the Pygmalion effect but with an important difference. Whereas the Pygmalion effect is based on the idea that expectations can influence beliefs, behavior and thus results, the idea of the ‘Law of Attraction’ goes even beyond that. It basically states that we attract towards us whatever we generate and create in our minds and feelings.
If we generate positive thoughts and emotions of joy, excitement, passion, gratitude andsuccess we attract like a magnet the energy in the Universe that will bring us abundance, opportunity and success. It is as if our thoughts and minds create a mold or blueprint of what we want and the Universe will then provide the corresponding opportunities to fill that mold and manifest it into reality. On the other hand, if we live a life generating negative thoughts of doubt, sadness, cynicism, bitterness, self-depreciating thoughts, jealousy and limitations we attract negative outcomes. The basic concept of this law is: Like attracts like.
In other words the outcomes are not simply related to expectations, beliefs and behavior. There is actual manipulation by our mind power which influences matter and the energy systems of the Universe. Through our thoughts these Universal energies obey our ‘requests’ so that we are able to virtually create our own realities with our thoughts.
The ‘Law of Attraction’ claims to have roots in Quantum Physics, although this is dismissed by the established scientific community. Adherents of the ‘Law of Attraction’ like to point out to quantum physics studies, that seem to indicate that the thoughts and expectations of the experimenter are believed to be actually causing the experiment’s outcome. For instance, if the experimenter thought the particle would spin a certain way, it would. Thus, a person’s thoughts are actually causing the reaction of matter–at the quantum physics level. This has given rise to the idea that we have a direct effect on the world around us- our thoughts are affecting the physical world in which we live and that the power of thought literally enables us to create our own reality.
To use a simple analogy to explain the ‘Law of Attraction’ just visualize the way that the Internet works.
The internet is an ocean of limitless possibilities that can be tapped into through the use of Search Engines. You can direct to your computer any information you require once you focus your intention on what specifically you want to find and then request the information using a specific command. In itself the Search engine is neutral. It does not decide what kind of information to transmit. If you don’t insert search words it will not work on its own. But because you insert a search word the Search Engine responds to your request by mirroring back the information that you have requested. If you unintentionally hit a sequence of buttons and push ‘Enter’ it will still bring up results according to the letters you keyed in. It does not decide what kind of information would be ideal for you to have. It just naturally responds in line to your request. Similar to the internet the ‘Law of Attraction’ states that we are connected within this cosmic reality that mirrors back and responds to your intentional and unintentional thoughts, negative or positive thoughts, wishes, dreams and requests.
In this sense you are at all times in the role of a creator – you create your reality every moment of your existence, with the thoughts that you think and the emotions that you generate. Your thoughts and emotions are the fuel of your creation. With every single thought, you create your future.
Some New Age gurus even go as far as to describe the way we attract our future in the following way:
They believe that as your thoughts about what you want are projected out into the universe, your higher self looks over past, present, and future events; it views the connections and the situations that will need to be created for you to have what you ask for. It then finds the best way to bring them to you. It begins drawing to you certain people, opportunities, and events. Your willingness to be spontaneous, follow inner urges and hunches, and listen to strong feelings and act upon them will lead you to your goals.
On the surface the idea sounds exciting and has real sex appeal. But is it totally true? Do we actually manipulate all our experiences simply by thinking them into reality? Can we just sit down on a sofa, grab a bottle of soda and crisps, relax back and think ourselves filthy rich by visualizing money dropping out of the ceiling in our living room?
Let’s look at the arguments surrounding this issue.
The Law of Attraction is not something new nor has it been discovered lately. Over the years the idea has been propounded by people like Wallace D. Wattles and Napolean Hill. The latter wrote the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ in 1937 after interviewing over 500 hundred successful people. The book is still highly sought and Napoleon Hill influenced the self-help movement that sprouted over the past decades.
Lately the popularity and attention in the media about the Law of Attraction increased ever since the making of the film ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne in 2006. ‘The Secret’, described as a self-help film, uses a documentary format with renowned motivational speakers from around the world including Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor and Rev. Michael Beckwith to present the Law of Attraction. The success of the film and various books led to increased media coverage. Oprah Winfrey devoted two episodes of her show to discussing the film and the Law of Attraction. Talk show host Larry King also discussed it on his show but criticized it for several reasons. He pointed to the sufferings in the world and asked why there was so much poverty, starvation, and death when all this could be changed by mere thought.
I have seen a big part of the film myself and I believe that the film has simplified the whole concept of the Law of Attraction to make it attractive to those who want success immediately without too much struggle. If we say that you simply can attract anything you want just by thinking it you run the problem of practical application. Let’s say that everyone who plays the lottery uses the ‘Law of Attraction’ and thinks about winning and being rich. At the end only one person can be the winner so it’s not as simple as that.
There is the danger that if misunderstood, the Law of Attraction may also lead people to start spending money irresponsibly because they believe they will automatically attract it in their lives. There is also the danger of putting the onus of responsibility for life failures and poverty squarely on the individuals because they may be ‘thinking’ themselves into their present mess. One shudders to think what the negative psychological effects can be if they are imbued with a sense of guilt to top up their daily challenges.
Could we say that the Jews attracted the Holocaust themselves through negative thinking? Do the people of Somalia draw towards them such rampant genocide simply because they think negatively?
This is why I believe that we have to be careful how to interpret the ‘Law of Attraction’. Things are never simple and I believe there is no such thing as ‘effortless attraction’. As much as you’d like to have an easy life, there’s always a bit of effort involved. There is also another danger that if such thinking gets to your head you can become so drunk with the idea of power that you become individualistic to a point where you feel you do not need anyone and that you are a demi-god of sorts. I certainly believe that we are absolutely fantastic and precious creations who have so much unlimited and untapped potential that we would just blow ourselves away with delight if we realized just how much we can manifest incredible success. However arrogance is never the solution and synergy as well as collaboration should always remain important Values.
Thus, until proven otherwise I tend to have my reservations about the idea that my mind can magically manipulate external matter so that I can cash in on my Dream like a vending machine without so much as raising a finger. After all even Harry Potter has his limitations and I never saw him materializing a new Quidditch broomstick just by thinking of it!
On the other hand my thoughts and beliefs about the subject are not biased against the ‘Law of Attraction’. This belief, no doubt, is an inspiring theory dealing with the unrealized powers of mind and I am totally certain that there is merit in the concept of attracting your future through the way you think and believe. I also keep an open mind in the sense that although science has not as yet proven any relation between the ‘Law of Attraction’ and Quantum Physics, you never know what can actually be discovered in the future.
Psychology researchers such as Ellen Langer also say that there is evidence to support the idea that believing you can bring yourself $1million can result in the money. But there’s a catch- you need to take action too. Creating it in your mind and believing you can do it is the first important step, however you cannot just lay back and wait for it to manifest itself on its own without taking any action.
The probable effect of the ‘Law of Attraction’ is that once you do believe in the possibility of achieving your goals, and adapt the emotional state aligned to the feeling of having achieved the goal you start to think about finances and money differently, you may notice opportunities more, become more of a risk taker and take action – and this wil
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My Version of the Law of Attraction
How I believe the ‘Law of Attraction’ works
So do I believe that our mind somehow ‘attracts’ the Universal energies to provide us with external opportunities by the way we think?
Although I do not accept the simplified version that is flouted around on some of the internet sites I do believe that there are too many serendipitous coincidences in my life.
Far too many things just line up too many times when I am focused on something. And the things that happen at times do not seem to happen simply because I am more alert to what is happening. So I don’t feel comfortable to debunk the idea that there might be some kind of unseen power or force at play that may ‘assist’ in the process based on your focused Intention. The Law of Attraction may or may not work exactly how it is projected by its adherents. The process suggested by Rhonda Byrne that you should just ‘Ask, Believe and Receive’ may be a bit simplistic or at least it might have been misunderstood by some.
However I do have my own belief about how to manifest the power of your mind and attract your success. If I were to describe a ‘law’ about making sure that you manifest your Dream it would be:
(Mind Creation +Emotion +Action)=Manifestation
Basically what I am saying here is that first you have to create a very vivid picture in your mind that captures your Dream in as much detail as possible. You have to energize and instill emotion and passion into the picture you have created. It is important that you experience the feelings of success as if you are already living your Dream, thus aligning your physical and mental states to the expected outcome. Then you need to take consistent action and look out for opportunities which you attract along the way. Finally you have to hang on with determination until you manifest your desired outcome.
By learning to visualize your Dream you will be sowing the power of your creativity in the spawning ground of your subconscious mind. And when that happens your Dream will sprout its first creation.
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