Open Discussion: The Law of Attraction

I hope you’re not serious with question #1. hehehe. For me LoA basically boils down to positive thinking. The topic sometimes is tough to explain because most people tend to be very literal when discussing LoA.

Positive thoughts plus the combination of hard work is what works for me. You just have to feel good with the things that you’re thinking.

You don’t have to be very knowledgeable about LoA. A lot of people are successful and living a happy life even without knowing LoA.

Thank you for opening up this discussion.

I do believe in LoA in some extent, but I’m not hardcore-believer. I’m a bit amazed the way “The Secret” was presented – in true american only money matters kind of way.

I have no idea if I’m using LoA correctly, if at all in my life. Somehow I’m changing day job, getting more gigs and ways to create money to achieve my money saving goals. Also, I’m changing record company at the same time, getting an international booking agency and having full release schedule for the next 6 months.

Is it because of LoA, good goal setting or loads of hard work? It could be a working combination of all these, it could be just luck.

The main point is – I don’t care. I’m having the time of my life, and I feel that the best parts are still ahead.

I have no idea if I have manifested new people or ideas in my life. It’s the same ideas I’ve had before, it’s the same people, or people from the networks I’ve been in for ages. Now just everything is coming together.

Within the last 4 months, I’ve finally found a goal I’m working towards. I’ve been without a goal ever since I gratuated three years ago. It’s been a long time without clear goal and I don’t want to be in such state ever again. I’ve noticed that having goals keeps me going even in the hardest times. Without goals I’m just wandering around and I can’t get anything done.

“I just think the more you focus on something the more you are working towards achieving it, not about having the universe give it to you.”

Exactly.

I do not believe in the law of attraction. Also, you’ll have a very challenging time debating someone on it.

For example, one of my arguments is that there are plenty of people with really negative attitudes who become very successful in life. How is that explained by proponents of LoA? Someone will probably respond that deep down they really wanted xyz to happen…

So, you see, you can’t debate the subject. The defense will always be, “but underneath it all this is what they were really thinking, and that’s why it manifested.”

I will surely be writing an article on this subject in the future.

You bring some good insights to the surface.

Hi Glen,

another synchronicity for me. I would say that I am not a dogmatic type of believer and I like to experience and test things for myself generally. I am just reading a book from Pierre Franckh – Erfolgreich Wünschen. Not sure if it is avail in English but it is a good one. He encourages people to “test” LoA on small stuff first. Experiment from this book: parking place! For months I have been having troubles parking close to my flat. During the last two weeks I have wished that there was a free slot for me everytime I come back with my car…and it either worked or I was exceptionally lucky. I would not say that any objective conditions changed during those two weeks..same times, places are crowded…but when I arrive…somebody is just freeing one slot for me or there is one waiting for me. And guess what…it has worked so far for me. Not sure if it is accidental but in these small cases it is not so easy to say that it is self fulfilling prophecy. I definitely plan to experiment on some bigger stuff too.

I am a big believer in the Law of Attraction and I have had a lot of successes from it. One of the reasons why many don’t see the power of the Law of Attraction is that they fail to see the connection between the Law of Attraction and the other laws of the universe.

It is like not believing in the Law of Gravity just because the aircraft can fly.

Here’s the video to answer your first question

http://attractingyourgoals.com/is-the-law-of-attraction-a-fad/

Hi Glen and Everyone,

I think the LOA is grossly misunderstood and I think your question about the unborn baby perfectly sums up the misunderstanding.

Books and films like ‘The Secret’ are based on making the LOA the magic pill that would make everyone’s dreams come true. The problem is that what people want, are not the things that they really want on a deeper level.

What I mean is that if the world were as ‘The Secret’ portrays we would all end up as King Midas. Getting what we thought we wanted, but realising we didn’t know what was best for us.

The key to LOA is the relaxing up and allowing it to happen. In other words it’s about maintaining a positive emotional state.

I talk about this as being a high bandwidth state. In other words, you have access to more creativity, see more possibilities and are interacting positively with others, so you get their co-operation too.

When something is outside of our grasp we just need to increase our bandwidth to bring it into our reach. In that sense a positive focus helps us to expand our bandwidth.

So I believe that the unborn baby served it’s purpose, whatever it may be.

Just as Jesus was happy to die to fulfil his purpose.

Whereas the simplistic ideas of ‘The Secret’ would suggest that he must have been thinking negative thoughts.

Thanks Raymond.

Ville, I could not agree with you more. In fact I have been inspired by this post to write an article about the Law of Attraction’s relation to success;

http://livewithoutconflict.com/blog/outliers-success-law-of-attraction/

You raise some great questions. The movie “The Secret” got the world talking about the LOA, but unfortunately I think put alot of us off because of the kitch packaging that the LOA message was delivered in. From my perspective, all of the above comments (as well as the messages in “The SecreT”) are possible answers – some useful and some less useful. With stuff like LOA, we often get caught up in whether or not something is TRUE. All explanations of the LOA could be true (or false, for that matter), but I prefer to think that they’re all just stories – and some stories are more USEFUL than others. It’s USEFUL for me to think that my thoughts create my reality – because then I take responsibility for my thoughts and I actively choose the thoughts that seem useful and serve the outcomes I want. That one assumption (that my thoughts create my reality) gives me scope for asking all sorts of other USEFUL questions, like “what am I thinking now that is getting me this result? And what assumptions could other people be making, who’re getting more of the results I want instead?” Whether or not the quantum physics explanation of LOA is “true” seems less relevant than noticing the impact that the assumption “my thoughts create my reality” has on the way I feel, think, and behave in the world. I’ve found that I (and my clients) seem to get much better results when I work off the assumption that my thoughts create my reality.

When I think of the LoA and its success, I think of one of its biggest proponents – Michael Loisier. The man has worked for more than ten years to build up his reputation and to basically eveangelize LoA. He’s done a great job of it and he’s done well by it. But it didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t happen with him staying home in British Columbia. He’s traveled a lot and worked hard.

But he’s brought the success to himself because he was clear about his intentions.

For me, personally, and your questions just add to that feeling, Glen, LoA is more of a religion than a “law.” In this case we use the universe and vibrations instead of God and prayer, but really, aren’t they the same thing?

It’s actually why I stay away from LoA and stick with awareness, focus and work – which are all internal things and don’t rely on God or the Universe to provide me with anything.

Guys, I just want to say you’ve all made some awesome comments. I love that I’ve been able to build a site where everyone can come together and discuss things.

I’ll be posting personal responses later in the day, once again thank you and keep them coming…

Carl Jung described a condition called synchronicity back at the turn of the century which is very similar to the current buzz phrase, Law of Attraction. What is that old proverb, “There’s nothing new under the sun?”

I have talked to people that were literally paralyzed in their future actions, because they were afraid what they believed might come true. These individuals also took blame for what happened to their own family members because of errant wishes they might have had from time to time.

Sychronicity OR the Law of Attraction is unhealthy when taken to these extremes. On the other hand, if you can get X more parking spaces by positive thinking, I’d say go for it. What have you got to lose?

Unless you want to stay in better shape. In that case, I’d say park on the outskirts of the lot and walk. There are ALWAYS free spaces out there.
G.

That’s how I met my wife – through the laws of attraction. Didn’t have looks (was 2nd level obesity), nor the charisma. Really (badly) wanted some bright shapy girl with red hair and – boom! – got it! Turned out she badly wanted someone like me – a motivated self-starter, someone who built himself and knows the bad side of life.

Happily married since this Thanksgiving

I wouldn’t say that I prescribe to exactly what LOA is – in fact, it’s an area I consider myself “less than fully knowledgeable”. That said, I do understand it’s principles, at least peripherally. And my take on it all is that – it works in my life like this. The LOA is me attracting what I desire in my life – because I focus on that. And I think it’s because of that focus, that I am actively more involved in making “it” (whatever “it” happens to be) a reality. Because of this, I am attracting that which I am really focusing more on. Which makes sense – that which I spend my time on – whether mentally or physically, as well – that is what will have a more higher focus in my life – and be more likely to come to be.

So, is this LOA? I’m not sure, although I do think it goes along the lines of it’s principles.

I started by thinking of things I wanted to see and I used items from my childhood. I used to go on a summer vacation with my family and every year I would get this monkey looking doll called a monchichi. I hadn’t seen one in 25 years and I choose this because I thought if I had seen one I would have immediately noticed due to my childhood assoc. That year I went to my sister’s house for the holidays (this was within a few weeks of the exercise) and they had an unfinished basement. They basically use it for storage. During the course of the day they ran out of soda and somehow I ended up going downstairs with my mom to get more. Lying on the bottom of the stairs was a monchichi. My mom said that my niece found it at their house and asked to take it home on her last visit. She even commented that she hadn’t seen them for years and immediately recalled how much I liked those dolls. I also saw another one the following week at a goth teen store called Hot Topic.

I also choose a large blue elephant head. It was a blanket that my daughter used to use when she was little..the head was the pillow. The day after I visualized this elephant I was going to a 50′s family dance with my kids. My son won a dance contest and came back with a visor that had a big elephant head with hanging trunk and everything on it.

I’ve won some contests….most recently Jason Mraz had a sold out show. I put out an intention that I’d like to attend that concert, and that week I won a set of tickets by being the 10th caller. When I heard the announcement I felt it – these ticket are for me!

I believe in the Law of Attraction, for the most part. However with that being said, for me I feel because there are many components to it, I refer to it as more of an “umbrella term.” It encompasses the focus of your thoughts, your energy, your action(s), your attitude, your gratitude; and so much more. For myself, when I am positive, feeling up, doing all I can to bring about more of what I’m trying to achieve, I feel better inside. I think a little differently, get more creative, have more ideas and list goes on. It becomes a chain of affects; all starting with a thought or a belief. Now, if you take it in the other direction and forget the Law of Attraction, just roll with whatever comes your way, be around any capacity of negativity, whether it be you complaining or worse, or someone else, look at how you feel. I know I certainly don’t feel very good; its a downer in a number of ways. It becomes stifling on many different levels. Having the choice, I’d much rather be in the first group. As for God and prayer, there isn’t any reason to not continue that practice nor is there any reason to disassociate one from the other. Both can be included in your life. As for the first question, I think we take on a particular belief, depending on the situation, that helps us to get through such an event. If you believe in the Law of Attraction or if you believe in God, is not a guarantee that nothing bad or negative will not happen. While losing a baby would be devastating, to say the least, negative thoughts were not the cause. Perhaps your attitude would be – it’s God’s will. There would be another reason why that baby was not entering this world, maybe there was something going on with regards to a health issue or perhaps down the road maybe you just wouldn’t be able to handle it or deal with it. It would just be too much for you. You just don’t know. You may not necessarily know the answer of why, but sometimes we just have to leave certain things in God’s hands. While I don’t consider myself fully knowledgeable either, I certainly do feel and see the differences within myself and those around me-the choices in my life. I’m not necessarily comparing one to other, they are separate types of belief in that respect, however if you believe both God and the Law of Attraction are on the upside, positive, make you feel better, feel more at peace, and are all things good, then by all means do it, practice all of it. It isn’t only more beneficial to you and for you but also to those around you-its for the greater good for all of us.

What a GREAT conversation! I’m definitely a “thoughts create things” believer and also believe we create our own experiences/realities thereby, which is LoA in its purest form, I think. Hollywood’s “The Secret” version of explaining this? That’s maybe “not so pure,” imho.

Similarly, I subscribe to many religions’ core values, but I have no particular desire to embrace/wear any particular religious doctrine/label. I should say, perhaps, that I’m not put off by people who feel precisely opposite of that, though, if it helps them be kind, happy and/or resourceful in some way that they wouldn’t be otherwise.

I’ve absolutely witnessed the “what you focus on, expands; what you ignore, fades away” energy consequendes, though — pretty much 24/7, actually, for many, many years. I’ve also seen another person create a 180-degree Life shift simply by conditioning herself to envision and expect positive outcomes. It’s definitely worth a try, I think, especially for those folks who’ve not found their own “path with a heart” yet.

Becoming specific about the outcome(s) you desire and focusing energy and activity toward that vision still smells as sweet to me if you call it “goal setting,” though.

The Law of Attraction works in much the way a horoscope does; it tells you something so general that it’s believable yet unverifiable. What gives it away, is the element of unconscious thought, so either way you are screwed. Whether or not you consciously think positive thoughts is irrelevant, your subconscious thoughts will always win out(that’s the escape clause). Any theory with a back door is just a con and not worth the time. Its an age old spiritual trick used by so called sages the world over…

Lets say you’ve been searching for a beautiful woman to marry. One day a “sage” of some sect tells you that if you believe in his god and pray hard everyday, the god will grant you whatever you wish. So you adopt his god and pray for a beautiful wife. Now after a few years and much searching (remember, nothing “manifests” without action), you finally find a beautiful woman to marry and you raise a family with her. Did the god grant your wish or was it because of your own effort?

It’s a classic con, beautifully designed as well. The trick is the “sage” never actually tells you when your wish will be granted. He has many ways to escape from following through…if you don’t get what you wished for, then you probably weren’t praying right or hard enough; maybe you committed too many sins; or as someone said earlier, the wish doesn’t align with your core values. If you get frustrated with the religion and quit, you would never know if your wish would have been be granted had you just prayed a little while longer. So you have to keep going until whatever it is that you focused on gets realized (or you die).

If you do get what you wished/worked for, then the “sage” can claim that by the power of his god your wish got granted and there is no way for you to prove otherwise. The law of attraction works in the same way, just substitute “the universe” for “god”; you attribute the positive with the law and the negative stuff you blame on yourself (didn’t do it right; not keeping the right thoughts in mind; not positive enough; don’t believe enough; it’s not true to my values etc.). And that does it for How To Get Em To Pay Tithe 101.

The funny thing about it (and what should alert you) is how the LoA speaks of people using it even though they are unaware of it. Like millionaires who are clear about their thoughts and wants, but have never heard of the LoA, and the universe grants them their every desire. Yet here you are, in your miserable little hut, conscious of the law and its every aspect with not a dollar to your name. Though you pour your little heart out trying to attract some wealth and desperately need the money, the universe somehow doesn’t think it’s time just yet. Amusing, isn’t it?

to talk about it.. when i read ‘the secret’ book
far from amazed.. i think i shouldnt pay any penny
for that..

one thing is all those thing, believe it or not already inside
us and it all logic.. if you want something, and you work for
it and there is a chance for you to get it..

it is not law of attraction whatsoever.. but it just some
logic thinking of human faith.. dont they?
but life is really not my field..

http://whizblog.net

I remember a quote – “To a person who only has a hammer, everything else will start to look like nails”

I guess, if you really want success, every single thing will start to look like a step closer to success

Wow, you’ve got many response.

For me, LoA is not everything, but it’s always a good thing to be positive. Worry will not bring you forward. Find little things we can be thankful about, find little things that we can smile about!!!

Personally, I believe in God, so He still has the final answer, to say Yes, No, or wait, but in everything it’s a lesson to be thankful!! and it’s great to be thankful! That’s the LoA for me, attracting the best plan God has for me!

Cheers,
Robert

Hi there ID – the way I see it, is that things like the LOA are best judged by how useful they are, rather than how “true” they are.

If someone has been having problems, they may decide to try out the principles of manifestation like are taught in the LOA. If things turn around for them dramatically, then they might think it is their LOA work that did it. But it can’t be proved. Does it matter? – I don’t think it does – it’s an “each to his own” sort of situation.

I personally choose to believe that we create every single little aspect of the world around us with some aspect of our consciousness – but I couldn’t care less whether the people in my life think the same. I think have this belief because I find it a useful concept – but if other people don’t, that’s their affair!

To answer your questions (from my perspective!)
1. yes (though I wouldn’t necessarily describe the baby’s thoughts as “negative”)
2. Not to me
3. We choose our beliefs, no matter how scientific and objective we think we are being
4. I’ve changed my life around heaps, but I’m too much in the present moment to remember how! heheh

Sorry to not be very helpful! – Robin

It sounds funny, but my wife is a specialist with parking spots. Whenever I go somewhere with her we find a spot.

I believe the LOA opens your eyes for the opportunities out there to achieve or get what you truly want. The challenge most people have (and this includes me), we don’t always know what we want or we don’t want it bad enough because our minds are cluttered with too many other things.

I started trading shares a while ago and two years ago I set myself a goal where I want to be with my portfolio, I believed in it, I felt I will reach my goal and I made it. The weird thing is now with a lot of other things going on in my life, I can’t put my mind to it again.

You definetly need to clear your mind of clutter.

Interesting approach. I do like the law of attraction. Watching the secret inspired me to change my own life. However it’s not the only law and if your working with law of attraction on it’s own you’re going to run into problems. There’s also the law of cause and effect (i.e you do actually have to take action). There’s also the law of least effort (grass doesn’t try to grow, it just grows) in other words you can’t force things to happen with law of attraction, you have to relax and let things happen. Basically, I do think there is something to the law of attraction but there is more to the world than just that one law.

I enjoyed the discussion here, and when I typed my comments they were too long. So I created my own blog entry. I tracked back here, but the trackback isn’t showing.

Anyay, if you’re interested, it’s at http://openmindrequired.com/blog/2009/02/interesting-discussion-with-comments-on-law-of-attraction/

Hello…

This movie has won 8 Oscars , does it really deserve that, one thing is for sure if it was released in India it would have probably flop.

I think it’s a nice movie, small budget comparing to other Hollywood movies, nice songs .. What are your view, does it really deserve 8 Oscars or nothing at all ?

Hi there. There’s nothing wrong with expressing doubt about something that you don’t understand. I admire curiosity. My web site is dedicated to Law of Attraction based self improvement ideas, so I guess I’ll chime in with a comment here. I’ll answer your questions based on my understanding of LOA:

1. If a baby dies in a mother’s womb does that mean it had been having negative thoughts and actually wanted to die?
-Your assumption is that leaving the physical body is bad thing. There is no way to understand what that soul’s reason was for not being born.

2. Isn’t the Law of Attraction basically just positive thinking which makes you believe that it is possible to do something so you try hard and focus on doing it, rather than things ‘manifesting’ for you?
-It’s just a law… like gravity. You don’t need to understand it or believe in it for it to apply. It’s not just about positive thinking. It’s about thinking, which you can’t avoid. It’s about the vibration of your thoughts. It is about the impact of your deeply held beliefs- even the ones you don’t realize you have.

3. Is there any proof of people manifesting their thoughts? If this is happening whether we believe it or not, surely there should be some examples…
-Proof is in everything and everyone. According to LOA, everything that has occurred in your life is proof.

4. Can you share some personal experiences and how believing in and practicing the Law of Attraction has affected your life
-Far too many, both good and bad, to describe.

Final thoughts… I believe it is impossible to fully understand Law of Attraction without undergoing a spiritual growth process. When people are simply trying to learn LOA in order to understand how to USE the Universe, they aren’t in the mental place to actually benefit from the teachings. It is not a magic wand. It is about learning to create your reality ON PURPOSE instead of creating by default. It’s impossible to fully understand the Universal laws through reading 1 comment, book, or explanation. Writing a full article about something you don’t understand is never a great idea (thought people do it constantly), so I think it’s great the you opened the door to discussion.

I believe that when you are feeling positive emotions, you not only work harder, but you work more efficiently. When you are in a good mood and enjoy what you are doing, the quality of your work is exponentially better. I don’t know anything about LoA, but when I’m in a negative state, if I DO NOT resist the moment, and just continue to plow through, I’ll eventually fell good and enjoy whatever I am doing.

I believe that action is much more powerful than attraction. Thinking does not impact other things in the universe action does.

NiksTore say: You are not right. Let’s discuss it.

_____________
vigara
Nevada
9

Are you responding to my comment, how is it not right and can you prove it?