What is the Law of Attraction?
The belief held by many theorists is that the universe is governed by a set of universal laws; these laws cannot be changed, cannot be broken and apply to every individual, regardless of age or nationality. These laws are the riverbanks which guide the flow of their lives on its journey to its ultimate end.
The law of attraction is one such law. The law of attraction is the belief that anyone can determine their destiny through the power of their minds.
“The Law of Attraction attracts to you everything you need, according to the nature of your thoughts. Your environment and financial condition are the perfect reflection of your habitual thinking.” Joseph Murphy
The History of the Law of Attraction
Before we go too deep into the modern applications of the law of attraction it is important that you understand that this is not simply New Age nonsense (most descriptions of the law of attraction refer to it as a product of a New Age Mentality). The principles of the law of attraction date back far beyond the new found popularity of the New Age.
The immortal Buddha was actually one of the first to introduce man to the law of attraction. He said, “What you have become is what you have thought.” This was a principle that the people of the east were acquainted with for centuries before it began to sweep into the western hemisphere.
The concept of karma also may have drawn its roots from the law of attraction. Karma states that you will eventually be revisited by that which you have sent out into the universe. If you have practiced kindness and compassion you will receive in kind. If you have been deliberately cruel to another you will receive back into your life that cruelty which you have sent out. Your actions and thoughts morph into physical entities, causing the universe to react in kind.
The law of attraction began to gain popularity in the western hemisphere in the 19th century, as people began to appreciate the power of positive thinking and apply it to their life. This new concept was first introduced to the general public by William Walker Atkinson, the editor of New Thought magazine, who published a book called Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World in 1906.
As you can see, the law of attraction is not new. The concept that thought can have a predominate affect on the course of a man’s destiny has been taught by wise men throughout the ages, and has given rise to a whole new era of beliefs.
What is the Premise of the Law of Attraction?
The theory behind the law of attraction is the belief that energy attracts like energy in the vast expanse of space and time that comprises our universe. Each person’s being is constantly radiating energy out into space; the type of energy being radiated is determined by the emotional state of the individual in question and may differ from day to day-sometimes even hour to hour!
This emotional energy is what is commonly known as a “vibe” and is referred to as a vibration by scientists studying the law of attraction. Chances are that you are familiar with the term. Have you ever been with someone who is so happy they seem to be radiating a “glow which inspires happiness in all those around them? By the same token, have you ever spent time with someone who was so critical and unhappy that they consistently gave off a “negative vibe” which seemed to suck the life and happiness out of all those around them?
You do not have to possess psychic powers to be able to feel the vibes that people emit; this energy is very real on a psychological plane and will affect anyone, anywhere at any time. Our vibrations are usually an unconscious response to some form of environmental stimulus; something has happened which has caused us to feel happy, or sad, or scared, or confused, or stressed, etc., and our subconscious response to this (because vibes are generated and projected from the subconscious rather than the conscious) is something that is beyond our control.
Chances are the person who is emitting a negative vibe does not choose to be unhappy, nor do they wish to inflict their unhappiness on all those around them by the simple fact of their presence. (Before you say what you are thinking, yes, there are some exceptions to this rule. Misery does love company and there are many who take a great deal of delight in inflicting their pain on other people. It is important to understand that this is not usually done in a desire to cause others pain but out a desire to not feel so alone in their unhappiness. But we digress…)
There are a number of feelings which lead to positive and negative vibes being emitted, and it is important before we continue on any form of discussion about the law of attraction that you understand what each of these are (you’ll understand the reasons for this a little later).
Positive vibes Positive vibes are generated from good feelings, such as:
- Joy
- Love
- Excitement
- Abundance (of anything that causes a positive response)
- Pride
- Comfort
- Confidence
- Affection
Negative vibes Negative vibes are generated from negative feelings, such as:
- Disappointment
- Loneliness
- Lack (of any of life’s necessities or luxuries)
- Sadness
- Confusion
- Stress
- Anger
- Hurt
What do Vibes Have to With the Law of Attraction?
As we mentioned earlier the fundamental principle of the law of attraction is the belief that life energy attracts like energy. This means that if a person is emitting positive vibes they will draw good things to them and if they are emitting negative vibes they will draw bad things to them.
”You are a living magnet, attracting what you want.”
You have seen this principle in practice before. Have you ever known someone who was always upbeat and positive and seemed to be too lucky to be true? On the flip side, you have certainly known someone who loved to complain and look on the darker sides of life that always seemed to have something new to complain about because things were always going wrong in their life. These examples show people attracting the results of the energy they are giving off.
“Remember, you attract to your life whatever you give your attention, energy and focus to, whether wanted or unwanted.” Michael J. Losier
Does this mean that all of the bad things that happen to you in this life are because you subconsciously wanted them to? This is one of the most common arguments against the concept of the law of attraction and it often the hardest to refute because people have not yet recognized that the law of attraction is not a pipe dream or something that someone dreamed up while sitting on their porch one hot summer night. It is a fact of life, and its effects are far reaching.
In answer to your question, no, not everything bad that happens in your life is a result of you subconsciously wishing for it to happen. Sometimes it is a result of someone else wishing for it to happen. To quote an example from a website pertaining to the law of attraction a child or a spouse who is abused is not abused because they wished for this abuse to happen. This abuse happened because the abuser allowed their negative thoughts concerning their child or spouse to creep across their subconscious until they eventually began to dictate their actions.
The mind is a powerful thing, and where the mind goes the feet will soon follow. The foundation of any success you are going to encounter in lie is not the ability of your physical body to overcome the obstacles but of your mind to believe that a way lies around them. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Where your mind can believe that there is a way for the body to achieve its heart’s desire a way does exist.
Start From Where You Are – Personal Development In Action
There are many teachings that underpin the raft of personal development opportunities available to you. The teachings of Eckhart Tolle around being in the now, among other things. Those of Buddha about how you interact with others or the Dalai Lama on compassion, harmony and peace. Or you can look to the Abraham-Hicks interpretation of the Universal Laws, particularly the Law of Attraction. All of this can be a little overwhelming to the new-comer, however, to make it easy, each teacher always says “start from where you are right now”.
That alone can be difficult to interpret but the meaning is as simple as the words. You just start right now, from where you are, from what you are doing and who you are being and take a step to where you would like to be. Just do one thing that will help you on that path and you can be sure that taking one step after another will open up a whole new world to you.
It does not matter what it is about self development that you would like to achieve. It may be that you want to have more money, get that amazing promotion that you have been after for so long or become a better person giving back as well as taking. You will not make an almighty leap without making a start and that start comes right now from this place that you are in.
Lets say that one of your aims in life is to have money and the freedom to travel anywhere that you want to. Right now, you are surrounded by small children and a mortgage is big as the ocean. How can you possibly see a time when you will have excess money and freedom. So you pick up the latest best seller on making a million dollars and read it avidly but it does not give you any clear idea on how to get started. My advice is to do something. If you loved the book, read it again or go and get another by the same author or another author who takes your fancy.
Keep going, start to talk to people about what you want in life, listen to what they are saying about their dreams and before you know it, you will be thinking more about what you want than what you have. Now is the time to get really active about the Law of Attraction and I recommend “Law of Attraction – The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t Want” by Michael Losier. It is a small and easy read filled with exercises that you can really use. And it helps you to start from where you are at just as you would for any journey.
Key to getting started is to take action in the direction that you want to go. So apart from learning more about how to get onto a self development plan of your own, you must also be prepared to do something yourself to get you there. Dreaming helps and action is the vehicle for having the dream in your hands. For more on getting started see my blog about working out your life path.
Just Know Your Own Life Path And Get On With Creating It
I can not speak strongly enough about the personal development process of knowing your life path; knowing what you want and how you will get it. Well knowing anything really since that is one of the absolute basics. Just know for yourself, be well learned, well read and open to new and exciting information and then make up your own mind about what you believe in and which to make a part of your life. The process of life is all about this; deciding on your beliefs and not just taking on beliefs because they are available.
To give you an example, for years I have held on to the belief that my life is somewhat mapped out, a course over which I have some but not all control and that there is an inevitability to life. Over the later years of my life I have read enough, watched enough and heard enough to form the new belief that I am the master of my destiny. I now decide what I will and will not do and how I will create my life to my personal desires and within my own integrity. Well, that is what the life path is all about – deciding how you will live your life, what fits with what you want and knowing the action you will take to get what you desire. Action is everything – see my blog of simple tips for more on taking action.
Sounds easy when I say it like that and I know from personal experience that getting in touch with your own beliefs, personal integrity and passions can take some time and can need some help. You can get started on your own goal setting using my following tips:-
- Reflect on your childhood dreams (hopefully they are not that long ago that you can not remember), recall what you always thought as a child that you would be, do, have.
- Reflect over all of your previous work, jobs, businesses. Which did you enjoy the most and what was it that you enjoyed?
- Ask your family and friends what they see as your special talents and write your own list of things that you like about yourself and what you do.
- Read the business opportunities and jobs section of your newspaper – watch yourself carefully to see if there is any positive emotion attached to anything that you read. That might give you a hint about what you would like to try.
- Talk with lots of people about what they are doing and see if anything appeals to you.
- Think about all areas of your life; employment, family, living, travel, loving, money, happiness, prosperity and ask yourself what you would like to have in each of those areas.
- Explore yourself as a person. Are you the kind of person you can like, be friends with, trust. Is there some area that you would like to improve.
Use these ideas to guide you to a place where you start to just know yourself and your desires a little better and then start a list of what life success you want to achieve in this lifetime. And be prepared to change those goals because the more that you think about it the more you will get clear. The more you have what you desire on your mind, the more opportunities you will see as they present themselves. The more things that you try out, the clearer that you will be about what you do want and what you do not.
It is really helpful to be clear on what you do not want because the opposite to that is likely to be what you want. Start to focus on what you do want now that you have an idea. And wait to see the passion. Oh, and visit my Hot Tips For Success page to see the advice of other smart, sassy Australian women. And if you like, talk to me about how you are going.
Use the Law of Attraction to attract success towards those things that you now know that you desire.
Inspiration In The Air, Inspiration Everywhere
Seriously, I think that I can smell and feel the inspiration all around me, not to mention with the people I meet, books that I read and music that I listen to. And I think that I know the reason. I have been focusing on inspiration and am attracting it like crazy. I love the whole inspiration effect and I love how the Law of Attraction works.
Some months ago I was reading a “Business Bullet” written by Andrew Griffiths and he said that we all need to get a daily fix of inspiration just as be do exercise and good nutrition. Well, I took his words to heart and started to be active about my daily fix. And here it is, just arriving in my life. Inspiration in the air, inspiration everywhere.
So here are 5 quick tips on how to get your daily dose of inspiration!!
- Keep your mind, ears and eyes tuned for it; look for it in the people you talk to, the mountains and plains around you, the birds and animals and your own thoughts.
- Read poetry again. It is just amazing what poets write.
- Stop tuning in to the mainstream media and do something different like read blogs, get self improvement books out of the library, beg or borrow some cd’s and listen while you drive to work. I just love “Conversations With God” and “Beyond Freedom“.
- Google some of your favourite gurus and read some of their web page or watch some of their YouTube. Try the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra or Brian Tracy.
- Listen to some different music and step out of your comfort zone there. Try some music from a different country or cultural group. I am loving Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu right now; it just touches my soul.
No doubt you will come up with a list of 5 for yourself as well, just do it, because life is so much more exciting when you are getting your daily dose of inspiration!!
Get Ready For 2010
With Christmas upon us and the New Year fast approaching, are you stuck in the same old rut? New Year’s resolutions made and broken, job changed and yet still life is not what you want. Not enough of anything; time, friends, money, love. Well, get ready for 2010 and change all of that. Create the life that you have always wanted, take charge and cause things to happen and don’t let life happen to you while you were busy making other plans.
In the lead up to Christmas, do everything possible to experience enjoyment and happiness, no matter who you are with, what you are doing or where you are. Make your experience pleasurable rather than a grind. Life is meant to be fun, watch out for fun and just enjoy each moment.
Start to think about what you want from life next year. Seriously, think about what you want, not what you have and get ready for 2010 with that in mind. Ponder the prosperity that you want to achieve in your finances, relationships, physically, emotionally, lifestyle and time. Prosperity is about more than money, it is about every part of your life.
And while you are having fun and shamelessly enjoying yourself, dream a little about what life could be like and get ready to make it happen.
