Okay, I think I see the answer to my question yesterday (about how this relates to emotions and the law of attraction)---and it looks like a couple of other people are confused about this as well so I'll share how I'm seeing it now.
In order for us to align with that which we want, the vibration of it must be very familiar within us. Abraham-Hicks says that we're not likely to do something we haven't practiced, so we must practice the kinds of thoughts we will have when we're already in a desired set of circumstances. They use an example of a woman who said to them, (paraphrased here) "Abraham, I don't think you care if I ever meet my lover, you just want me to get so good at visualizing him that I won't notice he's not there." Abraham--"That's exactly right."
When we practice the feelings of wealth (like with the ex. in the article of imagining going from $5000 in the bank to $50,000),
at first we are going to feel those really strong emotions that are helping us to BEGIN to align with our desires, but if we keep practicing, we'll get so good at it that eventually those feelings (that new, higher vibration) will be normal in us. When this truly happens, we're aligned with the desire, and it can come into our physical experience. Of course we still feel appreciation, but the stronger feelings are naturally no longer there...
Then we move on to the next desire and repeat the process.... 
Steve said this more clearly in his article, but it just took a little time for me to get it......