A theory about how the Law of Attraction works, what do you think??

[Alarin]

I've been thinking long and hard about the Law of Attraction over the past few months, and running my own manifestation experiments, and I've begun to form a theory about how the Law of Attraction works on a physical level. I'd love to know what you think, if it makes sense to you or if you think the LoA is more about faith than fact? I guess I'm just trying to make sense of this extraordinary law, if I can

A few months before I learnt about the LoA I had listened to one of Brian Johnson's podcasts called Writing your goals which explained how the reticular activating system (RAS) (cells in the back of the brain which serve as the filter for what enters your conscious and unconscious mind) works in helping us achieve goals. It's the same principle as when you decide you really want a red sports car and then everyone on the road seems to be driving that exact car, and every second ad on tv is for that car, because your subconscious is specifically looking out for that particular car.

I've also had some experience with "lucky" people, particularly my husband who everyone describes as lucky and indeed he does seem to be able to make things work for him more often than most people even though he's not into personal development at all. I remember reading an article about this exact thing years ago which showed statistics of how people who considered themselves lucky got what they wanted more often than everyone else, but it had nothing to do with luck, it was simply that they kept their eyes open for opportunities more than others and so when those opportunities appeared they were ready to jump on them.

So all of this has contributed to my theory about the LoA which is this - that the Law of Attraction is not about the universe physically changing to meet our expectations, but rather that by knowing exactly what we want and concentrating on that we are much more aware of opportunities to help us get those things. In short, we keep our eyes open, we say yes more often, and by doing that we create the reality we want for ourselves.

I'll give you some examples to help explain what I mean. In the What have you manifested lately thread I remember one member wrote about intending for a line to move faster and for a checkout to become available, and then a customer service lady opening a new checkout which he was able to use first. Now this morning when I went grocery shopping the exact same thing happened to me, but I didn't intend for it to happen however since I've begun practicing the LoA I have become a lot more aware of my surroundings and opportunities which open up around me and so when I saw this new checkout being opened I was the first to make use of it - the weird thing is no-one else even seemed to notice the new checkout which supports my belief that most people aren't using the LoA and so they never switch on their subconscious "alert center" (for want of a better term) and they never notice these opportunities.

I also remember when I saw "The Secret" and they tell you to manifest a cup of coffee. Later I went to "The Secret" forums and read what people had to say when they tried to manifest a cup of coffee and all it seemed to indicate to me was that these people had not magically willed a cup of coffee brought to them into existence, but simply that they had tuned their subconscious into watching out for this cup of coffee and so when it did arrive they put it down to the LoA, but in reality they didn't change the universe to suit themselves, they simply became much more aware of what was going on around them and how that helped them achieve their goals.

I also remember the example about the Australian business man who always manifests a good carpark for himself right near the front of the building he's going to, and I've heard lots of other people do that too, but again it seems to come down to awareness for me - it makes sense that if you are looking out for that good carpark, and you circle around a few times waiting for it, that sooner or later someone is going to pull out and you'll get your carpark. As that quote says "when you expect the best you very often get it", why? because you're looking for it and you refuse to settle for anything less even if you have to wait a little while to get what you want. Again it seems to be a lot more about awareness for me than mystically changing the universe to suit your purposes. I hope I'm making sense here?

Anyway I'd love to know what you think! I'm not trying to put down the Law of Attraction or anything like that, because I do believe it exists in some form, and it's that form that I'm trying to figure out because I think things work better for us when we understand them. On the other hand I may be completely wrong and the LoA has more in common with religious faith than scientific reality or subconscious or anything like that, it's certainly possible, the universe is a very big place and maybe there are some things we're not meant to understand completely but only use in faith.

What are your thoughts, how do you think the Law of Attraction works? Do you think my theory has any merit or is the LoA more a matter of faith than than an increased awareness of opportunities?

[Ati]

Alarin, such an interesting post!

I think one of the big thing that I-M does and LoA maybe explains is the change in my behaviour when I am actively "practicing" these things.

Let me be a little specific, just for the example.

I drive to work down a hill about 25 mph, no lights, no stopsigns, little traffic. (We are a mile up in the mountains out here and our "hill" I guess is more the top of one of the ridges with higher mountains all around us) Anyway, (I digress )..... when I am "practicing" I-M, that means I am going through what seem to be the most important of my intentions of the day or moment. I habitually add an introduction to my intentions which I've posted before, it's actually something Steve Pavlina had on his blog and I modified a bit. When I do this, I have a better day....I notice things that make me feel good, I respond to people maybe just a bit better (I'm pretty darn easy to get along with, but maybe I'm just a bit more astute about what's going on with folks), and I notice things that help me in a myriad of ways. Also, my discipline for the things I aim to do is better. I eat more healthfully. And so on.

So, this seems to do something for me which directly relates to my own behaviour, internally and externally. This makes a lot of sense to me and I can see it helping everything from one's spirituality to one's business, one's relationships with others to how one keeps one's environment/household in order.

If we notice this aspect, maybe there is less hocus pocus involved than otherwise imagined. The parking place is there because I notice it.

And hey, if there is a bit of "synchronicity" involved as well, hey I'm all for it....there is so much we don't notice with the 10% of brain we are said to use I'll bet we'd see a lot more of what we'd otherwise call magic if we were more conscious of ourselves and our surroundings.

Just my 2 c for tonight!

Ati

[Radical]

I like your theory.

So really LoA is just a psychological trick?

[Acting Like Godot]

No, it isn't. Yes you're right, and no, you're wrong.

In a very important sense, there is no difference between:

(a) altering your perceptions such that you notice certain things or opportunities that you otherwise would not notice; and

(b) manifesting your intentions such that you attract certain things or opportunities into your own life.

Either way, the practical result is probably going to be exactly the same.

I will offer you another perspective, by comparing IM to basic traditional meditation.

In IM, you manifest your intention. You then expect certain opportunities to arise to support that intention. And they will (or should).

In many forms of meditation, you do not manifest any intention. Quite the opposite - not only do you not manifest any intentions, you seek to think no thoughts at all.

For example, many forms of meditation merely requires you to sit very still and pay attention to the movement of your own breath. Or to sit very still and observe a candle flame - simply observing it, without analysing it or forming opinions about it or letting your thoughts drft away.

One effect of meditation is that you will begin to experience synchronicities emerging in your everyday life. In other words, you begin to notice unusual "coincidences" in your life, and you begin to notice secret patterns, the meanings of which seem knowable only to you. These synchronicities guide you towards specific decisions, even specific places or people.

(For the religious, this is not very different from how - they would say - God gives them little signs to guide them as to His plan for them).

What is the difference between IM and meditation, as described above? In the IM model, you choose your thoughts and manifest your "reality". When the opportunities appear, you take them.

In meditation, you shut down your thoughts and allow a deeper, truer reality to reveal itself to you. It is a reality that was always there - just that you could not have noticed it if you had not meditated, because the endless chatter of your ill-disciplined monkey mind, with all its conditioned automatiuc responses and neuroses, would have drowned it out.

==

I think that LOA is a genuine law. The problem is that people get too hung up on the "magical" parts of it.

I myself can move objects with my thoughts. I can also manifest a cup of coffee into existence, with my thoughts.

For example, I think to myself, "I'd like to move my chair over there," and then I get up and carry my chair to the new spot. I think to myself, "I'd like to have a cup of coffee now," so I call out to my wife, "Honey, could you please get me a cup of coffee?" and she replies, "Just give me one minute my dear," and she comes back with the coffee in one minute.

This sounds like dumb examples, until you recall that basically we are just a bunch of mostly hydrogen, carbon and oxygen molecules, and molecules are basically just a form of energy: E = MC square.

What has happened is that a bunch of molecules (which are slow energy particles) in my brain exhibited a thought -

"I'd like to move my chair over there" -

and caused a much larger collection of slow energy particles (my body) to move in a certain way ....

.... and to manipulate yet another collection of slow energy particles (the chair).

It's pretty miraculous too. And it happens all the time.

The coffee example is even more miraculous. The vibration of my thoughts caused certain collections of molecules (my lungs, voice box, tongue and mouth) to move in a certain way, causing an emission of sound energy, which in turn was received by another collection of molecules I call my wife, which then exhibited certain frequencies (the thought "yes, I'll get him a cup of coffee" which then caused a cup of coffee to be made.

I probably am rambling .... But think of it this way. If by generating certain electrical impulses in my brain (that is, by having thoughts), I could cause large collections of energy/matter in a different space and time to move and organise itself in specific ways and respond ..... well, in the final analysis, EVERYTHING is energy and matter, isn't it. So what CAN'T I do with my thoughts.

Car park space .... Well, basically you send out the thought, and the universe organises itself, such that one chunk of molecules (a driver) causes another chunk of molecules (his car) to move out of a physical space, at a certain time, allowing you to park.

It's not that different from manifesting a cup of coffee via my wife, is it.

The key difference is that we can understand how I communicated the idea to my wife - I opened my mouth and said "Honey, could you please get me a cup of coffee?" and she heard it.

But we cannot understand how the thought "I need a parking space" could organise itself in spacetime, such that the other driver leaves at the right time, making a space available.

Still it's only about as mysterious as a large flock of migrating geese fly in a perfect pattern and never crash into each other in mid-flight. Or how a large school of fish - thousands of them - can simultaneously change direction - every single one of them - in exactly the same way, without collision or confusion.

In comparison, it should be fairly simple for the universe to organise one driver to get out of his lot, just as one other person (you) need it.

[Ati]

Originally Posted by Radical

I like your theory.

So really LoA is just a psychological trick?

Radical--not "just" a psychological trick, no...

This does bring an important point up.

In my opinion, psychology or "the mind" is just as physical as the body.

Why? Look at what we see as "physical"---the space between the molecules if you will, the relationship between energy and matter, as Acting Like Godot alludes to. And look at the fact that to produce thought, emotion, all that we connect with psychology, we need all kinds of physical stuff--cells, nerves, neurotransmitters, all kinds of other (physical) proteins to regulate how neurotransmitters effect the cells...

So, yes there's what we call psychology in there, as well as in most everything we do or experience. At the same time that psychology is just as "real" as anything you can see, and just as or oftentimes more powerful in the long run than physical stuff (like a chair, for example )

And if the "psychology" leads to actions and actions lead to outcomes, then it seems one is just as important as the other for that connection as well.

So, the way I think abt it, I leave out the "just"....

Acting Like Godot--what a great post, I don't know how one could say all that better!!

Yes, I also experience I-M very much like meditation, I'm a fan of both

Although you've said many great things here, I'd like to just comment on one of them... in connecting the effect of either meditation or I-M practice to calm down your monkey mind (to paraphrase).....

If any of us are able to create a world around us in which others easily and happily do something nice for us (my husband happily getting me a cup of coffee, for instance )...well, haven't we helped to create that situation with our own loving and giving actions? So doesn't that suggest that we have actually done more with our own actions than move our mouths and vocal cords?

In my opinion, this is the area of I-M and similar disciplines which is most important, most elucidative and longest lasting --learning from and using these disciplines to further peace, abundance, humor, consciousness, all the good stuff of life-- locally (starting right inside ourselves) and anywhere else we go or can have effect.

Great discussion, let it continue!

all best,

[songwriter]

I think the main thing is if...

a) the intentions create/change something in the universe
b) the intentions helps us to make that change/find that something in the universe

First I want to say... That not being into "PD" doesn't mean not being into PD really. lol... I mean, everyone that tries to be happy, to live a good life... is into personal development, no matter if he has ever heard of the exact words.
Gandhi never was in PD . I think you know what I mean... PD stuff is not all the PD stuff.

I've just made a huge change coming back to believe in SR. Now, "a" or "b"... mostly are the same thing cause we don't know for sure what's on the universe and it's not... and what is possible and what is not!.

Go tell someone in the 15th Century what a plane is.

I don't think we can change the universe itself but surely we can change "our" universe, our subjective universe.
Not making things appearing out of the nowhere (that would miracles instead of manifestations...) just getting to that things for the possibles ways to them. It could be a certain person to meet, a certain discovery, etc.

[Ati]

I love this, Songwriter!

Especially the part about the plane in the 15th century..... I did LOL

And I so agree with you that PD comes in many forms and many formats with many different vocabularies, concepts, "rituals". It can be thought as similar to religions in that way can't it?

I personally do feel the same way about religion. In fact for me, (I don't want to raise any hackles here with anyone, this is just in my life, my experience )--I really "do" PD concurrently and along with and integrated with my spiritual life which is the center of my life, what better center can there be?

And I so like what you've said about changing our own universe.

Great stuff !!

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by Ati

I love this, Songwriter!

Especially the part about the plane in the 15th century..... I did LOL

And I so agree with you that PD comes in many forms and many formats with many different vocabularies, concepts, "rituals". It can be thought as similar to religions in that way can't it?

I personally do feel the same way about religion. In fact for me, (I don't want to raise any hackles here with anyone, this is just in my life, my experience )--I really "do" PD concurrently and along with and integrated with my spiritual life which is the center of my life, what better center can there be?

And I so like what you've said about changing our own universe.

Great stuff !!

The difference is that religions use to be exclusive. I don't mean believers I mean religions, like "We have the Truth and the other religions and beliefs (like science, etc) are wrong".
If we call all this "PD" it seems we're creating kind of a religion. I'm just learning (and doing), that's all. Trying to be happy and to be better, with or without "PD" (mostly "with"), but not only with "PD".

[Wreck]

Excellent post, ALG.

[Alarin]

Thanks for your replies guys !! It's really interesting to read the different perspectives, and I especially love the chair and coffee examples .

[Markus74]

Acting:

I'm surprised but your post in here actually makes sense. But you've shed a lot of the magical claims other LoA-people make.

You can move a chair by your thoughts? Meaning you can stand up, grab the chair and move it. Ok, true. That's possible of course. As is the coffee example. And that's what I meant all along on this forum. You have to get ACTIVE yourself. Just wishing and doing nothing won't make that cheque with the millions appear in your inbox.

And that's why I think your parking lot example is too much again. There other people that you don't have contact with have to react in certain ways so that YOU get what you want without them knowing etc. That's magic again.

[Ati]

Originally Posted by Markus74

You can move a chair by your thoughts? Meaning you can stand up, grab the chair and move it. Ok, true. That's possible of course. As is the coffee example. And that's what I meant all along on this forum. You have to get ACTIVE yourself. Just wishing and doing nothing won't make that cheque with the millions appear in your inbox.

I think that I-M practice (formulating and focusing on intentions in a regular way) , awareness of LoA (understanding that attention to the positive brings more positive, attention to the negative brings more negative), recognition of what's useful, growing, ready to grow, positive around us, and hard work is a really great combination!

I also do not think that "I-M practice" and "awareness of LoA", as I have just put these things, resides only in this conceptualization. These ideas come up in all sorts of ways, in all sorts of disciplines, in religions, spiritual teachings, self help, personal development and in more focused areas (such as in learning music, learning a language, training in sports or other physical training, dietary/sleep/exercise disciplines, and so on. Maybe we are just comprehensively describing the components of a positive attitude here.....

I agree, Songwriter that a difference here from many religions--now as well as earlier--is that we aren't hearing people say that I-M is the "only thing that's true" I've always felt that to be a major weakness in religious thought and far different from personal spiritual experience which can come from the same religious background.

[DQueens]

a lot of this reminds me of a quote by will smith's character in the trailer for the movie 'in pursuit of happiness.' it goes something like:

"people are going to tell you something is impossible just because they can't do it. If you want something, go and get it. period."

not exactly sure if that is word-for-word what the quote is. bottom line is that there are many famous people, people who have done great things, made a huge difference, are "luckier", more successful and happier than others. i dont think they have what they have by accident. if they found the resources and mental power to realize their dreams and accomplish what they have accomplished then why wouldn't you be able to?
You think it's incredible if you win the lottery/discover gravity. but SOMEONE HAS to. so why not you?

[tekart]

For me it does seem that this is all about faith. Not the religious or spiritual faith we have come to know, rather the faith in yourself and your ability to have what you want. You want something, you 'do things' to get yourself to believe it is possible, this opens up your eyes to opportunities, and you take action. Not much different than what Tony Robins teaches is it? Tony Robbins and the folks with "The Secret" are good at marketing. It is nothing new, it is not a secret. By buying into their methods we are help them to manifest their intentions aren't we?

Many years ago I read the books "The Magic of Believing" by Claude M. Bristol, "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz , and "The Power of the Subconscious Mind" by Dr. Joseph Murphy. This books have slightly different approaches but in many ways talk about self improvement through the method of watching and controlling your thoughts, and visualization. Just like variations in religions, there are methods and systems in place to give you the answers to life.

I am always skeptical when I see people out to help people with the 'intention' of making money at it. (Sorry Steve, you do great work..not a slam on you at all ) There is an opportunity to take advantage of people. But I guess sometimes it takes a new way, a 'system' (I am really starting to not like that word) to get us to look at things in a new way. If "Awaken the Giant Within" or "The Secret" is what it take then that is what it takes.

But still, it all may just be an illusion.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by tekart

For me it does seem that this is all about faith. Not the religious or spiritual faith we have come to know, rather the faith in yourself and your ability to have what you want. You want something, you 'do things' to get yourself to believe it is possible, this opens up your eyes to opportunities, and you take action.

This is a correct view of LOA. However, it is also an incomplete view of LOA.

Often, if you manifest an intention concerning your own life, then your physical body and your own actions become the key vehicle to transform that intention into reality. Why?

Simply because a thought will take the path of least resistance to manifest itself into reality. And YOU are the biggest participant in your own life. Therefore the path of least resistance will often be you taking your own actions.

So if you manifest an intention to drink a cup of coffee, the path of least resistance will be for you to stand up, go to the kitchen and get yourself a cup of coffee.

LOA however acts on the whole of reality, not just you (you're part of reality too). For example, I have given an example of how I manifested an intention to speak at a conference, and the opportunity manifested itself within one week.

In this case, I had done nothing except manifest the thought. The rest - the universe took care of. In a neighbouring country, a speaker pulled out at the last minute from a conference, and the organisers scrambled to find a replacement. After a lot of desperate scrambling, they found me.

(Note that they did not know me beforehand; that I have never spoken at any conference before etc etc. I did not even know that this particular conference was being organised).

In my opinion, what happened here is that my intention led to a series of events which made my thought become real.

(1) there had to be a conference close enough for me (eg can't be on the other side of the world in Japan or Brazil)

(2) a scheduled speaker had to pull out last-minute

(3) her topic had to be something that I know enough to speak about

(4) the organisers had to call A

(5) A had to refer them to B

(6) B had to be unable to be the replacement speaker.

(7) B had to know of me

(8) B had to refer the organisers to me

(9) The organisers had to accept B's referral and believe that I know enough to give such a speech

(10) the organisers had to contact me

You'll see that all, or almost all the steps above, have nothing to do with me. doing anything whatsoever. All I did was manifest the thought: "I want to speak at a conference". The rest happened by itself. Or rather, by the power of LOA.

Now, theoretically, I could have manifested my intention through my own actions. For example, I could have organised my conference and organised my own audience and given a speech. Of course, I have never organised a conference in my life and I do not know who would want to be my audience; besides it would cost me a lot of money and effort and time etc.

So the path of least resistance, given the circumstances, turned out to be for the universe to make one of the scheduled speakers at a nearby conference pull out at the last minute, and get the organisers to make me the replacement speaker instead.

There - the thought has manifested into reality.

[Kristoffer]

Originally Posted by Alarin

- that the Law of Attraction is not about the universe physically changing to meet our expectations, but rather that by knowing exactly what we want and concentrating on that we are much more aware of opportunities to help us get those things.

In quantum physics there is something called "parallel universes" (I am not a doctor of physics, sorry). Anyway, the theory goes something like this: It is not a question of which of your choices will manifest but rather there exists a great number of universes where everything happens at the same time. All possible outcomes of all possible choices exist at the same time.

How this relate to the LoA I think is that with it we can navigate these universes by conscious choice.

So, does the Universe physically change when we manifest things? Yes and no.

No, because you only shift your conscious focus to one of the other innumerable universes where that particular thing you wanted was.

Yes, subjectively your world changes from worse to better.

I like the check out story, I think it works exactly like that. In a parallel universe there is a free register. You can chose to go there.

[StewartC]

Hi there

I believe there is more to the "Law Of Attraction" than just noticing things you didn't notice before because of maintaining a Positive Mental attitude, and I say this because of personal experience.

In the early 1980's ... before I had any knowledge of Spirituality or the Law of Attraction .... I was able to get a Government permit to put up a telecommunications tower in an area where the government policy was to not allow any more to go up and in fact was to have them pulled down.

At the time I had a Telecommunications business and I just wanted to put up a tower to expand my business, for some reason I can't explain I was just stubbornly trying to get what I wanted, even though it was the opposite of "Reality".

Off the top of my head I can think of at least 6 amazing co incidents that had to happened for me to get the permit.

The Government policy before I got the permit was "No more towers ..the towers that are there are to come down"

The Government policy when I got the permit was "No more towers ..the towers that are there are to come down"

The current Government policy is "No more towers ..the towers that are there are to come down"

My tower is still there to this day ... others towers have come down as per the Government policy and no one else has obtained a permit to put one up.

I was using the Law of Attraction without realising what I was doing.

I can think of other times when the law of attraction has produced amazing results for me ... both good and bad .....

Ten years after getting the permit and erecting the tower I lost everything ... my marriage ... business .... home .... money etc. I even got down to the point where I was living in my car .... and all because I started focusing on what I didn't want.

Earlier this year I bought a copy of "The Secret" and I listened to the sound track of it about 100 times .... and every time I did I heard something I didn't hear before. More importantly I became became consciously aware of the Law Of Attraction and how much I was focusing on what I didn't want in my life.

I now consciously, actively and consistently focus on what I do want in my life and the amazing co incidents are starting again, and my life is changing dramatically for the better.

Stewart