My conversation with James Ray of The Secret

[Savage]

This morning I had a great phone conversation with James Ray (James Ray International | Create wealth in all areas of your life: Financial, Relational, Intellectual, Physical and Spiritual. Practical results through spiritual growth.), one of the people who appeared in The Secret. He's the second cast member I've had a chance to speak with directly; the other was John Assaraf (Home - OneCoach).

One topic James and I discussed was how intention relates to direct action. A lot of people seem to think that you can just sit on your couch intending good things to arrive while behaving like a lazy bum. James' response to that was (I'm paraphrasing): "Do that and you'll lose your furniture AND your house. Soon you'll be doing your intentions from a park bench."

James said one of the problems with The Secret and similar products is the speakers who talk about the LoA professionally aren't fully aware of all the factors that contribute to their results. Often they downplay or fail to stress the importance of action because it's automatic for them. They're so inspired by their work that they don't feel like they're working at all, even though they may be putting in long hours. They've developed unconscious competence with the action part, so they end up taking it for granted. The problem is made worse when infomercial-style marketing is then applied to those products.

Another topic we discussed was the difference between knowing something intellectually and really owning it as part of your identity, like knowing how to eat and exercise vs. actually using that knowledge to become healthy and fit.

I really enjoyed talking to James, and his background reflects many of my own lessons and insights. We seemed to be in complete agreement on the importance of blending focused intention with practical action. Your thoughts, feelings, and actions must be aligned to produce results.

As soon as we can arrange it, I'll be doing an interview with James to be posted in the blog. If you're familiar with The Secret and/or James' work and want to suggest interview questions for me to ask him, please feel free. I'll see what I can do to work the best ones in.

[Alex]

Great post Steve. This is exactly the way I've perceived LoA/The Secret. I was very puzzled how some people believed simply intending something would create a change in their lives. For me the LoA without action is an empty promise. I believe the LoA serves a similar role to praying and visualizing... if you believe someone/something out there is helping you then you'll be more motivated to start your action and it won't seem like a chore to you.

Ask James what he considers to be the best way to turn The Secret into The Action?

Thanks Steve!

[impaul99]

Originally Posted by Alex

Great post Steve. This is exactly the way I've perceived LoA/The Secret. I was very puzzled how some people believed simply intending something would create a change in their lives. For me the LoA without action is an empty promise. I believe the LoA serves a similar role to praying and visualizing... if you believe someone/something out there is helping you then you'll be more motivated to start your action and it won't seem like a chore to you.

Ask James what he considers to be the best way to turn The Secret into The Action?

Thanks Steve!

Last night I wrote an article on what has worked for me all along as far as taking action. I hope it helps some to understand better. It can be found here: Getting the Law of Attraction Working for You

[Iamsuperman]

Possible question - "What's the best way to really get the emotion (or burning desire) involved in your intentions?"

[PMcDonald]

That is awesome Steve!

I agree with what has been said here. Many people that do not fully understand the secret and who have not studied personal development are quick to discredit intention manifestation and the LoA because there is a disconnect between intending something and taking actions to manifest it. Search out business or ideas or ways of earning money, and act when your intuition tells you. Obviously, one is not going to make a million bucks by just wishing it.

Although, I must admit - that would be nice

[TheColonel]

Originally Posted by Iamsuperman

Possible question - "What's the best way to really get the emotion (or burning desire) involved in your intentions?"

I'm not a star of The Secret, but have you tried Extreme Gratitude?

A gentleman I know who's had incredible success with LoA for years suggested doing this:

Summon the most profound feeling of gratitude that you can. The kind of gratitude you might feel if someone saved your child from drowning. The kind of gratitude you might feel if somebody suprised you by paying off your house or car.

Now, transfer that feeling to the presumption that God/The Universe has just granted you your intention. It's not only on the way, it's beginning to appear already...It's REAL.

Be overcome - to the point of tears - with Extreme, emotional Gratitude. Do this for 15 minutes at a time several times a day.

My colleague manifested $60,000 in unexpected income in less than 3 weeks with this technique.

[Acting Like Godot]

My two cents' worth.

To consciously apply the Law of Attraction, you need to be clear about your intention. Then you need to have a strong intention.

There is a simple consequence of having a strong intention. If you genuinely have a strong intention, you will naturally take action to fulfill it.

Some people would say, "IM is false because if it were true and I very strongly intended to have a cup of coffee, it would just appear out of thin air, and that just isn't possible."

I would say that this is indeed unlikely to happen. For if you had a very strong intention to drink coffee, you would certainly go to the kitchen and straightaway make a cup of coffee for yourself. So yes, your intention would manifest into reality. And there is no need for cups of coffee to appear out of thin air.

That said - I believe that the universe does respond to your intentions. When you have a strong intention, then quite apart from things that you can do with your own eyes, mouth, hands, body etc (in other words, personal actions), things will occur in the universe to help that intention become fulfilled.

[Healthyfit]

What about

"Don't worry about the how?" Focus on visualizing the results, don't get boggled down about how you will achieve your goal

I am paraphrasing but I have seen this over and over in LOA articles, books, movies

[PMcDonald]

Originally Posted by Healthyfit

What about

"Don't worry about the how?" Focus on visualizing the results, don't get boggled down about how you will achieve your goal

I am paraphrasing but I have seen this over and over in LOA articles, books, movies

Great Point!

Don't worry about the why, just get super clear on the why.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by PMcDonald

Great Point!

Don't worry about the why, just get super clear on the why.

I think you meant to say "Don't worry about the how, just get super clear on the why."

[The Protagonist]

g'day Mr. Pavlina

One topic James and I discussed was how intention relates to direct action. A lot of people seem to think that you can just sit on your couch intending good things to arrive while behaving like a lazy bum. James' response to that was (I'm paraphrasing): "Do that and you'll lose your furniture AND your house. Soon you'll be doing your intentions from a park bench."

James said one of the problems with The Secret and similar products is the speakers who talk about the LoA professionally aren't fully aware of all the factors that contribute to their results. Often they downplay or fail to stress the importance of action because it's automatic for them. They're so inspired by their work that they don't feel like they're working at all, even though they may be putting in long hours. They've developed unconscious competence with the action part, so they end up taking it for granted. The problem is made worse when infomercial-style marketing is then applied to those products.

Waitt, action? I was reading esther hicks book and I thought it's just a matter of putting your self in the same vibration as what you want, right? Say I want to manifest a car, what sort of action would be required here other than putting your mind into the same vibrationals of harmoney to attract the car?

[Erin Pavlina]

It's like the story of the guy who intended to win the lottery and told God to please let him win the lottery. Week after week he didn't win. Finally he complained to God who said, "Well, meet me halfway. Buy a ticket!"

Intend, yes. But taking some action is often required too.

[Akashic_Librarian]

Haha Erin thats a good story. I will use that one...

I was a little confused at first with Intention Manifestation, I just thought, so all i have to do is Intend, oh ok. Then nothing happened....and nothing happened....so I intended some more and sat back...and nothing happened...and nothing happened...are you beginning to see the pattern here?

Well then i discovered you need action Duhhh....


So I put some action behind it and Voila an intention manifested within 10minutes

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Akashic_Librarian

I was a little confused at first with Intention Manifestation, I just thought, so all i have to do is Intend, oh ok.

I have to say this - sometimes that's the way it works. All you have to do is intend.

I gave a personal example in this forum recently. I manifested the intention to speak at an international conference (any international conference). Seven days later, out of the blue, the invitation came to me.

In those seven days, I hadn't yet actually got around to doing anything whatsoever, to get myself invited to anywhere. But it came.

Of course, if it had not come so quickly, I would have eventually gotten around to doing something. But because it came so quickly, no action was actually required on my part.

Except to say "yes" to the invitation.

=============

The point which some people are struggling with in this discussion is actually quite basic. Their error is that they've forgotten that they are real. Their words, their actions, their physical bodies - all of those are part of reality.

Thoughts affect reality. Intentions are thoughts. If you genuinely have strong intentions, reality must change. Reality is made up of many things but it certainly includes your own words, your own actions, your own body.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by The Protagonist

Waitt, action? I was reading esther hicks book and I thought it's just a matter of putting your self in the same vibration as what you want, right? Say I want to manifest a car, what sort of action would be required here other than putting your mind into the same vibrational of harmony to attract the car?

I haven't read the book you refer to (I assume you mean Ask and It Is Given -- correct me if I'm wrong), but it seems you are making the assumption that taking action isn't part of the process of "putting yourself in the same vibration as what you want". Could that be an erroneous assumption?

Food for thought.

And for those of you who have been thinking that action isn't all that important when it comes to the Law of Attraction, I've coined a new phrase for you:

You can't spell Law of Attraction without Action!™

[alexb5784]

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

You can't spell Law of Attraction without Action!™

I love that!

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

I haven't read the book you refer to (I assume you mean Ask and It Is Given -- correct me if I'm wrong

If memory serves me correctly, Abraham never said that action is unnecessary.

In fact, Abraham specifically said that action is very important in our physical reality. (This point was made in contrast to Abraham's non-physical reality, where he said that thoughts manifest almost instantaneously because time operates differently).

What Abraham said was that there is no need to strive so hard for anything that you, for instance, suffer because of stress, overwork etc etc. He referred to examples of people who strove very hard in their careers and ended up falling ill and having to go to hospital to "compensate" - Abraham's word.

Abraham talked of using IM to "prepave the way" - again, this was his phrase. What it suggests is that you're moving on the path towards your goal, but progress will be much smoother because you've already used IM to "prepave the way". You still gotta move your legs and walk along the path though.

[Bruce Achterberg]

If any of you are looking for more info on the whole Law of Attraction + taking action concept, have a listen to Steve's podcast #16, The True Nature of Reality.

The whole podcast is good (at least, I think so), although it's pretty lengthy at just over an hour long, and when it comes to what we're discussing here (Law of Attraction + taking action), there's only one part that's highly relevant. I'd post a transcript for that part but I think you'll get more benefit from hearing Steve say it himself with his actual voice. Why? Listen to it and find out!

If you'd like to skip to the relevant part, and if your playing the podcast directly through your web browser, move the navigation slider (it has the mouse over text "set track position") to the position of approx. 48.35 and listen until about 51:40.

If you downloaded the podcast and are playing it through an audio player, since the time seems to be offset a bit compared to playing the podcast through your browser (at least it is for me), move the slider until you get to about 48:40 and listen until about 52.00.

Note: I did my best to give accurate position values. The exact positions may vary depending on the audio player you use, but basically you want to listen from when Steve says "Another consequence, and this seems a little contradictory, is I take more action now...", and you want to stop listening when Steve starts talking about "responsibility"). I use RealPlayer for playing audio/video files, although I recommend that you don't and use YPlay instead (if you just want to listen to audio that is... Windows Media Player is probably better if you want both audio/video functionality, but eh, I don't think that's a very good option either, it's just not a bad option. And yes, I'm picky when it comes to media players -- most of them are poorly designed and just poor in general).

[Lil Chris]

When i think of something just appearing "out of thin air" for me, what that means is... Let's say I wanted a cup of coffee (I have the thought I'd like a cup of coffee) then shortly thereafter someone offers me a cup. To me that is still out of thin air, as I didn't take action to get it, it came to me by means of another person (I ATTRACTED IT)... I get the impression some folks think it means like startrek "materalizing" magically (i closed my eyes, then opened them and there was the cup of coffee). Although, I believe this is still possible just not in the direct hollywood special effects way. What I mean by that is, one night i was sitting here thinking about doing a project involving CD's (compact discs like a music cd), and i got off into this really super deep thought if i should do it or not (it lasted about 5 minutes or so) upon coming out of this trance like state, i had to use the bathroom. Upon passing the front door to my apartment, i noticed that there was something under the door, it was a Guns and roses CD titled "USE YOUR ILLUSION" (just the cd, no case and it was unplayable due to being all scratched up). Now did this come to me out of thin air, yes! but i think that it had to come in such a way that I could justify it. (ex. oh that was just a coincidence, or that was wierd or who did this etc, etc...) I think if it would just *poof* appeared in front of me i would have had a heart attack, and not have been able to justify it happening...

Did i take any action...? No! I attracted what I was thinking about, an answer to my thought question. I do believe there is something involved in the way to get it to work, whether it be focus, desire, some kind of connection of some sort... Deeper that just the ramblings in my conscious mind...

I do feel action is sometimes required as well, but if action is required on my part i will know it (by the way things transpire). For ex. if i wanted to ATTRACT 1 million dollars right now, I would not know what action to take as i'm not a millionaire and have not done that before. I would have to be shown a way, by that i mean the "reality" would have to give me clear "clues" as to what action to take to accomplish what i wanted... or with concentrated focused thought about having 1 million dollars "reality" would realign itself to bring me the million dollars (like the CD).

Just my thoughts on the matter...

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

If memory serves me correctly, Abraham never said that action is unnecessary.

In fact, Abraham specifically said that action is very important in our physical reality. (This point was made in contrast to Abraham's non-physical reality, where he said that thoughts manifest almost instantaneously because time operates differently).

Well there you go, The Protagonist. Assuming you were referencing Ask and It Is Given in your above post, perhaps you should re-read the book to cover anything you may have missed/misunderstood/misinterpreted.

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

What Abraham said was that there is no need to strive so hard for anything that you, for instance, suffer because of stress, overwork etc etc. He referred to examples of people who strove very hard in their careers and ended up falling ill and having to go to hospital to "compensate" - Abraham's word.

Abraham talked of using IM to "prepave the way" - again, this was his phrase. What it suggests is that you're moving on the path towards your goal, but progress will be much smoother because you've already used IM to "prepave the way". You still gotta move your legs and walk along the path though.

Hmmm, those phrases sound familiar (although not nearly as good as the one I came up with in my post above ). I think I remember hearing them from the audio files at the Abraham-Hicks website:

Abraham-Hicks Free MP3 Downloads

...which, for those who don't know, is the website of Esther Hicks, the author of Ask and It Is Given, and the woman who apparently channels the collective being, "Abraham".

To quote the website:

Here are free MP3 downloads of all the tracks from the CD "Introduction to Abraham." It's easy. On most computers, no special software or equipment is needed [to play the audio files].

Click on the track title to listen once. Or save the file for repeated listening, burning to CD, or loading to an MP3 player. Right click on the track title (Windows Internet Explorer), or hold the control key and click (on a Macintosh), and choose from the menu "Save Target As", "Download Link to Disk", or (Macintosh) "Open With iTunes".

I found listening to the files somewhat interesting (not very interesting, just somewhat), although I don't like the "matter-of-fact" approach Abraham uses which, for me at least, tends to cheapen his/her/it's message. For a collective being from the non-physical realm, I'd expect him/her/it to be much more 1337 (or "elite", for you poor, 1337 speak deprived individuals), or at the very least, more descriptive and in-depth then he/she/it is (ie. I don't just want to know how you think something works, I want to know why you think it works).

Either way, if you haven't listened to the audio files before and are interested in intention manifestation/the Law of Attraction, you may want to check them out. And I'll reserve further judgement on "Abraham" until I've read/heard more of his/her/it's channelled material, lest he/she/it smite me down from the non-physical realm.

[LillyoftheValley]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

It's like the story of the guy who intended to win the lottery and told God to please let him win the lottery. Week after week he didn't win. Finally he complained to God who said, "Well, meet me halfway. Buy a ticket!"

Intend, yes. But taking some action is often required too.

This is great - just this afternoon I was thinking about this story (which is about the same time you typed it)!
I first heard it when I was very little, 4 or so - it was a joke of my parent's. (I remember it because it still is) I thought at the time ''God must have been so annoyed by this man's frequent praying, to come down only to tell him that'' (Back then God was a skinny Santa in the sky wearing a cloth)

Later in my teens, I started noticing that everything I get or happen to me was something I thought of not long ago. And then when I read The Alchemist (like any other young hippie), the sentence ''When you truly want something, the whole Universe alligns itself for you to get it'' really resonated with me and I was all like ''Aha! I knew it!''

What I know to be true is this:
LoA works with me every time I truly, deeply, honestly, pure-heartedly, whole heartedly, childlike-ly WANT IT.
Whether I acted upon it or not varies between me working for it and me bending down to pick it up. Either way, I got what I wanted.

Law of attrACTION - GREAT STUFF!

[impaul99]

I think it's worth to also understand that thinking, writing, speaking, smiling etc. are all actions, not just "working".

Meaning, if you intend to manifest $10k, and all of a sudden the phone rings, the action you might need to take is simply to talk to the person. Or perhaps you're jogging and you get the "urge" to go a different path and you run into someone who is instrumental in manifesting your $10k.

Replying to this message, for me is "action" for example. So there is very little we can really do in life without taking action. The trick is take the right kind of action after we set an intention. Even the smallest things matter.

[dorothy hanna]

I get James Rays point of sitting around on the couch like a bum, and thinking your going to just think, and manifest, with no action.

But, it seems to me the point of LOA is that, no one, who really thought it worked at all, would just sit, around, like a bum, and really think that something was going to happen, nor would this type of person really be looking for anything to happen. Sitting around, like a bum, is the manifestation, of that type of action, and that kind of thought/feeling that a bum would do, think, and feel.

A bum could learn all the terminology, and the concept, but, being a bum, they wll do/think/feel as a bum. And they'd manifest that for themselves.
So, don't use a bum, sitting around on the couch, as to reason out that some action is needed, in order to be successful with LOA. The bum is busy being, and acting like what he/she wants. To be a bum.

[Allison]

Wow, that's awesome.

Steve, I didn't read this thread until after posting my own review of the Secret on my own site, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it very closely resembled an infomercial. And I'm glad to know that even people who were part of the film realize the film's limitations. I had a feeling much of the problem was with the producers & editors, though some of the teachers themselves did make me want to smash the TV (not really, but you know). James Ray probably wasn't one of them. He seems like one of the smarter of the bunch.

[Lil Chris]

It would be interesting to note here that, The individual (you) descides wether action is required. Meaning that if you feel physical action is required for IM to work... It will be required.

We are talking about the universe aren't we, I would think there are no limits to what the universal forces can do. Including delivering unto me the things I request/require... I'm physically impared and currently don't get out much, yet life still happens. There isn't much action on my part, yet things still show up for me... Thought is a form of action... In my mind.

And truely all that matters is what I think, believe and experience...

Ask yourself... Is what you're currently thinking, Limiting...? The only limits in this world are the ones you place on yourself or accecpt to believe...

[Lallymac]

This same issue has come up for debate around my dining room with friends since 'The Secret' has been passed around because the appears a wee bit contradictory on this point. I don't think there is one single answer to it. It appears to me that the more in 'zone' we are and the more closely our intentions are aligned with your own truth, the more rapidly you're able to manifest. Passion appears to a be a major key.
In saying that though we are also able to reprogram the part of our mind that stores emotional responses and reactions.
Let me give you an example.
15 yrs ago I did a day course ( the Miracle of Metaphysics) with a man called Robert Stone who wrote 'You the Healer.' Bob must have been in his early 70's and I remember him shuffling through the 150 plus (mainly business) people in the hotel conference room, wearing scruffy cords and tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows. My Dad had dragged me along and I had no idea what it was about. I groaned thinking 'This is going to be a looong day.'
How wrong I was. Bob took us through a series of exercises (roaring at each other like lions) to break down barriers, then, in and out of meditative states. He had us think of an issue in our lives that was creating a problems for us. I was newly separated, living on a tight budget and it was a few weeks before xmas. My three kids had expectations of gifts outside my ability to deliver. I was feeling vulnerable and not wanting to dissapoint them. He had us experience (associate into) that negative feeling. Then he used time line therapy to take us to a time in our lives when we felt the exact opposite and associate fully into that feeling. In meditation, he had us create a symbol for the new positive feelings/sensations. Mine was my kids leaping in the air with excitement as they unwrapped their presents. Everytime we felt the negative feeling we were to bring up the symbol and it would unleash all the senations. Simple...?? I can honestly tell you that I didn't believe it could change anything but I played the game for next couple of weeks because it felt a heck of lot better than the awful feelings I'd had before.

[Lallymac]

Now, this is the amazing part. I couldn't believe it. Firstly my son wanted a technics Lego set that was $260 (way out of my league). It was a specific set. Just before the end of school I got a call from the the school office to say I'd won the raffle. I bought the ticket at a fair earlier and hadn't seen the prize. it was the exact set he wanted. I got a xmas card with no return address. Inside the card said 'To John from Aunty Beryl.' No surname and a $50 note. After searching the neighbourhood for John it was 'Thank You' Auntie Beryl. The one that really got me though was a letter from the bank. It went my parents house and was a statement from account I'd had as a teenager. I'd fallen madly in love :-) with a South African boy out here on holiday. We'd opened an account jointly and severally so we could both put money in for a summer holiday for me to visit him. A couple of months after he left I fell madly in love someone else. I'd ditched the bank book not checking the balance and thinking I couldn't access it anyway. It had $860.00 in it. I took the statement to the bank and told the teller the story. She checked with the manager and they agreed that if I could sign my name the same as my signature in the book they'd release the money.
The point is that the only thing I changed were my feelings about the situation and the magic happened
Lallymac

[alexb5784]

Originally Posted by Bruce Achterberg

If you downloaded the podcast and are playing it through an audio player, since the time seems to be offset a bit compared to playing the podcast through your browser (at least it is for me), move the slider until you get to about 48:40 and listen until about 52.00.[

I found this part of the podcast to be very helpful. I've listened to it a few times and it really has made things clearer for me. Thanks for your tip!

[Debra Moorhead]

Paul – Excellent post. You turned my day around.

Bruce –love the phrase – I’m going to quote you.

Lil Chris – thanks for sharing your experiences. You opened my mind.

Now, Steve, getting back to your original inquiry, here's a question I'd like you to ask James:

How important is the utilization of Feng Shui in the LoA process?

I would like a specific as possible answer, not the usual mumbo-jumbo stuff like, 'well, you need to surround yourself with a positive environment and positive people,' yadda, yadda, yadda. Do I need to spend $1,000 on a CD series by Marie Diamond or not?

[Brendon Colby]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

One topic James and I discussed was how intention relates to direct action.

That might be true in the experience you have deliberately created.