Observation about the LoA

[MacFly]

I noticed something interesting about people who start learning and practicing LoA.

Of course, they get into it because they want something. They want a car, money, health, love. They heard about LoA, they heard things that they can achieve anything, the universe responds, you know.

They ask how it works. And if you tell them an answer like "The LoA will change the way you look at things, you became able to rise against your problems, you'll be an optimists, and you'll easily see the opportunities, and if you act like that, and DO THE HARD WORK, you can achieve anything.", a lot of them become disappointed, because you say they have to actually WORK.

It is really interesting for me. To me, it's totally fits Eckhart Tolle's ego concept.

They not only want the car, they want to have it WITHOUT WORK. But they already work 24/7! They want to have the Secret Key, so they can achieve things more easily, than other people.

If you tell them, that they have to work, and have to take action while they are using LoA, they don't find LoA that interesting anymore.

So it's nothing more, than an ego creating problems. Isn't it a good news that you can have anything with LoA + work?

Then what they want? Sitting in a bedroom, visualizing, and having a million dollar? That is the ONE AND ONLY good thing?

Isn't that crazy in some way?

[Angela]

I vote for this topic as the most often and hotly discussed topic on these forums! ALG, here you go again!

[MacFly]

I'd be glad if it would. I'd like to hear a lot opinions.

[Bradshaw]

Originally Posted by angela

i vote for this topic as the most often and hotly discussed topic on these forums! Alg, here you go again!

Ha ha

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Angela

I vote for this topic as the most often and hotly discussed topic on these forums! ALG, here you go again!

Indeed, which is why I have mostly stopped discussing it and decided to instead focus on the actions.

Many successful people who consciously use LoA will preach, "You don't need actions! You don't need work!" But that doesn't stop them from going to work.

So at the end of the day, if I still see you working (or something you built working for you, like an investment or blog), then it doesn't matter to me if you think you can sit at home all day and expect millions of dollars to flood in, because I see you working. Actions > words.

MacFly, I think Steve said it best: "It's a lot of work to be a good mage."

[Angela]

Originally Posted by MacFly

I'd be glad if it would. I'd like to hear a lot opinions.

I know. And I'll bet plenty of people will oblige you. Have you thumbed through prior I/M threads? It's been discussed a LOT.

[MacFly]

Yeah, exactly.

Plus, I don't see the reason why "work" is a problem. What is wrong with it?

It's funny, people seem to believe the "think-in-the-bedroom-and-be-rich" concept, but when you add "work" to the magic, they don't believe it anymore. They don't care.

Like it wouldn't be a lot better than their daily life.

[Daffy Duck]

Yeah, I think sitting at home all day and doing nothing would be boring. I'd like to contribute something valuable instead.

[cylon]

OP sounds like an egoic rant.

[young]

I love how LoA is manipulated

To get what you want. See for yourself, what is it you really want?

Million dollars?
A sexual relationship?
To be famous?

It's none of that. They simply block your true desire. That desire to feel good, to be happy, to be in peace, to feel secure, to feel powerful, to be whatever. Funny thing is all that is your natural state. The key to be in that natural state is to let go & allow.

If you want to know more, feel free to ask. I'm in a hurry so will leave it at that.

[seirwyn]

You may have to work but you will not have to strive. Thats the difference. No one sits in their house all day. They go out and bump into the opportunities to get what they want. They should be good opportunities that are fun to take on board.
After all, if its all about work then why bother using the LoA at all?
I never strive to get what I want, Im just open to receiving it and taking the opportunities that come my way.

[SimonaRich]

You should take much less action and think positively much more to intentionally use LOA. It is nothing to do with hard work, unless of course you are not used to visualising, which may take some time to develop for you to be able to visualise clearly and for longer than usual.

[pickledonion12]

Of course people don't want to have to WORK at LOA. What would distinguish it from just achieving things through normal, everyday, hard work. If LOA = work = money = new car, then how is that different from just getting a job? Why dress it up in fancy, mystical, mysterious meaning if its really just another term for hard work. Perhaps so that LOA authors can sell lots of books and make a lot of money by appealing to those that want to 'believe' but fail to read the small print that LOA is just another term for 'work hard'?

[cylon]

The work is getting rid of your beliefs that only think struggle and strain are possible. As long as you believe that, that's what you'll get. Some people, do not have those limiting beliefs, so for them, LOA comes pretty easily. Others don't feel comfortable with the idea of being successful, so for them to get rid of that resistance, yeah, that takes a lot of work.

But not action work. Learning to listen to yourself work. Learning to distinguish between your ego and your higher self, learning how to remove limiting beliefs that say you don't deserve success, that it's a dog eat dog world out there. That's what I had to do. Yes, it was "hard work", but rewarding.

If being happy comes easy to you: no hard work. If being happy does not come easy to you: hard work.

And I can guarantee you, the skeptics on here who are making fun of LOA, and saying that it's a big sham, are not happy, or feeling successful. If they were, they would be enjoying their life, appreciating each moment...not taking out their personal problems on strangers online. They are simply expressing their inner turmoil. So I wouldn't expect them to achieve any sort of real, fulfilling success in that mindstate.

[MacFly]

Originally Posted by cylon

And I can guarantee you, the skeptics on here who are making fun of LOA, and saying that it's a big sham, are not happy, or feeling successful. If they were, they would be enjoying their life, appreciating each moment...not taking out their personal problems on strangers online.

And what about LoAers here? they are happy and succesful?

then why they are online, taking out their problems to starngers?

[cylon]

I don't know.... ALG gave you some great info. He didn't seem too upset to me.

Weren't you into LOA just a few months ago? Gave up already? LOL.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by cylon

And I can guarantee you, the skeptics on here who are making fun of LOA, and saying that it's a big sham, are not happy, or feeling successful. If they were, they would be enjoying their life.

Although that's probably often true, I wouldn't bet on that all the time.

That's like a Christian saying, "I guarantee you, the Atheists on this forum are not happy, or feeling successful. If they were, they would be enjoying their life instead of arguing with us."

[cylon]

MacFly, this is advice I gave you only a couple months ago:

Originally Posted by cylon

Do whatever brings you joy. A lot of people experiment with LOA, their ego goes nuts. Their whole model of reality has been challenged, so they leave it for awhile, maybe they come back to it later.

You have years of mental conditioning that you are attempting to change. It's not easy. It's "simple" in the sense that all you have to do is stop worrying and focus on the present moment, but actually doing that can be a challenge.

I've been here for a couple years and have had many ups and downs regarding LOA. Most of the challenges have come from my ego not wanting it to be true, and also thinking, it's too good to be true. That would be conflicting intentions.

So I would say, don't think about LOA. Do stuff that makes you happy. Get busy, work on the things you love, meditate, just do that. Don't even call it anything. That's the state of mind you want to be in anyway for LOA. So just cut out the middle-man.

It's not an intellectual thing, it's an experience. You need to have new experiences. Not just reading books.

One of us is pure idiot (LoA & Me)

I think it still stands.

[MacFly]

Originally Posted by cylon

MacFly, this is advice I gave you only a couple months ago:



One of us is pure idiot (LoA & Me)

I think it still stands.

Yeah you're right. As I just wrote it in the other thread, I'm not a skeptic. All I say, it is not the whole story.

And a lot of people defend it without understanding it.

thank you

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Although that's probably often true, I wouldn't bet on that all the time.

That's like a Christian saying, "I guarantee you, the Atheists on this forum are not happy, or feeling successful. If they were, they would be enjoying their life instead of arguing with us."

True and false, true in the sense that I know you're talking about the other thread to make a point, you bastard.

Thing is most people don't have a history with LOA. The Secret is only a couple years old. There are no churches of LOA that have messed people up from their younger years.

It's about as easygoing and accepting of a belief-system that I can think of. I don't think you could say the same about Christianity.

But, either way, getting rid of limiting beliefs, in an LOA context, is what needs to be done. I'm here to learn and to grow. I'm not here to tell other people they are full of crap. I didn't register at this site to argue. You don't see me on "I Heart the Bible.com" flaming everyone.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by cylon

True and false, true in the sense that I know you're talking about the other thread to make a point, you bastard.

I am indeed a bastard!

But, either way, getting rid of limiting beliefs, in an LOA context, is what needs to be done. I'm here to learn and to grow. I'm not here to tell other people they are full of crap. I didn't register at this site to argue. You don't see me on "I Heart the Bible.com" flaming everyone.

Agreed. There's a big difference between a healthy skeptic and a flaming troll.

[Landi Star]

The MIND-work… the inner work… the exploration and transformation of yourself, of your consciousness… that is the REAL WORK!

When you really see how your thoughts, beliefs and mental states are responsible for the quality and content of your life, you become transformed, empowered and humbled beyond belief. You give up playing victim and making yourself and others miserable. You take responsibility for what goes on in you and in your life and release (from your mind) what doesn’t contribute to wellbeing and the good life.

The more conscious you become (internally) and the more you go beyond the heavy dramas, negativity, inner conflicts and the dark entanglements with others… the more free and lighthearted you become and are then able to fearlessly play with LOA and test (& use) your enormous power responsibly, more effectively and with the good of all in mind.
I’ve been into this stuff for many years and I know how deeply transformative it is.

If you just put your energy mostly in the outer “hard work” (to achieve something) and think that this “hard work” is essential for LOA to work, you never really get to see, or prove to yourself, the power within you and the truth about consciousness.

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by MacFly

I noticed something interesting about people who start learning and practicing LoA.

Of course, they get into it because they want something. They want a car, money, health, love. They heard about LoA, they heard things that they can achieve anything, the universe responds, you know.

They ask how it works. And[...] a lot of them become disappointed, because you say they have to actually WORK.

I think a lot of that comes down to not understanding the nature of the "work" involved.

When dealing with the material world, the inspired action that comes from being in alignment with your desire is a very different thing than WORK. But since very few people can easily bring to mind an example from their own lives of acting from that inspired flow-state, they don't get it. So inspired action sounds like a euphemism for WORK, when you're coming from that perspective.

When LoA teachers talk about getting what you want easily, without having to toil away for it, then turn around and point out that you have to take inspired action, the n00b student hears that you have to WORK. There appears to be a contradiction, and to many people that makes the whole "LoA thing" sound like a bunch of bull served up by scammers and frauds.

The other thing that seems to throw newbies off is the process of inner work that has to take place in order for outer changes to manifest. Replacing self-defeating, limited thought patterns with more open, expansive ones. Experiencing gratitude and love for what you have in the present moment. Letting go of blame, resentment, self-pity, and envy. Coming from joy and pure desire, not fear and desperate need. Accepting full responsibility as creator of your own life. Learning to give freely in order to receive. There's a lot of tearing down of old ego constructs that has to happen as part of becoming an adept at harnessing the LoA, and most people naturally resist that process. I sure as hell did.

I remember reading a book long ago that presented the LoA, and after trying it for a while I decided it was all crap--I wanted what I wanted just by wishing it so.

I wanted to attract success, but still held the ideas that success was about working hard, sacrificing happiness, postponing desires, winning the lottery, and possibly screwing over other people. I wanted money, but at the same time I resented rich people and described them as shallow, materialistic, greedy, and out of touch with reality. I wanted to make a living as an artist, but at the same time thought most popular artists were churning out boring, trite, or ugly schlock. I wanted the power to make all of my dreams come true, but I was still blaming other people and circumstances for my own unhappiness.

And I see people who are just like I was on LoA forums all the time--my experience was normal. They want what they want, but they don't want to (or are afraid to) change themselves in order to align themselves with it. Or maybe they don't believe they really need to. Or maybe they don't comprehend where to begin. They want their lives to become gold, but as long as they remain the same base metal they've always been, that ain't gonna happen. And when the LoA "doesn't work"? They say it's because it doesn't work.

But the LoA n00bs who fall into those traps aren't stupid, shallow, hopeless, or doomed; I was one, and while it took me many years (18 or so ) before I finally "got it," I did.

What I had to get was that the LoA is all about transforming your world by transforming yourself. Or, as Gandhi said, "You must become the change you wish to see in the world." (The dude wasn't kidding.) And once I started that process of inner change, that was when I finally began to understand that taking inspired action was not the same thing as WORK--not at all.

And I am still in the process of getting it, and probably always will be. I've come a very long way in just one year, but every single day I see how much further I could go. There are some limiting ego constructs I don't really want to let go of--not just yet--and I've decided that's okay. I'm aware of them, and when I'm ready, I'll do it.

Then what they want? Sitting in a bedroom, visualizing, and having a million dollar? That is the ONE AND ONLY good thing?

Isn't that crazy in some way?

It's not crazy; it's just a beginners' attempt to identify what they really want. A lot of people are out of touch with their deepest desires, and it takes a while before they can identify the true essence of those desires. So until they learn to do that, they use the most powerful symbols they have at their disposal--money, cars, houses, lovers, etc.

A year or so ago, when I first started to understand the LoA, I tried to manifest $60,000. I visualized the check, imagined myself opening my mailbox and finding it, allowed myself to feel the emotions I would feel upon receiving it.

The check never showed up.

However, the unstated essence of that desire for $60,000 was the ability to finally pay off some major debts, to not worry about money, and to enjoy a feeling of lightness and expansion around money. I wanted to have the feeling that I had enough, and more was always coming. And last month, when I wrote the check that wiped out the last of my debt, I was able to laugh and smile as I did so. I've also spent nearly $3500 on vet bills and various meds for a sick cat in the last two months. And even though my cash reserves are the lowest they have been in a decade, it's okay--I'm not worried about it; I know I can always make more. It's no big deal; it's just money.

So yes, I did the "crazy" thing, asking for a big lump of money to fall out of the sky--and in the end I manifested my truest, deepest desire. And if that can happen for me, there's no reason it can't happen for someone sitting there, imagining what it will be like when they've received a cool million.

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by Landi Star

If you just put your energy mostly in the outer “hard work” (to achieve something) and think that this “hard work” is essential for LOA to work, you never really get to see, or prove to yourself, the power within you and the truth about consciousness.

You always have to be wary of the trap of expecting the cavalry to be anyone but yourself. Am I right?

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by MacFly

I noticed something interesting about people who start learning and practicing LoA.

Of course, they get into it because they want something. They want a car, money, health, love.

That's incorrect. A lot of people who start learning and practising the LOA actually came into it via other paths. In fact, many people learn and practise what in these forums we call the LOA .... but they may never even have heard of the phrase "Law of Attraction".

Because, you see, the so-called practice of the LOA takes many forms. I'll give you one detailed example. In Buddhism:

1. The Buddhist is required to practise something called concentration meditation, to steady his mind and help him focus.

2. Next he is required to learn analytical meditation. While meditating, he will analyse some question to improve his understanding of it. Eg the question may be "Why is compassion for others important?"

3. In meditative state, strong feelings of compassion for others will spontaneously arise in him. He is then required to meditate and concentrate on those feelings.

4. He may then use typical Buddhist prayers such as the one shown here:

May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all sentient beings never be separated from the happiness that is free from suffering.

May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment and anger that holds some close and other distant.

Now I'll translate the Buddhist's steps 1 to 4, into LOA language that you'll be more familiar with.

Step 1 = Go to alpha, focus and concentrate (the Buddhist calls this "concentration meditation").

Step 2 = Get clear on your intention, identify your doubts, deal with your limiting beliefs. (the Buddhist calls this "analytical meditation")

Step 3 = Use positive emotions, when visualising. (this is the second half of analytical meditation, the Buddhist focuses on the feelingst have arisen as a result of the 1st half)

Step 4 = Use positive affirmations. (This is where the Buddhist prayer comes in ... "May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness" etc etc).

Can you now see that what the Buddhist is doing? In our LOA terms, he is manifesting himself compassion & happiness for all living things in the universe. That's his intention. But the method he uses is just based on the same LOA principles and methods that are discussed everyday in these forums.

So to say that everybody who uses the LOA just wants a car, money, health, love for themselves displays, well, a lack of understanding of what the LOA is. Not to mention - it's rather insulting and disrespectful of all those people in the world, whatever religion they follow, who pray for world peace; to help others, etc etc.

[Acting Like Godot]

I'll say this freely -

As the years pass, I have a poorer and poorer opinion of the "virtues" of hard work.

Many people in the world who work very hard are just ineffective and inefficient. I would strongly suggest that they read Steve Pavlina's articles on time management and personal productivity.

I mean his conventional, non-LOA-related articles on time management & personal productivity.

Nobody ever impresses me any more with hard work.

As a corporate person, I am impressed by efficiency, innovativeness, creativity.

I am not impressed with the person who works very hard to complete his tasks through a 10-step process.

Instead I am impressed with the person who comes up with good, sharp, smart ideas to simplify a 10-step process into a 5-step process, and who then gets the same thing accomplished, in half the time.

To everyone (whether you believe in the LOA or not), I say this - Working hard is for horses. Working smart is for human beings!!

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Indeed, which is why I have mostly stopped discussing it and decided to instead focus on the actions.

The actions are important. But they have to be the right actions. And the right actions flow from the right thoughts.

Once upon a time, there was a bumbling idiot at my workplace. She made numerous mistakes in her work, and caused a lot of difficulty and problems for other people. It was a recurring thing. Her boss wanted to fire her.

She came to me for advice, or a consoling ear. She said, "ALG, I've really been trying hard. I work so hard all the time and no one appreciates me. What did I do wrong?"

I did not have the heart to tell her that if she had simply sat still in a corner and done absolutely nothing, then things would be better for everything. The problem was that she was going around, working very hard, and in the process diligently making big mistakes that messed things up for everyone around her.

So I told her:

"This is my advice. BEFORE you start doing your work, sit down and THINK. Use your brain. Plan. Be clear about the issues. You have to learn to ask yourself the right questions, like - what is the situation? What is the problem? What is the solution? How can I help? What info do I need, before I start work?

Instead of just rushing off straightaway to do your work, and making a mess of it."

This was in my pre-LOA days. But looking at it now, I see that it was all LOA too again. You see it, don't you? I told her to THINK. To use her brain. To plan.

And very importantly, to ask the right questions, like what is the situation? what is the issue? why is this happening? what is the solution? Where is the answer? What info do I need? What resources do I need?

Because - this is asking. Ask, and it is given.

Asking is a thought process. Questions are thoughts. Asking is a form of LOA, and asking the right questions is a powerful form of LOA.

As you ask, the universe begins to organise itself to give you the answers. That includes ideas and information, as well as physical resources, as well as the synchronicities that bring you at the right time to the right place.

But. You. Have. To. Ask. First.

People who work hard are often people who don't know what to do. That makes sense, doesn't it? Given the exact same problem, if I knew what to do, but you didn't, then I might take 10 minutes to solve the problem, but you would take 5 hours. Sure, you're more "hardworking". But I don't think you deserve any prizes for that, LOL.

With the LOA, you'll understand that you are a bigger self than you ordinarily perceive yourself to be. You don't have to work hard, because you're connected with the rest of the universe. You aren't just your own two hands, two legs, one mouth and so on.

There are resources, information, ideas and all sorts of other stuff out there, and it's all a part of you. When you relax, meditate and connect to that greater space, you aren't just lying on your bed being a lazy vegetable. You're really connecting to the universe and attracting, organising and creating all your solutions and resources.

That's what the noobs don't understand. If they saw Buddha meditating under the bodhi tree or Jesus praying in the desert, they'd say: "What a lazy bum. He's going to do this for 40 days? Why doesn't he go do some real work."

[Daffy Duck]

Sure, there is a planning phase. In software development with my team, we often spend more time planning a good design (thought), so that it works better and is quicker to program (work). If we go in without a plan, it will be a disaster.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

In software development with my team, we often spend more time planning a good design (thought), so that it works better and is quicker to program (work).

The thought is everything. If any action follows, it is merely the result of the thought. That's why the most important thing is to get the thought right.

People who work very hard without getting anything much done are people who do not have a clear idea about what they actually want to accomplish. It follows very naturally, from LOA principles, that the outcome of their effort is muddy. If your thoughts are unclear, then the reality that shows up is also unclear.

Since you are in software development, you probably know the GIGO principle. Garbage in, garbage out. You input garbage data into the computer, and you get garbage results. Same with your mind and reality. Think stupid thoughts, and you'll do stupid things. It follows that you get stupid results.

The thought is everything. Get that right, and the rest follows.

In the book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey writes that one of the seven habits is - Begin With The End in Mind. Covey's book isn't a LOA book. But there he is - in his own conventional way, he found a basic, fundamental LOA principle.

You must begin with the end in mind.

Let's try that again, with different emphasis.

You must begin with the end in mind.

Right from the start, your desired outcome must be in mind, in your mind, before it can exist in your external reality. The thought is everything.

[Dharma]

Originally Posted by seirwyn

I never strive to get what I want, Im just open to receiving it and taking the opportunities that come my way.

** Smartest thing said in this thread by far. Thank you for your clarity.