How Compatible is LoA with Religion?

[joyceychen]

hello everyone, I'm Joyce and am in Kenny Hsia's class. as i was discussing the validity of the LoA with my classmates and with people on other forums, i started to wonder how compatible the LoA and religions were. i noticed that there are several threads here that mentioned the LoA possibly being its own religion. or does is it actually not and can go along with the ideals in religions, like Christianity? (if we can manifest our own reality, then isnt that saying we are each "God"?)


(sorry if religion isnt something I should be bringing up)

[WordKeeper]

joyceychen - you ask a question that could have as many answers as there are people. I am a christian and I accept the aspects of LoA that fit my theology. I personally don't believe that we manifest our own reality. My view is that as I tap into a higher consciousness that is God that I then tap into the gifts and abundance that God has for each and everyone of us. In that way, when my intentions align with God's the manifestation is really a materialization of what already exists for me in the spiritual realm. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Daffy Duck]

Christianity:
The Bible tells us that "as a man thinketh, so is he."

Buddhism:
The Dalai Lama says, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world."

I could keep going but I'll just say my main point: all major religions already reflect the idea that our thoughts create our internal and external reality. They each may have different theories "how" it works, but no one denies that it does work.

[magenta]

Originally Posted by joyceychen

hello everyone, I'm Joyce and am in Kenny Hsia's class. as i was discussing the validity of the LoA with my classmates and with people on other forums, i started to wonder how compatible the LoA and religions were. i noticed that there are several threads here that mentioned the LoA possibly being its own religion. or does is it actually not and can go along with the ideals in religions, like Christianity? (if we can manifest our own reality, then isnt that saying we are each "God"?)


(sorry if religion isnt something I should be bringing up)

Who's Kenny Hsia?

I used to be an agnostic when I was a kid, even though my parents were Christian. Then, I became a fairly devout non-denominational Christian. Now...not so much. I'm starting to lean towards God being Energy. I'm being more scientific now.

I believe in LOA. It doesn't matter if I believe or not, really. It's going to happen whether I know it or not.

Religions usually state that God is a person, more or less. I don't think it is. A Higher "Power"...yes. But power, not person.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by magenta

Who's Kenny Hsia?

The OP of this thread

[cheropride]

I am a Christian, and I have read the Bible. So as I study the Law of Attraction, I constantly question how this fits into my belief of God. And it's funny, as soon as I do, so many verse come to me. But all in all, when you read Jesus' teaching, he preached Love, Faith, and Hope. How many times does He tell us not to worry, and to faith, or we are healed according to our faith(belief); and if we had enough faith, we could literally move mountains. Jesus was surely trying to tell us something, that until I starting reading and learning more about LOA, did it really all come full circle for me.

So for me it fits right in. As previously posted, a man becomes what he thinkths. I have been reading so many books lately, and just last night, I come to the understand that I need to re-read the New Testament, bcz I really believe that I would understand it in a whole new way....

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Daffy Duck

Buddhism:
The Dalai Lama says, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world."

Actually it was the Buddha who said that, not the Dalai Lama.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by joyceychen

(if we can manifest our own reality, then isnt that saying we are each "God"?)

Yes, or that we are the children of God, or that God is inside us, or that God is everywhere and everything and therefore must be us too.

[Dreamline]

I think LOA fits into my idea of spirituality but it's not a religion. I suppose people that desperately NEED a religion in their lives can create one around LOA just as easily as around a cool dude who supposedly walked on water.

But in essense, it's a tool, not a religion.

Jennifer

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by joyceychen

can it go along with the ideals in religions, like Christianity?

Christianity? Isn't that the one which comes with the thick heavy book whose very first chapter gives an example of the LOA/IM at work?

"Let there be light ..."

[Dreamline]

I thought that was the thick heavy book whose beginning supported that Kabbalah was real.

Jennifer

[joelr]

Originally Posted by joyceychen

hello everyone, I'm Joyce and am in Kenny Hsia's class. as i was discussing the validity of the LoA with my classmates and with people on other forums, i started to wonder how compatible the LoA and religions were. i noticed that there are several threads here that mentioned the LoA possibly being its own religion. or does is it actually not and can go along with the ideals in religions, like Christianity? (if we can manifest our own reality, then isnt that saying we are each "God"?)


(sorry if religion isnt something I should be bringing up)

It's pretty compatible with Christianity if taken as mythology but to a fundamentalist it isn't.
Buddhisms central idea is giving up desire and fear but it IS ok to go with the flow of the natural world. So creating things is probably ok as long as you are not attached in the way your ego wants to be or having a fear of losing them.

[themaster]

How Compatible is LoA with Religion?

Very and not very.. it depends on the definitions of the people looking at it.. it almost depends on how they feel about it..
if they feel negatively than = no
if they feel positively than = yes

I can easily see a devout christian (as we have had many examples off, here)
- Claiming it's not..

I can easily see a easy going christian..
- As seeing it is

The christian reference was provided as a example I know to exist in my reality
I think it very compatible to the atheist/science religion too, at least for me it was.. depending again on your definition

Thanks and party on dudes!

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Actually it was the Buddha who said that, not the Dalai Lama.

I bet the Dalai Lama might have said it once in his life as well.

[noice]

Yeah its definitely a part of most religions. I don't know too much about other religions, but Catholicism definitely reflects LoA. It tells you to be thankful for everything and God will provide. It says that if you pray for something hard enough, it will come to you. So most religions are probably on the right track they just put it in a different way because that is simply the way they think it works.

[Dreamline]

The Bible is thick with LOA-ish lessons and sayings. But that's simply because the earliest forms of historical LOA were from the same times and texts and thinkers as those included in the Bible. So people may mistake the tool or task for religion. People mistake many things for a religion, so that is not surprising.

Jennifer

[Acting Like Godot]

Central tenet of Christianity is based on LOA/IM.

"Believe in Jesus as your Saviour, and you will be saved".

Once again, the proposition is that the belief will create the reality. Of course, this particular version also requires you to believe that there is something you need to be saved from.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by joelr

Buddhisms central idea is giving up desire and fear but it IS ok to go with the flow of the natural world. So creating things is probably ok as long as you are not attached in the way your ego wants to be or having a fear of losing them.

Right .... and in fact, it's standard advice in LOA theory that you also have to detach from your desires.

[smartile]

Originally Posted by joyceychen

(if we can manifest our own reality, then isnt that saying we are each "God"?)

Yes, you are in a sense a co-creator. You create everything in your reality.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by joelr

Buddhisms central idea is giving up desire and fear but it IS ok to go with the flow of the natural world. So creating things is probably ok as long as you are not attached in the way your ego wants to be or having a fear of losing them.

In a nutshell, Buddhism:

(1) offers a path towards attaining a permanent, everlasting happiness;

(2) indicates that the very vast majority of us do not enjoy this kind of happiness; AND

(3) explains that the reason why we do not enjoy this kind of happiness is that we human beings continuously misapprehend/misunderstand the nature of reality.

And the discussion of Point 3 - especially about how we typically misapprehend / misunderstand the nature of reality - is where the story of LOA ties in with the story of Buddhism.

[seirwyn]

I think that God is in control of everything but that he/she gives us a lot of choice about what we wnat in our lives. Sometimes it is a case of destiny and Gods plan but what a lot of religious people dont understand is that it would seem that God lets us decide our own destiny a lot of the time.

[joyceychen]

thanks for all your replies so far, everyone!

Originally Posted by cheropride

I am a Christian, and I have read the Bible. So as I study the Law of Attraction, I constantly question how this fits into my belief of God. And it's funny, as soon as I do, so many verse come to me. But all in all, when you read Jesus' teaching, he preached Love, Faith, and Hope. How many times does He tell us not to worry, and to faith, or we are healed according to our faith(belief); and if we had enough faith, we could literally move mountains. Jesus was surely trying to tell us something, that until I starting reading and learning more about LOA, did it really all come full circle for me.

So for me it fits right in. As previously posted, a man becomes what he thinkths. I have been reading so many books lately, and just last night, I come to the understand that I need to re-read the New Testament, bcz I really believe that I would understand it in a whole new way....

hm...can you elaborate on this?

I think that God is in control of everything but that he/she gives us a lot of choice about what we wnat in our lives. Sometimes it is a case of destiny and Gods plan but what a lot of religious people dont understand is that it would seem that God lets us decide our own destiny a lot of the time.

so God's got several plan and he also lets us choose which one?

[joelr]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

In a nutshell, Buddhism:

(1) offers a path towards attaining a permanent, everlasting happiness;

(2) indicates that the very vast majority of us do not enjoy this kind of happiness; AND

(3) explains that the reason why we do not enjoy this kind of happiness is that we human beings continuously misapprehend/misunderstand the nature of reality.

And the discussion of Point 3 - especially about how we typically misapprehend / misunderstand the nature of reality - is where the story of LOA ties in with the story of Buddhism.

Yes I agree.
Buddhism is compatible with LOA in the newer teachings. Originally it was interpreted as a monastic philosophy - quitting the world -but like karmic yoga from Hinduism a new movement began of living in the world but without desire or fear. Simply "in action". Once you have abandoned the world of desire/fear there is a psychological shift to dropping the ego attitude and acting in spontaneity - like Christ said about the Lilies in the field, they just "are".

In China Wu Wei arose which is the same thing, non-ethic action without striving - letting your life just roll.

These ideas allow for creation of things with LOA. The earlier monks, called "Jane" I think had the idea of separating from the physical world. Sometimes that old school philosophy is mistaken for modern Buddhism where I see folks attempting to renounce the physical world.

[Jeni]

Originally Posted by WordKeeper

joyceychen - you ask a question that could have as many answers as there are people. I am a christian and I accept the aspects of LoA that fit my theology. I personally don't believe that we manifest our own reality. My view is that as I tap into a higher consciousness that is God that I then tap into the gifts and abundance that God has for each and everyone of us. In that way, when my intentions align with God's the manifestation is really a materialization of what already exists for me in the spiritual realm. Just my 2 cents worth.

There is a great book by a woman named Sasha Xarrian who I think You'd love. Here's the link to it. RecieveMiracles.com and Sasha Xarrian Help You Use the Law of Attraction

It really goes along with what you're saying. I absolutely loved this book. It really opened my eyes up to a different way of thinking about the LOA

[joelr]

Originally Posted by WordKeeper

joyceychen - you ask a question that could have as many answers as there are people. I am a christian and I accept the aspects of LoA that fit my theology. I personally don't believe that we manifest our own reality. My view is that as I tap into a higher consciousness that is God that I then tap into the gifts and abundance that God has for each and everyone of us. In that way, when my intentions align with God's the manifestation is really a materialization of what already exists for me in the spiritual realm. Just my 2 cents worth.

Right but with that model how do you account for all the "negative" manifestations? Especially large scale events where say someone is looking to manifest power for the sake of conquering others?

[loic]

Taoism (in which Wu Wei is a central concept) is also very compatible. I might even say that LOA is just kinda Taoism for occidental people isn't it?

To me LOA is just a hype word for concepts already presents in several religions.

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by loic

I might even say that LOA is just kinda Taoism for occidental people isn't it?

Surely you don't mean.... oh, forgive me for indulging the painfully obvious pun...

"The Occidental Taoist"?

[loic]

Ah ah .

Not, but really.

I have the feeling the LOA is just bits of oriental wisdom neatly marketed. Which doesn't make it less good or true, but still, I'd rather tap on thousand years old traditions that a decade old concept which is a stripped down version of the original teachings.

But then again it's like the Harry Potter books. If it makes reading popular for kids, so be it. It's even pretty good anyway. Just remember there are masterpieces out there that are less accessible, but even more rewarding.

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by loic

But then again it's like the Harry Potter books. If it makes reading popular for kids, so be it. It's even pretty good anyway. Just remember there are masterpieces out there that are less accessible, but even more rewarding.

If you don't know how to ride a bike, training wheels are a good thing