What is the Law of Attraction?
The Law of Attraction, in a nutshell, says that if we think, and or feel positive, we attract (more) positive things (events, people, feelings) into our lives; whereas if we think, and or feel negative, we attract (more) negative things (events, people, feelings) into our lives. It goes somewhat hand in hand with one of the first things I learned on my spiritual path – our thoughts are a creative force, i.e. they can create feelings and events, and according to the Law of Attraction attract more of something into our lives as well.
The Law of Attraction in practice
Most of the books and articles I have read about the Law of Attraction, work with visualizations. But tools can vary somewhat, there might also be vision boards, affirmations, want-to-be financial accounts etc. I.e. if someone e.g. lacks money, one would recommend for him/ her to visualize more money. E.g. visualize going online, opening ones online bank statements, and seeing a wonderful, large, positive balance. Supposedly the more detailed and realistic one’s visualizations are - the better. E.g. one would imagine the feel of the keyboard, the temperature in the room, the brightness of the screen, the time it takes for the web-pages to open etc. And then one would try to feel what one would feel like – content, safe, secure, happy, exhilarated. Furthermore one should follow on with visualizing what one would do with the money- buy a better car, book that dream holiday etc.
There is nothing that cannot be visualized – a dream job, a celebrity career, better to great health, the perfect body, the perfect partner, etc, etc. So initially when I learned about the Law of Attraction, I was fascinated. Supposedly I just had to dream up my dream life, the Universe would listen– and my dream life would be mine. Usually I would not read about specific time frames though, i.e. how long, or frequent one would have to visualize that million pounds in the bank account, for it to materialize. I only read that the more detailed the visualization, the faster the results. One just has to supposedly do ones best to keep ones dreams free from doubts, but that did not sound that daunting. There seemed to be a lot of fairness in the whole thing as well. Humans, according to the Law of Attraction, are the masters of their own lives. They create their fate. I.e. someone poor, or sick only has to blame themselves for it (but could free themselves of those clutches, by simply forgiving him-/ herself, and visualizing better!)
Problems with the Law of Attraction
For one, there is some ethical considerations. One can e.g. visualize ones dream house, and the Universe should then provide such, or very similar, but one should ideally not insist on a particular house. There is this anecdote of a woman on a walk, passing by a house, which she falls in love with! It is all she ever wanted from her dream house! She therefore goes about visualizing owning it, living in it etc. A few months later the house comes on the market, and she does manage to get her offer on it accepted. Great result? Possibly not, as the previous owners supposedly perished in a car accident. Could the woman’s visualizations have been a contributing factor? Maybe, maybe not? Anyway, if one keeps ones visualizations more general, e.g. visualizing that million pounds bank balance, but not insisting on a specific way for the money to get there, the Universe supposedly will find ways. Sometimes supposedly quite creative and surprising ones…
The next problem is- no one tells you how long a wish takes to be fulfilled! How long for a million pounds? But let’s be a bit more modest, how about just 1000 pounds, just to get rid of that pesky overdraft. Should it take a week, a months, a few months, even years. Most books I read are very enthusiastic. The cosmic cash machine just has to be milked with positive money visualizations! So what if there is not more money in the account after a month, or two, or three? There might have been the Christmas bonus, but that is contractual, so one really did not have to spend hours visualizing more money to get it… In this one famous book, about the Law of Attraction, supposedly a true story - a man’s parachute does not open, he breaks his back, and is paraplegic as a consequence. But knowing that one can visualize oneself healthy – against all the doctor’s predictions, he manages to walk again within a few months! Now if a medical miracle, such as this takes a few months – should 1000 pounds not be a doddle for the Universe? For me personally the cosmic cash machine initially just simply did not want to pay out any extra, besides my regular salary. So I for one started to develop fears that the Universe might be forsaking me? And I have spoken to others who felt just as let down. I started to worry that the Law of Attraction works for everyone else, but me? Had I been a terrible despot in a previous life, and the Universe still shunned me? I did not really have much in terms of doubts when I first learned about the Law of Attraction, but since things did not materialize, I started to become a more doubtful person…
Such fears are not pleasant, but if everything else is somewhat alright, most will likely just go back to their lives, mostly forget about the Law of Attraction, and just keep creating more income the conventional way – by apply themselves in their jobs, and or do some extra studies, gain some extra qualifications – and get promoted, or find a better position elsewhere. Nothing that one had not planned on doing anyway….
Having read about the Law of Attraction one might actually be in a worse position too, than one was before. I for one followed the advise to the letter. Supposedly one should not doubt that the Universe will provide, so I did not – and spend beyond my means, maxed out that overdraft, and even took out an extra bank loan (it was for a spiritual healing trip to Maui, Hawaii after all, and my guru back then claimed that it was essential for our spiritual development…)
Where the Law of Attraction can get really insidious though is for the really down trodden. Initially, when one learns that negative thoughts, and feelings will attract more negatives into one’s live, that is not a real threat. Hey – obviously I want to feel and think good anyway! It does not need a degree in psychotherapy to work out, that negative thoughts and emotions are less pleasant than positive ones. There were a few things in my life that needed improving, and that could frustrate me, but I had learned about the Law of Attraction – so once I had dreamt up, and materialized my dream life, I’d be happy and frustration free anyway – no? To make a long story short – after waking up spiritually, and putting a lot of effort into my self-healing, meditating regularly, and doing tons of spiritual work, if anything my life took a nose dive. Within 3 years I suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). CFS gave me terrible constant fatigue and exhaustion, near permanent fluey feelings, night sweats, frequent throat aches, and with this feelings of depression (but then it is hard to remain cheerful, if one feels awful 24/7 for years!). Whenever I now read about the Law of Attraction it would be more of a curse than a helpful tool. Supposedly I would just have to visualize/ imagine being full of energy, and healthy – but after months, and then years of feeling sick, I could not anymore. I could not even remember what healthy and fit felt like, even less so visualize and feel it! So all that I had left from the Law of Attraction was it’s dark side – surely I would just attract more exhaustion, sickness, and depression into my life for it?
So I argue that maybe the Law of Attraction can be helpful if one is in full, or near-full capacity, of one’s visualization powers. I.e. if one has low or medium amounts of discontent it one’s life, but for anything severe, such clinical depression, chronic illnesses, chronic pain, abject poverty or the like – it can easily just become a curse! And I would potentially put empaths right in there too! Especially not self-realized empaths! Looking back, most likely my CFS was actually me taking on loads of negative energies, emotions etc. working in an office environment. As after/ through years of intense self-healing work, I had uncovered empath abilities. I was literally overwhelmed by so many low vibration energies – it made me feel physically sick! As an empath one can get all sorts of negative energies, including fears, despondencies etc. I.e. even if one is positive, believes that the Universe loves one and provides – if an empath is surrounded by doubters, and keeps on getting energies of fear, doubt and despondency, gets overwhelmed by them, and then sits down and wants to visualize positive events/ feelings/ outcomes, it can be virtually impossible. It might actually back-fire, as trying to visualize something positive, one might only see negative, or even terrible things – and then one remains with the fear that they will be created/ attracted now!
So sure, if one, for whatever reason (likely it won’t be the Law of Attraction), improves in health, or becomes an adjusted empath (in control of his/ her energies, at least in so far that negativities do not manage to overly accumulate and overwhelm) – one could return to the Law of Attraction. But then there are other tools, which are less petulant, and potentially terrifying to use…
Ascending the Law of Attraction
I am talking of good old prayer! When we pray to the Divine, we pray to powers, which are full of compassion, and love us unconditionally! Sure they likely won’t fulfill prayers that would end up harming ourselves or others (which remains a potential with the Law of Attraction!), but other than that, once we pray, they start working for us! Angels (or whatever other divine helping beings) will not stop working for us, if we have a bad day – are grumpy, despondent or doubtful. The Law of Attraction could be argued, is strictly binary in its response, whereas angels are intelligent, and compassionate. As long as we pray right, and do not block our prayers in some way (by e.g. holding on to restricting believes re the Divine), they will be worked upon! As such I find prayers to be much easier and effortless tools. Instead of spending time visualizing that positive bank statement, virtually smelling it, feeling it, and then spending all the money – I just pray for abundance (definitely financial independence), and get on with my day! Basically I just pray and ask that my life becomes as happy and suffering free as possible – and that the Divine helps me in every possible and sensible way to clear anything that impedes this happy and effortless life!
Just to be double safe – I pray and ask that me, my bodies, and my life are always protected, as much as necessary, possible, available and sensible – against any negativity. Be that negativities from the outside, passing through me, or still inside myself. And I ask that any negative influences, that do manage to intrude, be healed off a.s.a.p. please! Since I have done so, and with it pretty much started to completely ignore the Law of Attraction – huge amounts of fear, and even guilt, have lifted. I do not become paranoid anymore if I do e.g. have/ get depressive feelings (which nowadays usually are energies I get from my healing and massage clients anyway). Rather I get on with my day, and healing work, as best as possible – confident that those depressive feelings will not be able to create any atrocities in my life! After all having to feel such lower frequency energies (as an empath) is uncomfortable enough as it is, there is no need to heap more low frequency emotions of fear, paranoia, or guilt on top of them. Nowadays negative emotions are like clouds in the sky, they might cover up the sun, make it colder, and even rain on me – but they always pass too, and the sun comes out again!!!
The Law of Attraction vs. Prayers
I have had some heated discussions about this topic with other believers, so I apologize in advance for toes I might step on – my intention is to help make spiritual work, and lives more effortless, not less so…..This one guy I discussed the Law of Attraction with kept on insisting, that the Law of Attraction ALWAYS works! Maybe the Law of Attraction does work, to a certain extend (I do believe that there are other forces that shape our lives too though – feel free to learn more about them in ‘Tours and Cures of a Lightsoldier’ (Alexander King)), but I would argue that the Law of Attraction is a bit like gravity. Sure it exists, and it might always be there, but prayers give us wings, and help us to fly! One day they might help us discover even better tools, like simply beaming in and out of places.
I believe there might just be another reason why the Law of Attraction is more popular (to some) than prayers though! Law of Attraction books and followers seem to like the quasi secular quality of the Law of Attraction. It is seen as a law of nature, not a divine force. I would argue, that if one can believe that there are forces that follow through on every thought and emotion we have, and attract things for us – why is it that much more difficult to believe that there is a benevolent Higher Power that does mostly all the same, just without the downsides? I guess prayers have that little attachment to them – the Divine will decide if they are harmonious, and only help fulfill them if they are…. I find that the Divine does not want us to suffer- so prayers for good health, a roof over ones head, a decent income/ financial independence, good friends, love, happiness etc. will be heard! I doubt the Divine will get stuck in though, and make you a billionaire. Sure creation is abundance, and we should affirm abundance, but somehow I cannot imagine it possible for every single human to become a billionaire (not without massive inflation being involved at least!). I am not saying that money cannot help one be happy, but what good is having more than one can ever spend? And if one feels even a fraction of the ALL-AS-ONE Love that is inside of all of us – I think having far too much money will just become stressful. One would just end up fretting constantly on how to use It best to benefit the collective….
I believe that behind the illusions of suffering is the divine ideal for all our lives. I would not presume to know what that ideal exactly looks like. Where e.g. does comfortable financial independence end, and greed begin? So nowadays, rather than sitting down and trying to visualize specifics for my life, I rather pray, and leave the manifestations up to the Divine. If I do want to contribute, I go into meditation mode – start channeling healing Light – and send it into all those energies, which still block the ideal divine life, I should live, from being free flowing. To help clear them off this planet!
Please note, I am not saying that prayer s will definitely be more effective, or speedier than using the Law of Attraction. Some things can take time to materialize, even for awesome powers, such as divine helpers (so do pray for patience too), but I think the whole process could well be more relaxed!
Love and Light! And may your lives become ever more effortless and joyful!
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