Poll about LOA

[Space Fox Now With Lasers]

I am the only one here who thinks that the law of attraction is a bunch of bologna? I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm am just wondering if I am alone here.

It just doesn't make sense to me. I just feel like it's a waste of my time to sit around visualizing how I want my life to be. I think if Mother Theresa were to read "The Secret", she would say, "This seems like a very self centered philosophy."

I feel that true satisfaction comes from helping other people, not being constantly concerned about ourselves. That's why I want to be a teacher. I know I'll never live in a big house or have a sports car on a teacher's salary, but I'll be helping people everyday.

Once again, I am not trying to insult anyone here. However, I would like to debate this topic with the members of this forum, because LOA seems to be pretty popular here.

[olmate]

Sounds like to me you have just created your vision. Don't be surpirsed if that is what you get.

Nothing but the best.

Olmate

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Space Fox Now With Lasers

I am the only one here who thinks that the law of attraction is a bunch of bologna? I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm am just wondering if I am alone here.

It just doesn't make sense to me. I just feel like it's a waste of my time to sit around visualizing how I want my life to be. I think if Mother Theresa were to read "The Secret", she would say, "This seems like a very self centered philosophy."

Yes, "The Secret" is a very self centred and materialistic way of looking at the law of attraction, however it's certainly not the bible of LoA and the LoA is certainly no secret as it's been around for a very long time, waaaaaay before The Secret came along. The book that is referred to in The Secret, whilst not being named in the film or book, is actually a book called The Master Key System, by Charles F Haanel. You can either try and get hold of an old copy or you can still get it in print now, although it contains a copy of the old text and a reworked version to bring it into modern language and context. It was originally intended as a week by week course and each weeks material creates a chapter in the book. IMO, it's better to learn about the LoA from that book rather than the hyped up money making and idealised versions such as The Secret.

I feel that true satisfaction comes from helping other people, not being constantly concerned about ourselves.

Before you can help others, you must be able to help yourself. If you seek satisfaction you are still wanting something for yourself. True happiness will arise if you simply act in the moment to do what is best without desiring recognition of your actions for yourself. Such desire for recognition is a trick of the ego.

That's why I want to be a teacher.

We are all teachers, but it is good to want to share, so you go for it and you'll do it.

I know I'll never live in a big house or have a sports car on a teacher's salary, but I'll be helping people everyday.

A somewhat self limiting belief. There is no reason a teacher cannot progress and earn enough to have what they want, just as any other job in life.

Once again, I am not trying to insult anyone here. However, I would like to debate this topic with the members of this forum, because LOA seems to be pretty popular here.

No insults taken. We love to discuss and learn.

Hugs

Giles

[Marina_J]

I am new for this forum so please describe LOA in brief Thanks! & Regards.

[Grey]

Originally Posted by Marina_J

I am new for this forum so please describe LOA in brief Thanks! & Regards.

others can probably explain this better than me but here is how i interpret loa in short. like attracts like. everything that exists does so as some form of vibration. people and thoughts and feelings and circumstances and trees and clouds and stars are all vibrations. vibrations of light. vibrations of sound. vibrations of thought. vibrations of whatever. loa is the principle that if we put out a certain kind of vibration in our life and since like attracts like then things with a similar vibration will be attracted to us and come our way. we encourage things to come into our lives by consciously sending out vibrations into the universe that will match the sorts of things we desire to come into our life. maybe that is oversimplified but that is how i see it.

[GilesC]

Originally Posted by Marina_J

I am new for this forum so please describe LOA in brief Thanks! & Regards.

Hi Marina and welcome to the Project Meditation community.

The way I see the LoA is a little how Gary Craig (the founder of Emotional Freedom Techniques) described it in one of his videos "The palace of possibilities" and this is my description...

In a simplistic sense, when we take an interest in something, it becomes more noticable to us. I had this situation in the past where we went down to the car showroom to look for a new car. We found one we liked (and could afford ) and sat down with the salesman to order it. He pulled out the range of colours we could have and we decided on one we liked which seemed, at the time, to be quite a new unique colour and we wanted something a little different, and one we hadn't seen on the roads. No sooner had we ordered and left the showroom to go home, we spotted numerous cars of the same make in the colour we had chosen, but we could have sworn that we hadn't seen any before. What had happened is that we had brought our mind into a state where it now had an interest in this particular thing, so it therefore appeared to manifest before us.

The way this works is that our physical senses detect thousands of things going on around us all the time, but our conscious mind cannot possibly comprehend and process all of those things e.g. your reading this at the moment and whilst the nerves in your feet are sensing the floor (assuming you have your feet on the floor), you weren't consciously aware of that sensation until I mentioned it here. So, because we can't consciously process everything our senses are taking in, our unconscious mind filters out a great majority of it and just brings things up into our conscious that we are currently interested in. This is our "focus".

So, with the law of attraction, what you do is use a sort of positive affirmation or visualisation that gives an image or description of the situation or thing that you want, but you visualise/affirmate it as if it is there in the present moment and you already have that thing (because the unconscious mind has no concept of time, so something in the future is not something it's interested in in the present). Spending a little time with this thing in mind or repeating the affirmation regularly, sort of instructs the unconscious mind that this is something of interest to you in the present moment and, just like us seeing all those cars on our way back from the showroom, your unconscious mind will bring to the conscious mind anything the senses/awareness picks up that would fit in with that thing/situation you want. It won't actually give things to you, but it will allow your conscious mind to become aware of things (or I prefer to call them 'opportunities') that could assist you in reaching your desired goal. As long as you're willing to pick up on those opportunities and act you can more easily bring about your goal, whereas before you would have missed those opportunities.

Many people fail with the LoA or "try" it and don't believe it works, because they have only been given a simplistic concept of what to do and not really instructed in the need to act on the opportunities that arise. They are often misguided into thinking that it's some sort of magic wish and the next day the postman will knock on the door and just deliver it.

One important other factor to remember is that when you create your desired goal as a visualisation or affirmation, it works better if you make it realistic and something that you can believe is possible. e.g. creating a visualisation that you'll be running a multi million dollar company by the end of the week when you're currently unemployed would obviously be ridiculour, but a visualisation of yourself running a very profitable company within a couple of years doing something you already enjoy is far more achievable and likely to present opportunities to lead you there.

I hope that makes sense.

Hugs

Giles

[Lyn Lyn]

I have found with the teachings of the secret is if helps you to focus on what is important to you. I know I have a tendency to think of others first, too much, and in that process forget about myself. If you are not happy and if you do not feel good about what you are doing or why you are doing it you are not being successful. I was doing for others out of obligation because of what I was taught in the past and resenting it. I now have changed that belief and do for others because I want to0, not because I have to.

We all come from different places in our past and different belief systems which can marr the true person we really are. I know that I cannot help someone fully until I know who I really am and what I really believe and I should not believe something just because someone said so.

The secret has been good to me but, when they tell you things will come to you fast it is true, and the things that you have been thinking of negatively will come as fast as the postive. I was surprised greatly by this last Friday and learned carefully how you can shift your day with gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness.

[aussie]

In a nutshell, As a man thinketh so is he. Awesome book

[medimind]

the LOA sounds like bologna only because people dont understand it.

understanding creates success.

LOA is simply about hyper positive thinking and extremely good feelings inside, coupled with goal orientation

[AndySamuels]

"the greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind." William James (1842-1910)

You will never know what great things you can do until you try. Instead of stumbling around lost in the woods, I find the Law of Attraction gives you direction and understanding - the process is free, has been trialed with great success through the ages - let history repeat itself, over and over again, I say.

cheers
AndySamuels