Is there truth to LOA?

I have not made up my mind about it really yet.

But I totally agree that whatever makes you *feel* better can only be a good thing. Because a positive mindset means that you end up enjoying what you have a lot more, whether it ends up working to bring you more success or not.

I believe in some aspects of the LoA for sure, but I sway onto the "practical" side rather than the spiritual. I beleive in making a plan, setting a step by step path to where I want to go, creating a burning desire to achieve my goal, and really burning my bridges - giving myself nowhere else to go but up

I believe in hypnosis and mind training too, but this is as far as it goes for me.. cosmic ordering, announcing my desires to the universe, or talking with imaginary successful figures from the past (ala Think and Grow Rich) are a bit too much for me personally - but each to their own, and I think if you think like this and this is how you see the world then this could work for you too.

The LOA is the ultimate 'law' of all creation. And it's a simple law. Essentially, it's the law of cause and effect. Earl Nightingale, in his famous recording The Strangest Secret, points out that the law of attraction (though he doesn't refer to the principle he describes using that name) is the only thing that all races of people have agreed upon since the beginning of time.

The LOA is the foundation for virtually every holy book ever written. To sum up Nightingale's recording as well as the LOA, the idea is that we become what we think about. Or we always manifest our dominant thoughts and actions.

When you ask if anyone here uses the LOA to accumulate wealth and riches, the answer is, yes. Everyone uses it whether they believe in it or not. It's almost like asking if anyone here uses the law of gravity.

I'm not being a wiseguy, I'm just trying to point out that we have no choice. Though people who understand the 'we become what we think about' principle and apply it to their life's desires use it efficiently.

I would like to give my opinion on the Law of Attraction :
I think that you will master the Law of Attraction as soon as you are in
harmony with your goals, (as soon as you have erased your Limiting Beliefs
connected to the goals.)

The are a lot of methods(for example :visualization, eft,* etc) that will
"boost" the speed of delivery, but without having dealt with the Limiting
Beliefs nothing will happen.

What I don't like about the law of attraction is that it sells hope and the belief that you can just think about something and get it - if that was the case wouldn't all 16 year old boys have that supermodel girlfriend

No but really, I think not thinking, but ACTION is what brings results.

One might conclude, Well so what? What harm is there in believing in things that are not literally true as long as the desired result is achieved? The harm is great, I think, and no one has given voice to these concerns better than W.K. Clifford in his essay The Ethics of Belief:

The danger to society is not merely that it should believe wrong things, though that is great enough; but that it should become credulous, and lose the habit of testing things and inquiring into them, for then it must sink back into savagery... It may matter little to me, in my cloud-castle of sweet illusions and darling lies; but it matters much to Man that I have made my neighbors ready to deceive. The credulous man is father to the liar and the cheat.

The Law of Attraction cannot admit doubt or skepticism. If one begins to doubt the power, or even to harbor negative thoughts in one's unconscious mind, one is assuredly on the road to ruin. The Law of Attraction requires uncritical acceptance of, and unwavering belief in, a doctrine that has been revealed by alleged authorities, which is interpreted literally, not metaphorically, and is at the extreme end of credulity. It is just another kind of magical thinking and, worse, another brand of fundamentalism.




Skeptic eSkeptic Wednesday, March 7th, 2007



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I posted above that I thought it could only be a good thing even if it didn't work, but I can understand all your points and they have made me think.

Because the truth is I don't expect things to happen without me taking action. But you're all right that some people will believe that can be the case, and who knows where they could end up.

I do believe that being happy is a choice, and I do believe that being successful and making sure you achieve your aims is also a choice - but not an easy one. I guess that the LOA, in the wrong hands, could be pretty damaging. But as long as you believe that you still need to set things in motion by taking action, I think it can have great results.

I wrote an article for my newsletter on this topic just a couple months ago. It's a little longish, but maybe you'll like it...

Manifestation Revelation

We've all heard it before. I even say it myself -- we create our own reality. That idea is more popular than ever, and there is no shortage of new age "manifestation" experts that have stretched the concept every which way until all meaning has been lost in a heavy fog of new age feel good-ism.

Hey, I'm all for feel good stuff, goodness knows I haven't been shy in writing my share of it. But when the gurus try to outdo each other in preachin' and teachin' manifestin' it gets confusin' to most of us.

As far as I can tell, creating our own reality originally meant that we can make a heaven or hell of life just by our attitude, but now it seems to only mean we can have anything we want, and especially material things, for little or no effort on our part.

This "manifest your desires" mania has been so heavily promoted in recent years that everyone should be living a life of easy abundance by now, but the state of the economy tells me that's not the case.

I wanted to shed some light on this whole mani-mess-tation thing, but I may end up just adding to the confusion. That's a risk I'm willing to take, though!

The gurus claim you can have anything you want if you just make your intentions clear to the universe and you believe j-u-s-t right. Some of these experts are better than others so they add in a few other rules, like gratitude and visualization. It shows they know more. It also provides more things that can go wrong when manifesting doesn't work for someone, which, of course, means they need to buy a different book about fixing all those manifestation problems!

Look, I could tell the universe I want a big, bountiful garden filled with squash, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and all kinds of scrumptious crops, and I could believe deeply that it will manifest, and visualize a beautiful garden every day, and I could even imagine the taste of each delicious crop and could be grateful for it all until the cows come home, but...

...if I don't get off my backside and go plant that garden it's not likely to magically appear in my backyard. I'm not saying it couldn't, just that it's not likely.

Of course, in that case the gurus would tell me something like, my conscious intention wasn't my real intention, or that I didn't really believe in the garden, or perhaps I wasn't grateful enough. Whatever the reason, it would always come down to somehow I was doing something wrong that was sabotaging my ability to manifest my desires. But if I buy their other book...

Well, I have to admit they could be right because I can't prove they are wrong, and perhaps that's the key to their success. No one can prove what they say isn't true because it deals with the abstract.

I don't see too many people proving it is true though, just a whole lot of people talking about it and writing about it. Now, I do believe miracles can happen, but I'm not asking for one unless I really need one. Who knows how many miracles we get before we run out? I don't want to use my last miracle to manifest a free pizza, even though I really, really like pizza. I might need it for bigger things, like two pizzas.

It seems the people doing the preaching are the only ones manifesting wealth, but the way they are manifesting wealth is the old fashioned way, selling books and seminars and such. It seems to me that is old fashioned writing, lecturing and marketing more than the magical kind of manifesting they teach. It makes it seem like they're teaching one thing and doing another.

Anyway, if all we had to do is declare our intentions and believe our desires will manifest, we'd never have to get out of our chair, not even to go to the bathroom. We'll just let the universe take care of those icky little potty chores.

But there is another way to look at the idea that we create our own reality. It's a little old-fashioned, but by golly sometimes that's a good thing. Are you ready for some truth-telling?

Okay then, if you're like most people your typical work day goes a little something like this...

You get up in the morning, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go to work. After work you come home, eat supper, watch a little TV or go online, go to bed, and get up and do it all over again the next day.

Do you know why you get to do it all over again the next day?

Because you're not doing anything to change your reality -- you just keep recreating it based on your attitude, history, and responsibilities.

Now think about this...

After you come home from work you give up an hour or two of TV time or whatever you do for entertainment or relaxation, and you use that time to learn a new skill, or write the book you've always wanted to write, or start a hobby you've always been interested in, or whatever it is you really want to do but keep putting off so you don't miss the latest episode of American Idol.

Now you're beginning to create a different reality. If you see your change of routine through long enough you'll start seeing something new in your life -- a new reality with different results.

There are your intentions in action. There is your reality being created. But if you only do the same things that created the reality you're experiencing now you're pretty much going to keep experiencing the same reality. Doesn't that make sense?

Of course, change can be scary. It's much easier and takes much less courage to just "mentalize" neat things instead of actually trying create a reality where you can obtain them. That's probably why the manifestation mania became a mania, by it's nature we just have to be willing to receive all the blessings we can imagine, we don't have to actually do anything and don't have to change to get what we want.

Having said all that, I think there is something real and viable to intention, belief, gratefulness, energy vibrations and all that -- actually I think there is a lot to these things and we can benefit from an understanding of how they work. I think there is a good deal of truth in what these gurus teach.

Does that sound contradictory? As far as I can tell I'm a somewhat complex person, so I can be a little contradictory while still being forthright and honest!

What is missing from what the manifestation gurus teach is taking action. They know catering to a society that is in love with ease and instant gratification is the most profitable strategy, and so they leave out the hard parts that would supress sales.

I believe we need to do something besides sit on our rear end and think positive. We need to take action. That's the missing key they all seem to conveniently leave out. It's one thing to train your conscious and subsconscious mind on an objective and believe you will obtain the object of your desire, and another thing entirely to add a "taking action" step to your objective.

Call "taking action" a demonstration of your intention to the universe if you prefer that kind of language, or call it sending out the right vibrations, or showing and sowing faith, heck, call it a bowl of pudding if you want to -- but intention, belief, and gratitude without action is a little like riding a three-legged horse. You may reach the finish line one day, but a whole lot of action oriented people will get there before you.

Does that make sense to you?

All this manifesting without the need for action reminds me of an old joke. A pious fellow was listening to the radio when an announcement came on to go to higher ground because the dam burst up river. The man immediately prayed to be saved, but he didn't flee to safety. Then the floods came, and he was forced to his second story to escape the rapidly rising waters and again he prayed to be saved. Finally he was forced to his rooftop, where he once more prayed to be saved.

A boat came by and tried to rescue him, but he refused, declaring that God would save him, so the boat went looking for others to save. A few minutes later a rescue helicopter came by and dropped down a harness cable and told him to strap it on so they could save him, but he refused, citing that God would save him. The helicopter left too.

Minutes later the man was swept off the rooftop and perished in the angry waters. Standing before God he asked, "I had faith you'd save me, why didn't you save me?" God answered, "I told you over the radio to flee to higher ground, but you didn't go. Then I sent a boat and a helicopter but you refused them. What did you expect, a miracle?"

The point is, we can have everything right on the inside, but if we don't do our part in the external world, it makes it a lot harder for the universe to manifest our desires for us.

We do create our own reality and we do it from the inside out, just like they say. But we do it from the inside out because everything starts in the thought realm. When we put our ideas into action we create the reality those actions and the beliefs behind them cause.

If we don't put our ideas into action we still create our own reality, except, because we did nothing, our reality is that nothing happens concerning those ideas.

Yet, when all is said and done I'm not really saying the manifestation of our desires can't work exactly like the gurus teach, I'm just saying that for most of us it will probably happen a whole lot faster if we do our part and take the necessary actions to bring about that which we desire.

See how easy life is if you just pay attention and think a little bit?
© Dennis Gaskill 2009

Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Jack Cranfield, Will Smith, Bill Gates, and a whole bunch others preached and lived by this.

Just those names are a pretty solid background in my books.

I just started studying this LAW 2 months ago but this is what's happened since:
I've stopped a lot of bad habits and replaced them with new ones: Eating, working out, work ethics, time management, etc. I've been getting more friends too and I find myself finding girls and people I actually care about.

I'm in the process of completely obliterating my limiting beliefs...once that happens, all that's left is to redefine them.

Money wise, I've found myself with 4 golden opportunities IN UNDER ONE MONTH of IMing!!!! I still have no clue how to do it yet!! But the situations that are arriving make everything quite easy. I'm about to make products about what I know best and I'm building up loyalty to my potential customers....I'm pretty sure 100 potential customers with a 50% conversion is just a good as 1000 with a 5%. When the conversions are shaky, I have a lot of experience to help me out and I'm working with a lot of talented people...(dunno how lol)

I also miraculously got out of one more semester of school to set up the foundations of my business. I get 4 months of pure study on this without any cost of living.

Not too shabby from personal experience so far....I do want to say this will be a fad though. All of the information reaching people on the subject just don't work. This isn't an easy process! You have to change the way you think subconsciously and you have to reprogram your mind.

No easy task trust me,

Aaryn

The Law of Attraction works all the time and every time whether we acknowledge it or not.

What I've experienced and still continue to experience to this day is that when we take our eye off the ball ... we can't see the ball.

That's obvious.

Life and business is a game and you need to keep your eye on the ball.

It's that simple.

Isaac, thx for your input It was very enlightening.

You're basically encouraging enlightenment(spiritual awakening) and visualization(incredibly powerful--tiger woods is a case in himself--) combined with the laws that govern our world and minds. This is unfathomly powerful. If you want to learn how to become a badass this is what you should study :p

You're Exactly right!! What you believe on any matter is what will be true in our reality....our beliefs systems are crazy cool. If you simply study the Reticular Activating System you will discover how powerful this ALONE of a role it plays in our lives. It's the MOST IMPORTANT concept in Accelerated Learning so you can easily find a lot of "scientific" evidence through brief research...

I figure if I presented my personal experience I could influence at least the thought of the possibilities that it works...

I was introduced to the LOA via Esther and Jerry Hicks, and I would really recommend any of their books. They cut through the crap and point out the "tough" side of LOA - you have to work on yourself and just move on from set positions....

I personally don't believe in it. With that said, I think that the concept can be used as a tool for success. If you spend time visualizing your success and mapping it out in your mind in order to motivate yourself to take action, then I see it as being legitimately useful. However, simply trying to manifest positive changes through thought alone is ridiculous in my opinion.

Everybody talks about the law of attraction as if it were a switch you can turn on. You can't turn something that is always ON to on -- IT's already ON.

It's like saying, I think I'm going to go out and turn on the SUN today, maybe get a little light.

What shows up in your life, what you experience, is a direct result of your thoughts married to your emotions colored by your beliefs. The more subconscious your beliefs, the more unaware you are of what you are creating.

When you get the subconscious working on the same team as your conscious, that's when big stuff can happen.

My husband and I built a three story custom designed house with no money, no experience, no construction knowledge a head of time -- and with little construction help. SERIOUSLY.

You can sit on your arse all day long and dream whatever you want to dream, but unless you move off that arse and DO something about that dream, nothing's going to happen. Just like you create what shows up in your life knowingly or unknowingly using the law of attraction, when you get some movement going, the universe responds.

When you get the subconscious mind to work in concert with the conscious mind, there is nothing that can stop you, EXCEPT YOU.

The other thing that gets me is that most people who poo-poo the law of attraction treat this reality, this "plane of existence" as if it were the end-all be all of everything. Obviously they understand themselves as finite beings and so when the plane crashes or the earthquakes hit those people are gone and do not exist any more.

While Living on the earth is great... it's also the lowest place to "BE" -- and the HARDEST place to BE. It's the place where once you come in you forget how you got here in the first place and you experience being separate from everyone and everything.

If you had but the eyes to see how everything is really connected. It is the LIVING MATRIX, and you are but an expression of it.

Laurie

And yes, I've manifested money using the law of attraction, but not in the ways you think. Because I had taken action, I had several avenues open to allow that flow in. Without the action, there's no way what you want can reach you -- it dies on the vine.

Laurie

It works this way.
Our mind receives billions of bits of information every second from the world. Unfortunately, we are not equipped to process that much information. Our mind is just a relay station with a low frequency.

So our beautiful nervous system filters out and process only around 120 bits a second. So that's a lot of information left out. Our mind and the universe filter things out like how Google does. Google relies on relevant content and backlinks.
On the other hand, our mind works this way:
- FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU WANT (Your Keyword)
- The Route To The Desired Destination Is Delivered To You By The Way You Feel. If you feel disappointed all the time, your mind will not let you achieve what you want or give you the plan to get to you it. If you are in a state of gratitude then it will increase it's relevance and get you close to what you want.

Your job is to act. That's how LOA works. But there's somethin much more powerful than LOA, it's LOK a.k.a Law of Karma. What goes around comes around. You can only overcome the LOK and your troubles by being in the Now.

I have a lot to share but it's 00:43 hours over here. It's mornin and I have already made my bed on the floor. Better sleep in. Good night.