Practical Guidelines to Using the “Law of Attraction”
Some people get pretty woo-woo about the so-called “Law of Attraction.” Vibrational Frequencies, Thoughts Become Things, the Vortex, the Soul’s Journey, all that stuff. For some it makes the Law of Attraction more interesting, makes it feel deeper, more metaphysical. Nothing wrong with that. Law of Attraction IS, in its way, exquisitely metaphysical. But it is also mundane as a bag of rocks.
There are many ways to approach it, and the woo-woo angle is not particularly necessary, just one way. When all is said and done, there are certain actions, attitudes, commitments, and decisions that will serve us in optimizing the Principle of Attraction in our lives, no matter what lens we happen to use to understand Attraction.
It’s Not Magic
It’s not magic, it’s not shamanism. It’s also not quantum physics, nor is it really a “Law”, the way Gravity is a law. At least that is my perspective. The Law of Attraction is not going to win you the lottery, get you a date with Johnny Depp, or deliver that candy-apple red Mustang to your driveway. Those Loveable Crazy-Pants Abrahamers think that’s how it works, and I like them for their hopefulness and enthusiasm—I think they’re just kind of off base.
Why Do They Call It A Law, Anyway?
I don’t know. I don’t think it is. I call it a principle, a force, a tendency in the universe, a statistical probability. It’s powerful, but it’s not Crazy Magic. To say that if you visualize a golden palace on Jupiter with monkeys and elephants, where you are king or queen, and to argue that it HAS to exist now, because your thought has turned to a thing, and you now just have to align with that palace, because it is Law, is, well, just freaking nuts. I have a lot of years of Cleveland in me, but also 15 years of woo-woo Santa Fe, and in neither world is the Golden Palace happening. Sorry…
My Version
So this is my version, which emphasizes the psychosocial perspective more than, say, the physicist’s perspective or the metaphysician’s angle. My perspective is not necessarily right or wrong, it is just the one I can embrace at this time in my life. I cannot get myself to thinking that I am going to win the lottery tonight because I say so on Instagram. That just does not resonate for me. (I know, I know—“And that’s why you’re not gonna win it, dude, because you are not ALIGNED with it!!” Yeah, whatever, bro—you spend it for me !!
Law of Attraction suggestions that I find really useful and effective.
- It’s all about the feeling states we want to experience. It is not about the shiny car or the money or whatever—we want those things because we believe we will feel better in the having of them. Boom. That’s the dealio. This is pretty huge. You gotta kind of think about it a bit…
- Be open to the reality that, although you think the Mustang will make you feel younger and more alive, the universe has LOTS of ways to make you feel that way, if you are open to them. Keep it general. Reach for the feeling state, not necessarily the car keys. Those feeling states could come as a surfboard, a new electric guitar, a zipline experience, a trip to Paris, or getting in better shape, and taking stairs two at a time again. Or, or, or…
- Actively, consciously setting intentions for what you want to experience puts you on the track toward those experiences. All visionary thinkers have known this forever. Focus…Flow…
- Being aware why you want those experiences and feelings can be really powerful. Sounds obvious, but those reasons are worth saying.
- Make yourself aware of the resources, experiences, talents, skills, connections, personality qualities that you already have that make these goals and experiences possible, even probable…
- Identify goals and experiences that you REALLY, TRULY believe are achievable, even if you cannot quite see how you are going to get there from here. “I would like to be able to play Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing” is a good one. “I would like to be King of Peru” is not. “I want to lose ten pounds” is good. “I want to be Mr. Olympia”, prolly not. Even better would be “I want to feel joy in my life, and a sense of accomplishment.” And let the universe line up some possibilities, which may or may not involve Little Wing, or Mr. Olympia…
- Minimize, eliminate, stay away from negative thinking related to what could go wrong, why this won’t work, how the world sucks, how Washington is to blame, and blah blah blah. No cheese down that tunnel, ever.
- Conversely, be inspired by (and surround yourselves with) people who have been where you want to go, people who support you, people who are optimistic and alive, people who are empowered and refuse to go to the Victim Place, people who do not live in Poverty Consciousness, people who believe in you, people who believe in what’s possible… It is generally not the least bit useful to argue with people who want to make you wrong about the Law of Attraction. Seriously not useful. Like WAY not.
- It IS OK to say “I am going to need extra resources, or guidance, or develop enhanced skills in order to achieve that goal…” THAT is just being realistic. I WILL need a YouTube tutorial and lots of practice to be able to play Little Wing. Fact.
- Stay Optimistic, Stay Positive. So many people seem to HATE Positive Thinking these days! Good luck to those ones! There is so much evidence that beliefs, attitude, visualization, and positive thinking are related to outcome that it’s ridiculous. (Why the hell do those Others care if I am happy or positive or not, anyway?!?!? Where do THEY get off telling any of us about “Spiritual Bypass” or “The Shadow” or whatever other constructs they want to wallow in? And I am WAY CERTAIN that I have read more about that stuff in my career than almost anybody. Keep that shit to yourselves…)
- Use the principle of Planned Happenstance to your benefit. (This theory arose in the context of career development, but I find it applies equally well to all aspects of life… http://www.studentintegration.fi/career-guidance/different-approaches-to-career-guidance/happenstance-learning-theory)
- Again, remain as open as possible to achieving your desired Feeling States in ways that perhaps you have not yet imagined or anticipated. If I go to the flea market looking to experience joy by finding that perfect pair of cowboy boots at the exact right price, and that is my sole focus for the day, I will miss the Gibson Les Paul Guitar some guy is selling for a hundred bucks. What does Abraham say? “It wasn’t where you expected it to be, so you couldn’t see it where it was.”
- If you’re a writer, journal about your goals, dreams, visions, desired outcomes, the feelings you are most going for, about the experiences you want to have…
- Create a Vision Board, if that appeals to you. Pin up images, keywords, anything that relates to your dreams, visions, desires. Keep them in front of you. Eyes on the Prize…
- Recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate every step forward, every shift toward what it is you want… You can’t lose ten pounds today, but you can have a great salad. You can’t get in shape this morning, but you can do yoga—those are steps in the right direction. Appreciate them…You ARE creating the outcome you desire…
- In fact, be as actively in appreciation of your life as you possibly can…
- Celebrate what’s RIGHT in the world (and watch this guy’s videos… https://youtu.be/gD_1Eh6rqf8 )
OK, so there are some practical points. A lot of clients ask about how to do this stuff, and they prompted this piece. I hope it’s helpful. It was helpful to me to just review what I already know, because you can’t be reminded of this stuff too often, right?
Jim Nolan, 3.8.2020
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