The law of attraction

[pizzaandchips123]

Do you believe in it? Has it helped your life in anyway by trying to put it into practise? I read the book a few years ago and have been thinking about it. Interested to hear views or 'testimonies'.

Edit: I have been going through a really hard time of late and I guess im trying to find comfort where I can.

No longer have the book but this article refers to the problematic bits. It's possible reprints were edited as it did cause a bit of a stir at the time. I remember reading it, nodding along, feeling the surge of hope, and then bam - a big victim blaming paragraph that made me back up big style.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-art-of-self-improvement/202205/the-problem-with-manifesting

You might like the book The Source by Dr Tara Swart. She talks about manifesting from scientists point of view - so for example manifesting is really just goal setting/ visualization etc and she explains how to use the techniques for you.

I'm manifesting a letter that I've been waiting for. If it doesn't come today, I will have to wait until Monday. I'll let you know if it arrives.

@WallaceinAnderlandkeep us updated. 🤞

You passed your exam because I’m sure you studied for it. As for the car and the property you wanted…nobody gave them to you for free, did they? You probably had the financial resources to buy them, or inherited money..which you would have anyway without wishful thinking.
And a new friend? We meet people all the time and chances are, some of them will get close to us and we’ll be friends.

I'm sorry but the Secret is the biggest pile of bollocks I have ever read and actually quite insulting in some parts.

Look up confirmation bias and apply a bit of critical thinking.

When my son was little we decided to try and manifest something small. We both thought about finding a £1 coin. We followed the steps (which i can't fully remember now :) and then left it for the universe to sort out. It took about two weeks but we both found a £1 coin within a minute of each other. We were in a swimming pool where people used coins for lockers so it could easily be put down to coincidence. But we never found £1 before or since.
Ive found that sometimes when I write about things they seem to happen more. Like the time I was texting a friend about needing a better car and one turned up on my drive 5 minutes later with the keys posted through my letter box! It wasn't mine to keep, they had the wrong address :) But the universe does work in mysterious ways and I need to cheer up and try these things more often.

It’s about having a positive mindset and - crucially for me - writing things down. Like actually getting the thought out of my head and instantiating it in the physical world.

My example:

I was having bad luck in the world of dating, so I made a list of what I wanted in man and included a niche criteria that someone actually ridiculed to my face when they found out about it (“how are you ever going to meet someone who is X and also Y?”). A few months later, I met someone who matched the niche criteria. 😊

I think the law of attraction states that we have ALL attracted a society where rape exists.

We have all contributed towards this society. Eg. Where violent porn is allowed and is shown to everyone

@O00ps that sounds like a fun thing to try with the kids.

I do think the law of attraction works to an extent, as our thoughts are powerful.

However we are also limited by our environment.

I remember a comedian once saying "right so a starving child in Africa can attract loads of food every day? No he fucking cant.

Can a child in gaza attract the end of the war By thinking of it?

It probably works in some cases just on the law of averages and then those people will talk about it so it looks like it has better results than it does.

Say you want to manifest a new job. If you get into the manifest mindset, you are already more likely to get a new job simply because you are focussing on it consciously and subconciously - so you are more likely to be looking out for new opportunities. If you took 100 people doing this and 50 of them got a new 'perfect' job, that is still 50 people who achieved nothing.

Same with lottery wins. Lottery is a game of chance. To win you need to buy a ticket. A manifesting person is probably likely to be buying more tickets than they would normally because they are in that mindset. The winners will tell you about it but the losers are silent so the rest of the world gets a skewed perception.

The only thing to be said for it is that focussing on something is more likely to get you what you want than not actively focussing.

There's a part of the brain stem called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It's role, amongst other things, is to filter in the things we think we need to be aware of and filter out all the extraneous stuff. It will change based on what you're focusing on at any given time.

For example if you decide to buy a red Ford Fiesta you will suddenly start see red Ford Fiestas everywhere. Ditto if you decide to get a golden retriever there will be golden retrievers at every turn.

It's why you can sleep through a thunderstorm but a vomiting cat or a crying baby will have you awake in an instant. It's also why you will hear your own name across a crowded room, and if you have a phobia of flying your attention will be drawn to every story about plane crashes.

That's part of the science behind the LOA; it makes you single minded about achieving your goal. Dunno about the magic bit though!!

@Eyesopenwideawake fascinating!!! Is there any videos to recommend? Love stuff like this. I watched one previously but I forget the scientific term....somthing like paridolia? (I 100% spelt that wrong😅) It's the phenomenon where you see things in cloud's or see faces in inanimate objects? TIA

@Eyesopenwideawake Also sorry to nag you...as you said the RAS system filters things we should be aware of...is that linked to anxiety at all?

Not we "should" be aware of but what we "think" we should be aware of (subtle but big difference!), and yes – it is often linked to anxiety. If you have (say) health anxiety you will be disproportionately drawn to of stories about misdiagnosis or medical malpractice.

I had a client recently who lives in rural France and had a phobia of dead birds and animals – a regular site in the countryside. I spoke to her recently and she remarked that this was the first year they'd been none on her land – I suspected there was probably the usual amount but that her RAS has decided they were no longer of interest.

I don't know about the pareidolia but this is what Wiki says! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

I’m certain it works, but I’m not very good at manifesting. I have, however, changed my life by using other components of law of attraction, and have basically got rid of anxiety and depression (having been a die hard depressive who would deny that working on mindset could have any effect on depression).

I hated the secret, found it a really basic introduction that really doesn’t explain it well at all.
I like listening to Esther Hicks on YouTube, and love Joe Dispenza’s books.

It ties in with a lot of spirituality, in fact most spiritual practices going back centuries all say pretty much the same things, and certain elements keep cropping up in quantum physics, like the effect of intention, the fact that everything is made up of frequency, so from that point of view the science does seem to be catching up, which is very interesting.

Has anyone heard The Telepathy Tapes podcast? It’s an amazing listen, and having had some weird experiences with LOA and meditation I feel it confirms things I’ve known for a while now.

Interesting times we live in.

@NotEsther I will take a look at those podcasts. Have you had any success with manifestation? Obviously out with the depression and anxiety, which is amazing by the way x

I’m interested too and totally believe it but need to be careful that I don’t cross any lines with my religion. @NotEsther i totally agree there is elements of it in spirituality and it’s absolutely fascinating x

Thanks for those recommendations x

I’m going to win the jackpot on the lottery.
my final ivf cycle is going to work.

💕🙏🏻👩🏻‍🍼💫🧘🏻‍♀️💷

I dont know if i believe it.

I once wrote down a list of everything that i want in a partner. This is what the law of attraction recommends

A man asked me out the next week. He was everyhing that was on my list. However, the more i got to know him, i saw it was all fake and that actually he was a completely abusive person. He ended up affecting me in a very negative way

I hope The Secret book is better than the film.

Not sure if it's still on, but I watched it as it was on Netflix. Totally laughable, why for example would you get a cheque in the post by manifesting it, when you're not due any 'out of the blue' or 'surprise' payments at all.

When I was feeling low, alone and wanted to meet someone, I tried to manifest someone and wrote down etc what i wanted in a partner. Didn't meet a single person, let alone a potential partner.

Vision board though - I've never done that. Has anyone else? I could just imagine creating one then DC or a visitor to the house asking what on earth is that? And having to explain it.

Having escaped what was basically an online cult a couple of years ago, the Law of Attraction is bollocks that scammers use to get money out of people who will pay to be told the way to make it work for them. Then when it doesn't, they blame those people for not properly removing their trauma etc. Which they can do by buying even more 'programmes', of course.

The stuff they promise - love, money, worldly success - these are distractions from the things that bring inner peace, which is not to be found in any of that. It's why there is never enough of any of it, once you go down that rabbit hole.

Think about Jesus for example - one of the world's most valued spiritual leaders. In 'Law of Attraction' terms his life was an abject failure. Yet in reality it is a shining example of how peace can be found in ANY circumstance - it's an internal job. A message he could only authentically give if he lived a life lacking in money and 'success'.

There's a reason so many deeply spiritual people take a vow of poverty, and choose to live in isolation.

To paraphrase a wise saying, even boxes of darkness are a gift, could we but see it. It's like the story of the old man and his horse - a version here: https://www.thetappingsolution.com/blog/the-old-man-and-his-horse-a-parable/

So I don't try to control what comes, and I hope I've explained my reasons for believing this is misguided.

@3luckystars I don't know what religion you are but Florence Scovel Shinn seems to have a Christian based belief system. She is one of the earlier pioneers of mastering your thoughts and beliving in a higher power/God. She wrote "The Game of Life and How to Play It" and "Your Word is Your Wand" (1920s). The word wand seems problematic in some religions. But I find some of the older books a better read and they are free to listen to.

It works, but not at the toxic positivity level of The Secret.
Ive had some incredible results from it, but a lot of it is mindset, connection and being open
This is Mumsnet though so lots of people will be along to tell you it’s a load of shit