Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction – Revisited

My most recent Artist’s EDGE Newsletter has been generating lots of conversation. Here’s a great email that I just received from Andrea Anderson:

“Without doubt, negative thinking is dangerous and self-destructive. On the other hand, saying that a person can change any circumstances outside themselves is quite dangerous and puts them in a position of thinking that they have lots of power over other people, places and things. The whole idea, it seems to me is to change oneself. And that change attracts other people and situations.”

My response? Exactly! I love the way that Jack Canfield puts it in The Success Principles:

E+R=O

Events plus Response equals Outcome

You have control over your responses (both internal and external) and that determines your outcome. A lot of people went through Katrina – some people made lemonade, others just sit in the sourness – it’s not the circumstances but what you do with the circumstances.

But then there are those who manage to avoid the circumstances altogether – because it’s not what they’re attracting for themselves.

So when something outrageous happens, it’s not enough to just say, “How am I responding to this? How do I make lemonade out of these lemons?” It’s also important to ask, “How is it that I attracted lemons instead of that ripe juicy watermelon?”

The truth is that you DO have lots of power, but not over others, over yourself and your own circumstances. Other people have power over themselves and THEIR circumstances. Just because those circumstances exist in their world, doesn’t mean you have to invite it into yours.

And it doesn’t mean that you say – well, to heck with them, that’s their problem – either. But you can choose how you think and feel about their misfortunes and what you choose to empower about their misfortunes.

For me, I like to contribute money and time to organizations that are NOT about saving people, but about empowering people. Because I don’t believe we can save anyone. We can only give them the tools and encouragement to save themselves.

If you focus on how powerless they are, then you are attracting being powerless to yourself as well. If you focus on how individuals achieve, then you are attracting the experience of achieving. But beware, if you only focus on achieving in the face of terrible odds, then you are attracting, yes you guessed it, terrible odds!

So, focus on how the real professionals make it look easy and how you can make your own life feel easy and effortless, too.

The Law of Attraction – Truth or Fiction?

In the last year, The Secret has brought the Universal Law of Attraction into the awareness of the broad public mind. But for some of us, this was no secret. Whether you loved the movie or hated it (and I had both visceral reactions), there is no denial that The Secret movie has raised awareness of the universal principle — the Law of Attraction. And I am truly grateful for that.

I Create My Reality

First let me confess to my own bias. I have known about this “Secret” for as long as I can remember. I have always believed I create my reality. So, I’ll be discussing the Law of Attraction from the point of view that it is reality and the awareness that you may not agree with my belief. I hope that you will continue to read anyway and be open.

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, a quick review. The Law of Attraction states that everything you have or have ever had in your life you drew into your life. You created your life, the good, the bad, the indifferent. You create your life through your thoughts and beliefs energized by your emotions. Now, I know that this idea freaks a lot of people out. Does a child create being abused? Did 3000 people create 9/11? Is it my fault I’m sick?

Yes and no. The Law of Attraction basically means that each thought sends out a vibration that attracts a reality in agreement with that vibration. The more emotion you imbue a thought with the stronger the magnet becomes. The more directed, focused and repetitious a thought is, the stronger it’s attractive energy. So if you are having negative thoughts that are energized by negative emotions that’s what you’re attracting. And for those people who don’t have much focus or intention behind their thoughts, what they attract can be very random, because the vibration is random.

Is this true? Is it just New Age woo-woo? You know where I stand in this. And I have had a lot of experiences that bear it out. Let’s just take parking spots, for example. I am a master at manifesting parking spots. From the time I lived in Brooklyn with a car, I played with this phenomenon. If I decided that I would find a parking spot, I would. But if I thought, “Oh, it’s late, it’s going to be hard to find a parking spot.” Guess, what? I wouldn’t find one. Every time! Is it magic? No, it’s the Law of Attraction.

Intentional Creation – Action vs. Visualization

So, what does that mean in your life? Can you control your thoughts every minute of every day? No way! But you can become more aware of your thoughts. You can notice how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking and in that moment, choose to think about what you are intentionally creating in your life.

But does that mean you never have to take action? Can you just sit on your couch, day after day, imagining your success and have it magically appear? Probably not. You see, your mind is very literal. It looks at what you’re doing and decides what it will believe. If it sees you sitting on the couch all day, it’s NOT going to believe that you will be successful. And those doubts will undermine every empowering visualization you have on that couch. So, spend 15 minutes visualizing on the couch and then get into action!

The Law of Attraction without Action is just the Law of Attr

What Have You Got to Lose?

Look, just play with it. Whether you believe it or don’t believe it. What harm could experimenting with it do? Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, focus on how grateful you are for what you do have and how you’re creating what you want. Have fun imagining your abundant successful life. Imbue that vision with joy and gratitude. Seriously, what have you got to lose?

The Energy of Belief

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of belief as a result of the class in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy called Transform Your Belief – The Key to Success. So forgive me, but I may get a little woo-woo in this post.

It seems to me that the law according to physics is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, right? But when we think about the things we do, the actions we take, the interactions with others, why is it that the reaction doesn’t always seem to match the action? Why do we sometimes get a response that is out of proportion to the action we took, either in positive or negative ways?

Well, I have a theory. (You knew I would, didn’t you?) Our actions are taken not just on the physical plane but also on the energetic plane, as we are spiritual beings as well as physical beings. Unfortunately we are not always conscious of the tenor of the actions we take on the energetic plane. We just aren’t always aware of the energy we put out along with the actions we take.

Belief in Your Success,law of attraction, motivation and momentumSo here’s my theory: When you take an action, your action is accompanied by energy that is completely colored by your beliefs. Since those beliefs are often unconscious, multi-layered and even contradictory to each other, so is the energy that you are creating.

So, if the results you are getting don’t match your intentions. Ask yourself – what am I believing about this?

If you feel like you are always pushing uphill against resistance when you try to accomplish anything. What you are pushing against just might be the energy that your beliefs are creating. So ask yourself – what am I believing about this?

(By the way, this is the Law of Attraction at work.)

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