The law of attraction is often mentioned by self-help specialists and spiritual teachers as a basis for shaping our own lives. But what actually is the law of attraction? Does the law of attraction work for everyone? And how do you use the law of attraction?
What is the law of attraction?
The law of attraction (called the Law of Attraction or LOA for short) says that what you focus your attention on will manifest. This means that someone creates his or her own life, through the thoughts, feelings and actions that someone has. For example, if someone thinks about sadness, feels sad and sits on the couch crying all day, then that person is spending a lot of attention and energy on sadness and the result is that more sadness will appear in their life. Conversely, when someone gives a lot of attention and energy to joy, in their thoughts, feelings and actions, then that person will create more and more joy in their life. A frequently used example is finding a parking space for the car. One person will assume in advance that the parking lot will be busy and that therefore there will be no space left for their car. The other person will be convinced that there is still a parking space available and will see that parking space in their mind. Based on the law of attraction, both people will get exactly what they expect. The first person cannot find a parking spot and has to keep driving in circles. The other person quickly finds a parking space near their destination.
Does the law of attraction work for everyone?
The law of attraction is seen as a law of nature and therefore it applies to everyone. Same as with gravity, there is no need to believe in the law for it to work. Someone who doesn’t believe in gravity will still fall down when he jumps off an apartment building. For example, someone who does not believe in the law of attraction will still create the thing in his life that he pays the most attention to. At least, that is what is claimed by the proponents of the law of attraction theory. It has not yet been scientifically proven that the law of attraction actually exists. However, various experiments have been carried out, the results of which suggest that life is actually structured in such a way that people can shape their own lives by controlling their thoughts, feelings and actions.
How do you use the law of attraction?
The law of attraction is not a trick that can be applied. This is because it is equated with a law of nature and a law of nature has its effect, even if no one consciously applies the law. Gravity, for example, does not cease to exist if no one consciously applies this law of nature.
We can use knowledge of how the law of attraction works to change your life and create what you would like to have in your life. Since the law of attraction attracts what a person pays a lot of attention to, it is important to live as consciously as possible. Living consciously means that you should reflect as much as possible on your thoughts, feelings and behavior. The bottom line is that when you feel good, you create good things in your life, while when you feel bad you create more misery, sadness or anger. Thoughts, feelings and behavior continuously influence each other. By consciously changing one of those aspects yourself, you ensure that you feel good and therefore create good things in your life. If you are sad and you notice that you are thinking a lot about worries, you can adjust your behavior, for example putting on nice music. The music can make you feel good, give you better thoughts and make you feel more like doing fun things. This way your entire mood is affected and good things come your way again.
A skeptical note
Not everyone is attracted to the law of attraction theory. People who have experienced a lot of misery in their lives in particular have difficulty believing the theory. They cannot imagine that they themselves have attracted this misery into their lives. Furthermore, questions are often asked about what happens to children in difficult situations and people in developing countries. To what extent can they really influence what life looks like for them? Furthermore, self-fulfilling prophecy seems to play a major role in the experience of people who adhere to the theory of the law of attraction. No matter what happens, there is always a reason to be found that is related to the thoughts and feelings they had at that moment. To use the example of the parking space again: if a parking space is found it is due to convincing thoughts, if the parking space is not found it is due to the slight doubt that apparently still existed.