The “Non-Woo” Version of The Law of Attraction (And How You Can Practice it Daily)
[image error]The Law of Attraction actually works. But not in the way that most people think it does.
I recently got $1000 deposited into my bank account for no reason. That’s enough money to sustain me for an entire month.
However, I never asked for that to happen. It was freak luck. Nothing else. It was not the Law of Attraction that gave me that money.
Let me give you the neurological explanation for why the LoA works, as well as my personal strategy — the strategy that I have been practicing for a few years with incrementally improving results.
This is one of the core things that I practice daily, and it’s something that I believe to be essential for success in any area of life.
But first, let’s take a look at how most people think the Law of Attraction works.
The Common Interpretation of Law of Attraction
Here’s how it’s supposed to work, according to dumbed-down movies: you state your desires and wait for it to manifest.
You’ve probably heard the following catchphrase:
“I told the Universe I needed money… Suddenly checks arrived in my mail box instead of bills. It was like magic!”
But that’s bullshit.
It doesn’t matter if you’re the best person in the world at “manifesting your desires”, if you don’t know basic economics. You must provide value to get money.
Your life cannot change for the better — financially speaking — unless you find an efficient solution for helping other people achieve their goals. That’s economics 101, you provide a valuable service or product in exchange for money.
Point being: You don’t manifest shit. You make your own luck.
But, if you can find ways of getting your brain to keep focused on the right things it certainly helps you in making your own luck. Stay tuned til the end to find out what I mean.
Example: Stupid People on a Forum
Let’s take a closer look at how some people interpret the LoA. And just exactly how it fits into their lives…
Here are a number of funny messages that I stole from the Power of Attraction Forum from a thread about something called “RS” — Remote Seduction. These people are using their mind powers to get people to fall in love with them.
They begin by telling each other of their cool, supernatural experiences of making people of the opposite sex notice them. Then they get into a “highly scientific” discussion about how to use Remote Seduction and the LoA, trying to find their way towards a best practice:
[Note: My commentary is in normal text, the forum comments are in grey.]
“Maybe it helps to take a break of 1-2 days 
That’s how I do it.”
–Another user responds, reassuringly:
“I don’t do it every night.so i take break sometimes :)”
–The first user responds:
“That’s good all I can say is stay positive and keep trying as you never know when the universe fulfills your desires 
“
–Just wait for the universe to fulfill your desires. Eventually your begging will reach the universal god and it will grant your wish, if it’s having a good day and feels like it.
This sounds like a smart plan: Don’t take any personal responsibility for making your desires come true.
Later, another user gives a more in-depth explanation for how the LoA should be used:
“The thing is that the process helps you believe that your desire will come true. It shouldn’t be used to bring your desire to you. By using RS in that way, you’re using it out of desperation or inpatience, sending a message of discomfort of your current lifestyle. REMEMBER: It’s not something you do X times and then you have your guy/girl by your side. Stay happy and that’s the most important thing that you need know!”
–Did I understand correctly:
This magic superpower should only be used for altruistic purposes?
It has nothing to do with skill or practice, but works purely on random?
Some other user (I didn’t copy the comment) isn’t seeing any results from doing the Remote Seduction mental magic. She begins to wonder if something is wrong, and needs to reaffirm her beliefs. She has become insecure and skeptical. She lists some mundane occurences during the last days.
Another, more experienced, user responds to her:
“those are RS “Symptoms” you mentioned above! So KNOW that its working. My guy is acting soooo weird sometimes when he see’s me he smiles makes eye contact other times he freaks out! and looks confused or even scared(by his own emotions towards me) it’s like im dealing with TWO completely different people here…! is completely Logical for them to act this way.”
–Indeed. It must be working. Boyfriends that smile at their girlfriends is not at all standard behavior.
User Coley915 leaves another confused message.
“Lately I feel it’s hard to do RS. I just don’t have any energy to put into it. Some days I try and I just can’t. Other days I have really intense RS sessions. I guess part of me feels stupid that I am even trying to attract someone back by doing this in the first place. I’m torn because I love J so much and I miss him. I just want him to come back to me.”
–Yes, Coley915, this will get you your man back. There is no more efficient way of accomplishing your goal. Especially not talking directly to him and trying to assert some personal influence.
You just keep thinking hard about how much you want him, and don’t do anything about it. Things should come to you effortlessly. Remember, if you exert any real effort, you must be using the LoA wrong!
—————————
I think you get the point.
These people don’t understand that they actually have to put in some intelligent effort to get what they desire.
They don’t believe in the Law of Compensation. They think they can get something for nothing.
They will do anything — including resorting to magic thinking — in order to avoid putting in any real effort. They can’t face the reality that they need to improve and become more competent before they can get the things they want in life.
It doesn’t matter how skilled at Remote Seduction a 300 lbs woman is. She still has to lose weight.
It doesn’t matter if you slap a suit and tie on a loser guy. He’s still a loser, and nothing will change that but hard work and action.
To clarify: I’m not talking down on wishing, doing affirmation, and formulating goals. But none of those things matter unless you purposely place yourself in situations that are conducive to help you achieve those things.
The Neurological Explanation for the LoA
Practice your brain’s pattern recognition.
When I first learned about the Law of Attraction I was highly skeptical to it. I am a critical thinker and I didn’t buy the dumbed-down explanations for how it worked. I saw that it was a marketing ploy to sell videotapes to the unthinking masses.
However, this actually impeded me, because it made me dismiss everything associated to the LoA. Including writing down my goals, stating my desires, and doing affirmations. I was unsure about those things for a long time — until I began seeing positive results from doing them.
Here’s the real explanation for how the LoA works. It has to do with using certain parts of your brain. And you can practice them regularly. Here are the main parts of the brain that are involved and what they do:
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is used to sustain attention at a task, or maintain a stream of thought. It’s with this part of the brain that you make decisions and associate with “wakeful consciousness”.
The reticular activating system (RAS) together with the thalamus relay information to other parts of the brain. They then filter out all incoming stimuli except for the miniscule amount of information deemed as necessary to bring up to your immediate attention.
In combination, these processes allow human beings to set goals and find ways of achieving them by spotting unlikely opportunities:
PFC: Set goal X + repeat it by consistently focusing on it = sustained attention
RAS & Thamalus: Sustained attention on goal X filters out unnecessary information and helps you find what you’re looking for.
It’s not magic. It’s merely about telling your brain what to look for while you take a lot of action. That is intelligent effort.
Practical Example
Let’s say you run a business and your current goal is to build a sales team. You are now looking to recruit a sales person.
You go about your day and socialize with people.
As you go to your favorite lunch spot you hear a guy in the group in the queue, in front of you, talk about how he sold his car. You listen in on the conversation a bit longer.
The guy starts talking about how he skillfully got the buyer to pay more for the car by using clever sales tactics he’d learned from a book. He then says to his friends that he’s got a new, much cooler car. He tells them he got it by getting several of his friends to make fake offers to the seller — and then got his friends to withdraw their bids in the last second to make his own, lower bid, become the last one left. This made the seller desperate, and he got the car cheaply.
At this point you butt into the conversation and ask the man what he does. You then talk him into taking a position in your sales force.
How did this happen?
Let’s break it down:
It’s highly unlikely that you would have even paid attention to this conversation unless you’d specifically told your brain to scout for candidates to your sales force.
And even if you had, you wouldn’t have made appropriate the connection and thought: “oh, I can use this event to my advantage. I gotta butt into their conversation and make it happen!” unless you were certain that it would help you in accomplishing your goal.
How to Practice Your Brain
If you do the following things your brain will let you notice opportunities to a higher extent, and you will find solutions and smart strategies that you otherwise would’ve missed if you had not told your brain to focus on finding them.
Practice your concentration. Read books, meditate, visualize, exercise, do anything that is conducive to helping you focus for prolonged periods of time. (PFC practice).
Go about your day looking for a specific thing. Limit your selection to just a few things. Your attention span can’t handle keeping more than a few important goals in your mind at once. (RAS & thalamus practice).
Remind yourself what you are looking for. Do repetitions of various sorts. Tell yourself in your head “I’m looking to do X today!” many times throughout the day. Write down the objectives of the day on a note and look at it every hour.
Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.
– Ayn Rand –
Long-term readers also know that I am very keen on Universal 43623 Dry Erase Board, Melamine, 36w x 24h, Satin-Finished Aluminum Frame
keeping a whiteboard and a commonplace. These are the most efficient ways I’ve found to keep focused on the big picture of what I need to do.
What is your opinion on this? What do you think about the Law of Attraction?
Photo credit: Pedro Constantino
Photo credit: Pedro Constantino
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