To say there are a lot of misconceptions about the law of attraction is an understatement if there ever was one. When I first read about it, there was a strong resonance with the idea we create our own reality. As I got deeper into my "studies," I started seeing so many amazing changes in my life.
By consciously working with my "energy" ( thoughts, feelings and beliefs), and focusing more on what I wanted, and not what I didn't, I moved from a life of "eh" to one filled with awesomeness.
I do what I love for a living, and have been traveling the world for the last four years, with my amazing husband, funding our journey with various sources of location-independent income. It was my ultimate dream, one that seemed highly unlikely several years back.
Applying what I learned literally changed every aspect of my life, and I do not have a shred of doubt it is a very real thing.
Based on what I have come to know, and experience, I like to educate others more deeply about what law of attraction is, and isn't.
I have received emails from former "skeptics" telling me how the information I have provided has caused them to reconsider their position, and how applying what they learned, has changed their life in so many positive ways. Though trying to convince people, or prove anything, is not my intention.To each his own.
I believe with more accurate information, more people would realize how much freaking sense it makes. How it truly works is much more complex than I think we can fully understand, however, and I have made peace with that. I put my focus on applying the principles to improve my life, rather than trying to figure out why everything in the world happens, through the lens of LOA.
Anyhow... here are two of the biggest misconceptions that I would like to clear up a bit:
Law of Attraction Is Magic
For all of those who extol the virtues of hard work, and suffering, to get what you want, this misconception can really get their panties in a bunch. There is this idea law of attraction is magic. You merely think about what you want and POOF there it is!
This is actually true sometimes. You want a new car ,and you get a call from your rich aunt who is buying a new one, and offers her current car free of charge... sweet.
You want a new job, you run into an old friend who sets you up with an interview at his awesome company and you get hired... easy peasy.
But in many cases, this really isn't how it works. The law of attraction lines you up with people, circumstances, ideas and inspirations, that help you get what you want. By aligning your energy with your desire, and generating some genuine positive emotion, the role of action carries less importance.
The type of action we are typically accustomed to anyway, the one driven by a desire to control, force and manipulate. You still take various actions, but they come from a place of inspiration, and there is a lot of leverage behind inspired action. It doesn't feel hard, it feels great.
You feel an intuitive nudge to pitch your boss a new idea, it gets great results, and you get a big raise and promotion.
You feel a surge of inspiration to create a new product, and it's a huge success. Creating it was so easy and joyful, because you were "in the zone."
So no, just thinking about what you want is not going to bring it to you... you have to be a match to it by believing you can have it, like truly believing it. You have to be willing to trust your intuition, and follow through on the actions you feel inspired to take.
Bad Things Happen Because People Are Being Negative
Oy... this one is what gets the "LOA haters" really riled up. Our life experience is dependent on a lot more than whether we are a generally a "positive" or "negative" person. It is about the beliefs we hold ,and our predominant thoughts and feelings. A situation manifesting in our lives can be the result of a complex mix of factors.
We tend to have a boatload of thoughts, feelings and beliefs, that don't serve us. Many are so deeply ingrained, we don't even know they are there anymore. We picked up all sorts of screwy energy from parents and other people close to us.
There are beliefs that have a lot of energy on a global scale, like we are basically powerless, that affect most of us to some degree. Humanity's overall vibe still is pretty thick with fear, greed, ignorance, intolerance and hatred, and that is mirrored back in all sorts of terrible ways.
Then there is the idea our soul, higher self, inner being, or your term of choice, decided to experience certain things that our human selves would choose to avoid at all costs, in order to expand their perspective. I may have lost some of you there, but had to bring that up.
The process of attraction is neutral, and just delivers experiences based on the input it is receiving from our "energy." It is not making any sort of judgment.
This word 'attract' can have a negative charge, and people take this to mean "deserve," "had it coming" or "brought it on themselves." And this is not what is being suggested... not by a long shot.
Yes, we do create our reality, and anything that happens to us, is because something in our energy field makes us a match to it. But again, input and output, like a computer. There is no force deciding this bad thing is going to happen to us. There is no suggestion we must have wanted this thing to happen... that is ridiculous.
We don't create based on our exact thoughts, but our overall emotional state, and beliefs. So many unwanted experiences that occur often aren't something we have thought about much, or even at all, but represent the essence of what is happening in our inner world.
Super-truncated example: Little Susie grew up in a household with an abusive father who had unpredictable mood swings This experience made her feel unsafe, and birthed a belief the world is an unpredictable place, where bad things can happen at any moment. This belief was never reconciled... maybe she was conscious of it at times or maybe not.
But it is still in Big Susie's energy in a big way. One possible way these feelings, and beliefs, could be mirrored back to her, is being the victim of a crime. If she were to think about how this incident made her feel, she would likely have memories of her childhood flood in, and she would see where this belief was formed.
Now that she knows, she can look for evidence to show that the world isn't as dangerous as she thought, and she can work on developing a feeling of safety. This leaves her feeling more empowered.
I hope what I have written here has given you something to chew on, and perhaps opened your mind a bit more to the idea we are more in control of our life experience than we typically think, and we can harness that power to create a better life for ourselves, and a better experience, for humanity as a whole.
Kelli Cooper is a blogger and coach who specializes in educating people about the much misunderstood concept of law of attraction. You can find her over at her blog Life Made to Order
If you would like to learn more about common misconceptions about the LOA, check out her book 5 Misconceptions about the Law of Attraction