Now that the Arizona manslaughter trial against James Arthur Ray is gearing up for a verdict, one thing is certain: Ray -- who came to fame riding the coattails of the law of attraction in the movie, "The Secret" -- sure doesn't seem to be putting the law to work for him.
For anyone not familiar, the law of attraction is the "New Thought" teaching (actually more than a hundred years old) popularized by Ray and others in the movie. Oprah featured the cast, including Ray, on her show. The premise behind the law is that what you think about and what comes into your life is always a match, energy-wise. Think poverty and wealth won't flow to you, the theory goes; spend time envisioning a great career, and the job of your dreams will appear. It definitely sounds weird at first blush -- and is made even odder by the fact that its primary advocate is a woman who channels -- Esther Hicks. (Her Law of Attraction book is a New York Times bestseller.)
The fact that Ray would "attract" the deaths of three participants, allegedly from overheating, in his sweat lodge during a October 2009 "Spiritual Warrior" event, and, subsequently, the criminal trial where he potentially faces a dozen years behind bars, might seem to negate the prospect of the law's existence. Indeed, the Twitterati is ablaze with sneers that Ray's predicament means exactly that.
At one time I might have agreed. But I have seen the law work so perfectly in my own life that I've become an enthusiastic convert. Watching its incredible effects on myself and those around me has enticed me to research the teachings more closely. Here are some things I've discovered -- and why the James Ray situation doesn't change a thing.
1. The law responds to energy, not isolated wishes. There's a feel-good moment in "The Secret" when a young boy asks for a bicycle, and quickly receives one. Things aren't quite that simple in the real world. First, there's a time delay, so you rarely manifest your creations the moment you ponder them. Second, it isn't your words that matter. The law is misunderstood by many to be comparable to affirmations or positive thinking. But it isn't the upbeat words you say or think that brings things to you; it's your overall energetic "set-point" about a given topic. What the law does is draw similar energies together, like magnets. When you feel happy, for example, that happy vibration brings other joyful events and people into your sphere. Same with feeling prosperous or lucky -- or, by contrast, feeling victimized or angry.
2. Your expectation is most important. What really moves the energy needle are your core beliefs or expectations. Which brings us back to Ray. It's true he lectured and wrote about attracting good fortune and prosperity to himself. But he's the only one in position to know if he truly expected that. Don't think an upbeat spiritual teacher can actually feel like an under-confident fraud? You must have missed Oprah's televised February reunion with self-help guru Iyanla Vanzant. In her many TV appearances and her bestselling books, Vanzant had long emphasized that loving yourself is what most matters. Yet here she was, confessing that she'd needed Oprah's validation to feel whole. "I just wanted you to say you liked me and you never did," a teary Vanzant recounted. It's no surprise that the law of attraction piled onto Vanzant's sense of being unloved: Within a few years she lost her book deals, money and even her marriage.
3. Your feelings reveal your focus. Walk around boasting about how you're about to win the lottery and you may convince others of its possibility. But is that helping you manifest more money in your real life? The key is how you are feeling. When you buy objects, pay bills, or think about your money throughout the day, are you joyful and expectant, or fearful and sad? If the former, you're at the prosperity "set point" level needed for those lottery-winnings to flow to you; keep it up and it eventually will, even if your wallet is currently empty.
4. There's no blaming the victim involved. Some complain that this law seems to blame people for their bad predicaments. I have come to see that it can empower them, instead. Once you understand how the law operates, you can use it to shift unhappy circumstances rather than feel defeated and stuck. A friend of mine had one disappointing boyfriend after another. She could have bemoaned her horrible fate, but knowing the law, she realized it was her energetic expectation that the next one would be awful that kept shoveling these bad dates in. She changed her expectation, and a great guy (now husband) followed. In some cases there isn't so direct a correlation. It's not that someone expects to get cancer; it's that they spend much of their time feeling angry or disempowered about life, which attracts other, similarly low-vibration creations, including diseases.
5. Denying its existence doesn't stop it. Just because you didn't learn about the law of attraction in school doesn't mean you can ignore its effects. This law is powerful, so you might as well at least experiment with harnessing it. As Esther Hicks observes, if you didn't believe in gravity, you still wouldn't be able to leap up and fly away. Test the law by noticing that what comes to you is, at its core, an energetic match to what you are anticipating. Don't like what you see? Tweak what you expect and watch what follows.
6. Action gets you to your destination. The law of attraction does not mean you can sit on your couch all day waiting for the universe to drop goodies from the ceiling. Life doesn't work that way. When you're an energetic match to your desired creation, you are inspired to act in a way that brings desired results. It's similar to the "liquid luck" potion that Harry Potter drinks in book six. Although Harry needs to seek out Professor Slughorn for crucial information, after drinking the potion he decides the right thing is to head for the gamekeeper Hagrid's hut. By following his inspiration, he runs into Slughorn and learns everything he needs to know. When you're feeling good and get a strong impulse to call someone or head someplace, that's the law of attraction at play. You'd be wise to follow the trail.
Ultimately, then, the James Ray trial doesn't say anything about the truth of the law of attraction. It only says something about Ray: That if he does sincerely believe in the power of this universal principle, he somehow didn't put it into practice as well as he might have.
Edited to add: On June 22, Ray was convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of three of his sweat-lodge participants.
Follow Meryl Davids Landau on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MerylDL
Some thoughts:
The healthier I am, the easier it is to manifest, especially when I'm doing yoga regularly.
When I take time out (especially away from my computer), life flows better and I can attract more easily.
When you ask for help or ideas for the next step, they always come if you're willing to listen.
And everything Abraham Hicks says they "channeled" they actually just adapted from old out of print books as well. So give the credit where it is truly owed. Atkinson, Wattles, Collier, Hill, etc.
You do not really mention the TRUE victims in explaining why this tragedy is not a judgment on the*Law of Attraction* - and i find this detachment just a little creepy- sort of why people are questioning this in the first place.
I mean none of this argument is germane without these well intentioned people having perished in persuit of THEIR dreams, their "Manifesting".
If the *Law of Attraction* does not inherently blame the victim, then what exactly happened to the ACTUAL victims of James Rays manifestations for wealth?
Surely they made some mis-calculation about their own desires and what they wanted?
These people were obviously highly motivated, and if not "adepts", they were not the slackers who you describe as "sitting on your couch all day waiting for the universe to drop goodies from the ceiling."
No, these earnest people, according to the Law of Attraction, were doing everything they had been told to do, payed all the money, fasted, prayed, etc. and aside from dying, what DID they do wrong? .
I have my own opinion about what they did wrong, give me yours, please.
Thanks,
GAB
The term 'victim' fails to see individual responsibility. We are each RESPONSIBLE for our own experiences. The seemingly difficult reality is that each of us, including the three from AZ, make choices. This is not to say Ray did not have a responsibility in the process, but the reality is, those that died made choices, to attend the event, to go into the sweat lodge, etc. Responsibility and outcome of those choices always rests on the individual...period.
I understand the depth of your questioning and to explain in detail all the workings that lead to the outcome of this event, would be numerous. I ask you to simply be open to seeing that each of us, no matter what the outcome, makes choices, and we must take personal responsibility for those choices...no blame, no victim.
You state "according to the LOA, were doing everything they had been told to do..." "what DID they do wrong?" They did nothing 'wrong', yet they did make choices. And doing everything they had been told to do has nothing to do with LOA. If someone tells you to 'jump off a cliff'...do you do it? No matter if you do or don't, you make a personal 'choice' prior to your action. We must understand ultimately our outcomes are based on our personal choices. LOA aligns with our vibration (thoughts, feelings) and creates a perfect match...no exceptions.
I have a question: can (should?) a Christian apply the Law of Attraction (and the other supporting universal laws) to their life? Any opinions?
(Please, this is not a request to attack Christianity or its followers).
Jesse Rowe
http://twitter.com/loafc
www.theuniversallawsforchristians.blogspot.com
Glad you like the article. I don't see why people of any religion can't apply the law of attraction. My spiritual women's novel, Downward Dog, Upward Fog, which features law of attraction, along with spiritual principles (like mindfulness and acceptance), and yoga, is not religious, but I've heard from some religious women that they really enjoyed the book.
If you believe (as I do) that the law of attraction is always operating in your life, then you really have only two choices in terms of what comes to you: Creating by intention or creating by default. And creating by intention is so much more satisfying, whatever your religious beliefs.
And yes, I also give great thanks to Meryl for writing the article!!! The experience of James Ray has nothing to do with the validity of LOA...and has everything to do with the demonstration of the LOA. Bravo Meryl, Bravo!
And only the very best to James Ray and each of us as we navigate the experiences of our lives. And to the those who transitioned from Sedona, thank you for gracing our physical world with your brief yet most important existence.
In fact, maybe if I use the Law of Attraction, everyone will magically become an atheist.
There is a great body of evidence that THEY have been using the basic principles of The Secret combined with blood-drinking black magic rituals in order to enslave the minds of the ignorant peasant world.
July is soon upon us and they should be performing another magical 'cremation of care' ritual in Bohemian Grove so that for the rest of the year THEY DON'T CARE how much the ignorant peons suffer because of their greedy decisions!
THIS IS INDEED A CRIME COMMITTED BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA!
THEY SHOULD GO TO JAIL FOR THIS CRIME!
The honorable keep their written promises even if corrupt lawyers and judges give them the option to break those promises. The dishonorable do not deserve to be protected from the promises they may make in writing, period!
If you had been following the trial even peripherally, you would know that the issues that makes this trial ALL ABOUT James Ray, is the control he has over his followers, his instructions to them at this event, and his lack of action and preparation for the "noobs"- the people otherwise known as the victims.
sheesh.
He defaulted on both.
The amazing thing about life is that it doesn't matter what you have attracted or created in your life up until this moment (this goes for James ray as well). All that ever matters is who you decide to be right now and what steps you are willing to take to demonstrate this state of "being" to the universe. It is the only thing the universe responds to. This requires a faith in the way life unfolds and an understanding that things don't happen "to" you they happen "for" You. When you come to this level of trust with the universe that has given you and everything else life, the journey gets a bit more magical.
The answer is no, right? You can't provide evidence for it, can you? What a shock.
Some religious people might say: "god did it" and scientists say: "it's random chance"
point in fact: law of attraction
Just look in your own life. Next time something big happens good or bad - the moment it happens try to remember to look over what your predominant thoughts and feelings were in the days leading up to it -- my girlfriend and i do it all the time - and now when one of us gets on a complaining streak and then something happens like we spill our coffee or lose something - we just laugh because it ALWAYS makes sense.
the only reason - i think - people can still believe in chance is because the media and movie makers distort reality. When someone is murdered they just get the sensational sob story with the neighbors: oh he was a great guy -- but no one does any investigating into the background of the person in the days and weeks leading up to that event -- you'd see that there isn't any CHANCE that someone can just randomly pick you and get you.
Is there evidence? yeah - it's all around. Look in your life.
For a law to be valid it must be tested by experiment, not by anecdote.. The problem with squishy-wishy pronouncements is that they encourage people to trade personal responsibility for the dictates of others... and if you buy my position, you may be at risk. Think for thyself.