A reader from Ireland recently had some questions on intention manifestation (aka the law of attraction) so I thought I’d share what I wrote about it in an article.
The going theory with intention manifestation or the law of attraction goes something like this. Dominate your thoughts on what you want, feel good and the universe will magically conspire to bring it to you.
Being a logical kind of person, I don’t really buy into the whole bit about “the universe will magically bring you everything” part. I like going straight to the heart of the issue, finding the patterns, piercing them together, and applying logical analysis to those patterns to see the underlying principles of the situation and come up with a logical theory as to how intention manifestation or the law of attraction works. My intentions here are not to ridicule or denounce the mainstream theory, but to provide an alternate way to look at it. All I ask is that you please keep an open mind.
To recap, intention manifestation or law of attraction works like this.
Do X (concentrate on what you want + feel good)
Then Y will happen (“the universe magically attracts everything to you”)
And the end result is Z (you get what you want).
In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what Y (or reason) you attribute your results to because the important part is that it is your belief in Y that generates the end part (z).
You can have the same X and the same Z, but different Y’s.
Take for example, professional baseball players. They are known to be extremely superstitious and always have a “set” routine they do before they bat to ensure they’ll hit the ball.
For example, before they get ready to bat, this might be how their set routine looks like:
Spit behind your shoulder, hit your shoes with the bat, twist your neck (x)
Then you’ll hit a home run (z).
Possible explanations (y)
#1. Players have recalled that every time they went through this exact routine, they hit a home run so they think just by following this routine, they’ll hit a home run (or they may be just superstitious and follow a routine influenced by superstition)
#2. You could also say they’ve created an anchor (for you Tony Robbins fans) through conditioning so when they follow the set, they automatically resend the necessary signals to the muscles in the arms, legs, etc., which all contribute to having the person hit the ball successfully just like they did in previous times.
Either one explains the end result.
Both are right, but reason #2 is much more logical.
That’s really the point I want to make. Both explanations create the end result, but the latter is much more logical, hence the one I like to utilize.
So how can intention manifestation or law of attraction be explained that way?
Well, if your thoughts are dominant on what you WANT, then YOU will attract what you need to get it. The universe doesn’t magically conspire and give you everything on a silver platter.
For example, if you want a good job, and you dominate your thoughts on finding a good job, guess what? You’ll find yourself talking about it ALL THE TIME to friends, family, neighbors, etc. in conversation. What happens if you keep on mentioning your quest for a new job? Somebody will know somebody who’s hiring for your exact position and get you that job.
Or, since your thoughts are so dominant on getting a job, you’ll go to the local bookstore and buy some books on the subject, use that knowledge, apply it, and find the job you want.
It is YOU who will take the actions necessary to get what you want because your actions will be conducive to your dominant thoughts and they will domino effect until you see the end result.
People focus too much on the end result and don’t realize the little things that contributed to its fulfillment, so when the find what they want gets manifested, they attribute their success to “the universe”, when in reality, it was themselves who did all the work the whole time.
What about the feeling good part?
The whole thing about the feeling good part is to convey the feeling to yourself that you expect what you want to come. When you don’t feel good, you’re basically sending signals that you don’t think it’s going to happen. Felling good is just another way of implying that you believe you’ll get what you want.
If you feel good (expect what you want to come), YOU will create and see the opportunities that will help get what you want.
Going back to the previous example of finding a job, if you feel good and happy all the time, it’ll show in the job interview and you’ll get hired. The universe didn’t magically get you the job. YOU got the job interview because of your dominant thoughts and pleasant personality (people will help those who are pleasant won’t they?) and your personality at that time which was influenced by YOU feeling good.
If you expect what you want to come true, you’ll begin to see opportunities to fulfill it right in front of you. It’s like when you concentrate on buying a certain type of car, and then you begin to see that same car everywhere you drive. Your brain is just opening your eyes to your dominant thoughts.
Also, isn’t law of attraction just another fancy term for faith that it’s going to work? Language is very powerful. You see, when you use a word like “Law”, it implies that it MUST happen, because it is law. This implication goes in silently through the back door of your brain.
Why is this so effective? It’s because it’s hard to consciously try to instill the belief or faith that what you want will manifest (which is hard but can be done). Using a term like “Law of Attraction” is just a method of implanting in your brain the faith or belief that what you want will manifest, so long as you follow the rules. It just does it so silently and effectively that people don’t realize it.
So what happens when people try intention manifestation or law of attraction out and it works? Their belief in it will become stronger, and they’ll enter a favorable cycle where their since their belief in it becomes stronger, they use it to make other things happen, and the cycle continues, making their belief grow stronger and stronger. It’s like the baseball analogy effect. Once people find a set routine (intention manifestation or law of attraction) that works for them, they stick to it. Again, in my opinion, it doesn’t really matter what Y (or reason) you attribute your results to because the important part is that it is your belief in Y that generates the end part (z).
I guess what I’m trying to say is that ultimately, in the last analysis of my model, it is YOU AND YOU ALONE that attracts everything, not some mystical magical force or the universe. The reason why I like the model of YOU attracting everything is because it’s a very powerful personal model.
It teaches personal responsibility and that it all comes down to YOU and YOU alone. Once people realize that it’s all them, they become unstoppable because they have nobody or nothing else to blame.
I hope this post doesn’t come across with an “I know it all” vibe, because that is certainly not my intention. I certainly don’t know it all and I think it would foolish of anyone to do so. But the model I’ve described above is the model I’ve been using my entire life and it’s been working perfectly fine for me.
I also guess that for many, the current model of how intention manifestation or law of attraction works, is working fine for them as well.
Again, two different models (Y) can explain the same end results (Z).
Choose the model that’s right for you.
