The basic philosophy behind the law of attraction is that energy precedes manifestationWhitman explains. As such, positive thoughts can bring positive results to a person’s life, while negative thoughts bring the opposite.
“Anything we direct our powerful focus on within the invisible realm of our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions eventually manifests in an external form,” Whitman says. Therefore, the law of attraction says that the state of everything in our external world—our bodies, our relationships, the strength of our careers, and our finances—is a direct reflection of our internal state.
“When we focus on what is missing, what is unfair, or all the ways we have been wronged, we not only continue to find evidence of wrongdoing, but we keep ourselves in a victim mentality that robs us of our power to think and feel on purpose,” adds Whitman. On the contrary, the law of attraction says that if you don’t like the quality of the experiences you are attracting to yourself, you can change them by adjusting your vibrational output, which means changing your mood, attitude, words, thoughts, or perspective. .
As an example, imagine that you are selling your house and you feel anxious about people searching your house, because someone might steal something; that’s a negative result and, like a boomerang, will give an equal feedback of vibrational energy, says Whitman. He may discover that someone moved something, stole something, or the power in the house feels off. However, if you are tending to your energy and fear or anxiety surrounding the sale of your home, and you are confident that the perfect buyer will come along, at the perfect time, and that you are excited about your next move or the money that will flow , then you are sending out positive vibes.
“The energy, attitude, actions, and emotions one puts out into the world are more likely to attract similar or resonant energy, attitudes, actions, vibrations, and emotions,” says James Michael Nolan, Ph.D., licensed psychologist, law of attraction coach and former president of Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “This is not related to the common notion of karma, you reap what you sow, or what goes around comes around.”
The history of the law of attraction
The principles behind the law of attraction date back to ancient philosophers, Nolan says, including Hermes Trismegistus and the Hermetic Teachings, which were written in the first century. “So this is by no means new or ‘new age’ thinking,” says Nolan. “It’s been around for a long time, in all the major religions and many philosophical schools.”
There are several ways people view the law of attraction, Nolan explains. On the one hand, there are people who adhere to the more scientific sounding explanation of vibrational energy. While the other, more metaphysical worldview of this concept is not based on a logical and linear explanation at all, but is based on intuition, faith, and trust, according to Nolan.
