Features Archives - Law of Attraction

When Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret" first hit the bookstore shelves a few years ago, young and old alike scrambled to be the first to read about how to take control of their lives and use their minds to get what they wanted. The book emerged after the popular movie was released, and it was circulated amongst groups that were interested not only in New Age theories but in groups that wanted to instill a sense of motivation in its members. The secret of "The Secret": The Law of Attraction, whose main ideas have been around for thousands of years. The Law of Attraction itself is simple: you need to focus on precisely what you want, act as though you already have it, and be open to receiving the gift that you seek. This gift can come in many forms: it can be that raise you have long been aiming for, that high grade on that important exam, a husband or a wife, even a house and a car. While this may seem fairly straightforward, the Law of Attraction itself focuses and want: its basis lies in quantum physics and a supposedly force-driven universe, where like attracts like. According to people who have studied and practiced the Law of attraction, all our thoughts, actions, and words have their own corresponding vibrations and energies. All of which can attract other thoughts that have the same vibrations and energies. If you think positively, you attract positive energies toward you; and if you focus your positive energy, you can get what you want. All you need to do is ask the universe for what you want, change how you think and act for the better, and keep any negative thoughts, actions, desires, or behavior from creeping into your life. This kind of mindset can be dated to the teachings of early prophets. Buddha believed that what a person becomes is the result of what he or she has thought. Ancient Hindu writings also point to the power of the mind to change a person and to give the person what he or she wants. In the early nineteenth century, positive thinking, or using positive thoughts to drive one's destiny, became famous as a way to motivate people to keep on working an important idea that led people through the dark Industrial Age. The Law of Attraction itself, in its modern form, was first given breath in the early twentieth century, where William Walker Atkinson first wrote the book Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World. Atkinson was also editor of the popular magazine New Thought, and his authority on the matter further spurred the growth of the Law of Attraction movement. More books on the Law of Attraction and positive thinking were published and became popular in the twentieth century. They grew all the more ubiquitous as people became more and more attached to their jobs and claimed to be alienated from the pleasures that the real world could offer. In 2006, "The Secret" first emerged as a film, then as a book. It grew popular and gained much media attention due to its unabashed approach to utilizing the Law of Attraction to help people get what they want. Talk show hosts, movie pundits, and scholars alike gave their take on the film and movie, which were not necessarily without their critics. Skeptics countered the claims of the Law of Attraction, saying that it could not apply to a world that was much beset by war and chaos. The Law of Attraction has its followers. This group is growing steadily, with much thanks to the book and the movie. There are also blogs and conferences devoted to studying the Law of Attraction and in helping people understand it. The Law of Attraction is subject to criticism only because it can be so easily misinterpreted. If you are interested in reading more about the Law of Attraction, you might be interested in buying the book and reading on "The Secret" and supplementing your reading materials with other books that chronicle the history and development of the Law of Attraction. If you can harness the power of your mind, as well as the depth and strength of your focus, then you can allow the Law of Attraction to work for you.