The Law of Attraction: “Woo-Woo” or “Woo-Hoo”?

(This article was received in part intuitively from my non-physical spiritual “Team.”)

The phrase “Law of Attraction” certainly seems to be a popular “buzz-phrase,” almost to the point where I think it’s losing its meaning to many of us.

My Team and I will attempt to address this topic from both the “Woo-Woo” point of view (“this is really stupid woo-woo stuff”) as well as the “Woo-Hoo” (“this concept is fantastically life-changing!”) perspective, and then attempt to make sense of both. For those of you not familiar with the term “Law of Attraction,” it is loosely defined as the law of like attracting like, particularly our thoughts and emotions attracting “matching” circumstances.

I had a friend (let’s protect the innocent and call him “John”). His very being pretty accurately describes this phenomenon. Here’s just one example:

Very early one morning, John was attempting to get his auto emissions test performed before he was caught with an expired vehicle tag. True to form, he was already one day late, having had to repair his vehicle the day before. On his way to the emissions test, John continually begged the Universe: “Please don’t let the police pull me over.” Please don’t let the police pull me over!” So, what do you think happened? Of course, because the Universe does not understand “No” (see article: The (Almost) Tragic Abduction of Little Johnny”), the police promptly pulled him over. Of course, John “just knew” that would happen because that kind of stuff always “happens to me.” Now that’s powerful creation! (Really, who gets pulled over 7 hours after their tag expires?)

A Woo-Wooer’s Perspective. “Law of Attraction is a pile of garbage. I tried thinking positive thoughts all the time for days and even after a week, nothing good happened! Bad stuff just happens to me all the time. I am the unluckiest person in the world. Why does everyone get the good stuff while I get the crappy stuff? I just seem to be the victim of crazy circumstances all of the time.”

A Woo-Hooer’s Perspective. “Ever since I started paying attention to how I feel and what I think about a variety of topics, I have been able to slowly change my perspective to one of truly positive expectation about most things in my life. It is a process that requires diligence and attention. Because I have learned to love and appreciate myself and know I deserve a great a life, it is worth the many months or even years it takes to learn how to manifest really good things, including good health, a great career, and wonderful relationships.

So, who is correct? The “Wooer” or the “Hooer”? Actually, both! It’s no different if we are creating subconsciously (“Wooer”) or by strongly focused attention (“Hooer”), we are always in the process of creating. Just as our bodies are constantly striving to keep us alive and vital through breathing, cell growth, circulation, and all other processes performed by the autonomic nervous system, our mind is continually creating the events, circumstances, relationships, and even our health, on a mostly subconscious level (by default).

Without going into a long discussion about quantum physics, which I would need to have a better grasp of to explain, thoughts and emotions really do become things. Anything focused on long enough, along with a great deal of emotion attached to the subject, will eventually manifest in an individual’s life. The issue that Woo-Wooers have is that they have not studied the Law of Attraction in enough depth to understand its subtleties.

Positive affirmations alone will never create much of anything different. However positive affirmations along with strong, consistent visualization and (important!) powerful emotions can change your reality.

Esther Hicks, the voice for “Abraham,” * tells us that just 17 seconds of pure thought (no intrusive negative thoughts) is enough time to shift our point of attraction on any given subject. The shift happens exponentially faster the longer one can hold that focus. The tricky part, Abraham advises, is that every subject is really two subjects: what is wanted and what is unwanted. For most of us, it is extremely difficult not to focus on the unwanted. For example, if one wants more money it’s hard to ignore thoughts of not having enough of it. As mentioned, we are creating constantly, usually creating the same stuff over and over and over again.

If you don’t understand the correlation between what you think about and what shows up in your life, try taking a few weeks to monitor your thoughts. Step back and become an objective observer of you!

For a more in-depth look at this, check out my article “What’s Your Creative Pattern?”.

*For my personal favorite information on this topic I invite you to read the following books by Esther and Jerry Hicks:

The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham

Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness

The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing

The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings Be Your Guide