I have always poked fun at things like ‘The Secret,’ the bestselling book and documentary film written by Aussie Rhonda Byrne, which tells readers and viewers how to use the law of attraction, which they claim is a universal law of energy (I’m going to do my best to explain this, don’t laugh) that is always operating, whether we use it to our advantage or not. I can’t tell you why I spent most of my ‘workday’ on Thursday googling ‘The Secret,’ and scribbling down notes on how to use it, as advised by Oprah.
I remember as a teenager walking through Hyde Park with my mum and older sister, who were both raving about it, talking about the logic, of course that’s how things work. I smirked and told them about the recent Chaser skit– where the boys parodied the scene in the film where a man claims he uses the law of attraction to get a car park wherever he is. Of course in the Chaser, they just park their cars into already parked cars.
But something about it makes sense to me now. I’m older, more experienced. I have more use for it, the desire to manipulate my world to push myself forward, in many directions.
So what’s the basic premise? Put simply, ‘what you think about, you bring about.’ If you think and imagine any scenario you want to happen in your life, whether it be to have your dream job, to marry your boyfriend, or to find a designer jacket on the rack of the op-shop, not marked up for its label, and then manifest the feelings as if you already have it, in intricate and natural detail, then you will receive it.
I know it sounds too good to be true. And I do have qualms with the idea of people asking for material things when we should be asking for world peace and a sustainable future. But world peace and sustainability? I figure the big stuff starts within us all first. And by all means, we can ask for both. We are all probably asking for the universe to deliver to us things and scenarios that will allow us to feel more like ourselves, or who we imagine the best version of ourselves to be. For example, I have been asking to move into the flat above me– it’s nicer, larger, more my style. It’s also one hundred pounds more per week. But the point of the law of attraction is that you don’t have to figure out the how. If you are manifesting and believing and seeing what it is you want, the universe will line up your blocks for you.
How did I do? Well, as recommended, I started a gratitude list. It gets you in the right frame of mind. This whole thing is going to sound as corny as it gets, but bear with me. I scribble down anything that I truly feel grateful for. They are broad and really specific. On the 17th of Jan, I wrote that “I feel grateful to have had gentle love for my Tilly for almost fourteen years” about my beloved dog who died last year, and, in hilarious contrast, “I feel grateful for living so close to the gym and the train.” If I can’t write my gratefulness because I’m in a shitty mood, I read over the previous day’s list, and it sets me back on course.
And something about it works. When I feel in the zone with it, when I feel blessed, grateful, like I am the person who things just work out for, I resist less in my mind. People in the street stare back, some smile, maybe they’re picking up on my...something. Something good. Good things came to me– a nice night at the restaurant where the food was delicious, me not caring about eating later than I would like to, playing peekaboo at the window with the boyfriend waiting outside. I was playful, joyful, not upset by traffic noise or sizing people up and down as they passed by me.
My boyfriend, who loves to poke fun at me, has had a field day with me “manifesting” all week. And god bless him, he’s given the idea lots of thought. His rationalising is that my change in attitude has nothing to do with the law of attraction, but rather with positive psychology, a more tangible notion. The power of the mind influencing every part of the body.
Whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter. Personally, I like the idea of a divine law of attraction. Something both outside of myself and inside, connecting on a powerful level.
Can it work all the time? No, probably not. We are human, we waver, forget to do the things we know are good for us. There will be mornings when I wake up and not want to write a gratitude list. But it’s good to know we have some control. According to some, all of the control. We can control our thoughts, then our feelings, and then the outcome of our day. We really can design our own lives, by tweaking our stream of consciousness just a bit and then believing in the reality of the life we desire.
Here’s a few quotes that sum up the law of attraction:
“Everything that is coming in your life is in your life because you are attracting it. And it’s attracted by virtue of the images you are holding in your mind”
“Thoughts become things”
“Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming”
Does this make sense for you? Or have I gone too hocus pocus for your average Monday?
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