You’ve heard it before:
“Release it into the Universe”
We’ve all seen this person in line at a coffee shop: Crystals, mercury…retrograde, etc. I always joke — “another Trump supporter” while pointing in their direction. That gets a laugh out of sheer absurdity, but it’s a shame that these teachings often come from this all-too-predictable package. I believe the messaging is true and can be helpful to everyone.
I’ve been aware of the Law of Attraction ever since I saw The Secret around 2007, but I began to dive deeply into the teaching some ten years later; necessity brought me there. I had just moved into a new apartment and I was nervous about making the rent payments. I had a sales job, and as any worker on commission will tell you — some months were great, others were dismal. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but I was feeling apprehension at all the responsibility I elected to take on when luck, seemingly, was a major factor. I dove deep into the study of Law of Attraction to fight my impulse for worry and practice faith instead.
If you remove the dreadlocks, mandala tattoos, and YouTube business tycoons teaching manifestation “hacks”, the Law of Attraction simply states that Like Attracts Like. The teaching begins with vibration; everything in the Universe vibrates and is vibrating at a certain frequency — even thoughts. Like frequencies attract like frequencies — simple as that. When people claim that they’ve attracted something into their life, this teaching explains that they’ve changed their frequency to match the frequency of the desired object, and were then are able to receive it.
My favorite way to exemplify this is with the radio station. If your car radio is dialed into a Rock station, you aren’t going to hear a symphony by Beethoven. If Classical music is what you desire, you must physically change the FM radio frequency because it won’t be coming in at 106.7 FM (LA’s Rock station). Similarly, if you’re dominating thoughts are gossip, worry, and woe, let’s call that 90.1 FM, you won’t be able to receive anything other than a match for that frequency while on that station. If you desire all the joy, appreciation, and adventure that 106.7 FM has to offer, you must begin to think 106.7-type thoughts to start recieving that signal into your experience.
So how do we change our frequency? Well, every book I’ve read and every video I’ve watched all tend to say one thing — act as though you ALREADY HAVE whatever it is that you desire. This changes your vibration to match the vibration of what you want to attract, thereby becoming a magnet for your desire. I’m not saying it will show up on day one, but by dialing into that radio station, your attention will now highlight that subject everywhere. Think of anytime you’ve wanted a different car, and all of a sudden you notice that car everywhere you go. Coincidence? Or have you changed your vibration or frequency by your attention to it? This is the beginning of the process that will unite you with your desire.
Now, attention alone isn’t enough to deliver the goods. You can think of something you want, but be noticing and feeling that you don’t have it. In this case, the teaching says your feeling is focused on the lack of it, and your magnet can only attract more corresponding thoughts and feelings — which will be of lack. That is why we practice the feeling of having it now! Celebrate and praise it as if it’s in your hands this very moment. The teaching says, “it’s already yours”. When we practice this feeling, we are turning the dial on our radio signal to be able to receive something different. This is by no means easy. When surround by lack, it is difficult to close your eyes and celebrate abundance as if it’s here now, but you must. Attention to what-is brings about more of what-is. If what-is for you is miraculous then keep doing it! However, if your what-is is not what you want, you must put in the work to picture and celebrate that which you do want — now. You need to see it so clearly that you are feeling strong emotions of gratitude and appreciation too, according to my research. This is why a vision board is just a scrapbook unless the pictures bring about a strong feeling with them; feeling good now, having it now, being there and being happy right now!
Back to my personal example; I committed myself to start this practice shortly after moving in to my new apartment. Journaling was the easiest route for me. I would put on good music and let my fingers fly; writing the details of how I wanted my life to be as if it were reality now. At the time, money was one of my biggest obstacles. I wanted wealth and abundance, but often my sales reflected the opposite — struggle, lack, scarcity. Sometimes I wouldn’t have enough sales to pay rent, and there would be just one sales weekend left in the month. It’s hard to picture big fat checks and plenty when my “realistic mindset” was preparing for the worst. I was picturing wealth but often I was feeling poor. Feeling is the true magnet of attraction, and these real emotions were difficult to subdue. Nonetheless, I committed to morning journaling and wrote out my gratitude for a wonderful sales weekend in advance.
- I am so happy and grateful for all the sales I had this weekend!
- I am happy that I met wonderful families who are over the moon about their purchase!
- Money comes to me easily and frequently!
I wrote this over and over with a fervor that eventually raised my heartbeat. I could feel this was my reality. I was grateful for ALREADY HAVING all the money I needed and more. And guess what? When customers arrived on those weekends, they were met by a happy salesperson glowing with warmth and abundance. This state of mind guided my recommendations rather than a feeling of scarcity that pushed people too hard to buy TODAY. There was less price haggling and more happy customers; things just seemed to flow. I suppose one could view this as a chicken or the egg concept, but either way, it worked. My sales started going through the roof when other sales people had no luck over the same weekend. The easier it got, the easier it got.
But like anything else, practice and commitment is required for long term success. The tumultuous times of 2020 began to take more of my attention. I stopped practicing feeling grateful. My system went back to default, reacting to whatever was happening around me. My girlfriend and I started having problems, then ended our relationship. I was heartbroken, alone, and the world seemed to in flames all around me. Rather than keeping a meditative practice of faith, I sank underneath the daily onslaught. The effects on the mind and body dissipated gradually — too imperceptible to notice. Months disappeared. All I thought of was a response to my surroundings. There was no forethought or celebration of manifestations to come; I couldn’t see beyond the trivialities of low-vibration nonsense, and the worse it got — the worse it got.
Today I’m getting back into the practice. I still scoff at Instagram posts vaguely outlining Law of Attraction teachings under a stock hiker-on-mountain photo — a revealing reaction
Most of my thoughts are neutral at best, and that is the frequency that I’m working hard to change. In the morning, I put on good music and try to type-out the ideal day to clarify what is desired. Some days it’s difficult to think of anything that I want, so I think of what I don’t want first and then praise what I find in contrast. I begin to feel grateful for feeling unstuck; for feeling certain every morning and having a clear compass to follow that brings me to my destiny. When I get too specific, I lose the racing heartbeat and I stop. This tells me that I don’t know what I want just yet, and that’s okay. Good feelings are an unmistakable nudge in the right direction, so I only follow vagueness until clarity dilutes it. I think of adventure; I think of wealth and abundance; I think of waking up each morning with purpose and joy. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary.
The Law of Attraction isn’t magic, but its results can be magical. I believe it works in the same way a diet does: Results won’t come overnight, and certainly not before many people give up. Believing in the spiritual element is not important. Close your eyes and practice visualizing your goals, hopes, and dreams. See them as already achieved — any business guru will say the same thing! This either brings them to you magically from the Universe, or it changes your own perspective to see opportunities and angles that were hidden before. If the result is the same, do you really care which explanation it is? The Law of Attraction teaches us that we are all creators. Most of us create our reality by default, by reaction. However, if we take time to get clear on the things we would like to experience, the Law of Attraction tells us we must experience them NOW on the inside to be able to bring them to manifestation on the outside. Try it today! It may feel silly at first, but keep at it until it feels good; until your heartbeat races with jubilation — and see what happens. Remember — it’s already yours, it’s already here. Feel that actuality NOW and it will be yours.
The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle, and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be just as easy to switch over and get exactly what they want out of life, not recognizing that the mind attracts the thing it dwells upon — Napoleon Hill
