Lately I had the chance of going through some inspirational books on Law of Attraction. The theory of attraction became popular after Napolean Hills published his book “Think and grow rich” in 1937. Then came “The Law of Attraction” by Ester & Jerry Hicks. Centered on these books, Ronda Byrne released a book and a movie “Secret” that gained popularity in the media. I also listened to Wayne Dyer, who is sending the same message but in a more interesting way.
What is law of Attraction?
How the Law of Attraction(LA) works is by “believing in something so strongly that it manifests itself into reality.” In short LA is just simply Ask, Believe and Receive. In other words, whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve, no matter how many times you have failed in the past. LA is the further concept of sayings such as “Like attracts like” and “Birds of feather flock together.” This belief is based on the fact that people and their thoughts are created from pure energy, and the belief that like energy attracts like energy. One example used by a proponent of the law of attraction is that if a person expects to see a bill in an envelope he received that person is likely to get a bill on opening it. To add an example if the person expects a cheque on opening the envelope he is likely to get a cheque. The secret to this is that the law of attraction confirms the person’s thoughts to help the person fulfill his expectations.
The first step in achieving is having a strong desire to accomplish your goal which has to be clear in your mind. Your expectations must be honest and pure. Until you achieve your goal it has to stay in your heart and memory. In Esther’s book “Law of Attraction” she had suggested for it to be more effective one should implant the request in mind after a brief breathing meditation session. The great thing is after meditation your mind becomes calm and tranquil which makes it ideal to plant the suggestion to inner consciousness.
The second stage is to believe that you will achieve it. You should not think about the obstacles you will encounter while trying to achieve it. Also you should not worry about how you are going to get it. Just believe that you deserve to receive it. Napolean Hills says you must write clearly what you desire and why you deserve it on the opposite page. After that he said that it should be memorised daily.
Last step is the most vital and success will mostly depend on it. For LA to work, your eternal vibrations should tally with your request. For instance if you desire something but frequently keep thinking negative the chances are you are less likely to succeed. Having a positive outlook – feeling the task is already achieved –you should be smart enough to manifest the feelings you get when you get your desire, even before you get it. That would make your vibrations match with your desire.
As per the theory, everything including your 5 senses are in vibrations. Emotion is a very complex sensor of vibration. For LA to work your emotions must align with what you want. Anger, doubt and sadness will make resistance that blocks the achievement through source energy.
Many inspirational books say that feeling of gratitude is crucial to be successful in any endeavor. This includes thinking of everyone who has aided you, wishing them good will. Not to mention people outside your liking should be shown love and kindness too. This creates positive energy within the self.
LA allows you to take over your mind without letting emotions take control of your mind. Reason why some suffer alot of times is because they have brought up their own internal barriers. These barriers form patterns of negative behaviour and prejudices from the time they came into this world. For you to achieve your goals you must break the barriers and your vibrations should match with the vibrations of what you are asking. There’s no use of thinking about the past or things out of your control as there’s nothing you can do about it. Worrying freezes you or keeps you immobilized. What we think determines our future, so if we desire to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.
Compatibility of Law of Attraction with Buddhism
The ultimate purpose of life for a Buddhist is liberation through purification of mind. For that it is necessary to practice detachment instead of attachment. However, this can be fully practiced by rejecting or leaving everything and becoming a monk. Normal people will expect pleasure. They desire certain things and constantly struggle daily to fulfill the ever increasing wants. It is a suffering indeed. However, LA has great power which along with the knowledge of Buddhism can help reduce anxiety and help lead happy lives.
The first and second verse of the Dhammapada says “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” The verses continue to demonstrate the misery that blooms as a result of negative thoughts. Not to mention about the joy that follows positive thoughts. The Dhammapada also mentions that a “trained mind brings health and happiness.” The power of the mind is emphasized throughout Buddhism. Accordingly one can receive good karma by generating good or positive thoughts all the time.
Loving kindness meditation in Buddhism if practiced continuously with constancy would surely bring amazing results in changing the character positively. Loving kindness meditation starts with wishing kindness and compassion to own self. After that you will spread loving kindness to all beings, including people who you do not like gradually. LA can be seen as an extension of the same concept as loving kindness on one’s own self. According to Buddhism thoughts generate karma. (Chethanaham Bikkawe Kamman Vadami) Karma is a form of energy. Good thoughts and inventions may deliver good results while bad thoughts would give bad results. Law of Attraction gives the same type of message.
I paid attention to the tape where Esther in a hypnotized state speaking out messages from a nonphysical entity called Abraham. In one instance Abraham said of different lives he spent in physical bodies. As per Abraham Source energy takes various forms. Sometimes as nonphysical and in some instances as physical. It is clear that talks on the continuous cycle of rebirths stated in Buddhist texts.
Law of Attraction and Christianity
The ideas which create the Law of Attraction are seen in writings of all faith based religions throughout the centuries.
The New Testament Book of Matthew (7:7) states, “Ask and it will be given to you.
Mark 11:24 states that whatever you want, if you believe you have received it, “it shall be yours.” These Biblical passages reveal what Rhonda Byrne calls the creative process: “ask, believe, and receive”.
Mark 9:23
“Everything is possible for him who believes.”
“Luke 17:6
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you I tsi done unto you as you believe.”
Matthew 21:22
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
In Sri Lanka Buddhists frequently go to churches, Hindu Kovils and many other sacred places to make vows to accomplish their wants. While some do Bodhi Puja’s for the same reason, some others worship Sai Baba or Buddha himself and ask for favors. Frequently I hear stories about success where a certain wish was granted by visiting a sacred place. It could be the LA that did the trick. When someone worships in front of any statue and ask for a favor, it’s not likely a statue made of cement and bricks has the power to make your wish come true. What really happen is you send the message to your inner consciousness and keep faith on the statue that your desire would be granted. LA delivers what you want to the extent you have faith on the statue and its powers. However, people do not realize is that you can achieve with a better success rate at a lower cost by practicing LA principals and Loving Kindness meditation effectively, by giving some time to be with your own self by staying comfortably at your own home.