This isn’t an effort to call out anyone or to bring embarrassment but merely to hopefully bring some greater clarity.  There are quite a few authors such as Rhonda Byrne of “The Secret,” Napoleon Hill of “Think and Grow Rich,” Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” Esther and Jerry Hicks of “Abraham-Hicks” and Michael Losier of “Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What you Want and Less of What you Don’t.” It is true our thoughts do have energy and creative power to manifest experiences for us.  However, there is a lot more that goes into this than just focusing on one happy thought at a time. 

Imagine if every thought we entertained, with some degree of concentration, materialized in our lives.  We’d all be in a heck of a lot of trouble!  Many of us through fear or anxiety have entertained thoughts of infidelity, power, ill will, abuse and misfortune towards others and ourselves.  If all these thoughts manifested, the world would be in much worse shape than it already is.  It is misleading to suggest to people to simply think of “good things” and everything will be better.  If you get sick, yes, you should visualize health and positive thoughts but you should also see a doctor if necessary, take appropriate medication and/or receive treatment.  If you are facing debt or the loss of property, yes, you should pray and focus on the best.  Likewise, you should change your budget, consider other financing options, modify behaviors and seek assistance. 

The first thing to be aware of when it comes to the Law of Attraction is that we create on more than just one level.  Every experience may start with a thought but your words and actions also have a great degree on what you experience on a grosser level.  If you truly want to exercise creative power you must develop volition and do so through your thoughts followed with your words and ultimately through your actions.  All three must coincide and be consistent.  But even if you just look at the mind and how it works, most of our conscious minds are chaotically entertaining numerous thoughts about everything all the time.  The majority of people haven’t developed the ability to calm their thoughts and concentrate on one idea.  

Even if you put the conscious mind aside for a moment, we still have subconscious minds that even less people know how to tap into.  Most of us only become aware of subconscious thoughts during sleep, in our dreams, under hypnosis or through deep meditation.  Yet there is still another level of mind that exists at an even deeper level called the super conscious mind, universal mind or collective consciousness.  Think of this as a big “melting pot” of everyone’s thoughts.  As Einstein has already proven “energy is not created nor destroyed rather changed in form.”  So every thought each person on the planet entertains has the ability, even if only on a small scale, to impact those around him or her and the world at large.  Another law of science which is also a spiritual law is that of “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  Spiritually speaking, we can refer to this as the Law of Karma.  The effect of this is that even if you made a vow to yourself to begin to be positive in your thoughts for yourself and others, there still will be things to enter your life that you may find undesirable based on thoughts, choices and actions you made in the past when you were “less aware” of what you were doing that are now coming back to you in the form of experience.  But undesirable experiences are not to be feared or avoided.  In fact, it is often that these experiences of discontent and struggle lead to the spiritual experience of self-awakening. 

One extremely important factor that a lot of these “new age” thinkers often tend to overlook is the truth that life was meant to be an opportunity for us to grow spiritually! In fact, we are spiritual beings having a temporary experience as physical beings.  If your only focus is to figure out how to obtain physical or material objects then you’re missing the whole point.  Everything in the world is temporary.  If it has a beginning then it must have an end.  Your soul being microcosm of Spirit and made in its image is likewise without beginning or end.  This is difficult to comprehend because we think of time linearly and this truth resides beyond the mind. A permanent substance can never find lasting happiness or fulfillment with temporary things.  Even if you attained massive wealth, you are still subject to lose it in this lifetime.  There are plenty of millionaires, even billionaires, who live in constant fear of losing their wealth.  Even if you succeed in holding on to it till old age, you are certain to lose it all at death. 

What the soul truly yearns for is happiness!  It is not only possible but also likely that when you learn to be happy from within, then you gain a degree of mastery over life that you remain content independent of material things.  Just look at all spiritual masters the world has known.  Jesus, Buddha, Krishna and others had the ability to manifest anything they desired and yet for some unseen reason they never sought material gains.  In fact, renunciation of smaller worldly things is what leads to the attainment of spiritual blessings. Their sense of prosperity came from within, they never lacked for anything and their greatest joy was to give to others especially what they had found for themselves. The truth is when you gain the spiritual treasure of self-realization, mother nature in the form of creation, seeks to give you anything your heart desires and yet your heart is already content with Supreme Bliss, Joy and Wisdom. 

As far as Law of Attraction books go, there are a few that have done a rather good job of compiling vital information to assist those seeking to better their lives while remaining in tune with the highest truth that we are here to transcend worldly objects and possessions.  I’ll share with you Deepak Chopra’s book “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” and the main tenents: 

1.      The Law of Pure Potentiality: “The Source of all creation is pure consciousness… pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest.  And when we realize that our true Self is one of pure potentiality, we align with the power that manifests everything in the universe.”

2.      The Law of Giving: “The universe operates through dynamic exchange… giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe.  And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.”

3.      The Law of Cause and Effect: “Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind… what we sow is what we reap.  And when we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success.”

4.      The Law of Least Effort: “Nature’s intelligence functions with effortless ease… with carefreeness, harmony and love.  And when we harness the forces of harmony, joy and love, we create success and good fortune with effortless ease.”

5.      The Law of Intention and Desire: “Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment… Intention and desire in the field of pure potentiality have infinite organizing power.  And when we introduce an intention in the fertile ground of pure potentiality, we put this infinite organizing power to work for us.”

6.      The Law of Detachment:  “In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty… in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning.  And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.”

7.      The Law of Purpose in Life: “Everyone has a purpose in life… a unique gift or special talent to give to others.  And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” 

Deepak has done an outstanding job of taking this large “umbrella” of the Law of Attraction and breaks it down more narrowly into guidelines to help the aspirant to keep their eyes on the true prize.  Notice the focus is less on the attainment of material things and more on the subjective experience of the individual.  It is pointless to spend all your energy and efforts in mastering the “lay-up” if you forget the objective of that maneuver is to ultimately help you win the game.  I have also written about the power of thought in various articles as well as in “Journey of the Soul: Day One” which coincides with the big picture outlined here.  For those seeking a deeper understanding, I encourage you to check some of these sources for yourself. 

Also let us not forget that scripture says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33  It takes some time, study and sincere effort to keep things in perspective.  One of our first questions should be “Why am I here”? or “What is the purpose of (my) life”?  That answer must ultimately come from within for that is where it is found.  I’ll leave you with these parting words: 

“Desire, want, is the father of all misery. Desires are bound by the laws of success and failure. Desires must bring misery. The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the person who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.”    Swami Vivekananda