Law of Attraction

We explain what the law of attraction is and why it is a pseudoscientific belief. In addition, we tell you the virtues of positive thinking.

law of attraction
The law of attraction maintains that thoughts allow us to attract positive or negative events.

What is the law of attraction?

The law of attraction is a pseudoscientific belief, that is, without real scientific support, according to which it is possible to attract positive or negative events through conscious or unconscious thoughts, given that a certain amount of energy is invested in them that the universe , subsequently, returns to the individual. This is a very popular belief among practitioners of New Age philosophies, self-help gurus, and other forms of pseudoscience.

The central proposition of the law of attraction is that positive thoughts bring positive consequences and negative thoughts bring negative consequences since “one attracts what is.”

This formula can be stated in very different ways, sometimes using jargon that claims to be scientific (especially quantum physics). You can even use philosophical and/or religious terms, typical of ancient traditions such as Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity, or contemporary creeds such as theosophy.

However, authoritative voices from both the natural sciences and psychology have expressed their distrust of this type of approach, which They are not supported by any evidence accusing them of using anecdotes and personal stories as supposed evidence of a non-existent universal law.

On the other hand, this belief has been accused of promoting magical thinking that has little or nothing to do with the real possibilities of an improvement in the quality of life, especially when the latter is interpreted as synonymous with fame, riches and possessions.

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For many of its detractors, the law of attraction promotes the idea that those who do not meet their goals are because they do not think in the right way. Therefore, it ignores the complexity of real existence and attributes the entire responsibility for what happens to the individual himself, even when it comes to events that are beyond his control.

See also: Popular knowledge

Origin and history of the law of attraction

The law of attraction It has existed for centuries, formulated in different ways and with different names sometimes as part of specific religious and mystical imaginaries. In its central approach is a maxim that many religions take into consideration: that doing good brings rewards and doing evil brings punishments. Only, in the case of the law of attraction, this principle extends to thoughts: having “good” thoughts brings rewards and having “bad” thoughts brings misfortune.

Very similar approaches were written and exposed during the 19th century by different authors of inspirational thought and/or self-help. Many of these authors were enrolled in the so-called New Thought (New Thought) founded by the American occultist William Atkinson (1862-1932).

Such is the case of the British James Allen (1864-1912), author of How a man thinks (1903) or the American Wallace Wattles (1860-1911), author of The science of getting rich (1910). Both books were widely referred to by motivational book authors of the 20th century.

In the 21st century, the law of attraction was popularized by the book The secret (2006) by the Australian Rhonda Byrne (1951-), where she attributes the theory to William Atkinson. The book, published after the success of a film of the same name, became a best-selling phenomenon and was later accompanied by two sequels: The power, of 2010 and The magic, of 2012.

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How does the law of attraction work?

According to defenders of the law of attraction, the procedure to “invoke” or “attract” what you want goes through more or less the following steps:

  • Focus on what you want. The first step to achieving a goal, whether you believe in the law of attraction or not, is to choose exactly what you want. In this case, in addition, we seek to channel the energies of thoughts towards the desired event.
  • Get rid of limiting beliefs. For thoughts to achieve their objective, it is necessary to get rid of the impediments and/or negative and limiting thoughts that we may be having, whether consciously or unconsciously. For this, it is necessary to observe the thoughts that are set in motion when you focus on what you want, and opt only for positive thoughts.
  • Visualize what you want. This stage is described as a state of intense concentration on the proposed objective, making positive thoughts flow to “invoke it”, “manifest it”, “decree” it or “attract it”, that is, order reality to obey the manifest desire.
  • Take action. Finally, once the invocation has been made, one must take action, knowing that the universe now “conspires” in favor of the best possible result.

Virtues of positive thinking

While there is no doubt that positive thinking alone is not capable of magically altering reality or attracting certain types of events, as the law of attraction establishes, psychologists do recognize the beneficial influence of a positive mindset on time to live life. This has nothing to do with blessedness, but with a generalized mood that makes failures more tolerable and successes more enjoyable at least compared to an anxious, worried and pessimistic mentality.

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It is not, then, that only good things happen to people who think positively, but that people with a positive mentality can cope better with bad things, based on the fact that good and bad things happen to everyone. the individuals. It is even possible that a positive mindset allows you to take advantage of opportunities and allow you to take risks at the right time, which is a rational way of thinking about what it means to be “lucky.”

Continue with: Ideology

References

  • “Law of attraction” on Wikipedia.
  • “The Truth About the Law of Attraction” in Psychology Today.