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Law of Attraction/The Secret

alicia91

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Just curious as to whether any of you are familiar with this theory and what you think of it? Do you use it, does it work for you?

I have two friends (one of them my best friend) who are really into this whole philosophy. If you are not familiar with it:

Law of Attraction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In a nutshell "thoughts have energy, which attracts whatever you are thinking (good and bad)."

Personally I'm quite disturbed by the deeper implications of this theory.
 

ajblaise

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I think the theory is right in that thoughts can create reality. But it seems to take it all the way and say that we can create any reality we want if we think and believe hard enough. That's not true, unless complete delusion of reaching our goals counts.
 

Nat

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I believe in this, but everything has limits. As long as you're realistic about how much you can achieve with positive thinking etc, I think its a good thing.

I thought it was a bit funny that it was called 'the secret' because I honestly thought at the time that most people thought that way already! lol.
 

Lady_X

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i didn't really read that but i think that's just my natural way of being and i believe there probably is some truth to it.
 

alicia91

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Some of the things that the Secret doesn't factor in, are competing desires, and outside influences in your life. Just those two things alone are enough to make me think that the theory is BS - if taken literally.

Personally, I think that being positive, and generally being personally responsible for yourself are great and will likely help bring you good things, but to say that the reason you got cancer is because you HAD to be thinking about it is delusional IMO.

My best friend (probably former) is so into this that she's lost all compassion.

I think the theory is right in that thoughts can create reality

Do you belive that for instance if you think about attaining more money, these thoughts vibrate on the same frequency as some money opportunity, thereby attracting each other? You think money, and the winning lottery ticket vibrate and find each other? This is what the book says. And they claim it's a Law of the Universe.
 

Lady_X

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okay...that reminds me of a book i read that sounds similar called the anatomy of the spirit...and it's hard to take too...or maybe there was a deepak chopra one that was similar and i'm mixing them up...but the idea was basically negative thoughts weakened your immune system and caused all of our ailments...and positive ones would do the opposite....i don't know how i feel about that...but after loosing someone from disease...it's just really not what i want to hear.
 

wolfy

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It's true that what we focus on tends to become our reality. That makes sense to me. But saying that we bring all our reality into being simply through our thinking seems wrong and dangerous.



   
 

antireconciler

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It's troublesome because it can be interpretted so many ways, and maybe it's best to just focus on the ways that make sense to you.

It doesn't make sense, for instance, that we will fail to develop cancer if we never think about it, or if we have a positive attitude about it. Nonsense. So we give the theory the benefit of the doubt and say that this is not what the theory is based in, even if its proponents think it is. (This, btw, is the method for understanding religions and other obscure propositions. Ignore the proponents, and decide for yourself what it means according to the best it can mean.)

It makes sense, for instance, to suggest is that the world's richness or barrenness, abundance or scarcity, inherent goodness or inherent corruption, is a matter of our interpretation. In a very real sense, we project on the world the state of our mind, we see THAT WHICH WE BELIEVE IS OF VALUE, positive or negative, and only with care do we see that this is not just an external and indifferent matter we receive passively, but one we actively place upon the world. Things aren't just what they are. And there is a real sense in which this is a secret even though it is in open daylight, simply because it takes a degree of sensitivity and discernment to recognize it.

Don't get confused and think, "so, if I think a train wreck won't happen, it won't." What you are doing here is collapsing "negative thinking" on "train wreck" and pretending they are the same. Physics decides what will happen, but how you interpret it is another matter, and not merely as a matter of seeing the bright side vs. the dark side of the train wreck, but also as a matter of not perceiving physics as a purely indifferent external matter received passively, and thus the wreck is a manifestation of the necessity that there BE a consistent physics which obeys the same rational necessity you do. The wreck thus reflects you, not because it is a wreck or because it is bright OR bad, but because you are in it too. It reflects and manifests what it is through what is beyond it.

This is actually very simple. It does, however, require dedicated vision.
 

pippi

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For a skeptic point of view I offer this Newsweek article, LA Times review, and Salon.

You'd think the last thing Americans need is more excuses for self-absorption and acquisitiveness. But our inexhaustible appetite for "affirmation" and "inspiration" and "motivation" has finally outstripped the combined efforts of Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, Dr. Phil and Mitch Albom. We have actually begun importing self-help—and from Australia, of all places, that citadel of tough-minded individualism, where just a couple of years ago Byrne was a divorced mother in her 50s who had hit a rocky patch in her business and personal lives. It was in that moment of despair, when she "wept and wept and wept" (as she recounted to Oprah on the first of two broadcasts devoted to her work), that she discovered a long-neglected book dating from 1910 called "The Science of Getting Rich." In it she found how to let your thoughts and feelings get you everything you want, and determined to share it with the world. She called it "The Secret."
 

Stanton Moore

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The Law of Attraction claims to have roots in Quantum Physics.[7] According to proponents of this law, thoughts have an energy which attracts whatever it is the person is thinking of.[2] In order to control this energy to one's advantage, proponents state that people must practice four things: [8]

1)Know exactly what you want.
2)Ask the universe for it.
3)Feel, behave and know as if the object of your desire is on its way.
4)Be open to receive it and let go of (the attachment to) the outcome.

Doesn't 3) contradict 4)? How can I detach from the outcome when I'm acting as if it were (wishing) it were already true?

And WTH is an 'unconscious thought'? Thoughts are conscious by nature.

This 'law' is pretty easy to pick apart.
 

kiddykat

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Crazy. Been thinking about this topic for a while.

Honestly, I think if Rhonda Byrne's intentions were to 'truly' encourage people to find happiness, then how come she doesn't post it on youtube? :devil: J/k.

I get the philosophy. I can agree with it for the most part, depending on circumstances.

Drawbacks.. So what if children were molested, abused, and in condition they didn't ask for? Yet, they repeatedly go through the same thing, until they were old enough and had opportunities where they could escape such conditions? During those times the laws of attraction were in the works, bc it was their fault they were in constant fear for their lives day-in, day-out? Where's the justification behind that theory??

That's where I think there are some flaws to what the book/dvd says. Some people truly are victims to their circumstances. (People in war-torn countries, dictatorship/totalitarian environments- Burma, child prostitutes, etc, etc). It doesn't take into account the economic disparity, in which is 'reality' for other people in other parts of the world. Of course, they may have a choice to 'choose' their own thoughts to attract their 'own' energy (or the unverse's). When it comes to children, innocent people, come on..

I think for me personally, the laws of attraction works in idiosyncratic ways. Ultimately, I still have to work hard within my means to accomplish what I want. I think perhaps, in the midst of whatever makes me weaker, makes me stronger? I don't mind reinforcing my wishes, ideals, and dreams to put into perspective my ultimate goals. I wouldn't call it a secret. I call it inspiration. I think that kind-heartedness, positive thoughts, prevail. It's intentions have profound impacts on human growth, potentiality for a better tomorrow! That's just me, what I think, what I know to be true. Then again, we do live in an age of nuclear warfare, so that's why I think we need to 'get' real with how we treat others on a daily basis, as well as keep friendly diplomatic relations. Love and be love.
 
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Ivy

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Not only do I believe this to be new-age ridiculousness with no basis in reason, it's also a convenient way to blame the victim for what happens to him/her.
 

FDG

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Clearly bullshit. No thought is going to give water to people in the desert of Sahara.

Otherwise, it is completely true and tautological, if interpreted only in terms of day-to-day tasks. Of course, if you think very much "I'm going to study now", then you will study, etc etc.
 
G

garbage

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I actually read the book. Quantum physicists state that it is physically proven that one's thoughts affect the universe and our material desires come to fruition.

I also saw one of the Oprah segments. One of the examples was a kid looking at a bike in a catalog and then receiving it, somehow.

If this is all a way to trick people into thinking positively, then.. well, there might be some benefit to it.

But it's more about material possessions and all than it is about truly changing one's life, and that's pretty dangerous.

:doh:
 

professor goodstain

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I believe the two people who believe in the law of attraction will more likely be attracted to each other.
 

Thursday

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aside from that - it is a sentiment expressed by Ne
see greenlightwiki

but it makes sense that you attract what you are
and by consciously thinking it - you become what you want and the necessary components that recieve such a thing
 
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