The Law of Attraction may seems like a lot of hype made famous by the best seller ‘The Secret’. One of the reasons why this book may have been so widely accepted as it only delves lightly into the Law of Attraction, to the level that could be easily accepted for most of society. The origins of the teachings were channeled to Esther and Jerry Hicks by a group of entities called ‘Abraham’ (The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham).

The Law of Attraction states that, “that which is like unto itself, is drawn”. So whatever vibration you have active inside of you, the universe will draw those vibratory matches to you. As you think about something, you emit a vibration that matches it. The more you focus your attention onto something, and the more emotion attached to that thought, the quicker you will attract it into your life.  This law of the universe means if you wish to have certain things, you should emit vibrations happy thought about those things and thoughts on having received it, by imaging you already obtained it and feeling the emotions of great joy and appreciation. The universe will then match these things, which have the same vibration as you are emitting, to your vibration. Such that thinking about things will attract more of those things to you. Hence it is better to stop thinking negative thoughts and being upset on what you don’t have, as you will attract not having it even more. Complaining about bad things will only attract more of it into your life. Therefore conscious control over your thoughts is essential. This may all seem rather obscure, but there are actually many mainstream practices that implement this idea.

“Worrying is like praying for what you don’t want.” – Unknown

An obvious use is how successful people use affirmations daily to achieve what they want. Many motivation books teach the use of these to help one in achieving their goal e.g. ‘I am confidant’, ‘I am a great leader’, ‘I am successful’. Your thoughts are focused on what you want, placing yourself in the position of having achieved your desire, which help make it reality. The results speak for themselves as there are enough successful people, ranging from top traders to cartoonists, like Scott Adams, author of Dilbert, who claim this and positive thinking has aided them in getting to where they are now.

These achievements could easily be explained by the fact that once the thoughts are repeatedly placed in ones mind, we are more focused on our goal and thus are more conscious about what the actions we take will lead us there or not. This can help keep the self-destructive sub-consciousness inside some of us in check. Positive affirmations and thoughts or the imaginations of the situation as we would like it to be, makes us feel good, filling us up with positive energy. This in turn will make us more motivated to do the things that we know will aid us in reaching our goals, things that we may have normally put off due to tiredness or other reasons. This also helps disperse the negativity view that it may not happen so what’s the point, that may be bogging us down. Each little step puts us a step closer to our desired result. Generating the emotions of achievement will get us more motivated and also confident, which in turn is again beneficial in reaching our goals. When you are in a more positive frame of mind and not stressed, your mind is also more open, allowing yourself to be more creative and ideas on how to achieve the desired result will arise easier.

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein

It is now common knowledge that most elite sports people use visualization to gain a competitive edge.  They not only mentally rehearse techniques, but also imagine the desired outcome of a competition. This has been found to enhance their confidence and also their mental awareness. I remember watching an interview in mid 2012 of Esther Vergeer, a Dutch wheelchair tennis champion. She stated that her next goal was the upcoming Olympic Paralympics Tennis Single’s Gold (she already holds 3 gold medals) and to help, she visualizes being on that court on the Gold final’s day and hearing the crowd cheer. She had also already brought a photograph frame for what she hopes will hold the victory picture.  Not only did she have a physical coach, but also a mental coach and the results are clear. In her interview with The Tennis Space, she explains the difference between her and her rivals “They are so close to beating me. But there is still this small thing – the mental side is making the difference still.”

Solution focused therapy is a successful counseling technique which focuses on desired outcomes. It deals with a range of problems from stress, depression, abuse, and relationship difficulties to drug and alcohol problems. It is based on 2 premises, the first of the premises being that no one is perfect, and thus no problem is perfect. There must be times that are an exception to the problem. The focus is placed on the exception and what the client may be doing differently at these times as a basis of a potential solution. The second premise is that the problem may be so severe that they have lost sight of what they do want, and one of the aims of the therapy is to help the client see what the future would be like without the problem. Both premises focused on the solution and work towards it, instead of the previous tradition of focusing on the problem and where it came from.

It has been found that the clearer the picture of where the client wants to head to, the greater the possibility of it beginning to happen. Chris Iveson, one of founders of BRIEF solution focused therapy in Britain, prefers to try and keep his sessions focused mainly on the description of the situation of how it would be after the change has come about, and not on other aspects like on steps on how to make the change. He believes this enables the client to achieve the preferred result faster and in fewer sessions. Last year, (2011) the average number of sessions his clients needed to overcome their issues was 2 sessions per client, compared to his colleagues, the other 2 co-founders, who guessed that they averaged 3. Research has shown that 65-83% cases can be dealt with in less than 5 sessions and thus it is called Brief therapy.

BRIEF in Britain was founded in 1989, and is now Europe’s largest provider of solution focused training with over 4000 professionals from the NHS to local authorities and other sectors.

When one is in a bad situation focusing on the problem may be all they can do. According to the Law of Attraction, this will only attract more of the problem, and thus would cause them to be in a vicious circle as then they will have more issues to focus on, and attract more of it into their life. Breaking this habit and focusing on the solution or the preferred future enables the client to attract the future they wish to head towards. Whether this is due to the universe matching the vibration of the preferred future with the person emitting the vibration when thinking about it, or whether being able to see the positive side enables them to find motivation and strength to pursue it, it is clear that focusing on the preferred outcome does play a major part in bringing it forth.

“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein

When we drive a car, many of us do not know nor question how it works, we just accept it and make the most use out of it. If you get results by focusing on positive things you want, why get stuck questioning how it works. We should just make the most of this great tool, our imagination. Our thoughts have the power to create the goals we want, and also the ones we don’t want, so learning to control them should be vital to ensure that negative thoughts are not allowed to over run us. One of the ways to learn to control our thoughts is through meditating. As you take note of the thoughts as they enter your head, and disperse them while meditating, you will begin to notice them when they arrive in your daily life. You can train yourself to disperse the negative ones quickly or redirect your thoughts if they enter.

You can also sit and imagine having achieved the things you want and slowly add more and more details to the picture. At the same time add emotions to the scene through gratitude and appreciation of those things. You have nothing to lose. The Law of Attraction will bring it forth quicker and if not, the thoughts will only add to your determination and motivation in achieving those things, and still help bring forth your desire.

Another good way is to make a list of the things you wish to achieve. Each day you can give thanks and appreciation to the universe for all the things you already have, and go over your list so that your wishes and what you intend for your life is always clear. This will keep you from being swayed or influenced by other matters that may deter you from your goal. For example, if you remind yourself daily that your intent is to finish something by the end of the week, it is less likely that you will be persuaded to do other things that will hinder you from goal.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

Imagination is our Creative Super Power. 

References and Further Reading:
Spirituality & Science Taking a Step Closer
Positive Power
I absolutely love the Abraham-Hick books: