The Secret - Why the Law of Attraction Does Not Work

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The power of attracting what you desire into your life has been made out to be as easy as pie by Rhonda Byrne in her bestseller The Secret, which incidentally made her richer by 50 million dollars almost overnight. It should've been titled How to Get Rich by Writing a Book. Sure looks like she made all her dreams come true with her clever repackaging of ancient wisdom in modern razzmatazz.

The book's release and resultant spin offs have seen ardent fans swear by the concept and how it has changed their lives. But there has also been an increasing air of disenchantment with the whole idea as thousands claim it not only didn't work for them but left them feeling even more depressed and pessimistic, not to mention cheated. In this review I examine the reasons for such a turn of events.


If The Secret delivered all that it had promised it would, why the need for sequels—The Magic and The Power and The Key? And if the authors are so sure of attracting what they want into their lives why do they have to charge so much for the books and DVDs and take our money to make their money? What is the degree of their prosperity and fame outside of the sale of those books and related products? These are some of the questions that arise seeing as how the book is presented as an answer to the reader's emotional, financial, and physical lack.

In an ideal world these self-help gurus would already be established as having everything simply by having access to the Secret, and then set out to share the good news with us losers who are still clueless. Preferably for free or at least for a token amount rather than squeezing us for all we've got.

One thing The Secret and its sequels all have in common is that they are stuffed cover to cover with anecdotes and success stories rather than clear practical tips or steps. The reader is carried away in a storm of feel good stories that puffs up their optimism, especially if the stories ring true or appear very close to their own contexts. They leave practical information and sensible steps left unsaid and merely repeat how it worked for all those people who were in real dire straits. It's like telling you how easy it's to bake a cake but withholding information on all the things that can go wrong and give you a dud in the oven even when you've followed all the steps and used the right ingredients.

This does not mean that the power of attraction is baloney. The theory is backed by quantum physics and has been explicated by wise men from Goethe to Deepak Chopra. It's just that modern interpretations need to be better clarified and devoid of the abracadabra that it has now been embellished with so more people can make sense of it and use it to their benefit. If you've done everything that was asked of you and yet didn't succeed in attracting your heart's desire into your life, you might want to consider the following reasons and give it another try.

This is what I've learned and understood from my own experience about the law of attraction. On reading The Secret, I decided to shed all disbelief and give it a try. Of course, like most people I went all out and hit it for all I was worth. I did everything the book asked and set about manifesting a golden E-class Merc. I intended, believed, and pretended for all I was worth. I went the whole hog and got a picture of the exact make and model and stuck it where I would see it. The golden E-class was my screen saver too. Nothing happened. Given the emotional energy I'd invested it did come as something of a huge disappointment to finally concede that I'd got taken for a ride by myself.

Conflict
On looking back, I now realise why everything went south even though I'd done all that was asked. As much as I'd wanted that car, there was a part of me that would not let go of practical concerns. Insurance payments, parking space for a big car, the fear of making as well as the cost of repairing dents on a luxury car, and more. Although I'd followed all guidelines I'd also simultaneously created a conflict in me. Manifesting only unfolds in a state of harmony.

You need to first become aware of your inner workings, thought processes, beliefs, and limitations. Is it okay for you to be rich or do you harbour a belief that to be rich is a sin that will take you to hell? Do you believe you have no right to wallow in luxury while children are starving in other parts of the world? Do you believe it's not right to drive a gas guzzler due to environmental implications even as you're working at manifesting your dream car? If there's no synchronicity between your desires and your beliefs you can manifest and affirm till you're blue in the face, nothing will happen.

Unproductive Emotions
Similar to practical concerns are other emotions and behaviours such as anger, revenge, fear, guilt, sorrow, scarcity, jealousy, and a whole host of others that the law of attraction is unable to work with. LOA can only work when the path has been made clear of all debilitating emotions. And since the majority of the populace is at some time or the other battling one or even all of these emotions, they are not in any state to attract or manifest. This is one thing most self-help books simply gloss over or say nothing at all.

Lack Belief
You jump onto the bandwagon but are not truly convinced it'll work for you. You might even feel silly but go ahead in desperation. For this to work you simply have to believe, period. Hoping fervently it will work is not the same as believing it will work. You may consciously silence your rational thoughts but may not be able to change your deep-rooted beliefs about this concept. So you need to fully examine your beliefs about LOA and start all over again with a child-like faith. The first time I looked into the mirror and said an affirmation I saw the incredulous look on the face of my image staring back at me as if I was bonkers. The toothbrush sticking out at an odd angle didn't help matters.

Negative Reasons
Concepts such as belief and intention are not as easy to control or execute like waving a wand. There are deep-seated emotional issues in the human mind that the human may not be aware of or be in deep denial about. These deep-seated or unconscious issues interfere with the attracting process. Check your feelings for negativity.

The easiest way to discover these is to ask yourself why you want what you want. Is it because you want to compete, take revenge, show someone what you're capable of, or other reasons along the same line? If so, you will only succeed in attracting more of these negative values and continue to flounder in the same negative environment. You need to clarify your thoughts of all negativity and become all noble about your desires.

Unproductive Patterns of Thought
What you are or have today is what you intended consciously or unconsciously in the past. So check your present intentions to see if they're in tune with what you want to be or have a few months from now. Take a good hard look at the state of your life now and how close you are to owning your desires. If you think you have a long way to go, examine your current state of thought and emotions. Also examine if this is how you normally feel most of the time.

Check the amount of negativity, disbelief, and other debilitating patterns as dispassionately as you can and resolve to rid your thoughts of all that you have noticed. This is not something that you can change overnight and will require constant monitoring and awareness of where your thoughts are taking you. The idea is to change your pattern of thinking from negative to a more peaceful and positive outlook.



A few things you can do to allow the law of attraction to work for you;
Check mental programming for limiting beliefs about wealth, power, gender, and others.
Release and let go from your mind all feelings of anger, revenge, envy, etc.
Be mindful of your thought processes and keep track of when negative thoughts creep in and create self-sabotage. Detach yourself from them.
Feel the peace… and then go for the affirming, intending, and manifesting that they tell you to do in the book.

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