The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction here has nothing to do with the fact that opposites poles attract as we learn in physics in schools, nor does it relate to the more mundane aspect of opposite sexes attract.

Rather, it is in the core of a secret that I was let into unwittingly, or actually after some Internet sleuthing. I first heard about the Secret from my wife, who in turn was alerted to it by her sister back home who gave her the website http://www.thesecret.tv/ with the name Rhonda Byrne. She has accessed the website but did not go any further as purportedly it requires a registration followed by logging in.

For several days after that, nothing happened. Then one fine day (it’s always fine) I finally remembered the matter and accessed the website, with the byline, A New Era for Humankind. I must say the short introductory movie clip did pique my interest, somewhat a la the Da Vinci Code.

According to my wife, my sis-in-law has seen the movie on DVD several times and seems to think that there is something worth further exploring. Using an advanced video technology, the movie can be watched on demand for a fee ($4.95).

I learned also that a book on the movie has been published, but a check on the online catalog of the Hillsborough Public Library system did not show that the book is in circulation.

Undeterred, I kept pursuing other online leads and eventually thought of wikipedia, and found the article by searching for Rhonda Byrne. And there it is, at the end of the article, the link to the free online movie at Google Video.

So I watched the Secret on our computer screen with my wife, the so-called secret unraveling by the minutes. Using a series of monologues by the teachers who have learned the Secret, embodied in the Law of Attraction, and dramatizations: a young boy wishing for a bike, a young man yearning for a sports car, both answered by following the triple steps of the creative process: asking, believing, and receiving.

The premise of the Law is simply good thoughts beget good outcome, and vice versa. Often, we focus on the opposite of what we want (more on this later). We complain about shortcomings, scarcity, and all the other bad vibes and guess what materialize, more of the blues. This kind of reminds me of one of the Ghostbusters movies where Dan Aykroyd, despite the urging from Bill Murray to banish all thoughts from his mind, could not resist thinking about the Marshmallow Man, and then there was the Marshmallow Man, all 112 ft, stomping down the street.

Try, for a change, to set your mind on abundance, on prosperity, and the proverbial Genie of the Aladdin and the Magic Lamp fame, which actually did not restrict the number of wishes according to the old tale, would gladly declare, “Your wish is my command.”

However, the operative words are “setting your mind on what you want.” You have to feel the want, and have an unwavering faith that it will materialize. You need to evince affirmation, expectations, and obedience. Yours is to verbalize what, and leave the how to the Universe, the divinity if you will.

Just when I thought this all sounds wishy washy, the hosts went on to elaborate how one could turn one’s life around:

Gratitude: focusing on what we already have, be thankful, be appreciative.

Visualizing: dwelling upon the end result, imbued with a good feeling of what’s in store.

The above, to me, boil down to articulating what we need, rather than what we want (even though the movie does refer to “want”, a choice of word that I find less appropriate). To me, need is purposeful while want is, well, superfluous.

What the movie resonates most with me is that inner joy and peace is the path to happiness, unlike the popular thinking that takes the linear path of “outer things”. “Your joy lies with you,” so says one of the hosts. “Build yourself to fullness, and let it overspill to others,” says another. “Have a healthy respect for yourself. Appreciate, and not complain about, the other person,” admonishes yet another. “Choose to live in possibility, in hopefulness.”

What is disease? It’s dis-ease, the body not at ease.

What is incurable? It’s curable from within.

The human mind is at the heart of healing and self healing is contingent about right thinking as exemplified by the placebo effect (the power of suggestion at work). Put in another way, the body is the product of our thought. However, do not negate medicine, the movie cautions.

Stated in another way, the Law of Attraction is the manifestation of energy flows where attention goes. In that sense, those anti-war lobby, while well-intentioned, is doing it the wrong way. Instead, it should be the pro-peace lobby. Seems like the erstwhile slogan, Make Peace Not War, should fit the bill.

In essence,

“Man becomes what he thinks about.” [my note did not indicate any source, but I did find this online here: "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -- Mahatma Gandhi.]

“What you resist, persist.” -- Carl Jung.

So if you want/need to be like the other 97,769 viewers (at last count), see it for yourself this full-length feature film, all 1 hr 31 min 12 s of it, online and free, and banish all bad, sad, and even mad, thoughts from your mind. Instead, think positive, think virtuous, and act helpful.

I guess the Secret, to an abundant life that is, has always been there. As always, we always miss the obvious. But from now on, you have no more excuse.