Cruentus
Grandmaster
I like Dr. Wolf's take on this, not so much because of his credability, but because he was used in the film "The Secret," but he doesn't really ascribe to the Law of Attraction principle as it is presented in the popular neo-philosphical book/dvd "The Secret." Neither do I, and his reasoning explains my stance well.
Enjoy!
Here is his take on it copied from his Q&A on his website
http://www.fredalanwolf.com/:
Question: If you don't believe in the law of attraction what did you mean by "so you're maybe thinking 'that's very nice but, I can't do that or SHE won't let me do that or he'll never let me do that or I haven't got enough money to do that or I'm not stronge enough to do that or I'm not rich enough to do that or I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not…' every single I'm not… is a creation."? If you don't believe in the law of attraction you obviously are talking about something else, what is that "thing"?
Answer: There is a big difference between just thinking 1) "I want a big car" 2) "I am not good enough" or 3) "I am good" or 4) "I am ugly" or 5) "I am happy" and taking an appropriate action to do something about them. The LOA (Law of Attraction) seems to imply that merely thinking such thoughts will attract the object of those thoughts to you. I don't think the universe works this way. When you think those thoughts you tend to act according to them and those actions will attract you to those objects and modify your behavior accordingly. There is no magic field "out there" or magic genii "out there" that will answer those thoughts by granting your wishes as the film seems to imply. That magic field or genii is yourself.
Hence, for one example, suppose you fear being robbed. Your fear can provoke any number of actions on your part.
For example,
A) You don't go into neighborhoods that are poor wearing brightly colored gold jewelry.
B) You carelessly go wherever you wish to go and when you are in a crowd you tug at your gold watch or your wallet or jewelry just to make sure it's there because you are fearful. These actions tip off possible pickpockets. The probability of attracting thieves to you increases or decreases according to your behavior. The robbers watch you and many others and are attracted to "tuggers" regardless of how the tuggers are thinking. In fact a tugger might be thinking "I want to be secure so I'll check my watch or bracelet or wallet."
C) You go into a crowded arena and simply act alertly to suspicious movements around you.
Here is another example. Say you say to yourself "I will win the lottery today". In the LOA this will attract the winnings to you over others who don't wish this, right?
So you open your emails one day and find that indeed you receive a notice that your email address has just won a zillion bucks. You contact the mailer accordingly and find then to get your money you need to send them some money to cover "costs" or give your bank account information or SSN or something else. But you believe in the LOA, right? So you do this, and soon enough you find yourself ripped off by a scam. Oh, such scams are continually ongoing looking for believers in the LOA. Suppose you are such a believer. Now comes the LOA rationalization. "I must have really desired to be ripped off other wise this wouldn't have happened to me. I attracted the scam."
One of the presenters in the "secret" movie after appearing on the Larry King show was asked, "If you believe in the LOA why did you recently have a heart attack?" His answer? "I wanted to have this heart attack in order to slow down, I was working too hard." If you believe this, then you will always find a rationalization for whatever random events occur in your life. That is certainly not science, but is humans trying to deal with our indeterminant universe with hindsight. If something good happens, you will tell yourself "I was using the LOA to attract good." If something bad happens, you will say "I was using the LOA to attract something bad." Both are simple and very human rationalizations and in fact not based on any scientific fact or experiment and certainly not on quantum physics.
In the first example it is your behavior that that produces the possible theft or non-theft rather than the thought. Indeed the thought "I don't wish to be robbed" in case A or C keeps you safer than in case B. According to the LOA your fear will get you robbed because you have put out that field that attracts robbers to you. The same would hold to the thought "I don't want to get cancer." Or the thought " don't want to be raped." The LOA seems to imply that in these cases you attract cancer or rapists to yourself.
In the second example you get you into trouble by believing in the LOA, which when it fails, you rationalize through hindsight. In other words, you make the LOA work by simply denying it fails through hindsight rationalization. You say "I failed to get my goal because I was unconsciously wishing to fail." If you had succeeded you would have said "I got my goal because I was using the LOA." This is not scientific thinking and is not quantum physics.
In brief, people are attracted or repulsed by your behavior not your thoughts. Things are not. Stuff happens-- good and bad-- to all of us.
We all are born and we die. I believe that aside from the LOA each of us has a purpose on the planet and that the event of your birth is not an accident and that your death is not the end of the road. Finding your purpose in life may take years or decades, but you will eventually find it and act according to that purpose or frustrate yourself by doing what you really don't wish to do. The really big secret is not the LOA, it is the action that people who realize their purpose take in their lives. In every case where I have met successful people, I tend to find the happiest people are those who do what they enjoy doing. The richest people are those who do what benefits others. To be rich and happy do what you enjoy doing for the benefit of others and you can't fail to be rich and happy. It is absolutely guaranteed, provided you take right action.
Question: You appeared in the movie The Secret. The research that I have done indicates that you do not believe in the law of attraction (LOA) - is this true?
Answer: Not quite. Let me give you my answer regarding the movie The Secret and the LOA talked about in that movie. Do like things really attract each other? Actually in quantum physics we find that like doesn't attract like, and if you notice I never made that point in the film. Like charges repel each other (+ repels + and - repels -) and unlike charges attract (+ attracts -). The better metaphor might be resonance, that two things that vibrate together have more energy as compared to two things that vibrate out of phase with each other in which case they have no energy. When you are attracted to another person it is likely that you and the other are in some sense vibrating in phase with each other and each of you is energized more than just adding up your separate energies--it's more like 4 times the energy of each individual. With 3 persons it goes as 9 times and so on. Hence large crowds rock at a concert together because those in attendance are each enormously energized by the presence of the others in like mind sets. Hence the rock concert high, or the Sunday at church feeling and so on. The same thing holds for the Marine Corp or for a nation going to war or for any fascist or racist movement. Hence if use the metaphor without thinking you may find that being a saint (+) you will attract a lot of sinners (-'s).
I think the rolling stones said it well:
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game.
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'cause I'm in need of some restraint.
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste."
Question: Do you agree with the overall message of The Secret - that thought (or feeling) will bring you what you want as long as you vibrate in sync with the thing that you desire and thus attract it into your reality?
Answer: Not quite. Suppose you want a TV set. I wouldn't choose to sync with it any more than I would choose to sync with any other material object. I would sync with the processes I need to use to get that object--my Feelings, Intuitions, Sensations, and Thoughts (FIST). To get the TV set, utilize your FIST and take appropriate action. You can steal it, buy it, rent it, or have a friend give you it as a gift. Most people think that happiness comes from getting what you desire. Think about anything you got after desiring it. In a few days that Oh Wow feeling turned into Ho Hum didn't it? Watch kids at Xmas time and you'll see what I mean. They open their gift box, give a squeal of joy, and in minutes leave it in the middle of the room for mom to put away. Happiness actually comes from moving towards your goal. Getting it is the booby prize.
[/quote]
Enjoy!
Here is his take on it copied from his Q&A on his website
http://www.fredalanwolf.com/:
Question: If you don't believe in the law of attraction what did you mean by "so you're maybe thinking 'that's very nice but, I can't do that or SHE won't let me do that or he'll never let me do that or I haven't got enough money to do that or I'm not stronge enough to do that or I'm not rich enough to do that or I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not… I'm not…' every single I'm not… is a creation."? If you don't believe in the law of attraction you obviously are talking about something else, what is that "thing"?
Answer: There is a big difference between just thinking 1) "I want a big car" 2) "I am not good enough" or 3) "I am good" or 4) "I am ugly" or 5) "I am happy" and taking an appropriate action to do something about them. The LOA (Law of Attraction) seems to imply that merely thinking such thoughts will attract the object of those thoughts to you. I don't think the universe works this way. When you think those thoughts you tend to act according to them and those actions will attract you to those objects and modify your behavior accordingly. There is no magic field "out there" or magic genii "out there" that will answer those thoughts by granting your wishes as the film seems to imply. That magic field or genii is yourself.
Hence, for one example, suppose you fear being robbed. Your fear can provoke any number of actions on your part.
For example,
A) You don't go into neighborhoods that are poor wearing brightly colored gold jewelry.
B) You carelessly go wherever you wish to go and when you are in a crowd you tug at your gold watch or your wallet or jewelry just to make sure it's there because you are fearful. These actions tip off possible pickpockets. The probability of attracting thieves to you increases or decreases according to your behavior. The robbers watch you and many others and are attracted to "tuggers" regardless of how the tuggers are thinking. In fact a tugger might be thinking "I want to be secure so I'll check my watch or bracelet or wallet."
C) You go into a crowded arena and simply act alertly to suspicious movements around you.
Here is another example. Say you say to yourself "I will win the lottery today". In the LOA this will attract the winnings to you over others who don't wish this, right?
So you open your emails one day and find that indeed you receive a notice that your email address has just won a zillion bucks. You contact the mailer accordingly and find then to get your money you need to send them some money to cover "costs" or give your bank account information or SSN or something else. But you believe in the LOA, right? So you do this, and soon enough you find yourself ripped off by a scam. Oh, such scams are continually ongoing looking for believers in the LOA. Suppose you are such a believer. Now comes the LOA rationalization. "I must have really desired to be ripped off other wise this wouldn't have happened to me. I attracted the scam."
One of the presenters in the "secret" movie after appearing on the Larry King show was asked, "If you believe in the LOA why did you recently have a heart attack?" His answer? "I wanted to have this heart attack in order to slow down, I was working too hard." If you believe this, then you will always find a rationalization for whatever random events occur in your life. That is certainly not science, but is humans trying to deal with our indeterminant universe with hindsight. If something good happens, you will tell yourself "I was using the LOA to attract good." If something bad happens, you will say "I was using the LOA to attract something bad." Both are simple and very human rationalizations and in fact not based on any scientific fact or experiment and certainly not on quantum physics.
In the first example it is your behavior that that produces the possible theft or non-theft rather than the thought. Indeed the thought "I don't wish to be robbed" in case A or C keeps you safer than in case B. According to the LOA your fear will get you robbed because you have put out that field that attracts robbers to you. The same would hold to the thought "I don't want to get cancer." Or the thought " don't want to be raped." The LOA seems to imply that in these cases you attract cancer or rapists to yourself.
In the second example you get you into trouble by believing in the LOA, which when it fails, you rationalize through hindsight. In other words, you make the LOA work by simply denying it fails through hindsight rationalization. You say "I failed to get my goal because I was unconsciously wishing to fail." If you had succeeded you would have said "I got my goal because I was using the LOA." This is not scientific thinking and is not quantum physics.
In brief, people are attracted or repulsed by your behavior not your thoughts. Things are not. Stuff happens-- good and bad-- to all of us.
We all are born and we die. I believe that aside from the LOA each of us has a purpose on the planet and that the event of your birth is not an accident and that your death is not the end of the road. Finding your purpose in life may take years or decades, but you will eventually find it and act according to that purpose or frustrate yourself by doing what you really don't wish to do. The really big secret is not the LOA, it is the action that people who realize their purpose take in their lives. In every case where I have met successful people, I tend to find the happiest people are those who do what they enjoy doing. The richest people are those who do what benefits others. To be rich and happy do what you enjoy doing for the benefit of others and you can't fail to be rich and happy. It is absolutely guaranteed, provided you take right action.
Question: You appeared in the movie The Secret. The research that I have done indicates that you do not believe in the law of attraction (LOA) - is this true?
Answer: Not quite. Let me give you my answer regarding the movie The Secret and the LOA talked about in that movie. Do like things really attract each other? Actually in quantum physics we find that like doesn't attract like, and if you notice I never made that point in the film. Like charges repel each other (+ repels + and - repels -) and unlike charges attract (+ attracts -). The better metaphor might be resonance, that two things that vibrate together have more energy as compared to two things that vibrate out of phase with each other in which case they have no energy. When you are attracted to another person it is likely that you and the other are in some sense vibrating in phase with each other and each of you is energized more than just adding up your separate energies--it's more like 4 times the energy of each individual. With 3 persons it goes as 9 times and so on. Hence large crowds rock at a concert together because those in attendance are each enormously energized by the presence of the others in like mind sets. Hence the rock concert high, or the Sunday at church feeling and so on. The same thing holds for the Marine Corp or for a nation going to war or for any fascist or racist movement. Hence if use the metaphor without thinking you may find that being a saint (+) you will attract a lot of sinners (-'s).
I think the rolling stones said it well:
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game.
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'cause I'm in need of some restraint.
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste."
Question: Do you agree with the overall message of The Secret - that thought (or feeling) will bring you what you want as long as you vibrate in sync with the thing that you desire and thus attract it into your reality?
Answer: Not quite. Suppose you want a TV set. I wouldn't choose to sync with it any more than I would choose to sync with any other material object. I would sync with the processes I need to use to get that object--my Feelings, Intuitions, Sensations, and Thoughts (FIST). To get the TV set, utilize your FIST and take appropriate action. You can steal it, buy it, rent it, or have a friend give you it as a gift. Most people think that happiness comes from getting what you desire. Think about anything you got after desiring it. In a few days that Oh Wow feeling turned into Ho Hum didn't it? Watch kids at Xmas time and you'll see what I mean. They open their gift box, give a squeal of joy, and in minutes leave it in the middle of the room for mom to put away. Happiness actually comes from moving towards your goal. Getting it is the booby prize.
[/quote]
