The law of attraction: how you create your dream life

Spiritual hocus-pocus or scientific reality? The Law of Attraction is a popular phenomenon, especially in personal development, with repeated claims that it will "change your life." What is the truth behind this, and how does it work?

The Law of Attraction: What is it anyway?

Basically, it is very simple: Law of Attraction It's about visualizing the things I want in my life. In my mind's eye, I imagine the material and immaterial things I would like to "own" and gradually attract them into my life. In other words, I'm essentially turning my dreams into reality without having to do much.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Many people are initially skeptical about the principle: "How is that supposed to work? Why doesn't everyone have everything they want?" "That's probably just some esoteric nonsense..." I can certainly understand these objections, and indeed, the whole thing does sound completely out of this world at first. The funny thing is: It seems to work! The basic idea is that Like attracts like and that we create our own lives with our thoughts and actions…

To better understand the Law of Attraction, let's look at it from two perspectives: the psychological and the spiritual.

What does psychology say about this?

From a psychological point of view, this phenomenon would be “unconscious goal priming" (which is essentially "unconscious goal influencing or preparation"). This is a specific type of focused attention. My psychology professor always metaphorically called unconscious goal priming the "mailbox principle": Imagine you want to send a letter. Your brain stores the intention to "send a letter" and is now looking for ways to put this plan into action. Now, when you leave your house, you suddenly notice mailboxes everywhere that seemed like they weren't even there before.
This example can, of course, be applied to anything: If you covet a particular pair of shoes, you suddenly see them everywhere; if you find a spider in your room, there are suddenly all sorts of creatures in every corner; and if you're afraid you're pregnant, you'll encounter pregnant women or mothers with small children everywhere...

What actually happens physiologically in our brain is this: A thought that seems important to us is stored in our subconscious and takes on a special meaning. This thought, as described in the example above, doesn't necessarily have to be associated with positive emotions. It can also be associated with fear or other negative emotions.

The anchored thought causes our attention to become selective, and so we focus on stimuli related to and similar to that thought. As if with a kind of tunnel vision, we initially block out things that are then irrelevant to us—after all, we can't focus on everything at once. This mechanism has been ingrained in our brains for thousands of years: Our brain always wants to ensure our survival and therefore focuses on the stimuli in our environment that seem most relevant at that moment.

And what does this have to do with the law of attraction?

As we've just shown, our brain focuses its attention on stimuli and thoughts that seem important to it. And when we visualize, that's exactly what happens: We imagine what we would like to attract into our lives. These thoughts generate positive feelings within us, and our brain registers that what we've visualized is important to us. Through the subsequent selective attention we notice more things that have to do with our wish.
Through heightened awareness, we also perceive more and more possibilities and opportunities related to our goal/desire, and we take action much more quickly than if we didn't notice these things at all. Our brain and body are set in motion to get there, toward our goal.

So if I visualize regularly over a longer period of time, I might end up exactly there.

The Law of Attraction from a Spiritual Perspective

On a spiritual level, this is all a bit more difficult to explain. Psychology can be measured and visualized more easily than energies, vibrations, and spiritual forces. The spiritual perspective explains the Law of Attraction as follows:

We humans are made of energy. This energy vibrates at different frequencies. Negative emotions (anger, fear, shame, sadness) are believed to vibrate at a lower level. Higher vibrations, on the other hand, are enthusiasm, joy, or love. We attract the same vibrations that we emit.

What this means for visualization: When I imagine my wishes and goals, positive feelings arise within me. These resonate high and thus attract high vibrations into my life. This is how my wishes manifest and "come true."

Either way…

It's up to you how exactly it works – it works. So if you want to change something in your life – be it in your relationships, your health, your career, or whatever – then this tool can help you enormously in getting where you want to be. In sports, for example, visualization has been used for a very long time. It's really worth giving it a try. This way, you'll simultaneously become more aware of your thoughts and more mindful of yourself and your surroundings.

Also gratitude can be applied like this. Through gratitude and visualizing in my mind's eye the things or people I'm grateful for, I shift my focus. In everyday life, I then notice more and more things I can be grateful for. This, in turn, puts me in a grounded and happy mood...

What do I need to consider when visualizing?

To ensure that the law of attraction does not backfire, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

PREPARATION

First of all, it is useful to create a quiet place Find a place where you'll be undisturbed and can unwind a bit. Often, our minds are still caught up in everyday problems, racing from one thought to the next. So, consciously take some time to breathe and settle in.

It also helps enormously to take two minutes before the actual visualization to gratitude to practice. When you visualize everything that already exists in your life, you shift your focus from lack to abundance. If you approach the visualization with a scarcity mindset, you may end up creating more lack. Before visualizing an area where you would like to see change, become aware of what you can already be grateful for in that area.

VISUALIZATION

So let's get to the actual visualization. Close your eyes and imagine the situation as you would like it to be. It's important to act as if what you wish for is already reality. Think in the present tense and create as much detailed images in your mind's eye (for example, walking hand in hand with your dream partner in your favorite place). It also helps to review and integrate the W-questions and the various sensory impressions.

Then it is important to use these images Feelings to arise. Really immerse yourself in the situation and imagine how you feel in that moment. The more intensely and in detail you visualize, the easier it is to feel those things. Feel the feelings you want to feel, right now.

Images manifest better within you when they are written down. You can visualize what you have just seen in your mind's eye. Write as detailed as possible in your journal or notebook. Write in the present tense, even if these things have not yet happened, z.B.: "I'm in a fulfilling relationship with my dream partner. In the evenings, we walk along the river and talk about our day. We hold hands..." Feel free to be cheesy! There are no limits, dare to think big!

So, in summary: See it, feel it, be it! Live now as if you were already where you want to be. And soon, you'll be right there.

If you would like to learn more about mindfulness, healthy eating or sustainability, take a look here over.