The Psychology Behind the Law of Attraction
In short, the Law of Attraction is the theory that like attracts like. It’s a theory that’s been popularised (and simplified) by movies such as “The Secret” and is put forward as the premise that if you visualise what you want, and act as though you already have it, then your dreams will materialise.
In other words, if we want something, all we have to do is visualise it and it magically appears in our life. If your dream is to have a beautiful, loving partner and live in an idyllic house by the sea, then all you have to do is picture this in your mind, and pretty soon the law of attraction will bring reality up to speed. Pretty amazing, right? There are many that swear by it, but how does it actually work?
Goal settling Theory
What do you really want? We all know what we don’t want “I don’t want to be in this job”, “I hate my body”. But taking the time to really ask ourselves what we DO want can be an enlightening experience as it causes us to reflect deeply.
You might find that some of the biggest parts of your life just happened without you deciding whether you really wanted them; your job, the place where you live, the person you are in a relationship with. Maybe they were the easy option at the time and you haven’t ever really considered if they are something you would actively choose.
When we practice visualisation, we identify what we truly want. Many of us bumble through our days, weeks and months without reflecting on what would really make us happy. Visualisation allows us to set aside time to ’create’ the life we want in our minds. In doing so, we tap into our subconscious – the part of our brain that stores every experience we’ve ever had – which in return can help us to identify our true values and desires. And once we’ve identified these desires we can then begin guiding ourselves towards them with every decision we make in reality.
Self Fulfilling Prophecy Theory
Imagine this; a promotion comes up in works but you believe that there is no way you’d ever get it, so you don’t apply. Or a friend asks you to go the gym with them but you’re afraid of being embarrassed so you don’t even try.
“Self-fulfilling Prophecy” is the theory that we indirectly respond and conform to the beliefs we hold about ourselves. For example; We believe that we won’t be successful professionally, so the small decisions we make every day are fuelled by this belief and surprise surprise, we remain unsuccessful. Or we believe that we lack the discipline to develop a healthy lifestyle, and the same process plays out.
“Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right” - Henry Ford
Visualising a certain event or future over and over again comes with its own power. Especially when it comes to situations that may un-nerve us. This is something practiced regularly by professional sports-people. By allowing our mind visualise a situation that might intimidate us in reality, we gain a few practice runs, and the situation becomes normalised for us. Through watching ourselves continuously succeed in our vision, we begin to create the belief system that achieving our goal is a real possibility, and not something we simply dream of. We condition ourselves to believe that we are successful.
Another level that visualisation works on is that it opens our mind to any evidence or any resources that will help us in the pursuit of our goals. When we consciously decide on and visualise our goals, our subconscious responds by making us aware of opportunities to achieve those goals that may have previously slipped our attention. This phenomenon is called Frequency Illusion and it’s quite likely that you’ve experienced this already. If you love a particular sport, you’re likely to notice anything that’s related to that sport anything that comes within your field of attention. If you begin to plan a wedding or are expecting a child, anything related to those things will instantly set off tiny alarm bells in your mind, whereas beforehand they might have passed you by.
So while it might be tempting to believe that you can simply imagine things into existence, visualisation is a bit more complex than that. But if you learn to understand what it can and can’t do – the benefits are nonetheless very real and very valuable.
At Ahimsa Wellness, we often use visulaisations as part of our many workshops. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with current classes.