We always strive to improve our lives and be happy. There are many posts, books, and recordings about the Law of Attraction and Manifesting. Many times, we use them interchangeably. And while they share many of the same qualities, they differ in achieving the desired outcome. Let me share with you my view on this subject. I will compare these two in this post and share my opinion.
Let's start with definitions.
"The law of attraction is a philosophy suggesting that positive thoughts bring positive results into a person's life, while negative thoughts bring negative outcomes. It is based on the belief that thoughts are a form of energy and that positive energy attracts success in all areas of life, including health, finances, and relationships." How Your Thoughts Can Influence Outcomes in Your Life by Elizabeth Scott, PhD
"Manifestation is about creating a vision for the future, putting energy and intention into making that vision a reality, and then aligning your thoughts, emotions, and actions accordingly so that your vision can come into fruition," Denise Fournier, PhD, LMHC.
As we see, the foundation of the Law of Attraction is that positive or negative thoughts can bring positive or negative experiences into our life. "I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative," Michael Losier. Most common is visualizing the future as if it happened, creating vision boards, or saying affirmations. Manifestation is a practical application of the law of attraction (LOA). There is only one difference between LOA and Manifestation - manifestation requires deliberate actions.
If you are following these teachings and it works for you, it is great; keep doing it. For everyone else, let’s investigate our brain functions. Let's start with our brains. There are three main functions of the brain:
• to survive
• to save energy
• to please us
The first is shown through all the automatic reactions when we are in danger. Like protective hands movement when we see an object flying in our direction
The second is saving energy. It affects every organ in our body from regulating body temperature to how the brain functions. Almost 90% of the day, we act on autopilot because it takes less energy than evaluating our every move and decision.
The third one is directly related to this article. Our brain wants to please us. Our brain will tune out loud music when we have an important conversation. Our brain will show us what we want to see and where our focus is. An interesting study was done and published in 2013. A group of radiologists was directed to examine a series of chest x-rays to find lung cancer. They didn't know that image of a gorilla was inserted into the x-ray picture. It was not a tiny image; it was about 45 times the size of the average cancerous lung nodule. The result of this study was astonishing. 83% of the radiologists missed the gorilla because their brains focused on finding cancer in the lungs. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23863753/)
We all know our day will be brighter when we wake up in a good mood. When we wake up "on the wrong side of the bed," our day may go sideways. Negative people always find negative stuff around them. It is not like their brain point to negative things to please them; the brain registered that we focused before on the negative matter, so it must be important to us. The longer we are in this loop, the harder it is to leave it. The brain creates shortcuts (pathways) to find this information quickly (saving energy). Good thing that by changing our thoughts, we can teach our brains new tricks and create new neural pathways. This unique and extraordinary quality of the brain is called neuroplasticity. It is what LOA promises; focusing on the good will bring good things into your life. Focusing on the good does not bring good people into our life; they are always there for us. What happens is that we change our focus. Sun has not become brighter; we simply stop paying attention to the clouds.
The flaw I see in the LOA is if something goes wrong in our lives, it is our fault. As if our thoughts created it this situation. And I don't like the "blame the victim" approach. People may blame themselves for adverse events outside their control (accidents and injuries, layoffs due to a financial downturn, etc.). "People may believe that the power to make things happen resides solely within them and their mental energy, but the reality is that there are systemic barriers for people who live with poverty, discrimination, and marginalization, that mere manifesting can't make go away," Hawlan Ng, PsyD.
Manifestation adds actions to positive thinking. It is not only wishing for something; it includes steps to achieve our goal. For example, we hang out with fitness enthusiasts if we want to be fit. Want to improve our eating habits? Look for healthy recipes online. Don't be discouraged by setbacks. It takes time to form new habits and create new neural pathways. Give yourself time to retrain your brain. And never be afraid or ashamed to ask for help. A strong belief in something encourages us to take the necessary steps.
Conclusion.
We cannot manifest what we want while focusing on what we don't want. Be careful with self-talk; our mind is always listening.
Concentrate on what you have control over instead of craving control over what you don't. Focus on small but consistent steps and celebrate even the slightest success.
"The future depends on what you do today," Mahatma Gandhi.
With love, Roman
February 2023