I tuned into The Oprah Winfrey Show this week to see the stars of a unique movie called “The Secret,” now a major phenomenon on the Internet (www.thesecret.tv). Available online and on DVD, this movie keeps growing in popularity and is many people’s first introduction to something called the Universal Law of Attraction. In brief, this law says that like attracts like. It has not been intentionally kept from you as a secret, but most of what you’ve been taught about life is contrary to this law.

Everything in the universe is fundamentally energy, and everything has an energetic vibration. It’s like the harmonics we are familiar with in music. We can’t see sound, but a tuning fork when struck will cause the vibration of a neighboring fork set to the same pitch. In this way, the law holds that everything in the universe that shares the same vibration will effectively vibrate together. According to “The Secret,” the Law of Attraction affects every part of our lives.What if every fiber of your being was actually a beacon sending out a signal to the universe that gets an instant and automatic response, one that is an exact match for what is sent out? Would you be more conscious of what you say about your life? Would you exercise your choices differently?  How would this change the way you look at your future?

Although you may have never heard of it, the Law of Attraction is said to be universal. That means it’s always there, and it applies to everything. In fact, when learning about it for the first time, many people have the experience of immediate recognition, often saying things like “I knew this all along” or “I’ve been doing this in many ways all my life.” One woman claims she can always “attract” a parking spot when she uses the law. The Law of Attraction is like “Birds of feather flock together” magnified.

According to adherents, the Law of Attraction is working whether you believe it or not. They say you are continually attracting into your life what is consistent with your feelings and thoughts, for good or for bad. By embracing the concept of Universal Attraction, you can learn to use it to your advantage in every aspect of life. So, for example, if it seems to you that you are desperately and permanently single, that you’ll never get out of debt, or that you’re getting old, then this is exactly what you can expect to continue to get in life.

What you believe and how you feel about it causes a vibration that then becomes the cause of more of the same in your life.

It gets even trickier when you consider what you do not want. You would think that if you tried everything to avoid the things in life that you don’t want, you could steer clear of them. “I don’t want to end up old and alone” or “I don’t want to lose my job.” According to the Law of Attraction, when you focus on what you do not want, your emotional vibration will be consistent with what you do not want, and so you will unfailingly get exactly what you do not want.

The upswing of all this talk is this: you will succeed in getting everything you want in life by putting your attention on what you want and keeping it there. In abstract, this sounds easy enough, but if you observe your thinking, you’ll see that you probably spend more time thinking about what could stop you or how bad things are in the first place. I’ve seen it many times in coaching. I’ll ask a client what she wants out of life, and as soon as she expresses her dream, she’s already looking at what could potentially threaten her dreams from coming true. It goes like this: “I’d love to have more free time, quit my job, and make a living doing art, but there’s no way I’ll be able to do that with the mortgage I have to pay every month.”

It’s natural to have doubts. It’s understandable to look at your current circumstances and get stuck in how bad they are. It’s even normal to think nothing ever changes. Unfortunately, doubt, cynicism and resignation often win the day. What’s valuable about the Law of Attraction is that you are asked to look at your thoughts and feelings in a way that can empower you. You begin to see how much negativity you actually tolerate, and you begin to see the cost of being negative. Then, you see that you have a choice in every moment to put your attention on what you want and to feel positively about your future.

The beauty of the Law of Attraction is that it demonstrable. “The Secret” is full of examples of people getting what they have attracted, both favorable and unfavorable. One man got the million dollars he had been meditating on, while another saved her marriage. Other examples show how it’s possible to suffer for a long while until you awaken to this all-encompassing law.  One man, who was continually teased and bullied at work for being gay, let go of being a victim. Soon, the co-workers who teased him, one-by-one, left his office for various reason, and he no longer hated going to work.

If you try it on for a while and you get nothing, then you’ll know it’s not for you. On the other hand, if you begin putting your attention exclusively on what you want in life (regardless of where you are currently!) and start receiving surprising gifts from unexpected sources, then maybe you’ll be willing to stay with it. What’s possible in your life is a direct function of what you believe is possible in your life. And so here’s to you! Here’s to you living a life of abundance, good fortune, love and health.

If you want to explore further the Law of Attraction, I encourage you to get connected to others who are experimenting with it. Read or listen to a book about it. Go hear a speaker who’s got a new and interesting way of presenting it. Hire a personal coach to help you with your journey. The Law of Attraction is so powerful that, even if you just dip your toe in the water, you could be gratified by the results. Here are some resources for your exploration:

BOOKS (Some also in audio form)

Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, Ester and Jerry Hicks
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting: The Astonishing Power of Feelings, Lynn Grabhon
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, Deepak Chopra
The Power of Intention, Dr. Wayne Dyer

MOVIES

"The Secret" (www.thesecret.tv)
"What the Bleep Do We Know?" (www.whatthebleep.com)

SPEAKERS

Esther and Jerry Hicks, February 24, San Francisco (other dates/locations at www.abraham-hicks.com)
Mike Dooley, May 5, San Francisco (details www.mikedooleysf.com)