The Science behind the Law of Attraction
Everyone has heard of the Law of Attraction and many of you may have either read “The Secret” or watched the documentary. For some, the whole idea of the universe providing what we want based on what we focus on is pie-in-the-sky esoteric nonsense. For others it is an absolute truth that is unquestionable. If you fall into the category of unbelievers and the concept is just too out there for you maybe this article will change your mind. If you are a believer, you might be interested in understanding the science and psychology behind the concept.
The traditional definition the Law of Attraction.
The law of attraction is a universal principle that states that whatever you give your energy and attention to is what will come back to you. When you focus on an abundant life you automatically attract more abundance into your life. Focusing on positive things will bring you more positive things. Focusing on negative things attracts more negative things into your life. Depending on your source there are several laws that form the basis of the law of attraction, and they are:
How does it work?
One of the key principles of the Law of Attraction is that what you desire already exists. You only need to ask for it to receive it. In its simplest form, the first step is to ask the universe for what it is that you want. This is usually done through Affirmations or Intention Statements. The next step is to truly believe and be unwavering in the fact that you will get what you desire. The final step pushing positive energy out into the universe. This involves being appreciative and grateful for what we already have and for what we will receive.?
How does it really work?
I promised I would share the science and psychology behind the Law of Attraction. To do that, I need to start with an explanation of how our Brains process information. At any point in time, we are receiving millions and millions of bits of information per second through our senses. The problem with this is that our conscious mind can only deal with around 40–60 bits of data per second. So, for us to remain efficient the millions and millions of bits of information are filtered in our unconscious mind and only the information that our unconscious mind perceives to be important is presented to our conscious mind. Basically, the information is deleted, generalized, and or distorted. Then only is it presented to our conscious mind. Some the filters employed to do this are our beliefs, values, and our past experiences.
For Example: When we see a fluffy four-legged animal with an attitude problem. We receive the information into our unconscious mind. It then passes through our filters, and from previous experience and memory we know that it is a cat. Our brain doesn’t have to figure it out every time. If we had never seen a cat before we may think it’s a strange type of bunny or a dog. That is if we had seen a dog or bunny before. At some point we then learn that it’s a cat and not a dog or a bunny and it becomes a memory.
The part of our brain that is responsible for the filtering that happens in our unconscious mind is our Reticular Activating System (RAS). This part of our brain is responsible for our wakefulness, ability to focus, fight or flight response as well as the way in which we perceive the world. One could say the RAS works a lot like a social media algorithm. It only presents us with the information that is important to us at the time based on our beliefs, values, and past experience.
It is the reason why when we buy a new car we suddenly start seeing that same model everywhere. Even though we didn’t notice them previously before we bought that specific model of car. Our RAS simply deleted the information and never presented it to our conscious mind as it was regarded as important. The RAS is also the part of our brain that allows us to have a conversation with someone in a noisy space. It focuses on the conversation and deletes all the other noise around us.
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This being true it makes sense then that if we strongly believe in something or don’t believe in something and our beliefs and thoughts form part of our filters our conscious mind will only be presented with information that supports our thoughts and beliefs. Henry Ford once wisely said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” . Thus when you believe you having a bad day your RAS simply deletes all the good parts and you only notice all the bad things. If you revisited that day you would probably find there were many good parts. You just didn’t notice them. If you believe that the world is a bad place your RAS will present you with all the proof you need to make that reality true for you. The keywords being TRUE FOR YOU. What we believe ultimately becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
How does this link to the Law of Attraction?
The Law of Attraction states that you need to first ask for what it is you desire. Then truly believe that you will get it and once you place positive emotional energy behind it you will receive it. We now know that If you truly believe in something your internal radar (RAS) will present you with information that supports that belief. That then drives us towards an action or behavior and that in turn becomes the end result we get. A large part of this happens unconsciously. This is why many people don’t realize that they are creating what they desire through their own subtle actions. Nothing materializes out of thin air. We make it possible whether we are consciously aware of it or not.
Example:
If you believe that life is full of opportunity you will start to see opportunities everywhere. As more opportunities arise you begin to reinforce your belief. More opportunities will present themselves and when you take advantage of them you begin to drive yourself toward success. If you, however, believe that opportunities are rare your RAS will simply not make you to be aware of them. Then if one does arise you will come up with excuses and reasons why you shouldn’t take advantage of it. You will tell yourself it’s too good to be true or a scam of some sort and reject it. The same is true for Money and Love. If you believe Money or Love is hard to come by then they will be hard to come by. If you believe Money or Love are easy to come by then they will be easy to come by.
Your Reticular Activating System is an amazingly powerful part of your brain that will either hinder you or assist you. It is up to you which filters you apply. You do this by ensuring that you rid yourself of self-limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns. You decide your reality and ultimately the result you receive.
How to use your RAS to your advantage?
By having a better understanding of what is happening in your unconscious mind you can ensure that you rid yourself of self-limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns. You are then able to decide your reality and ultimately the result you receive thereby attracting your desired outcome.
That, in a nutshell, is the basic Science and Psychology behind the Law of Attraction. Whether you believe that you are manifesting your reality via a higher power or through the actions you take the important thing to remember is that you play a large part in the process. It is your choice whether you live a positive or negative reality. Ensuring that you maintain positive emotional energy, thoughts and belief patterns means you will attract a more positive result. Positive vibes always attract positive things.
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Until Next time,
Rob