In theory, the law of attraction is a pretty straightforward concept. But as for how it actually 'works' in the real world? We come to find it's a bit more complex. I don't know if our human minds can ever fully understand what is at play at the deepest levels of what is creating our experience, individually and collectively. But I digress...
That whole 'ask and it is given' thing is all fine and good until you discover that yucky thing called 'resistance.' You unearth a boatload of beliefs that don't serve you, and don't exactly lend themselves to creating your heart's desire.
Now that you have familiarized yourself a bit with this whole LOA thing, you probably are familiar with the idea you attract based on your energy (collection of thoughts, feelings and beliefs) in the present moment. This means you have to believe you can have what you want, and you have to feel like you already have it. Remember LOA is not some magic tool that will just bring you all the stuff you want, simply because you want it.
How the hell are you supposed to feel like you have something when you don't? How are you supposed to shut out your mind's insistence to focus on 'what is' now?
Are you just supposed to lie to yourself? Do the teachings of the law of attraction encourage you to be delusional? The answers are a big fat no and no.
Acting as if you already had what you wanted is not about playing pretend or totally ignoring your current reality. It is about realizing your point of power is how you are focusing in the present moment, ,and deliberately directing your attention towards what you want, knowing your reality will eventually follow suit.
Here are a few helpful hints for getting into a state of being that is understandably perplexing to that good old mind of yours.
No Matter What You Want, You are After a Feeling
Oh brother, your mind will really put up a fight about this little ditty. But, here's the thing, no matter what you want, you want it because it will bring you some sort of feeling you find desirable. At the core, that is always true, no exceptions.
You want money because you think it will make you feel secure and more free. You want a relationship because you think it will make you feel loved and appreciated. You want children because you think it will provide you a sense of purpose.
And when we truly realize this, we come to see there are lots of things we can do to feel those feelings now. This doesn't mean giving up on what you want...your mind really freaks out when it thinks you are doing that.
And if we want to truly harness the power of the law of attraction, and get what we want with the least amount of suffering possible, we have to find a way to feel those feelings now. The law of attraction will then deliver all sorts of goodies that match those feelings. That is how it works. It is a beautiful system.
What feelings lie behind what you want? How can you feel those feelings now?
It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter if you can only get into that space for a few minutes at a time. Anything you do that helps you reduce the tendency to notice the absence of what you want, and to reduce that sense of 'need' around what you want, is golden.
Imagine You Were Given a Guarantee
Imagine for one second you were to receive some sort of written guarantee what you wanted is indeed coming...maybe not tomorrow, but it's in the works.
How would that make you feel? How differently would you look at what is unwanted right now, knowing it's not going to be that way forever? How much easier would it be to feel better even in the midst of all the stuff you don't like?
What you would start doing? What things would you stop doing? What sorts of thoughts, feelings and beliefs would start to weaken?
Imagining this scenario is extremely powerful for helping you figure out how to proceed now, and 'act as if.' Don't dismiss the simplicity. Don't let your mind keep reminding you of your current reality. Don't let it start picking apart at your desired manifestation, and trying to figure out 'how' it would happen.
Just imagine that guarantee. When you truly begin to understand how law of attraction works, you do realize there is that guarantee...in the form of your predominant energy. The law of attraction must deliver you experiences that mirror this energy back to you.
And when you are oozing with faith, and trust ,what you want is possible, when you truly believe (maybe not every second and it's cool) you can have what you want, and you feel all sorts of warm fuzzies now, you will be bombarded with all sorts of awesomeness.
Just be willing to be open-minded about how the manifestation has to look...don't get super-attached to one specific outcome, or it being delivered through one specific channel.
It Comes Down to Choice
Listen, it's totally understandable to have negative emotion regarding the things in our life we don't like, and feeling bummed about the absence of the things we would like. Our emotions are our guidance system, and that sense of contrast ,is what helps us figure out what we want to create for ourselves in our own life.
So, not telling you to just get all happy, and pretend like the things that suck, aren't so bad or whatever. It 's okay to think they suck. The suckiness is a nice catalyst to move forward.
But, while it is understandable to have this negative emotion, and important to acknowledge it and let yourself feel it(don't just suppress it.) at some point, something has got to give, and you have to be willing to give this whole 'feeling better now even without an outside reason to.' a real try.
Knowing what you know about law of attraction, you realize you really don't have a choice in the matter. It's a non-negotiable. You may not feel all happy and shiny every moment, and it's all good. That isn't necessary to get things moving, but you do have to work on feeling better more than you are feeling badly.
You have to be willing to work on releasing the beliefs that aren't serving you, and making your best effort to avoid things that further cement your negative emotion.
You have to be willing to spend some time doing whatever you can to bank some of that positive energy so it can gain more traction. It gets easier over time.
To learn more about the law of attraction, check out Kelli's blog Life Made to Order, where you'll find posts and podcasts.
If you want to get some more in-depth information on this all important aspect of the attraction process, be sure to check out book 3 in her Making Sense of the Law of Attraction Series: What It Really Means to Act 'As If'
