"The vibrations of mental forces are the finest and consequently the most powerful in existence." --Charles Haanel
Today I want to take on the idea that the Law of Attraction has been some big secret throughout the ages and only known by a few select people. I knew that wasn't so. To prove it I did a simple thing and went to my own personal library at home. I examined a number of my books looking for references to the Law of Attraction. I was amazed at what I found. If the Law of Attraction was a secret it certainly was one of the poorest kept secrets I have encountered.
What follows are a sampling of the books I came across in my library that referenced the Law of Attraction either directly or indirectly. I put them in chronological order starting with the Holy Bible. Along with the book information I included the actual reference from the book. Read them and see what you think. I think you must come to at least two conclusions-first that the Law of Attraction is not and has never been a secret and second that there must be something to it for this many people to write about it. Enjoy:
"For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Gal. 6:7) "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7) "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." (Mark 11:23)
Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of this life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires-and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.
If one holds himself in the thought of poverty, he will be poor, and the chances are that he will remain in poverty. If he holds himself, whatever present conditions may be, continually in the thought of prosperity, he sets into operation forces that will sooner or later bring him into prosperous conditions. The law of attraction works unceasingly throughout the universe, and the one great and never changing fact in connection with it is, as we have found, that like attracts like. If we are one with this Infinite Power, this source of all things, then in the degree that we live in the realization of this oneness, in that degree do we actualize in our selves a power that will bring to us an abundance of all things that it is desirable for us to have.
The picture of your desires, held with faith and purpose, is taken up by the Formless, and permeates it to great distances-throughout the universe, for all I know. As this impression spreads, all things are set moving toward its realization; every living thing, every inanimate thing, and the things yet uncreated, are stirred toward bringing into being that which you want. All force begins to be exerted in that direction; all things begin to move toward you. The minds of people, everywhere, are influenced toward doing the things necessary to the fulfilling of your desires; and they work for you, unconsciously.
Nature is a great one-price storekeeper who hands us out what we ask for if we pay the price. Our thoughts are like roots which reach out in every direction into the cosmic ocean of formless energy, and these thought-roots set in motion vibrations like themselves and attract the affinities of our desires and ambitions. There is a tremendous creative, producing power in the perpetual focusing of the mind along the line of the desire, the ambition. It develops a marvelous power to attract, to create the thing for which we long.
But we shall find that there is a vast difference between simply thinking, and directing our thought consciously, systematically and constructively; when we do this we place our mind in harmony with Universal Mind, we come in tune with the Infinite, we set in operation the mightiest force in existence, the creative power of the Universal Mind. This, as everything else, is governed by natural law, and this law is the "Law of Attraction," which is that Mind is creative, and will automatically correlate with its object and bring it into manifestation.
IT is a metaphysical truth that the outward life is a reflection of the thought life. Our life is affected by our habit of thinking and attitude of mind, in two ways: first, all our actions are unconsciously influenced by our thoughts, thus helping to bring into manifestation, or attracting to us, an environment that corresponds to our thoughts. Secondly, we discharge or emit an influence, silent and invisible, that no doubt affects other people. They are probably not aware of it, but they are either repelled or attracted by this silent influence.
Like attracts like. Our habitual consciousness continually draws to us that which is like itself. . . What we give out comes back to us increased and multiplied. This is the spiritual law of prosperity. That which we are and express binds to us as with invisible hoops of steel its likeness in the world about us. . . There is a constant relationship between the world within us and the world about us. An old maxim of Hermes says, "As within, so without; as without, so within." This is the true basis of enduring demonstration. What we attract from the world about us as the response to what we are radiating from within ourselves is bound to us by ties that are sturdy and strong.
Visualize the thing you desire to become, hold it in your mind continually. Never let doubts and fears come like vile, noxious weeds to crowd out and kill your crop. Cultivate it. Believe it, and you shall receive it. This is THE LAW-the unchanging, eternal law of God. There are not many laws-just the one-the law that everything shall produce after its kind. The fulfilling of the law is the planting-the cultivating-the waiting-and the harvest. It is the same whether it be grain, stock, or thoughts sowed within one's soul. It is the one eternal law.
That's the theory of all life, as old as the world itself. Like begets like-tap, tap, tap! I'm repeating that statement, and I don't care how many times you've heard it before. Perhaps if I repeat it often enough-tap, tap, tap!-you'll never forget it. Like begets like. A laugh brings a laugh, a good deed calls for a good deed, riches beget riches, love, love-you go on from there! It works! It's contagious! The old law of attraction never fails.
We are all familiar with such sayings as "Birds of a feather flock together," "Like attracts like," and "As you sow, so shall you reap." There seems to be something that brings together similar things. The mind of man seeks the Mind of God. There definitely seems to exist a Law of Attraction. The more a man seeks out the creative Power of the universe the more It seems to be attracted to him. The more he desires congenial friends the more he is surrounded by them. The more he seeks, in thought and action, health, success, or any other experience, the more are such experiences attracted into his life. The Law of Attraction, in other words, means that we attract into our experience conditions and situations corresponding to the nature and content of our thought. The action of mind is like a magnet, drawing to itself all things of similar content.
The human mind is constantly attracting vibrations which harmonize with that which dominates the mind. Any thought, idea, plan, or purpose which one holds in one's mind attracts a host of its relatives, adds these "relatives" to its own force, and grows until it becomes the dominating, motivating master of the individual in whose mind it has been housed.
I agree with Emerson that it is time the law of compensation was emphasized as life's basic law. I like to think of this basic law of prosperity as radiation and attraction: that what you radiate outward in your thoughts, feelings, mental pictures and words, you attract into your life and affairs. But you cannot get something for nothing.
In the ancient world, Hermes Trismegistus had the reputation of being the greatest, most powerful magus the world had ever known. When his tomb was opened, centuries after his passing, those who were in touch with the wisdom of the ancients waited with great expectancy and a sense of wonder. It was said that the greatest secret of the ages would be found within the tomb. And so it was. The secret was:
In other words, whatever you impress in your subconscious mind, that becomes expressed on the screen of space. This same truth was proclaimed by Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Budda, Zoroaster, Laotze, and all the illumined seers of the ages. Whatever you feel as true subjectively is expressed as conditions, experiences, and events. Motion and emotion must balance. As in heaven (your own mind), so on earth (in your body and environment). This is the great law of life.
Man's mind has the same ability to create and to shape the invisible atoms of the universe as the Infinite Intelligence which works under the Law of Cause and Effect. Your Mind is a cause, from which issue all the effects of your future life. If you wish to project certain effects in your life-like greater prosperity, more money, a better job, a happy marriage-all you need do is know how to form these creative ideas in your own mind. Then, through the law of Mental Projection which we shall study in this lesson, you can send those creative ideas to the invisible spiritual protoplasm that fills time and space, and shape the events and the destiny that you desire.
You are the sum total of your own thoughts. If you think in negative terms, you will achieve negative results, but if you think in positive terms, you will achieve positive results. Wise men and philosophers throughout the ages have disagreed about many things, but they are unanimously in agreement on one point: "We become what we think about!"
Your thoughts are alive. The more specific your portrait, the better the chances are for it to materialize. Details are very important. In mysterious and unexpected ways your thoughts, nourished regularly, bring about the circumstances that allow them to become reality.
I repeat what is vital to remember: Life is a creation. And you create it in your thoughts. What you allow to become dominant in your mind, not only drives your body, it creates your world. Well, there you have it. The big SECRET is out. The Law of Attraction, or whatever name it is given, is real and working in your life and mine whether we know it or not. Let's use this great power to make our lives the best they can be. Thank you.
The Law of Attraction and Shared Reality (article)
Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World - William Walker Atkinson (e-book)
New Thought and the Law of Attraction (article)
The Power of Thought - Henry Thomas Hamblin (audiobook)
Thoughts Are Things - Prentice Mulford (audiobook)
The Secret Door to Success - Florence Scovel Shinn (audiobook)