As a proponent of positive psychology, I learn about many different schools of thought including cognitive behavioral therapy, Buddhist psychology, yoga therapy, and mindfulness, as well as the teachings of Deepak Chopra, Bo Forbes, Daniel Siegel, Wayne Dyer and many others. Recently I attended an Abraham-Hicks workshop on the Law of Attraction, and I learned some techniques I’d like to share with you here.
The basis of Abraham-Hicks teachings is the Law of Attraction (like attracts like). This is the belief that explains how focusing on positive or negative thoughts can attract positive or negative results. Ever wonder why some people enjoy abundance in all areas of life where they are successful in relationships, finances, and career? Richard Wiseman did a study on lucky people and found that a person’s thoughts and behaviors are responsible for their fortune, not because they were “born lucky” or due to chance. Even if what you believe in is not real, as seen in the placebo effect, it is merely your beliefs that cause you to feel better. Similarly, this awareness video tests your attention skills by illustrating that what you focus your attention on is what you see (try it out yourself!).
Reticular activation also supports this ideology of Law of Attraction. Your Reticular Activation System (RAS) is a network in the brain that plays several roles; one being it helps raise your awareness to the information you are seeking. Perhaps you have noticed when you are interested in buying a new car, you begin to spot that particular type of car far more often on the road. This is your RAS at work, concentrating on what you really want and then bringing it to the forefront of your mind.
In the Abraham-Hicks workshop, Abraham discussed several techniques to help keep your focus on what you want to attract. The 17-second rule was one that caught my attention. For this technique, Abraham talked about the power of holding a pure thought for at least 17 seconds to allow your thought to build momentum.
What this means is that you start thinking thoughts that are congruent to what you are interested in manifesting, and then these thoughts collect momentum as they continue to build exponentially for 68 seconds (4 intervals of 17 seconds). While this number may seem arbitrary, the idea of focusing your thoughts and holding them purely for an uninterrupted period of time may help build one’s confidence, in turn increasing chances for opportunity and positive mood. Similar to visualization, this technique may be helpful to remember when our moods begin to take a turn for negative-town, reminding ourselves that in only 17 seconds we can change how we feel.
The Focus Wheel Process is another Law of Attraction tool shared at the workshop. Essentially, this is the process of writing supportive and believable thoughts around your statement of desire found in the middle of the focus wheel. The technique helps you find something believable that matches the desire and then focus on that and let the Law of Attraction carry it to another level. The purpose of the Focus Wheel is to help bring you into alignment with what you want without any contradictory statements. From there, you create a statement of affirmation.
Just as how we repeat self-affirmations silently to ourselves, the focus wheel generated statements may also help us feel better and maintain clarity. When we are stuck in a rut and are having difficulty moving forward in our goals, this technique may help catapult us out. The brainstorming process may be beneficial to creating and identifying those positive things about ourselves that we can use to inspire and create, building the momentum to move forward.
Lastly, I want to highlight a more universal notion also endorsed by Abraham-Hicks: every day is a new day and it matters where you start your day. When you wake up, start your day by thinking about what makes you happy. As Abraham said, “get up and look for things to feel good about, and then milk it.” Sleep is the time for you to push the reset button, which makes the morning ideal for setting the tone of the day. Many people choose to meditate in the morning because they are more refreshed and less crowded by thoughts. Additionally, Wayne Dyer talks about the powerful intentions you can cement in your thoughts before going to sleep. There is a lot going on during this time that we can capitalize on for pushing our Law of Attraction forward.
To summarize, it’s amazing how many leaders in the field of science, psychology, and spirituality contribute to this notion of Law of Attraction, and I’ve only included a snippet of the copious amounts of research dedicated to this topic. You may find relief in knowing the simplicity of changing the content of your thoughts leads you down a different path. I know we have heard it a million times – just change your perspective – but now you have some tips. Regardless of what method or time of day fits your needs, find what works for you and add that to your toolbox. If nothing else, maybe the idea of Law of Attraction brings you some sense of empowerment.
In closing, I leave you with something my yoga teacher once said: May you have good thoughts today. And, I’ll add: and tomorrow and the next day and the next. I hope you find these techniques useful, if not inspiring, for attracting that which your heart desires.