Refining the Law of Attraction

The Secret, the DVD and the book, is estimated to be selling at a rate of approximately 7,500 units a day. That out sells any other book or DVD published to date. So what is the secret about The Secret?

The Law of Attraction hit a nerve with the masses. Is it because we so desperately want more money and all the things it can buy like new cars and houses? Or maybe the need goes much deeper. Maybe each of us wants to understand how to attract whatever it is we want into our lives.

But there is one controversy never addressed about The Secret. The critics and naysayers have slammed it for focusing too much on the material stuff. In other words, it's hardly possibly to sit and imagine a BMW and it just shows up in your driveway. And, there has to be some truth to that, right? Otherwise we would have all won the lotto by now.

OK, so what is the distinction that needs to be made?

What if the answer lies in refining a need from a desire?

Let's take a look. A need is a requirement, a necessary duty or an obligation. For example, we require food, shelter, water, clothes and a means to support ourselves. A want, on the other hand, is to feel inclined, to wish for or to crave or desire something - anything.

Here's the critical and beneficial distinction to make for yourself: Is what I'm trying to attract a need or a desire? Maybe this is where we can be fooled.

The media spends millions of dollars every year convincing us that we must have their products or services. How many times a day are we distracted from pursuing our own path in life by these annoying messages? Lose weight, have plastic surgery, make your penis larger, grow more hair, whiten your teeth and on and on. It's endless and destructive because it takes our focus away from what we need to be doing with our own lives. What everyone else thinks be damned.

Dr. Wayne Dyer speaks about self-actualization being the highest level a person can reach which includes being “independent of the good of other people.” Which means being detached from outcomes and living a life on purpose. Your purpose - not someone else's.

The first step is to get clear on what it is you need to be attracting into your own life. This is where another distinction needs to be made. Here's the caveat first: if you think and feel that your life is only about acquiring wealth and fame or power, then what I'm about to say will sound like a load of crap. If however, you feel that your life is meant for a higher spiritual purpose, this might just make some sense to you.

Distinguish First Between a Need and a Desire

Your higher power will fulfill all of your needs. It is your birthright. What you want, on the other hand, may not be in the best interest of your personal growth.

Let's take this on a simplistic level. I may want a chocolate brownie dripping in syrup. But if I'm diabetic or seriously overweight, it may not be the best thing for my body which is a substantial requirement for staying alive.

I might want a Mercedes 350SE, but what I would have to do to purchase and maintain this car, may not be the best thing for my spiritual development, unless possibly creating money is the thing you need to learn most. Do you see a pattern here?

What these kinds of desires do is perpetuate the cycle of wanting. Many who get caught up in this cycle wind up somewhere down the mid-life road wondering how they got how lost. They wake up one day and wonder how they lost sight of their life's vision.

Remember, these examples are based on the belief that we are spiritual beings and that we grow closer to spirit, or God, whatever your name for our creator is, every day. So if you are a person who considers themselves on the spiritual path, or want to be one, then this distinction is critical to your well being as well as to succeeding with the Law of Attraction.

Being able to easily attract what you want into your life is aligned with your spiritual needs. What is it that I have come to learn? What are the next best steps for me that will bring me closer to spirit, allow me to live a joyful, peaceful and more loving life on a daily basis? Do you see where I'm going with this?

Some of you may be wondering, “How can it be that I desperately want something that is ultimately bad for my spiritual growth? Am I just stupid?” Just remember it's possible if you are listening to your EGO. The ego loves attention, money, and fame etc. But anyone who has gone down those paths for any length of time will tell you that it's a dead-end street. You inevitably end up still wondering, “What's my life all about?”

Here's a good rule of thumb to remember when it comes to applying the Law of Attraction. Ask yourself, “Is this thing I want moving me toward spirit or away from it?” “Will this thing that I want move me closer to spirit or be a huge distraction that causes me to fall off my spiritual path?”

In this way you can refine your desires so that you can easily attract what you need to express for your higher purpose in life.