For most of my life I’ve been fascinated by the subject of the ‘law of attraction.’ It wasn’t something I read about, studied or was taught, in fact, to the contrary, it was something I experienced over and over and then went out into the world to discover what this phenomenon was all about.
As a child I seemed to always attract the right solutions, people or situations to help me to escape from the harsh reality of my upbringing. Survival was key to kick-starting my experience with this phenomenon and I observed it with a fascination even if I didn’t quite understand where it came from or what it was about. All I knew was that it got me the results I desperately needed.
Even though I had a relatively isolated upbringing, I seemed to always attract the right friendships and mentors that helped me survive the daily challenges. These I believe were my saving grace and were the people I attracted to counterbalance my volatile childhood. Without them I would not have survived those formative years.
Later, when I reached my early adulthood I realised I was spiralling out of control and attracting more and more volatile situations which I finally realised was not about bad luck. It was when I was limited with no other choices to make and had hit rock bottom that I finally realised I had to seek answers and a strategy for overcoming the negative programs (or learned behaviour) that I obviously had running from my upbringing.
The only place I could start was to trust what I’d sought solace in when I was a child. Prayer. It was like a door opened to a new world. I didn’t pray because I expected answers, it was a natural process as I was desperate, frightened and alone. Almost instantly however, the unexpected happened.
I was looking through a newspaper when I spotted an article on Numerology, the ancient study of numbers. I couldn’t explain why but it stood out as if someone was shining a light on it. My instincts told me to read it. It was offering a reading based on my name and date of birth.
It explained that each letter of the alphabet has a numerical value, and each number has a related cosmic vibration. Combining the letters in your name and the date on which you were born provides an interrelation of vibrations. This unique and personal combination allows for insight as to your character tendencies, strengths and weaknesses, natural talents, motivations, and life purpose as an integral part of the cosmic plan. Numerology is one of many tools used to gain insight and understanding into one’s Self and others.
I had no idea why but I was compelled at the time to send off for this report even though I’d had no spiritual fascination up to that point (or what I perceived to be spiritual) but I needed to get some clarification regardless. At the time I was penniless and just about scraped the money together to cover the cost.
Self-doubt kicked in after I sent off for the report as my thoughts condemned me for wasting money on something which could turn out to be a waste of time, could demand more money from me and worst of all, make me lose control of my senses believing nonsense that I couldn’t rationalise with.
As a sceptic at that time I was convinced the world was full of those who had luck and those that didn’t, but something that day seemed to nag at me to give it a chance.
Within a few days and as promised, a full and comprehensive report arrived through my door. I was surprised to say the least. I couldn’t wait to read it and thoroughly digested it the moment it arrived. I was appalled. I couldn’t believe the way the report described my life. In fact, I was pretty hacked off as I felt I’d somehow been x-rayed and all my inner thoughts, feelings and fears had been revealed to the person who had sent it to me.
I stewed on it as the anger welled in me until finally that day I couldn’t deal with the realisation any more. I had to do something to change my life as I certainly didn’t like, respect nor want to be the person the report so obviously described.
I set about pouring through the report again and this time I wrote on a piece of paper all the statements I did not like about myself or my life. It was an extensive list. I had no idea why, but on another piece of paper I wrote the complete opposite to be true, in the present tense.
I remember one statement saying “You have no interest in worldly affairs and only focus on your own dramas which you create.” I was appalled because the truth hurt, like registering the shock when a best friend tells you things they don’t like about you.
So, on the other piece of paper I wrote the complete opposite in the present tense as if I was someone completely different which read: “I embrace this world fully by making a difference with others.”
Eventually I had a whole list of new statements and in some kind of need to ritualise my intention, I burned the piece of paper with all the negative statements on, as if to show some invisible force that I was no longer that person.
Without understanding why, I felt compelled to read these new positive statements every day as many times as I could. I had no idea the power behind reading those statements. Slowly but surely I saw the effect and results from what I later learned were affirmations of intention.
Emile Coue (1857 – 1926), a French psychologist and pharmacist, introduced a method of psychotherapy healing and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion, known today as affirmations. Coue noticed that in certain instances he could improve the desired effect of a medicine simply by praising its effectiveness to his patient. He noticed that when he praised the medicine given to certain patients, it had a marked improvement over those patients where he said nothing. This began his investigation into the power of the imagination.
He found autosuggestion was more powerful than hypnosis because he discovered patients could not be hypnotised against their will and more importantly, the effects of hypnotism waned when the patients gained consciousness.
By using autosuggestion consciously, he observed that the patients could cure themselves by replacing in their minds “thoughts of illness” with “thoughts of cure.” He recognised that with consciously repeating words or images as self-suggestion to the subconscious mind, we can order our mind to obey them.
The cures achieved by Coue’s patients seemed to be unbelievable, however he always clearly explained to visitors that he possessed no powers and that the power was within the patients themselves. In fact, in one case, an English visitor C Harry Brooks who visited him, claimed that the success rate was around 93%.
I’ve worked with affirmations for the past 20 years personally, with my clients and through my teaching methods and have been astounded by the results through the law of attraction. It’s a profoundly powerful way to work to achieve our desires. I continue to teach people to follow my first experience, especially for those who don’t know what they want to manifest or create in their lives.
By looking at what you don’t want in your life, it gives you the power to do something about it and then by creating a list of affirmations for what you do want, it gives you the power to work with the energy of the law of attraction to put it into action.
Through creating that first list of affirmations, little coincidences arrived in my life like magic to help with my dire situation. Slowly but surely I could feel something shifting. The more I saw the coincidences, the more I poured my focus into reading my statements of positivity.
This is a sample from a chapter in the book, Believe and Succeed: The Law of Attraction Uncovered. Published by Athena Publishing. Click here to pick up a copy.