One of the many criticisms Law of Attraction gets is that the method inherently blames people for any misfortune they experience. This is the result, probably, of the emphasis some Law of Attraction advocates put on personal influence. These advocates say, in effect, that the circumstances of our lives come from our own outlook: a positive outlook and emanating positive energies brings about desirable results; a negative outlook and emanating negative energies brings about undesirable results.
Life is a reflection of our outlook and perfectly mirrors the positive or negative energies that we put out. Success or failure then — or happiness or suffering — is our own personal creation.
Critics of this outlook say it encourages blame. For instance, if we lose our job is it because we somehow failed to put forth enough positive energy? What if our spouse leaves us? What if we become ill? Do we create stuff like this through failing to have the proper positive outlook?
Some Law of Attraction advocates will answer the above question with a yes — we do create negative circumstances through our energy output and our focus, though we may do it all in a subconscious way; but, ultimately, it all comes from us.
I don’t agree with this perspective.
I prefer to use the term intentional manifestation versus Law of Attraction because intentional manifestation suggests, for me at least, manifesting something particular versus directly creating everything we experience. My belief is that life, at least in part, happens beyond our conscious awareness. It may happen according to Divine will, according to karma, according to a plan we map out before coming into this life, according to something more like randomness, or perhaps a combination of all these things.
I also believe, however, that our focus and energy does absolutely impact the overall quality of our life. The person who has a negative outlook about themselves and the life experience in general will, in my opinion, manifest different life circumstances than someone who affirms their own worth and is optimistic. I believe we are all very powerful entities with the ability to manifest, and that our powers of manifestation come through focus.
In other words the more we focus upon something, particularly with intensity and / or passion, the more likely that something is to manifest into material form within our life experience. This, though, is different than saying you were hit by a car because your energy wasn’t positive enough, or whatever. I’ll summarize by saying life happens and we can influence, to some degree, the what that does happen.
Having said all that, let me now say that we often judge experiences as somehow bad from the outset. Those same bad experiences however can ultimately be grace. I can say unequivocally that some past experiences that I’ve had, experiences that felt very painful and unfair when they occurred, helped bring me to a much more peaceful and content place. My suffering, or what I called suffering at the time, ultimately pointed me in the direction that I wanted to go in — that I needed to go in.
Looking at it from such a perspective if you are responsible, from a Law of Attraction orientation, for something “bad” happening in your life maybe you are, in reality, doing yourself a favor. And if you find this particular outlook unacceptable just bear in mind that life hardships can be our greatest gifts, and can also serve to wake us up to a reality far beyond the ordinary life experience we’ve come to know and accept.
