# Is the Law of Attraction true? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146 "2013-10-01T23:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/41 "2013-10-02T20:49:53Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > And maybe a counterexample wouldn’t do it if it’s not a law but you can use it in a lot of cases and it would work, but not always required So, thinking happy thoughts will make you successful. If you’re not successful then you weren’t _really_ thinking happy thoughts. Good luck with that. Whatever it is it isn’t something that can be tested by science. At best it’s psychology, more likely it’s simply a way for the authors to get rich. I’m sure they were thinking happy thoughts when they wrote that claptrap. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/42 "2013-10-02T20:54:13Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > The Law of Attraction essentially states that what you think or feel you draw to you. Such as if you think about money or health, you will draw them to you. So people who are assaulted, robbed, raped, or murdered suffer as they do because they were thinking about being the victims of such crimes? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/43 "2013-10-02T21:15:27Z")
No; the assailants, robbers, and rapists were merely thinking stronger thoughts about attracting victims to them! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/44 "2013-10-02T23:04:53Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > In one word, no. > > There is no evidence that by merely thinking of the result you want that the universe is going to bend and bring that result to you. > > That being said, there is a psychological factor where, if you concentrate on the result you want you’re more apt to do the things yourself that will being about that result. But that’s just psychology in action; there’s no magic involved and there’s no scientific “law of attraction.” As you say, there is no magical “Law of Attraction”. But there is a psychological law, which I would put this way: If you think you deserve to lose, you will definitely lose. If you think you deserve to win, there is a chance you might win. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/45 "2013-10-02T23:18:45Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > As you say, there is no magical “Law of Attraction”. But there is a psychological law, which I would put this way: If you think you deserve to lose, you will definitely lose. If you think you deserve to win, there is a chance you might win. Bullshit. I could be the most negative person in the world and still pick a winning lottery ticket or make the right bet on a football game. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/46 "2013-10-02T23:29:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Bullshit. I could be the most negative person in the world and still pick a winning lottery ticket or make the right bet on a football game. Who do you have in tomorrow’s game? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/47 "2013-10-02T23:49:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Who do you have in tomorrow’s game? He always goes with the Washington Generals. I mean come on! They’re due! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/48 "2013-10-03T00:59:13Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > He always goes with the Washington Generals. > I mean come on! They’re due! I can give you great odds. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/49 "2013-10-03T01:20:05Z")
> [@glee](#): > > This is wrong and I can prove it. > > 1. Everyone who enters a lottery dreams of winning it. The vast majority lose money. > > 2. I have never used the ‘law of attraction’. > I retired aged 55, owning my own house. I have a great group of friends and decent health. 🆒 > > **Of course I achieved these things by my own efforts, not by some woo nonsense.** > > At my first job interview (immediately after my leaving University , the company interviewers asked if I had any questions. “Yes” I replied “What is the company pension plan like?” > It was a superb plan (e.g. index-linked rising payments; lump sum included) and now I live off it comfortably. 🙂 > > Similarly with my other achievements (save for a deposit; be pleasant to people; exercise and eat right etc.) > > I simply want evidence to believe in stuff. > I believe in gravity. > I believe there are likely to be aliens somewhere in the universe (just not that they have visited us.) > > If you don’t look at the evidence, you’ll waste a lot of your time and money. :smack: > [@Gateway](#): > > I appreciate this answer,it coming from one who says he achieved what he wanted. My question though is are you sure you didn’t use the LOA to get it? The LOA frormula is ask, believe, receive. Also focusing on what you want, coming from the place of already having it (like having the same feeling). Are you sure you didn’t do this at all? Even praying to God or “if someone is out there” once about what you were trying to acquire? Are you sure you weren’t coming from the place of already feeling like it was yours? Yes, I’m sure I didn’t use the ‘Law of Attraction’: - I didn’t hear of it until a few years ago (by which time I was already happily retired) - I worked for 35 years and saved money for things I wanted (the complete opposite of the ‘Law’) - I’m an atheist - I’ve got an international chess rating; I’ve also spent over 10,000 hours practising and playing chess There are plenty of people who’ve achieved things by hard work. Gary Player (international golfer) liked to say “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” How many people have received things under the ‘Law’ by lying in bed all day ‘asking and believing’? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/50 "2013-10-03T01:24:37Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > I’m not sure, that which is a clear counterexample WOULD do it, but that person might not know if he is really using it or not. Like, maybe someone put in a lot of effort, but maybe they were of the frequency of doing hard labor for success and its not a real example of it not existing. Or the person is lying, OR don’t realise they were on some level using the law and not knowing. With that said I don’t know what would show me it is real or not. > > And maybe a counterexample wouldn’t do it if it’s not a law but you can use it in a lot of cases and it would work, but not always required So my sample of one back in post #14 didn’t serve as a clear enough example of the foolishness of “ask, believe, receive?” Let’s try another approach. Here’s Forbes magazines list of the [400 richest people in the U.S.](http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2013/09/16/the-complete-list-of-the-forbes-400-members/) Take your time and look it over. Find one person on the list who got there by way of the Law of Attraction. Let us know what you come up with. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/51 "2013-10-03T01:26:09Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > As you say, there is no magical “Law of Attraction”. But there is a psychological law, which I would put this way: If you think you deserve to lose, you will definitely lose. If you think you deserve to win, there is a chance you might win. There’s a quote attributed to Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right.” It’s on the same lines as the ‘power of positive thinking’ used in business leadership and entrepenurial handbooks, it all affects things an individual can do, actions that can be taken toward a goal. There’s plenty of bullshit there, too, but the idea doesn’t claim any supernatural assistance. It’s not about wishing on the right star for things to magically come you way, and it sure as hell has jack shit to do with quantum mechanics. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/52 "2013-10-03T01:50:41Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > The Law of Attraction essentially states that what you think or feel you draw to you. Such as if you think about money or health, you will draw them to you. Utter bullshit. I thought about tits, ass and pussy almost continuously as a teenager and 20-something man, and let me tell you, it didn’t draw women to me. I just about never got laid. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/53 "2013-10-03T02:00:29Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Considering how much of my teens I spent thinking about boobs, and how often during that time I actually experienced having any in my immediate vicinity, I’m more inclined to believe in a law of repulsion. > [@bump](#): > > Utter bullshit. > > I thought about tits, ass and pussy almost continuously as a teenager and 20-something man, and let me tell you, it didn’t draw women to me. I just about never got laid. I recall what it’s like to be a teenage boy. If this “Law of Attraction” worked, schools would be like gender specific black holes sucking in anything vaguely feminine that got within range. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/54 "2013-10-03T02:10:17Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] What would you accept as evidence that it doesn’t work? [/QUOTE] > [@Gateway](#): > > I’m not sure, that which is a clear counterexample WOULD do it, but that person might not know if he is really using it or not. Like, maybe someone put in a lot of effort, but maybe they were of the frequency of doing hard labor for success and its not a real example of it not existing. Or the person is lying, OR don’t realise they were on some level using the law and not knowing. With that said I don’t know what would show me it is real or not. > > And maybe a counterexample wouldn’t do it if it’s not a law but you can use it in a lot of cases and it would work, but not always required I’m sorry, Gateway, but I can’t make any sense out of your answer to Czarcasm’s question. Neither do I understand what some alleged negative looking crystals in water have to do with the LOA. There seems to be a lot of money to be made using the LOA, though. The author and publishers of The Secret are making money. And people giving seminars on the LOA are making money too. But other than people who cash in on selling the magic beans of LOA, it’s bojive. You might want to do some research on the success story of Casey Serin, who was an LOA advocate. ---
**Author:** ![nosceteipsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@nosceteipsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nosceteipsum)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/55 "2013-10-03T04:14:41Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Utter bullshit. > > I thought about tits, ass and pussy almost continuously as a teenager and 20-something man, and let me tell you, it didn’t draw women to me. I just about never got laid. I feel as if the law of attraction has been misinterpreted to be, wish upon a star and wake up to your dreams. Yes, it has been portrayed like that in the documentary Secrets to communicate on a colloquial level for the audience to understand. However, we forget that the wisher, the person, needs to play their role in being the person that, for lack of a better word, is worthy of their prize. For example, you can, as stated above, wish on all those womanly features that a heterosexual man dearly desires, but let me ask you Do you actively socialise? Can you attract a female with your charisma, or have you developed qualities that women would find you attractive? Do you introduce yourself to women? Do you dress appropriately? Where do you spend most of your time during the day? etc etc. Law of attraction suggest that it increases your luck in receiving your wishes. However, no where does it say that you can, for example, win the lottery without buying a ticket. So, I hope people understand that there is no black and white to this, that you either get what you want or you do not. You are rewarded if you are deemed worthy, but the specifics of the rewards is decided by you. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/56 "2013-10-03T05:50:24Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > Why I ask: The law of attraction is very important to know exists if you are to accomplish anything: If it exists and you don’t follow the rules then you will likely not get what you want. I don’t necessarily dismiss things outright even if they sound ‘out there’. > > Someone did tests on water writing words on water containers and looked at the results. Water which got wholesome words when you looked at them under a microscope had formed snowflake like crystals, those with unwholesome words turned into negative shapes. There was a study done in Washington DC to see if a very large group of meditators could regularly get togeather for meditation sessions and lower crime. DC was considered the murder capital of the world or something like that according to the place I saw this. Crime was lowered something like 20 percent. There are MANY who believe in the LOA and swear by it, which to me is an important factor. Also quantum theory seems to support the ideas somewhat. > > So as for what I think about it, some of the mechanisms are legit, but as far as the whole thing goes, I can’t say I know for certain if it works like some people think (our mind LITERALLY IN ITSELF sends out some magnetic signal to the thing you are trying to attract.) I say legit because without going into a lot of detail, things like thinking about what you want can bring more desire –\> motivation –\>attainment. Psychological? Seems to be so. Metaphysical? Yet to know. > > So I’m looking for scientific answers (that I can comprehend) about why you think or don’t think it’s some sort of real magnetic phenomenon or not. Okay, I have not read a book on the Law of Attraction but the general principles have been around for awhile. An old roommate was in kind of a cult based on somebody’s principles and they used this all the time. The first step is to formulate your goal and put it out there. By “put it out there” you tell yourself you are going to accomplish this, you tell your friends, you actively seek out people who can help you accomplish this–teachers, mentors, whatever. You focus on it and not on other things. The next step, or maybe this should be the first one, is to believe you can actually do it. It’s not magic but sometime it really does seem like it. One example: A lot of people in this cult decided they needed to quit smoking. They wrote affirmations saying “I don’t smoke. I don’t like smoking. I am a nonsmoker” and that ilk. A fairly high proportion of them quit smoking. The theory was that you are telling yourself this, and if you can do it for 21 days, you’re successful, because you will either quit smoking or you will quit writing the affirmations because you can’t keep lying to yourself. (I will say, this did not work for me, and I did quit writing it down even though in general I’m not sure I mind lying to myself.) Another example: A woman in the group wrote affirmations saying, first, that she could write a novel, and then that she could write a novel and sell it, and she did. A novel did not magically appear in her study but she did spend a certain amount of time every day writing on the novel (after writing her affirmations that she could do it). On the whole, people in this cult were quite successful at getting what they wanted, both as individuals and as a group. Obviously there were time when individuals had conflicting goals and I believe they liked to think that the person with the strongest will was the winner there–but that’s pretty much what happens with or without the law of attraction. (Winning the lottery is not a goal. It is a dream.) ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/57 "2013-10-03T07:04:10Z")
> [@nosceteipsum](#): > > I feel as if the law of attraction has been misinterpreted to be, wish upon a star and wake up to your dreams. Yes, it has been portrayed like that in the documentary Secrets to communicate on a colloquial level for the audience to understand. However, we forget that the wisher, the person, needs to play their role in being the person that, for lack of a better word, is worthy of their prize. > > For example, you can, as stated above, wish on all those womanly features that a heterosexual man dearly desires, but let me ask you > > Do you actively socialise? > Can you attract a female with your charisma, or have you developed qualities that women would find you attractive? > Do you introduce yourself to women? > Do you dress appropriately? > Where do you spend most of your time during the day? > etc etc. > > Law of attraction suggest that it increases your luck in receiving your wishes. However, no where does it say that you can, for example, win the lottery without buying a ticket. So, I hope people understand that there is no black and white to this, that you either get what you want or you do not. You are rewarded if you are deemed worthy, but the specifics of the rewards is decided by you. Who, exactly, is judging your worthiness? ---
**Author:** ![nosceteipsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@nosceteipsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nosceteipsum)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/58 "2013-10-03T07:31:24Z")
Nature. I believe that the natural forces of the universe is constantly correcting itself, and that what we see as disharmony or unjust, is only temporarily. Disclaimer: my personal opinion 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nosceteipsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@nosceteipsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nosceteipsum)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/59 "2013-10-03T07:38:55Z")
Nature. I believe that the natural forces of the universe is constantly correcting itself, and that what we see as disharmony or unjust, is only temporary. The principle of yin and yang by the Chinese believes that there are only two divine forces that exists. They are polar opposites of each other but exist mutually. In chemistry, we know about the concept of equilibrium, In human biology, we understand the need of Blood Colloidal Osmotic Pressure to to maintain desired blood pressure in the arterial system. In physics, we know that with every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. I am merely extending these practical and basic principles to a philosophical and, if you would insist, a spiritual belief. Some cultures do believe that the universe is a conscious being that can self correct and organise itself. Our DNA can self correcting and edit the amino acid coding, if the human is in an optimal health condition. Disclaimer: my personal opinion 😃 (edit time expired so here is the longer version) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/60 "2013-10-03T12:59:11Z")
Gateway: I am going to take this as an opportunity to help you learn to differentiate between a scientific study and an art project, using the “water crystals” as an exemplar. Forgive me if I oversimplify. First, let us take a look at Mr. Emoto’s work. He labels jars of water with “positive” or “negative” words or phrases, then checks the crystals formed from these samples. He photographs and publishes the symmetrical, snow-flake-like crystals he finds in the “positive” samples and the amorphous masses he finds in the “negative” samples. This raises several question. First, how is he forming these crystals? I know it is easy to make ice but we need to know if he puts both jars in the same part of the freezer for the same amount of time. Second, how does he choose which photos to print and include in his book? If he is cherry picking the best looking ice crystals from one and the worst looking lumps from the other, it is an art project. For this to be “scientific” we would need all his data. We need directions on how he froze his water to make sure we are doing it the same way he did. We need copies of all photos taken of ice in a sample, not just those he decides should be published. If we have a record of all (or at least most) of the ice being formed, we can then have someone who did not know whether the pictures were from a “positive” or a “negative” jar evaluate the relative amounts of symmetrical and amorphous ice found in that sample. If one set of samples then shows a statistical preponderance of one type of crystal we can then confirm whether there is a relationship between labels on the jars and the type of ice formed from the water within the jars. If we see a relationship, then other questions can be investigated. Does it matter if the labels are read by the person making the ice? What happens if the label is in a language the experimenter cannot read? What if the labels are hidden? What if we use color coding – do we get different results from red labels from researchers who believe red is a “lucky” color than from those who feel red is inauspicious? There may well be something to this, but as it stands now it is indistinguishable from woo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146.md?page=4)