# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**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 5, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/101 "2013-10-05T23:24:28Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > What do you mean by misinformed? It’s simply facts. I got beaten a few times as a teen, but never have after I turned twenty. Were did you get your facts about the number of millionaires in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/102 "2013-10-06T00:28:39Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Who, exactly, is judging your worthiness? As I understand it, many of us tend to judge OURSELVES as unworthy on some level. And, to me, it’s not true, but because we’ve bought into it, we MAKE it true, even though we desire it not to be. I think some (a lot?) comes from religious ideas misinterpreted. For example, the idea of ‘original sin.’ With that idea, a person believes they are fundamentally lacking something and are fundamentally ‘unworthy.’ I think it’s a misinterpretation. I now believer EVERYONE is worthy of every good thing, but because most feel (believe) they are inadequate, unworthy, not deserving, not enough, etc.,… they tend to MAKE experiences unfold in ways that seem to ‘prove’ they are. As Eleanor Roosevelt is famous for saying, “No one can make you feel inferior,” but we make OURSELVES feel that way. And so, we need to do the ‘work’ to undo that type of thinking, if we want to realize what’s really possible for us. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/103 "2013-10-06T00:43:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Were did you get your facts about the number of millionaires in the U.S.? Oh, so you were referring to number of millionaires. Here’s a site that says the number is approximately 1.5 % of adults in U.S. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html) I can’t find a site that says what the U.S. adult population is, but I think it’s over 100 million, which would mean over 15 million millionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/104 "2013-10-06T00:56:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think we may have differing opinions on what the word “scientifically” means. Probably. Do you recall that science once endorsed the idea of frontal lobotomies? So much so that some scientist won a Nobel Prize for it? Then, later, the scientific community said it was a bad idea, based on bad science. And also, somewhere i read that science, at least up to some recent times, said consciousness did not exist, because it wasn’t measurable or quantifiable. But here they just negated the obvious, didn’t they? As, it was their own consciousnesses that allowed them to have the idea that consciousness didn’t exist. In many respects, what is often called science seems just like religious dogma to me. btw, where does Big Pharma get off calling their crap science, when every few years their crap is pulled off the market (after they’ve made gazillions) because of the harm done? And then they just create more crap and successfully market it,… ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/105 "2013-10-06T01:00:11Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Please explain to me why upbeat, positive people get cancer. One answer is because people who ACT positive and upbeat are often full of fear and anxiety. One of the most famous such persons (who subsequently had a complete remission of cancer) is Anita Moorjani. Google her, for a very interesting case. She was one of these outwardly positive, upbeat persons, who was inwardly full of fear, and she attributes overcoming those fears as causing her to instantly heal. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/106 "2013-10-06T01:08:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Reminds me of the punchline to an old joke: “Aren’t you a little old to be believing in magic, sonny?” It must be a good joke, because it seems to be working for me. btw, the idea is really old. ‘Law of Attraction’ is just a new-ish label for it, or so it seems to me. “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind." “All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world.” The Buddha “Whatsoever things ye ask for when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” Matthew 21:22 “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” Confucius Those thoughts don’t explain the intricacies involved, but they do point out the idea has been around for awhile. ---
**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 6, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/107 "2013-10-06T01:09:04Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Probably. Do you recall that science once endorsed the idea of frontal lobotomies? So much so that some scientist won a Nobel Prize for it? Then, later, the scientific community said it was a bad idea, based on bad science. > > And also, somewhere i read that science, at least up to some recent times, said consciousness did not exist, because it wasn’t measurable or quantifiable. But here they just negated the obvious, didn’t they? As, it was their own consciousnesses that allowed them to have the idea that consciousness didn’t exist. > > In many respects, what is often called science seems just like religious dogma to me. > > btw, where does Big Pharma get off calling their crap science, when every few years their crap is pulled off the market (after they’ve made gazillions) because of the harm done? And then they just create more crap and successfully market it,… You want proof science works? You’re using it to have this conversation right now. And as has already been pointed out science changes all the time based upon new evidence, that’s why sometimes drugs are removed from the market when we discover they have unintended effects, but if you’re going to add a **“Big Pharma!!!”** conspiracy theory to the long list of inaccuracies you already believe then I’m afraid there really is no hope for you. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/108 "2013-10-06T01:14:20Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Oh, so you were referring to number of millionaires. Here’s a site that says the number is approximately 1.5 % of adults in U.S. > > [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html) > > I can’t find a site that says what the U.S. adult population is, but I think it’s over 100 million, which would mean over 15 million millionaires. Last time I checked, 1.5% of 100 million was still 1.5 million. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/109 "2013-10-06T01:37:09Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Why, do you think he’s gullible? Actually, no. I think he (or she) is curious and inquisitive and at least somewhat open-minded. Btw, I want to say that, before I was in my early twenties, I tried to ‘make’ spiritual principles work, and fell ‘flat on my face’ so-to-speak. But now I think it was because I had a very poor grasp of what was really the essence or truth of it. Now I’m where I’ve been completely debt free for over ten years, and I have enough cash to easily live for over a year without working (if the economy doesn’t change dramatically, which I think is a possibility). I’m in very good health and I’m looking at the possibility of creating much more wealth for myself. I also think it’s interesting that people like Will Smith, Oprah and Jim Carrey also say they attribute much of their success to ‘Law Of Attraction’ type of ideas. I also think it’s interesting that many people – pro athletes, successful business people, artists, scientists, inventors, musicians, parents, etc. – believe that their thinking had much to do with the success they’ve had. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/110 "2013-10-06T01:38:32Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Last time I checked, 1.5% of 100 million was still 1.5 million. Yeah, you’re right. So,… what? ---
**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 6, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/111 "2013-10-06T01:39:29Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Oh, so you were referring to number of millionaires. Here’s a site that says the number is approximately 1.5 % of adults in U.S. > > [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/expat-money/10158420/A-record-breaking-number-of-millionaires-in-the-world.html) > > I can’t find a site that says what the U.S. adult population is, but I think it’s over 100 million, which would mean over 15 million millionaires. No, _you_ referred to the number of millionaires in the U.S.: > [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Think about how there are MANY people who have over a million (over 300 million millionaires in the U.S.). So, it can’t be that hard, etc. …and you _still_ aren’t getting any facts right when it comes to the subject. My stats: Good Your stats: Bad ---
**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 6, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/112 "2013-10-06T01:40:45Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Yeah, you’re right. So,… what? So try to get _something_ right the next time you state “facts”, so we won’t have to waste even more time correcting them. ---
**Author:** ![Phil\_CostaMesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Phil\_CostaMesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phil_CostaMesa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/113 "2013-10-06T03:05:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So try to get _something_ right the next time you state “facts”, so we won’t have to waste even more time correcting them. How relevant is the number of millionaires to the topic of this thread? ---
**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 6, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/114 "2013-10-06T03:07:57Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Who’s the ‘we’? It’s just you. If it bothers you don’t respond. No, we’re pretty much all aghast at your ignorance. But hey, keep fucking that chicken. ---
**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 6, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/115 "2013-10-06T04:11:56Z")
> [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > How relevant is the number of millionaires to the topic of this thread? How relevant are your posts to the topic of this thread if everything you say has to be fact checked? ---
**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 6, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/116 "2013-10-06T04:44:45Z")
> [@nosceteipsum](#): > > I am not claiming that magic works, the “law” has been stigmatized as “magic” and I have tried to present with Information that may support it. The idea that humans have a magnetic field that they emit that influences the world around them. What s the first response? No it doesn’t exist? Have you tried searching the trials and evidence that does suggest that concept? > > The existence of the placebo effect. We know it works. Not all the time, but yes it works. It has been scientifically proven. > > They suggest there may be something. > > No we do not know everything, and yes there are a few things we believe that are the truth, but we can be overconfident and overestimate what we know. It would be humble to admit that. The placebo effect. The brain is able to effect it’s body. You know, the thing it’s there to control. It is a huge jump to say that the brain can effect the physical world outside itself through positive vibes. Gonna need at least a shred of evidence. > [@Phil\_CostaMesa](#): > > Actually, no. I think he (or she) is curious and inquisitive and at least somewhat open-minded. > > Btw, I want to say that, before I was in my early twenties, I tried to ‘make’ spiritual principles work, and fell ‘flat on my face’ so-to-speak. But now I think it was because I had a very poor grasp of what was really the essence or truth of it. > > Now I’m where I’ve been completely debt free for over ten years, and I have enough cash to easily live for over a year without working (if the economy doesn’t change dramatically, which I think is a possibility). I’m in very good health and I’m looking at the possibility of creating much more wealth for myself. > > I also think it’s interesting that people like Will Smith, Oprah and Jim Carrey also say they attribute much of their success to ‘Law Of Attraction’ type of ideas. > > I also think it’s interesting that many people – pro athletes, successful business people, artists, scientists, inventors, musicians, parents, etc. – believe that their thinking had much to do with the success they’ve had. That’s the great thing about the “law.” You can find examples of people who say they used wishful thinking to become successful. But anyone who doesn’t succeed you can just say that deep down they weren’t thinking properly. How can you be proven wrong? It’s really quite a good scam that self-help gurus have been using for…ever really. Your thoughts weren’t pure enough. You didn’t pray hard enough. You didn’t pay enough to be clear. Jesus loves the guy on the Ravens that prayed to him but hates the guy on the Niners who prayed too. One person thought good thoughts and was cured of cancer. Thousands die each year because they have shitty attitudes and deep down fears. If only everyone had happy thoughts cancer would be gone tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![BurglesHams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@BurglesHams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurglesHams)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146/117 "2013-10-06T06:26:06Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > Maybe read [this](http://www.exbackguru.org/howtoturnyourexon.php). > > You’re basically trying to explain why the LOA is _not_ falsifiable, but it is. **Employ the law, for your whole life, and at the end, see if it worked. Be your own experiment.** If it appears to have worked, you won’t care, because you’ll have what you wanted, and you’ll probably realize that you got what you wanted through diligence and hard work, not woo. If it didn’t work, you won’t care, because you’ll be soon to die penniless and unfulfilled. But at least you’ll know. I would definitely subscribe to a thread tracking the progress of this experiment. I’d even throw in $20 to fund it. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-law-of-attraction-true/670146.md?page=5)