The following is a brief introduction to a series of blog posts on why the Law of Attraction, or LOA for short, is a LOAd of shit.

It took owning my own naivety to come to this conclusion. For some this may resonate. For others it may trigger the shit out of you.

When I first embarked on my ‘spiritual’ journey in November 2018, I read a load of books, blogs, articles, listened to a load of podcasts, and watched a load of instructional YouTube videos, seminars and so on. I absorbed it all, and lapped it all up, voraciously and unquestioningly. Why? Because I needed ‘spirituality’ as a crutch to help me through a period of trauma I was going through at the time.

But as I began to heal, I started to encounter many contradictions and hypocrisies in spiritual concepts and philosophies. One of those is the LOA.

The LOA is dressed up as some sort of mystical communication with the Universe in which all we need to do is ask for something, and it will magically appear in our lives, by the ‘law’ of quantum physics: material possessions, a loving relationship, a lottery win, a new car, a promotion, you name it. The mantra from such proponents of the LOA as the film and eponymous book ‘The Secret’ (2006) is ‘ask, believe, and receive’: name your desire and the Universe will deliver, like some sort of cosmic genie. Sounds too good to be true, right? That’s because it is.

If you’ve asked the Universe for a Ferrari, and you expect it to show up at your door sometime soon without putting any effort into getting a Ferrari, then you’re in for a very, very long wait. Why? Because the LOA paradigm, especially as it is espoused in ‘The Secret’, omits one vital element from the equation: the need to take massive action in achieving the outcome you want. Instead, the LOA instructs us that all we need is the desire, and the unshakeable belief that we deserve what we ask for, and it will magically appear before our eyes, regardless of whether you actually deserve it or not: there’s no need for hard work, just adopt a mindset of self-entitlement and the Universe will grant you your every wish!

As if the Universe has nothing better to do than bring us new cars…anyway.

The LOA has nothing to do with quantum physics. Not a single credible scientist supports the so-called ‘quantum’ rationale of the LOA and refute the claim that it is a natural ‘law’. The law of gravity is a natural law. The LOA is not; it is an example of quantum-mysticism, or the tendency for new age and spiritual concepts to be given a scientific bent, with no basis in actual science whatsoever.

So, if the LOA isn’t a law, and if it has nothing to do with the Universe or quantum physics, then what is it?

The LOA is the power of intention and self-belief. That’s it.

When we set an intention to achieve a goal or outcome with clarity, specificity, and with complete certainty, then this forms a belief in our subconscious mind. Our subconscious then sets to work on finding ways to make that intention become a reality. But part of that process, as previously stated, is taking massive action steps towards realising our goal. This process is innate to us all and is widely used in such self-empowerment practices as Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It is therefore rooted in human psychology. It isn’t anything mystical, nor does it have anything to do with quantum physics or the Universe: it is simply the process of setting an intention with upmost clarity and determination, taking positive action, and allowing our subconscious to figure out how to make our intended outcome materialise.

So, there you have it. The LOA, as espoused in such books as ‘The Secret’, is nothing more than an innate psychological process that is natural to us all. No genies. No omnipotent Universe. Just the power of intention.

But a perfectly rational explanation for the LOA rooted in human psychology would be boring, wouldn’t it? And it certainly wouldn’t sell millions of books and make Rhonda Byrne et al multi-millionaires. So, why not throw in a few mystical elements and present the LOA as the ultimate tool for personal empowerment, then allow it to become the crutch for the lost and disempowered and the masses will lap it up (I certainly did), as if it were the key to wish-fulfilment.

But it’s no ‘secret’ that the key to realising our dreams is already there, inside us, in the form of clear intention and unwavering self-belief.

That is the LOA.