The Law of Attraction and Financial Prosperity – Part 1

It would not be right of me to discuss the Law of Attraction without discussing the subject of financial prosperity. I find that what makes self-help and even spiritual methods so appealing to the masses – is the promise of wealth. There is a tendency for people to become disillusioned with the concept of wealth when it comes to self-help and spirituality to the point whereby they “swing the bat in the opposite direction”. In other words, people who feel let down by the extravagant promises made by self-help and spiritual teachers, often become their harshest critics. Personally, I feel that there is a balance that needs to be found and maintained when it comes to this subject.

In relation to the Law of Attraction, thoughts attracting circumstances of a like kind, I believe there is a great deal of truth to be found in this matter. However, I feel that we cannot simply take this concept, package it up and sell it to the masses as a cure-all formula. When it comes to affirmations, prayer and visualisation – you end-up attracting what you truly believe – more than what you actually think or say in that moment. You could make affirmations about wealth for five minutes – but then worry about money for the next couple of hours! If you are anxious about finances or any other area of your life for that matter, it will not do you much good to visualise yourself having what you want or claiming what you want from God or “The Universe”.

What I really like about releasing is that is simplifies things tremendously by identifying the root cause of human dysfunction as belonging to three core wants: approval, control and security. Freedom is to be found in knowing that you can let go of these wants – then letting them go. What often happens is that a person will hold onto those wants, will experience the pain of negative emotion associated with them, then will proceed to deal with the pain and struggle through claiming or attracting what it is that they think will make their life better, easier and more fulfilling. This often leads to the goal of having more possessions, and of course, money.

This is where the concept of releasing and the four wants comes into play: if you have wants in your life (approval, control and security), you are much more likely to make poor choices in life. The four wants can cause a person to focus all their time and effort in order to satiate the emptiness and desires that they have within themselves. If a person lacks a sense of security, they will attempt to make more money and get those things they think will make them more secure – even if it causes them to take potentially harmful risks. If a person lacks a sense of approval, they could end-up developing all sorts of bad habits in order to fulfil those needs: promiscuous sex, drinking, excessive eating and shopping (retail therapy), etc. In fact, a surprising amount of things that we do are motivated by a want for approval alone!

Inquiry has a similar take on prosperity to that of releasing: when someone is anxious they are contracting around a thought, a belief, that they cannot have a certain thing and that they need another thing in order to make things right. It is the classic play between lust and fear: fear says that you cannot have something, whilst lust says that you must have another thing or that you need something.