I never said its simple. But out of curiosity RV, where did Allah say what you said that he said?
Re: The Law of Attraction
I never said its simple. But out of curiosity RV, where did Allah say what you said that he said?
In the Quran does Allah not say that we will be tried and tested?
Yes, He did. The LOA states that the problems in our lives were attracted by our negative thoughts. While negative thoughts might sometimes lead to bad actions, they are not the source of every problem. When a loved one dies, diseases, natural disasters....do our negative thoughts bring them on? What is more sound is that Allah has said you will be tested. The LOA makes a person wonder if they didn't wish hard enough, or believe hard enough...they blame themselves and I can see how it can make one feel frustrated....because you think, "I'm trying and trying, I visualized my brains out, I even wrote affirmative thoughts and created a visualization board...why is it not happening!!???"...you think you're the one with power/control...and that can hurt you. We get frustrated because we don't always understand the hikmat behind Allah's will but knowing and believing that He's the one in control can lead to an inner acceptance.
Allah has said in the Quran that it may be that you like something bad for you and hate something good for you. You can look it up.
Re: The Law of Attraction
Law of attraction does work.** Its not a wining contest.** I cant program my mind to be better than Michael Jordan in basket ball and become one. One needs to be realistic. That requires self confidence, good self esteem, and a positive mind. As a great quote says “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” Everyone can have a great destiny if he/she thinks positive. **
Talking about conflicts.
Yes, one needs to be realistic and have confidence but after all, there is no guarantee. So where is the LAW that works?
Two persons cannot have same level of confidence implies being positive (to the extent we need/want) is not in our control either. So law of attraction is simply a perception of reality.
Re: The Law of Attraction
Causation is an interesting study ... And I have found in my own walks of life that certain recipes are successful. And funnily enough there is some room within Islam that can nearly accommodate the LOA.
Actually the LOA can be termed in different ways, it can be called the power of belief, mind over matter and essentially it is a psychological disposition. It is regularly employed by gamblers and wishers and even people who supplicate and take placebo medicines.
These days self-healing is on the increase and all of this is based on this attempt to make something happen, using shear determination.
The reality of a Cause is in layers ...
We have Qadr - That is the Divine Word - It trumps all causes - it is the Cause of all causes. Miracles are included in this.
We have Physical Laws - Fitting in this layer we have Forces, Power of Medicine, Money, Effort/Work are all causes in this area
We have Hope - Du'a, principles of LOA, self-healing, feats of mind over matter, etc are causes for things in this category
In Islam we believe that Allah (SWT) has given us the freedom to choose ... Choice is not just limited to the options that lay before us, but to a certain extent choice is also found in our whims and desires ... If we want something enough - then Allah (SWT) can Hear that ... And Allah (SWT) makes all things happen ... In His Attribute of The Bestower - Al-Wahab ... He is the Cause that enables the "hopes" of people and turns them to reality. It is irrelevant if the people themselves believe His Bestowal did so or not ... They may attribute that fulfillment in some principle like the LOA, or in human powers ... but in reality the mechanism is simple ...
Allah (SWT) Grants Wishes whether we ask from Him knowingly or not ... What we carry to the afterlife is not how successful we were in this life, but whether we correctly attributed to Him what belongs to Him ... which is the ultimate end of praises and the knowledge that He is the Bestower of our desires end ...
So those who put their faith in other than Him and they are granted or rewarded with the fruits of what they desire - then they can become affirmed in that faith ... just like with astrology and in the case of LOA successes ...
A principle of LOA exists in Islam already in many guises ... We are Muslims and we must be positive, when we say that we will do something we say inshaAllah, we do du'a and then rest as though they have been accepted ... all of these are mechanisms of the same psychological product that LOA is appealing to ... the major difference is however in where we Attribute this power ... LOA followers attribute this to "The energy in the Universe" ... we attribute it to God.
Also, there is a recognition that there are physical barriers ... we are also prevented legislatively from asking that what should not be asked ... Like someone could have a dream to be the most successful gambler - these are not allowed. But if we make decisions in that direction in what is physically possible and may be given to us as a trial we may end up in that predicament ... we are to blame for the sins in what we ask for as we asked to be in that situation.
The highest acclaim to access of the most successful paths in this life is however not rooted in "desire" they are rooted in removing our desires and LETTING God pave our fates as much as possible ... For we recognise that He being the All-Knowing Wills for us much better than we can will for ourselves. Rather we fine tune our du'as for Him to make us true servants and slaves who are content with His Decisions for us.
Re: The Law of Attraction
In the Quran does Allah not say that we will be tried and tested?
Yes, He did. The LOA states that the problems in our lives were attracted by our negative thoughts. While negative thoughts might sometimes lead to bad actions, they are not the source of every problem. When a loved one dies, diseases, natural disasters....do our negative thoughts bring them on? What is more sound is that Allah has said you will be tested. The LOA makes a person wonder if they didn't wish hard enough, or believe hard enough...they blame themselves and I can see how it can make one feel frustrated....because you think, "I'm trying and trying, I visualized my brains out, I even wrote affirmative thoughts and created a visualization board...why is it not happening!!???"...you think you're the one with power/control...and that can hurt you. We get frustrated because we don't always understand the hikmat behind Allah's will but knowing and believing that He's the one in control can lead to an inner acceptance.
Allah has said in the Quran that it may be that you like something bad for you and hate something good for you. You can look it up.
But you are not the only one whose thoughts count! If you remain positive but everyone else around you is negative, it does affect you as well. That's also LOA. My dad was a very negative individual yet my mother has been very optimistic and positive all her life. My dad suffered many heart attacks and eventually his heart gave out. No matter what we told him about taking care of himself and be positive, he wouldn't listen and thought it wouldn't matter. His heart was so weak that doctors were amazed that he lived as long as he did. Even though he died at quite a young age, 58. Some say he had his family's duayen..
Re: The Law of Attraction
But you are not the only one whose thoughts count!
*You're right. Other people have good or bad thoughts too. I have read that when we curse someone, the curse rises up and seeks out its intended recipient. If he/she is deserving of it, it will affect the person. If he/she is not deserving of it, it goes back to the sender. So, even in a negative thought like a bad-dua, Allah won't let it happen unless the recipient deserves it. So, that negative thought is controlled by divine hikmat or wisdom...and thank God for that...otherwise there would be chaos in the world if thoughts alone had so much power. Do you believe you send thoughts out to the universe? And do you believe this universe to grant every single thought or wish without reason? Or do you believe the universe implements a system of checks and balances when receiving our thoughts? If you believe that the universe implements a system of checks and balances....then your are basically saying that 1) Wisdom is implemented and 2) Law of attraction is restrained by this system....thus implying that it doesn't work as "freely" as you believe. *
If you remain positive but everyone else around you is negative, it does affect you as well. That's also LOA.
**I answered that up above. And sure others thoughts can effect us. Ones negative/jealous thoughts can be translated into actions that sabotage us. But, we have surah Falaq and Naas and ayatul kursi where we seek divine refuge from the jealousy of others and evil thoughts and machinations and nazar of others. Their impact can be prevented by seeking divine help a d their effects can be combatted by divine help.
**
My dad was a very negative individual yet my mother has been very optimistic and positive all her life. My dad suffered many heart attacks and eventually his heart gave out. No matter what we told him about taking care of himself and be positive, he wouldn't listen and thought it wouldn't matter. His heart was so weak that doctors were amazed that he lived as long as he did. Even though he died at quite a young age, 58. Some say he had his family's duayen..
I know cases of young people...dying from the shock of the news of the death of a loved one. There are people who live to great old age after having faced many tragedies. A woman I know miscarried after hearing of the death of her friend's children in a creak accident. My aunt carried her daughter to full term while seeing her husband die from liver cancer. Theorist, we all will die when it's our time to go.
Dua can change kismat. And we are told that Allah is to us as our opinion of Him. So in that respect, yes we should think positively. I think there's a sort if danger in the LOA where one might beat themsekves up thinking that that they didn't wish hard enough or long enough to prevent a tragedy or to save something or get something. It can produce feelings of guilt, no? And that can be a burden, no?
Re: The Law of Attraction
I don't buy into this law. In fact, every time I have been pessmistic about something and educated myself that the chances are against me, I end up working harder, praying for the best, ready to embrace the worst, and 90% of the time, I make my goal.
On the flip side, too much negativity that SHOWS to other people, can be bad. I always kept my reality checks to myself but outwards, I was always smiling and enthusiastic and interested, and if I slipped a little here or there in my goals, never showed it to anyone. It's when it became obvious to people that I was becoming increasingly negative, that things started going really wrong.
So I guess it's one thing to be outwardly negative, and another to not get your hopes up and be proud and be convinced you'll get that A or that job or that admission.
Humility takes a person far. No one hates the humble honest guy. Well, most don't.
Re: The Law of Attraction
interesting topic
but LOA is connected to probability of occurrence. if chances are positive enough for an event to occur it will occur. in other words if theres so much attraction (power) that overcomes all the negativities that is likely to occur.
Islam emphasizes on positivity supporting this law but the results are controlled by Allah
thinking positively may route out other possibilities but it cannot alter future