So on Thursday, in my review of Richard Dotts’ book, Dissolve the Problem: by Shifting Physical Reality, I criticized part of his approach with the law of attraction.
I decided that this small difference of approach would make a great blog post, because it’s something that I see in a lot of people.
In essence there are three possible approaches one can have to the law of attraction. Unfortunately, two of these approaches are unbalanced and not going to end in ideal results.
However, the third, balanced option is going to result in quick, effortless manifestations, if applied appropriately.
Essentially, it’s the middle way of manifestation. 🙂
Going General or Being Specific
Before I go into the various approaches, I first need to explain a simple concept vital to the law of attraction.
This concept is regarding going general vs. being specific.
Going general can be done with either an unwanted or a wanted manifestation. Basically it is to focus less specifically on the manifestation.
Why would you want to do this?
Going General with an Unwanted Manifestation
With an unwanted manifestation, you want to go general in order to put less focus on the unwanted manifestation. I’ll explain in more detail why this is later on, but really, it just feels better. I’ll show you how this works.
For example, if you are really hating your current job, a specific focus is to tell yourself, or others, about all the reasons you hate it.
Because the law of attraction expands whatever you are focusing on, this will simply bring you more and more reasons to hate your job.
Is that what you wanted? Probably not, I’m thinking.
So, the solution is to go general.
You go general by giving fewer details. Instead of giving all of these reasons, you just start to soften those details and focus instead on the way you are feeling.
Here are some examples. Each point is more general than the last:
- “I hate my job. My boss really has it out for me! I think he’s trying to get me fired.”
- “I hate my job. My boss really seems to dislike me.”
- “My job doesn’t feel good to me at all.”
Do you see how each point is a bit softer with the details, and more general?
If you were thinking these things, which thoughts would feel better to you? The one with all the reasons you hate your job, or the one that just acknowledges that your job doesn’t feel good?
Note that none of these are positive. They are just less specific, more general, than other thoughts.
But this is all you want right now. If you were to try to go positive right at this moment, your mind would reject it so quickly you’d not know hit you. It’s just too far of a jump for you in such a state.
But going general on a negative manifestation is exactly what you need to put less focus on it, and thereby not bring more things like it into your life.
Going General with a Wanted Manifestation
This also works for positive manifestations, because sometimes your resistance is too great that you can’t focus too specifically on your manifestation yet. Let’s try it out:
- “I love the feeling of fulfillment.”
- “It’d be awesome to have a job that I enjoyed.”
- “At this job, my boss will love my work, and he will always be fair.”
Now, this is very subjective. The third thought above might feel good to you, if you are very close to manifesting your desire.
But if you are still moving towards your desire, and letting go of resistance, then likely these points will stop feeling good at some point.
Do you remember how we judge if we’re headed in the right direction? It is by using our emotional guidance system.
So as you are going through these thoughts, likely one of them will trigger a bit of resistance in you.
That resistance will feel like a bit of fear, or a thought like, “Yeah right. That’s not possible.”
That’s how you know you’re too specific.
When you focus generally on a wanted manifestation, you are giving it just enough focus so it will grow, but not too much that your resistance will be triggered.
So, hopefully you see how this is a useful technique.
Specific = Fast Energy, General = Slow Energy
All manifestations are energy.
When you are focusing specifically on a manifestation, you are flowing energy very quickly towards that manifestation.
If there’s no resistance in the flow, then that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
But if there’s resistance, then it’s going to become quite a bumpy ride.
Now on the other hand, going general slows down the energy.
This is good when looking at an unwanted manifestation, because you don’t want that manifestation in your life, obviously.
The Universe doesn’t have a “no” switch.
But, it has a “slower” switch. And that is by giving less specific focus to that manifestation.
And eventually, you get so general that you starve the manifestation entirely, and it completely exits your reality.
Okay, so we see why this is useful for an unwanted manifestation.
But why on earth would you want to slow energy towards a wanted manifestation?
This is an entire topic on its own, but in brief, as I said above, going too specific on a manifestation can trigger resistance.
So if you remain general for a while, you can circumvent the resistance to some extent, and just focus as specifically as you can while still feeling good.
And because you are giving it some focus at all, it will start to get faster.
And as it gets faster, it’ll be easier to focus more specifically.
3 Approaches to the Law of Attraction
All right, all of that was just to tell you why sometimes you want to be specific, and sometimes you want to be general.
to summarize:
- For an unwanted manifestation:
- You never want to be specific, because it will bring more of that into your life
- You want to be as general as possible, to slow down the flow of energy towards that manifestation
- For a wanted manifestation:
- Go general if there is a lot of resistance
- Be as specific as you can while still feeling good and not triggering resistance
- The more specific you are, the better it feels
Now, this sets up my discussion of these three approaches to the law of attraction.
1. Totally Specific
This is what a lot of people do. They know what they want, and they apply technique after technique to manifest what they want.
Why is this a bad idea?
Well, it should be obvious from the above discussion.
If you’re focusing very specifically on what you want, but triggering a lot of resistance, you’re not getting a clear signal.
Imagine one of those radio dials, where you have to tune into the channel you want.
If you’re not quite tuned in, you’re going to get some static, along with some music.
The further away from the perfect frequency you are, the more static you hear.
Now what our manifester #1 will do is to simply turn up the volume.
What happens if you turn up the volume?
Yes, you’ll hear the music a bit louder.
But guess what? You’ll also hear the static louder, too.
Is that really what you wanted?
Now if you yell at the volume control for bringing you more static, is that fair?
You brought the static yourself, by just turning up the volume on a bad signal.
The volume is just going to turn up what you’re already getting. It can’t make the signal any clearer.
In this case, your focus, aided by all of these law of attraction techniques, is the volume control.
It’s when you choose to focus on what’s already there, but just more intensely.
You’re going to turn up the volume, or increase the energy flow towards your manifestation, without tuning in any better to what you actually want.
Yes, perhaps you’ll get some wanted aspects of your manifestation. But, your resistance will also get bigger.
So back to our job manifestation. Maybe you’ll get a new job, and perhaps it has some nice things about it, but instead of your boss just hating you, he is outright sabotaging your work to get you in trouble.
It’s not the same resistance. It’s the same sort of resistance, but bigger and more painful.
So we see why this technique doesn’t work so well, right?
When you just visualize your desired manifestation, you’re just flowing more energy towards your current vibration.
Your current vibration is like the radio dial. You aren’t quite tuned in on the vibration you really want. But by bringing focus to it, you’re turning up the volume on it, believing your manifestation will magically appear perfect and intact.
2. Totally General
This is what I criticized Richard Dotts for doing in his book, Dissolve the Problem.
Essentially we are taking the opposite approach of #1 above, by going totally general.
The theory is, if going general flows less energy to my unwanted manifestation, then surely this is enough to make room for the positive manifestation.
And in a sense, this is true. Going general is a necessary step before your wanted manifestation can come into your reality.
Now admittedly, this is a lot better than approach #1. You’ll get much closer to your manifestation by using this.
However, it still isn’t going to work as well as you want it to.
To understand why, let’s return back to our radio analogy.
Our manifester #2 has made much more progress. He’s tuned the dial so that a perfectly clear signal is coming through the speakers.
All right, so what’s the problem?
Only that the volume is down so low you can barely hear it.
And, you’re favorite song just came on the radio!
You reach for the speakers—but wait… no… what if the signal’s not perfect?
What if there’s some static?
Better to not turn up the volume and just enjoy the clarity of the signal—as much as you can hear of it, anyway.
Our manifester #2 would rather stay in a zen state of detachment rather than to focus on the awesome things coming into his reality.
So let’s translate this into terms of the law of attraction.
You’ve tuned your vibration to be nearly a perfect match to your manifestation.
Your resistance is no more.
But, you aren’t focusing at all. You are just staying very general.
Yes, it feels good here, but the energy is flowing very slowly here.
If you stay here, you will get bored.
You’ll have dissociated from all of your desires to such a degree that you just remain in this state of total detachment.
This is where we get ideas like Buddhism, which say that all desires lead to pain, and so the answer is to detach from our every desire.
But, desires do not lead to pain.
Desires only lead to pain when resistance gets caught up in the mix. It is when you are focused both on what you want, as well as some resistance against what you want.
3. The Balanced Approach
This is the middle way of approaches to the law of attraction. This is the Goldilocks approach: neither totally specific, nor totally general, but somewhere in the middle, dynamically balancing between the two.
Let’s return once more to our radio analogy to explain how this works.
Manifester #3 tunes his dial until the signal is crystal clear. And oh, look, his favorite song is now just coming on the radio. So he reaches over and cranks up the volume, and loses himself in the music.
What does this look like in real life?
Well, it’s essentially a balance of the above two methods.
When your vibration is not tuned into the signal you want (i.e., you aren’t a vibrational match to what you want), you go general until the resistance is cleared.
Then you start to flow energy towards your desire, by gradually getting more and more specific. As I said, you get as specific as you can without triggering resistance.
And soon, the energy flows faster, because you are focusing on the good feelings (turning up the volume on the signal you already have).
And soon, it feels really good to focus on what you want, as specifically as you care to be (i.e., a great song comes on the radio). And in no time at all, your manifestation comes effortlessly into your life.
I hope you see how this is a much more balanced approach.
You are neither being too specific, and making your resistance bigger, nor are you being too general, and not flowing enough energy towards your desire.
When you do both, at their appropriate times, then your manifestations will come quickly and effortlessly into your reality.
This is a summary of my Effortless Manifestation Process, which I teach in much more detail in my new 30-day intensive Law of Attraction Course.
In it, I teach step-by-step how to apply my process to manifesting absolutely anything you want.
And, if you’ve not made progress with your manifestation by the end of the course, I will give you a coaching session absolutely free.
Click below to learn more:
Learn How to Finally Get Results with the Law of Attraction
How About You?
Now I’d love to hear from you. Which approach have you primarily used in your own manifestations? What kind of results have you seen? Let me know in the comments below.
10 Reasons You Aren't Getting Results with the Law of Attraction
Download this free ebook to find out why the law of attraction isn't working for you.
I really like the explanation; it is very precise. I also really like how you explain the difference between the principles in Buddhism, and how it can help start the manifestation process, but how that is not all, that speeding up the energy with getting gradually more specific leads to desires being realized. I tried the method, and when applied correctly, it is great fun; you can really let yourself go and get into your manifestation. Once you go from the point of infinite possibilities, the general state, getting more and more specific is great fun.
Thanks Justin. 😀 You’re right, it should be fun. If it feels like work at all, you’re doing it wrong.
In fact none of this should feel like work. I hear all the time from people who say they are trying so hard to make it work.
Yep, that’s the problem right there. 😛
I really like the explanation; it is very precise. I also really like how you explain the difference between the principles in Buddhism, and how it can help start the manifestation process, but how that is not all, that speeding up the energy with getting gradually more specific leads to desires being realized. I tried the method, and when applied correctly, it is great fun; you can really let yourself go and get into your manifestation. Once you go from the point of infinite possibilities, the general state, getting more and more specific is great fun.
Thanks Justin. 😀 You’re right, it should be fun. If it feels like work at all, you’re doing it wrong.
In fact none of this should feel like work. I hear all the time from people who say they are trying so hard to make it work.
Yep, that’s the problem right there. 😛
This explains alot. Thank You.
I finally get what it feels like to be happy where I am. It’s by detaching and going general.
Once the resistance sheds away, I’ll go a bit more specific but right now I feel peace in this “whatever mode”.
I only made it hear because of you – I was spinning my heels for years. Thanks for having my back.
Samantha,
Aww, thanks so much. Your comment really touches me.
Yes, go general for as long as it feels good. You’ll know when it’s time to go specific because your energy naturally wants to flow in that direction. It’ll feel better to get more specific than it will to go general.
There’s nothing at all wrong with staying general, as long as you know the difference and when to do what, which is what I tried to explain here. 🙂
So happy I could help. That’s what I’m here for.
This explains alot. Thank You.
I finally get what it feels like to be happy where I am. It’s by detaching and going general.
Once the resistance sheds away, I’ll go a bit more specific but right now I feel peace in this “whatever mode”.
I only made it hear because of you – I was spinning my heels for years. Thanks for having my back.
Samantha,
Aww, thanks so much. Your comment really touches me.
Yes, go general for as long as it feels good. You’ll know when it’s time to go specific because your energy naturally wants to flow in that direction. It’ll feel better to get more specific than it will to go general.
There’s nothing at all wrong with staying general, as long as you know the difference and when to do what, which is what I tried to explain here. 🙂
So happy I could help. That’s what I’m here for.
I really love how you’ve explained how Buddhism gets part of the LOA process right, but how it’s missing an essential idea. I do have a question about resistance. You say go general until the resistance is cleared–is this something that happens naturally, as part of the process? Or do you mean, do something to clear the resistance yourself? If so, what? (Maybe I am again getting too action-oriented: “I’ve got to get to work clearing this resistance before I can get specific!”)
The idea of general=slow energy and specific=fast makes so much sense to me! Thank you for another great post, Brandon!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Yeah I think it’s interesting. I plan on writing more about Buddhism and the idea of enlightenment/nirvana soon. It’s something I used to be very interested in, and I know a lot of people who are into it, so I like comparing/contrasting these teachings.
Going general is the “doing”. It is really very simple.
I wrote recently about the importance of non-doing in the law of attraction.
I have about 10 or more techniques I use and recommend. I’m going to be creating a library of techniques for releasing resistance and moving towards what you want, in my premium law of attraction membership.
But in general, it’s just about making peace with what is. It’s about accepting where you are. Abraham calls it, “satisfied with what is and eager for more.” This describes the feeling very well.
You need to stop pushing against what is so fervently. As you allow more, and resist less, you will naturally start to feel better and release your resistance.
This is really an entire topic on its own, but in short, your resistance is really just the very fact of you pushing against perceived reality. Stop pushing, and it goes away. 🙂
I hope this helps and makes sense.
That is so helpful! Thank you so much, Brandon.
I really love how you’ve explained how Buddhism gets part of the LOA process right, but how it’s missing an essential idea. I do have a question about resistance. You say go general until the resistance is cleared–is this something that happens naturally, as part of the process? Or do you mean, do something to clear the resistance yourself? If so, what? (Maybe I am again getting too action-oriented: “I’ve got to get to work clearing this resistance before I can get specific!”)
The idea of general=slow energy and specific=fast makes so much sense to me! Thank you for another great post, Brandon!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Yeah I think it’s interesting. I plan on writing more about Buddhism and the idea of enlightenment/nirvana soon. It’s something I used to be very interested in, and I know a lot of people who are into it, so I like comparing/contrasting these teachings.
Going general is the “doing”. It is really very simple.
I wrote recently about the importance of non-doing in the law of attraction.
I have about 10 or more techniques I use and recommend. I’m going to be creating a library of techniques for releasing resistance and moving towards what you want, in my premium law of attraction membership.
But in general, it’s just about making peace with what is. It’s about accepting where you are. Abraham calls it, “satisfied with what is and eager for more.” This describes the feeling very well.
You need to stop pushing against what is so fervently. As you allow more, and resist less, you will naturally start to feel better and release your resistance.
This is really an entire topic on its own, but in short, your resistance is really just the very fact of you pushing against perceived reality. Stop pushing, and it goes away. 🙂
I hope this helps and makes sense.
That is so helpful! Thank you so much, Brandon.
Honestly I’ve always been so confused on this topic. This article cleared it up for me completely and is making the LOA more and more realistic in my life. Thank you so much for this.