Plug it in

I have been trying so hard to put the Law Of Attraction – as taught in The Secret – into action in my life. But I keep running into the same problem everyone else has run into: there is so much contradictory information on how to make LOA work to my advantage. First I’m told that the Universe is just like a big catalog where all I have to do is flip through the pages and choose the person or the experience or the bright shiny object of my choice. "It’s really that easy!"

Then I’m told that The Secret left out a few things. It’s not only about positive thoughts and good feelings and powerful intentions. It’s also about taking action – and sometimes it’s even…gasp!…about hard work. In fact, a few of the talking heads on The Secret have gone out of their way to stress the "action" part in response to criticism about the "magical-thinking" implications in The Secret.

But then Rhonda Byrne, creator of The Secret, turns around and, in yet another interview, seems to be saying that getting the life of your dreams via LOA is virtually effortless after all. Lana Walker-Helmuth wrote in a recent post on her informative and elegantly designed "You, Unplugged" blog:

When asked about the role of action in manifesting your heart’s desire, [Rhonda] said that the action is in the receiving what you’re asking for. She said that if taking action were required, it would have taken a lifetime to produce The Secret. Feeling what you want inside of you just two minutes a day, Rhonda says, is worth more than lifetimes of action.

Okay, so maybe it really is mostly about wishing, hoping, asking, and feeling after all.

But wait…not so fast. If you really, really, REALLY want LOA to work for you, it seems that what you really need to do is get yourself a pricey gadget – the same pricey gadget, as it turns out, that I blogged about over two months ago. Today Mr. Fire is pushing it, and he thoughtfully provides a link to a site where you can order it.

"This NEW Technology is Your Next Step in Mastering the Law of Attraction For Creating Your Ideal Life," reads the headline on the linked site (which, even though it is on a site called ReleaseMeter.net, has the words "zero limits" in the URL). The copy goes on to say:

The Law of Attraction is your key to having, being and doing whatever you will or desire in life. This principle, upon which the entire universe functions, is a consistent principle that can be trusted to work 100% of the time...

... providing... that you apply it properly and deal with the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM people face when applying it.

So wait... does this mean that the Law Of Attraction is not an absolute law, on the order of the law of gravity, as its proponents, including Mr. Fire, have claimed? Now I am really confused.

But I guess the science of LOA doesn’t matter. (Besides, that issue has already been discussed at great length on other blogs, several of which you can find links to at the left of this page.) What matters is the science of the iCAP™ Release Meter, and the fact that it works in conjunction with everything else you may or may not be doing:

The iCAP™ Release Meter is a powerful complement to anything you are currently doing to apply the Law of Attraction in your life.

It will show you, INSTANTLY, if you are in "magnet mode" (your "attractor factor"), or in "repel mode" (your "reactor factor").

Or, in brain-scientist parlance, "wizard mode" or "lizard mode," respectively.

I gotta admit: that’s scientific.

And it would seem that Mr. Fire…oops, I mean whoever it is who wrote the copy on this particular promo page…agrees with Rhonda Byrne that hard work really isn’t that important after all.

So where does effort come in?

What part does effort play in manifesting your goals, if any?

Effort has its place... and yet, it is very limited.

The best place to put your effort is in UNDOING all the subconscious effort you are already, ALWAYS exerting!

And undoing all of that bad subconscious effort is exactly what the iCAP™ Release Meter will do for you. The goal is not to avoid taking action, but just to make all of your actions effortless. And once you clear up all that muck from your subconscious – which you can do by hooking your brain up to the iCAP™ Release Meter – everything you do will be effortless.

As an example of effortless creating, the web site points to none other than Rhonda Byrne, who "manifested her remarkable film with such amazing teachers – FROM NOTHING – and was able to turn it into a global phenomenon."

So I am wondering: did Rhonda have an iCAP™ Release Meter?

Well, I guess that’s not important. What’s important is that if you act now, the iCAP™ Release Meter and all of its bonus goodies are available – as they were in January when they were being hyped by our friend Peter (whom I mentioned in my original Release Meter post) – for the astounding price of only $1,295.00 USD. That’s a 50% discount! But you’d better act by Monday, April 16, because this offer could be withdrawn at any time within the next decade or so.

And if you’re still not convinced, here’s another incentive: the iCAP™ Release Meter can be declared a tax write-off as an educational expense.*

The serious point I want to make here (yes, once in a while I do get a bit serious) is that, lizards and wizards aside – and putting aside the big question of whether the product actually works or not – there really is some legitimate research behind the Release Meter. I've had some private correspondence with Ray Caamano, president of iCAP Technologies, about this very matter. (And by the way, Ray has been a very good sport about my ribbing.)

But I think the credibility of even the most promising research is severely compromised when it is thrown into the big Internet hype machine, and, for that matter, when it is bundled with New-Wage systems such as The Sedona Method. Or The Secret.

And so, after revisiting LOA and the iCAP™ Release Meter, I am now more confused than ever. Is wishing and hoping the key to realizing my dreams, or is right action and a bit of hard work the ticket to true happiness...or is it, after all, a high-tech gadget that will open the door to my Ideal Life?

I am left with one conclusion: I really need to find a gimmick of my own, and market the living bejesus out of it.

Even if it’s not tax-deductible.

*I guess the "kinder, gentler" IRS takes pity on gullible people.