What is the secret of attraction? You probably know this has become one of the hottest new ideas in self improvement and spirituality. But it isn't a new idea. It is just the newest way to recycle an old idea. Old or new, the important questions are does it work as claimed, and why?

A "Law" Of Attraction?

Here is the basic idea: You attract more of what you think about. Keep thoughts about getting rich in your mind constantly, and money will come your way. Continually imagine the perfect woman, and soon she will appear at your side. It is often presented like this. Of course, years ago, in previous incarnations, it was more common to teach this idea as part of general goal-setting techniques, where it was assumed that you would also be taking relevant actions to achieve your goals. In this latest version, the action part is glossed over, almost as if it isn't necessary.

Naturally, we like the idea of easy ways to get what we want, and of simple "laws" that can help us. Our knowledge of the laws of nature and mathematics allowed men to fly to the moon. Wouldn't it be great if we could discover infallible "laws" of self improvement and success? Simple formulas that get us anything we want - I like that. But "laws" like these tend to be mere probabilities unfortunately.

How inspiring is "the probability of attraction?" Not very. "Think these thoughts and you'll improve your odds of getting what you want" just doesn't sell the books as well as "Think these thoughts and your success is guaranteed by the ultimate laws of reality." But enough of poking fun at the sellers of mystical certainties - let's look at how this really works.

Is The Reticular Cortex The Secret Of Attraction?

The reticular cortex is a small organ in your brain, a kind of "gatekeeper" that directs incoming stimulus to your conscious or unconscious mind. With your thoughts and what you focus on, you more or less instruct it as to what to bring to your attention. For example, if you start studying flowers, you will likely start to see flowers all over that you never previously noticed. You essentially instructed your reticular cortex to let in anything about flowers and related information.

Keep your thoughts focused on money, and this part of your brain will make you more aware of things related to money, even possibly opportunities to make some money. Imagine meeting the woman of your dreams repeatedly, and you'll probably become aware of more opportunities for this to happen. This is one way in which the brain works, and we can use such "attraction techniques" to help us get what we want.

But the important, if uninspiring word here, is "probably". If you start to believe that such "secrets" always work, you will likely give up on the idea when you fail, or blame yourself (you just didn't have enough faith, right?). Neither of these is a very productive approach to getting what you want. It is better to accept that sometimes things work and sometimes they don't, and that if you keep trying in ways that increase the probabilities of success, you'll almost certainly achieve your goals more often.

Focus on your goals then, because it does increase the probabilities of success, by putting the reticular cortex to work. However, you should also learn what you need to learn, and do what you need to do to get what you want. Getting your mind AND your actions working towards that goal is the real secret of attraction.