The more I work with LOA and shift beliefs that no longer serve me, the more I realize how easy it really is to improve our lives and get the things we want. But, it took me awhile to get to this point. The way I thought, felt and behaved prior to becoming aware of this force, was very, very different. In theory, we can flip a switch and just change course overnight. But, in practice, this just isn’t going to happen, and that’s okay.
I know there are a lot of well-meaning LOA enthusiasts out there that love to let everyone dealing with some ‘heavy’ stuff know how simple it truly is, and just tell them to ‘be love’ or they already have all they need, etc…, but they’re really not helping. Sorry guys. I wholeheartedly agree with these types of sentiments, but this just isn’t going to cut it with people who have been significantly struggling with life, and have found themselves in a really bad way.
Their line of thinking is eons away from the kind that makes application of LOA ‘effortless.’ Everyone telling them how easy it should be just serves to make them feel badly about themselves because it doesn’t seem easy, and for having negative thoughts and feelings. It makes them worry things can’t get better unless they somehow feel good every second, and this isn’t necessary to start seeing changes.
We’re all flawed human beings and sometimes we make really bad choices that really f$ck up our lives; we grew up around certain people who had really crappy beliefs, and eventually they became our own. Certain things happened to us that soured our view of life, and we came up with loads of other limiting beliefs that we piled on top. We look around at people around us, and things happening in the world at large, and we find plenty of proof that supports our shitty view of life, which further solidifies it.
And when all this gets mixed together, we may find ourselves in a life that has not been too kind. This is where severe financial struggles, abusive relationships, major self-esteem issues, hopelessness, constant ‘bad luck’, nothing ever seeming to go right and a severe victim mentality are born.
If you are starting your work with LOA from this far down the pit, commencing with the usual applications of the principles will probably not work for you. There is a bit more that needs to be done to really get your vibration up, get things moving in the right direction and keeping you from giving up on work that can change your life dramatically.
Here are my tips for working with LOA from a really low space. I’d also like to add that this stuff is also applicable to people who may be a bit further up the path vibrationally but find themselves struggling.
But before you dive into that, take a look at this short video…
Acknowledge Where You Are Now and Accept
With all this talk of the importance of feeling good to get LOA working for us instead of against us, you may begin to feel a lot of resistance against your bad feelings. You’ll be mad they are there; you’ll be mad at yourself for feeling them, and that you let things get so out of control. The idea we have so much power over our reality is very empowering, but it can also lead to a lot of self-flagellation for dropping the ball for so long. You think how much suffering could have been avoided if you had done things differently sooner, and that stings.
This is all understandable, but don’t beat yourself up too much here. Yeah, you made quite the mess for yourself, but you can’t change the past. I believe everything happens as it should, and now was your ‘time to shine,’ for whatever reason.
Acknowledge your feelings; accept they are there. You still may not like them, but when we stop resisting them, and stop judging ourselves for feeling badly, we greatly cut back on the suffering, which is borne of how we are responding to what happens to us, not what has actually occurred. Getting all down on ourselves for not being happy is certainly not an effective way to evoke more positive feelings, that’s for damn sure.
I recommend getting out a piece of paper and a pen, and writing down all your feelings, and dig a bit to get at the root of what is going on and uncover the beliefs that you have been carrying around. So, as you write down a feeling, ask yourself why you feel that, and then that. So, being mad at your husband for leaving you, may morph into feeling like you are not good enough to be loved.
Don’t make yourself feel bad for feeling badly.
Moving into Better Feeling Thoughts
Moving into better feeling thoughts is key to shifting your reality, but when you have been feeling really, really badly, this process can be a bit more slow-going, and again, that’s okay. It’s a lot easier for someone whose life is pretty okay now, and who just wants it to sparkle a bit more, to move into a better place emotionally than someone who is really going through some rough stuff, like trying to improve herself so she can leave her abusive husband, or dealing with severe money strain.
I can’t tell you what thoughts to think, as it is a really subjective experience, and you’ll probably have to play around with some different lines of thinking. One thing to remember is you moving towards better feeling thoughts from this lower place may mean reaching for other types of thoughts that aren’t exactly ‘positive.’
For example, someone experiencing a heavy degree of self-pity or shame may find moving into anger provides great relief and makes him feel better. So, while you can’t really take this route once you get over these first few humps, right now, think anything that makes you feel better, no matter how ‘negative’ it may seem. This may involve a good old revenge fantasy against your ex’s new girlfriend, blaming someone else for your problems or just thinking really mean things about someone who you are not really liking at the moment.
Here’s the thing about thoughts—they are actually manifestations too. What pops into our minds is based on our current vibration, so when you raise yours, you will be ‘delivered’ thoughts that match this higher vibration. There will be less work to do in terms of generating ‘better’ thoughts because they will come to you automatically.
Don’t force yourself to say affirmations or adopt a line of thinking that sounds good but feels anything but. You want to work on actually feeling better, not just pretending you do. That is the difference between true positive thinking and denial.
Don’t Deny Your Current Reality for Fear Admitting It Sends the Wrong Message
When you learn more about LOA, you come across a lot of information that essentially amounts to acting ‘as if.’ You have to feel good now; you have to feel like what you want is already yours, and so on and so forth. And, this is true because creation is now, so you need to raise your vibration now.You can’t tell yourself you’ll feel better once you get what you want. You can’t have a sense of need around your desire.
So, it is easy to get the idea that admitting your struggles now can be a problem attraction-wise because by doing this, you are not acting ‘as if.’ You get the idea it is better to just ignore what is happening since your work with LOA will fix it. By giving it our attention, we will just get more of the same.
And, acting in this way can really work wonders for you, IF you feel good and have a high level of trust. But, chances are, you don’t feel good because you are dealing with some major problems, and you don’t have a large degree of trust in a process you have just recently discovered. Attraction is based on how we are feeling, not what we are saying and doing.
So, if you are having major money problems for example, and you fear facing the debt collectors and telling them your situation, or that you are having a lot of trouble paying your bills, because you think that will send a message to the Universe to keep you broke, stop and think for a minute about this decision from a ‘feeling’ perspective.
How is this course of action making you feel? I would gather you probably feel sick to your stomach most of your waking hours. I imagine you feel really fearful and prone to moments of pure panic.
Now, think about how it would feel to call those debt collectors, explain your situation, get a payment plan set up and have them off your back? How would it feel to admit you are having trouble paying your bills, and taking steps to reduce your expenses immediately, such as cancelling your super-expensive phone plan or cable, making a budget and living a bit more simply for the time being? I bet those things would make you feel really good! And, that is the name of the game here.
So, don’t stick your head in the sand because you fear admitting to the bad stuff will send the wrong message. Admit what is happening, and do whatever you can to make yourself feel better, because things can’t start changing until this happens.
Don’t Worry about Dreaming Big Right Now
Can you go from practically homeless to a business mogul? No doubt. Can you go from barely getting by to making more money than you ever have within a few months time? Absolutely. When you understand how attraction works, you realize anything is possible for us so long as we adopt a belief system that supports this type of awesomeness. We realize our current and past circumstances have absolutely no bearing on what is possible for the future.
But, again, you want to work with the process in a way that actually makes you feel good, and it is okay if you don’t shoot for the stars right out of the gate. If you are currently out of work from your minimum-wage job, you may have visions of getting another job with similar pay because that is all you can really think about in a way that feels okay, and doesn’t activate a ton of resistance.
If you are a woman who found the courage to leave your abusive husband, and you are in a bad way financially, you may have your sights set on any job that will give you enough money to pay your rent and put food on the table. It’s okay you aren’t setting your sights on becoming the next big female entrepreneur.
Again, things can only improve if we are feeling better, and you want to focus on goals that evoke this feeling. And as you see things start falling into place, your faith in this whole LOA thing will strengthen, and you will realize the sky is the limit. Then you’ll start wanting bigger and better things, and you’ll get them.
Be Compassionate with Yourself
Be proud of yourself you have made the decision to lift yourself up; many people never make this decision—they are very entrenched in their negative belief systems, and can’t possibly see another way than the one they have lived. You have a lot of beliefs to shift, and that won’t happen overnight. As you move along your path, other beliefs will rise to the surface that need to be dealt with as your desires get bigger and bolder.
You’ll still have bad days. The ‘old’ beliefs won’t go away so quickly. You’ll have days when you don’t feel great, and you’ll think all of this is complete BS. Be compassionate with yourself during this process. You aren’t a master of the human experience, and you don’t need to be. Show yourself some love. Celebrate all your victories, good decisions and manifestations, no matter how small they may be.
So, that’s my two cents on working with LOA when you are in a really low place. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. What advice would you give to people who are coming from a really low place vibrationally? Were you ever in that space, and how did you get out of it? Are you there now and if so, what are you struggling with? What are some of your LOA victories that are strengthening your faith in this process? Looking forward to your responses so we can all have a nice chat.
Thank you for this, Kelli. I really need it recently. I hope my comment here isn’t too long. Yes, my life is in the toilet right now, and seems to just be spiralling down. My husband and I are trying to support a family of 8, and his hours were cut at his minimum wage job down to 10 per week, and I just discovered that my ex quit his job so there will be no more child support for 4 kids until he finds a new one (his track record in the past doesn’t give me a lot of hope there). One thing that I have recently noticed is that we always do get by no matter how little cash we have. In other words, I always find a way to stretch our money somehow so we can make ends meet, and that stretch becomes the new normal until I have to find a way to stretch it again. 15 years ago, my ex and I were supporting a family of 4 on $45-50k/year, and barely making ends meet. Now that I am supporting 8 on 10% of that + food stamps, it feels pretty much the same. I had the same sick-to-my-stomach feeling back then when we struggled to pay our rent as I do now. We did manage to manifest a house of our own a few months ago (when our finances were better). It took almost a year to accomplish. I distracted myself by starting a new hobby that had no cost to me other than gas to get to my friend’s house. I believe learning to quilt helped me buy a house. I also decided to return to an organization I love, but have been in a sort of self-imposed exile for several years. I don’t understand how it is that my much improved feeling about rejoining this group led to the sudden loss of means to do so. Less income makes it much harder to get there. One major aspect of this group is dressing up in medieval clothes, and I wanted a new dress. I designed the dress I wanted, and calculated how much fabric I would need and when I looked through my stash, lo and behold, there was exactly the yardage I needed in a gorgeous fabric that was a gift from a friend last year. I have started handstitching this dress and it does bring me joy. I guess I am seeing mixed manifestations in my life, probably due to my extreme ambivalence. I know in my head that LOA works. I never could have gotten a house if it didn’t. I never would have met my wonderful husband if it didn’t. I wouldn’t have found 6 yards of luscious silk in my craft room if it didn’t. But for 35+ years I have learned that money is averse to me, that life is a financial struggle all the time and I am having a lot of trouble getting past this. Thanks for listening.
Hi Judy
No, your comment is not too long at all :). Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I think a lot of people can relate to what you are saying about mixed manifestations–most of us don’t have a squeaky clean vibration and we have certain areas that are stronger than others. If we have had a particularly rough time over a longer period, we are still shifting a lot of beliefs and haven’t reached our ‘full potential’ manifestation wise.
I think money is a struggle for many of us, not because it is inherently harder to get, but because of a lot of beliefs and energies a lot of us hold around it. It can be harder to detach from its arrival than other things because getting rid of that feeling of ‘need’ doesn’t come so easily. I am sorry to hear you are having a hard time financially but it does sound like you have made some positive headway in the financial department as far as LOA goes. One thing I would recommend doing to get some more positive feelings is shifting your attention to what is going right money-wise, such as finding a way to make things work even with the reduction in income, the house (even though you consider it a past manifestation when times were better, it is always good to focus on our LOA ‘wins) the bills that do get paid, etc…
A few years ago, I overcame some severe financial difficulties, and I managed to turn things around even when I had many moments of low vibrations around money. But, things went my way because I was feeling good more than I was feeling badly and that is what we want to aim for. It seems to me you have had a lot happen that provides evidence that you can get this force to work in ‘your favor.’ I get the sense that things will truly get better for you soon…I can sense that spark within as I read your story.
Hi KC,
As a guy who needed to admit where he was, to get where he wanted to be, I know many folks will be freed by this brilliant point you’re making and by simply following your advice.
You are spot on; calling the tax man to set up a payment plan or addressing student debts, or getting rid of high priced phone plans which you don’t value much, anyway, create a feeling of relief. This relieved feeling attracts more relieving circumstances, and so on, and you’ll feel more free by simply taking that step.
Don’t. Ignore. What Is. Embrace your now and address your fears to take the steps to free yourself from those fears.
Excellent insight as always KC.
Tweeting soon.
Ryan
Hi Ryan
Thanks so much for your comment. Whatever we can do to create that relief is key because at that point, we are shifting energy in a powerful way that can really get the ball rolling. The key is to do whatever we can to make ourselves feel better.
Hi Kelli,
I have been a fairly long time follower of the LOA, and I have really enjoyed your explanations. You also have a very down to earth writing style. Keep up the good work, and you are delivering good value.
Thanks
Dale
Thanks Dale. I am so glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I hope you are manifesting lots of awesomeness!
Kelli,
Fantastic post! Thanks for an honest look at what it takes to start reversing our thought patterns and letting go of what no longer serves us.
Telling someone “it’s simple – just think positively” is only going to lead to frustration. It’s like a marathon runner telling someone who’s never ran a mile “oh it’s easy, running is all in your head.” It’s only helpful if you can also provide actionable steps, like you’ve done.
Acceptance is so powerful. Once you stop resisting the ‘bad’ feelings and learn to start identifying the ‘why’ behind those feelings, you can genuinely move forward from them.
Ignoring the things in your life that are making you feel bad doesn’t make them go away – I’ve learned that one the hard way. The more you face your fears head on and take small steps to deal with those things, the better you’re going to feel naturally. Once you start feeling good about yourself, it becomes easier and easier to take on the big things and move into a place of peace and happiness.
Thanks for this – have a great weekend 🙂
– Mandie
Thanks Mandie
I am so glad you liked it. The marathon thing is an excellent analogy! I think a lot of people develop this intense fear around negative thoughts and beliefs once they start working with LOA and believe their work must be devoted to banishing them completely, never daring to speak their name again or something. And they give people the impression they must do the same immediately or they will undoubtedly fail. But, if someone was capable of that dramatic a switch in their emotions and beliefs, they would not have ended up in such unwanted circumstances in the first place, so we just have to start with where we are. Great insights here..thanks as always for sharing your thoughts!
Hey Kelli,
Firstly, this is the first time I visited your blog and it’s great!
Secondly, this is probably the best article on the LOA that I have read in a very long time. In 2009, I became heavily involved with the LOA and immersed myself in every product, system and guru there was practising it. I really believed that it would change my life.
After a very long time it didn’t seem to work so I gave it up, got rid of my vision boards and dismissed it as “stupid”. Looking back now I realize it was always working. I was getting exactly what my ‘feelings’ were giving me. I had an immense amount of worry about my future, and what I wanted to do with my life and had a lot of emotional baggage that I was holding on to. Guess what? Things came into my life that gave me more of it! Many people believe you just need to think the right things and take action. My own experience is that your feelings are 100% what allow you to get the results you want.
Love the article, will tweet it!
A.
Hi Andrew
Thanks so much for stopping by..so glad you liked the article. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me, and I’m glad you got back on the LOA bandwagon. I think your experience is a common one. The concept is incredibly simple and applying it is simple as well, BUT, that is not always the case when we first discover it. We have a lot of shifting of beliefs to do, and that can be slow-going. Everyone telling you how easy it is isn’t very helpful and can add to the frustration. Now, it has gotten so much easier but that is after existing in a new way of being for many years now. Like you, when I first discovered it, I didn’t realize the importance of feelings. We are led to think it is all about thoughts, which naturally play a role as they can influence how we feel. But, I think people misunderstand this aspect of LOA–it is not about thinking something and making it happen in just that way. Visualizing is just a tool to translate energy into something we can see. Once I focused on feelings, like you, everything clicked and I was like..duh, this is pretty simple once we can get over those initial humps. I wrote this in hopes it will give people inspiration to keep trying and that it is okay if they are struggling.
Hi Kelli, I think this is a very useful blog post. It’s not easy to get started from a very low vibration, in fact it’s highly improbable because it will prevent you from thinking that there is any hope for yourself at all because you are inherently bad. I’ve been there, many years ago. Once upon a time, someone asked me to list my good qualities and I couldn’t think of a single one. Seriously. That’s where I started from. This LOA stuff wouldn’t even have registered. So anyone who is making an effort to better themselves should never underestimate their courage and deserve to give themselves a big pat on the back for even trying. Don’t ever give up trying. I have come so far in my life my younger self wouldn’t have believed it, and I know I will only keep raising my vibration more and more.
Hi Ally
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to share your insights and experience. I am glad you found the post useful. It felt really good to write this because I think so many people get discouraged from working with LOA because everyone tells them how ‘easy’ it is, and how you just need to ‘feel good.’ That is all there is to it actually ,but getting to this point can take a bit of work, and it’s okay to acknowledge that. We have lots of layers of conditioning that need to be dealt with, and we want to work with the process in way that actually feels good. Progress doesn’t necessarily need to be slow, but it usually needs to be incremental. We can’t just jump 50 rungs up the vibrational ladder, though some people may, and great for them!
I am so happy to hear you have made so much progress over the years. Your story is very inspiring because it shows people that no matter how bad things may seem, they can always get better, and that we have so much control. Good luck on your journey and hope to see you around the blog more so I can learn more about you and hear about your LOA experiences. Happy manifesting!
Hi Kelli,
This was my first visit to your blog and I appreciate your down to earth aspect and addressing how difficult it can be for those of us who are in the depths of despair to move into good feeling and success etc.
I hope you can offer some suggestions to my current situation – intellectually I get the LOA and love the concept and on some level I know it to be the truth. However, for the last three years my life has continued to decline even though I felt I was practicing faith and hope and surrendering. I have no home and the house where I am staying is my former partners. She has asked me to leave and be out by April 1st at the latest. I have no job and no financial support and no car and right now feel fear and despair as hard as I try to raise my thoughts and so on. I also have a beloved cat whom I have had for over 10 years, he’s not well but still has alot of life left in him and I struggle with euthanising him so he doesn’t have to suffer with my homelessness and I can not afford vet care or food right now. My former partner is not willing to help and is the one that suggested I put him down since I am not able to care for him. It breaks my heart probably more than ending this 9 year relationship. Suicide does pop in and out of my awareness but I don’t have the courage to attempt it. I really want to shift into my highest self and allow for better experiences but I am so panicked about no where to go in two weeks. I have no friends in this area and no family. No support network at all mostly as I allowed my relationship to dictate that isolation and due to my shame of not being employed or having anything to offer anyone, just taking from people as I need money, food and shelter. I hope you can offer some suggestions – I am open to whatever it takes. I do prayer and quiet time every morning asking for guidance and help. Nothing has been working.
Thank you and keep up your fantastic work.
Mary
Hi Mary
I am sorry to hear you are having such a tough time right now. You have a lot on your plate, and in these situations, the resistance is high and genuinely getting to a better place emotionally can be a process. The first thing I would say is let yourself feel any fear, anger and other negative emotions==you don’t want to stay in that space of course, but we sometimes try to ignore them and get happy, but we actually are still feeling pretty badly, and just living in denial. The Universe can’t defy our vibration, so no matter how much we are trying to feel better by praying, saying affirmations or whatever, if we really aren’t, we won’t make much headway. This purge of emotion will be very beneficial in making room for some higher energies.
I would also recommend working on feeling better, and not putting too much pressure on yourself to feel ‘good’ and in a space of total trust and faith. That can work wonders because then you will more easily be able to move up to a higher level of vibration and have it be genuine and lasting..not momentary and then plummeting right back down.
The next thing you want to work on is cultivating a sense that the situation will resolve itself somehow even if right now, you haven’t a freaking clue how that would happen. When we can truly acknowledge this,we can create a sense of relief and that is a very good thing when it comes to working with LOA in situations such as this when we really feel like we need something to happen.
You mention feeling suicidal but not having the courage to attempt it…to me that means that is not something you would actually want to do seriously but it is popping in there because it would solve the problem. I think that is a thought that many people have when feeling like this,and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are actually suicidal. I suspect this isn’t your time to check out of this existence.
I know you may feel uncomfortable reaching out to people because you haven’t maintained the relationships, but if there is anyone that you think can help you, reach out. It will probably feel super uncomfortable, but I am sure there is someone to help you. And you never know…with a change in your outlook and vibration, your former partner may even offer to let you stay longer, either by you asking directly or just changing her mind and telling you. Also, be on the lookout for any sort of work you can get to at least start bringing in some income.
I know with the timeframe on your mind, that is really putting the pressure on, but know that whatever happens at the end of that two weeks, it will be okay. This situation sounds like it was a culmination of lots of issues and the upside is you are in a position to make significant change with your energy and your life, and that is a good thing.
A lot can happen in two weeks, and just do your best to work on that sense of it being taken care of and it not being up to you to figure it out.
Good luck and please keep me posted.