I first discovered the Law of Attraction, back in the early 2000s, through Lynn Grahborn’s book, “Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting.” I loved the book, and soon believed that all I needed to do to get the life I dreamed of was place an order with the Universe, and the Universe would give it to me, sort of like placing an order on Amazon, right?

I also thought the Law of Attraction was something I turned on at will, and then off again when I was done asking for stuff. Though that never seemed to work too well for me, it didn’t stop me from trying.

What I came to discover was that the Law of Attraction, which was always in action, was a secondary law to another law; the Law of Vibration.

The Law of Vibration is one of seven primary Universal Laws, and simply stated, it’s that everything has a vibration, and like vibrations are drawn to each other; like attracts like.

The Law of Attraction is at work within the Law of Vibration; it’s the force that draws that one thing to another thing with a similar vibration. Simple, right?

Our vibration is determined by our thoughts and emotions. Guilt has one vibration, and peace has another. Just as joy has one vibration, and anger has another.

We attract to us then, based on our vibration (based on what we’re feeling), with the Law of Attraction. Since the Law of Attraction is always at work, we are always attracting something to us, based on our vibration. Even if we aren’t aware of it!

So, if your life feels difficult, and you seem to struggle at every turn, it’s likely you are working unconsciously with the Law of Attraction, and working with limited beliefs and mental programming. This most often happens because at some point during childhood, we accepted, without question, a limiting belief. That’s why so many limiting beliefs, like shame, hate, and judgment, feel perfectly normal, even if they don’t necessarily feel good.

To more consciously work with the Law of Attraction, try following these simple steps.

Ask
We often spend time thinking about the things we’d really love to have in our life. But thinking about them, and daydreaming about them doesn’t mean we’ve actually asked for them. Ask! State it out loud. Write it in a journal. Get as specific as you want, but then follow it up with “this or something better.” This opens the way for the Universe to exceed your expectations, and bring you something better than what you could imagine.

Believe
You cannot receive what you are not receptive to, so if you don’t really believe it, you are not going to receive it. Asking to make $10,000 a month, or lose 50 pounds in a month might be just a little out there for most people. But it’s likely you could believe in increasing your income by five percent, or maybe losing a couple of pounds in that one month time period.

Give Thanks
Appreciate that what you’ve asked for is on its way. When you plant a seed in a garden, you don’t fret and doubt because it’s not sprouting right away. Instead, you give thanks for your garden that’s preparing to bloom.

Prepare the Way
So you’ve planted your garden, and even though there are not yet sprouts, you still tend the garden, and prepare the way, by weeding, watering, and continuing to nurture the soil. You do this because you believe your garden will bloom.

You prepare the way for your desires by acting as if your desire is here. Spirit will guide you, a step at a time, to take some sort of action. Earlier I used the metaphor of placing an order with Amazon, and this stands true. When you place an order with Amazon, they require something in return – your payment.

When you prepare the way, you are giving something in return to let the Universe know you are serious about your desire.

Receive
I recently met someone who was in the process of starting up a spiritual support group. I offered her $10, and she refused. She said that the Universe would provide for her. She wasn’t open to the idea that the Universe might just be working through me in that moment, so she could not receive the support she’d been asking for.

The Universe works in surprising ways, so be open to how it’s giving to you in every moment. To doubt the gift presented to you is to shut down the positive flow you have worked so hard for! When you doubt the gift, you shift your vibration to match that doubt, and start attracting other situations that will help you experience more doubt.

The Law of Attraction is not something that works well sometimes, and not at all at other times; it is always working perfectly! You just need to learn to work with it by remaining aware of your thoughts and feelings at any given time. If you feel upset, grumpy, or limited in anyway, you have just activated that particular vibration. It’s simple, really. You are attracting whatever you are feeling in that moment.

Our greatest super-power is the power of choice, which means you get to choose your thoughts and emotions. Yes, you can make a choice to think and feel differently. It may take a lot of effort, but this is one of the greatest benefits of learning to work with the Law of Attraction; it teaches us to monitor our thoughts and feelings, and have greater awareness of the life we are creating.