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The mystery and science behind the law of attraction.

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Transformational coach leveraging science & ancient wisdom to help people manifest their greatness.  Blue Dot Transform Consulting

I fondly remember my graduation day, which was on the 25th of April. The master of ceremonies was going to announce the name of the student who bagged the title of best all-rounder for the postgraduate class of 2010. The award also entailed a cash prize worth $1,500.

I was hopeful of winning the title as I had worked tirelessly and visualized the entire scenario several times. "Mental rehearsal," as scientists call it, is something that performers do quite often before a performance. Here, I was not going to perform something, but I was strongly intending to create an event that my mind had conceived. 

Lo and behold, my crazy thought manifested. As I went up to the stage and received the award, I was reliving each and every moment that I had once crafted in my mind. This event left a deep mark on my consciousness, and getting to its root became a lifelong quest for me.

I first came across the idea of manifestation in the book The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy. It was a radical idea for a novice like me that our subconscious mind has the ability to create things that it envisions. Later on, my introduction to The Secret by Rhonda Bryne, the deep ancient wisdom and astounding experience of pranic healing, and the work of visionaries like Dr. Bruce Lipton, Joe Dispenza and Paramahansa Yogananda brought a complete shift in my thinking. I found purpose in helping people and organizations apply this simple yet powerful concept.

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The concept of the Law of Attraction is fundamentally an ancient concept embedded in universal laws. It asserts that our life is our own creation. We, as a consciousness, have the ability to influence and create our life events. Many of us have already experienced the manifestation of something that we imagined. Almost all major religions talk about this concept in one form or another. 

Quantum physics offers a probable explanation for the feasibility of this law. One of the founding fathers of quantum physics and Nobel Prize winner Max Planck once said , "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clearheaded science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together... We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter."

This infinite and intelligent mind is the entity our ancestors referred to as infinite consciousness . It's believed that we, being part of the infinite and powerful consciousness, have the ability to influence matter and fulfill our desires. This revelation is proved by various research studies conducted on prayer, which is a powerful tool for manifestation. In one study, women who had been prayed for had nearly twice the rate of pregnancy as those who were not prayed for. Another study conducted on 22 bush babies states that the animals who were prayed for had a greater improvement in wound size versus those who weren't prayed for. 

Another study conducted by French researcher René Peoc'h had an interesting outcome. The experiment involved a self-propelled robot that normally wandered aimlessly and randomly around a room. When a cage filled with live chicks was brought in, the chicks imprinted on the robot as if it was their mother, and the robot started spending more time in the area that was closer to the chicks. Peoc'h concluded that the intention of the chicks to stay close to the robot (their perceived mother) manifested dramatic change in the robot's movements. 

Let's have a look at some simple ways in which we can practice this powerful concept to see changes in our life:

1. Get clarity on your outcome. This step is like the base of a building: Without it, nothing stands tall. You need to be crystal clear about the outcome you seek and the intention behind it. There shouldn't be any vague idea about it in your mind. An image in the mind must represent your outcome.

2. Get in a gratitude state. "GIGS," as I call it, is all about tapping the power of gratitude. Gratitude is an energy amplifier. It puts us in a powerful manifestation state. The key is to practice gratitude for events and things you are truly grateful for. Spare 10 minutes each day to journal about them.

3. Visualize.  Once you have a clear intention and feel grateful, start visualizing the outcome. The steps should be followed seamlessly. Visualization should be so realistic that you should feel like the event is being lived by you in that moment itself and you feel the emotional and mental intensity of its occurrence. If you can recall a fearful thought and feel the fear, you can also recall a beautiful experience and feel good.

4. Surrender. Come hell or high water, you must surrender. You must surrender the outcome to a greater intelligence. This helps you detach. Hence, you won't generate fear or doubt in the process. Faith moves mountains.

These are four simple steps to manifest anything in life. Practice them religiously, and master them like any other skill.

Einstein said, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." It's time to imagine.

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Law of Attraction: What Does Science Say About This Theory?

Learn the ins and outs of what the Law of Attraction is, how to apply it, and get to the bottom of what science says about this metaphysical philosophy.

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Have you ever wondered if your thoughts and intentions affect what happens to you? Or if you ask the “Universe” to help you with something if this works? You might have heard of the term the Law of Attraction. This philosophy would declare that you can ask for what you want from a more significant, universal intelligence and get it.

In this post, we’ll explore what the Law of Attraction philosophy says and how to implement it in your life, and then we’ll evaluate this worldview from a scientific perspective.

What is the Law of Attraction?

The Law of Attraction (or LoA) says that the more you think, manifest, and talk about something you want, the more likely you will get it. , It is based on the idea that like attracts like. It says that our thoughts and feelings, either positive or negative, have a magnetic pull and attract similar experiences.

This philosophy suggests that your circumstances—income, community, physical health, and relationships—reflect your internal world. The idea is that you possess a web of underlying beliefs and feelings, and they are of a certain “vibration.” And that vibration attracts circumstances and opportunities of a similar beat. 

To be clear, this philosophy still needs to be supported by the scientific community. But we’ll get into that later in the article.

What is manifesting?

When people use the word “manifest,” they intentionally adjust their inner thoughts and feelings to attract a particular circumstance or thing into their lives. 

For example, let’s say you want a job at your dream company. And so you envision yourself at that job, living out that life. You notice what beliefs that version of you who has that job would hold and how they would feel. And then, you work to ingrain and embody those beliefs and feelings. Once you fully calibrate your vibration to the reality where you have that job, the job (or something like it) will naturally come to you.

How to Use the Law of Attraction as a Tool for Personal Development

Here are a few Law of Attraction tools below. According to the philosophy, these tools work best when practiced together, when you are not attached to the outcome, and when used consistently over time.

Gratitude practice

Gratitude in the Law of Attraction context involves expressing appreciation for what you currently have in your life. Over time, this practice can help cultivate a more positive and abundant mindset.

Action Step: Go through the following steps. Try it out once. However, if you want to practice the Law of Attraction, it’d probably be advisable to practice each of these steps for a more extended time.

• Write down one thing you’re grateful for about your life circumstances
• Write down one thing about your body that you are thankful for
• Write down one relationship you are grateful for
• Think of 1 challenging event or hardship in your life, and see if you can find one thing about it that you are grateful for
• Go through each item in your list, and take a few seconds to feel the gratitude.
• Then, take a moment to feel grateful simply for being alive.

If you’d like to explore the idea of a gratitude journal more, you might enjoy this post.

Create a vision board.

The following Law of Attraction step is to get clear on what you want and visualize it.

Vision boards are one classic tool for this step. They can be physical or digital displays of images and words that represent the outcomes you desire. 

Creating a vision board can help you clarify your goals, and regularly viewing the board can help reinforce your desires and intentions.

Action Step: Create a vision board! Either on Pinterest or on a physical whiteboard. 

• Get in the right mindset. See if you can come to this activity from a place of optimism and confidence. 
• Make a list of all of your goals—anything you want to accomplish in the next year. Be specific!
• For a digital board, gather images online that speak to your desire somehow. And for a physical board, find pictures on Google or in magazines. Pick images that inspire you, not images you feel like you “should” put. 
• You can also write out words and phrases on your board.

It doesn’t have to look pretty. It just has to mean something to you!

Here’s a guide for more instruction on building a vision board.

Positive affirmations

Positive affirmations are concise statements you repeat to yourself, intended to foster a positive mindset and influence your subconscious mind. 

Ideally, a positive affirmation will reprogram your limiting belief about yourself into a belief that empowers you.

Action Step: Think of the three things you want most for yourself, whether feelings, circumstances, or opportunities.

Then, turn each of those things into a present tense statement.

For example, if you want a partner, you might write: “I have a beautiful and healthy relationship with a loving partner.”

Or, if you want to feel more abundant, you might write: “I feel abundant, generous, and like I always have energy to give.”

Once you write down your three statements, try reading each one slowly and thoroughly, feeling each statement as you read it. 

Like the gratitude practice, according to the Law of Attraction philosophy, the more often you take on this practice, the more effective it will be.

If you’d like inspiration on coming up with affirmations, here’s a helpful list.

Chunk your goals

While the Law of Attraction places a significant emphasis on mental and emotional alignment, pairing these with material efforts is equally important.

This means that while you’re visualizing and affirming your desired outcomes, you should also set clear goals, plan, and take tangible steps toward those outcomes. 

For instance, if you’re seeking a new job, alongside visualizing success, ensure you’re also updating your resume, applying to relevant positions, and preparing for potential interviews.

Action Step: For one of the goals on your vision board, break that goal down into smaller chunks that you could accomplish. Then, make an action plan for the first chunk and execute it!

For example, if your goal is to build an email list of 1,000 subscribers, the first chunk might be creating an email list of 10 subscribers. Your action plan is to reach out to your family and social media friends to invite them to your newsletter. Then take action on that idea!

If you’d like support choosing the best goals for yourself, you’ll love this free guide:

How To Set Better Goals Using Science

Do you set the same goals over and over again? If you’re not achieving your goals – it’s not your fault! Let me show you the science-based goal-setting framework to help you achieve your biggest goals.

Fundamental Principles of the Law of Attraction

In addition to gratitude, visioning, affirmations, and goal-chunking, let’s dive deeper into some underlying principles.

Thoughts are things

This principle suggests that our thoughts are more than just mental activity. They are considered energetic entities that vibrate at specific frequencies, capable of attracting similar frequencies. 

In simple terms, positive thoughts attract positive experiences, and negative thoughts attract negative experiences. The idea is that “like attracts like.” So, your life circumstances will match and reflect the quality of your thoughts.

Emotional alignment

Thoughts alone are not enough. The Law of Attraction also suggests that feeling the emotions of your desired reality is important.

For example, let’s say you want a new circle of friends. The Law of Attraction might recommend that you imagine sitting around a campfire, sharing vulnerably with friends. And then you imagine what that feels like. 

Do you feel peace? Connection? Gratitude? Joy?

Then, you link those feelings with the thoughts and images you are trying to manifest.

Take action

While the Law of Attraction emphasizes mental and emotional processes, it doesn’t neglect the role of action. This principle states that you must also take relevant, guided actions toward your desires.

The aligned thoughts and feelings create the vibrational alignment of what you want, and your actions pull it towards you.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

This principle implies that making space in your life—both physically and emotionally—creates a void that the universe will seek to fill, ideally with the new experiences and circumstances you desire.

So, if you let go of a job, friend, or opportunity that isn’t a “vibrational match,” you are creating space for a better match to come to you.

The present is perfect (abundance mindset)

The Law of Attraction encourages an appreciation for the present moment and promotes an abundance mindset. It emphasizes the belief that there are ample resources and opportunities for everyone and that you are always cared for and have more than enough. 

The idea is that needy energy pushes things away. For example, if you are broke and clingy towards a potential romantic partner, they will avoid you. Similarly, according to this philosophy, they will prevent you if you are needy towards your life desires.

The best way to become non-clingy is to become content, grateful, and at peace with your life as it is now, in this exact moment. If you don’t need anything now, you can want things without needing them, and that mentality will more likely attract those things into your life.

Work through limiting beliefs.

As the term suggests, limiting beliefs are deeply ingrained beliefs or perceptions about ourselves and the world around us that limit our potential.

These might include beliefs like “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t deserve success,” or “I can’t achieve my dreams.” 

We each create about 50,000 thoughts daily 1 https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/digital/the-impact-of-limiting-beliefs/ , with 90% of those thoughts repeating daily. Beliefs are machines in our minds that pump out ideas. So, if you have a limiting belief, one of your thought machines is pumping thoughts like “You’re not good enough!” into your consciousness daily.

The Law of Attraction also sees beliefs as an opportunity filter. We can only see specific opportunities through our beliefs, and the Universe can only give us whatever opportunities fit through our beliefs.

If you believe you’ll never get the job you want, you might overlook the opportunity to offer yourself as an intern to your family friend who works in your desired industry. The Law of Attraction would take this thinking one step further and even say that this family friend might offer you an internship if you believed you could have it, but not otherwise. 

Consciousness is non-local

Non-local consciousness 2 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-04669-001 is the idea that consciousness isn’t confined to an individual’s brain or body but is part of a larger, interconnected field or universe. 

The Law of Attraction suggests that thoughts and intentions can influence one’s experiences and reach out into the universe to attract corresponding opportunities.

According to this framework, it means that to achieve a goal, you don’t have to lug the mass of your body to a place to interact with another physical mass. Instead, you can put your attention and awareness on the energy of something you want and draw it to you. 

The Law of Attraction in Action (with Real-Life Examples)

To better understand the concept, here are a few examples:

Example 1: Upgrading a job situation

Suppose Sally, an ambitious professional, is set on a managerial position at her firm. 

She isn’t just wishing for it passively. Instead, she constantly visualizes herself in that role, making decisions, leading a team, and achieving her targets. This positive thinking shapes her attitude and work ethic. 

Consequently, she’s more proactive, takes on more responsibilities, and displays leadership skills, which eventually get noticed and may lead her to that managerial position she’s been dreaming of.

Example 2: Attracting a partner

Here’s another example from my own life. 

Back in 2018, I was dating and looking for a partner. On August 29th of that year, I wrote in my journal a list of 16 qualities I wanted to manifest in a romantic partner. 

I wrote the list in a flash of inspiration, but I forgot about it a few weeks later. I continued to date, learning much about myself and my preferences from each new relationship.

And then, about ten months later, I started to connect with a new friend, and the connection had a lot of potential. So we kept going deeper and deeper. Until, next thing you know, we’ve been in partnership for over four years.

As I’m writing this, I looked back at that list for the first time in years and can confirm that my partner fits all 16 desires I wrote down to a tee!

This could be categorized as the use of the Law of Attraction—I clarified a vision of what I wanted, continued to take action, felt non-clingy towards the vision, and eventually, it manifested itself in my life. Proponents of the Law of Attraction would say I embodied the vibration of my desires and attracted them into my life.

Now, it’s important to note that nothing supernatural or mystical happened. You could say I got clear on what I wanted and filtered out possible partners who didn’t fit my criteria. 

Example 3: Celebrity experiences

Here’s a YouTube montage of several celebrities discussing their relationship with the Law of Attraction. Of course, this doesn’t confirm or deny if the Law of Attraction works or how it works, but it’s fascinating!

Is The Law of Attraction Based in Science?

It is important to note that the Law of Attraction is contentious, with views ranging from ardent followers to eyebrow-raising skeptics. 

Many people are cynical about the Law of Attraction because it is based on beliefs about the world that differ from most scientists’ beliefs.

The scientific community tends to view the world from a position called “scientific materialism 3 https://academic.oup.com/book/3378/chapter-abstract/144476233?redirectedFrom=fulltext .”

Scientific materialism is based on several core ideas. Let’s look at these ideas and see how they fit the Law of Attraction.

Material reality

This materialist view states that everything that exists, from galaxies to insects, can be reduced to interactions of matter and energy. 

The concept says that the brain is a complex matter-machine that produces consciousness, thoughts, and emotions.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

Yes. The Law of Attraction states that thoughts can influence physical reality. Materialists would deny that thoughts are anything but brain output.

Observability

Observability means that to understand the nature of the universe, we should be able to observe and measure it. Anything that can’t be observed, measured, or quantified is often considered non-scientific.

Kind of. Measuring or quantifying how many “units” of positive thinking one must exert to attract a new car is difficult.

Causality 

This materialist view operates on the principle of cause and effect. It assumes that every event in the universe results from a prior event or a series of events.

No. The Law of Attraction framework also works through cause-and-effect thinking. It gives a different explanation as to why your actions might lead to specific results (e.g., your thoughts cause the circumstances to change), but it does still abide by cause-and-effect thinking.

Predictability and reproducibility 

According to this view, if an experiment is conducted under the same conditions, it should yield the same results. This predictability is essential for the scientific method.

Kind of. Claims that positive feelings attract positive outcomes are not easily measurable or observable by current scientific methods. That said, some studies 4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4760272/ suggest that positive thinking reduces worry and anxiety.

Objectivity 

Science strives to maintain an objective perspective, removing personal biases or emotions as much as possible.

No. Again, it could be possible to objectively measure claims of the Law of Attraction, but it’s typically not studied in science.

Science and The Law of Attraction

As we mentioned, scientific materialism and the Law of Attraction are two different worldviews and lenses for viewing life. Many of the techniques the Law of Attraction suggests have positive benefits regardless of your viewpoint.

Thus, we can use a scientific paradigm to explain why the Law of Attraction principles often work. This isn’t to suggest which way of viewing this is correct—it’s more to provide an alternative explanation for why visualizing often creates positive results.

Let’s go through a few psychological principles and see how each supports aspects of LoA practices.

Selective Attention

Selective attention refers to our brain’s ability to focus on specific stimuli while filtering out others, effectively homing in on what’s most relevant to our current interests or goals.

As neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart says in this interview , our brain constantly filters our external reality, but we can choose to be selective in what it filters to benefit our goals.

In the Law of Attraction context, when we visualize a goal or set an intention, our selective attention kicks into gear. We’re more likely to spot related opportunities or information. For instance, if you’ve been visualizing buying a new car, you may suddenly notice that model everywhere.

While the Law of Attraction claims this is due to your thoughts attracting your desires, psychology would suggest that it’s more about your attention filtering for relevant information. 

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon where we naturally gravitate towards information that aligns with our existing beliefs and ignore or downplay information that contradicts them. 

It’s as if we’re wearing a pair of selective spectacles, viewing the world in a way that confirms our preconceived notions.

In this interview , Andrew Huberman cites a study that suggests that “when you believe something, there are chemical systems in your mind associated with repeating that belief.” In other words, when we affirm our beliefs, our brain releases dopamine, and we feel good.

The idea here is that we see what we believe, further reinforcing what we believe making us see more of it.

If you strongly believe in the Law of Attraction, you’re likely to interpret positive events as proof that your positive thoughts attracted these outcomes. Conversely, you might dismiss or rationalize away instances where the Law of Attraction didn’t seem to work, preserving your belief in its effectiveness.

While this isn’t necessarily bad—positive expectations can undoubtedly contribute to a healthier mindset—it’s essential to be aware of this bias.

For example, if you are looking for signs from the Universe, you will see characters where there are none.

That said, materialists must also beware of confirmation bias. Because if you assume that our imagination fabricates signs, then if the Universe giving signals is a real thing, you would not see them.

Placebo effect

The placebo effect is a psychological phenomenon where a person experiences an improvement in their condition or symptoms due to their belief in the effectiveness of a treatment, even if that treatment is inactive or doesn’t have any therapeutic properties.

The placebo effect is widely accepted 5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5953755/ in the scientific community. This is why placebos are used in many clinical trials testing new drugs. 

It’s also a principle used by mentalists like Derren Brown in his series Fear and Faith , where he creates elaborate placebo situations where he gets people to believe they are taking a high-tech drug to cure their greatest fear. Then, sure enough, they can overcome that fear by eating a sugar pill.

Now, let’s connect the dots to the Law of Attraction. The LoA hinges on the belief that our thoughts can influence our reality. If we truly believe that positive reviews will lead to positive outcomes, this belief itself could potentially create a placebo effect. In other words, our strong belief in the effectiveness of the Law of Attraction might generate a heightened sense of optimism, expectancy, and proactive behavior, which could contribute to improved outcomes in our lives.

For example, suppose I firmly believe that I will soon become wealthy. In that case, I may begin to placebo myself into feeling more confident and motivated, which will help me become wealthy.

Learned optimism

Learned optimism is a concept in positive psychology pioneered by psychologist Martin Seligman. It proposes that optimism, rather than being a fixed trait, can be cultivated over time by changing one’s thought patterns and developing more positive perspectives. 

Seligman found through research that when we view the world optimistically, we tend to become physically healthier, live longer, develop more fulfilling relationships, and achieve our goals more effectively.

Learned optimism shares a significant common ground with the Law of Attraction, particularly in their mutual emphasis on the power of positive thinking—both advocate for replacing negative thoughts with positive ones to improve one’s life circumstances.

Seligman even offers an activity where you visualize your future self who has created the life you want for yourself, which is also a LoA practice. However, Seligman doesn’t propose any mystical benefit to this activity, more that it creates a sense of confidence and possibility that you can make a life you want for yourself.

In the Law of Attraction context, affirmations, visualization, and gratitude could be seen as exercises in learned optimism. By consciously focusing on positive thoughts and emotions, individuals are training their brains to be more optimistic, aligning with Seligman’s concept.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy 6 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4609267 , a term coined by sociologist Robert Merton, is a phenomenon where a belief or expectation influences individuals’ behavior in such a way that it causes the belief or expectation to come true. Our predictions inadvertently lead us to act in ways that bring about the anticipated outcome.

For instance, if a student continuously tells themselves they’re going to fail an upcoming test, they might become so anxious or demotivated that they don’t study effectively or at all. As a result, they perform poorly on the test, reinforcing their initial belief of failure. Thus, their negative belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Self-fulfilling prophecy plays a pivotal role when related to the Law of Attraction. If you believe and anticipate positive outcomes (as the Law of Attraction encourages), you will likely behave in ways that promote these outcomes. For instance, if you constantly visualize and affirm success in a job interview, you might enter the interview with more confidence and perform better, thereby making the ‘prophecy’ of success come true.

While the Law of Attraction attributes these outcomes to your thoughts “attracting” reality, psychology might explain this as a self-fulfilling prophecy at work. But regardless of how you spin it, a positive mindset will help you get the desired results.

The science of visualization

Visualization is a technique where you create a mental picture of a desired outcome or goal. 

From a scientific perspective, research has shown that the brain doesn’t significantly differentiate between a vivid mental experience and an actual physical experience. This is why athletes often use visualization as a part of their training – imagining the perfect shot, race, or routine can enhance their actual performance.

Neuroscientist Matthew Walker says in this interview that visualizing a motor skill’s performance is about 50% effective in changing the plastic connections within the brain as physically performing that act. If you are a martial artist, for example, you could visualize yourself performing a sequence repeatedly, which helps.

The Law of Attraction advocates for vividly imagining the desired outcome to attract that reality. So, if you’re seeking a promotion, you’d spend time regularly visualizing yourself in that higher position, performing the tasks, reaping the benefits, and feeling the satisfaction of that role.

While the Law of Attraction asserts that this process “attracts” your desired reality, science might argue that the benefits of visualization are more about priming your brain and body for the desired outcome; you’re rehearsing success, bolstering your confidence, and potentially improving your performance in the process.

There Are Always Two Explanations

When considering if the Law of Attraction clashes with the scientific perspective, it can be helpful to see the Law of Attraction as an entirely different lens from the materialist lens.

One way to think about it is that the scientific materialist lens is like a pair of glasses we put on to understand and comprehend the world. 

Materialism and the Law of Attraction as Lenses

We know that cultures across time have used different lenses to understand reality—and many cultures have the folly of assuming that their lens is the RIGHT. It’s easy for us to assume that our mainstream lens is the RIGHT lens. But very likely, 100 years from now, our way of seeing the world will have significantly evolved. We’ll look back at our lens from 2023, perhaps in the same way that we now look back on people who thought the Earth was the center of the solar system.

The materialist lens is a very powerful lens with great predictive ability. But it can also have some drawbacks, especially regarding meaning and spirituality. As a response to fill this void, there is a rise in the personal growth movement offering different lenses to view the world mythologically or spiritually.

To call materialism a lens doesn’t undermine its validity; it just inserts some humility into the picture. The universe is infinitely large. Literally, infinite. Infinity is something that our minds can’t comprehend. We have five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing) through which we attempt to comprehend this infinite thing we’re a part of. Imagining that any of us could understand the universe in its entirety seems like a tall order. Different lenses and perspectives offer sight to other pieces of the infinite puzzle. Each lens may offer some value.

Using this metaphor, the Law of Attraction is a different lens for viewing reality. It sheds light on other parts of reality than the materialist lens. But it also might view certain things inaccurately as well.

Each lens unveils some part of the picture.

It’s like the ancient Buddhist parable of the blind men and the elephant. In the parable, a group of blind men are all touching an elephant, but they don’t know what they’re feeling. 

The man touching the elephant’s leg is certain he’s touching a tree trunk. The one touching the tusk is certain he’s touching a spear. The man touching the tail is sure he’s grabbing a rope. And so forth.

The men argue over what this object is because each is so sure of his experience.

Of course, all the men are correct in their limited perception, but none are right about the elephant. They could only understand that the thing is an elephant if they each bring humility and incorporate others’ perspectives.

It may be possible to view the Law of Attraction and materialism this way. Each touches an aspect of the thing, but neither can encapsulate it.

What it’s like to view the same event from different lenses

In this way, any time an event happens, you can always explain it with a materialist or Law of Attraction lens.

Let’s say I want a German Shepherd, so I meditate on it every day for weeks. I imagine myself in the reality where I own a beautiful German Shepherd. And then, one day, I noticed on my walk home that someone was selling a litter of German Shepherds. Yippy! My wish came true.

You could interpret this event through the LoA lens and say that clearly because I visualized and imagined my desired reality, I manifested that German Sheaphard to come into my life.

But you could just as easily interpret the event through a materialist lens. And say that my visualizing didn’t do much except put the dog on my mind. This made me much more likely to notice and pay attention to anything dog-related. That I saw a litter of German Shepherds was either dumb luck that I’m attributing a cause to, or I was more likely to notice it because of my efforts.

You choose how you view things.

I’m certainly not here to solve this debate once and for all and tell you how the world works! But consider that there may be some merit to taking on the Law of Attraction perspective, and there might also be merit in remaining skeptical and viewing things more from a materialist perspective.

Acknowledging the Limitations of the Law of Attraction

While the Law of Attraction can be effective, there are several common criticisms of the Law of Attraction.

It’s only one piece of the puzzle.

One critique many have of the Law of Attraction is that it’s one piece but often claims to be the entire puzzle.

Many successful people cite visualization and manifestation as part of their process.

But it seems clear that creating success also requires:

• Persistence and resilience
• Consistency
• An empowering support group and network
• Continuous growth
• Self-confidence
• Effective strategy

While many practices of the Law of Attraction help many people, it’s important not to discount other success factors.

The Law of Attraction often discounts taking action

Many proponents of the Law of Attract, especially in the famous documentary The Secret , put a lot of weight on visualization and thinking the right things. But as a result, they might undervalue the necessity of work and action as it relates to achieving goals.

The Law of Attraction isn’t a magic wand that can manifest desires without effort. While it emphasizes positive thinking and visualization, these must be accompanied by practical actions. 

There aren’t many famous counter-examples

While many of us have seen videos of Jim Cary and Will Smith endorsing manifestation, it’s rare to see montages and compilations of celebrities and average folks talking about how they tried and failed at using the Law of Attraction. 

This lack of balance can create an overly optimistic view of the Law of Attraction’s effectiveness.

Risk of victim blaming

If, for example, someone suffers abuse or happens to live in a war zone, the Law of Attraction would suggest that this person’s negative vibration attracted these events.

This can lead to a situation that blames the person who experiences the hardship and turns a blind eye to the perpetrator’s role.

Overemphasis on positivity

Many critique the Law of Attraction for only focusing on positivity and neglecting other parts of the human experience. 

While maintaining a positive mindset can be beneficial, it’s equally important to acknowledge and process negative emotions. Overemphasis on positivity can lead to toxic positivity and suppression of negative feelings, which can be counterproductive in the long run.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is a belief that positive or negative thoughts can bring about positive or negative experiences in a person’s life. It proposes that your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can shape your reality.

The Law of Attraction suggests that your thoughts emit a certain frequency that can attract similar frequencies from the universe. Essentially, it’s the idea that likes attract likes, so positive reviews should attract positive experiences and vice versa.

The Law of Attraction can change your life by shifting your mindset and helping you focus on positive outcomes. However, it’s important to note that it’s not a magic solution and should be combined with active efforts toward your goals.

There are scientific studies supporting certain aspects of the Law of Attraction, like the benefits of positive thinking and visualization, but they only validate some of the concepts. The central claim that thoughts can physically alter reality needs concrete scientific backing.

According to its proponents, anyone can use the Law of Attraction, as it’s a universal principle. However, the effectiveness of the Law of Attraction can vary significantly from person to person, depending on individual belief and application.

There are specific steps to follow when practicing the Law of Attraction, including defining your desires, visualizing them, maintaining a positive mindset, and taking action toward your goals. These steps aim to align your thoughts and actions with your desired outcomes.

The time it takes to see results with the Law of Attraction varies greatly depending on the individual and the nature of the goal. Some might experience changes quickly, while others may need more time to observe significant shifts.

Takeaways About the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction has become quite famous in different personal growth circles, and it offers many benefits. But it’s also worthwhile to bring critical thinking into how you relate to its metaphysical claims.

If you would like to put some of the LoA practices into action to help with your own goals, you could try the following:

• Start a gratitude practice. You state and feel gratitude for different parts of your life, especially the hardships.
• Create a vision board where you combine images and words to symbolize the life you want for yourself a year from now.
• Try positive affirmations where you create present-tense statements that embody how you want to feel and what you want your life to be like.
• Chunk your goals by breaking them into smaller steps and working at them one step at a time.

If you want to achieve your goals, you might find the SMART goals helpful framework. You can find an excellent guide about that right here.

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Scientists’ Perspectives on The Law of Attraction Explained

The Law of Attraction has garnered widespread attention in recent years, with many proponents claiming that it can manifest positive outcomes by harnessing the power of thoughts and intentions. While the concept has gained popularity in self-help and personal development circles, scientists have approached it with skepticism. In this blog, we’ll delve into the perspectives of scientists on the Law of Attraction, exploring both its potential and the limitations as seen through a scientific lens.

Understanding the Law of Attraction

To begin, it’s essential to clarify what the Law of Attraction entails. According to this concept, like attracts like, which means that positive or negative thoughts can bring corresponding positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. In essence, proponents believe that focusing on positive thoughts can attract positive outcomes.

Skepticism in the Scientific Community

Many scientists remain skeptical about the Law of Attraction. One reason for skepticism is the lack of empirical evidence supporting its claims. Science relies on systematic, repeatable experiments, and the Law of Attraction often falls short in providing measurable and verifiable results.

The Role of Cognitive Biases

Scientists also point to cognitive biases as a potential explanation for the perceived effectiveness of the Law of Attraction. These biases can lead individuals to notice and remember positive outcomes that align with their beliefs while overlooking or forgetting negative experiences. This selective attention can create the illusion that the Law of Attraction is working.

The Placebo Effect

Another factor scientists consider is the placebo effect. Belief in the Law of Attraction can lead individuals to feel more positive and hopeful, which may, in turn, contribute to their overall well-being. In some cases, these positive feelings can lead to actual improvements in health and life satisfaction. However, this effect is not exclusive to the Law of Attraction and can occur in various contexts.

Quantum Physics and the Law of Attraction

Some proponents of the Law of Attraction invoke concepts from quantum physics to support their claims. They suggest that the observer effect and quantum entanglement could explain how thoughts and intentions can influence reality. However, many scientists argue that these ideas are misinterpreted and taken out of context when applied to the Law of Attraction.

The Importance of Positive Thinking

While skepticism exists, scientists acknowledge the potential benefits of positive thinking and a hopeful mindset. Numerous studies have shown that maintaining a positive outlook can lead to better mental health, increased resilience, and improved overall well-being. This aligns with some aspects of the Law of Attraction’s emphasis on positive thought patterns.

Visualization and Goal Setting

Scientists also recognize the value of visualization and goal setting, which are often integral components of Law of Attraction practices. Setting clear goals and mentally rehearsing desired outcomes can improve motivation and focus, increasing the likelihood of achieving those goals.

The Power of Affirmations

Affirmations, or positive statements used to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts, have shown promise in some psychological studies. While affirmations alone may not magically manifest desired outcomes, they can help individuals cultivate a more optimistic and resilient mindset.

The Importance of Taking Action

Critics of the Law of Attraction argue that it can lead to a passive approach to life. Scientists emphasize that while positive thinking and intention setting are valuable, they must be accompanied by concrete actions. Taking proactive steps toward one’s goals is crucial for achieving real-world results.

The Need for Further Research

In conclusion, the Law of Attraction remains a contentious topic in the scientific community. While some aspects of it, such as positive thinking and goal setting, have been studied and validated, the broader claims of manifesting specific outcomes through thoughts alone lack robust empirical support. To bridge the gap between belief and scientific understanding, further research is needed to explore the mechanisms behind the Law of Attraction and its potential applications in a more nuanced manner.

Scientists’ views on the Law of Attraction are characterized by skepticism tempered with acknowledgment of the importance of positive thinking, goal setting, and affirmations. While empirical evidence supporting the Law of Attraction’s more extraordinary claims remains limited, the concept’s emphasis on optimism and intention setting aligns with aspects of psychology and personal development. As science continues to explore the connection between mindset and outcomes, our understanding of the Law of Attraction may evolve, shedding light on its potential and limitations in shaping our lives.

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Is the Law of Attraction Scientifically Proven?

Is the Law of Attraction Scientifically Proven? Examining the Evidence

The Law of Attraction (LOA) is a popular concept in self-help and spirituality, suggesting that our thoughts and feelings can shape our reality. But is there any scientific basis for this belief? Can the Law of Attraction be scientifically proven? Let’s explore the research and evidence.

[Image of a person meditating or contemplating with a thought bubble]

Understanding the Law of Attraction: The Basics

The Law of Attraction proposes that:

1. Like Attracts Like: The Universal Law

Positive or negative thoughts attract corresponding experiences. Your energy acts like a magnet, bringing experiences into your life that resonate with your dominant vibration.

2. Energy and Vibration: The Building Blocks of Reality

Everything in the universe is made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies, including your thoughts and emotions. The LOA states that you will attract experiences that match your dominant vibration.

3. Intention and Manifestation: The Power of Focus

By focusing on your desires, you can attract them into your life. Setting clear intentions and holding a positive belief in your ability to manifest can shape your reality.

Scientific Perspectives on the Law of Attraction

[Image of a brain with neural pathways]

1. Placebo Effect: The Power of Belief

Some scientific studies suggest that the placebo effect could play a role in the LOA. When people believe their thoughts can create positive outcomes, they may experience real improvements in their lives. While this doesn’t definitively prove the LOA, it highlights the significant impact of belief and expectation on our experiences.

2. Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity: Rewiring Your Brain

Research in neuroscience has shown that our thoughts and emotions can physically alter our brains through neuroplasticity. By focusing on positive thoughts, we can strengthen neural pathways associated with positive emotions and well-being. This supports the idea that our mindset can influence our experiences and that we have the power to rewire our brains for positivity.

You can learn more about neuroplasticity and the Law of Attraction here.

3. Quantum Physics: A Controversial Connection

[Image of atoms or energy waves]

Some proponents of the LOA draw parallels to quantum physics, suggesting that consciousness and observation can influence reality. However, this connection is often criticized as a misinterpretation of complex scientific theories. The scientific community is still exploring the potential implications of quantum physics for human consciousness and manifestation.

Limitations of Scientific Research on the Law of Attraction

While some research supports aspects of the Law of Attraction, there are limitations to consider:

Subjectivity:

Lack of controlled experiments:, different interpretations:.

[Image of a person pondering questions about the law of attraction]

The Importance of Personal Experience

While scientific proof of the Law of Attraction may be limited, the power of personal experience cannot be denied. Countless individuals have reported positive changes in their lives after intentionally applying LOA principles. Explore our inspiring success stories .

Conclusion: The Law of Attraction for Personal Growth

Whether the Law of Attraction is scientifically proven is still a matter of debate. While some scientific principles align with its core concepts, conclusive evidence remains elusive. However, many people find the LOA to be a valuable tool for personal growth, self-empowerment, and creating a more positive outlook on life.

If you’re curious about the Law of Attraction, consider exploring its principles and experimenting with its techniques. Even if it’s not fully backed by science, the potential for personal transformation and a more joyful life is undeniable.

**Ready to experience the power of the Law of Attraction for yourself?** Enroll in The Ultimate Manifestation Handbook course and learn proven techniques for manifesting your desires and creating a life you love.

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Is the Law of Attraction “woo-woo”? Science suggests otherwise

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Ever since Rhonda Byrne wrote The Secret in 2006 , the Law of Attraction has become one of the most controversial topics in modern society.

But now, there have been several studies done on the effectiveness of the Law of Attraction.

In fact, one interesting study about prayer and pregnancy showed the ability we, as humans, have to influence matters and fulfill our desires, particularly through prayer, which is known to be a powerful tool for manifestation. The results showed that women who had been prayed for showed almost twice the rate of pregnancy as those who hadn’t been prayed for.

So, we’ve put together a beginner’s Law of Attraction guide for you to answer your curiosities about it and, most importantly, how you can apply it to your life to reach your goals.

What is the Law of Attraction?

The Law of Attraction is merely a simple and unchanging universal principle. It is the belief that when we understand how to use it in our lives and apply it through practice, we are able to attract into our lives the things we intentionally focus on.

Simply put, your positive thoughts bring positive experiences into your life, while your negative thoughts bring negative experiences.

Is the Law of Attraction real?

The Law of Attraction isn’t some perplexing hocus-pocus, like Mary Poppins’ magical carry-all carpet bag. It’s continuously at work, with or without your intention. And when you are aware of the Law of Attraction and understand how to use it in your life, it attracts the things you desire to your life. So, yes, it is very real .

There are many everyday examples of the Law of Attraction at work:

• When you’re looking to buy a new car (or just bought one), then you start seeing that car everywhere.
• Thinking about someone, and they show up at your doorstep.
• Or even craving sushi and your partner suggests it for dinner.

And now, explore how to hold that good-feeling belief so that the Law of Attraction will work for you.

How does the Law of Attraction work?

To better understand how to make the Law of Attraction work , you should always take a look at your relationship with the universe . Examine how you feel about the way it interacts with you, and then ask yourself:

• Do you believe things happen to you?
• Or do you believe you can influence your surroundings so things happen for you?

In psychology, this perspective is called an external and internal locus of control.

In addition, we live in a world with 12 intrinsic, unchanging universal laws, with the Law of Attraction being one of them. The law affirms that things within our universe—thoughts, feelings, people, and objects—tend to migrate toward other things that are the same.

It’s a simple universal principle: like attracts like.

One way to look at it is with the law of gravity. Toss a penny from your roof, and it falls to the ground. Jump off your couch, and you’ll land on the floor.

Believing it’s true or untrue doesn’t change anything because it’s a universal principle.

The Law of Attraction works the same way.

Things to keep in mind

Before getting down on how to apply the Law of Attraction to your life, it’s important to keep a few things in mi nd.

12 laws of the Universe

The 12 intrinsic, unchanging laws of our universe work in synergy as guiding principles. No single law can defy another.

Here’s an example: the Law of Resonance works hand in hand with the Law of Attraction. It states that when the vibration of a thing is projected, it will attract energies of the same resonance.

However, if the energy vibrations aren’t at the same frequency, then one will prevail over the other.

Meaning, if you’re working on manifesting abundance but, on a subconscious level, you’re wired around scarcity and fears, then you will keep attracting scarcity and fears.

So, because the laws of the universe work as a collective for the betterment of your life, don’t expect to be able to manifest floating away on a magical parrot-headed umbrella whenever there’s a shift in the wind. (Check out lucid dreaming if you want to do that.) None of us are Mary Poppins, after all, no matter how many spoonfuls of sugar we take.

Everything in this universe has free will. In other words, your desires and manifestations must follow this principle. You can master the Law of Attraction and attract whatever you wish for, but if it violates somebody’s free will, it will not serve you well.

Your intentions vs other people’s intentions

You’re also competing with other people’s intentions, both good and bad. So, be aware that if your desire is in direct conflict with someone else’s stronger desire, the universe will respond accordingly.

The Law of Attraction does not give you full and total control of your life; it simply states that like will attract like. And you can use this to your advantage by being intentional with your desires, but this isn’t magic.

The reality is, your thoughts and feelings have an effect on the events that take place around you. When you practice the Law of Attract, shift your perspective, and understand the truth about your relationship to the universe, only then can you begin to attract better things into your life.

How to use the Law of Attraction

The formula for how to use the Law of Attraction is simple:

• Decide what you really want.
• Raise your frequency to match your desire.
• Open up to the possibilities and believe in them fully.
• Pretend you already have what you want, and enjoy the feeling!
• Persistence is key.

Now keep in mind that the Law of Attraction and manifestation work hand in hand. The Law of Attraction is the universal principle of ‘like attracting like,’ while manifestation is when you consciously use your thoughts and energy to attract your sincerest desires .

So, start thinking about what you want to manifest into your life—such as money, love, relationships, health, and spirituality—to make the power of the Law of Attraction work for you.

Now, let’s take a closer look at how the Law of Attraction steps can be used to your advantage.

Step 1: Make your decision

You need a 20/20 vision of your desire. Whether you wish to attract something minor or you’re looking for a huge overhaul of your life, be clear about what you truly want.

Imagine what this new thing looks like, smells like, sounds like, feels like, and tastes like (if it’s relevant).

• How do you feel once this new thing is in your life?
• Where do you feel it in your body?
• Does it make your toes tingle or make your heart flutter?
• Does your pulse race or do you feel a wave of calm?

Make it real in your mind. Don’t just focus on receiving this new thing, but think about your life after you receive it too. Imagine how it will change your world.

Taking part in this imagination exercise, you align yourself with your desires. Open up to the possibilities and prepare your body to receive whatever it is you are attempting to attract. It may seem simple, but this first step is what paves the way to working with the energies of the Law of Attraction.

Step 2: Practice unconditional love

Being aware of your thoughts and feelings is incredibly important. When you love yourself, you open up the possibility to receive your greatest desires, and you begin to only desire the things that are best for you.

But if you feel as though you don’t deserve what you’re seeking, those deep, subconscious fears and doubts send messages that compete with your desire. The only effective method for combating fears and doubts is to become aware of them, acknowledge them, and approach them with love and compassion.

Step 3: Open up to the possibilities

First, think about the bad things in your life right now. Can you see connections to your fears, doubts, and old patterns that led those things into your life?

Focus on understanding your part in this overall process rather than feeling guilty or ashamed. Recognizing how your fears have manifested in your life doesn’t mean that the bad things in your life are your fault. It simply means that the Law of Attraction has responded to the signal you sent out.

Next, think of all the great things in your life. Reflect on how your hopes, dreams, and ambition attracted those good things to you. Reinforce in your mind how, when you believe something can happen, it does.

Again, rather than experiencing pride or feeling boastful, this is about understanding and seeing how the Law of Attraction is already a part of your life. It’s always existed, but now you are aware of it.

Once you see that the Law of Attraction works without you knowing, it will reinforce your understanding that this is simply a universal law. Work with your awareness of the law and understand how it works. Then you can work with the law and align yourself with it.

Step 4: Experience the reality of your desires

Now, it’s time to live the reality of your desires.

This is a bit of an acting exercise, so let go of your inhibitions to make this exercise really effective. Rather than just visualizing the reality in your mind, live it as much as possible.

If you’re using the system to find, let’s say, great parking, get in your car and drive to that parking spot with the full intention and expectation of finding it clear for you. Announce it out loud. “ That parking spot is clear for me. I am parking in a spot that is open for me .”

If you’re trying to lose weight, go out and buy an outfit that fits the size you’re aiming for. If you want a new car, go to a dealership and shop around. Or, if you’re aiming for something as big as complete financial freedom, start planning what you’re going to do with all that free time and money.

The important step is to take action and act as if you already have what you’re looking for. Jump into this step with joy and enthusiasm. When you take action as if you’ve already gotten what you desire, you are sending a huge, loud, and clear message to the universe that you’re serious. Actions speak louder than words, right?

Step 5: Be patient, yet persistent

There’s no formula for how long things take to manifest in your life. Some people begin to see things happen immediately, while others take a little more time. But the key here is patience and persistence.

Continue to express gratitude and appreciation every day. Think positively and recall all the connections you made that prove the Law of Attraction is real for you. Take time every day to review the visualization exercises and prep your mind and body to receive this incredible gift.

How to apply the Law of Attraction

While manifesting, you may come across challenges. Here are some exercises you can do while you’re working with the Law of Attraction.

• Make a vision board
• Do a visualization meditation
• Write a gratitude list
• Practice mindfulness
• Practice kindness
• Be focused and intentional
• Repeat empowering affirmations
• Express yourself through movement

Practice any or all of the Law of Attraction exercises you want to, but we suggest trying each exercise at least once. There are no hard-and-fast rules, so feel free to tweak these exercises and make them your own.

In addition, try these 12 hacks to manifest more abundance in your life.

How can the Law of Attraction improve your life?

Now that we’ve covered what the Law of Attraction is and how it works, let’s get into the ways you can use it to improve your life.

1.  Attract money

Financial abundance is the number one reason people become interested in the Law of Attraction. It’s no wonder. Working tirelessly for small paychecks is exhausting, and when life starts throwing unexpected expenses your way, debt can seem inevitable.

The good news is that the Law of Attraction money is easy to come by. Once you learn the techniques, you’ll start to see changes really quickly. Many people report unexpected checks and seemingly random job opportunities. Even literally finding money is some of the first results when working with the Law of Attraction.

2. Manifest love and relationships

The second most popular reason people seek information about the Law of Attraction is to find true love. Finding a lifetime partner to fulfill an ideal, loving relationship can seem like an elusive and frustrating game that you can’t win.

Luckily, the Law of Attraction is a great tool for finding love. Because the Law of Attraction means working on yourself and your desires, it inherently makes you a more attractive person with a clear vision of what you want and needs in your life.

3. Improve your health

Most people don’t consider using the Law of Attraction to bring better health into their lives. However, as you noticed in the results of the aging experiment, it’s actually a great tool for that purpose. Because the Law of Attraction works with thoughts, and thoughts affect our physical reality, you may be attracting poor health into your life right now without even realizing it.

Learning about the Law of Attraction helps you see that your thoughts are having a direct effect on your entire world. That includes the vessel you’re traveling in. A good attitude goes a long way to improving your health. The Law of Attraction can help you take that even further.

4. Spiritual awakening

By its very nature, the Law of Attraction connects you with higher, spiritual planes of existence. When you start practicing the techniques, you begin to see beyond the mundane, ordinary world. A new, brighter world opens up to you that is brimming with possibility.

Many people find a spiritual awakening in those possibilities. Connecting with the rhythms of the universe and opening up to new potentials awakens the spiritual force inside you that is connected to everything around you. The Law of Attraction demonstrates that you are connected to everything, and everything is connected to you.

5. Have more fun

The results of using the Law of Attraction techniques are only limited by your imagination. By the laws of physics, you’re not going to manifest bird-like flying anytime soon.

There are endless things you can attract in your life. From practical things, like ‘good parking karma’ that can guarantee you a great parking spot, to ‘calls to adventure’ that open you up to random invitations to explore the world, you can use the principles behind the Law of Attraction in any way you please.

Law of Attraction books to inspire you

If you’re not ready to dive in headfirst and just want to dip your toes in, books are a great way to start. Here are a few recommended ones:

• The Secret by Rhona Byrne
• The Universe Has Your Back by Gabby Bernstein
• Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer
• Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams by Mike Dooley
• Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life by Roxie Nafousi

Regardless of what you’re looking to attract, using the Law of Attraction can get confusing for some people. But with a sprinkle of inspiration from these books, you may just find that using the Law of Attraction can be a powerful tool.

It’s like what Paulo Coehlo wrote in The Alchemist : “ When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it. “

Manifest and live your soul’s purpose

Don’t let anyone fool you; the Law of Attraction is more than just visualizing and waiting around for it to happen. As with all great things in life, you have to make the effort.

And no one else can make that effort for you. As Dr. Beckwith explains, “ No one else can do it but you. Because no one else is you but you. And so you— you must do you .”

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Irina Yugay

Michael Beckwith is the trainer of Mindvalley’s Life Visioning Mastery Quest. He is a sought-after meditation teacher, conference speaker, award-winning author, and internationally renowned spiritual teacher. He is the founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center, a trans-denominational spiritual community with a congregation of over 9,000 members. He has appeared on Dr. Oz, The Oprah Show, Larry King Live, and in his own PBS special, The Answer Is You , spreading his message to millions of people. He also participated alongside the Dalai Lama and other new thought ministers in The Synthesis Dialogues . Michael is the creator of the Life Visioning Process, which he teaches all over the globe through his books and seminars. At its core, the process is a way to fully embrace your connection to the divine and let the Universe serve through you.

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Growth Mindset

What is manifestation science-based ways to manifest, here's what the research says about manifestation..

Updated December 3, 2023 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

What is manifestation?

The word " manifestation " means to turn an idea into a reality. Usually, we want to manifest things that improve our happiness and well-being (take this well-being quiz to check your current level of well-being). People generally talk about manifestation as the process of using thoughts, feelings, and beliefs to bring something into reality, but given the science behind manifestation, it seems important to also include actions as a key part of the manifestation process.

What does manifestation really mean?

Manifestation has become popular thanks to books like The Secret and The Law of Attraction . Unfortunately, most psychological scientists will tell you that these books are based on pseudoscience—they claim to be scientific and factual, but they're not actually based on scientific evidence.

So as a psychological scientist I can't, in good conscience , recommend these books. However, I feel like many psychologists throw out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to the idea of "manifestation." They'll often say it's junk science. But I say: Of course we can manifest positive things in our lives—if we couldn't then what would be the point of therapy , wellness interventions, or any of the tools we use to help people?

So what does the science actually say about manifestation ? How can we take a goal or idea we have in our heads and make it real?

What is the science behind manifestation?

There actually is science behind the idea of manifestation—that is, turning an idea into a real thing. Here are some areas of research and how they lend support to manifestation:

A growth mindset can help you manifest your dreams and reach your goals

Research by Dr. Carol Dweck clearly shows that believing you can do something makes it more likely that you'll successfully do it. That means that our beliefs about our ability to learn, grow, and succeed—our growth mindset —can indeed affect whether we effectively manifest what we desire.

Importantly, this research suggests that if we truly believe we can achieve something, we are willing to do the hard work to achieve it. This is in contrast to law-of-attraction style manifestation which suggests that belief alone is enough to bring about manifestation. Ultimately, the science suggests that our beliefs bring about behaviors (and responses from others) that lead to the outcomes we desire.

Self-fulfilling prophecies may explain manifestation

Research shows that our expectations, positive or negative, tend to be confirmed. This is what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy. So if we expect to bring our idea to life or reach our goal, we're more likely to.

For example, if you don't think you can succeed in some goal, let's say getting your dream job, you'll set in motion events that will actually make it more likely that you won't get your dream job. Maybe you'll be cold or grumpy during a job interview. Maybe you'll engage in negative self-talk with someone who could help you. Or maybe you'll just feel angry and not spend the necessary time required to reach your goal. Your beliefs set in motion circumstances that affect your ability to manifest an outcome.

Negativity bias may explain perceptions about manifestation

Research shows that if we're already feeling bad, we're more likely to interpret neutral circumstances in a negative way. It may be that someone with a more positive attitude just pays more attention to the ways in which they have successfully manifested parts of their dreams. Another person with a more negative outlook may experience the exact same things and only see where they failed to manifest what they desired. That's how bias may affect manifestation .

Upward spirals of positive emotion may explain manifestation success

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson's research has also shown that positive emotions enable us to think more creatively. Similarly, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky has shown that happiness leads to success and not the other way around. People who are generally happy and positive attract more opportunities, have better relationships, and seem to be able to manifest what they set their minds to more easily.

It makes sense when you think about it, right? We prefer to be around positive, optimistic people. And being around people with a negative attitude? It's off-putting and doesn't lead us to want to help these people.

How do we use science to manifest what we want?

1. Get clear on what you want to manifest

What do you actually want? Spend some time focusing to get clarity on your manifestation goal. Mindful meditation can be a useful tool for this—it quiets the mind and helps increase self-awareness . Or, you could talk to a friend. Sometimes just talking can help you gain the clarity you need to manifest something.

2. Manifest what matters to you

When deciding what to manifest, ask yourself a few reflection questions:

• Will this make me happy and fulfilled?
• Does it feel right for me? (Or is there something or someone influencing me?)
• Will this do any harm to myself or others?

By asking yourself these questions you can choose the right things to manifest—things that you will be more likely to believe in, things that you have positive expectations about, and things that make you feel more positive. As a result, you'll be more likely to manifest them.

3. Visualize your manifestation to generate positive emotions

Visualizing what you desire can help you feel positive emotions related to it more strongly. And those emotions can help you believe in yourself more. Just close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and imagine a scene from your future life as you desire it. Here's a future visualization exercise if you need more help.

Created with content from The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

Tchiki Davis, Ph.D. , is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology.

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I love doing Law of Attraction experiments

I love testing out the premise that my thoughts do, indeed, create my reality.

I’m a believer, for sure. It really didn’t take any convincing when about a year ago I became obsessed with Law of Attraction.

At the same time, I also like proving it. I like being the scientist and studying my own life. What works and what doesn’t.

I think we should all do that! I think YOU should do that—be the subject and the scientist—and study Law of Attraction in your own life. So you can see what works and experience the manifestations you want in your own life.

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Law of Attraction is working in your life whether you know about it or not, whether you believe it or not. But experiments help you really understand this powerful law of the universe so you can more deliberately, more intentionally, more excitedly leverage it in your life.

Let the experiments begin

So, where do you start when you want to experiment with Law of Attraction? Well, you can certainly make up your own experiments.

I do this all the time. I’ve experimented with appreciation practices, with different ways to get in alignment, with pre-paving.

One experiment I did was to start pre-paving before going to bed each night. Lo and behold my sleep dramatically improved. My conclusion: Pre-paving works!

But if you don’t want to come up with your own, there are some great books with LoA experiments you can try. Top of mind are the ones by Pam Grout. She’s made experimenting with Law of Attraction kind of her thing.

Pam is well-known for a book called E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

The Volkswagen Jetta Principle

I want to share one of the very first LoA experiments I ever tried—that has since taken on a life of its own. It was inspired by an experiment in E-Squared called The Volkswagen Jetta Principle.

This experiment sets out to prove that what shows up in your life is a direct reflection of your inner thoughts and emotions.

It’s a 48-hour experiment, so very doable. Costs no money. Takes hardly any time.

And it’s fun!

Here’s the question posed by this particular experiment: Do you really see only what you expect to see?

And the hypothesis is: If you decide to look for a certain color car or yellow butterflies or purple feathers, you will find them.

In other words, if you intend to see something, you will see it.

Why? Because as Pam says:

“You impact the field and draw from it according to your beliefs and expectations.”

Essentially the experiment is this: For 48 hours, you’re going to look for certain things.

So for the first 24 hours, you’re going to make this conscious intention: “I hereby intend, for the next day of my life, to look for ____ [and then you fill in the blank].” Say yellow butterflies or purple feathers.

And then nothing special is required. You’re just going to make the intention and then keep your eyes open. You’re simply going to notice if your conscious awareness makes a difference in the number of yellow butterflies or purple feathers you see.

Then on day two, so during the second 24-hour period, you’re going to make another intention—it could be to see red cardinals or a series of numbers, like 123.

It doesn’t matter what you select. Just that you set the intention to see something specific and then start observing and watch it show up.

This experiment is meant to prove three things:

• What you see in life is what you’re looking for—in other words, what you expect or intend to see
• It’s possible to find anything you look for
• By changing what you look for, you will change what shows up in your world

That last one is the game changer! By changing what you look for, you will change what shows up in your world.

What was a rare sight…

I picked yellow vehicles. I’m not even sure why, it was just the inspired thought that popped into my mind.

So when I first started this experiment, that’s what I was looking to see—yellow vehicles.

Now, before my obsession with Law of Attraction and this experiment, I would’ve said these yellow vehicles were a rare sight. I could go a long time without seeing a yellow car or yellow truck.

But now I see them all the time! I mean—ALL the time.

I’m always on the lookout for yellow cars and trucks, yellow SUVs and buses. And whenever I see one, I think of it as a sign from the Universe.

In fact, I think of it as a wink, high-five, and hug from the Universe. How great is that!?

I really delight in this sign from the Universe that I’m seeing what I intend to see.

On a recent drive to visit my Mom, I saw over 50 yellow vehicles! 50! It’s a 5-hour drive, so that’s 10 an hour. That’s crazy. I was getting hugs from the Universe right and left.

Now, if you’ve read my blog post  Why you don’t want to be on the freeway with me , you know these long drives on the interstate have been a real problem for me.

Well, this latest drive, and seeing so many yellow vehicles, was the most pleasant road trip I’ve had in years. I didn’t feel that old fear. It was as if each yellow vehicle was a reassuring sign: All is well.

Maybe even more amazing is how many yellow vehicles I see on just a typical day from my apartment window. I work from home with a view overlooking downtown Ann Arbor.

Not a day goes by that I don’t see a dozen yellow vehicles at random times from my window. In fact, sometimes it feels like whenever I take a moment to look up, there’s one driving by, one backing up, one turning the corner.

The Universe is friendly!

And each time I see a yellow vehicle, it’s the best kind of affirmation.

It reminds me of my connection to the Universe, and I feel a surge of love and appreciation. It’s a fun, happy occurrence that makes me smile and reminds me to lighten up and laugh more.

Looking for signs is a fun way to connect with the Universe. Just imagine—each time I see a little yellow Fiat the Universe is giving me a hug, high-five and a wink.

My focus on yellow cars is connecting with the Universe and reminding myself that I get to choose what I see, what I notice, what I put my attention on.

Intending to see yellow vehicles—and now seeing them ALL the time, with such frequency—is a loving and fun reminder that I get to choose which thoughts I’ll feed versus those I’ll starve. And that I create my reality when I do this.

“Whatever I give attention to—wanted or unwanted—I am creating.” —Abraham

Now it’s your turn

I encourage you to do your version of the Volkswagen Jetta experiment. Take two days and set an intention for each 24-hour period. You have nothing to lose!

On the first day, set an intention to see something of your choosing—yellow butterflies, red books, unicorns—whatever.

Then notice, observe. Watch what you chose as your focus show up in your reality.

On the second day, simply set a new intention, perhaps to see white kittens or blue feathers, to get something free or receive an unexpected gift.

And again, notice, observe. Look for what you intend to see. And then watch it show up in your experience.

This is such a simple, powerful experiment. Because when you realize you can do it with yellow butterflies and blue feathers, you start to grasp what you’re truly capable of.

You have proof that you do, indeed, create your reality.

And then, of course, take that knowledge and put it to use in all the areas of your life where you want to expand, to create.

Happy experimenting!

hello there!

I’m Jennifer Bailey, a Life Coach in Ann Arbor, MI. I’m really into Law of Attraction—as in obsessed. It’s how I live my life. It’s how I coach my clients. I'd love to help you use the Law of Attraction to manifest with ease.

Love Your Life + Law of Attraction

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7 Day Step-By-Step Manifestation Success Planner

• By Katherine Hurst
• Updated September 6th, 2023

Manifesting in short, seven-day periods is a great way to hone your use of the Law of Attraction, because it really helps you to focus and intensifies the energy around your intentions. Here’s a particularly useful step-by-step guide you can use over the week, with specific tasks to focus on each day.

You can use this 7-day success planner for any manifestation journey. Feel free to print out the PDF below and/or take notes from the full guide. So, keep reading to discover how to manifest whatever you want in 7-days with this success planner.

Click here to download this 7 Day Manifestation Plan as a PDF.

It's completely free and you can print it out to use later!

7-Day Manifestation Success Planner – Guide

Day 1: choosing what to manifest.

When you choose what you manifest, the trick is to choose something small , but something that you nonetheless really want; a thing that lights you up inside and is compatible with your plan for life. After all, you need to be able to feel fully passionate about it for the week ahead.

For example, you might want to be asked out on a date, receive a lovely gift from your partner, be invited to a social gathering, strike up a new friendship, or get $20 to buy that new dress you’ve been eyeing.

Whatever you choose, be kind to yourself all week; indulge in self-care activities every day, eat healthy food, and enjoy the feeling of embodying the essence of your intention.

Think carefully about what you want to manifest, and write it down. You might want to experiment with different ways of phrasing your intention until one strikes you as fully accurate. Then, share your manifestation goal in the comments below .

Extra Exercise:

Before you start trying to manifest your dreams, it will be useful to read up on the common mistakes people make when using The Law Of Attraction; so that you don't make the same ones. Start with understanding and avoiding this #1 manifestation mistake .

Day 2: Affirmations

Come up with a set of positive affirmations that are linked to this week’s goals. For example, if you’re looking for a date, you might try “I’m going to meet someone to date this week” or “I feel excitement and positivity about my upcoming date”.

You can find some great affirmation examples in these two articles: “ 5 Powerful Affirmations for Happiness ” and “ 6 Affirmations For Overcoming Dating Insecurities “. But if you're still unsure, we have a very helpful guide about how to create affirmations .

In addition to coming up with affirmations, tell other people about your goal… but choose them carefully. You’ll want to discuss your intentions with those who have a generous, encouraging mindset. They will help you focus your energy and enhance your belief in your ability to manifest what you want.

Day 3: Visualize

Practice creative visualization on the third day, as many times as you can. Build up a clear, vivid picture of what it will be like to manifest your goal, and imagine all the associated sights, sounds, smells, and feelings.

This visualization day of the experiment also involves creating a vision board . You have the freedom to approach its creation in whatever way feels right, but you can add pictures, drawings, words and any other visual representations of your goal.

As you create the board , focus on how good it feels to know you can succeed.

Day 4: Act “As If”

Keep believing that the thing you want is coming and try to act as if you already have it. This is called acting “as if” (or sometimes “living in the knowing”). So, if you want to make new friends, allow yourself to feel like you already have a fun confidant and are in the early stages of building a meaningful connection.

Meanwhile, if you’re waiting to receive a gift from a partner, feel the appreciation and gratitude, and know that you are loved. Notice how living “as if” helps to build your confidence and can make your day feel so much brighter.

Day 5: Make A Gratitude List

Think of things that are similar to what you want to manifest, but that you already have. As you do so, focus on the feelings of gratitude evoked by having those things in your life.

Whether it’s a list of good dates you enjoyed (whether they led to relationships or not) or a list of gorgeous outfits you were able to buy, this activity focuses your attention on the manifestation potential that you already know you have (which automatically gives your current manifestation potential a nice boost!).

Put the Law Of Attraction exercise that you need practice on a specific day on a post-it and stick the post-it somewhere you will see it all the time (for example, if you're spending most of your time at the office, then put it on your computer screen or keyboard).

This will help remind you to move forward with your manifestation to-do list and focus on what is important. This is very important. So many people struggle to attract what they want because they give up too soon or are inconsistent with their manifestation process.

Day 6: Find Opportunities And Inspiration

When you want to manifest something, you’ll stand the greatest chance of success if you take an open-minded approach to your search for opportunities and inspiration. Don’t be so constrained by your idea of who you would normally date, for example, that you don’t even notice that nice guy or girl at work who keeps trying to catch your eye.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for $20 to get a beautiful dress, keep a lookout for adverts that might invite you to earn a little extra for your skills. Opportunities are all around us, but we must be willing to look, even in unlikely places!

Day 7: Share Your Results

On the final day of your manifestation experiment, post your results in the comments below and let other people know what the experience was like for you.

You might find that other commenters have some smart tips for the next time you want to try a 7-day manifestation experiment, and you’ll also be able to let others know what works for you. Be creative, and enjoy!

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6 Fun Tools and Experiments to See the Law of Attraction in Action!

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The Law of Attraction (LOA) is quite simple; like energy attracts like energy. Since this is a universal law, it affects all matter in the universe, including all people.  This energy is basically everything, yes every single thing.  All living things have an energy vibration and even inanimate objects absorb energy; ever walk into someone's home and felt an inexplicable and tense coldness?  Or a sincere welcoming warmth? That's the energy of the space.

Other factors that contribute to our personal energy vibration are our thoughts, words, beliefs (conscious and subconscious), behavior, habits, what we expose ourselves to (people, entertainment, work, etc..) and whatever we put in on or around our bodies (food, personal care items, household cleaners, the environment, etc…).  All of these things also have a vibration that can either enhance our own high vibration or it can drag it down to a lower vibration.

Learning about and understanding the Law of Attraction is exciting, but it can also be daunting.  It seems like a simple concept, like energy attracts like energy, but when you start to fully understand that EVERYTHING is energy, you can get a bit overwhelmed trying to focus and create the vibration that matches what you want to manifest in your life.  It can get so complicated, that many people just give up or never gain the understanding needed to step into their own power.  But it doesn't have to be this way at all.

The Law of Attraction can be fun.  You learn more about it by seeing it in action, which improves your self-confidence tremendously.  There are simple tools that will teach you more about the LOA than any book ever could.  If you happen to be a parent, you can share these experiments with your kids, make it a family project, and teach them from a young age that they create their lives!  I have seen the way my own children have embraced these ideas and have used LOA techniques to help achieve their own goals; from my son getting a lead role in the school musical to my daughter getting an offer to play soccer in college and more.

This information will not only empower you to take responsibility for the energy you bring to every situation, it will also deepen your own awareness of it.  Learning about the LOA in this manner, seeing it in action from your conscious choices, creates the possibility for a happier and more fulfilling future; filled with endless possibilities to create amazing opportunities and countless ways to change and cope when circumstances are unpleasant.

Here are 6 tools and experiments to see the Law of Attraction in action:

1. The Purple Car Experiment.

This is a fun way to physically demonstrate that our thoughts do indeed become things.  Think of using the LOA like creating a painting.  You start with a blank canvas and, instead of paint creating your picture, your thoughts, words, beliefs and vibration does.  For this experiment, we will focus on our thoughts and words, which combine to make an intention.  State the intention that you would like to see a purple car ("show me a purple car please"); a rare color for vehicles, making this experiment meaningful.  To add extra energy, you can ask the universe or your angels (or whatever makes you feel comfortable) to help show you a purple car as soon as possible.  Try it for yourself first, it is really amazing when you see that first purple car (which can appear anywhere so,Pay,attention, I had a client see it in a Facebook pic within minutes of asking).  My family loves doing this and it's kind of fun on long trips!  You can try this with other color cars too.

2. Energy Hands.

Since the LOA is about energy, it makes sense to understand there is energy within us and all around us.  This technique will allow you to actually feel energy; coming from your own vibration.  Rub your hands together several times, keeping them straight with fingers lined up (no space in between).  After 4-5 times of up and down rubbing, say "energy flow" and pull your hands 1-2 inches apart, palms facing each other.  You will fell any of the following; tingling, pulsing, heat, warmth, or all of the above.  This is energy; you are energy.

3. The Gift.

The LOA responds to energy.  Intentions and words have energy; once you know what you want and you state it, the universe conspires on your behalf through the LOA.  This experiment is going to involve a timeframe to demonstrate that when you have an immediate need, the LOA works just as well as it does with longer term goals; you are always manifesting!  Ask the universe for a gift within the next 24 hours.  That's it.  Pay attention, because your gift might be subtle.  I did this experiment for the first time when I was on a very crowded and very delayed flight.  Right after I stated the intention, I ordered a glass of wine from the flight attendant and when I went to hand her my card to pay, she said "don't worry, it's a gift".  I was amazed!  My gift came within almost an instance.  Now, whenever I am in a funk, I ask the universe for a gift to lift my spirits and I've received lots of fun surprises!

4. A Vision Board.

When you make your goals visible, you begin to attract energy in your favor to create them.  Once you decide what you want to create, and put intention behind it, the universe will conspire on your behalf; your vibration must also be a match to the opportunities and a vision board helps that as well.  A vision board is a visual representation of what you want to create in your life.  It can be on a poster board, large piece of paper, a bulletin board, a wall, Pinterest, or whatever medium you chose to express what's in your heart.  Use images and words to create your story and than keep place it somewhere you will connect with it frequently (my primary one is next to my bathroom mirror, but I also have many vision boards on Pinterest).  To take it further, your entire bedroom (or home) can be a vision board.  Choose pictures, artwork, posters and decorative items that represent what you love, what you want to create (I have many beach items in my home because I want a beach house) and what makes you feel good.  For example, my son is an actor and he has a bulletin board with programs from every play or musical he's ever done, along with posters of Broadway musicals that inspire him.  Get focused on the vision, get creative, have fun and the results will come.

5. An Intentions Box.

Words are magical (that's why it's called spell-ing).  Writing about our intentions puts a ton of focus and positive energy behind them; plus, it is a great compliment to a Vision board.  Start with a box that is visually meaningful; you can repurpose one, buy one or make one (a great project for families).  Next, neatly write your intentions on individual slips of post-it sized paper.  These intentions can be anything; self-improvement goals, material items, business/career goals, projects and so on.  Be sure to use only positive words (avoid negative ones like not or no, etc) and at the end of each intention, write something similar to the following phrase, "this or something better, God or Universe".  This statement leaves the door open for unlimited and unexpected opportunities to come your way.  I like to update this box every few months during the new moon, which has the energy of creativity and manifesting.  It's fun to see what you have been able to create and think of new ideas to add (same goes for a Vision Board).

6. A Gratitude Jar.

Gratitude is very high vibrating energy; it is aligned with love, joy and peace.  When we are grateful for what we currently have, who we currently are and our current reality; we raise our vibration and become a match for creation on every level.  A gratitude jar is a spiritual practice, it is a way to consciously express thankfulness every day.  Start with a large jar and label it "gratitude" or something similar; you can also decorate the jar.  Each day, on a small piece of paper, write something you are thankful for from that particular day or moment. This is a great for an individual or a family to do together.  When the jar is full, review all you have been thankful for and start again (you can do this part monthly).  This practice will change your life, aligning you with positive energy and changing your perspective to one of sincere and unending appreciation; it's honestly one of the most important things we can do and it ignites the LOA.

These six tools and experiments are not only fun, they create a more meaningful life.  The manifesting tools of a vision board, intentions box and gratitude jar combine to create a great spiritual practice for maintaining a higher vibration.  Learning about the LOA doesn't have to be complicated or boring.  There is a great book by Pam Grout called "E2 (squared), Nine Do-it-yourself Energy Experiments", which offers more ways to see the LOA and energy in action for yourself.  This book is a great and easy place to start learning about the LOA or explore a new perspective of it (you can even share the information with your kids).Happy manifesting!

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Gina Sendef

Gina Sendef is an Author, Angel Intuitive and Reiki Master. She helps people around the globe with guidance, healing & inspiration through her one on one Angel Readings, Angel Reiki healing/teaching and her articles and book, "Truth Works, Divine Life Lessons for Kids of All Ages". Visit www.ginasendef.com for information about her work or facebook for daily guidance.

The Law Of Attraction And The Double Slit Experiment

The following video shows the results of a famous physics experiment called the double slit experiment. The video graphically shows the connection between mind power and quantum physics. It confirms what experts in the field of the Law of Attraction have been telling us for years.

The double-slit experiment , is sometimes called Young’s experiment, and is a demonstration of the strange fact that matter and energy can display characteristics of both waves and particles (photons). You can see particles (photons), but not waves. In the basic version of the experiment, a coherent light source from as a laser illuminates a thin metal plate having two parallel slits. The laser light passing through the slits is observed on a screen placed behind the plate. The wave nature of coherent light (comprised of a single frequency) causes the waves passing through the two slits to interfere, producing bright and dark bands on the screen. This result should not happen if light consisted strictly of particles. However, at the screen, the light is always shown as though it were composed of discrete particles or photons; this is known as the principle of wave–particle duality.

Quantum Physics

The premise of Quantum Physics is that matter can behave as particles or waves. The double slit experiment proves that matter can behave as particles or as waves; but matter cannot behave as waves and particles at the same time.

The double-slit experiment confirmed that our observation changes the behaviour of waves into particles. The behavior is dependent on our observation.  The particle appears to know it is being watched (observed) and because of this, it acts accordingly.

This behaviour leads to some exciting conclusions related to the the Law of Attraction.

All matter is governed by Quantum Physics.  Sub atomic particles are the building blocks of all matter. Your physical body, your house, your car, and your money, but only when you draw it from the cash dispenser.

All these particles respond to the way we observe them.  We influence the waves of matter simply by observing them. Your observation of reality is what creates your reality.

Your observation is where you direct your attention.  The double-slit experiment demonstrates that our attention influences the behavior of particles. And since all matter is comprises these sub atomic particles you could assume that the behavior of matter is influenced by your observation.

Your attention creates your physical reality. This means that everything you observe has originated from your thoughts for good or bad.  That is why it is vitally important to understand the consequences of your thinking. Only think about what you want in your life!

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Copyright © 2014 - 2024 Nik Rockstrom

How to Use “the Law of Attraction” to Get Everything You’ve Ever Wanted (and More)

I went on a journey across space and time (seriously, there's a lot of physics involved) to discover which aspects of manifestation are fable and which are fact. Understanding the mechanics of an Ariana Grande-style "I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it" situation starts with teeny-tiny particles, according to Mandy Morris , author of Love: "It’s How I Manifest."

"The law of attraction comes down to an intricate system of consciousness impacting particles. This is not a 'woo woo' factor—it’s physics!"

"The law of attraction comes down to an intricate system of consciousness impacting particles," says Morris. "This is not a 'woo woo' factor—it’s physics! When someone can understand their own personal process of impacting these particles, they are then able to change how the particles react." Grab your lunch boxes, kids, because we're going back to your high school quantum unit.

At the risk of writing up a lab report here, I'll be brief. In the breakthrough double slit experiment , physicists discovered that when we're not looking at particles, they tend to act like a wave, or a vibration of energy. When we do look at them, they move the way particles "should" move. (Think of sand filtering through a small hole.) This suggests that the very act of watching atoms changes how they will behave.

"It takes a mixture of understanding in regards to psychology, science, and sprinkling in the fun of considering there is 'magic' in the Universe."

How, exactly, that happens is still a major question mark to physicists, but it does indicate that the way we mingle with the world around us can change the course of events (make waves act like particles). Because so much of the why is still shrouded in mystery though, Morris says the The law of attraction also relies on other fields of study besides just physics.

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"It takes a mixture of understanding in regards to psychology, science, and sprinkling in the fun of considering there is 'magic' in the Universe," says Morris.

In the realm of psychology, the power of positive thinking also contributes to the law of attraction. Techniques like meditation that are used to cultivate a sunny mindset have been found to foster self-purpose, physical health, and interpersonal relationships .

While those benefits aren't as straightforward as "be positive and thou shall receive," podcast host and author of LORE: Harnessing Your Past to Create Your Future Jeanette Schneider says that the mere act of believing your desires will be fulfilled can be a powerful tool. "It’s really using your intention to call in the better parts of life. It’s moving your wishes into consciousness," she tells me. "It’s almost like it’s foretold. You’ve put it out there and you’ve started to make steps towards it. It’s going to come true."

"It’s really using your intention to call in the better parts of life. It’s moving your wishes into consciousness."

Of course, mastering the art of the law of attraction doesn't give you carte blanche to sit back with a turmeric latte and watch the universe do all the work for you. As Both Moore and Schneider agree that people who have the most success are the ones who work hardest for what they want. After all the law of attraction is just one of the 12 laws of the universe ; another important one is the law of inspired action which involves acting toward what you desire.

"A huge factor that isn’t understood about the law of attraction that makes it seem to abstract is that people give their power away to it, thinking someone out in the Universe is waving a magic wand for them," says Moore. "The power comes from within, from learning about oneself and going through the journey of that development to see that they have been creating their reality—whether they like it or not—all along."

Moore argues the ultimate end game of fully grasping your manifestation abilities isn't to score your dream job, an endless supply of brand-new leggings, or all the avocados. The true reward is self-discovery. "If you use the process of understanding yourself and how you interact with the world around you, it is not just amplifying your ability to create the life you want, but it’s also deeply healing ," Moore says, citing a few examples of how she's seen the LOA change peoples' lives. "It can heal family issues, boost confidence to make more money or find someone’s purpose work. It’s as simple as raising someone’s emotional state on the daily and empowering them, to them completely changing their life when they realize they are capable of doing so, not by looking externally, but within."

Now that you're a scholar of the LOA works, here are some strategies for sliding into the universe's DMs and asking all your wildest hopes and dreams to come to fruition.

Your step-by-step guide to learn how to use the law of attraction.

Make lists. (Like, all the lists.)

Schneider says her own beginnings with the law of attraction date back to childhood, and revolve around lists —writing them, putting items into action, and checking them off. This isn't your typical to-do list though. The author recommends jotting down everything you want in your heart of hearts—small things ("I want to join a running club") and big things ("I want my artwork to appear in a gallery... or the Louvre").

To make enumerating your goals as effective as possible, research suggests that you should break down each big picture goal into bite-sized pieces. (Let's call them mini-goals!) David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity , tells  The Guardian that you should get as microscopic as possible. If you want to make like Cheryl Strayed and hike the Pacific Crest Trail, for example, you'll want to write down all the smaller hikes you plan to take as part of training for a whopping 2,650-mile trek.

Verbalize exactly what you want to achieve to the biggest cheerleaders in your life.

You probably already know that telling your BFF about your plans to train for a marathon automatically raises the stakes of your ambition, right? Well, Schneider tells me that working your objectives into conversation with people you love and trust will (a) kick your brain into gear for making them a reality; and (b) Give your friends the opportunity to help you. Maybe someone from your book club happens to know an avid racer who can offer a few pointers. Heck, maybe that same someone ran college track with Shalane Flanagan and still squeezes in a fun run every once in a while.

No offense to the cashier at Trader Joe's, but he doesn't need to know about your new idea for an app.

However, Schneider warns that the keywords are "people you love and trust." No offense to the cashier at Trader Joe's, but he doesn't need to know about your new idea for an app. Things get a tad mystical, but both experts say you want to make sure you're only sharing your precious ideas for your future with those who are equally stoked to see you accomplish your dreams.

Sit down and visualize exactly what you want.

Many of the world's greatest athletes visualize success right before the jump in the pool, head to the finish line, or take on the beam (e.g., Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh ).

Exercise psychologist Guang Yue of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio studied both people who went to the gym and people who opted for imagining their exercise regimens, reports  Psychology Today . " He found that a 30 percent muscle increase in the group who went to the gym," explains AJ Adams, MAPP. "However, the group of participants who conducted mental exercises of the weight training increased muscle strength by almost half as much (13.5 percent). This average remained for three months following the mental training." No, imagining flexing your brain into a bench press isn't the equivalent of lifting an IRL load, but it's half way there. (I mean, just imagine if you visualized a warm up before getting into your real workout. You'd potentially manifest a stronger you.)

Schedule time to worry just like you'd schedule time to work out or meditate. 

Unfortunately, the law of attraction is a double-edged sword. You can call the good in as easily as you call in the bad. "We are constantly manifesting. People want to learn how to manifest, not realizing they just need to learn how to stop manifesting what they don’t want or how they manifest currently," says Moore. So taking time to free yourself of both small and catastrophic-level worries will help you ensure you're not clogging you channel to the universe with what you don't want.

A key skill in problem-solving your way through your mind's worst-case-scenario narratives is creating time to work through—and let go of—your worries. "Rather than ruminating (which involves dwelling on the problem), you’ll be more likely to look for a solution when you know there’s a clear time limit to how much time you can spend thinking about an issue," psychotherapist Amy Morin tells Inc . Just as you'd plot out time to do things like catch up with friends or practice some TLC with an evening of face-masking, consider carving out time to give space to your woes. That way, they won't sneak up on your while you're asking the powers that be for, say, your dream job .

Get quiet and ask for your deepest desires to come true.

The easiest way to attract what you desire is to simply sit down and ask for it. "I absolutely get very quiet with myself and get clear on the things that I want," says Schneider. However, as with meditation , consistency is key. The master of manifestation says that you should lump the practice together with something routine, like brushing your teeth, hitting up your go-to boutique workout class, or making your bed .

If you practice yoga seven times a week, you're going to nail a handstand sometime in the near future. In theory, the same strategy works with the law of attraction.

One of the hallmarks of any habit is making it an every-damn-day routine. If you practice yoga seven times a week, you're going to nail a handstand sometime in the near future. In theory, the same strategy works with the law of attraction; if the universe sees you observing the double slit each day, it might respond to your attention.

When communicating your wishlist it's important to remember that the experience should be as high-touch or as low-touch as you want it to be. In short, employ the methods that help you out and leave the rest.

Now that you know how to use the law of attraction, the possibilities are endless! Would you like to manifest a solo adventure or a life free of student debt ?

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Laws of attraction: from perceptual forces to conceptual similarity

Affiliation.

• 1 UNC Charlotte, USA. [email protected]
• PMID: 20975138
• DOI: 10.1109/TVCG.2010.174

Many of the pressing questions in information visualization deal with how exactly a user reads a collection of visual marks as information about relationships between entities. Previous research has suggested that people see parts of a visualization as objects, and may metaphorically interpret apparent physical relationships between these objects as suggestive of data relationships. We explored this hypothesis in detail in a series of user experiments. Inspired by the concept of implied dynamics in psychology, we first studied whether perceived gravity acting on a mark in a scatterplot can lead to errors in a participant's recall of the mark's position. The results of this study suggested that such position errors exist, but may be more strongly influenced by attraction between marks. We hypothesized that such apparent attraction may be influenced by elements used to suggest relationship between objects, such as connecting lines, grouping elements, and visual similarity. We further studied what visual elements are most likely to cause this attraction effect, and whether the elements that best predicted attraction errors were also those which suggested conceptual relationships most strongly. Our findings show a correlation between attraction errors and intuitions about relatedness, pointing towards a possible mechanism by which the perception of visual marks becomes an interpretation of data relationships.

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The Law of Attraction Experiment Paperback – March 18, 2013

• Print length 98 pages
• Language English
• Publication date March 18, 2013
• Dimensions 5 x 0.25 x 8 inches
• ISBN-10 1481786628
• ISBN-13 978-1481786621
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ AuthorHouseUK (March 18, 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 98 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1481786628
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1481786621
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.1 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.25 x 8 inches

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Beata molnar.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Attraction vs. alignment as drivers of collective motion.

• Department of Biology, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, United States

Moving animal groups exhibit a range of fascinating behaviors. The standard explanation for how these groups form and function is that the individual animals interact via attraction, repulsion, and alignment, where alignment is proposed to drive the collective motion. However, it has been shown both experimentally and theoretically that alignment interactions are not required to induce group level alignment. In particular, via the use of self-propelled particle models it has been established that several other mechanisms induce group level alignment (aka polarization) in combination with attraction alone. However, no systematic comparison of these mechanisms among themselves, or with explicit alignment, has been presented and it remains unclear how, or even if, they can be distinguished at the collective level. Here, we introduce two previously unreported mechanisms, burst-and-glide and burst-and-stop, and show via simulation that they also induce polarization in combination with attraction alone. Then, we compare the polarization inducing characteristics of six mechanisms; asymmetric interactions, asynchrony, anticipation, burst-and-glide, burst-and stop, and explicit alignment. We show that the mechanisms induce polarization in different parts of the attraction parameter space, that the route to polarization from uniformly random initial conditions, as well as repolarization following strong perturbations, is markedly different among the mechanisms. In particular, we find that alignment based and non-alignment based mechanisms can be distinguished via their polarization and repolarization processes. These findings further challenge the current alignment based theory of collective motion and may contribute to a more versatile theory of collective motion across scales.

1. Introduction

Animals moving together in flocks, schools, and herds are ubiquitous in nature. The standard explanation for how individuals in these groups coordinate to generate the group level behavior we observe is that they interact locally with nearby individuals via some combination of attraction, repulsion, and alignment interactions [ 1 , 2 ]. More specifically, attraction allows individuals to aggregate, repulsion prevents collisions, and the alignment interaction where individuals align with the average heading of their neighbors is proposed to drive the collective motion [ 3 ].

Much of our understanding of how animals in moving groups coordinate their motion has come out of the study of self-propelled particle (spp) models [ 3 ]. In spp models a number of particles move and interact with nearby particles via a set of local interaction rules, for example, attraction, repulsion, and alignment [ 2 , 4 ]. Models including these three interactions have been shown to generate the standard groups: mills, swarms, and aligned (or polarized or dynamic) groups [ 4 , 5 ], and have been widely adopted in modeling collective motion in specific real animal groups (e.g., [ 6 , 7 ]) and as base models for general theoretical investigations (e.g., [ 8 , 9 ]). The capacity of these models to produce group level alignment via the explicit alignment interaction has been critical in modeling groups of animals that move collectively through the environment. From now on we refer to group level alignment as “polarization,” and aligned groups as “polarized groups,” to clearly distinguish these from the explicit alignment interaction.

Over the past decade experimental studies has failed to detect explicit alignment interactions between individuals despite observing polarized schooling [ 10 , 11 ]. It has also been established that explicit alignment interactions between particles are not required to produce polarized groups in spp models [ 12 – 17 ]. In addition, calculating explicit alignment has been described as a computationally intensive process [ 15 ], and [ 11 ] argue that it is unlikely that real animals will measure and store the speed and heading of neighbors that are required to compute the explicit alignment. Furthermore, [ 17 , 18 ] speculate that the inclusion of explicit alignment interactions in spp models might explain why these models tend to fail to produce disruptive phenomena that are ubiquitous in nature, for example, bistability and switching between group types in fish [ 19 ]. Combined this suggests that alternatives to explicit alignment for generating polarized groups is required to explain collective motion in some animal groups and to address a number of issues related to a theory of collective motion based on explicit alignment interactions.

A number of specific mechanisms that can induce polarized collective motion from non-alignment interactions are known [ 12 – 17 ]. In particular, it is known that asymmetric interactions [ 13 ], anticipation [ 17 ], and asynchrony [ 16 ] induce polarization in combination with attraction. Asymmetric interactions, via blind zones, have been extensively studied in spp models [ 5 , 15 , 20 – 22 ]. In these models particles that are in a blind zone behind a particle relative to its direction of travel do not contribute to some, or all, of the interactions between the particles, resulting in asymmetric interactions. Given that many animals have restricted fields of vision [ 23 , 24 ] and/or interact more strongly with nearby individuals in certain directions than others [ 25 ] asymmetric interactions represent a biologically plausible alternative to explicit alignment for explaining collective motion in some groups. Anticipation, where individuals use the future anticipated positions and headings of other individuals, rather than their current positions and headings to update their own headings is used by a number of animals [ 26 – 28 ], including humans moving in crowds [ 29 – 31 ]. This type of anticipation has been included in spp models that contain explicit alignment interactions [ 32 , 33 ] and models that do not include them [ 17 , 34 ]. In alignment based models anticipation has been reported to inhibit polarization and promote milling and swarming [ 32 , 33 ], whereas in attraction based models anticipation has been shown to induce polarized collective motion [ 17 ]. In most spp models particles update their headings and positions synchronously, i.e., all particles update at exactly the same time, however, given stochasticity and other factors it is likely that individual animals in a moving group update at different times, in an asynchronous fashion [ 16 ]. A number of studies have investigated asynchronous updating in spp models [ 16 , 35 – 37 ], in particular, [ 16 ] has established that sequential random asynchrony in update in combination with attraction induces polarization. However, sequential random asynchrony, where individuals update in a random sequential order on each time step, is unlikely to occur in real animal groups, but other types of asynchronous intermittent locomotion has been observed in animals across taxa [ 38 ]. In particular, the burst-and-glide and burst-and-stop type dynamics observed in fish [ 39 – 41 ], mammals [ 39 , 42 ], birds [ 43 ], and insects [ 44 ] would be a more biologically plausible type of asynchrony. However, at present no study is available that has established that this type of asynchrony has similar polarization inducing capabilities, in combination with attraction, or other interactions.

Attraction is a fundamental biologically plausible interaction operating in animal groups [ 1 , 3 ], and a component of many spp models [ 2 , 13 ], but at present its perceived role is often limited to explain aggregation [ 3 ]. However, given that alternatives to explicit alignment are needed to explain collective motion in some animal groups, and to address issues related to the current alignment based theory of collective motion, and the recent discoveries of several mechanisms that induce polarization in combination with attraction, its role in the context of collective motion might require revision. Unfortunately, the information relating to the polarization inducing capacity of attraction is scattered throughout the literature and no direct comparison of the discovered polarization inducing mechanisms among themselves, or with explicit alignment is available, so how they differ with respect to the dynamics induced is largely unknown. Therefore, beyond biological plausibility arguments it remains unclear how the available polarization inducing mechanisms can help advance our understanding of collective motion in moving animal groups.

Here, we present a comparison of a number of known polarization inducing mechanisms in combination with attraction: explicit alignment [ 45 , 46 ], asynchrony [ 16 ], anticipation [ 17 ], and asymmetric interactions (via a blind zone) [ 13 ]. We also introduce two previously unreported polarization inducing mechanisms in combination with attraction, burst-and-glide and burst-and-stop update, and add these, as well as explicit alignment alone, to our comparison.

2. Models and Methods

We use the synchronous local attraction model (LAM) [ 16 ], known to not produce polarized groups, as our base model and add the polarization inducing mechanisms to it to allow for a direct comparison of their polarization inducing capabilities. We start by summarizing this model and then describe how it was adapted for each of the polarization inducing mechanisms. We consider eight models in total and label them (I)–(VIII). We note that all of these, except (V) and (VI), have been previously described in the literature and we provide the main references in the description of each. Models (I)–(IV) are identical to those presented in the references, but for (VII)–(VIII) we have only included the main interactions from the listed sources into the common framework of (I)–(IV) to facilitate focused comparison of the effects of the mechanisms themselves. Throughout this manuscript we use “hat” notation for normalized vectors (e.g., D ^ ), and “bar” notation for non-normalized vectors (e.g., D ̄ ).

I. Synchronous LAM [ 16 ] This is a self-propelled particle model in which N particles move at constant speed δ in two dimensions and interact via local attraction only (see Figure 1A ). On every time step, each particle calculates the position of the local center of mass (LCM) of all particles within a distance of R from it (its neighbors). The new heading of particle i ( D ̄ t + 1 i ) is a linear combination of the normalized direction toward the local center of mass ( Ĉ t i ) and its normalized current heading ( D ^ t i )

The parameter c specifies the relative strength of attraction to the LCM when the relative tendency to proceed with the current heading is 1. Once all particles have calculated their new headings based on the current positions of their neighbors, all particles are simultaneously moved a distance of δ in the direction specified by D ̄ t + 1 i .

Figure 1 . The interactions in the models. In each model a focal particle is located at position P t i at the center of the interaction zone with radius R and the black filled circles represents the (potential) neighbors. In the preceding timestep the focal particle moved a distance of δ from its previous position P t - 1 i and its current heading is D ^ t i . (A) The local attraction model (LAM). The focal particle calculates the position of the local center of mass of its neighbors ( L C M t i ) and sets up the normalized vector Ĉ t i pointing towards it. This describes the interactions in models (I,III,V,VI) and these differ only in how the update is executed. (B) LAM with blind zone (II). Same as in (A) except that any neighbors that are located in the blind zone specified by the angle β are not included in the L C M t i and Ĉ t i calculations. Here, there are five particles within the interaction range R in the figure, but one of them is in the blind zone and therefore excluded from the LCM calculation. (C) LAM with anticipation (IV). Here, the focal particle calculates the anticipated local center of mass ( a L C M t i ) and the anticipated attraction vector a C ^ t i using the anticipated future positions of its neighbors (open circles) rather than their current positions (black filled circles). The future anticipated position of neighbor j , currently at position P t j , is a P t j = P t j + τ δ D ^ t i , that is, the position that neighbor would be at if it continued with its current heading at its current speed δ for a time τ (the anticipation time). (D) LAM with explicit alignment (VII). Here, the focal particle calculates the local center of mass and set up the Ĉ t i vector like in (A) , but it also sets up a normalized vector  t i which is the average heading of its neighbors. (E) Explicit alignment only (VIII). Here, the focal particle only sets up the  t i vector, there is no attraction. Figure (A) is from [ 16 ] (CC-BY Strömbom), Figure (C) is from [ 17 ] (CC-BY Strömbom), and (B,D,E) have been adapted from these.

II. Synchronous LAM with a blind zone ([ 16 ] with blind zone from [ 13 ])

Identical to (I) except that a particle does not interact with other particles in a blind zone defined by the angle β behind it relative to its direction of travel (see Figure 1B ).

III. Sequential random asynchronous LAM ([ 16 ])

Identical to (I) except that particles update their headings and move in random sequential order on every timestep.

IV. Positional anticipation in the synchronous LAM ([ 17 ])Identical to (I) except that instead of using the actual local center of mass of the neighbors for the heading update each particle uses the anticipated local center of mass of the neighbors instead (see Figure 1C ).

V. Burst-and-glide asynchrony LAM

Identical to (I) except that instead of interacting on every timestep the particles only update their headings at random “burst” times T defined by T j +1 = T j +γ where γ is a glide time (time between bursts) drawn from a Weibull distribution Γ = Γ(κ, λ), where κ is shape parameter and λ is the scale parameter. The choice of the Weibull distribution is motivated by empiricial findings [ 41 ]. If a particle is scheduled to update its heading on timestep t it will update it according to Equation (1) and move a distance of δ in this direction (see Figure 1A ), and for the subsequent timesteps until its next burst time T j +1 the particle proceed with unchanged heading but exponentially decreasing speed δ ~ ( t ) = δ e k ( T j - t ) (See Appendix A for more details).

VI. Burst-and-stop asynchrony LAM

Identical to (V) except that the particles only move when they are updating their headings, and on these timesteps they move a distance of δ. For timesteps between updates the particles remain stationary.

VII. LAM with explicit alignment (Interactions similar to [ 46 , 47 ])

Identical to (I) except that an explicit alignment term a  t i has been added to Equation (1) resulting in

with N n representing the number of neighbors of particle i and D ^ j the normalized current heading of neighbor j (see Figure 1D ).

VIII. Explicit alignment only. (Interaction from [ 45 ])

Identical to (VII) but without the attraction term cĈ . Here, particles only align with the average heading of their neighbors without any attraction (see Figure 1E ).

2.1. Simulation and Analysis

Various aspects of the polarization behavior of (I)–(IV) and (VII)–(VIII) have already been described in the literature [ 13 , 16 , 17 , 45 , 46 ]. Here, we follow the simulation protocol employed to analyze (I,III,IV) in [ 16 , 17 ] to compare and contrast the polarization inducing capacity of (II)–(VII). In particular, to illustrate over which attraction strengths c they induce polarization and where they do not. For the previously unpublished models (V) and (VI) we also collect particle trajectories and snapshots of the groups produced in simulations.

We use the standard polarization, or alignment, measure [ 45 ] to analyze all simulations. This measure is defined as follows. If N is the number of particles in the simulation and D ^ i , t is the normalized current heading of particle i at time t then the polarization α is defined by

If all particles move in the same direction α = 1, and if all particle heading vectors cancel out α = 0. Polarized groups, by definition, have large α values and mills and swarms have low α values [ 16 ].

Following [ 16 , 17 ] we ran 100 simulations for each value of c , from 0 to 2 in increments of 0.1, and measured the polarization over the last 50 timesteps of each simulation and the mean was returned. The total simulation time for each model was chosen so that full polarization would occur in each simulation, and the number of time steps used for each model was (I,II) 8,000, (III) 15,000, (IV) 5,000, (V) 40,000, (VI) 20,000, and (VII) 2,000. Plots showing the distribution of polarization values for each c in each model were then created to isolate regions of the c parameter space where polarized groups form for each model (I)–(VII). More specifically, we partitioned the range of possible polarization values, i.e., 0 to 1, into intervals of length 1/50, and then counted the number of polarization values that fell in each interval for a specific c . Then we divided each interval count for the specific c with the total number of simulations (100) to obtain the distribution (See [ 16 ] for more details on this type of plot). All models and all simulations shared the same basic parameters used in [ 13 , 16 , 17 ], namely, N = 100, R = 4, δ = 0.5, and for our comparison here we chose the auxiliary model parameters for the different models as follows (II) β = π, (IV) τ = 2, (V) κ = 4, λ = 3, k = 1, (VI) κ = 4, λ = 3, and (VII,VIII) a = 0.01.

We then compared the route to the polarized state from random initial conditions for each of the models (II)–(VIII). To do this we ran 5,000 simulations for each model and recorded the polarization of the group over time from the start until a polarized group had formed. Then, for each model, we calculated the median and the median absolute deviation (mad) of the polarization values at each time step ( t ) over the 5,000 simulations to obtain trajectories that illustrate how, on average, the group polarization process proceeds over time. We also collected the time to polarized group formation in each simulation and used this data to create “time to polarization” distributions and to calculate the median and mad “time to polarization” for each model. For these analyses, we used one c value from each region of the c -parameter space where a particular model is known to generate polarized groups. More specifically, we used c = 1 for (II), c = 0.2 for (III,V,VI,VII), c = 0.2 and c = 2 for (IV).

We also measured the polarization over time in simulations (with the same parameter values as above) where as soon as the group has polarized it is strongly perturbed (all particles are assigned random headings in [0, 2π]) and then allowed to repolarize again, and as soon as it has repolarized it is perturbed again. We used α = 0.99 as the threshold for deciding that a polarized group had formed in all models except (V) and (VI). In these two models, the stochastic burst-and-glide/stop motion prevents complete polarization of the group and therefore we used α = 0.85 for (V) and α = 0.9 for (VI). These values are close to the max polarization values groups generated by these models have in simulations. This process was repeated until we had at least 5,000 repolarization events for each model, and we also collected the time to repolarization following each perturbation and used this data to create “time to repolarization” distributions and to calculate the median and mad “time to repolarization” for each model. We then standardized all the repolarization trajectories to run from 0 to 1 (where 0 corresponds to the perturbation timestep and 1 the timestep when full polarization was recorded) and calculated the median and mad at each standardized time point over all the standardized repolarization curves to obtain repolarization curves for each model. Given that the repolarization typically takes a different number of timesteps every time we used the Matlab function “interp1” to interpolate each of the standardized curves over 0 to 1 over a 0.0001 grid so that a pointwise median and mad could be calculated.

Finally, we ran simulations following the simulation protocols above to generate route to polarization and repolarization curves for additional particle numbers N = 50, 75, 200, 1, 000.

All code necessary to verify the results presented in this manuscript is available (see the Data availability statement).

We establish that both burst-and-glide (V) and burst-and-stop (VI) update induces polarized group formation in combination with attraction, in addition to producing mills and swarms. Figure 2A shows the group types produced by burst-and-glide, and Figure 2B the groups produced by burst-and-stop. Figure 2C shows the common modified Weibull distribution Γ(4, 3) as measured in simulations, and Figures 2D,E show the speed over time for two particles in the simulations with asynchronous burst-and-glide update (D) and asynchronous burst-and-stop update (E). Finally, Figures 2F,G show examples of the polarization process through a simulation with burst-and-glide (F) and burst-and-stop (G). We note that in both models the polarization increases up to and flattens out around α = 0.85–0.9. A detailed investigation of the polarization inducing capacity of these two mechanisms in combination with attraction, and their polarization and repolarization characteristics are described in the comparisons below.

Figure 2 . Burst-and-glide and burst-and-stop simulations. (A) Group types produced in the burst-and-glide model (V). From left to right: polarized group ( c = 0.2), mill ( c = 1) and swarm ( c = 2). Points indicate particle positions and the red rods represent the current heading D ^ t i of each particle. (B) Group types produced in the burst-and-stop model. From left to right: polarized group ( c = 0.2), mill ( c = 1) and swarm ( c = 2). (C) Common modified Weibull distribution (Γ(4, 3)) as measured in simulations. (D) Speed profiles of two particles in a burst-and-glide model simulation. We note the characteristic burst-and-glide dynamics in both, with bursts to maximum speed (δ) and exponential decrease in speed between the bursts. (E) Speed profiles of two particles in burst-and-stop model simulation. We note the burst-and-stop dynamics in both, with bursts to maximum speed (δ) and speed 0 between the bursts. (F) Polarization curve through a simulation of the burst-and-glide model. At time 0 polarization is low and after about 2 × 10 4 timesteps polarization starts to build up and at 3.5 × 10 4 it begins to stabilize at around 0.85–0.9. (G) Polarization curve through a simulation of the burst and stop model. At time 0 polarization is low (uniformly random headings) and after about 5 × 10 3 timesteps polarization starts to build up and at 7 × 10 3 it begins to stabilize at around 0.85–0.9.

The models that include attraction induce polarization over different attraction ranges (see Figure 3 ). We note that three of the mechanisms induce polarization only when attraction is weak, random sequential asynchrony (III) ( c = 0.1and0.2) [ 16 ], burst-and-glide (V) ( c = 0.2), burst-and-stop (VI) ( c = 0.1and0.2). Asymmetric interactions (II), on the other hand, only induce polarization when attraction is stronger c ≥ 0.3. Explicit alignment (VII) induces polarization for c ≤ 0.4 when a = 0.01, and this upper c limit will increase with a (see Supplementary Figure 3 ). In contrast to all other mechanisms anticipation (IV) reliably induces polarization in different parts of the attraction parameter space, in particular, for weak attraction c ≤ 0.2 and strong attraction c > 1 [ 17 ].

Figure 3 . Comparison of models (I)–(VII) over c from 0 to 2. Each plot represents the distribution of polarization values α returned from 100 simulations for each c from 0 to 2 in increments of 0.1. For a particular c value the plot color coding shows the proportion of simulations that returned a particular polarization value, the darker the band the more simulations returned that polarization value. For example, for model (III) with c = 0.1 all simulations returned a polarization value close to 1 (so only polarized groups formed) and with c = 0.5 all simulations returned a polarization value close to 0 (so polarized groups did not form). We note that the synchronous LAM (I) does not produce polarized groups for any value of c , that there are four models that induce polarization for small c only (III,V,VI,VII), one model that induces polarized group formation for larger c only (II), and one model that induces polarized group formation for both small and larger c (IV). We note that the results for (I,III) were originally published in [ 16 ] and the result for (IV) in [ 17 ].

The route to polarization from uniformly random initial conditions is markedly different for the different mechanisms. Some are stronger polarization inducing mechanisms and polarize the groups fast, and some are weaker and polarize the group more slowly, on average. Figure 4A shows that explicit alignment alone (VIII) and anticipation with larger c (IV with c = 2) polarize groups very fast on average ( t < 100). Explicit alignment in combination with attraction (VI) is initially on par with (VIII) and (IV with c = 2) but is slower in the final approach to max polarization. Anticipation when attraction is weak (IV with c = 0.2) is not far behind ( t < 600) and asymmetric interactions (III) generate polarized groups at an intermediate rate ( t < 2, 000), on average. Figure 4B shows that the three asynchronous update models (III,V,VI) tend to take longer to polarize the groups ( t > 2, 000). (See Supplementary Figure 1 ) for the median curves used to create Figures 4A,B with mad error bars. Figure 4C shows the relative frequency distributions of the time to polarized group formation, and the median ± mad for the eight models are (II) 1051 ± 848, (III) 3729 ± 1414, (IV with c=0.2) 471 ± 117, (IV with c=2) 72 ± 72, (V) 12959 ± 4953, (VI) 7319 ± 1765, (VII) 365 ± 129, and (VIII) 74 ± 20. (See Supplementary Videos 1 , 2 for simulations showing the polarization process for each of these models).

Figure 4 . Polarization processes for the eight models. (A) Median polarization curves for the models focused on those that generate polarized groups at a fast or intermediate rate (III,IV,VII,VIII). (B) Median polarization curves for the models focused on the three models that polarize the group more slowly (II,V,VI). (C) Relative frequency distributions of the time to polarization for each model.

The polarized groups generated by the different mechanisms exhibit different repolarization behavior following strong perturbations. Figure 5A shows the standardized median repolarization curve for each model. We see that the alignment based models (VII,VIII) accumulate most of the polarization very early in the process, on average, and that some models accumulate polarization at an almost linear rate (II,V). (See Supplementary Figure 2 ) for the median curves used to create Figure 5A with mad error bars. Figure 5B shows the relative frequency distributions of the time to polarization, and the median ± mad for the eight models are (II) 714 ± 848, (III) 799 ± 1203, (IV with c=0.2) 280 ± 140, (IV with c=2) 8 ± 18 1 , (V) 9853 ± 4904, (VI) 5353 ± 1560, (VII) 466 ± 134, and (VIII) 460 ± 138.

Figure 5 . Repolarization processes for the eight models. (A) Median standardized repolarization curves for all models. 0 corresponds to the time the strong perturbation occurred and 1 corresponds to when full polarization was reached. We note that explicit alignment alone (VIII) and in combination with attraction (VII) are virtually indistinguishable, the curves overlap, and they exhibit an exponential repolarization process. We also note that (II) and (III) do start of recovering polarization at an exponential rate, but the process is interrupted and from then on the polarization accumulation for (II) is almost linear, and for (IV) with c = 0.2 moderately superlinear. The curve for (IV) with c = 2 exhibits a similar polarization accumulation process as (IV) with c = 0.2, but the initial accumulation is interrupted later within the repolarization period and the post interruption increase is faster. (II) and (V) effectively accumulate polarization at a linear rate throught the process, and (VI) exhibits a moderately superlinear accumulation. (B) Relative frequency distributions of the (simulation) time to polarization for each model. Here, we can visually confirm the calculated median (simulation) time steps to repolarization for each of the models. (II) 714, (III) 799, (IV with c=0.2) 280, (IV with c = 2) 8, (V) 9853, (VI) 5353, (VII) 466, and (VIII) 460. The main thing to note here is that the median repolarization time of the anticipation with strong attraction model (IV with c = 2) is only 8 time steps. Far faster than the second and third fastest models which repolarize in 466 (VII) and 460 (VIII) time steps, respectively.

The route to polarization ( Figure 4 ) and repolarization behavior ( Figure 5 ) are significantly affected by particle number ( N ) for some mechanisms, but left effectively unchanged for others (see Figure 6 ). The top panels in Figure 6 shows that both burst-and-glide (V) and burst-and-stop (VI) generates polarized groups faster as the number of particles increase, and that the polarization curves for the other mechanisms are relatively unaffected by change in particle number. The bottom panels in Figure 6 shows that the repolarization behavior of burst-and-glide (V), and to a lesser extent burst-and-stop (VI), are affected by particle number. In particular, for particle numbers less than 100, burst-and-glide exhibits sublinear polarization curves, but for N > 100 the curves become superlinear. The repolarization behavior of burst-and-stop (VI) also becomes more superlinear with increasing particle number, but the basic shape of the repolarization curves for the other mechanisms remain relatively unaffected.

Figure 6 . Impact of particle number on the polarization and repolarization processes. Top panels show the route to polarization for the eight models with N = 50, 75, 200, and 1,000 particles, and the bottom panels the corresponding repolarization curves. We note that the polarization curves for models V and VI change significantly with increasing particle number. In particular, the polarization process of model V is, on average, more than four times faster with N = 1, 000 than with N = 50. The polarization processes of models II–IV and VII–VIII do not show any drastic changes with increasing particle number. Similarly, the repolarization curves for models V and VI are dramatically changed by particle number. In particular, the repolarization process of model V is sublinear for N = 50 − 75, but distinctly superlinear for N = 1, 000. The repolarization curves for models II–IV and VII–VIII retain their basic shape for increasing particle number, but the curves are moderately shifted. In particular, for the models with alignment (VII,VIII) more polarization is accumulated early in the process as particle number increases, whereas the alignment-free models accumulate less of the polarization early in the process as particle number increases.

4. Discussion

How collective motion in moving animal groups emerges has been a question of debate. Explicit alignment was, and to a large extent still is, the standard explanation. However, motivated by both experimental and theoretical findings over the past decade the role of explicit alignment as the driver of collective motion has come into question. In particular, a number of biologically plausible auxiliary mechanisms have been shown to induce polarized collective motion in combination with attraction, another fundamental interaction operating in moving animal groups. However, a comparison of the effects of these recently discovered mechanisms between themselves or with explicit alignment has not been conducted and it is still unclear exactly how one can distinguish the effects of the different mechanisms. Here, we present such a comparison, including two previously unreported mechanisms that generate collective motion in combination with attraction; burst-glide asynchrony in update, burst-stop asynchrony, in update.

The finding that burst-glide and burst-stop asynchrony induce polarization in combination with attraction here is important in its own right. While it was previously known that sequential random asynchrony induces polarization [ 16 ], this particular type of asynchrony is less biologically plausible than the burst-and-glide/stop asynchrony that has been observed in animals across taxa [ 38 – 44 ]. Our findings suggest that it might be the attraction and burst-and-glide/stop dynamics that leads to the polarization observed in some of these groups, not explicit alignment interactions. In particular, [ 41 , 46 ] has modelled experiments involving burst-and-glide moving rummy nose tetra fish using a model based on attraction and explicit alignment interactions. Investigating how a model based on attraction and burst-and-glide asynchrony compare with the attraction and alignment model originally proposed for this system could be useful as a benchmark to examine if their respective effects can be distinguished when parameterized by, and compared to, the same data of a specific system. Similarly, while the current explanations for the schooling behavior of fish in [ 10 , 11 ] do not involve explicit alignment, they do involve attraction and asymmetric interactions (potentially via blind zones). Given that some fish species have a very large field of vision [ 48 ], including the Golden shiner used in [ 11 ], perhaps blind zones are not the main polarization inducing mechanism at play in these systems. At least, attraction and burst-and-glide dynamics might offer an alternative explanation.

It is well-known that a large number of different spp models can produce the same type of groups, in particular, polarized groups, mills and swarms, and thus we cannot infer which mechanisms led to a particular group from the final result alone [ 2 , 49 ]. Our work shows that focusing on the polarization process might provide additional ways to distinguish between mechanisms proposed to be operating in groups that tend to polarize. As a complement to currently used methods focusing on macroscopic properties of the groups and microscopic analysis of individual behavior and interaction patterns [ 2 , 25 , 49 ]. In particular, our comparison shows that some of the polarization inducing mechanisms included here induce polarization in different parts of the parameter space ( Figure 3 ). This observation might help narrow down the potential candidate mechanisms, given that attraction may be gauged from trajectory data [ 25 ]. For example, for animals that exhibit polarized collective motion and very strong attraction, asymmetric interactions or anticipation may be more plausible explanations than sequential random and burst-and-glide/stop, because the latter do not induce polarization for strong attraction, at least in our framework. The observation that some mechanisms polarize the groups faster than others ( Figure 4 ) may also be used to distinguish between proposed candidate mechanisms for a given situation. For example, if very rapid polarization from uniformly random initial configurations are observed, out of the mechanisms included here, only explicit alignment, anticipation, and asymmetric interactions are likely candidates. However, if the process is slower the other mechanisms might be more plausible drivers. The repolarization curves ( Figure 5 ) could similarly be used to distinguish between mechanisms from trajectory data in experiments where groups are repeatedly perturbed. Given that inferring the interaction rules from data of steady state configurations often is less informative than inferences based on the approach towards the stable configuration [ 49 ] a perturbation approach might be particularly fruitful to address certain questions. In particular, it seems unlikely that any statistical method that allows for the detection of an explicit alignment interaction will fail to detect it in data collected mainly from a stable polarized group, regardless of how that group level alignment was induced. Perturbation experiments, similar in setup to experiments designed to study fish escape behavior [ 50 , 51 ], but with repeated perturbations may help resolve this issue in some cases.

Here, we have focused on the polarization inducing capacity of the mechanisms, and thus on polarized groups, however, it is worth noting that all included models, except explicit alignment (VIII), also generate mills and swarms. While this is not surprising given that mills and swarms are produced by the synchronous local attraction model [ 16 ], to which each of the mechanisms were added in (II)–(VII), the fact that all attraction based alternatives here produce all the three standard groups: polarized groups, mills, and swarms, but the polarization is induced by different mechanisms in each case suggests that this is a useful and versatile class of models for collective motion.

In conclusion, our work shows that alignment based and non-alignment based mechanisms may be distinguished from their polarization processes and how they interact with attraction. In particular, models containing explicit alignment exhibit exponential polarization accumulation processes whereas most non-alignment based processes exhibit more moderate polarization accumulation processes, anticipation being the exception. In addition, explicit alignment based models polarize faster from uniformly random initial configurations than they repolarize following strong perturbations, in contrast to all attraction based models that repolarize faster than they polarize from uniformly random configurations. These insights could potentially be used to probe whether explicit alignment is operating in a particular group or not via perturbation experiments. However, as described in the simulation and analysis section the analysis presented here is based on the limited ranges/values of the auxiliary model parameters ( c , R , δ, τ) used in [ 13 , 16 , 17 ], and the results may depend on the actual parameters used. Therefore, anyone planning to utilize the approach introduced here for situations beyond these parameter ranges should generate the polarization and repolarization curves corresponding to their situation and parameter values of interest first. To facilitate such analysis for specific experimental systems, or further theoretical study, we provide the full code needed to generate the polarization curves ( Figure 4 ) and repolarization curves ( Figure 5 ) for parameter values beyond those considered here. See the Data availability statement for how to access it.

Data Availability Statement

All code required to verify the results in this manuscript, with information about how to modify/extend the analysis, can be found at: https://github.com/danielstrombom/AttractionVsAlignment .

Author Contributions

DS conceived the study and analyzed the simulation results. DS and GT finalized the design, performed simulations, and wrote the manuscript. Both authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We thank the reviewers for their useful and constructive comments that has helped improve this manuscript significantly.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fams.2021.717523/full#supplementary-material

1. ^ But note that time to polarization is a positive quantity.

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Appendix A: Details of The Burst-and-Glide and Burst-and-Stop Models

As outlined in the main text, the burst-and-glide (V) and burst-and-stop (VI) models are modified versions of the local attraction model (LAM) [ 13 ]. The LAM is a self-propelled particle model where N particles interact via local attraction only (see Figure 1A ). With the notation in Figure 1A the positional update formula for the local attraction model can be expressed as

where δ is constant. In order to extend this model to animals using burst-and-glide locomotion δ must be redefined. From the literature we know that during the burst phase, fish and other animals, quickly accelate to a certain speed and then during the glide phase the speed drops exponentially until the next burst [ 41 ]. To create a simple model of this behavior we define a speed function that is a function of time t , particle i 's most recent burst time T i, t , a constant representing the particles maximum speed δ max , and a rate of speed decay constant k > 0, defined by

We note that δ = δ max at the burst time t = T i, t and after this time, when t > T i, t , the term k ( T i, t − t ) is negative and decreasing so δ is decreasing exponentially from δ max at a rate determined by the constant k . Substituting equation 6 in 5 gives us the positional update formula for the local attraction model with individual burst-and-glide locomotion

and the burst-and-glide behavior will be determined by the process that defines the evolution of burst times T i, t . Here we define this process in terms of the distribution of times between two successive bursts Γ because it has been empirically estimated in experiments with fish [ 41 ]. We call the time between two successive bursts the glide time and denote the current glide time of particle i by γ i, t . In order to utilize equation 7 to update the particle positions we must define the processes for T i, t and γ i, t so that they are both constant over the current glide period and then both updated when the current glide period is over. A simple way to achieve this is to define them as follows

So while particle i is still in its current glide period ( T i, t −1 +γ i, t −1 > t ) both T i, t −1 and γ i, t −1 remain unchanged as t increases, but as soon as the current glide period ends ( T i, t −1 +γ i, t −1 = t ) T i, t is set to the current time t and a new current glide time γ i, t is drawn from the distribution Γ. We choose the distribution Γ for the current work to be a Weibull distribution with shape parameter κ = 4 and shape parameter λ = 3 because this choice leads to a glide time distribution ( Figure 2C ) that is similar to Figure 1G in [ 41 ].

Above we have described the burst-and-glide model. The burst-and-stop model works exactly the same way except that δ is set to 0 after the burst rather than decrease in an exponential fashion. See the Data availablity statement for how to access the full model code.

Keywords: flocking, self-propelled particles, polarization, animal behavior, schooling, swarming, intermittent locomotion, burst and glide

Citation: Strömbom D and Tulevech G (2022) Attraction vs. Alignment as Drivers of Collective Motion. Front. Appl. Math. Stat. 7:717523. doi: 10.3389/fams.2021.717523

Received: 31 May 2021; Accepted: 24 December 2021; Published: 31 January 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Strömbom and Tulevech. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Daniel Strömbom, stroembp@lafayette.edu

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Universal Orlando announces 'Dark Universe' coming to Epic Universe in 2025

ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando will bring iconic monsters to life with their new "Dark Universe," one of the five worlds featured at Epic Universe opening in 2025.

What You Need To Know

Universal orlando will bring iconic monsters to life with their new "dark universe," one of the five worlds featured at epic universe opening in 2025 officials said dark universe will blend the stories of horror legends like dracula, the wolf man, frankenstein’s monster, the bride of frankenstein and more the new attraction, officials said, will envelop guests in monstrous adventures across various attractions, shops, restaurants and character meet-and-greets that will thrill everyone, from families to classic monster fans a variety of new merchandise themed to the new land is now available for purchase at the universal epic universe preview center in universal citywalk and on  universal orlando's website view artist renderings of the new land in the photo gallery below.

Universal officials said the new attraction will envelop guests in monstrous adventures across various attractions, shops, restaurants and character meet-and-greets that will thrill everyone, from families to classic monster fans.

Dark Universe revealed! The legendary Universal Monsters come to life like never before at Dark Universe, one of five amazing worlds at Universal Epic Universe opening in 2025. #EpicUniverse Learn more: https://t.co/pZAuNpliDq pic.twitter.com/6jPMxUJXqU — Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) June 20, 2024

Dark Universe will blend the stories of horror legends like Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein and more, officials said. The land will also feature a new generation of monsters and characters, including Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, the great-great-granddaughter of the infamous Henry Frankenstein, who has continued his experiments.

Guests will begin their adventure in Dark Universe by travelling through a ravaged village called Darkmoor, officials said. There, they will encounter characters and subjects of Frankenstein's experiments, navigate through the woods aboard a roller coaster, enjoy unique dining establishments and enter Frankenstein Manor, while still maintaining family-friendly fun.

Here's what guests can expect at Dark Universe:

• Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment – Officials said this ride will take guests deep into the catacombs of Frankenstein Manor, where Dr. Victoria Frankenstein conducts her twisted experiments. She'll invite guests into her laboratory to witness a demonstration of her ability to control monsters, but her plans fall through as she fails to control the most dangerous of monsters, Dracula, unleashing a horde of enraged monsters. Guests are then thrust into an intense ride through the darkness as they try to evade the grasps of the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Brides of Dracula and others.
• Curse of the Werewolf – This   spinning family coaster is inspired by “The Wolf Man.” Guests will enter the encampment of The Guild of Mystics, where they’ll be greeted by the Maleva, the guild’s all-knowing seer and leader, who warns them that they bear the mark of the werewolf. Guests then board a wagon and venture into the forest – racing to escape the werewolves before they become one themselves.
• Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience –  Guests of all ages can become fashionably monstrous with face paint and temporary tattoos at this experience. Here, monster makers have converted Dr. Pretorius’ old lab into a parlor to continue the spirit of his demented experiments. Skilled artists will use their talents to transform guests’ outer appearances so they can showcase their fandom for the monsters.
• Meet the Monsters –  Monsters will be eager to meet and greet everyone, from kids to adults, including Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein. Guests will also encounter other creatures roaming the village, including Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s servant, Ygor, the Invisible Man, an eccentric monster hunter, and a talented musician, who serenades guests with songs and tales of classic monster stories.

Universal officials said guests will also get to eat and shop new merchandise at Dark Universe. Dining and retail locations include:

• Das Stakehaus –  This establishment is a dining hall run by vampire “familiars,” who size up unsuspecting patrons to be part of the vampires’ feast. Surrounded by artwork and artifacts detailing the history of the village’s creatures of the night, guests can enjoy a menu of kebabs, burgers, sandwiches and more.
• The Burning Blade Tavern –  A hangout for Darkmoor’s monster hunters, this restaurant includes a menu of burgers, wings, bratwurst, pretzels and specialty beverages. Guests will hear stories of the infamous “Hounds” – boastful hunters from beyond Darkmoor – all while surrounded by a display of the monster heads they consider their “trophies.”
• De Lacey’s Cottage – This   food stand sits near Frankenstein Manor, where the original Frankenstein’s Monster once received sustenance and friendship. Here, guests can find a variety of snacks and treats like cinnamon bread, ice cream, "twisted taters" and more.
• Pretorius’ Scientific Oddities –  Guests can take home a piece of the Dark Universe with commemorative merchandise and mementos from this retail location.

A variety of new merchandise themed to the new land is now available for purchase as fans anticipate Dark Universe's opening, officials said. The collection is available for a limited time at the Universal Epic Universe Preview Center in Universal CityWalk and on Universal Orlando's website .

Officials said more details about Universal Epic Universe will be revealed in the coming months.  

View artist renderings of the new land below: