Six Core Elements of a Tantric Law of Attraction Practice

In a recent podcast episode I talked about how Law of Attraction shows up in Tantra and we looked at some of the references found in the Tantraloka text. You can listen to that episode here.

Today I want to continue exploring this theme, and specifically to identify what are the core elements of a Tantric Law of Attraction Practice.

1. INTENTION

Setting your intention is the initial step, and involves clarifying your goals and getting clear about what you want to manifest.

The basic premise of Law of Attraction is that you attract more of what you focus on. Your intention needs to be clear but not necessarily detailed. You will include more detail in some of the other core elements. For now all that’s needed is to feel sure about what you want. On lawofattraction.com they describe nicely how you can write an Intention Statement to help you with this. I myself did this during my Tantric Man training with Steffo Shambo, and I can definitely recommend it as a powerful way to set your focus and keep you motivated.

In tantric ritual, intention is an essential component of the practice. In the Tantraloka text, written by the great tantrik master Abhinavagupta about a thousand years ago, we find a verse describing the elements of a tantric ritual…

On the basis of a meditative visualization created in accordance with [a specific goal], blended with a [sacred] speech act – [e.g.] “Let this person be reinvigorated!” (asya syāt puṣṭiḥ) – along with a physical ritual act, this Goddess Awareness, becoming increasingly manifest, reveals herself in a form that bestows the fruit of that rite upon him. || 117
TANTRĀLOKA 1.116-123 Translated by Christopher Wallis

In this case the text mentions the goal of reinvigorating, or possibly healing, a person as an example intention.

2. BELIEF

The second core element is Belief. The power of belief has a significant impact on your psychology. On Tony Robbins’s website they point out how important your belief is for Law of Attraction: “If you believe you are capable of achieving your dreams, you’re inspired to pursue those dreams. But if you believe you’re incapable, there will be no impetus to inspire you to action.”

Research by psychologist Carol Dweck found that people with a growth mindset – that is, people who believe in their ability to change and learn new things – accomplished higher grade point averages than those with a fixed mindset.

This element of Belief is pretty complex, and is perhaps why many people struggle with law of attraction. It’s not so simple to just choose to believe that you will get your goal. It involves identifying the fears and blocks that hold you back. You have to become aware of your own limiting beliefs, those negative mindsets which subconsciously and unconsciously stop you from achieving your goals. These are the beliefs that you’ve developed over many years, going back to early childhood experiences. Your limiting beliefs are the cause of self-sabotaging behaviour. It requires quite some work to reprogram limiting beliefs. But there are many tools available that do a great job of this, and help you to create new positive beliefs and empowering behaviours that will increase your chances of success with law of attraction.

Many of the Tantric practices can help to activate your inner power, and to transform your mindset at a deep level. The practice I learned from my teacher Steffo Shambo, involves a combination of physical exercise, pranayamas, and Taoist Tantric techniques to energise my whole being and reprogram my mindset, so that I feel like a superhero, capable of achieving anything. Tony Robbins uses a 10-minute priming exercise each day to cultivate a positive energy state. Use consistently over time these kinds of practices have transformative effect on your subconscious beliefs about what you can achieve in your life.

Listen to the podcast episode of this post, over on TheTantricLife.com

3. VISUALISATION

The third core element is Visualisation. This involves a multi-sensory visualisation, using all your senses. The power of the mind when using visualisation has been professed by many famous teachers and authors.

This is the aspect of Law of Attraction in which it is important to go into as much detail as you can. Try to imagine yourself in the situation of what you are wanting to achieve. Use all your senses… how does it look, how does it sound, how does it feel on your skin, how does is it smell? And imagine it as if it were true for you right now in this moment. Almost all Law of Attraction teachers say that you must imagine it in the present. When you start to feel that you already have it, you trigger stronger emotions that will help to reprogram your beliefs, and inspire you to take action.

Sandy Gallagher, of the Proctor Gallagher Institute, says, “Your thoughts of what you want produce feelings, the feelings cause actions and the actions produce a NEW result.” Keep in mind throughout the day this process of Thoughts > Feelings > Actions > Results. That is how law of attraction works.

So holding a clear and detailed vision in your mind is necessary to stir up the emotion and passion, to create that feeling of success, to create more confidence in your ability to manifest his goal, and to keep up the motivation and inspiration.

In Tantric practice the clear vision is necessary to channel towards it the energy and power of the Divine. Tantric rituals and pujas are usually directed towards one or more dietes. Being able to visualise the image and presence of the diety adds to eficacy of the ritual.

I experienced this myself during my time in the monastery. Puja and ritual is a very powerful way to channel your intentions, and when you visualise the diety very intensely, invoking Her presence, stirring up your emotion and passion, She starts to truly manifest right there in that moment. At first it begins with just your imagination, but with the energy of the ritual, the mantras, and music, it takes on a life of its own, and no longer feels like just your imagination. When you prepare and carry out the puja with sincere devotion, love, and instensity, the Divine steps into that sacred space you have created for Her, and blesses you with Her presence. As Abhinavgupta writes in the verse above… “On the basis of a meditative visualization… [she] reveals herself in a form that bestows the fruit of that rite.”

In a Tantric Law of Attraction practice, this aspect of visualisation can be enhanced by using an image of the deity, looking at that image and then closing your eyes as you try to recreate it in your mind’s eye.

4. ACTION

The fourth core element is taking action.

Contrary to some misunderstandings, Law of Attraction doesn’t work by simply having an intention and visualising it. You actually need to take concrete practical steps towards achieiving your goal. This involves creating an action plan. The challenge here is that it can be hard to stay motivated and consistent over a period of time. Again, perhaps another reason why Law of Attraction doesn’t always seem to work for some people.

And this is where Tantric ritual can be a great help. In fact it doesn’t need even to be especially Tantric. Having a daily ritual helpd you to create positive habits, and also keeps you focused and inspired on your goal, so that you continue to take action, implementing daily, weekly, and monthly steps until you achieve your goal. You can do this with simple rituals, such as journalling or having a regular gratitude practice. Tantric rituals, however, can be more powerful to energise you and reprogram your beliefs.

5. ALIGNING

This core element is kind of a synthesis of some of the previous elements and involves aligning your thoughts, speech, and behaviours with the feeling and vibration of success.

If you are trying to implement your action steps but you are frequently saying negative things to yourself, such as “I’m not good enough for this,” or “I don’t deserve it”, then you will have an internal conflict, known in psychology as cognitive disonance, that effectively blocks you from manifesting your goal. It requires conscious self-awareness and some effort to monitor your thoughts and your self-talk.

Aligning is the practice of reminding yourself that it is possible, and that you are capable, and to consistently think, talk and behave in a way that truly reflects that belief.

Influential Law of Attraction author Esther Hicks (better known as Abraham Hicks)… said “If you deliberately bring yourself into alignment, circumstances go well for you.”

6. DETACH

Detaching is all about trusting in the Divine, handing it over to The Universe, confident that everything will turn out exactly how it’s supposed to. The divine knows us better than we know ourselves, and so when the The Universe delivers the fruits of our Law of Attraction practice, it is 100 percent what we need, which may or may not be what we asked for.

On lawofattraction.com they talk about “embracing a sense of peace as you accept that the Universe can – and will – give you what you need.”

It is vital that you are able to relax into this sense of peace and patience. Let go of your expectations, let go of trying to control the outcome too much. Without trusting and handing it over, you risk falling into a vibration of anxiousness, impatience, or fear, which will block you form manifesting your goal. This step again involves working through some of those limiting beliefs, and you may need to explore and resolve some of the deep-rooted fears that underly the anxieties.

In Tantric ritual the intention is handed over as an offering to the diety of that particular worship. It’s not about trying to get God to do your bidding. It’s about humbly and sincerely sharing with the Divine your deepest hopes and aspirations. The ritual practice then concludes with a sense of trust and letting go, accepting that it is now in the hands of The Universe.

This is a tricky one, because on one hand you have to let go, but on the other hand you have to continue to focus on your goal and take the action steps to achieve it. It’s a delicate balance between trusting the process and at the same to continuing to channel your energy and passion towards it.

My Guru taught me by his own example that it is a truly a process of co-creation with the Divine. I observed many times when he offered an intention to Divine Mother, and then was able to let go of attachment to the outcome while he continued to work towards creating the conditions for it to happen. I remember one day when Divine Mother had instructed Guru to begin contruction of a new temple in a field which the cows needed for grazing the grass. When Guru asked Divine Mother, “but what’s going to happen with the cows? How will they have enough grass to eat if we use the field to build a temple?” Divine Mother told him not to worry about that, and to just focus on building the Temple. So that’s what he did. Within a few days, out of the blue, a nieghbouring farm was purchased by a friend of the monastery, and we were able to let the cows graze the grass on their fields.

So detachment is an essential element when working in collaboration with The Universe. Having trust, peace, and patience, keeps you in that positive energy and vibration that opens you to the infinite possibility that anything can, and will, happen.

Tantra enhances Law of Attraction Practice

These six core elements of Law of Attraction can be incorporated with a Tantric approach. As described in the Tantraloka text, tantric rituals for manifesting a desired intention are characterized by the use of visualisation, speech, and ceremonial acts. In his commentary on the Tantraloka, Christopher Wallis points out that for this to be effective, “… it must involve body, speech, and mind: the three primary modes in which Awareness engages and expresses. These three are united by a singular intention.”

By incorporating all the faculties and senses of our human nature, using this Tantric approach, we can amplify the power and focus of a Law of Attraction practice.

These core elements are best implented in parallel with each other, and not necessarily in a chronological order. In addition, within each element you can also include other kinds of practices to help, such as affirmations, mantras, meditations, sleep self-hypnosis, and many others.

Practice tip: Declare your intention.

If you are keen to start putting into practice this Tantric approach to Law of Attraction, one practical tip I can recommend is to start with declaring your intention.

Prepare a sacred space where you can sit without being disturbed. Bring to mind the presence of a deity you would like to work with, or just feel the compassionate and loving presence of The Universe. Then simply state your intention, and offer it humbly. Let it be accompanied by postive feelings of love and gratitude.

Now observe carefully what kind of reactions you feel within yourself, and take note of any resistance, blocks, or limiting beliefs that may come up as a result of you declaring your intention.

Spend time repeating and exploring this process. You may need to take time to work through any blocks or limiting beliefs you may have around the goal you are wanting to manifest.

Working with a deity is a powerful Tantric way to assist you in the Law of Attraction process. You can read more about how to invoke the help of Tantric deities in my previous post here.

The most beautiful thing about a Tantric approach to Law of Attraction is that it is a process of self-transformation in collaboration with the Divine. Whether or not you get what you asked for, you will grow in love and peace, creating more balance and stability in your life.