Why attention attracts: What the Law of Attraction and no-dog poop signs teach us about unconscious influences

Every day when I go for a walk, I pass by a house that is filled with homemade no-dog-poop signs, featuring a picture of a dog doing its business, accompanied by the words: "Poop on your own sidewalk!" Believe it or not, there’s never a single pile to be found anywhere in that entire street—except for right around the house with the signs. That sidewalk is always littered with dog poop. It really makes you wonder.

What you focus on...

For quite some time now, I’ve been listening almost daily to channeler Esther Hicks. Her channelings focus exclusively on the Law of Attraction. Sometimes, you need to see through the commercial veneer, but if you listen regularly, you'll start to understand this so-called law more and more.

One of the many things she emphasizes is that this mechanism is always at work for everyone. You attract what you focus on, even if that happens unconsciously or is undesirable.

Why me?

I’ve often wondered how it is that, as a super-sensitive, highly overstimulated woman, I continually find myself in homes plagued by noise issues. From people who love to vacuum and renovate in the middle of the night to hyperactive children and couples who argue late into the night on the balcony next to my bedroom window. My partially unconscious obsession with this issue seems to have led me to manifest exactly what I struggle with. And no, that’s not a coincidence!

I’m not the only one

Shall I go further? There’s that one friend who’s convinced that people can’t be trusted and who gets cheated on time and time again. Then there’s the acquaintance with the same skin color as mine who constantly worries about discrimination, only to often find herself a victim of it. Or that friend who was extremely afraid that her partner would cheat, doing everything to prevent it, only to ultimately discover that her partner had indeed strayed. I could give you many examples from my close surroundings, but the point is made.

Is it all your fault?

So, is it all your fault, you might wonder? No, I don’t see it that way personally. While I don’t believe in coincidence, I think the universe operates on certain laws. Just as we have gravity here on Earth, which makes no exceptions simply because someone is a good person. If you fall, you head toward the ground—no exceptions! There are also other laws that do not discriminate. Not to torment us humans, but to ensure a certain balance in life.

Your reflection

Once you learn about these laws, you automatically begin to see their beauty. They act as a mirror that reflects what you project as a person. You don’t ask your reflection to smile first, do you? No, when you smile, your reflection smiles back automatically. Life works the same way.

Don't like what you see?

Are you unhappy with what stares back at you from your mirror? Are there unwanted, recurring patterns in your life? Perhaps it’s time to look inward and investigate what truly lives within you.

Just as the woman with the poop-covered sidewalk would do well to not only remove the no-dog-poop signs but also to let go of her need for control over this issue, I bet you a tenner that her sidewalk would be poop-free in no time!