The Law of Assumption and The Law of Attractions are two concepts within manifesting. They are two different belief systems, but common to them both is that they believe an individual can manifest something with the use of his mind. They share many of the same beliefs but do have differences.
In short, the main difference between the Law of Assumption and the Law of Attraction is that the Law of Attraction states that the mind creates physical things due to energy vibrating on certain frequencies. The Law of Assumption believes that reality is similar to a dream and the mind, therefore, can directly create things in this “dream.”
There are slightly various, more nuanced views of each of these teachings, especially the Law of Attraction, so keep in mind that I have simplified each system only to include the most common and widely accepted concepts.
How They Are Similar
Both The Law Of Assumption and The Law Of Attraction go under the category of “Manifesting.” Both believe that people can manifest or influence reality by using the power of thought. That the mind can, in some way, influence reality directly without the individual necessarily having to take any action.
This is obviously a pretty controversial claim in today’s world, yet many are still convinced of its existence.
Many people, including me, believe that manifesting is real. The Law of Attraction and The Law of Assumption each have different arguments as to why, but they both point toward the same conclusion.
Main Beliefs in the Law of Assumption
The Law of Assumption comes from Neville Goddard. Neville Goddard has become popular in the manifesting community in recent years due to his simple explanations and practical approach to manifesting.
The Law of Assumption states that our assumptions manifest themselves as the circumstances in our life. Negative assumptions become negative circumstances, and positive assumptions become positive circumstances.
Neville believed that consciousness or awareness is the fundamental nature of reality. It is the cause of everything, including the physical world.
Neville thought of the physical world as something similar to a dream, merely an illusion. This is generally NOT what is believed in the Law of Attraction.
Consciousness, in his teachings, is a universal presence or “beingness” rather than what we would normally think. Consciousness manifests itself in multiplicity as individual consciousness (like you and me). Neville believed that Consciousness is what was meant by “God” in the Bible.
Since each of us fundamentally are Consciousness, the mental constructs we make cannot help but to manifest in some form or another. Therefore, if we have an assumption, this assumption must necessarily project itself into the outer world.
For example, if you assume you are poor, the outer world will mirror this assumption. The world will mold in such a way as to keep you poor. The only way out of it is to make a new assumption, replacing the old one.
If we want to manifest something in our life, we have to change our assumptions, and the desired goal will automatically appear without us having to devise the means of its accomplishment.
I also recommend you read my article on the Law of Assumption and my article titled “Neville Goddard’s Teachings In A Nutshell.”
Main Beliefs in The Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction has become popular ever since the movie “The Secret” came out.
In The Law of Attraction, it is believed that the vibrational frequency of the energy you send out attracts your circumstances.
In this way, a person “in a positive vibration” attracts things good things to him/her.
In the Law of Attraction, our thoughts and feelings vibrate at a certain frequency. People send out their thoughts and feelings as forces that attract energy on the same vibration level. This is why thoughts are able to create tangible results.
For example, if a person wanted more money, he would have to think “money thoughts,” and the vibrations of the thoughts and feelings thus generated would cause money to attract into his life.
In contrast with the Law of Assumption, most believers in the Law of Attraction still view space and time as the fundamental reality. This opposes the consciousness-fundamental view posed by the Law of Assumption in which space and time are merely projections of consciousness.
There are other more nuanced views of the Law of Attraction, but this is how it’s most commonly understood.
Comparison Of Different Aspects
Below are some of the key differences between the Law of Assumption and the Law of Attraction.
Outer Action
A key feature of the Law of Assumption is that the “outer action” we have to take (if we even have to take any) is predetermined and constrained to the assumption. We cannot act contrary to our assumptions and can’t change our life without changing our assumptions first. You cannot do any sort of outer action that will speed up the manifestation of the desire.
This is pretty much the opposite of the law of attraction. According to the Law of Attraction, productive action is often considered a necessity.
Free Will
Both the Law of Assumption and the Law of Attraction believe in Free Will.
The difference is that in the Law of Assumption, you only have Free Will in determining what you assume. We are “slaves” to our assumptions, i.e., we must act according to our underlying assumptions.
For example, if you assume that you are poor, you have no possibility of escaping poverty other than changing your assumptions.
Who Creates Who
A prominent idea in the Law of Assumption is the idea that ALL things are created by consciousness, and the entire world of the individual is, in some sense, caused by his beliefs.
In The Law of Attraction, things happen on their own, but we can interject and create things if we want.
God or no God
In the Law of Assumption, God is the awareness of being. God is, therefore, not some guy in the sky, but the “I Am” at the bosom of our being.
The Law of Attraction seems to be a bit more agnostic on this point. Oftentimes the term “God” is substituted for “the Universe.” Some people do believe in a God, and some people don’t. However, the “magic” that allows thoughts to create reality is not attributed to some divine being but rather to the Universe and its laws.
Which One Is Better?
In my personal opinion, the Law of Assumption is slightly better than the Law of Attraction. I believe that the Law of Attraction often poses a bunch of pseudo-scientific stuff that is not necessarily and oftentimes completely untrue.
I also believe that consciousness is fundamental, which is in line with the Law of Assumption.
As well as that, people within the Law of Attraction community promote “toxic positivity” due to their limited view of what the term “positive” means.
The Law of Assumption tends to be more simple and straight to the point. Neville constantly emphasized that you can test this for yourself.
You don’t need to be in a “high vibration” or anything like that, which in my opinion, is a pitfall.
In defense of the Law of Attraction, I will say the Law of Assumption also has similar pitfalls due to misinterpretations of his ideas. I think many of these misinterpretations can be a bit dangerous.
In the end, though, they are both commonly used to describe how manifestation works. They are both saying something very similar. There is also good reason to believe the truth is somewhere “in the middle.” That is, both of them get some things correct, and some things incorrect.
Study both systems, and make your own conclusions. The important thing for you is to get manifestation working as a real thing in your life.
