by Rev. Leo Booth

Rev. Leo Booth
Unity minister, published author and conference speaker

Over the past twenty years there seems to have been a growing interest in what might loosely be called New Age or Metaphysics. It is the philosophy that has moved beyond any one religion and is wishing to celebrate the concept of divinity within the human being; it is taking the idea of ‘the kingdom within us’ to a new level, telling us that we have the power to create a better life, a better world.

I have personally been touched by this philosophy. Maybe twenty years ago or so, I became aware of the Unity church when I was invited to speak at The Church of Today in Warren, Michigan, as a guest of the Reverend Jack Boland, and I was immediately impressed by the positive readings, music, sermon and general atmosphere of the congregation. What was this spiritual ingredient that I was experiencing at this church ? When I asked Rev Jack he said that God is wanting only the good for people. Success and prosperity were part of our divine inheritance. What we affirmed in our life we would surely create.

This was completely new to me. I was at the time an Episcopalian priest and I had been raised with teachings that spoke about sin, hell and original sin. I had been raised to believe that the Holy Spirit could work through human beings but Unity Church was different, with an emphasis upon saying that wherever we are God is, and all is well.

At this time, twenty years ago, I felt strongly attracted to this positive thinking and I began to integrate these teachings into my recovery from alcoholism. I remember reading Emmet Fox’s Sermon on the Mount, feeling in a new and exciting way that God was on my side. I don’t remember hearing anything that was specific about The Law of Attraction but I began to consider, on a deeper level, that being a ‘child of God’ was a powerful affirmation of who I was as a human being.

Today I am a Unity minister and I have a strong belief in the concept of creating a better life, better world by the intention I bring to every aspect of my life. I no longer feel that it is helpful to stress sin in a person’s life and I do not believe in hell; rather do I think that we need to take responsibility for who we are and seek to create a heaven here on earth. This evolution of my Christian thinking requires that I interpret passages of scripture and also allow myself to be open to new teachings and new insights that are being manifested in the world. When I say ‘new’, I’m aware that these Truths have been around from the beginning of time but today I’m allowing myself to recognize them and integrate them into my spiritual path and personal recovery.

What then is The Law of Attraction? It is the belief that what we focus upon, we can create in our lives; it is developing the concept of intention to a new and dynamic level.

Let me give you an example from recovery; if I want to develop success and prosperity in my life then I need to focus on the belief that each day is providing me with opportunities to improve my life. The Law of Attraction is not simply affirming that because I want something then I will get it, rather is it saying that a focused intention on my part creates opportunities that will enable me to seize upon something and make it happen.

Co-creation is a word that I believe is closely associated with The Law of Attraction because the emphasis now, because of my partnering with God, is developing my recovery and creating success. I need to do something to create The Law of Attraction.

Affirming sobriety will never work until I stop drinking. And I need to know that I have the power to say ‘no’ to alcohol and surround myself with other recovering people. The fact that I have this knowledge tells me that I have the power to bring good things into my life and this is a necessary key ingredient to success.

For years there has been a disempowering ‘religious co-dependency’ that says that if God wants you to have something then He will get it to you. Ask God and you will receive. Well, yes, it is important to pray and give “voice” to what we might want to experience in our lives but we need also actively co-create with God in making this happen.

I’ve just finished writing a new book called Say Yes to Your Spirit, which speaks to The Law of Attraction and describes, in practical terms, what co-creation could look like in each person’s life. Now I obviously prayed about this book, indeed I visualized what the book might look like, but I also needed to write the book. An example of praying, but also moving my feet.

A criticism of the popular book The Secret was that it emphasized the need to tell the universe what we wanted, imagine what would make us happy in life, but it didn’t stress enough the co-creative ingredient that made the dream a reality. If you remember, Jesus did not only pray that the five thousand would be fed, he also took the fish and bread and encouraged the miracle of sharing. He knew that people couldn’t eat prayers!

The Law of Attraction is not only knowing what we need to create a wonderful life, it is also using our individual talents to make it happen. As many of us know the Twelve Step program provides actual steps that need to be taken for sobriety to be experienced; otherwise all we have is talk!