Animal Crossing and the Law of Attraction

For those who aren't familiar with Animal Crossing or the law of attraction, here's a quick overview of both:

Animal Crossing is a fun and lighthearted video game by Nintendo in which you as a human interact with a community of anthropomorphized animals. This article points to examples from Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, available for iOS and Android (though any version of Animal Crossing will display many similar and some identical features to those mentioned here). You can download Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for free on the App Store or get it on Google Play.

The law of attraction—made popular by the book and film The Secret—is essentially the concept of like attracting like. You may have heard some variations of The Secret's teachings, including "thoughts become things", "what you think about, you bring about", and "energy flows where attention goes". These teachings advocate that we live in a universe full of resources, and that if you focus on good things, good things will appear in your life in abundance.

The law of attraction is at the heart of manifesting every goal and dream you have for your life, and The Secret suggests that you can make it work for you by playing games. By make-believing that what you want is already yours, you can quickly and easily get yourself on the frequency of abundance and receiving. In other words, you can begin to shift towards a more positive and optimistic mindset, simply by playing.

Here are a few ways that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is the perfect make-believe playground for manifesting your desires:

Giving and receiving gifts

Giving is a powerful way to invoke the law of attraction because it implies that you have plenty and that you're confident you won't be left lacking if you share your time, energy, and resources with others.

In every day of Pocket Camp gameplay, you have the opportunity to ask animals what they want and gift them the items they're after. There are also special events that allow you to give a unique item to an animal of your choice. Animals express gratitude and joy when you fulfill their wishes. They also occasionally show their appreciation by giving you tools and cash (called Bells in the game) to keep doing the good things you do.

It's important to learn how to receive gifts too, especially if you're trying to attract things into your life. Might as well get some practice saying 'Thank you' and believing that you deserve all of the gifts that come your way.

Access to infinite resources

Thrive and profit on a never ending supply of fish, bugs, fruit, seashells, and seeds to grow flowers. Picked all the fruit? It grows back in a few hours. Out of cash? Money literally falls out of trees. No matter how much you sell or give away, there will always be more.

Even better, each player has access to the same amount, so what you harvest doesn't take away from anyone else. There's no such thing as scarcity in this game. You can have anything you want—everything that's presented to you is available to you.

Of course, we don't shake money out of trees or see produce grow in a three-hour span in our space-and-time reality, but the idea here is that there's always enough. Even if you can't see it, you can learn to believe that you're taken care of first and see your desires fulfilled as a result of that belief.

Acts of service for other players

Not only does Pocket Camp allow you to brighten the days of countless cute animals, but you can do favours for other players too. Water another player's flowers or help them access Shovelstrike Quarry for building materials, buy and sell items, and compliment others by giving them kudos.

Doing good things for others only brings more good things to you. That's true in the game, where you're rewarded almost instantly for every good deed, and it's true in real life as well. If you do good things without expectation just because it's the right thing to do, only good will return.

Decorating to your heart's content

Tons of furniture and decor options are available with which to create your dream scene. In Pocket Camp, you have a campsite, a camper, and a cabin to decorate. You can create one cohesive theme or a totally different look for each space. Switch it up seasonally or keep it the same. It's up to you!

Decorating virtually is a great way to express and plan how you'd decorate your real-life space if you're currently restricted by renting, roommates, or other factors. Where would you be if you could be anywhere? Imagining it and doing your best to craft it in the game will help you visualize what your future space could look like in real life. The sky is the limit.

Fortunes and signs

New fortune cookies are available each day, and along with a special furniture or clothing item inside, they come with a fortune. The fortune might not always stand out to you, but once in a while, you'll see one that resonates and can shift your perspective outside of the game. The same goes for things the animals say. Messages can come from anywhere throughout your day, and Pocket Camp is no exception. Keep an eye out for meaningful messages everywhere you look.

Creating affirmations

Use the abundance and positivity experienced in the game to create affirmations you can relate to your life. Here are some examples:

• I receive money and resources daily.
• I always have what I need and more.
• I am surrounded by good vibes and happy people.
• I live in a generous, kind, and unlimited universe.

These affirmations are easy to believe in relation to the game, and the more you repeat them, the easier they will become to believe in regards to your own life.

In some versions of Animal Crossing, you'll have a message board that you can use to record some of your affirmations for later reference. For example, Animal Crossing: Wild World for Nintendo DS has a town message board, and it also allows you to customize your neighbour's catchphrases, so each of them can finish their sentences with a positive word chosen by you.

Starting with a game, you can gently and gradually retrain your brain to think positive. This approach can be super effective, especially if you're feeling skeptical or weighed down by the expectations and beliefs of others in your life. A game like Pocket Camp is so full of positivity that at the very least, it will make you smile.

What other games can you play to practice the law of attraction?