Introduction
If I had to pick just one law of attraction concept to share with the world, it would be going general. In my mind, this is the concept that is easiest for people to grasp, and will give you emotional and mental relief from stress in the fastest and most stable way possible. This blog post will describe what going general means, and give several useful examples and quotes to understand this concept. I discovered going general in the teachings of Abraham Hicks, so that will be where my quotes and sources come from.
Preface – Thoughts and Momentum
If you haven’t been paying attention to your thoughts, you may have found they tend to spiral, and go on negative tangents about whatever has your attention at the moment. And the longer you go on those tangents, the more negative thoughts collect around it, the more specific those thoughts are, and the faster they seem to flow. Abraham gives a good analogy for this in Co-Creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Esther Hicks:
Esther remembers being in San Francisco and driving to the top of one of those hills. She couldn’t believe that people were actually driving up and down them. So imagine perching your car at the top of one of those hills and taking it out of gear and taking the parking brake off. And now, just for fun to see what will happen, you nudge your car a little bit from behind. Well, you know what will happen. With only a slight nudge your car will careen down the hill. … You would not want to be at the base of that hill trying to stop the momentum.
(Dyer & Hicks, 2014, sec. Early Morning Momentum)
Rather than trying to stop that momentum of negative thoughts by doggedly thinking very positive thoughts – the equivalent of trying to step in front of that fast-moving car when it’s already well down the hill – we might instead try going general, which would be the equivalent of gently putting the brakes on the car.
What is Going General?
If you have a negative train of thought going, make it more general if you can. Step back from the specifics of it.
(Dyer & Hicks, 2014, sec. Programming Before Sleep)
Going general means being aware of the thoughts that you have been thinking, and deliberately choosing ones that are as unspecific as possible while still feeling good and truthful. This will slow the negative momentum you have built up.
A determination to gently, generally, and steadily lean more and more in the direction of wanted things is really the best way to approach your personal vibrational improvement.
(Hicks & Hicks, 2019, sec. I’ll Begin My Day With Good Feeling Thoughts)
Why Not Specific?
What happens when you give your pointed attention on something that you really, really want, but are also really, really aware that you don’t have?
Abraham (10:03): So the more general you are in the beginning, the less you will be resisting it because, if you get specific about something that you really want, that you specifically don’t have, the more you focus on it in specifics, the more you just compound the current vibration and hold yourself there vibrationallly, apart from what you really want.
(Abraham Hicks 2024🌟These Words Work like Spells and will Raise your Vibration in 10 Minutes💖)
We are Creating Emotions, Not Objects (Yet)
If you are in a headspace of really wanting to manifest a new outcome for a topic that is bothering you, it might seem like a bad idea to go general, because it feels too easy, too weak, not focused enough on your specific topic. Abraham says in Ask and It Is Given:
When your activated thoughts are general and not very focused, those early vibrations are still very small and do not yet have much attraction power or pulling power, so to speak. And so, in these early stages, you would not likely see any manifested evidence of your attention to the subject. But even though you do not yet see the evidence, the attraction of other thoughts that are a vibrational match to these is occurring
(Hicks & Hicks, 2004, sec. Your Point of Attraction is Being Affected)
The lack of momentum means you won’t be attracting your dream lover at this moment, but you will be feeling better, and in the vibrational headspace to start receiving more thoughts that feel good, and that can, if you allow it, build into a more magnetic momentum.
How Do I Go General?
Firstly, if your mind is really racing, you might be best served by meditating first, to give yourself a blank slate to work on. But even if you can’t, that’s all right.
There are some thoughts, some statements, that will usually feel better regardless of where you are on the emotional guidance scale. Thoughts like, ‘It’s all right,’ or ‘That’s all right.’
In this YouTube clip, Abraham soothes a woman who is frustrated that she can’t make time to meditate in the morning.
Hotseater (4:58): Sometimes I’m there, and I can say it, and I can feel it. But normally not first thing in the morning. I’m like ‘Oh my god, I have to get dressed, I have to get a shower, I have to get to work.’
Abraham: That’s all right. That’s all right. You’ve got stuff to do. Okay, you have things to do. You know how to do that. There’s nothing hard about any of that. It’s all right. It’s all right that mornings ask things of you. It’s all right that you have a routine that serves you in many ways. That’s all right. It’s all right that you have things that people are expecting from you. That’s all right. It’s all right that you’re in a physical body, that you’re in a physical world, that there are things to do. It’s all right. It’s all right that you’re getting better at it, and it’s all right that you’re not as good at it as you want to be. That’s all right. It’s all right.”
It’s all right. A super general statement that can be a very effective form of self soothing, and making peace with where you are right now.
Have you ever thought about how, when we see a loved one crying, upset over something in their lives, we are called to say, “It’s all right.” How do we know to say this? Personally, I think that on the deepest level, we do know that it is all all-right. That this person will soon be okay, that wellbeing is dominant, that their emotions are temporary, that their cork will float to the surface again soon enough.
How Esther Practiced Going General
In this YouTube video, Abraham describes how Esther applied the process of going general in her own life.
Abraham (3:51): So we encouraged Esther to do it. It’s been a few months now. We encouraged her, “When you wake up, find a thought that feels good.” And at first, just the pressure of finding a thought that felt good kept her from finding one.
The first day, she didn’t even make it until breakfast before she was soaring down some trajectory that she didn’t mean to soar down.
But we convinced her, and she was committed that every day she would wake up, and reach for the best feeling thought that she could. And she discovered that the more general the thoughts were, the easier they were to feel good. In other words, if you wake up and start pondering a problem, you’re off your high flying disc before you even realize that you’re on it. But, if you wake up and stay as general as you can finding, something that’s very easy to appreciate…
More General Quotes by Abraham
(6:52) So you’ve got to go general. Happiness is my nature. I feel like I’m supposed to feel good. I sure like feeling good. I would so much rather feel good than not.
(Abraham Hicks ~ Things are always Working Out for ME)
(3:30) Get really general. It feels like ease. It feels like ease. Ease. Think about ease, just say ease, ease, it feels like ease, feels like ease, no struggle, ease, no struggle, ease, ease, ease, feels like fun. Fun, it feels like freedom, and fun, and ease. Freedom and fun and ease and freedom and fun and ease. It feels easy, and it feels fun, and it feels free, and it feels full. Feels full and easy and free. Esther used to say to Jerry, “Let’s go get a Coke and pretend like we’re on vacation.” That feeling of on vacation, it feels like waking up and having nothing that you need to do. Just that feeling of ease. All my choices. That feeling, that feeling of freedom and ease and fun. So stay there for a little while until you’re actually feeling that.”
(Abraham Hicks 2024🌟All is Well – You Just Need to Surrender it to the Universe and don’t Fight it💖)
Do General Thoughts Have to be Happy?
No they don’t! If you feel really bad, around depression or anger or fear, then you might not even be able to hear an ‘It’s all right’ without shoving it aside. And that’s all right too. You might find it easier to pick out thoughts that are in fact negative, but more generally negative than the specific ones you’ve been leaning into up to this point.
When you do that, over time, you will move into more generally positive, and eventually, specific positive.
Abraham (10:27): Go negative, but general negative. Begin to diffuse the specifics of it. You’ll feel better and better and better and better. Saying things like, “Well, this sucks.” It’s general, you’re less specific than when you’re telling someone all of the detailed reasons why it sucks. Or say something like, “Well, this too shall pass.” Now you’re moving a little more over into the general and possitve, but at least you’re not beating the detailed drum of what you don’t want.
Now, what begins to happen as you begin to diffuse the specifics of this unwanted thing, is that the active vibration of unwanted begins to dissipate, because of your lack of attention to it. Because it’s only your attention to it that keeps anything active. So as you distract yourself from the specifics by deliberately focusing upon the general, it begins to move, and you begin moving closer and closer, vibrationally speaking, to this Vortex. So now, you begin speaking more generally positive, and it begins to feel good to you. You begin to feel the resistance lift up off of you, because you’re not keeping the resistance active anymore. And as the resistance lifts up off of you, you begin to feel better. You begin to feel better emotionally, and you begin to become clear in your mind. And you begin to get closer to the details that you’ve been putting there incrementally, the details that you don’t have access to when you’re specifically focused in opposition to them. So now what happens is the thing begins to tip for you. It’s like the fulcrum point just tips, and suddenly, and it it will feel sudden to you, you begin to find more specifics about the thing that you want. And then it can get exciting, in other words, to talk about what you want in detail when there’s no resistance.
(Abraham Hicks 2024🌟These Words Work like Spells and will Raise your Vibration in 10 Minutes💖)
Going General and the 22 Processes
Many of Abraham’s exercises for getting into the vortex include or can start with going general. The Focus Wheel process is a primary example of an LOA process that uses the concept of going general. Here is part of the explanation in Ask and It Is Given:
The reason the Focus Wheel Process is so effective is because the statements you are writing are those that you have deliberately chosen. They are general statements that you already believe, that match your desire. And the reason it works is because the Law of Attraction is so very powerful that when you hold a thought for as little as 17 seconds, another thought like it will join it; and as those two thoughts come together, there is a combustion that occurs that makes your thoughts even more powerful. Whenever you make a general statement, you are more likely to be pure in your thought than when you make a specific statement, so the power of the Focus Wheel is that you are making general statements that you already believe, and as you hold each of them for 17 seconds or so, it gives you an opportunity to offer a pure vibration that is more and more specific to your desire.
(Hicks & Hicks, 2004, sec. The Focus Wheel Process)
Other Abraham processes that lend themselves to including Going General are:
- Which Thought Feels Better
- Pivoting
- Turning It Over to the Manager
Some General Words by Jessica
If you want more inspiration for some general words and phrases you could say to yourself in aid of going general, I’ve made my own list, which you can use and add to as needed.
List of General Words (It’s really long, that’s why it’s in a toggle box!)
It’s alright
It’s all right
It’s okay
I’m doing my best
How I feel right now is all right
How I think right now is all right
It’s okay to be easy about all this
It’s okay to slow down
It’s okay to just breathe
It’s okay to just feel
It’s okay to nap
It’s okay to meditate
It’s okay to get in bed
It’s okay to eat simple things
It’s okay to hunker down
It’s okay to curl up
I’m doing my best to take care of myself in the ways I feel right now
I am allowing myself to go general
I am allowing myself to be as I am
I am allowing
I am aware
I am letting go
I am letting things be
I am letting myself be
I am letting myself feel
I am aware of what I want
I want relief from pain
I want relief from suffering
I want to feel better
It’s okay to want to feel better
It’s okay to allow myself to feel better
It’s okay to do little things for myself that feel better
It’s okay to enjoy feeling a little better
It’s okay to enjoy going general
It’s okay to enjoy those mild soft thoughts
It’s okay to enjoy my bed and my food and my room
It’s okay to be here right now
It’s okay to let this moment be enough for right now
Whatever negative feelings are here are okay
Whatever feelings are here are allowed to exist
Whatever feelings are here will be felt and then pass like the river
I am floating on the river
I am floating downstream
I am not resisting what is, I am allowing what is
I am letting myself float downstream
It feels good to float downstream
It feels good to let go
It feels good to breathe
It feels good to simply observe what is in my awareness
It feels good to go general
I am allowed to feel good
I am allowed to feel that improved vibration
Each person seeks to feel better, it is natural
I am allowing myself the same right as anyone else to feel better
Where I am right now is just fine
I don’t have to seek, I have what I need right here
I have my ability to think generally
I have my connection to my source
I have the supportive internal environment
I have stability here
My inner being is always here, always guiding me
I feel good because my general thoughts are in agreement with my inner being
My inner being is says Yes
Yes, you are safe. Yes, you have everything you need. Yes, you have the ability to change your vibration
I don’t have to force it, it is natural
I can gently choose these general thoughts, feeling for those that feel good
Today looks nice outside
Today the sun is out
I like seeing the sun out
I like seeing the warm bright light
I like hearing the birds tweeting and cooing
I like the fresh air outside
I like the coolness of it in my nose
I like the peace outside
I like that trees and plants are peaceful
I like that earth and dirt is stable
I like that nature is steady
I like that nature demonstrates wellbeing to me
I like that I can see this warm comforting environment
I am allowed to enjoy this environment
I am allowed to relax in this environment
If a negative feeling bumps up, that’s okay
If a negative feeling bumps up, I am still safe
If a negative feeling bumps up, it’s just a little ticker on the road. The bump is information.
The bump let’s me know that I was veering off the course that I want
Not that anyone else wants for me, but the course I want
That’s good information to have
Thank you for the information
Thank you for reminding me that I want to feel a little better than that thought felt
Thank you for the guidance
Thank you for showing me that I was briefly pointed upstream instead of downstream
Nothing has gone wrong
Nothing is at fault here
I’m already turning back downstream by forgiving Myself
I’m already pointing downstream by thinking generally
I’m already floating
I’m doing what I want to do
I’m doing what I’ve intended to do
I’m gently allowing my vibration to rise
It is safe to move into the world
It is safe to walk around
It is safe to talk to people
It is safe to do tasks
Those things don’t have to disturb my peace
My peace comes from within
My peace comes from being my soft caring nature
My peace comes from my gently chosen better feeling thoughts
My peace comes from my ability to knowingly be awareness
My peace is here
My peace is always within reach
I can be steady
I can be safe
I can let whatever happens in the outer world be as it is
I don’t have to control things
I can float downstream
I can let people be
I can let circumstances be
I can be
If you are interested in having a phrase from this list as a decor item in your home, check out my minimalist affirmation cards, which you can edit to say your favourite phrase.
Conclusion
I hope this blog post has helped you understand the process of going general. Now try it for yourself – these things are much more useful when they are applied, rather than just heard. As Abraham says, words don’t teach, only life experience teaches.
If you have any other important quotes about this topic that you’d like me to add, or any other questions, please leave a comment below!
Peace, love and sunshine,
Jessica
Sources
Hicks, E., & Hicks, J. (2004). Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires. National Geographic Books.
Dyer, W. W., & Hicks, E. (2014). Co-creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers. Hay House, Inc.
Hicks, E., & Hicks, J. (2019). Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness. Hay House, Inc.
