Maybe this is an overly simplistic answer, but to me, if we are well-rounded, we have both people and situations in our lives that vibrate similarly to us and we also have contrasting people and situatons for our growth. Both give us what we need. Unbalanced people seek out only one or the other, and thus stunt themselves, consciously or unconsciously.

Which is true: ‘Like attracts like’ or ‘Opposites attract’?

I’m only addressing the actual fundamental question and not all of the particular details that may be associated with any particular point of view. Once we identify the fundamentals, we can work backwards and gain a clear insight into any particular detail.

You don't need anyone to prove that ‘like attracts like’ to you, you can prove it to yourself. The easiest way to see this is simply to observe your own thoughts. Thoughts can be likened to waves of energy, everything is energy after all; even scientists know this :)

As soon as you wake up, play one of your favorite songs and really listen to it (as if for the first time). Really listen to every sound and every lyric and then just continue with your day. The chances are that the song will keep playing in your head, over and over. Why? Because you have activated certain thought patterns within your mind and now, through the universal law of attraction process, you've attracted similar like thoughts.

Remember that change is the only constant, so even though it may seem to you as though it's the same lines of the same song or the same thoughts replaying; that is impossible. That's just the illusion of continuity that we create in order to experience reality in a linear way. In truth, every moment is a discrete universe unto itself, so really, you, as an energy being have attracted different, but similar like thoughts unto yourself.

On a deeper level: (as if for the first time). As indeed it is, for in every moment of your existence you are a new parallel reality and thus you are experiencing that song for the first time from the perspective of that particular entity representing that particular parallel reality.

Regarding science and things like gravity and magnetism etcetera, remember that this reality is only one reality of an infinite number of possible realities. Before we incarnated into this reality, we made certain soul-level agreements that were necessary in order for us to experience this reality. We agreed that gravity and magnetism work in the way that they do in this reality, and hence the apparent contradiction or paradox regarding 'like attracts like.'

However, this does not affect the actual, fundamental laws of nature. Therefore, if we have a particular need to overcome these local laws (collective agreements) and if our belief is strong enough, we can render them ineffective in our experience. Be careful in rendering gravity ineffectual though, otherwise you’ll have to consciously believe that you won’t float away in every second of your time on earth :)

Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to answer this seemingly paradoxical question.

I agree with you Wade, but I however don't see it as a contradiction at all.

If like attracts like were true, then we would not expect a person offering an "abundant" vibration to be surrounded by those in financial need.

This is often not the case though. The problem is, in real life, you are never offering just ONE clear signal (except perhaps, if you are very very deep in meditation or prayer for a short time). You are offering a whole variety of signals all at once, which meld together to form a new signal. All your "vibrations" that you give off are one puzzle piece in a very large jigsaw (and in fact, those pieces themselves are a jigsaw with their own pieces too!)

So, keeping with the abundant example. Another part of their vibrational offering may be "I am a good person". That "I am a good person" piece is composed of all the things they consider necessary to be considered a good person. One piece of it may be "a good person gives money to those who ask for it."

If you look at it, the fulfillment of the "I am a good person" vibration has its own requirements, such as "I have to give money to those who ask", otherwise it is not fulfilled.

So all those vibrations meld together and what happens is...the person who is abundant is surrounded by people who themselves are not abundant and always asking for handouts (and they happily give the money, because they are a good person)...and it will stay that way unless the person either gives off "I am not a good person" vibe, in which case they will behave more like a scrooge. Or if they remove the consitutent part of "I am a good person"; "A good person gives money to those who ask for it". In the later case, such people would fade from their life. (Stingray mentioned this in his reply, too)

It may help to view it not so much as "like attracts like" but more as "each vibration offered attracts what is necessary to fulfill it."™ - Me :P It just so happens that many vibrations fulfillment is of a like nature. i.e. abundant vibration requires abundant circumstances. But the fulfillment of the square peg is the square hole - and so that is what should be attracted.

I'm not sure if that expressed my pov clearly enough or not.

A rather good explanation of this aspect is gone into here(make sure you have some free time, the whole grouping of that video is about an hour all up): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMZgGknymU4

I stumbled upon them a while back, and they are very good at explaining some of these issues clearly (and beautifully).

if i tell you that both are true. because it always depends how you use what you have. you have free will what you do to other comes back to you. if you live by the sword you will die by the sword. if someone comes to fight with you. and you let your emotion control you and beat him up. next time he will come back with a weapon or with a gang. if you stop him and tell him that you leave him the choice to stop that stupid fight or that he will die from is own choice. he will change is choice. that is how you stop the cycle of stupidity and hate. and in that way only someone that live by the sword will die by the sword. so it is always a question of choice and what you do with it. one is not happy in extreme stay in the middle and have the choice. do not judge or you will be judge with the same mesure. i forgive you sin no more. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

"Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?" James 2:5-7

Μακάριοι οι πτωχοί τω πνεύματι, επειδή δεν κάνουν κακό. με αυτόν τον τρόπο να σέβονται το νόμο. Μακάριοι οι πράοι, επειδή είναι ταπεινοί.

με αυτόν τον τρόπο δεν είναι σαρκικά και θα είναι ευλογημένο από το πνεύμα και θα είναι σε θέση να κατανοήσουμε την Αγία Γραφή. όπου ο σαρκικός δεν μπορεί. με αυτόν τον τρόπο ο Θεός έκανε το σοφό αυτού του κόσμου ανόητο

http://www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/kingdom.htm

experience and enjoy.

Right here in our physical world opposites attract. Our physical world is full of dualities as in - Negative and + positive polarities. Opposites atract as any stientist can prove beyond a shadow of doubt.

The Law Of Attraction however is one of the fundamental laws of life and works all the time and for everything including manifesting. In the physical world it works on the principle of opposites attract and in the manifesting of desires it works on the principle of like attracts like. Yes I know it sounds very confusing but it is true. Without the Law Of Attraction life simply wouldnt exist.

Lets take a simple atom for instance. It contains a nucleus which is + positively charged and orbiting this nucleus are electrons which are - negatively charged. All matter including our physical bodies are made of atoms. (if you dont know what an atom looks like imagine our solar system only millions of times smaller and it resembles the atom perfectly.) The + positive neucleus and the -negative electrons attract each other and the atom in its natural state is in equilibrium. Our physical world is nothing more than groopings of atoms in various states of vibration. Even all of this is nothing more than energy although it is en extremly dense form of energy.

So why is it that in using the Law of Attraction when manifesting they say like attracts like? Isnt it suposed to be as above so below and as within so without? Yes it is and if one has to delve deeply into the subject one will find out that is exactly how it works. All of life workes on the same principles. Even in manifesting there are negatives and positives and they attract each other but to not confuse many who do not have the scientific knowledge it is much easier to say like attracts like for in the end that is the result. By the way like attracts like is only for mnifesting and not to be confused with our physical world.

Hope I havent confused you even more.

Love and Light

there are rules within Nature
and she is usually exacting,
everything does have a polar opposite,
yet like vibrations are attractive to each other

Hello Jai, here is some enlightening info ...

Definition of opposites that attract ... "i'm willing to accept that everything is meaningless, if you're willing to accept that we're madly in love" ;

http://www.thebadchemicals.com/?p=175

and here is a definition of like attracts like ... "we are all unique and different from each other but somewhere and somehow we share common links" ;

http://www.rajeshrana.com/like-attracts-like/

It reminds me of that double spin game ... tossing a coin in the air i say to my friend "heads i win, tails you lose" ?!

have a great day

Magenets obviously attract opposite poles to eachother. I think magnetism and gravity would not fall under the LOA.

It doesn't say Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Earth. It says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." and "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." If you leave out "in spirit," it has a different meaning.

It has been asked here if one must suffer greatly before they become spiritual. Maybe that is what this is about. Poor in spirit means lacking resources spiritually. Who seeks for spirituality, the spiritually rich, or the spiritually poor? Jesus said he didn't come to save the righteous, but to save the lost. So, blessed are the lost because they will be found. Blessed are the spiritual orphans for they will be adopted into the family of God and be joint heirs with Jesus. People who are not spiritually orphaned, don't need to be adopted. I am not trying to add anything to the Bible here, just illustrate a little.

"Take the case of Mother Teresa: she was called by God to treat the poorest of the poor. She thus sought out these people. But she attracted to herself, because of her actions, the highest vibrational people on the planet."

What do you mean she attracted to herself the highest vibrational people on the planet? Mother Theresa attracted people to her that needed help because her vibration matched. Her vibration came from a place of thinking that people need help, or her need to feel needed. But she held a belief that matched their vibration. That is a match. We can have different vibrations surrounding differnt ideas or issues. Her vibration was high enough to not get the diseases she was around.

So, we can attract people into our lives that match our vibration surrounding specific issues, but not others.

I don't think it has so much to do with poles, but beliefs. When you cast your desire, you 'tag' what you want. Since everything is connected, or one, then there is a direct line from you to your tagged desire. Like the tubes at the bank. So when you tag something, it creates this tube for your tagged desire to get to you. However, limiting beliefs, fears, doubts, etc... can block your tube so that your tagged desire cannot reach you. So the goal is to remove the blocks from your tube, so your tagged desire can get through to you.

They attract each other. Each is on it's own terms. They just happen to agree from different viewpoints. The kicker is, that it is still relative. It depends on the history of the people involved. Some very like people get along too. But there is always some differences. That is what makes the bond. The universe is one big battery.