Alexander,
Very good points in your first and last paragraphs. I might be wrong, but LOA/karma have not been discussed too much here. So it is a good topic. Looking at my life, I can say I achieved my major objectives whenever I was going after genuine desire coming from the heart and kept sticking to the intent of getting there. The odds many times were against, but I just kept going. Sometimes it felt like magic with too many coincidences aligning. So I do believe in the power of intent. There seems to be some kind of universal force trying to synchronizing all processes for the benefit of all. In Christianity it is God's work. But I have not found an exact equivalent for that force in Buddha's teachings. Probably it falls under karma as one of its aspects. Since Buddha was mostly concerned about teaching people how to get out of this world, he probably just wanted to keep his instruction very focused.
