Yes Sol, this is the way to go and it's sooooo simple after all!


_________________
__________________
Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.
Rumi

Leia wrote:

These are 100 quotes from The Secret, little "instruction manual"

This is great Leia, thanks for that. I was just sitting down to try and get something like that together, and it's good to know it already exists. Did you write this, or is there an actual "manual" somewhere?

I recommend everyone to have a good read (and start utilizing the method on a daily basis.)

Sol

(My earlier message was a reply to what you wrote before that, about not contolling other people.)

No there's no actual instraction manual, these are just main principals, talked about in the movie. I live by them for while now. Sol, if you intersted I might be able to recommend some existing systems or courses which can be a great help . PM me if you like.
Love.


_________________
__________________
Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.
Rumi

Alright you guys made some good points. Thanks for clearing that up.
I have another question. What if you imagine the girl you like thinking about you? Is that better than trying to "control" them?
I mean might that manifest?
Im asking this because there was a beautiful girl that liked me in high school and I was going through alot of things to even notice.
I found out she liked me from my friend like a year back and I want to meet her again. I was dealing with the mental illness back then so i didnt tell her liked her too.
Shes probably the only reason i still have Myspace cause i keep hope that she might look for me one day.
So is there a method i can use to get her to just think about me? I understand its ultimately her choice if she wants to be with me and im not trying to force anything.

Mitsurugi - I always found it more difficult to answer questions of a practical nature about this. For a better understanding of how this works on an everyday basis, you may need to look into the courses which Leia mentions. The "wish visualisation system" these people speak is possibly something many people do differently.

I myself found that when I think of somebody a great deal, that person is also thinking of me. I suppose the main point is awareness that our sphere of influence on other people's free actions is limited. Do not be disappointed if you don't get the results you expect. They stress in the video how important it is not to "lose faith" in the process. And also to be open to the opportunities presented before you. As was noted, you may get an opportunity with a girl who is "a type" that you're looking for, but not necessarily the exact person you envision.

Leia - thanks for the offer, I was asking basically because I'm still trying to find out what the people who produced this video get out of it, and I'm thinking it may be the follow-up courses you refer to. I myself, as I say, have been living by this method for nearly thirty years now, and can report that it definitely works, and people who know me personally can testify that it has certainly worked in my own life. But I have also seen enough to know that its working is "tricky" in many ways, and different people get different results. I'm still trying to figure out a simple system that would be suitable for everybody. I'll give that list you posted a good read.

Sol

Hi Leia, thanks for the post.

Sounds like everyone is getting the idea. What you focus on becomes .............so FEELING gratitude, thankfulness, love etc brings these to you and the stronger more beam like focus the quicker it comes to you......of course there is the otherside of the coin........yuk !!!

practicing NOT being angry for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month allows you to open your personal awareness to what is stopping you from, being healthy, abundant and wealthy. This way applying the the LOA. Feeling, that you desire becomes easier for you.....

So hence the global effort of the big O on december 22........World Peace......

Hi,

I'm glad to see this got bumped up, as I was just thinking of doing the same thing. I'm working on a little article now which involves the Rosicrucians, and here's a little something I stumbled on from another forum:

"The term "Law of Attraction" originates in Rosicrucian teachings, which date back to ancient Egypt.
This connection is confirmed in "The Secret" movie itself, where the word "Rosicrucian" prominently appears several times."

(See at http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/archive/index.php/t-149096.html, postings from Nov. 7)

As for the Universal Orgasm on the 22nd - my sincere advice to everyone is to start practicing extensively, so you're ready for the big day (:-).

Cheers,
Sol

That's right Sol, there is still time ,3 weeks before 22nd!



Practice makes perfect!


_________________
__________________
Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.
Rumi

I should give this big O heads up to my son for his birthday.


Here's the Larry King show on the Secret for those that missed it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tgjek1ydZtM&mode=related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o13XU0SgVQg&mode=related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UUD2JJN5QGk&mode=related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4UrlduoVbZM&mode=related&search=

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UTjvCW_qIbE&mode=related&search=

Well, I'm here to play devils advocate on this one folks.

First of all, I will say, that I fully understand the principal of "Like Attracts Like" and Causation. I do not agree with the claim that these people make, that it is "the most powerful law in the universe". I consider that to be an aspect of belief which is most sinister. JZ Knight, who claims to channel "Ramtha" is a very dubious persona to say the least.

Attraction is a technique, not a Universal Law.

In my opinon, it is a cult mentality being used as a marketting technique.

Why does "The Law of Attraction" work?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

Quote:

Magical Thinking

Magical thinking is a general term applied to any beliefs which stem from illogical causal thought processes. Common expressions of magical thinking include the belief that words hold magical influence or strong powers over reality ("speak of the devil", prayer) and that one's own thoughts hold similar sway, creating circumstances through the generation of apparent luck and punishment or even molding the whole of reality. These are the expressions which we find most interesting in our discussion.

Magical thinking is a powerful belief because it cannot be disproven, applies circular logic and causal relationships and is self-validating to believers. This is why it plays such an important role in all major manipulated religions, superstitions, spiritual sects and even social and political movments throughout history. Studies have shown that magical thinking exists in most people in varying forms, often expressed as wishful thinking or things like good luck charms. The psychology of this belief is the core of why the Laws of Attraction appear to work for people. Let's discuss the details.


Cognitive Dissonance and Biases

Cognitive dissonance is defined as "the perception of incompatibility between two cognitions, which can be defined as any element of knowledge, including attitude, emotion, belief, or behavior". A cognitive bias is "any of a wide range of observer effects identified in cognitive science and social psychology including very basic statistical, social attribution, and memory errors that are common to all human beings". It is a distortion of reality and perception reflecting strongly in the Observer Effect.


Illusion of Control

"Illusion of control is the tendency for human beings to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes that they demonstrably have no influence over. The predominant paradigm in research on unrealistic perceived control has been Ellen Langer’s (1975) “illusion of control”. Langer showed that people often behave as if chance events are accessible to personal control. In a series of experiments, Langer demonstrated first the prevalence of the illusion of control and second, that people were more likely to behave as if they could exercise control in a chance situation where “skill cues” were present. By skill cues, Langer meant properties of the situation more normally associated with the exercise of skill, in particular the exercise of choice, competition, familiarity with the stimulus and involvement in decisions.

Under some circumstances, experimental subjects have been induced to believe that they could affect the outcome of a purely random coin toss. Subjects who guessed a series of coin tosses more successfully began to believe that they were actually better guessers, and believed that their guessing performance would be less accurate if they were distracted.

Taylor and Brown argue that positive illusions are adaptive, since there is evidence that they are more common in normally mentally healthy individuals than in depressed individuals. However, Pacini, Muir and Epstein (1998) have shown that this may be because depressed people overcompensate for a tendency toward maladaptive intuitive processing by exercising excessive rational control in trivial situations, and note that the difference with non-depressed people disappears in more consequential circumstances.

There is also empirical evidence that high self-efficacy can be maladaptive in some circumstances. In a scenario-based study, Whyte et al. (1997) showed that participants in whom they had induced high self-efficacy were significantly more likely to escalate commitment to a failing course of action. Knee and Zuckerman (1998) have challenged the definition of mental health used by Taylor and Brown and argue that lack of illusions is associated with a non-defensive personality oriented towards growth and learning and with low ego involvement in outcomes. They present evidence that self-determined individuals are less prone to these illusions.

Fenton-O'Creevy et al (2003) argue, as do Gollwittzer and Kinney (1989), that while illusory beliefs about control may promote goal striving, they are not conducive to sound decision-making. Illusions of control may cause insensitivity to feedback, impede learning and predispose toward greater objective risk taking (since subjective risk will be reduced by illusion of control).

One important explanation for illusion of control may lie in self-regulation theory. To the extent that people are driven by internal goals concerned with the exercise of control over their environment, they will seek to reassert control in conditions of chaos, uncertainty or stress. Failing genuine control, one coping strategy will be to fall back on defensive attributions of control—leading to illusions of control."


Positive Thinking Bias (Valence Effect)

"The valence effect of prediction is the tendency for people to simply overestimate the likelihood of good things happening rather than bad things. (Valence refers to the positive or negative emotional charge something has.) This finding has been corroborated by dozens of studies. In one straightforward experiment, all other things being equal, participants assigned a higher probability to picking a card that had a smiling face on its reverse side than one which had a frowning face. In addition, some have reported a valence effect in attribution when we overpredict the likelihood of positive events happening to ourselves relative to others." This is a self-serving bias.

This ties into other biases, such as Positive/Negative Outcome in which people will attribute positive outcomes for themselves and those they care about as due to personal skill, luck or thought and negativity to outside influences, environmental factors, other people or personal failing to "generate" a positive response. For example we can see this in the belief of good luck charms (identical to "good luck thinking"). Someone carries a certain item with them and wins a contest. They will continue to carry this item forever, yet every time they win a contest after that they will attribute it to the item even though they win and lose with the same certainty as before. This is an example of selective memory and reinforces the belief in the item or the process of thinking.


Illusory Correlation (Post Hoc)

"Illusory correlation is the phenomenon of seeing the relationship one expects in a set of data even when no such relationship exists. Chapman and Chapman (1971) studied the effect as it relates to psychodiagnostic signs. Their study showed that although projective testing is not helpful in the diagnosis of mental disorders, some psychologists continue to use such tests because of a perceived, illusory, correlation between test results and certain attributes.

This bias can be caused by, among other things, an event that stands out as unique. For example, "The only time I forget my pencil is when we have a test" This is most likely an illusory correlation (unless the speaker is very, very, unlucky). It could be caused by only a few other pencil-less tests, which stand out particularly well in the memory."

"Post hoc ergo propter hoc is Latin for "after this, therefore because of this." It is often shortened to simply post hoc. Some philosophy books translate the Latin to simply: "If after, then therefore, because."

Post hoc, also known as "coincidental correlation" or "false cause," is a logical fallacy which assumes or asserts that if one event happens after another, then the first must be the cause of the second. It is a particularly tempting error because temporal sequence is integral to causality — it is true that a cause always happens before its effect. The fallacy lies in coming to a conclusion based only on the order of events, which is not an accurate indicator. That is to say, it is not always true that the first event caused the second event.

Post hoc is an example of affirming the consequent. It can be expressed as follows:

When A occurs, B occurs.
Therefore, A causes B.

This line of reasoning is the basis for many superstitious beliefs and magical thinking, connecting two things that have no actual or logical connection. For example, if a person sees a coin on the ground and picks it up, and later receives good news, that person may become convinced that finding the coin resulted in the good news, even though it was a mere coincidence.

Post hoc reasoning is related to the logical fallacy "correlation implies causation (cum hoc ergo propter hoc)."


The number of easily identifiable and documented thought patterns and cognitive biases that relate to magical thinking is simply exhaustive. Cognitive biases can further reinforce these beliefs through selective memory and attribution or statistical errors. Examine the subject on your own. But what makes The Secreters tick? What attracts them to these illogical beliefs and why do they continue to believe in them?

http://www.fwbo-files.com/CofC.htm

Quote:

The Cult Mentality

"Initially using conventional marketing techniques, cults promote their particular belief systems. The trick is that through influencing a person's beliefs, it is possible to influence or indirectly control a person's mind. The actual controlling of mind is done by the person themselves, as they attempt to train and discipline their mind in accordance with the tenets of their new belief system. It is the belief system itself which is the primary active agent in cult mind control.

Cult belief systems differ from conventional belief systems in a number of subtle but significant ways, which may not be apparent to an outsider. To understand the nature of these differences is to understand the nature of a cult.

Cult belief systems are typically:

Independent and non-accountable - believers follow their own self-justifying moral codes: e.g. a Moonie may, in their own mind, justify deceptive recruiting as 'deceiving evil into goodness'.

Aspirational - they appeal to ambitious, idealistic people. The assumption that only weak, gullible people join cults is not necessarily true.

Personal and experiential - it is not possible to exercise informed free choice in advance, about whether the belief system is valid or not, or about the benefits of following the study and training opportunities offered by the group. The benefits, if any, of group involvement can only be evaluated after a suitable period of time spent with the group. How long a suitable period of time might be, depends on the individual, and cannot be determined in advance.

Hierarchical and dualistic - cult belief systems revolve around ideas about higher and lower levels of understanding. There is a hierarchy of awareness, and a path from lower to higher levels. Believers tend to divide the world into the saved and the fallen, the awakened and the deluded, etc.

Bi-polar - believers experience alternating episodes of faith and doubt, confidence and anxiety, self-righteousness and guilt, depending how well or how badly they feel they are progressing along the path.

Addictive - believers may become intoxicated with the ideals of the belief system, and feel a vicarious pride in being associated with these ideals. Cults tend to be cliquey and elitist, and believers can become dependent on the approval of the group's elite to maintain their own self-esteem. At an extreme, believers fear they will fall into hell if they leave the group.

Non-falsifiable - a cult belief system can never be shown to be invalid or wrong. This is partly why critics have low credibility, and why it can be difficult to warn people of the dangers of a cult.


Self Delusion

Some cults promote an overtly religious type of belief system. Others, such as so-called therapy cults, promote a secular type of belief system, based on quasi-scientific or quasi-psychological principles. Some so-called New Age cults combine religious and secular elements in their belief system. In general, cult organisations promote utopian ideals of self awareness or self-transcendence, ostensibly for the benefit both of the individual and of the world at large.

Of course, not every organisation which promotes this kind of ideal is necessarily a cult. However, it can be quite difficult to tell from the outside whether a group is a cult or not. In general, as long as a cult maintains a respectable public image, it will attract followers who aspire to this kind of ideal.

Cult belief systems present a vision in which any individual, through following the group's teachings, can begin to realise their own higher potential. Believers begin to aspire to a 'new life' or a 'new self', based on these ideals. At the same time as they begin to aspire to this improved new self, believers begin to see their old self, their pre-cult personality, as having fallen short of the ideal. An old self - new self dichotomy can grow up within a cult member's mind, as they gradually eschew beliefs and behaviour associated with their old self, and adopt attitudes and affiliations that seem appropriate for their new self. They may even come to see their unreformed old self as the enemy of their emerging new self.

A cult does not control its members by using external coercion. It is the belief system itself which is the primary active agent in cult mind control. The controlling of mind is done by the person themselves, as they attempt to discipline their mind and reform their personality, in accordance with the tenets of their new belief system. Effectively, a cult uses a person's own energy and aspirations against them.

This analysis proposes the term 'Bi-polar mind control' to denote a generic class of 'devious psychological techniques' used by cult organisations to gain and control adherents. Essentially, bi-polar mind control works by encouraging an aspirant to identify with an imagined ideal new self, and then, from the perspective of this new self, to see their old self as comparatively inferior and flawed. It is ego-utopia or hubris for the new self, and ego-dystonia or shame for the old self."

Devious psychological techniques which often take the form of thought or language (NLP) manipulation by taking advantage of a person's natural cognitive biases to provide them evidence that the cult's magic techniques work via false evidence appearing real.

It is calculated, clear manipulation of unsuspecting people.


_________________
Wyrd bið ful aræd : Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a
blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was...

Holy cow dude! Where have you been with this stuff before?

Did you write this? This is an excellent article. It all sounds very interesting after a perfunctory look, and there'll be nothing for it but to sit back and give it a good and deep read. This may take a while, as I'm currently reading thirty other things, but I just wanted to let you know I'm on it. You shall hear from our people soon

My best,
Sol

Right on. You certainly did your homework, Chi.

People, heed Chi's words. They speak volumes of the actual world around you. Every word makes perfect sense to me. Blind devotion. Old habits. Wishful thinking. Denial. Lucky charms. Luck. Cults.

The reason I read this is because I am a positive thinker. But not blindly. I know I have to work hard in order to survive & prosper. I know people do get inheritances. My great uncle died a few years ago with over $180,000 to be doled out to some family members.

I am a positive thinker but I don't push everything else aside. I face each challenge as it comes along & am sometimes ready for it due to past mistakes. I have to take the bad with the good.

I am a positive thinker but I don't insist my way is the only way. I enjoy learning. I like to be able to handle situations in different ways just in case the initial one isn't up to par.

I am a positive thinker but I don't expect things to go my way without my influence. I would be happy if they did but?

I am a positive thinker but I know I make errors in action & judgement like everyone else does. I try not to make mistakes but I don't blame others (unless someone runs me over while I am following the traffic laws & the like).

I am a positive thinker but I don't rely on special objects to help me. I've tried it before. Most people have. I keep objects as mementos. I have a solid iron ball about the size of a golf ball that I stepped on & almost fell 10 feet onto a concrete walkway. That was in '95. I also have some nicer items though.

I am a positive thinker but I don't attribute my past experiences as either lucky or unlucky. I will not rely on it for my future either. I'll take advantage of any opportunity when it comes along. I'm always on the lookout for opportunities. I won't pass up one in order to get another.

I am a positive thinker BUT i will NOT tolerate the presence of a cult if possible. I won't point any fingers right now as we've dealt with that one. The only group influence is on a job or out with my friends on the weekend.

Chi, I can be a positive thinker. So can others. I've talked on this many times & you have put some excellent points across. If you notice something odd or not to be true, please let me know. I am posting these words to help, if I can, shed a little light on subjects. I want people to know that there is more for them out there if they strive for it. It may not be exactly what you want but at least you put some effort into it. Correct me if need be. As long as it will help.

Nice article Chi.



_________________
Be Positive, NOW! Angus Rules!

Sorry I posted that in haste, its not all my writing...I will ammend it.


_________________
Wyrd bið ful aræd : Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a
blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was...

The idea that the LOA is a Universal Law, means that it is true all the time. If that is the case, then we live in a just world, where everyone always gets what they deserve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_World_Hypothesis

This is one of the main aspects of the LOA stuff that I take objection too.

The other, is this:

"The Secret" tells you that positive thinking will fulfill your desires. But from a Spiritual perspective, can you distinguish between an ego-based desire and an objective that originates in your primordial self? You have to be able to make that distinction. Desiring material goods and trying to use the law of attraction to get them, for your own pleasure because you desire expensive/nice things, or whatever, does not really seem like a spiritual motivation, right? You would still be looking to material things as a source of happiness, trying to use spiritual, energetic concepts to fulfill base desires. It seems like the ultimate form of insanity to me.

In my opinion, this is the type of thinking that the "so-called" Elite love to engage in, because it completely justifies thier actions, and their very existence as the established power. It plays right into their social darwinism, that they have all they do because they are such wonderfully "Attractive" people who deserve everything they have, including thier "divine right" to treat others the way they do. After all, the people who end up maimed, killed and enslaved "attracted their fate".
To say it is a Univeral Law is to say there are no victims, period.

They would love everyone to believe that.

Trent:
Don't be mistaken in thinking I am telling people not to think positively, rather I am asking people to keep in mind the demonstratable cognitive biases human beings exhibit, and be honest with yourselves.


_________________
Wyrd bið ful aræd : Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a
blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was...

Quite a few views since I last posted, no one has said anything yet....
Did I kill this topic?



_________________
Wyrd bið ful aræd : Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a
blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was...

Nah, I like the artwork though.

I see this as a chance to show that positive thinking is a good thing. These people who come out & say they have found the way is money oriented. Something like a cult but more to use a person's desire to find a quick fix in order to "attract" their money.

I say a quick fix or 2 will be welcome by me. The point is that if you think positively you will be keeping an eye open for that quick fix. Find out what it is that could help make your life easier.

This law of attraction means a little something different than the law proposed by this group. My interpretation of that law is people will respond in kind. You can try to do something nice out of the blue when the chance arises. If you couldn't, there's always tomorrow. It certainly won't cause any damage.

The thing I stress is you will not get what you feel you deserve unless you work at it. When you earn what you own you do feel a helluva lot better about that & will cherish it more.

We will have downfalls & traps ahead of us. We face these challenges & feel even better about your life due to the effort you put into it.

To me all of this & more is positive thinking. Thinking about a positive future can make the present a little better.

If you want a difficult road, just do the opposite. Actually, please don't.



_________________
Be Positive, NOW! Angus Rules!

No you didn't kill the thread and I agree with you on alot of it, if not most. I just haven't been able to say all I want due to time and not knowing how to put words together cause this all pisses me off so.

I've had feelings about this since it all came out and I saw the vids. Part of me says, wow! how cool. Then the other part of me says wait a minute, this can't be all right.

THEN! Watching the Larry King thing, seeing them interact with each other ( hadn't watched them before I posted them ) Watching the bits of their rantings and ravings in there lectures. It's like watching a bible thumping temporance meeting. I can honestly say I don't adhere to anything like that. Turns me off in a heart beat. Maybe it works for them and like you say for the elite, but I don't want anything to do with it.

SO! I'm taking the bits I like and try to think positive, not get upset about things I can't change. If something horrible happens like family getting hurt or dieing I'm not going to NOT get upset!

Like my circumstance now. I could just get all upset and just become insane, pissed and whatever. But, it takes patience, all that would not help my circumstance. Things will turn again. I will hope and think good thoughts. Appreciating what you have is very important. Patience is key.

Thinking your gonna get a huge check in the mail or your gonna have riches untold and become a corperate CEO is just a bit much. Like the telemarketing scams that are out now. It's sad, but I do think it's a scam of sorts. There's no way this can happen to all that do it. It's not possible. IMHO.

All you can do is try to be as good person and do the best you can. None of this is magic.

Well Chi, you certainly got me thinking about this one. Took me a while to put this together as you can see, hehe.

Those are some very thought-provoking quotes about the Cognitive Biases and the Cult Mentality. They speak of semantic language manipulation and NLP, what I just got done writing about, hehe. My issue with the people who wrote the Wiki articles, is that they can loosely all be classed with the "debunker crowd" - they think about things from a Materialistic perspective, which works hard to deny anything "magic". And yet I know that enough "magic" exists in everyone's life to make it interesting, and even such stalwart "atheist" scientists as Isaac Asimov made note of this point.

But I think I understand exactly what bothers you about "The Secret" and the system it promulgates.

Chi_Disciple wrote:

But from a Spiritual perspective, can you distinguish between an ego-based desire and an objective that originates in your primordial self?
Desiring material goods and trying to use the law of attraction to get them, for your own pleasure because you desire expensive/nice things, or whatever, does not really seem like a spiritual motivation

That's beatutiful man, and you've expressed my own problem with this thing much better than I've managed. That's exactly it, they stress the Material angle of this system too much, and point out all the physical riches and goods you can "get" with it. Then they show all those smiling and content faces of people who've "made it", so you can see how happy those things can make you. This is exactly what TV advertising does too, and I feel it's a total perversion of the LOA principle.

I also see what you're saying about the "Just World Hypothesis", and the rich promoting a system where people are made to feel that everybody "gets what they deserve." This is of course a deep philosophical question, because this is an ancient historical doctrine, which you can find present in such unrelated things as the Protestant Work Ethic or the Indian Caste System. There is much to be said spiritually about being content with your position in the world, even if it's on the bottom of the scale. "The Secret" does make this point too, but their fault is in the emphasis they place on the need to increase your riches and improve your position.

As I say, I have been able to incorporate the system proposed by this movie into my own life many years ago, so I know that it works. My material demands on "the flow" have been very modest - but they have all been met, everything I've ever wanted. But I second everything Trent wrote in his posting, about needing to temper any reliance on this method with a great deal of understanding about related things. It is indeed vital to control our "ego-based desires", otherwise they begin to control us.

By the way, I think I've found the origin of this doctrine in modern times. It was started over a hundred years ago by a man named Wallace D. Wattles, who wrote "The Science of Getting Rich":
"There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty."

I chanced on a summary of this book a couple of decades ago, under the title "Financial Success". I realized right away that the method it propses is how the Universe really works, except I saw it has the power to trap me firmly in the Material World, so I concentrated on spiritual riches and not material ones, and have been amply rewarded. So that would be the recommended key to Success

Cheers,
Sol

Quote:

My issue with the people who wrote the Wiki articles, is that they can loosely all be classed with the "debunker crowd" - they think about things from a Materialistic perspective, which works hard to deny anything "magic". And yet I know that enough "magic" exists in everyone's life to make it interesting, and even such stalwart "atheist" scientists as Isaac Asimov made note of this point.

True enough, although, their opinions are based on often accurate observations of human behavior. I certainly do not adopt their perspectice, but I do have a scientific approach to the concept of "magic". People can directly influence a portion of their reality, but there are forces at work far and beyond anything that can be exerted by an individual or even humanity collectively. This needs to be understood.
Failing to do so is one of the reasons that people who buy into this (and I know having spoken to many of them) do adopt the Just World Hypothesis based on the LOA.
Its a technique, not the "most powerful law in the universe".
People who use it also tend to rely on judgement calls of "positive and negative" which are entirely subjective for the most part, aside from basic social programming, and the ones they tell you are positive and negative.

The entire concept of "wealth" = possessions is one aspect of this.
We have a class of people in our world who print the money.
The "Economy" is largely and illusion of thier control, to the best extent they can manage. Their establishment of this hierachical system is not because they are wonderfully attractive people who deserve it more than "the rest of us".
They didn't obtain it by "magic" alone, either. Lots of death and destruction of lives and the planet its self. For what?
The Illusion of Control.


_________________
Wyrd bið ful aræd : Vitoð ér enn, eða hvat?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a
blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was...

The Illusion of Control, I totally agree with this one.

And, Chi, you did not kill the thread

Very interesting post and I do resonate with your point of view in many

aspects.


_________________
__________________
Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue.
If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.
Rumi