The Dark Side of the Law of Attraction

This article was originally published at americanchronicle.com on Feb. 19th, 2009

Many people might find it hard to fathom that the Law of Attraction has a dark side. It seems such a fine, positive, happy law that it seems impossible that something could actually be dangerous about it. And yet, in my mind, there is a growing shadow, a creeping suspicion that somewhere in the universe an evil presence is wringing its hands in glee and anticipation as more and more people subscribe to this notion that everything that happens in this world can be controlled by mere thought and that the thought process is what attracts good and bad events into one´s life. Perhaps this evil presence somehow feeds on the notions it creates, perhaps it enjoys polarizing people, or perhaps it´s simply trying to prevent those who can engage in critical thinking from doing so. I really don´t know. I can just sense this presence lurking, waiting for its chance to pounce on the unsuspecting and maximize the chaos and mayhem it plans on unleashing upon the universe. I shudder just thinking about it.

"Why should this be?" I might lay awake at night and ask myself. "What could possibly be so dangerous about a quirky little quasi-religious new age belief?"

Well, if you will indulge me, the answers might become quite clear. You see, and as many of you who regularly read my column probably know, I am an author of fiction novels. But I don´t write your everyday true to life fiction, I specialize in the horror, fantasy and science fiction genres. Should this law prove itself out, I may be in a world of hurt. You see, my imagination runs wild and sometimes the evilest and most terrifying of imagery races through my head and begs to be set to paper. If any of this ever creeps into the material world we now inhabit, well, I´d hate to think that I had a hand in bringing it upon us. I don´t wish to be responsible for the world´s first zombie attack.

But wait, perhaps there is good news. Perhaps the positive action of my putting to words these images for the purpose of entertaining the masses has counteracted this vile plague that was set to spring forth into the world and it will not come to pass. At least, not through me. What a relief. I do, however, still harbor a frightening thought. What if there´s someone with an imagination like mine, only he doesn´t have the wordsmithing talent I have. He may not be able to channel his thoughts into such positive activities and then we´re all in trouble. Vile creatures will spring forth from this person´s head and then we´re all done for. Oh, the humanity! This evil presence I feel has only to find this person and infect him or her and that will be it for mankind.

Or, now that I think about, perhaps this shadow I sense is far more subtle. After all, haven´t some science fiction writers already developed such stories? Star Wars comes to mind. Darth Vader killed a couple of dudes in that movie merely by thinking them to death. He and Luke Skywalker battled not only physically, but psychically as well, testing each other´s wills and the other´s ability to control "The Force," George Lucus´ scifi version of the "Law of Attraction." In his movie, there were all sorts of minor heroes who were affected by The Force, some who lived and some who died, but only Luke and Darth had truly mastered the art of using the Law of Att.., err, I mean "The Force."

In that movie it was all about control. So it is also, one might argue, with the Law of Attraction. For, if this "law" is a universal truth as its proponents believe, then it follows that since we all wield influence over each other, and yet at the same time we all control our destiny by focusing our thought, then at some point divergent viewpoints are going to be seeking conflicting outcomes and it only makes sense to me that he who has better mastered and learned how to manipulate this law will come out on top. Will it be Luke, or Darth?

Let´s pause for a moment to consider reality. In the real world, certain people most definitely wield power and influence over all our lives, even though they may not know us personally. These people are known as politicians. They are called presidents, prime ministers, senators, congressmen, etc. at higher levels and mayors, community leaders, state representatives, bureaucrats, etc. at lower levels. A reasonable question for those who adhere to this Law of Attraction might be, "Did these people attain their power by using the Law of Attraction?" If so, a good follow up question might be "Did they do so knowingly or unwittingly?" Finally one might ask "Are they using this power for their own advantage or to help give each and every individual the best chance of obtaining wealth and bettering their own lives?" In other words, is he using this power for good, or for evil?

The last question is a tricky one. In many cases it might seem like these politicians are trying to do good, they are trying to think positive and attract prosperity for all, but in reality they are only attracting more control and power for themselves and more dependency on government for everyone else. In this way, the political class is able to essentially create many people´s reality while the common man is prevented from becoming independent and self reliant.

This is the dark side of the Law of Attraction and the evil it can produce, and it appears to be winning at the moment. The world seems to be spiraling toward a future where there will be only government owned enterprises and its bureaucratic hierarchy and government approved and licensed monopolies. This over bloated creation we call government is regulating and restricting the free market out of existence and innovation and competition into the realm of criminal activity. This they do under the guise of good intentions, bail outs and stimulus packages.

But what if the Law of Attraction isn´t so powerful and all encompassing? What if these people aren´t always able to envision and bring a world into existence where they command all and the common folk are grateful for what they receive and give praise to the political classes for their "help" and "guidance?" Perhaps it´s not the envisioning at all that brings these things into being and makes these people so powerful. Perhaps it´s a directed effort on their part. After all, they make and pass the laws that dictate to you and to me how we should live our lives and conduct our business. Judging from the quality of the laws coming out of Washington DC lately, that doesn´t take too much thought or effort on their part. And we as a society just accept these dictates without question and abide by these laws no matter how bad, no matter how poorly written, no matter how ill considered.

Perhaps it´s time we exercise a little bit of directed effort on our part. Perhaps it´s time for the common folk of this country to stop thinking wistfully that those in power will help solve problems they´ve created with bigger government. It´s long past time for the common man to begin directing his efforts toward solving these problems himself. To accomplish this, those in power need to be directed to step out of the way. To accomplish this, the monstrosity known as centralized federal government needs to shrink, to cut its spending, and to release its grip on the mechanisms of power that led us to this point in the first place. Individuals should direct their efforts toward helping those in power realize this.

It is up to each and every individual as to the method by which he expends effort toward this goal. Some methods will prove more effective than others. One thing is certain, being apathetic and doing nothing except hoping for change and wishing for better times will accomplish nothing. Voting for one corrupt official over another corrupt official, or for some propagandistic, nebulous ideal which is never precisely defined will change only the guard. Volunteering for a corrupt organization will only help to prop up and maintain the illusion of legitimacy behind the corruption.

The time has come for the common man to show his dissatisfaction of the establishment by directing his efforts toward that goal. Show your dissatisfaction by being civilly disobedient, or support someone who has decided to stand up to the establishment. Start finding people not guilty for breaking laws that have no real victim. Demand that lawmakers read and understand the laws they pass. Discuss these things among your friends and take a contrary, individualist stance when one of them praises collectivist thought or policies. Let the people in government know that it is no longer ok for them to ignore our voices and our grievances. Get angry. Do something.

If it takes positive thinking to motivate you to take action, fine, think those positive thoughts and attract positive things to you. If it takes negative thinking for you to take action, that is also fine, then do so. The point is, take some form of action. Stand up and be counted. Let them know how you feel, for if you don´t then no one will do so for you.

If, however, you wish to just do nothing, to remain apathetic and to only release positive thoughts into the universe and hope that things change, then the dark side has already won.

Here is a list of a few organizations that can help you peacefully do something. There are others if you care to seek them out:

DownsizeDC.org
The Free State Project
Ron Paul´s Campaign for Liberty