Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Beyond Human Fred Alan Wolf, The Secret, and the LOA

Hello Friends,

I wanted to share my recent correspondence with Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, who is one of the teachers in The Secret. He has given me full permission to post this for your benefit. I hope you will be able to benefit from his balanced perspectives regarding the "Law of Attraction" (LOA).

Best to all,

HF


Dr. Wolf's comments about The Secret and The LOA (verbatim, unedited):
=====================================================

Here are my thought about "the secret." I am grateful for being in
the film and having the chance to tell people about my work and the wonders
of quantum physics and the universe and consciousness.

As far as the LOA is concerned, I really have little interest in
using that word "attraction", it seems to indicate a mechanism for having
things go your way.

In physics attraction means something quite definite as in like
bodies repel and unlike bodies attract. In quantum field theory, just the
presence of two subatomic massive bodies induces the quantum field to
produce an attractive force between the bodies. Such a theory led to the
discovery of the pion a subatomic particle which lead to the law of
attraction between two nucleons in the nucleus of any atom.

Since the LOA implies something quite different such as if you think
ugly thoughts you will attract ugly things to yourself and so on, I don't
use the word because I think human dynamics goes much deeper than that and I
tend to avoid simplistic solutions to complex problems akin to throwing out
the baby with the bathwater in order to get a clean tub.

I have lots of ugly thoughts. I have lots of sexy thoughts. I
have lots of thoughts and none of them bring any more to my life than my
intent and desire and willingness to work or to have the things I want.
Certainly having a positive happy disposition about things helps because
anyone usually finds working or being with a positive happy person better
than working with a negative one. But lots of geniuses are difficult to work
with and they still "attract" people because they are interested in the
work. I attract lots of people to me and I don't try to be happy--and in
fact I am usually a grouch. But still they come.

Of course when I present before several hundred people or at times
thousands, I always find some people definitely turned off by me and even
asking for their money back--so I don't "attract" everyone equally--some I
downright repel. I don't think those who are repelled are necessarily not
interested in my work, they just can't stand me. On the other hand those
that I attract--who knows? I doubt they are like me, more like they want
something they think I have or can teach them. But who knows. In other
words I don't think I really know what the LOA is or how to use it, since I
seem to not do so.

Best Wishes,

Fred Alan Wolf Ph.D.
Have Brains / Will Travel
San Francisco
http://www.fredalanwolf.com

Thanks for the insightful post Hartreefoch.
"I think human dynamics go much deeper than that..." Hear, hear!
best wishes
Ingrid

The fact that a New Age feature would misrepresent scientific work is very telling. They do it all the time. Pick up any book by Deepak Chopra, and you'll see ridiculous, pseudo-scientific ramblings that incorporate scientific evidence (misinterpreted and misunderstood, of course, by the author) that supposedly support crack-pot ideas.

Every good lie contains a little truth in it. And doesn't it show us something that people in the New Age movement take statements of scientists out of context and apply them willy-nilly in ways that support ideas the science has nothing to do with? Professional liars use this technique all the time. It's a great way to misrepresent the truth to get ignorant people to believe things that aren't true.

I had a friend who grew up actually believing that when he was an adult he would have a harem of beautiful women. He grew up in a country with rather backward ideas about women and their place in this world, and in such an environment he was allowed to really believe in this fantasy.

How could he believe it so strongly? Childish ignorance. Naivete.

Did he get his harem? Of course not. And as an adult he is still very bitter about this, believe it or not. ( No, it's not me. :P )

There are few things as strong, emotionally charged, vivid, and pure as the imagination of a child. According to New Age arguments about attraction, childhood fantasies should be actualized. Because of childhood ignorance, there is total belief. If belief is the major factor in creating new realities, then certainly every child is the seed of a new, fantastic universe.

And yet, I don't see unicorns leaping about on the horizon and dragons flying through the air. Every child isn't an astronaut, Barbie, a famous basketball player, or the president of the United States.

Why not? Because childish fantasies are just childish fantasies and reality is what persists despite our beliefs. Growing into adulthood requires you to learn this lesson, but like Peter Pan many of us just refuse to do it.

We've all experienced at one time or another the angry, bitter tears of a child who has just learned that he or she cannot get what he or she wants. At some point comes the demand for an explanation, which is a long and painful ordeal, because adults have to break through the strength of the fantasy, discern and correct the false assumptions which support it, and deal with the emotions, fantasies, and magical thinking that are the bricks of these castles in the air.

Getting an adult to believe in childish notions or fantasies or supporting these already existent tendencies is this process in reverse. It is not helping them. It's hurting them. But an adult who is childish and acts upon childish impulses is easy to manipulate and control.

Look at how the products on this website are advertised. Go through the copy and count the number of outrageous claims, and see how they entice the reader to fantasize and how the copy supports the inclination to think like a child who wants to believe that wishing for a pony hard enough will make the wish come true... and how the copy says that, yes, you will get what you wish for... if, that is, you buy the products.

I don't think LSC is filled with greedy monsters. Like most people in the field, and like many people in advertising and marketing, they believe it. So, in their minds they aren't deceiving and crippling, they're enlightening and supporting.

At some point or another we get cold water splashed in our faces. We wake up and smell the coffee. It isn't pleasant, but we are better off for it. It is better that you don't get what you wish for. There are Twilight Zone episodes about what it would be like if that sort of thing happened, and they are horrific.

Building a compelling vision is one thing, thinking, believing, and behaving like a child is another. I am all for building rich representations of what you want and engaging in imaginary rehearsals as a means to achieving your goals. I do it myself whenever I have to make a presentation or perform in various ways. Doing so has its advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it's better not to and to just wing it (with suitable preparation beforehand). As someone said (was it Mark Twain?), it takes a great deal amount of research and practice to prepare for an improvisational speech.

I think that instead of telling children (or adults) that imagining, wanting, and believing gets them what they want, maybe we should educate them about the myriad of tasks that are involved in actually turning visions into reality. Take them through any endeavor from conception to planning to execution and error and mishap handling to ultimately dealing with the maintenance of the creation. A firm base in reality helps people deal with the real world realistically. Wool-gathering doesn't make it happen, work does.

Hi babayada
"to think like a child who wants to believe that wishing for pony hard enough will make the wish come true" - thank you for summing it up so well! I can even see the look of concentration, eyes closed, gritted teeth, clenched fists.
You're right - there needs to be a wider and more practical appreciation of how the world works - we may all project fields of energy - but we ALL do it. Each individual is not the centre of the universe - and unfortunately focusing on "I want, I want, I want" coupled with "I have the power, I have the power, I have the power" only reinforces that almost superstitious notion. And as you rightly state, doesn't necessarily follow up with any real action.
I know there is an emphasis in New Ageisms on the idea that you can't control others, you can only control yourself and your own reactions. But this is removed from a wider context, a context which actively appreciates that: I am reponsible TO everyone else in the world, not just FOR myself. Again, the focus on what "I" want becomes secondary. Also, by focusing on wanting external material things, you ARE in fact seeking to control factors beyond yourself, undermining essentially the original premise anyway.
Regarding the blending of religion/spirituality with science - you might enjoy a look at the Examining my Beliefs: Evolution and Creationism thread...
best wishes
Ingrid

Dear babayada and Ingrid,

I'm glad you found Dr. Wolf's comments stimulating.

Yes, I often wonder about the line between the physical and the
metaphysical. I think the LOA is an aspect of the manifestation ideology,
which has ancient roots. "As a man thinketh, so shall he be." In its
purest form, this holds a lot of truth. As you said, babayada, hard work
is what pays off, and when coupled with a positive vision, success is sure
to follow.

To your list of unicorns and dragons I offer: Santa Claus. When I gave
this example to someone in an adjacent forum, though, he said he believed
Santa Claus DOES exist. Hmm ... perhaps unicorns and dragons do, too.

Well, we are all on interesting journeys, are we not?

Yours,

HF

Quote:

---

he said he believed
Santa Claus DOES exist. Hmm ... perhaps unicorns and dragons do, too.

---

Of course Unicorns exist!

We just don't always appear as Unicorns, that's all!

Cheers!
Unis (The Unicornlady)

PS: I have a large collection of just about everything Unicorn - "Sue Dawe", "Greg Reed" and "Shalatain" plates, prints, stuffed toys and miniature statues, large brass statue, large scented candle-wax holder, dinner bells, 'cow-bell' wind chimes, Royal Dalton sets, etc. My album of music coming out, hopefully, this summer will be called "The Unicorn Suite", and available through my upcoming web-site "unicornlady.ca" - once I put it on the web.

Dear Unicornlady,

Hmm ... I wonder who, then, is your alter-ego, The Dragonlady ...

I look forward to your CD release.

Best,

HF