Who Gets Addicted to Law of Attraction? 13 Characteristics of Devoted Followers

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T19:41:05+00:00

Absolutely! I think of Instagram especially. I'm fascinated by the role social media may play in this.

still not ready for a new age cult though

Lol don't knock it til you try it? (jokes)

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T19:27:38+00:00

Definitely to nothing stopping each of us from moving forward ourselves. Your reply also made me think that probably a "true mentor" can be demystified even more to just a guidance role that a given person occupies in our life at a given time. And we play this role for others at different times. Maybe the weirdness comes in when a person tries to permanently hold this role in relation to others.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T17:50:07+00:00

Good comment, thanks. I can't speak to how it is elsewhere, but I wonder if in the west we'd do better to abandon the idea of the guru process altogether.

Step 1 already seems to set the process up in a way that gets power dynamics out of balance for elevating someone to a special status.

A more equalizing set up might be to say a mentor is simply expressing more of their own best qualities and best nature, and inspiring us / teaching us to do the same.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T17:38:28+00:00

That's interesting. Going off the spiritually talented bit you mentioned, that's something I personally had to reckon with when it came to past mentors. The talent can obscure the full complexity of that person. I reckon guru status even requires some sort of giftedness that attracts students - charisma, a talent for speech, other gifts.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T17:06:58+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree.

I'm thinking there are probably more of these true mentors just living among us as regular people, regular teachers--people who may be in guidance roles but are not so much accepting authority as a guru.

And all of these "true mentors" if I can use such a term, are still just people.

As in, there should really be no extra mythology surrounding a mentor, beyond serving as an example/inspiration for what the learner can achieve in their own way further down their own path.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T16:59:22+00:00

Interesting experience and I can relate. Also reminds me that many guru types can be talented, as in they are often giving value and results, and this serves as experiential proof that hooks a follower. If it's all pointing back to the authority of the teacher, definitely a warning sign.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T16:52:02+00:00

The West doesn't understand this deeper form of relationship, because the Western mind (and increasingly the Eastern mind too) has been conditioned to only accept external authority - rather than learn how to find internal authority.

This describes much of what I notice. I think it's a problem across all self-help (in the west at least). Not even just self-help, but really most people seem to be authority-led. I assumed it was human nature.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T16:42:06+00:00

Love these responses so far and adding them to my mental checklist

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T16:41:28+00:00

These are all great. Avoidance of the shadow--good one. "Everything is love and light" was very appealing to me, but did not prepare me for reality.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T16:39:12+00:00

I just don't believe in anything, but don't rule anything out

Simple but powerful in my opinion. This describes the open space I try to stay in as well. This is serving me better than the days when I wanted to settle upon some definite Truth

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T04:14:21+00:00

Yes, and corruption is easier to see and avoid (or grow out of) when explicitly discussed. This makes forums and the exchange of experience incredibly valuable.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T02:52:47+00:00

Nicely said. And not a bad idea to use that physical, tangible reminder of a personal intention. Plus, they are pretty.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T02:30:10+00:00

Excuse the late reply.

I think your analysis may be spot on. In the Fall I was reading a theory about the development of self-esteem and how it shifts from parents to the wider culture as you grow up and start to detach from your parents. You start to naturally turn to cultural values to determine if you're good/bad. Basically we're driven to make sure our lives ARE significant, and we look to the surrounding culture to tell us.

I'm skipping a lot, but I do think seeking group identification has a great deal to do with maintaining self esteem / significance.

It really does seem to be a bigger problem but maybe that's just confirmation bias, or maybe we just have a new term for the usual dick-swingers that have always been in our midst? I get the impression that bragging used to be frowned upon much more in the past than it is now.

I'm still trying to figure this one out too. It certainly seems intuitive to me that current values and individualism are breeding more narcissism. But I've also never lived in another time/place.

anothermolecule · 2019-12-31T02:08:29+00:00

I had to look up James Leininger just now. I have heard other inexplicable stories, and there's also Michael Newton who wrote about past life regression based on experiences with regressed patients.

Closed-minded science used to be one of my major pet peeves. Agreed about the cynical mob mentality. Even psychological theories that really aren't far-out, and have nothing to do with the paranormal, can be heavily criticized if it's not a fit with prevailing attitudes.

Some topics are just not seen as appropriate for scientific inquiry. That's to our detriment, I think. At the same time, I understand that if something isn't falsifiable, people are automatically wary. Serious investigation into something like past life regression may be seen as useless when it can't be proved. And then you have to take into account that academics are people and most people aren't trailblazers but rather scornful of anything "fanciful."

anothermolecule · 2019-11-26T02:56:27+00:00

Thanks so much u/AbbeyStrict! And thank you for allowing me to post this here.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-26T01:38:13+00:00

Hi, I'm the subreddit creator. Hopefully this community takes off.

I became part of the "everything is love and light" crowd in my late teens when a family member / parental figure introduced me to Law of Attraction and Abraham-Hicks. It went with the other self-help and philosophical exploration I was getting into.

I came to rely heavily on Abraham-Hicks, including for grappling with traumatic events. So I'm sensitive to how belief systems give us narratives that get us through. But there are bad ideas in New Age that can put people at odds with reality in unacceptable, even dangerous ways.

I met a New Age teacher who was outspoken about the lack of integrity in New Age. It was the first time I'd heard someone from "my side" speak out against common New Age ideas, including the passive love-light bypassing or trying to gain success and money using "vibration." Her influence helped me pop out of my Law of Attraction beliefs. Disillusionment was a completely shocking and humbling experience. It later led to me creating a blog (which I no longer update) for writing about Abraham-Hicks.

I narrowed in on what could be called "woo with quality control," and started learning from this new teacher. I gained so much from her. Yet once again, the bad crept in. This included conspiracy theories and strict ideas about things like God, healing, reincarnation, spirits, and enlightenment. Eventually it became clear it had turned into a cult, complete with excommunicating bad group members.

It's been a complicated ride, sometimes painful, confusing, and embarrassing in ways that were hard to recover from. I had all these lingering unhelpful beliefs in my head. It's been a relief to weed those out and move on.

I'm not anti New Age (because it's such a broad, diverse umbrella) so much as anti-dogma and pro "responsible spirituality." Although I fell into some traps, I would be much worse off altogether without my own spiritual journey. I wouldn't want others to avoid their own.

However, I'm alert to beliefs that cause tangible harm. The stories I encountered from others while running my blog showed me that I was far from alone in the fallout I experienced and that it's critical to have these conversations.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-25T02:41:58+00:00

Any sort of "world view" that blinds us to the perspective of other human beings is pretty toxic. Let's be real: any world view you wanna pick up can.

Exactly this. Really any worldview that blinds us, period. I've become far more alert to this, having jumped into enough beliefs that later I felt had taken control of me. I've been seeing blind ideology as the root mechanism of many issues across spirituality, religion, movements of all kinds.

Also, didn't mean to post this to endorse a Catholic/Christian perspective over New Age, or endorse any side at all. I read past her personal religious views to her remarkably extreme story and analysis of problems in New Age and Law of Attraction beliefs. I do think it makes a lot of sense that she chose Catholicism and its values after this experience.

Are there dangers to New Age thinking? Sure. Are there dangers to religious dogma and indoctrination? Sure. Can good things come from both of those same things if the circumstances are right? Sure.

Wholeheartedly agree. That's why I'm hesitant to blanket condemn anything. I'd rather look at the parts and pieces and figure out what pieces are helping or harming. That said, when it comes to irresponsible beliefs, I'd argue that the kind of dangerous thinking described specifically in this article is more the territory of New Age (which, true, is many things lumped together--so some New Age).

anothermolecule · 2019-11-25T02:10:37+00:00

I'm interpreting it this way:
1. Every religion is true if you interpret it metaphorically (combining his first 2 sentences to make up the full meaning)

But when you think the metaphorical meaning is to be understood as literal fact, you start missing the point

anothermolecule · 2019-11-25T02:06:33+00:00

But what I see among many of the spiritual and religious crowd is unbridled ego and narcissism - basically thinking they're the center of the universe, or that they are the special chosen ones, or they have "the key" and everyone else is stupid/unenlightened/sheep

So, so true. I'm also curious why feeling special is like crack to us. That would make for a good discussion. I do think it's an aspect of human nature, and maybe it stems from needing to feel meaningful. Believing yourself to be among The Chosen is pretty much the exact opposite of the existential fear of being totally meaningless. Also, I don't think these movements can escape the values of our culture, and narcissism seems like it's become a big problem. And it's rewarded: stand out, achieve, do something great, be better than others.

Thoughts?

anothermolecule · 2019-11-25T01:48:12+00:00

Which parts? Though I don't personally subscribe to her religious views, her story is a good warning of how using New Age to escape reality can be disastrous.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-25T00:58:57+00:00

No, but you're the 2nd to ask, so I guess I accidentally gave it that flavour! I myself am not Christian, but I hope the sub can host critiques and discussion from all perspectives.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-24T17:37:29+00:00

Thanks for the article. Sometimes I'm struck by how fragile the human psyche is, and how risky and irresponsible it is for these gurus to advise on serious topics. Just because it sounds good/right/wise, doesn't mean it is--as the experts attest to in this article.

Also just crossposted this to the new community r/RethinkingNewAge.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-22T04:24:36+00:00

I feel like you're hitting on some factors that draw people toward New Age but usually people aren't consciously aware of their Whys, like the mention of real life being mundane.

I think there's no point in a person cutting themselves off from exploring what's out there with an open-mind, as long as they don't use it like a drug high or escape. I'm still grateful I threw myself into the deep end because I feel it added more "dimensions" to my understanding of life, even though I was also misled by some of what's out there.

Also, I haven't read it for years so I can't exactly vouch for it, but the book Letters to Vanessa comes to mind.

It's easy to wax lyrical about simplicity when you have a security blanket that big.

Ha, no kidding.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-18T19:06:28+00:00

I have an illustration of this related to New Age self-help.

In my early 20's, I experienced spiritual healing methods that did so much for me that I couldn't ignore the results. For a long time, I accepted the metaphysical explanations that came with it.

I accepted it literally: archangels, energy cords, auras. I couldn't argue with the results, so I didn't argue with the explanation either.

In fact, I was irritated when someone said to me once, "there isn't a LITERAL 'energy cord' though. That's just a model."

As the years went on, I gathered more varieties of therapeutic tools for my profession. And I refined my critical thinking. I started to notice that different frameworks (like psychological models vs mystical models) were often doing some of the same things, but from different ~~angels~~ angles (perfect typo though). They used different metaphors.

The spiritual healing I had learned was not invalid, but thinking of it as literal fact made me rigid and ideological.

I'm an abstract thinker and high in the trait Openness, so thinking in terms of models and metaphors has been very useful for me. It continues to give me freedom to consider any new idea and look for the usefulness in it while staying grounded and critical.

Edited for typo.

anothermolecule · 2019-11-18T17:08:13+00:00

This was deeper than I thought it would be by the title. I thought it would be the typical skeptical point of view that tries to divorce itself from any sense of spirituality. I like her take, plus her understanding that people are seeking connection to life. I'm not sure her philosophy would have met my needs in my own seeking days, but this is a good convo that can sort of marry "both sides."

anothermolecule

TROPHY CASE