Danger for Desperate People
Critics of the Law of Attraction ask why the Law of Attraction doesn't work for everyone, even those trying their best to work with it. For example, a young man with a family had been busy building his business while also helping his aging father and mother financially. One day, he took ill with a virus that settled in his liver. As he grew weaker, doctors did many tests and finally told him he needed a liver transplant. The young man remained optimistic and followed his doctor's orders but also took up yoga and meditation to draw healing energies into his body.
When it came time for the transplant, he was ready. He was certain that the power of positive thinking could prepare his body for a rapid and complete recovery. He listened to self-healing tapes and did yoga for stress reduction and relaxation. He even had his wife read him a Buddhist prayer each evening to help him visualize perfection in his body and the universe. He felt certain his health would be restored and he would continue doing the work he loved.
The surgery was successful. Elated, the young man and his wife shared his story with others they had met who were facing dire circumstances. Christmas came and went, and the couple looked forward to going dancing on New Year's Eve. The young man was much stronger and had supreme confidence in his new liver. He celebrated the holiday with prayers for the gift of the new liver and for blessings on the donor's family and his own.
On New Year's morning, he awoke with a fever. Two months later, he passed away from an aggressive cancer that had quickly spread throughout his body because his immune system was suppressed. His wife had been more prepared for his death before the transplant. After her husband had received his new liver, she had dared to dream again of their life together, more children, and travels to exotic lands. His death from cancer shocked her.
Even the Bible suggests that when faith is not strong enough and doubt creeps in, a desired healing may not take place. The Gospel of Mark 6:5 states that even Jesus had difficulty: “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.”
Although the mind/body connection is still being studied, detractors of the Law of Attraction say the law represents a danger to people in desperate situations. The young man had sought help from alternative therapies and had followed all his doctor's orders. He had followed a course of positive thinking and yet it had not saved his life. Skeptics say that it is fallacy to believe that thoughts about having good health can bring about a cure. When, they ask, did wishful or magical thinking ever bestow life for the terminally ill? Yet believers in the working of the law might argue that no one knows what really goes on in another's mind, what kind of doubts creep in, what kind of fear might be blocking the cure.
Believers in the Law of Attraction argue that miracle cures, which doctors and science cannot explain, do, in fact, occur. They assert that it is nothing short of arrogant for us to believe that we humans know everything and that the power of healing isn't possible without drugs and medical treatments. People in dire situations often feel helpless and want to do something. Encouraging them to have positive thoughts and focus on the best-case scenario certainly offers a better option than dwelling on the worst-case scenario.
