Immaterialism, Hinduism, and "Thoughts Create Reality"

[formosan]

[Scepcop]

Well I don't really see what you're challenging in my statements.

Yes there are varying theories and views about the "thoughts create reality" concept, no doubt.

But I was not critiquing any of the versions that you listed. I was critiquing the modern New Age best selling version where they chant it like an all powerful truth to the point where anything that goes wrong in your life is your fault and due to your negative thinking. That is not only fanaticism but a "victim blaming" mentality as well.

Have you seen the movie "The Secret"? I posted part of it and asked hard questions of it in the Videos section of the forum. It does exactly what I critique, it poses "thought creates reality" as an all powerful concept that is in your grasp.

Wayne Dyer is a wonderful person who does preach a lot of wisdom and inspiration. He also has an uplifting personality as well. I admire him and like him as a person. I am a fan of his too. I do not think he is stupid at all. So perhaps I misunderstood him when he talked about "thoughts creating reality" and maybe exaggerated his claims. But part of the fault lies with him too, since he posed this teaching as though it were all powerful as well, never defining any limitations of it.

Of course he sells books, tapes and seminars, so he has a vested interest in it. There is a saying that truth doesn't sell and you can't be very successful selling the truth. So perhaps that's what's at play here. Dyer probably started out with wholesome intentions, but when money, image, demand and market share came into play, truth no longer remained number one. Conflicting interests ensued.

When one becomes successful, one has to fight to keep that success and keep what one has. In life one is always struggling to attain or struggling to keep. Thus there is a vested interest, or even a conflict of interest involved. Gurus like Dyer probably struggle to find a balance between maintaining their integrity and in preaching what sells.

There is no perfect solution to everything.