“Those who believe they can manifest all their desires through positive thinking and believing in the outcome don’t seem to be aware that the more you chase after your cravings, the more you tighten the net of your own enslavement, when you could be using life to break free of these limitations.” M Butler
The law of attraction is a wildly-popular modern mystical belief hyped as the secret to fulfilling your every desire. It has big celebrity endorsements, and commercial products rehashing its claims sell in abundance. But beneath the glossy facade there’s often an agenda pushing egocentrism and greed in metaphysical garb, which limits consciousness and subverts spirituality for shallow materialistic ends.
Many spiritual traditions have arisen throughout history and although they have their differences, a common recurring principle is that greed and spirituality don’t mix. Renowned spiritual teachers like Jesus or Buddha did not promote greed in their teachings or lifestyle – quite the opposite: they showed that greed and egocentrism had to be overcome.
Greed has been seen in many spiritual traditions as an obstacle or trap that prevents us from understanding and fulfilling a higher purpose to life. Because it makes us selfish and obsessed with transient things, it has long been taught that renouncing selfish desires, and selflessly helping others to do the same, is necessary to attain salvation or liberation.
But this principle is increasingly turned on its head in the world of commercial spirituality. Some want to have it both ways – a spiritual or metaphysical pursuit in their lives and all their material desires fulfilled – and those selling this message (and the corporations behind them) can make a lot of money out of pushing this false promise. But at what price?