Spirituality, Law Of Attraction, Consciousness And The Science Behind Everything
“Is there really a law of Attraction?”
Wikipedia describes the law of attraction as the spiritual belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. When asked what’s the scientific basis of it, we are given a mundane explanation of the sort that there is some frequency overlap of energy vibrations of a positive and negative character. But as it turns out, there is no scientific basis for an explanation like the one above. A moral polarity doesn’t exist in science. For a given fall, you are going to get your head smashed on the ground irrespective of whether you are a good person or a bad person because gravity treats everyone equally. Based on my personal observations, ‘The law of attraction’ is a systematic lie that has been perpetuated for a long time. Interestingly, many of us, including sceptics like myself, have at some point been drawn in by its promise.
The idea that thoughts can influence the external world is both convincing and appealing. Proponents of this theory claim that thoughts can force the universe to work in one’s favor. These people even hold advanced degrees, including PhDs from reputed universities. The use of the term “science” in association with the theory may lead some to believe it is scientifically sound. However, simply attaching “science” to a definition does not make it scientific. The scientific community has not yet confirmed the validity of the law of attraction. In fact, I would argue that the law of attraction can never be tested in the lab for its scientific validity. The claims are so vague that it doesn’t fulfil the criteria of falsifiability, i.e. it doesn’t clearly give instructions under what conditions it does or doesn’t fulfil a certain claim.
The confusion about this scientific theory has been a major contributing factor to the theory’s widespread acceptance. While there are other factors at play, it is important to critically evaluate the scientific basis for such claims. In this article, we will explore the lack of scientific evidence of the law of attraction and why it should be considered a hoax or a pseudoscience at best for terminologies sake. I encourage readers to keep an open mind and consider the presented evidence before making a final judgement.
“It gave me a sense of control and made my world beautiful again.”
“The Power of Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy is a must-read book for many. It offers an escape from the harshness of reality by delving into the capabilities of the mind. The book gives readers a sense of power, the illusion that they can control the environment around them. It may even make them believe in their ability to make it rain or see clouds clattering in the sky. This experience can be powerful and magical, and readers may remember the words of people like Sadguru, Deepak Chopra, and Murphy himself. They may start to feel powerful again and choose to use their power responsibly, remembering the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility”. This is how I personally felt after reading this book. It gave me a sense of control and made my world beautiful again.
“…it sounds exciting and spiritual to talk about the unknown.”
I have encountered many intelligent individuals who claim that they can use their brainpower to heal others’ pain. They often justify this by expressing surprise at their own abilities. However, I believe this to be an illusion of complexity. People tend to be optimistic about unusual possibilities. When Deepak Chopra discusses his magical interpretation of quantum superposition, he is not referring to the usual quantum mechanical behavior of electrons, but rather positing it as something beyond comprehension. This makes it sound exciting and spiritual to talk about the unknown. However, if someone were to understand what he is talking about, they would be considered foolish because it is by definition incomprehensible.
It’s a well-known fact that quantum mechanics is considered an absurd theory because of its strange claims, like how it allows for particles to be at multiple places simultaneously, violating fundamental laws such as the principle of least action and allowing for strange phenomena such as tunneling and action-at-a-distance. However, Physicist Roger Penrose and biologist Haemroff attempted to establish the brain as a quantum computer capable of coherence. This means that the brain must also be considered absurd as it behaves quantum mechanically. This is how proponents of the “Law of Attraction” have attempted to provide a pseudo-scientific basis for their theory by relating it to quantum mechanics giving room for misinterpretations in the name of superposition and entanglement. If quantum mechanics did not exist, these pseudoscientists would not have dared to call their theory a scientific one. This is a trend that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century.
Max Tegmark, a physicist at MIT known for his unconventional research, not only studies cosmology but also delves into the nature of reality. In a 1999 paper, he argued that a brain is a classical object, contradicting the claims of Penrose and Haemroff. He demonstrated that quantum effects such as superposition easily decohere before they can have any meaningful impact on brain function. Indifferent from Tegmark’s research and others alike, mainstream science in the 21st century has not focused on understanding brain processes. Scientists believe that this issue was settled long ago during the Bohr-Einstein debates of the 1920s, whose resolution, the Copenhagen interpretation, stated that all measurements must be conducted by classical instruments, rendering the brain-centered interpretation obsolete.
The question of whether the human brain behaves classically or quantum mechanically is still unresolved. Quantum mechanics itself is plagued by absurdity and paradoxes, such as entanglement. The phenomenon of quantum particles becoming entangled with one another is a result of quantum superposition, a basic aspect of quantum mechanics. However, the mechanism behind this superposition and entanglement is not fully understood and remains a subject of debate. These days, physicists call it the spooky nature of reality. This was one of the reasons Einstein never fully accepted quantum theory as a true description of nature. This is not to say that the Quantum theory is wrong or anything like that. It has already established itself on the rigorous mathematical foundations and have been proven by experimental evidences. Although there have been studies such as the Bell Inequalities which reject local hidden variable mechanisms, there has not been much recent research in this area. It may be that physicists might have to wait for a neurobiological theory of consciousness for the complete understanding. Currently, scientists believe that our mind and subjective experience have no connection to the objective physical world out there.
Should we glorify Ignorance as a mystery?
Interestingly, physicists do not generally consider the human mind to be within the domain of physics. However, the advancements in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning may make this subject more relevant for physicists in the future. There is an analogy between the functioning of the brain and quantum theory, in that both are mysterious. Scientists are skeptical if one of these mysterious phenomena can be explained by the other. This might also require us to revise the fundamental definitions of space and time but that’s up for future. Amid this state of confusion and uncertainty, some individuals like Deepak Chopra argue that we can never truly know the objective world and glorify the sheer impossibility of doing so. But it is important to remember that in principle, it should be possible to know anything physical through measurement, quantification, and reconciliation into a theoretical framework. To rule out this possibility, they bring in the mysterious element of spirituality. Then comes the jargon of how you can influence the universe out there just by a mere thought.
This is not to suggest that all that exists is physical. I, as well as others, do not have the expertise to make such a claim. Rather than celebrating the mystery of spirituality, we can instead understand the concept as an impossibility of knowledge and define Spirituality as a means of self-improvement and self-care achieved through natural and earthly methods, rather than a supernatural one. When we look at the progress we have made in understanding physical cosmology, it seems unlikely that the universe was created by a divine being. This realization may make us feel insignificant, much like other living creatures on Earth. However, it is still remarkable that we are conscious beings with the ability to seek meaning in our lives. But it’s important to remember that the universe does not exist to fulfill our desires, as evidenced by the countless changes that have occurred throughout its evolution, any one of which would have resulted in a vastly different universe.
This may be because as humans, we have the ability to imagine things beyond the physical, and we may assume that they must exist.
I question whether the proponents of the Law of Attraction are aware of the true dynamics at play or if they even care. While I understand that the motivation industry is worth billions of dollars and there clearly are monetary motivations behind it, I still believe that there are people who genuinely want to understand the world as it is. Rather than living in deception, it is always better to be able to look at facts and operate. Many times when I expect an intellectual conversation to sprout, I have been asked ‘what do you think about the law of vibration?’ as if it is some kind of law like the law of gravity. The amount of deception in the world is alarming, and it seems as if few care to distinguish truth from fiction. This may be because as humans, we have the ability to imagine things beyond the physical, and we may assume that they must exist. I personally know many people who wholeheartedly believe in the Law of Attraction, but my intention is not to deprive them of their perceived happiness, but to present the truth in a clear and straightforward manner. With all due respect, the Law of Attraction is a good example of pseudoscience, and in my opinion, the greatest hoax in human history.
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