by Stephanie Brail

I've been a fan of Wayne Dyer's for a while but have not read much of his recent stuff. I used to have an audio course of his on cassette tape that I really enjoyed. He's a kind soul with a gentle energy that has always been appealing.

So I was very interested to read one of his more recent books, The Power of Intention, given to me by a friend of mine. Wayne looks older than what I remember - and I have to say, I actually kind of miss his old cheesy 70s mustache. But, he's evolved with the times, and he's gotten trendy. He's also unfortunately gotten on the “Law of Attraction” bandwagon, which is evidenced by his homage to Esther and Jerry Hicks in the back of the book.

Dr. Dyer is fortunately not a Law of Attraction literalist to the point of suggesting that if you want to be thin, eat whatever fattening food you want but just believe you'll be thin and voila! Instant weight loss! No, he's not that sort of Law of Attraction guru, thankfully. Dr. Dyer is more of a traditional “think positive and good things will come to you” Law of Attraction believer.

The subtitle of his book is “Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way,” which showcases some of the nuances and also inherent contradictions in his more moderated version of the “Law.” Think about what that statement says: You are co-creating your world, meaning, you are creating with the help of others, but it's being done your way. This still implies a tremendous amount of will if not stubbornness on your part, does it not?

But Dr. Dyer, a self-made man and eternal optimist, believes that what has been possible for him is possible for you too, if you just think positively enough. I am of course a fan of positive thinking - hypnosis would not work without it - but I believe it has its limitations. The main problem with it is that positive thinking is often used to foster denial and emotional suppression.

On an individual level, emotional denial can lead to greater emotional problems down the road. You can say you are happy to the mirror all you want, but if you are not dealing with your stuck sadness, you are likely to get depressed no matter how many affirmations you say each day.

When it comes to relationships, the Law of Attraction can be used to dodge responsibility for one's own actions. You say to your cheating mate: “Hey, I am hurt by your lying and cheating” and your mate responds with that vague, new agey smile: “I am not responsible for your emotions: You are. You create the cheating in your mind,” etc. etc. (This is what I call the New Age Mind Fuck, which is becoming an epidemic here in California.)

On a global scale, a refusal to see reality leads to problems like the 2008 economic crash: I have a friend who sold those toxic mortgages that resulted in practically toppling the world economy. He was listening to The Secret each day as he drove around Southern California selling the subprime loans to poor borrowers. Consequences? Hardly. He's too busy thinking positively to think about consequences!

With positive thinking as its foundation, The Power of Intention suffers from an overabundance of positive missives without much in the way of real answers. Yes, we should try to be positive. But how do you get to that point when you are stressed, distressed, and obsessed? This is not really covered except for admonitions to “shift your awareness.”

Sorry, Wayne, easier said than done.

Dr. Dyer has always been a bit vulnerable to the lure of magical thinking as the cure-all for everything. As he as evolved away from real world professor to celebrity guru, I believe he has gotten even more out of touch with the problems real people go through and how to resolve them. It's a heck of a lot easier to shift your awareness to infinite potential and positivity when you are already a famous self-help author and millionaire with the world at your feet. Wayne Dyer does not wake up in the morning and wonder “Gee, how am I going to pay my mortgage?” Instead, he picks up his mail, finds new residual checks and wonders how he will spend his money.

I think it is because Dr. Dyer is a bit out of touch and not working directly with individual clients (who are average people with average incomes) that he resorted to doing a lot of research to write this book. He discusses this research often, and shares how he has read tons of books on intention and attraction.

Research is wonderful, but it is no match for real world experience. As someone who lives an average life of struggle, and who regularly sees clients with average lives who struggle, I feel that Dr. Dyer doesn't truly understand how difficult life can really be for some people.

It is from this space that most of the book is a series of numbered lists on intention that read like a conglomeration of self-help articles thrown together. We have the “7 Faces of Intention,” different ways to connect to intention, obstacles to intention, our impact on others with our intentions, etc.

The lists are usually vague to-dos that aren't necessarily easy to implement on a dime. “Stop being offended” is exceptionally good advice, but how do I accomplish that? That's a book in and of itself.

As such, the book can get somewhat tedious, since it seems to repeat the same things over and over again using lofty ideas and principles, without much in the way of real world application.

He also makes a lot of assumptions as to what might be comforting and inspiring. He goes on at length about infinity and our eternal nature as spiritual beings. He writes:

“Your idea that all of this is temporary and that you aren't a piece of God's infinite perfection leads you to self-doubt, anxiety, self-rejection, depression, and so many of the low energies I've written about throughout this book. All it takes is a shift to infinite awareness to leave that feeling of misery.”

Well, actually, Wayne, the idea that I might actually be eternal and go on and on and on and on without end doesn't really comfort me, personally. (It kind of freaks me out, actually.) And while I agree that feeling a deep connection with God can provide some comfort and hope, it cannot magically cure depression, sickness, or a low bank account.

Healing takes time, and it's not as simple as just “shifting” into a blissful mindset where all problems are ignored.

With all that said, Dr. Dyer's best strengths in this book are his discussions on using the concepts of “attraction” when it comes to interacting with other people. One of my biggest complaints about The Secret was that it focused way too much on material gain. Dr. Dyer doesn't fall into that trap, and I believe that's because ultimately he has a magnanimous heart and really does want to help people. He spends a great deal of his book talking about how to be kinder and more compassionate. If you behave from that higher place, he says, you will “attract” kindness back. Now that's an implementation of the Law of Attraction that I can get behind.

Of course, love begetting love isn't any sort of mystical law - it's simply human nature. People will tend to return kindness with kindness and jerky behavior with more of the same.

It's Dr. Dyer's discussion of ego attachments and spirit vs. the material that elevate this book over yet another cynical “make money quick” Law of Attraction book. The Power of Intention does hit on some positive spiritual truths, and you can find inspirational recipes for being here. Unfortunately, I wish he'd just stuck to writing about a few spiritual truths rather than trying to stuff all of these various concepts into the one grand idea of “intention.” It doesn't quite add up for me.

In the final evaluation, I think this is one of Dr. Dyer's weaker books. It tries to cover too much in one shot, filling the reader's head with to-do list after to-do list of ways to be a better human. I'd recommend reading this in short bursts, as a series of articles, rather than a book you'd snuggle up with to finish in a night or two. There's a lot of good stuff in here, but it's mixed in with a lot of filler and pat answers. Take it with a grain of salt.