Cosmic ordering

Cosmic ordering is the name coined by a German self-help author, Bärbel Mohr, who published the best-selling Cosmic Ordering Service: A Guide to Realising Your Dreams (2001) and formed The Foundation for Cosmic Ordering. It is based on the premise that a person can simply write down their wish list and wait for it to become reality. It is similar to an idea that took hold during the 1930s Depression and proposed by Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, which sold millions and is still widely available. These ideas were also adopted by American radio and television evangelists such as Reverend Ike in the 1970s, whose slogan was ‘You can’t lose with the stuff I use’.

The former disc jockey and TV show host Noel Edmonds credits ‘cosmic ordering’ for his return to television with his show Deal or No Deal. He had not had a high profile on TV since Noel’s House Party in 1999; after reading the book, he wrote down a wish list of things that he wanted (including a wish for a new challenge) and then waited for the ‘cosmos’ to make it come true. On the show itself, contestants have to choose boxes with various sums of money inside and appear to believe that by the power of their thoughts they can choose the right box.

It is certainly true that those writing the books and making the television programmes have become rich.

Guardian angels

If you type ‘angels’ into Amazon, you will find that there are thousands of books advising you how to get in touch with your guardian angel. ‘In the book world, angels have become the new misery memoirs,’ says Jo Lal of Hay House publishers (interviewed in the Sunday Times, Style magazine, 29 November 2009). According to a 2009 Mori poll, 58 per cent of British women believe they have a guardian angel – with the majority saying that they have actually had help from them.

According to these books, these angels aren’t the implacable angels we find in the Bible: they are there to assist with everything from finding your car keys, to losing weight, and finding the right man. Finding a car parking space seems to occur frequently. They are your very own guardian angels; apparently, others are also standing by, who can come in useful for the odd occasion when yours is busy.

Once again, the idea seems to be that you make an angelic shopping list to get all the things in life that you want. You have to be very specific in describing exactly what it is you wish for. Many of them suggest building an ‘angel altar’ – with flowers and crystals and incense or scented candles. Then you picture your angel and focus on what you want. Afterwards you look for signs, such as white feathers and rainbows.

It’s big business for people who do ‘angel readings’, like Sabi Hilmi, who worked in the City and runs the Purely Angels website (www.purely-angels.com) from her ‘angel sanctuary’ in north London. Professor Chris French, a psychologist and angel sceptic, said on the Sky Real Lives Angels programme (21 December 2009), ‘A while ago, it was alien abductions that fascinated people . . . There is evidence to show that people turn to superstitious thinking during hard times . . . The only real issue is that if you get too caught up in relying on angels for guidance, you are relying on something outside yourself to make it happen. It’s far better to be the master of your own fate.’

The Power Balance Bracelet

A silicone bracelet – embedded with a ‘healing hologram’ and promising to ‘rebalance the body’s energy’ – has sold 2.5 million: a must-have celebrity accessory that promised strength, balance and flexibility for £29.99. Worn by David Beckham, Kate Middleton and Robert de Niro, it has been argued as being no more use than a rubber band. Challenged by the Australian Competition and Consumer Committee, the manufacturers in the US admitted that it couldn’t prove their claims and offered refunds to customers who felt they had been misled.

Statistician and broadcaster Michael Blastland, writing on the Sense About Science website (www.senseaboutscience.org.uk), says, ‘People have their ups and downs. Sometimes the ups occur when they wear odd socks, sometimes a new bracelet. Give enough bracelets to enough people and some are bound to have a great day. That’s just chance. And when you ask people to report the ups, it’s the ups that tend to be reported. That’s known as selection bias.’

Tarot cards, fortune-tellers, psychics

In 2005, Derren Brown, the illusionist, toured the US under a false name and convinced five leading figures in the field of spiritualism and fortune-telling that he had powers in their field of expertise. He said he was a practitioner in Christian evangelism, alien abduction, psychic powers, New Age theories, and contacting the dead. The idea was to show the power of ‘con-firmation bias’ – that people hear only things that support what they already believe and that they ignore any evidence to the contrary. At each show, the entire audience was convinced of his abilities and failed to question his ‘powers’. He had said that he would come clean if anyone accused him of being a fraud.

So convincing was Brown at ‘hearing the voices’ of dead relatives of people in the audience that, even when they were told later that it was all a hoax, many people refused to believe it and continued to have faith in Brown’s ability to contact the dead.

In another television show, in 2006, Brown had 15 participants (from Spain, the UK, and the US) provide him with a small personal item. Brown instructed them to place these in a numbered envelope when he turned his back. He then left the group for an hour while he ‘analysed’ these items (as well as the personal object, they drew round their hands and gave him the time and date of their birth). He provided each of the participants with their personality profile and asked them to measure how accurate it was as a description of their character.

Out of the 15 subjects, three rated the description of their personality – in terms of accuracy – as between 40 to 50 out of 100. The rest gave a rating of 80 to 99. All of them were amazed and convinced that Brown had the power to gain deep insights into their character through his paranormal ability. Finally, Brown asked them randomly to exchange the envelopes containing their descriptions and then to read the one they ended up with and see if they could guess who it was. They were confused when they discovered that no matter how many times they shuffled the envelopes they always ended up with their own.

Gradually, it dawned on the participants (and the audience at home) that all the descriptions were exactly the same. They were incredulous: two of the participants just couldn’t accept that they had been tricked and refused to discuss it; and another was convinced that the TV crew had read her diary. Brown discusses this trick in his book Tricks of the Mind.

It is based on an experiment carried out in 1948 by psychologist Bertram R. Forer and is often called the ‘Forer Effect’ or ‘Barnum Statements’ (after P. T. Barnum, an American showman). Forer’s research indicated that people enjoy, or feel important, having their lives scrutinised or discussed. Particularly if the person giving the comments is someone in authority, or someone they respect, they will accept generalised comments and not consider whether they could equally well apply to almost anyone.

Below is the evaluation that Forer gave to his students (Derren Brown’s was longer. It was compiled using descriptions of personality given for the different signs of the zodiac).

When you have read it, decide how convinced you would have been (by giving it a mark – out of a top score of 5) as an accurate description of your character.

You have a great need for other people to like and admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others’ statements without satisfactory proof. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. Security is one of your major goals in life.

In 1948, Forer’s students gave an average evaluation of 4.26 and on the many occasions the experiment has been repeated since, the average has remained the same.

‘Scepticism’ not ‘cynicism’

One of the reasons that so many people are taken in by ‘cold’ reading (when the predictions are made with no prior knowledge of the participant) may be that we like – and therefore accept – judgements made about our character if they are fattering. We also want to make sense out of the haphazard and random nature of events and are drawn to anything that seems to provide certainty and a sense of order in our lives. Once people believe, then anything that happens that apparently confrms the belief is seized upon as proof; anything that seems to be a contradiction is ignored.

Thinking positively does not mean that we have to have blind faith that our fate or destiny is preordained, and that there is nothing we can do about it. Quite the opposite in fact. Thinking positively means we have goals and the optimism to work hard towards achieving those goals and creating our own destiny, being our own guardian angel.

There is also no contradiction in having a positive attitude to life and also having a healthy scepticism about some things that your instinct inclines you to be wary of. A sceptical person will have initial doubts or curiosity about something and will then begin to question in a rigorous manner until satisfied that the idea is convincing – or not.

Being sceptical is different to being cynical, which suggests a tendency to be negative and to doubt the motives and sincerity of most people and ideas. A cynic’s immediate response to an idea would be to find fault and to refuse to have an open mind – whereas a sceptic will have doubts, but retain a sense of enquiry and curiosity, which may be satisfied with proper evidence.

Sometimes, people are so desperate to improve their lives that they become victims of charlatans or trickery. In many cases this is harmless and such beliefs may provide some temporary comfort in difficult times. But, for some, it can be more dangerous.

Maitreya

You may have read about Dr Raj Patel, a London-born academic (with degrees from the London School of Economics, Oxford University, and Cornell University). He appeared on American television in January 2010 to discuss his new book, The Value of Nothing, which was about how to improve life for billions of poor people around the world after the economic collapse.

Unfortunately for Dr Patel, an 87-year-old Scottish mystic, Benjamin Crème, had, in the previous month, announced to his followers of the obscure sect Share International that their Messiah (called Maitreya) would shortly be appearing on American television. Crème said that a bright star would precede the appearance: immediately, there were reports on the internet from all over the world of just such a star.

Crème says that Maitreya represents a group of beings from Venus called the Space Brothers and has been resting in the Himalayas for 2,000 years. Since the footage of his television interview appeared on YouTube, Dr Patel has been hailed as the saviour Maitreya – despite his frequent categorical denials.

The similarities between Patel and Maitreya, as seen by the followers, are conclusive evidence: Patel travelled from India to the UK as a child (he was taken there on holiday at the age of seven); he grew up in London; he has a slight stammer; and he appears on television. The paradoxical proof, however, is the fact that he denies he is the Messiah – as it was prophesied he would.

In fact, Dr Patel rejects the idea of one person being a saviour. Interviewed in the Guardian (20 March 2010), he said, ‘What I’m arguing is precisely the opposite of Maitreya . . . People are very ready to abdicate responsibility and have it shovelled onto someone else’s shoulders.’

What about luck?

There can be no doubt that some people seem more fortunate than others. If you’re a lucky person, you may have started life in a democratic country with clean air, a good health service, free education, reliable emergency services, and a legal system that enables you to feel safe and sleep soundly at night. If you’re very lucky, you may spend your life in a country free from any major diseases, which is not at war with another country or suffering from internal strife. If you’re incredibly lucky, you may have been born into a family which has provided you with love, a roof over your head and all the necessities of life. If you’re a lucky person, you may also have made good friends, been on holiday, perhaps visited other countries, developed your own interests and enjoyed music, art, reading, the theatre, the cinema and sport.

When you find yourself complaining about your lot in life or comparing your own misfortune to the good luck that other people enjoy, remember that there are many people who would consider you to be a ‘lucky’ person. In his book Don’t Vote! It Just Encourages the Bastards, P. J. O’Rourke tells the story of his 12-year-old daughter complaining to him that life isn’t fair. He tells her, ‘Honey, you’re cute. That’s not fair. You’re smart. That’s not fair. You were born in the United States of America. That’s not fair. Darling, you had better get down on your knees and pray to God that things don’t start getting fair for you.’

Positive people are lucky people

Being lucky then is a matter of perception: it is said that people make their own luck, but it is also a different way of looking at life. People can suffer the most dreadful adversity and yet still consider themselves lucky.

Gill Hicks survived the London Underground bombing in 2005. She was the last survivor to be pulled from the wreckage and was so badly injured she was unidentifiable. Her legs were ripped to shreds; she lost 85 per cent of her blood and suffered three cardiac arrests. Speaking to Camilla Long in the Sunday Times, she said that she would not normally have been on that train at 8.50am as she was usually at her desk by 8am.

Instead of considering herself unlucky, she observes how she used her scarf as a tourniquet to stem the flow of blood as she waited for rescue: ‘I very rarely wear scarves.’ When asked why she didn’t give in, when she realised that if she survived it would be as a double amputee, she said: ‘The curiosity of being alive. What will I do? Life urged me to hang on. And that’s why I’ve never had a moment of bitterness. I never think: why me?’

Gill Hicks thought she was lucky because she was wearing a scarf on the day of the bombing – which she was able to use as a tourniquet, thus saving her own life. She credits her recovery and attitude to life to the emergency services, ‘who never gave up, risked their lives . . .’ and her friends, who also gave her, ‘unconditional love’. What is remarkable about people who think they are lucky is the ability to focus on the things that go right, to be grateful for what can be salvaged rather than dwelling on misfortune and bad timing.

Superstitions

So you may consider yourself born lucky or as just plain unlucky. But this has nothing to do with your star sign, or walking under ladders, or touching wood – these are just superstitions. There may be no harm in believing in these superstitions or the power of a bracelet or a guardian angel – if they have the desired effect of helping you to believe that you are lucky. It is when you rely on them rather than yourself that it can become troublesome.

The problem with relying on a superstition is that it can take away motivation and effort. For example, if you believe that everything is preordained, then you attribute everything that happens to fate. The logical effect of believing in fate is to sit back and let things happen – so if you go for a job interview you would just hope for the best, as you believe that the outcome is already ‘written in the stars’. A positive thinker, however, would prepare well and practise: they would go into the interview feeling confident. This would affect their performance and so they would be more likely to be ‘lucky’ and get the job. If they didn’t get the job, they would be able to see some positive outcomes (or would turn the ‘bad luck’ to their advantage) by making good contacts or perhaps realising that the job wasn’t right for them.

Things happen randomly. It happens by accident or chance that we are in a certain place at a certain time. But we can view everything that happens to us from a lucky person’s standpoint – or we can decide that we are unlucky and the same events will be seen in a different light. So people who think positively usually regard themselves as lucky – but it is not a belief that everything will fall into their laps without any effort. It is a way of looking at events with optimism and extracting the best, whatever the outcome.

Nothing will stop life’s ups and downs. There is no talisman to protect you from heartache and disappointment. But, with a positive attitude, you will know that these are all part of life. Learning from sorrow, mistakes and setbacks is the key to recovery and to realising that you have the strength and fortitude to go on.

Feeling lucky and being a positive thinker are synonymous, if we mean by being ‘lucky’ having an expectation of good fortune. They are also comparable in that you can train yourself to consider yourself lucky, by cultivating the habit of noticing and deliberately focusing on the upside of things that happen to you. Being lucky and being a positive thinker are the same if we mean that both lead to the feeling that the world is your oyster. It is possible to be happy in love and in work, and to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life. The choice is yours: think of yourself as lucky and you will be; visualise good things happening to you and they will; believe that everything will turn out well in the end and it will; and finally, adopt a positive attitude towards life and your life will be everything you want it to be.

• There is no secret to positive thinking – it is nothing to do with superstition or magic
• People will believe anything in the hope that their dreams will come true – without any effort
• Have an enquiring mind: be sceptical and questioning – but not cynical
• Being lucky – like being positive – is a matter of perception: if you think you are lucky you will be
• Having a positive attitude towards life is your choice – and you can begin now