Latest read – “The Power of Intention”

My friend Ellen Mullin gave me a book by Wayne Dyer entitled The Power of Intention.

I had vaguely heard of Dyer – he is a “self-development” or human development guru. He has a psychology doctorate and has written a bundle of books, the best-known early one being Your Erroneous Zones.

I like to read self-help books occasionally, just to remind myself of certain basics that all the books agree on.

If you can imagine Norman Vincent Peale meets “The “New Age”, that sums up the book. Dyer quotes people from every religious background – swamis, saints, gurus, Carlos Casteneda – as well as scientists and literary figures as he makes the case for getting your mind/spirit/soul in tune with the infinite mind/spirit/soul/god.

Here’s a quote: “Know that this is a universe that works on energy and attraction. Remind yourself that you have the power to attract the right people to assist you with any desire, as long as you’re able to shift from ego-driven energy to match up with the all-providing Source of intention.” (P. 209)

In the last chapter (15), Dyer describes “A Portrait of a Person Connected to the Field of Intention”, which presumably is him.

So the book is all right. Three stars. But you have to accept that New Age thinking has some valid insights.

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There was another issue. Dyer gives attribution to the persons who gives the quotes that he liberally sprinkled in every chapter, but not where he got them from. There were absolutely no footnotes. That might be OK in this type of book, BUT when he quotes Max Plank (the scientist – quantum theory, etc) on pages 70-71 and gives a reference in the text – saying the quote is from Plank’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. But when you check the actual text of the speech (on the Nobel Prize website) – the quote isn’t in there! It’s a wonderful quote (especially if you know that Plank had lost three of his four adult children in the prior four years) but who knows who made it up or how many other quotes are mis-attributed – or worse.

I would first suggest that anyone interested in reading a self-development or self-help book start with Norman Vincent Peale’s classic “The Power of Positive Thinking.”