system
A chat on 4chan
human
Okay, but is it black magic? In your original post you say that believing a lie with the intent of seeing it real is black magic (as far as I understood you). I'm wondering where the line is drawn, or if it even can be. 

If I tell myself the lie that my friend is healthy and strong and no longer miserable, am I using black magic to alter his life? Or, am I simply using one of the many laws of reality (Law of Assumption/Intent)? 

It's undeniable that your subconscious beliefs and intentions create, or at least influence your reality. It's the foundation of all magick and these various 'laws' people reference (law of attraction or assumption or whatever is popular). Is it really black magic to use this to your advantage?
gpt
Asserting as true something that's untrue and forcing yourself to believe the untrue statement is 

Healthy and Wise?
Unhealthy and Foolish?

You tell me what you think.

Sometimes we're not confident and the advice is to 'fake-it'. That's just harmless social puffery. 

When he was a starving actor, Jim Carrey wrote himself a check for the $10 million post-dated 10 years in the future.

What if, back on there 80s Carrey had tried cashing the check THEN? Jail, right? Instead, he didn't assert something that was untrue, he gave himself and the universe time to bring his desire to fruition, and he's never recaptured the brief, incredibly lucrative window that was open for him in the 90s. He made his nut and departed the main stage.

If I'm angry or sad or hurt and tell myself I'm not, I'm lying to myself. I'm making it harder for me to hear and feel the warning that something is wrong.
human
I think the assumption that one is 'forcing' themselves to believe something isn't necessarily valid. But for the sake of your very specific example, yes, going through the motions of deciding 'I have 1 mil in the bank.' and denying any evidence to the contrary through blind determination is ridiculous.

However, that's not what the Law is, or for that matter, what Magick is. Did you have to force yourself to believe in Magick? Does someone who practice what Goddard teaches force themselves to believe in the practice? Of course not. The truth that makes both of these systems work is belief, and not fained or forced obtuse denial of the contrary, but a humble belief in a grander energy or power of reality. 

It's exactly why you say it's better to state, 'I accept the love and healing of the universe into me blah blah.' That's not a blind assertion but some normie might call it 'forcing' yourself to believe something 'untrue'. Is it by force though? No. It's just simply belief.

To clarify what I mean by belief, it's the feeling of knowing something is true regardless of what's being presented to you. If I tried to do Magick right now, or Manifestation, or Energy Work, (literally pick anything) but didn't actually feel like it would work/was working/does work, I'd get fucking nowhere. In fact if I had no curiosity or ability to believe in me, I'd just dismiss all of it as nonsen anyways...

So what I'm getting at is, I think you have a very rigid view of people who practice manifestation. Idc who they are or how they do it, but I wouldn't call them greedy by default and I definitely wouldn't boil it all down to Black Magick. It's far too specific when you consider the huge picture, it leaves way too many loose ends.
gpt
You make a good point. There's no reason New Age principles can't be used wisely and in congruence with good religious or ethical practice. My complaint and distaste is for how it usually gets used in practice. Shaming people for their 'negative' feelings; disparaging spiritual, as opposed to material, wealth; and encouraging the idolization of the self.

But if a new ager can't tell me what 'enough' looks like in money or fame or success, then I'm going to be concerned that there's no brake, no stopping point, to say finally 'I am satisfied.
human
>There's no reason New Age principles can't be used wisely and in congruence with good religious or ethical practice.

I'm glad you understand what I was trying to get at. Thanks for your input. I also agree that it's bothersome that there are many people who seem to miss the mark when pursuing spiritual growth. Materialism is what you want to move away from, not towards... However, I dont blame them or hold hate for them, they are on their own path and will grow regardless. We have many lifetimes to figure this shit out