There was an article recently in Newsweek about this whole The Secret business. I read the article (and admittedly have not read the book or seen the film) and found the whole thing entirely absurd. Laughable, even. You mean if I think hard enough about getting a mini Cooper, one will magically appear in my driveway? You mean I can cure my aunt's leukemia just by visualizing her well? And if it doesn't work, it's not because the theory is hogwash but because I'm not trying hard enough? Total bullshit.

But I agree with some of my blogfriends who have said that they take what they find valuable from The Secret and leave certain specifics behind. That makes sense to me. Certainly there is compelling evidence for the power of positive thinking. Obviously I agree that gratitude is important. But the "law of attraction" referred to in this theory is, as Newsweek claims, scientifically "preposterous".

So. The next day after reading the article, I didn't come in to work until 10:00. Typically at this time of day our small parking lot is completely full and anyone who wants to park has to go several blocks down to the parking deck. As I approached the parking lot, I thought of The Secret because one of the beginner exercises mentioned in the article is visualizing an empty parking spot. Apparently, if you truly believe that a spot will be open for you, it will be. It just will. So as I approached the parking lot I thought to myself, "Okay, I believe a spot will be open. I belieeeeve." I was being sarcastic - I don't, in fact, belieeeeve. If there were a spot available, I would see that as evidence of the universe being on my side at the moment (you know, luck), not that the spot was empty due to the ability of my brain waves to alter reality.

As I drove into the parking lot, I thought I saw an empty spot. I got excited for a moment, but then as I got a little closer I saw that there was actually a small car in the spot - it had been hidden from my view at first. Dammit. So I stopped my car in the middle of the lot, trying to figure out where to go. And I thought, "Yeah okay, if The Secret really worked, then that very car would just start backing out of the spot."

And y'all? That very car started backing out of the spot. The car! It started backing out! Of the spot!

But I still don't belieeeeve. Sure, that was a fantastic coincidence. Proof, perhaps, that the universe has a sense of humor. But I mean, come on people. If obsessing about something actually made it come to pass, if the law of attraction really worked, then John Stamos would have fallen in love with me long ago.