Cogito, ergo sum...

Descartes, Aristotle, Archimedes, King Solomon, Napoleon Hill, Obama, Oprah...

The Law of Attraction swept through the nation a year or two ago with the release of the book with that same title, as well as, through the hugely successful book and video, "The Secret", that was discussed quite a bit of "Oprah". All of this stems from the long running personal bible to many, the Napoleon Hill book "Think and Grow Rich" or the old testament biblical stories of King Solomon.

It seems that the rules do exist and are exemplified quite strongly today. Or are they? It is discussed throughout the self help world with guru's like Anthony Robbins and others to envision your successes. Whatever that may mean to someone whether it be in love, finance, personal health or anything in life. If you can see it, you can achieve it, is a common workshop mantra.

It is also discussed in philosophy classes throughout the world that, as Descartes wrote, "Cogito, ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am", that not only are we the creators of our existence do to that theory, but by thinking of your life and how you want things to produce themselves, it is said that you create your own life. Aristotle stated, "But if life itself is good and pleasant and if one who sees is conscious that he sees, one who hears that he hears, one who walks that he walks and similarly for all the other human activities there is a faculty that is conscious of their exercise, so that whenever we perceive, we are conscious that we perceive, and whenever we think, we are conscious that we think, and to be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious that we exist... (Nicomachean Ethics)

There are three important notes to keep in mind here. First, Descarte only claims the certainty of his own existence from the first-person point of view — he has not proved the existence of other minds at this point. This is something that has to be thought through by each of us for ourselves, as we follow the course of the meditations. Second, he is not saying that his existence is necessary; he is saying that if he's thinking, then necessarily he exists. Third, this proposition "I am, I exist" is held true not based on a deduction nor on empirical induction, but on the clarity and self-evidence of the proposition.

But, as in Isaac Asimov's principles of robotics, The Three Laws, and how they are broken in "I, Robot", was the basis of the hit movie with Will Smith. Constantly, the robot malfunctions as a result of "thinking" about itself, its behavior, and loopholes in the Three Laws of Robotics from this quote.

Although, Descarte's theories came from the first person perspective, we also know through emergence theory and mob mentality as a collective, that we exist albeit not in a vacuum. We exist in an ever shrinking global community of beings. The global energetic is a key factor to helping us create the world we wish to live in. As the global leaders, the press, one's own community and familial environment show us that, as Roosevelt stated so clearly, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

We have been running or shall I say, the world has been following an administration that bred fear throughout the world to which they created a global stream of people who manifested that fear and confusion. We are in the midst of changing this energy and turning things around. As we went from positiveness to eight years of darkness and turmoil instantly, we can turn things around just as quickly and powerfully with the right global attitudes and consciousness.

Whether you believe in these theories or not, it works. This seems to be true. When people began to believe there was no way out for the economy, since that was the only topics of the water cooler discussions, the global press and the blogoshpere, the economy had no other means but to fail. This can change!

Well, can we see ourselves getting out of this global catastrophe? Can we end the occupation of Iraq? Can we put positive back into our lives? We must! Obama has shown us all that thinking positive and acting with purpose can bring one the results they are looking for. He gave us all the example that these books tout so clearly. We must begin to do as Obama has done to set the example and only think of the positive. There are solutions to any problem and we must think clearly and act with decisiveness as to our desired outcomes to reach a positive result.

In conclusion, and in the words of our modern metaphysical President elect, who said, "Yes We Can."


(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs