Self-help gurus

I love it when gurus get debunked. Gurus mess with our minds, doling out pseudo wisdom sprinkled with half-truth and/or half-baked 'scientific knowledge'. One guru recently wrote a book: 'The Power' (a sequel to her previous best-seller, 'The Secret'). The book basically tells us that we are what we think. Therefore, think rich and you'll be rich, think thin and you'll be thin, think whatever and you'll attract that thing... Two psychologists co-wrote an article on the New York Times exposing the folly of this book, here is the link to the essay: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Chabris-t.html?ref=health

While there may be a grain of truth to the claim that we are what we think...but just a grain. The author does not appeal to our quest for truth; she appeals to our quest for power - the ability to get what we want. "Is that wrong?" I ask myself. 

I guess it isn't necessarily wrong 'to get what we want'. Our hunger generally indicates that we need nourishment. It's good that we get the food we need. But the kind of food that gurus serve is just junk food. Feed on it long enough and we will die of malnutrition. It's like giving the sick a placebo when real medicine is available. 

Gurus exist in the Christian community too. They offer methods and self-help tips to deal with life problems. Yet problems come to us with God's permission; they're not always bad for us. They are opportunities to exercise our faith and get closer to God. Theologically speaking, a self-help Christian is something of an oxymoron.