Proudly Being A Witch Never Made Much Sense To Me

MS. LOUISE HAY (Self-Help Movement Founder):

"Happiness is choosing thoughts that make you feel good. It's really very simple."

I understand I'm probably not getting the most out of life right now, being exposed to those who don't take seriously the harm NewAge does to me and others, but - until they do - I can't think of much that's more important to pursue. To me, real people are getting hurt badly, right under our noses, when it could be stopped. Horrible crimes. But few others want to stop them, and - if nothing else - that fact's fascinating to me.

"It was an hour into the self-help session when the girl began sobbing uncontrollably. For Ali Campbell, the celebrity life coach, it was just another example of the potency of his ‘being true to yourself’ workshops. 

But for Michael Le Vell, it was the beginning of two years that threatened to rob him of his career, his family and his sanity. 

Today, The Mail on Sunday can reveal the moment that led to  the Coronation Street actor being falsely accused of raping a child – and to the life coach being questioned by police. 

It took place at the so-called ‘Glastonbury of the self-help world’, an annual conference called I Can Do It! A two-day festival of self-development, it was set up by Louise Hay, an 86-year-old American whose controversial brand of positive thinking has earned her millions of followers around the world."

Part of the issue is, today, there's no escaping it. Another - watching where the money goes - is such a potent symbol of why we've so quickly become a basket case of a country. 

Here's where a huge chunk of our change goes:

"Though you may not know it, you live in Louise Hay’s world. Are you a black man who thinks psychics are nonsense but reads the affirmations of Tavis Smiley? Hay House has a special imprint just for Smiley. Are you a TV-loathing snob who occasionally condescends to watch PBS? The pledge-drive specials that Hay House has produced for Wayne (“Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling”) Dyer have helped raise more than $100 million for public television — they are one of PBS’s most-successful fund-raising tools."

Real people in the way, of this juggernaut of chaos, hardly stand a chance - because we're almost always alone and blind-sided:

"For Michael Le Vell, it was the beginning of two years that threatened to rob him of his career, his family and his sanity."

Meanwhile, the Boomers, etc., chant the NewAge phrase, "move on" to unburden themselves.

But also as a necessary rear-guard action.

What's done is done - and everybody will know them for who they are and what they've done.

It only follows, you know, they're expecting a reply,...