“I’m extremely anxious over the idea that OCD + intrusive thoughts could be unintentionally manifesting negative things and this is making daily life difficult,” one Reddit user shared. It looks like I’m not the only person who struggled with OCD and the law of attraction, though. This has worsened both my obsessions and compulsions, and for a long time, it made me feel like an awful person because I couldn’t control my thoughts. “Remember that your thoughts are the primary cause of everything,” author Rhonda Byrne writes in “The Secret,” confirming exactly what my OCD tells me. When I Google “will I manifest my negative thoughts?” I get dozens of results telling me that it is, indeed, possible. “Unfortunately, though, the tells people the opposite, that not only can they manifest good things into their lives through positive thinking, but also undesirable things through negative thinking.” “Most therapy and coaching works by helping the individual to realize that these kinds of thoughts are not rational,” explains Robert James Pizey, an OCD coach and teacher.

Perhaps in another world we’d recognize this cognitive distortion for what it is, but in a society where manifestation “advice” is constantly doled out by celebrities, influencers, and authors, it’s hard not to feel like those irrational thoughts are actually founded in truth. Because I can’t stop thinking about it, I fear that I’ll manifest it. This persistent, distressing, intrusive thought is the “O” in my OCD: the obsession. At times, I constantly visualize this murder in detail, and I’ll be unable to stop those thoughts. I often fear that I’ll murder people around me, even though I have no reason to think it’ll actually happen. Like many other people with OCD, I tend to think that we’ll manifest the worst just by thinking about it. “Manifestation teachings such as the law of attraction are very similar to cognitive distortion, which is a risk factor for developing anxiety disorders and OCD.” “Likelihood thought-action fusion is a cognitive distortion that leads people to believe that the mere thought of a negative event increases the likelihood of it happening,” explains Anna Kress, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Princeton, New Jersey. One of those cognitive distortions is called likelihood thought-action fusion. “Olaf is not only a fantastic painter, he shines as a loving and kind human being.” Jessel Gallery, 1019 Atlas Peak Rd., Napa, 70.People who have certain cognitive distortions - in other words, a tendency to think in certain irrational ways - are more likely to develop OCD. Jessel Miller of the Jessel Gallery (Jessel Miller was born in Canada about 500 miles north of where Schneider lives today) knew the minute they connected that this painter was a star. Schneider is a prolific painter who is inspired by the power and diversity of the northern landscape and anything that needs a “second look.” An explorer by nature, he travels across North America and Europe to gain inspiration. Composition, color, and craftsmanship are all elements that become the building blocks of his work. For Schneider, each piece represents an intense exploration and refinement of his personal pictorial sensitivities, especially as they relate to beauty, form, light, and shade. Schneider is greatly inspired by mentor Ron Grieg and Norman Rockwell.

In 1986, while painting large-scale outdoor advertising billboards for Mediacom Outdoor Advertising, he acquired a strong practical foundation that would become integral to his work today. He studied at the Ontario College of Art as well as Sheridan College. In My Thoughts (oil on canvas) Olaf Schneider (b.1964) is a husband, father of two, and grandfather of six.

Mythoughts and explorations