When you see a train coming, should you say anything about it? When the weather forecast calls for a blizzard to leave 3-feet of snow on the mountain pass, should you warn those in your family preparing to travel?
Yesterday I wrote a piece here about the uptick in the violent comments being made in our society directed at President-Elect Obama. In the wake of that posting a person entered the following in the Comments Section of this blog…

November 15, 2008 10:38 AM

What we fear, we attract. When we give Fear space in a blog, the newspaper, television, we are doing exactly what fear wants us to do. To keep talking about this will only make it grow. We may have to resist the temptation to talk about what we know may be said about Obama. Other presidents have had attacks made on them. It is always in the realm of possibility that every president of the USA will at some point have an attack made on them. By talking about the prejudices of others just gives that prejudice legs to keep on walking.
Prayers spread to everyone instead of ridicule will be what works. If the name of the store in Maine were to be publicized, do you really think that extremists would ask for store employees to go the peaceful way? It would create more of the same fear.
Indeed, it is thought provoking to write about Obama’s fate in this blog, but if what you are really looking to do is promote peace, resist the temptation to give any fear more advertising.
May the Peace of all Understanding be with you all.

I want to say here that I disagree with some of the observations above. I am growing weary of people who say that one should never, ever, ever notice or observe or comment on or repeat or announce or discuss anything negative, for fear that by discussing-observing-repeating it you are creating it.

I live in Ashland, Oregon, just north of a major mountain pass which is the most direct auto route into Northern California. The other day a friend of mine wanted to travel to Northern California and I had just heard that a major storm was on the way. I have seen what storms do to the mountain pass before, having lived here now for many years. Should I tell my friend of what the weather report says? Or am I “creating” the storm that might not have been had I not used my powers of creation in that way? Should I warn my friend of the possibly hazardous driving conditions, or am I attracting what I fear?
At what point is observing something, and then sharing with others what I observe, acceptable and okay and, in fact, actually beneficial to others? If I hear the train coming, and I fear for the lives of people that I love who are standing on the tracks, should I say something to them about the oncoming train? Or will they cry out, “Oh, please, Neale! I though you were a spiritual teacher! Don’t you know that what you fear you create?”
Where does this all end? I just wonder here, because all this “don’t even TALK about it” mentality is beginning to bore me…
Hmmm…
What do you think?