The Power of "Wanting"

We now know that for certain people, if they want something enough, it will happen for them - both on and off the Island.

I'm fairly sure that Walt "wished up" a Polar Bear after seeing the image in Hugo's Comic Book on the Island in the same way that he wished up that bird he was studying in Australia.
In fact, in order for a Polar Bear to even exist on a tropical island in the first place, there had to be some real-world reason, some "reasonable" explanation - such as, say, a decades-old Scientific Research program aimed at "de-territorialisation" blah blah blah. In other words, I think Walt CREATED the DHARMA Polar Bear program IN THE PAST by wishing up a Polar Bear in the "present".

We know that Ben knows about Conscious Wish Fulfillment because he describes it to Locke in "The man from Tallahassee". We also know that Ben, having turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel, is transported in time and space to Tunisia. We know that Ben didn't know what date or even what year he was in, but that as soon as he realised that it was a few days before Nadia's funeral, he travelled to Tikrit and happened to have in his possession photographic "proof" linking Bakir to Nadia's murder. IMO, Ben "wished up" this proof - which did in fact appear valid: moments before his death, Bakir admitted that he worked for Widmore.

I think that Ben may have (unconsciously) "brought" Jack to the Island because he NEEDED a miracle-working spinal surgeon. It was Ben's need, coupled with the fact that Ben is Very Special which enabled him to (perhaps subconsciously) WANT a Spinal Surgeon to come to the Island. Ben's WANTING changed Jack's past, causing him to make a series of "choices" and to encounter a series of "Coincidences" (including his Miraculous Sarah Surgery) which weren't Free Will or Coincidences at all ... these "Free Will choices and Coincidences" were simply all the little steps needed BY BEN to get Jack onto Flight 815.

One of the repeating phrases we hear on LOST all the time is: "What is it that you want?" or "What do you want from me?" We also know that in 305 - "The Cost of Living" - that Ben told Jack: "I wanted you to WANT to save my life" - knowing that if Dr Miracle-worker WISHED for it sincerely enough, lo - it would come to pass (as it did for Hanging Charlie)

So ... who WANTED Ben to get Cancer in the first place? Maybe Jacob.

Who WANTED the rest of our Losties (and was responsible for all their pre-crash misery) on Flight 815?
Note that Ben's "Family" weren't really expecting Flight 815 on the day of the Book Club meeting and that it wasn't until after Mikhail's research that Ben knew the backgrounds of the survivors. So ... Ben didn't consciously bring them. Somebody (Jacob? ... The Island?) is using Ben.

As of Ep 506 ("316") we’ve seen Man-of-Science Jack finally embrace his inner Man-of Faith aspect to the point where he "plays along" with Ms Hawking’s Voodoo-style insistence that Locke’s body needed something that belonged to Christian. Her "leap-of-faith" line is an important step along Jack’s journey towards becoming a Believer. At least equally important is Ben’s Doubting Thomas lecture, followed by the "coincidental" presence in Grandad Ray’s suitcase of a pair of Christian’s shoes.

It seems to me that Someone (Jacob?) or Something (The Island?) wants Jack to believe in his ability to perform miracles and that this effort to lead Jack into Belief extends at least as far back as Jack’s miraculous Sarah surgery.

Note that Christian seems to have tried for decades to undermine Jack’s self-confidence. He also tried to convince his own daughter to sanction her mother’s murder. How evil is that? How callous was it for "Christian" to appear moments before Michael’s death to tell him that he "can go now" ? If a prick like that disses Ben, it seems to me that Ben really might be a Good Guy.

Note also that Someone wanted Hugo - long before his arrival on the Island - to believe that he was crazy. Upon arrival on the Island, "Dave" (Manifested by Someone or Something) almost succeeded in persuading Hugo to jump off that cliff. But Someone Else had planted Libby on Flight 815 - and she saved Hugo’s life. Hugo subsequently developed enough self-confidence that he was able through sheer force of Will to revive that dead DHARMA van - which Hugo subsequently used to kill Ryan on Lostie Beach. Upon returning to The World, Hugo evolved from once again believing himself to be crazy (thanks to visits from "Charlie" and "Eko") to gradually believing himself to be sane and yet still accepting the reality of Dead Friends, including "Ana Lucia"

My point here is that it seems to me that our Losties are, in fact, being "played" by at least two opposing Powers that have mastered the art of Wish-fulfilment. It further seems to me that these two opposing Powers are both "Aspects" of the Island itself - which reflect a dark/light dichotomy/schizophrenia waging Civil War on the Island - and in The World.

To me, the best evidence to support this Island Schizophrenia theory is what we saw in "This Place is Death" where one aspect of the Island ripped (innocent) Montand’s arm off, instantly "possessed" him, lured his three (innocent) buddies into the CV, "possessed" them and then forced Robert to attempt to murder his (innocent) pregnant wife. This Evil Deed was prevented by a "missing" firing pin reminiscent of Michael’s malfunctioning pistol. In other words, the Dark Aspect of The Island was defeated (in Danielle’s case) by the Light Aspect of The Island.
If I’m right, the Dark Aspect of the Island seeks the end of all Human Life on Earth, whereas the Light Aspect is willing to tolerate us.

It further seems to me that our Losties will, during S6, come to understand the Rules of The Game and to finally take control of their own Destiny and hopefully Save The World.