I think eventually most people end up with desires that are not materialistic.

Most people, for most of their lives, have been told they need to struggle, suffer and work hard for what they want.

So when they discover that none of that is actually true and they can get what they want simply by asking for it and getting out of the way, many people become highly focused on getting all those material goods that they have been chasing for years.

There is nothing wrong with that at all.

There does come a time however (and it may take a few years to get there) when, after you've got all the material stuff you want, you start to realize that life isn't really about having as much physical stuff as you possibly can. It just gets cumbersome to have to deal with so much stuff.

Right now, I have way too much material stuff in my life. Just gets boring and tedious dealing with it all, and I have actually been looking for ways to have less stuff. I know this might sound unbelievable for someone living in lack but I can assure you that having more physical stuff than you can handle is quite achievable :)

When you have had enough of chasing material stuff, the nature of your desires starts to change. You start desiring non-material things like knowledge and wisdom. You start desiring things like wanting to help other people to achieve what they want.

I spend a lot of time on this site trying to help people see their lives from a perspective that isn't often spoken about openly. I don't get paid or recognized for any of this - I don't need the money, fame or recognition. And it is certainly no sacrifice of time or effort on my part...it all just feels like inspired fun. It's because the nature of my desires has shifted to more non-material things.

And I think this happens naturally to people when they lose that fear and struggle for chasing after material goods...the mind naturally elevates to a more spiritual level once all the physical needs are met.

So, yes, the box experiment works for any kind of desire, including relationships and friendships.

I'm not quite sure about what your reference to criminal purposes could be about. Crimes, as society generally classifies them, are all driven by fear and lack. If you can get anything you want, why would you ever need to do anything criminal or ask for anything to come through criminal means?

If you are referring to making a request that might negatively influence other people, well go and ahead and try it (this is an experiment, after all). I think you'll find that it just doesn't manifest. The Universe (or God) just doesn't operate that way. You cannot assert negatively into another's reality - there is no Law of Assertion, only a Law of Attraction.

As I said, feel free to go ahead and try criminal requests if you have any doubts about this. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you if you do try it. You are only writing things on pieces of paper and putting them in a box. You just won't get the results you are expecting, that's all.

Update in response to Kakaboo's answer

Most people will tell you that you should not target a specific person but only a type of person. There are a lot of informal rules like this that people tell each other but I think the truth is you won't know until you try it.

As one of life's rule-breakers, I like to especially try things that others say won't work just to see what happens. :)

So I have actually targeted specific people in the past for things like relationships and friendships and, guess what, it has actually worked exactly as requested.

However, let's be clear about the intent I held when doing this because I think it is key. If I am targeting someone specifically for a request, I will be doing so because I honestly believe that it will be good for them as well. i.e. there is no attempt to control or dominate or manipulate...because I've tried that as well and that doesn't seem to work. :)

So, again, this appears to back up what I was saying that you cannot negatively influence other people. This applies to your concern about wishing bad things for other people too.

This still isn't asserting yourself into their reality even if you are targeting someone specifically. There is a difference between influence and assertion. The mega-industries of Advertising and Marketing influence most of humanity on a daily basis but they still don't assert themselves into our lives. If we really dislike Product A and we really want to have nothing to do with it ever, then it doesn't matter how much advertising or marketing we see, we are just not going to buy it. If, however, we have no particular opinion about Product A, then we are open to influence regarding it.

The same applies to relationships and friendships too.

One final point about this. As I've mentioned before, needing something to happen will stand in the way of it happening. And noticing it hasn't happened yet will also prevent it happening.

That's a major issue to overcome when targeting people specifically - there is too much of a temptation to keep watching that particular person for signs of change. When I have had requests that have worked for particular people, I have not been too attached to the outcome - I would still have been happy with my life if it didn't work.