"The Secret"

[MaddLlama]

Any Christian can see after reading these statements, that the The Secret is pure occultism.

So, believing that you can "think yourself wealthy" is witchcraft?

 

[Kay]

Does anyone have anything positive to say about it?

No, nothing positive. I just wrote quite a rant, actually:

Keep It A Secret

 

[MaddLlama]

No, nothing positive. I just wrote quite a rant, actually:

Keep It A Secret

That's a great blog post on it, thanks =)

 

[gnomon]

I've never actually heard of that one, can you tell me how they are similar?

"What the Bleep..." is about as good a documentary as "Bowling For Columbine". Chock full of factual errors and it never truly build a case for its primary point. The producers of the film are students of J.Z. Knight, channeler of the 30,000 year old Lemurian con artist known as Ramtha.

These bleepheads posit the notion of creating our own reality. It's similar to the lines of "The Secret" and basically all the rest of New Age hokum.

 

[MaddLlama]

"What the Bleep..." is about as good a documentary as "Bowling For Columbine". Chock full of factual errors and it never truly build a case for its primary point. The producers of the film are students of J.Z. Knight, channeler of the 30,000 year old Lemurian con artist known as Ramtha.

These bleepheads posit the notion of creating our own reality. It's similar to the lines of "The Secret" and basically all the rest of New Age hokum.

I heard something about it being based in quantum physics?

Kind of reminds me of a new age book recently published, and I see now that it was a capitialization of this law of attraction stuff. You know who Silver RavenWolf, is right? Well, her latest book is explaining the principles of Wiccan magic through the use of quantum physics. When I first saw it in the bookstore I laughed and said "how many Wiccans believe she's qualified to be writing a book on theoretical physics for god's sake!". Sadly the answer is....too many. :areyoucra

But, my opinion may be biased because I really can't stand the New Age movement.

 

[michel]

I think we should all get together, create a RF scam video, sell it for $35 a pop to the masses, and use the money to throw a huge member's party. But that's just me. Others might have silly qualms about scamming people to throw a party.

$35 ? If you undervalue it, people won't fall for it.......that's way too cheap!!!

 

[maggie2]

I guess I'm the odd person out here, but I happen to lilke the Secret very much. After reading every post in this thread I have some comments to make.

1. Many people have expressed a negative opinion of the Secret and only one of those has actually seen the whole movie. If we are going to express our opinions about something isn't it a good idea to know what we're talking about? I know that I couldn't comment on a movie like 'Dream Girls' as I've not seen it, for example.

2. It's pretty obvious from this thread that there is a lot of negativity about anything that has a New Age flavor to it. I find that sad as I find that there are many helpful concepts in the New Age literature. Not all of them, but some of them. Just like I find some helpful things in most religions.

3. I can't comment on the book, I haven't read it. However, I CAN comment on the movie...I've seen it twice. It's very interesting to me that this movie is misquoted and misinterpreted. Everyone thinks it's just about money. It isn't. James Ray speaks about 'harmonic wealth' which consists of being WELL in all areas of your life, physical, intellectual, spiritual, financial and relational. Several of the other segments in the movie speak about health and relationships and spirituality and make no mention of money.

4. The concept is very similar to positive thinking. However, it goes beyond that. Here's why. With positive thinking, you're supposed to think positive thoughts and do visualizations and affirmations. The Law of Attraction says that you need to line up your thoughts, feelings and ACTIONS. No one ever said you could get anything you want and not have to do anything for it. You have to do your part too.

5. The Law of Attraction is about taking responsibility for your life. Some people think that the Secret says that if you have a problem you're to blame. That's not true. What is does say is that you create your own life and you're responsible for that. It also says that if you are doing this unconsciously then you're not to BLAME. There is no blame intended. It's only about becoming responsible for yourself and not blaming others for your circumstances.

6. I know in my own life that when I am upbeat my life flows far better than when I'm down and depressed. I should know, I've suffered from depression a lot. And I tell you this: When I CHOOSE to focus on the positives in my life and find some meaning in the negatives my life works much, much better. Why would I not choose to do that? To me that would be plain dumb.

7. The Secret also suggests that we focus on the things we're grateful for. That too is a real booster for anyone in life. I have found that when I'm in a space of gratitude I am far more content than when I'm not. Again, it just makes sense to me to do things that make me feel better.

8. What is it about the Secret that so many find so offensive? I'd really like to know. However, I think it's only fair that before anyone takes offense they should watch the movie. Then if they want to be offended, fine.

9. The main point of the movie is that we are all really not much more than vibrating energy. Through quantum physics it has been proven that we consist mainly of light/energy that vibrates. Yes, I know that's hard to get your head around, at least it was for me. When I bang my knee of my coffee table it seems pretty solid to me and I don't see if as vibrating energy. However, that's what it is and what we are too. That being so, it makes sense to say that if we change our vibration we will attract something different.

10. I started working with the Law of Attraction about 18 months ago. Here are some of the things that have happened in my life in that time. I wanted to increase my net worth by at least 250,000.00 and I bettered that. I wanted a passive income of over 3,000.00 a month and I surpassed that. I wanted my marriage to go from okay to great...it has. I wanted a better relationship with my daugher...I got it. I wanted a 5th wheel and truck..paid for...we got that. I could go on, but those things are good enough to convince me that if I choose to focus on what I do want and not on what I don't want I get far better results than if I focus on what I don't want.

11. Mother Theresa was asked one time if she would participate in an anti-war rally. She said no. She also said, however, that if these people invited her to a peace rally, she'd be happy to go. She knew the value of focusing on what you want and choosing not to focus on what you don't want.

12. About What the Bleep. It was an awesome movie. It has some amazing science in it. And I beg to differ with whoever indicated that the scientists in it aren't well qualified. One of them, Candace Pert, is a respected biologist and has written two books. She has shown through repeated tests that we store our emotions in our cells and has done some amazing work. I can't speak about the others but I have read that they are well qualified. Again, unless you have the facts, it might be good to express your opinions as just that...opinions.

 

[yuvgotmel]

Dear maggie2,

I am glad you spoke up with some sound reasoning in this overly negative thread. Even though, I personally do not like the movie "The Secret", that is not to say that I also discount such things as possible. And by the way, I LOVED the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know"!

 

[Quoth The Raven]

I guess I'm the odd person out here, but I happen to lilke the Secret very much. After reading every post in this thread I have some comments to make.

1. Many people have expressed a negative opinion of the Secret and only one of those has actually seen the whole movie. If we are going to express our opinions about something isn't it a good idea to know what we're talking about? I know that I couldn't comment on a movie like 'Dream Girls' as I've not seen it, for example.

2. It's pretty obvious from this thread that there is a lot of negativity about anything that has a New Age flavor to it. I find that sad as I find that there are many helpful concepts in the New Age literature. Not all of them, but some of them. Just like I find some helpful things in most religions.

3. I can't comment on the book, I haven't read it. However, I CAN comment on the movie...I've seen it twice. It's very interesting to me that this movie is misquoted and misinterpreted. Everyone thinks it's just about money. It isn't. James Ray speaks about 'harmonic wealth' which consists of being WELL in all areas of your life, physical, intellectual, spiritual, financial and relational. Several of the other segments in the movie speak about health and relationships and spirituality and make no mention of money.

4. The concept is very similar to positive thinking. However, it goes beyond that. Here's why. With positive thinking, you're supposed to think positive thoughts and do visualizations and affirmations. The Law of Attraction says that you need to line up your thoughts, feelings and ACTIONS. No one ever said you could get anything you want and not have to do anything for it. You have to do your part too.

5. The Law of Attraction is about taking responsibility for your life. Some people think that the Secret says that if you have a problem you're to blame. That's not true. What is does say is that you create your own life and you're responsible for that. It also says that if you are doing this unconsciously then you're not to BLAME. There is no blame intended. It's only about becoming responsible for yourself and not blaming others for your circumstances.

6. I know in my own life that when I am upbeat my life flows far better than when I'm down and depressed. I should know, I've suffered from depression a lot. And I tell you this: When I CHOOSE to focus on the positives in my life and find some meaning in the negatives my life works much, much better. Why would I not choose to do that? To me that would be plain dumb.

7. The Secret also suggests that we focus on the things we're grateful for. That too is a real booster for anyone in life. I have found that when I'm in a space of gratitude I am far more content than when I'm not. Again, it just makes sense to me to do things that make me feel better.

8. What is it about the Secret that so many find so offensive? I'd really like to know. However, I think it's only fair that before anyone takes offense they should watch the movie. Then if they want to be offended, fine.

9. The main point of the movie is that we are all really not much more than vibrating energy. Through quantum physics it has been proven that we consist mainly of light/energy that vibrates. Yes, I know that's hard to get your head around, at least it was for me. When I bang my knee of my coffee table it seems pretty solid to me and I don't see if as vibrating energy. However, that's what it is and what we are too. That being so, it makes sense to say that if we change our vibration we will attract something different.

10. I started working with the Law of Attraction about 18 months ago. Here are some of the things that have happened in my life in that time. I wanted to increase my net worth by at least 250,000.00 and I bettered that. I wanted a passive income of over 3,000.00 a month and I surpassed that. I wanted my marriage to go from okay to great...it has. I wanted a better relationship with my daugher...I got it. I wanted a 5th wheel and truck..paid for...we got that. I could go on, but those things are good enough to convince me that if I choose to focus on what I do want and not on what I don't want I get far better results than if I focus on what I don't want.

11. Mother Theresa was asked one time if she would participate in an anti-war rally. She said no. She also said, however, that if these people invited her to a peace rally, she'd be happy to go. She knew the value of focusing on what you want and choosing not to focus on what you don't want.

12. About What the Bleep. It was an awesome movie. It has some amazing science in it. And I beg to differ with whoever indicated that the scientists in it aren't well qualified. One of them, Candace Pert, is a respected biologist and has written two books. She has shown through repeated tests that we store our emotions in our cells and has done some amazing work. I can't speak about the others but I have read that they are well qualified. Again, unless you have the facts, it might be good to express your opinions as just that...opinions.

What she said.
In several places in the movie it's particularly said that the further your actions and behaviours are away from your stated intent the less satified you'll be with your life because you're directing yourself away from what you actually want.
A lot of the examples have more to do with people stating they want an outcome and putting themselves in a place to recognise opportunities with which they can facilitate that outcome rather than just speaking to the sky and things falling from it.
The woman with cancer, well, I don't know that I'd take Laurel and Hardy over conventional treatment and I'm pretty sure no-one said that if you get cancer you should knock back the chemo and focus on a funny movie. By the same token, I imagine it would be far easier to stay positive during cancer treatment if you could focus on some happy stuff and get a laugh, instead of how sick you feel and the fact you might still die.
I didn't think the movie was that bad. I got the gist fairly early on, so it probably went on for longer than it needed to, and I wondered by the end of it just what sort of job description 'metaphysician' actually was, but I think there are things you can take from it if you choose to.
If you think you'll get nothing from it, then obviously you wont.

 

[gnomon]

Well damn. I guess I was being offensive. If only I was taught the Secret rather than having to take Lithium, coginitive behavioral therapy and learning to recognize the signs of an uncontrollable mental disorder I could have saved myself such time and money. Well, I don't actually know about money considering that I would have had to take courses from Ramtha, Abraham and numerous motivational speakers whose fees would dwarf the mental institute I attended. Not to mention that insurance wouldn't cover such a thing. Oh wait...that's the secret. Take very old well known concepts such as ambition, self-respect and hard work (even though the last is hardly ever mentioned) wrap it up in a pretty package and sell it.

I've always understood the nature of responsibility and I don't need to waste my time and money on pseudo-scientific hacks proposing some "Law" which, on my numerous observations and personal experience, doesn't quite coincide with biological fact. I guess as long as individuals in a Western society who already have so much found another way to spiritually justify expanding their material wealth we shouldn't complain. After all, it can only be good for the economy.

Meanwhile, I wonder how well this Law is working for the folks in Darfur. I mean, if there was ever a group of people who wanted something so much to improve their lives it would be these people. I wonder if the Law of Abundance, er Attraction, or rather, the Secret, takes violent opposition into account.