The Secret

               

So I promised to post my thoughts on “The Secret”. This is a phenomenon sweeping books from the stores and library shelves, and causing fiery discussions on the forums. First of all, I downloaded the DVD version, so the book may be better.

I thought they had a lot of great things to say about the power of positive visualization. They explained the "Law of Attraction" in a way that was accessible and easy for lots of people to understand. As one of the contributors, Bob Doyle, put it:

“What you focus on with thought and feeling is what you attract into your experience, whether or not it's something you want.”

Basically, if you observe only what is, you attract more of it. When you visualize, then you materialize. This is the power of visualization, of using thoughts to shape your life. They draw on the Buddha:

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”

And Winston Churchill:

“You create your own universe as you go along.”

They collect more fantastic quotes from leading thinkers across the centuries, and presented them with lovely pretty graphics and dramatic music. I think it's worth a watch for curiosity's sake. But bear in mind – the Law of the Attraction, powerful as it can be, is not original to “The Secret”.

I also found the majority of the things they talked about very materialistic. They spoke of the universe being a catalog, and all you have to do is place your order – just name the amount of cash. The examples were all about mansions, earning $100K a year, driving your brand new car, getting a new bike. The one about finding a partner turned me off too, which seemed to me to objectify the women as just more fancy status symbols to be envisioned and then dropped in the guy's lap. There were brief mentions of God/spirituality, but I think they were trying to make it appeal to a wider audience, so they didn't get too specific about that.

My honest thought at the end of it was that they did an okay job of packaging other people's wisdom. The wisdom is good. The quotes are awesome. I liked the old-timey scrolls and the cool, swooshy whispers. The illustrations they use to describe "what you can get" were to me, overly material-focused, but I can accept that this approach would appeal to people who are into that stuff.

My biggest problem with it was this "blame-the-victim" mentality that could easily arise from some of the suggested techniques.

My first flinch came at "Why do you think 1 or 2% of the world's population owns 96% of the world's wealth? It's because they know the Secret." Er, not really, but way to endorse the suffering of millions.

Or how about, "The one who speaks most of illness, has it." They told the story of Cathy Goodman, who cured her breast cancer simply by believing she was healthy. Mind over matter. I'm amazed that this has worked in some cases, and truly thankful for those people. I know from medical studies that thinking positively has a massive effect on recovery rates, and should definitely be encouraged among patients. But this seemed a bit extreme, writing off the poor and sick as deserving of their poverty and sickness. One of the commentators, Dr. Joe Vitale even went so far as to say that your car accident didn't just happen to you – you attracted it!

Alright, so maybe we can set aside the irritatingly smug and disturbingly uncaring attitudes toward other people, and focus on the good stuff we can glean from the good stuff “The Secret” has collected.

• Focus on the positive, not the negative. Instead of being anti-war, be pro-peace. Instead of saying “I have to get out of debt,” and focusing on the debt, focus on the positive steps of increasing income. I think this can be valuably applied to weight loss. I found it intensely depressing to formulate my thoughts as: “I HAVE to stop being so fat! God, I'm so overweight, I need to get rid of these rolls, these gross squishy bits.” Instead, focusing on the great feeling of slipping on jeans that fit, a flat tummy smooth above your waistband, enjoying climbing stairs and hills without getting out of breath – that gets you there faster, and with way less misery!

• “Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

  This would have helped me a lot when I felt like I had a mountain of weight to lose. Thinking about all the weeks, the months it would take to lose that weight led me to be quickly discouraged when I wasn't losing quickly enough at first. Whatever plan you pick to lose weight, it helps to have faith it will work as you take those first difficult steps.

• Complaining doesn't help. I don't think that this means we're never allowed a vent, a rant, or a shoulder to cry on after a bad day. I do think it's helpful to become more aware of thought patterns, speech patterns, to notice when we are complaining and try to reformulate things in a happier light. Complaining about weight, or the strictness of a diet, will only enforce the feelings of fat and heighten the feelings of being restricted.

I'm trying to incorporate some of the positive visualization into my own thinking. Basically, I don't think it can hurt. Thoughts are powerful things, and I think it's exciting to be able to use them for good, to explore the extent of the power. I don't think that means we get to dismiss all the people in less-than-desirable situations as having attracted it to themselves, but as a self-improvement project, this makes a lot of sense.

Has anyone else read or watched this? Have the techniques worked for you? 

“Follow your bliss.”~Joseph Campbell

Comments

[jeff Marek]

Hi,

I find your blog both informational with low carb and inspirational with your own story and your added attempts to incorporate positive thinking.
Strangely enough I just recently read this before coming here that also speaks of the Law of Attraction.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/06/overcoming-depression/

[Kate]

Thank you for your blog. I was amused by "The Secret" quote: "Why do you think 1 or 2% of the world's population owns 96% of the world's wealth? It's because they know the Secret." If THE secret is visualization, I've read extensively about 3 very rich men who don't seem to practice it--Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, John D. Rockefeller Sr.