Well here is an article about 'The Secret'

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/book....ap/index.html

I was talking about this with a friend last night. I'm amazed that when something comes along that helps people there are a lot of people who take great joy in trying to discount it. I remember when I used to take Echinacea for my colds and my mom would always poo poo it in favor of more conventional medicine. Now, did it really help me or was it just positive thinking? Who knows. We all have the power to heal ourselves to some extent, it's just a matter of harnessing that power and being able to use it. So if you pray, take herbal medicine or drugs, to some extent you are believing that this thing will help and therefore it will. So one day my mom heard a report that some scientific study reported that Echinacea doesn't really help the common cold. She was overjoyed at being able to prove me wrong. Now I take whatever's handy. Did she help me by showing me the err of my ways? No, she just disappointed me. So, recently I've been reading The Secret. And yes, people have been poo pooing me up and down. I decided one day that I was ready to meet the love of my life, and even posted this on a message board somewhere. Within a week I met my current boyfriend and have never been happier with anyone in my life. Now, did the Universe realign itself so that we would meet? Did my positive energy attract this person to me from across the ether to find his way to me? No. But when I read his online profile I decided to to write him a message rather than think that someone so handsome could never be interested in me. When we met, I was happy to meet him and enjoyed the day as if it were any other beautiful day without a worry that he might not like me or trying to plan out the next ten years and would it work out and how bad would the break up be.

My positive attitude attracted his positive attitude. That is the whole "Secret". And no, Casa Nova, I was not taught this growing up. To be frank, I was taught that I had a place in the world and that I should never expect anything better. I was taught that I was as an abomination for being gay and that I was going to burn in hell just for being who I was. And I was taught that I would never amount to anything and that I should get some crummy job in the shitty little town I grew up in and ever chase my dreams.

Having said all that, some people need this book. And while it may seem like common sense I've heard of a lot of people taking the ideas of this book too literally and not using common sense when applying it. Living like you don't have money problems just means that you won't worry needlessly, and removing that stress from your life will make it easier to help bring more money into it, such as looking for a better job or finding constructive ways to make more money. This does not mean that by believing you will get more money that it will just fall into your lap. Believing that you will meet the man or woman of your dreams will not bring them to you, but it will make you more ready for when they happen to walk into your life or it will give you the confidence to seek them out. The Secret is not a guide to making things get handed to you, it's about how to stop whining about how crappy everything is and to start enjoying what you have, and feel motivated to go after the things you want.

It's like anything else. Take what you can from it and leave the rest. If it doesn't help you that does not mean it won't help someone else. And if it helps you, think about how it is helping you and why, and apply that to everything you do. It's like I say, the secret to happiness is simply to be happy.

Perfect example. A woman read a book about how to get rich, she got the idea to spread this word by making a movie, a book, a bunch of other stuff, and then became rich. She simply said, "I can" and then did. I picture myself in a thinner, more muscular body. Do I do this while sitting on the couch eating Cheetos? Hell no. I do this on the treadmill at the gym. But I'll tell you what, my workouts are so much better now then when I would go and struggle thinking that none of it was doing any good because I wasn't seeing results in two weeks.

two excellent posts DonMike! :wow:

thanks for those :) people can call 'the secret' anything they like. they can believe that it's the universe moving things around for them or God or just their belief in themselves. It works out the same - they believe in something positive which opens them up to positive results.

The people that are quick to criticize and call it a money making scheme or pointing to it as something horrible because it's creating a 'material society' are the ones that have totally missed the point. Wealth is not necessarily about how much bling you've got or how much cash you've got in the bank. I consider myself to be one of the wealthiest people around simply because I'm happy with where my life is at. I'm not a material person because I believe that the secret has merit, I'm a happy person and have become happier since reading it.

AMEN!!! :worthy:

Well I came to respond to the criticism as well but DonMike said it perfectly. I've always liked DonMike and thought very highly of him. Good posts!

I do have to share this one little anecdotal joke though.

This very spiritual guy got caught in a flood one day and the water was so high
that he had to sit up in a tree hoping the water would cease.

Before he knew it this other guy came along in a boat and offered him a seat.

He said "no thanks I'm waiting for god to help me. I know god won't let me down."

So this happened 2 more times with 2 more boats then the water became to high the poor guy drowned.

So he got to heaven and asked god why he didn't help him.

God says "I sent you three boats! what more did you want?"

The only criticism the secret deserves is the fact that it's not giving the complete picture.
Thinking positive is only one step. Taking action is another.

Like the Legacy pointed out the secret is only using one principle out of 7.
The 7 Hermetic Laws

Excellent post, thruma. And thank you for the compliment.

I haven't seen the movie but I've read the book. I don't know if it's spelled out or I just had the foresight to understand it better but I got the impression that the positive thinking helped inspire the action. I think sometimes people only hear what they want to. They see the line about the miracle weight loss pill melting away pounds but they don't see the part that says "with proper diet and exercise" then they wonder why they are still fat as they pop two pills and down it with a Coke and a whole carton of Ben & Jerrys.

I hope you don't take my posting of the article as crapping all over the concept. I'm all for positive thinking. As long as people understand the limitations of what positive thinking can do (as you obviously do) there is no problem with it. The problem is the part of society that is a few rungs lower on the intelligence ladder. These people are taking it as gospel truth and being fleeced of their money.

Sort of like religion. If you stop and think about what they preach, they totally contradict themselves. I noticed this from going to Catholic schools. The teach you that God is love, but in the same breath they're muttering "but he sure hates them homos". How is God love if they're preaching that his word is hate?