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.
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