thoughts on The secret??

miss luce

hi all, ive just started reading the secret. i have to admit, ive put it off for a long time. my fiance read it last year, and he raved and raved about it. he never reads, and i didnt think hed take to this book atall......but he did!!!! he still talks about it. he believes all of it, and says it works, (and hes not normally like this as i said.)
im about 40 pages in, and..............i have to say, i think its great. now, some of it, i think, is a bit out there, but generally, its so positive. i never thought id like this book, but i do!!!!
i think you have to take it with a pinch of salt, today i read the part about, believing in what you want, and believing youll get it, and think of it like ordering from the catalogue of the universe!!! ive ordered lots from "the catalogue of the universe" and am looking forward to its arrival!!!!
i think, so far, what im getting from it, is that a little positivity doesnt go amiss.
im glad i was open minded enough to start reading it, and i never though id say that:D
what do you guys think of it???

ZorbaTehZ

miss luce wrote: »

what do you guys think of it???

Well personally, its just some new-age, positive-thinking-fixes-your-life-mumbo-jumbo, delusional nonsense that eschews realism in favour of the "easy option" ie. ignorance. Isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Flash86

ZorbaTehZ wrote: »

Well personally, its just some new-age, positive-thinking-fixes-your-life-mumbo-jumbo, delusional nonsense that eschews realism in favour of the "easy option" ie. ignorance. Isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

What he said.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i pasted this in the last thread about the secret last year, it's still relevant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usbNJMUZSwo

Eliot Rosewater

My mother read the Secret and decided to adhere to it. Which, in practise, meant ignoring every criticism of what shes doing because "the universe" had divined she do those things.

She bought a house to start a buisness. When renovating the house my family begged restraint. No, the universe told her to spend more than she needed to. The universe told her to hire the most expensive workers. The cost soared.

So now, 1 year later, we are left with a house that isnt being used. My mother is a failed buisness women because she cant cope with pressure or responsibility. But any criticism and she retorts that we are out to get her. The universe told her to do it so she did it.

My dads retiring this year. We have a 300k+ morgtage on a buisness that is throttling money. My fathers lump sum, for which he had a great life plan, will sink into it. His pension wont be able to cope with the mortgage. The financial sitation is bleak, to say the least.

So my thoughts on the Secret? I think its just an excuse for people to ignore reality to get what they want done even if it involves destroying those around them.

sceptre

One word: bunkum. As the central theorem appears to be "believe in something and the universe will take care of it" without even a happy god to make it so on your behalf, it's got all the worth of a popular saying on the back of a sugar packet.

It's not literature as it's a purported self-help book with a pseudospirituality nod. A move to the Spirituality forum is the best I can do - Spirituality mods, let me know if it's not appropriate there.

A little positivity is indeed often a good thing. That's not what this bok is selling though (mind you, it's effectively selling itself).

edit: moved to the Spirituality forum, rules of that forum apply henceforth.

fontanalis

ZorbaTehZ wrote: »

Well personally, its just some new-age, positive-thinking-fixes-your-life-mumbo-jumbo, delusional nonsense that eschews realism in favour of the "easy option" ie. ignorance. Isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Well said, complete and utter shyte. I'm all for positive thinking being a good thing but this is beyond the woo woo barrier. Basicaly it's for Oprah fans who thinks the Universe owes them a million dollars. I also read the author stated that natural disasters are a result of negative thinking, is this true?

Ambersky

There is no Secret.
It has long been observed that people who have a positive attitude tend to do well.
It is also easier to have a positive attitude when the basic life requirements are in place for you. Requirements like food, shelter, love and protection, education and stability, are basic needs which if not met can make it impossible for a person to focus on anything else or develop.

If a person wants to nurture a positive attitude in themselves and feel truly grateful for all that they have fantastic.
If they are then willing to work hard and take all the opportunities life offers they are on a likely path to success.
But thats it in a nutshell. Positive attitude, hard work, oh and a little luck. Thats no secret.
We do not create our own reality.
We are part of a complex world and we can influence our reality.

If you can decide you want a necklace or money like in the ad for the secret and all you have to do is think positively enough, if every individual can do the same, can get whatever they want by simply thinking positively enough, does this apply to individuals who are hungry?
Is all that the answer to world hunger getting the hungry to think better or more positive?
Are they therefore hungry because of their negative attitude?
Is their hunger their own fault?
Are we not hungry because we managed to think more positively than those who are hungry?
Are we not hungry because we are better thinkers?
Hmm anyone else think were into dangerous territory here?

Have you seen the Trocaire Poster thats up at the moment of the little girl in Africa sitting playing with a doll and an empty plate with the caption
If Only Hunger Were Make Believe.
One in six people are hungry
A hungry child cannot learn. A hungry adult cannot work. But it does not have to be this way
http://www.trocaire.org/

Did they not get their copies of the secret in africa.

That is not to say of course that there isnt a need in Africa to change attitudes, just as there is a need in developed countries to change our attitudes towards the developing world.
Its just a lot more complicated than individuals sitting down and wishing for more things to drop into their laps.

Dave!

Haven't read it (and have no plan to), but from the summaries I've read in various places, yes, it appears to be new agey bullsh*t with nothing to back it up

Try positively thinking your way out of a burning building, you won't get far

Sapsorrow

The secret is just an incredibly clever bit of marketing, you should try googling it and read up on how the author set the whole thing up, incredibly clever woman who's very rich now as a result. She intentionally set it up to come across as a 'cult' internet spirituality movement whilst actually working very hard to promote it as much as possible all over the world. Also the movie was very clevery designed to emulate the style and ideas of the Da Vinchi code as that was so popular in the mainstream at the time. Anyway all in all it amounted to was her making a feck load of money at the expense of a lot of lost souls looking for the answers to their problems, it's sad really. Warning bells went off for me imediately when I saw how focused it was on materialism and financial gain, not exactly very spiritual in my eyes. If there's things you want in life go see a career guidance coach etc and sort it out for yourself don't hang around waiting for the universe to throw you a euromillions winning ticket. Personally I like working for things in life it makes them all the more enjoyable when you've finally achieved them and you can see how you've grown as a person in the process. Oh another thing is she's actually gotten in a fair bit of trouble for misrepresenting the people featured in the film (scientists, theologians and the likes who are supposed to make it look credible) by editing their interviews to give the impression that they're agreeing with each other or saying something their not if she was really onto something there'd be no need for that.

Sapsorrow

Another issue I have with it is that it's all well and good for the likes of us raised with silver spoons in our mouths and a phenomenally good social welfare system, free education and free healthcare to expect to have everything handed to us on a silver platter. I'd like to see how well the secret works for people dying of AIDS or starvation in sub-saharan Africa, can they get that SUV they've always wanted if they think about it hard enough I wonder? I used to live with a guy who was adament (after seeing the doc of the secret) that if he was infected with AIDS that he wouldn't get sick and would be able to overcome the virus and would cure himself. How incredibly arrogant, he reckoned people in the third world were'nt spiritually evolved enough to overcome the epidemic using the power of their minds. I have to admit I wanted to kill the guy for being such an incredible dick.

dermothickey

In truth the very essence of the secret is ego... your desires your needs etc your will on what you want to Happen...all the "I" It works for people on a personal level because they get what they want and then say its because of the secret.As fas as a spiritual book goes it is more concerned with the material.

Unwilling

THE UNIVERSE doesn't TELL you to do anything!
Bottom line is a bit of positivity never hurts anyone... Age old addage.. believe in yourself. If you dont' ask you don't get. you can do anything you put your mind to............etc

To those who dismiss it as bunkum, nonsense etc... give it a bash!!! At the end of the day, what have you got to loose!!

roosh

read half of it before, but thought "I wasn't ready to read it" at the time. It is pretty much just a sensationalised version of the concept of visualising the the things you want to achieve.

If you visualise the things you hope to achieve, then you can increase your likelihood of success. The more detail you visualise, the greater the chance of success. If you don't believe you can achiever something, then you are likely not to try, or you will give up when obstacles are encountered. If you believe that you can achieve something then your chances of success are increased, because you are likely to try and achieve your goal, and you are not as likely to give up when obstacles are encountered.

The manner through which the universe grants you your wishes, is through the power of psychology. The way you think will determine how you act, which will determine where you go and when, meaning you will be more likely to put yourself in situations where you take advantage of opportunities. How you think will also affect how you view situations, the more you believe you can achieve something, and the more positive about this you are, then the more likely you are to see opportunities, where otherwise you would see obstacles. Depending on your perception of reality, then it could easily be interpreted that the universe willed you to achieve success, which of course it did, through the power of psychology (because you are part of the universe).

The crux of the issue can often be ones belief. While we may want to believe certain things, a certain level of introspection and honesty with ourselves will reveal what we truly believe and what we only want to believe. Wanting to believe, and telling ourselves that we believe are of course different from actually believing. Of course, we are capable of fooling ourselves, and deluding ourselves, which means we can think we actually believe, when in actual fact we don't. This can be as a result of our social conditioning, and the paradigms we subconsciously believe, or have been led to believe. In short, the mind can be a trixy little hobbit.

Visualising what you want to achieve, and believing you can achieve it are very useful, if not necessary practices to achieve success. This works because of psychology, which is part of the human make-up. Humans are part of the universe, were indeed created by the [processes of the] universe. So yes, the universe does operate a certain "law of attraction".

How one perceives this process will depend largely on their own perception, of their place, and the place of the human race within the universe.

SneakyJedi

The Secret is extremely dangerous.

Those of you that study alchemy or certain eastern philosophies will concur that the power of concious thought and attractive vibrations can bring incredible success, wealth and enjoyment to ones life.

The problem with The Secret, is that is leaves out the other 99% of the way the world and "the universe" works. People expect immediate results while sitting on their sofa's watching TV. Problem is, when nothing happens in a few weeks or months, they think: this is not working for me ... and you know what ... like a genie: "Your wish is my command!" everything you have worked on evaporates.

It is only through hard work, dedication, and spiritual refinement that "The Secret" can be made to work. And in the end, the importance that is being put on the material won't seem as important.

The secret is a half-truth ... and because it is missing the most important components ..... it is extremely dangerous, as a previous poster has seen with their mother.

Just my 2 cents worth

Lapis lazuli

Worth watching for anyone intrested in this book