"The Secret" movie, abundance psychology

[free4now]

Out here in Northern California I have encountered several folks who have strongly recommended the movie "The Secret":

http://whatisthesecret.tv/

I finally broke down and watched it (for $4.95 off their website). The secret is to focus on what you want to attract into your life rather than what you don't want. To feel the positive feelings of the success you are moving towards. Basic abundance psychology.

I know that I have a tendency to approach things logically and focus on minimizing risks so I'm trying to get more in touch with my inner intuition and be able to trust my feelings. I really want to buy into this practice of moving towards rather than away, but frankly it scares the hell out of me.

The movie says to focus on the feeling of the end result... if you want that new car, focus on that moment of taking that first ride. They don't say to focus on how to get there (e.g. working overtime at the burger barn to make the payments). Yikes. All the people who recommended this movie to me are people who are significantly in debt themselves.

This brings me back to myself... I have always found more success in getting rid of what's not working and avoiding potential troubles, than in being the cause for wonderful things. And I think this aspect of my personality has been a significant part of why I now am FIREd.

Yet I do find that I don't have quite the same spark of life that I see in the people who worship at the altar of abundance psychology. And there is obviously significant truth to the idea that we become what we focus on.

 

[macdaddy]

I think I saw the movie for free on YouTube. I watched a few minutes of it but it didn't seem very compelling.

 

[crazy connie]

"All the people who recommended this movie to me are people who are significantly in debt themselves."

Perhaps this movie is indicative of a flawed gratification personality type (I WANT IT NOW!!!)

 

[DRiP Guy]

The secret is to focus on what you want to attract into your life rather than what you don't want.

The movie says to focus on the feeling of the end result... if you want that new car, focus on that moment of taking that first ride. They don't say to focus on how to get there (e.g. working overtime at the burger barn to make the payments). Yikes.

Well, I thought this concept was kind of amusing when I watched it again last week for the twentieth time on DVD in The Music Man, where Robert Preston happens to call it by the name of the "Think System".

I consider myself a hard-core cynic realist, and yet even I have to admit there does appear to be something to the approach: people who focus on the negative tend to do poorly. However, when you take it to the degree that some would do, that you don't need to worry about the how at all, just focus on the object of your desires... well, as a child whenever I would wish out loud for some new toy, Daddy used to ask me to c*** in one hand and wish in the other, and see which one filled up first...


I guess maybe it becomes clearer every day to me why I am a total cynic realist, who learned to buy my own youthful toys and niceties by mowing lawns and delivering newpapers!

 

[Cut-Throat]

My take on these philosophies is that most people have a very difficult time setting priorities in their own lives. This seems to give way to the 'all or nothing' approach. Either I'm going to spend all the money I can or I am going to be ebenezer scrooge!

You can only achieve balance when you are able to define your priorities, because 'you cannot have it all'. Even if you have unlimited money, you will have limited time! - If you cannot define your priorities in life, you cannot be happy and will be on an endless search for the 'answer'. There are many 'gurus' willing to take your money help you with this process.

 

[yakers]

'you cannot have it all'.

Of course not, where would you put it?

 

[LOL!]

From Paul Tough's NYTimes article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/magazine/26tough.html

What’s more, the kinds of words and statements that children heard varied by class. The most basic difference was in the number of “discouragements” a child heard — prohibitions and words of disapproval — compared with the number of encouragements, or words of praise and approval. By age 3, the average child of a professional heard about 500,000 encouragements and 80,000 discouragements. For the welfare children, the situation was reversed: they heard, on average, about 75,000 encouragements and 200,000 discouragements. Hart and Risley found that as the number of words a child heard increased, the complexity of that language increased as well. As conversation moved beyond simple instructions, it blossomed into discussions of the past and future, of feelings, of abstractions, of the way one thing causes another — all of which stimulated intellectual development.

So saying and hearing positive things probably has some effect.

 

[Dog]

Just watched the movie trailer.....looks intriguing. Was it worth the $4.95? I'm a sucker for this type of stuff.

 

[jazz4cash]

f4n
Thanks for sharing.....it would be a real shame to keep this all to yourself. This reminds me of a mailer I used to get a few times a year. It made me extremely curious, but I always got the feeling there would be additional cost once I agreed to pay. In this case, you get the trailer for 4.95, but the "extended edition" is only on the DVD for 29.95, so what's being left off the trailer?

 

[Patrick]

f4n
Thanks for sharing.....it would be a real shame to keep this all to yourself. This reminds me of a mailer I used to get a few times a year. It made me extremely curious, but I always got the feeling there would be additional cost once I agreed to pay. In this case, you get the trailer for 4.95, but the "extended edition" is only on the DVD for 29.95, so what's being left off the trailer?

I think the trailer is free, the online view is $4.95, and the DVD is $29.95.

 

[jazz4cash]

ok, I saw the free trailer and it sorta reminds me of a Visa commercial, except The Secret works for the priceless stuff too. Extremely well produced. I seached YouTube and there is a 6 min excerpt.....I was not compelled. One of the speakers has the title of "Visionary", another is the Chicken Soup Series Author.........I guess 4.95 is minimal, but it looks more like a scheme to me. I am sure some people would be helped by this attitude, so to each his own......

 

[sgeeeee]

Of course not, where would you put it?

And I would hate to be the one that had to keep it dusted.

 

[Alex]

I try to practive an 'abundance' mentality and I believe that you can attract things to your life. But I also have a healthy dose of "reality" mentality. Overall I think positive people are happier and have more abundance in all areas of life.

 

[SolidA]

Well said, Alex!! That is why I am posting HERE, instead of on the Teacher-bashing thread that I had to get out of before my blood pressure went any higher!!! I have seen the entire movie, and I think it's like anything else - everyone takes what they want/need out of the information and leaves the rest. I found it to be upbeat and compelling - but then, in my line of work (did you guess Public School Junior High teacher??!!) one needs to think positive just to survive! I recommend "The Secret" if you are in need of a pick-me-up.

 

[HFWR]

"The 'secret'", he said, whispering, "is that there is no secret..."

 

[bosco]

"The 'secret'", he said, whispering, "is that there is no secret..."

"this statement is false"

 

[Alex]

Well said, Alex!! That is why I am posting HERE, instead of on the Teacher-bashing thread that I had to get out of before my blood pressure went any higher!!! I have seen the entire movie, and I think it's like anything else - everyone takes what they want/need out of the information and leaves the rest. I found it to be upbeat and compelling - but then, in my line of work (did you guess Public School Junior High teacher??!!) one needs to think positive just to survive! I recommend "The Secret" if you are in need of a pick-me-up.

I am going to check it out!!

 

[HFWR]

"this statement is false"

My point being that looking for the miracle diet/stock/pill/pithy slogan is probably misguided. It's more complicated than that...

 

[donheff]

A positive mental attitude is good but this "abundance" philosophy sounds like that goofy preacher about 20 years back with the fur coat and Cadillac who used to tell people to ask God for money (and send a few bucks to his messenger) and your wishes will come true.

 

[wabmester]

I watched the blurb on YouTube. Then I googled one of the speakers to find out what sort of new-age religion was behind the video. The one I googled claims to be channeling Abraham:

For what it's worth.

http://www.abraham-hicks.com/about_abraham.php

 

[madsquopper]

I have a good friend who's into Abraham big time. It's definitely not for me. The underlying message (be positive) is OK but the whole thing smacks of the Scientology principle (sucker people into paying good money for simple common sense). One of the questions I have for Abraham is this:

Say a person wants to retire and they claim they will do it by winning the lottery. They spend $100 a week on tickets and make sure to visualize how they will feel after winning, using their energy to align to this, etc. After a year of this with no results, the Abraham answer is going to be "you need to work on your energy more, you're not being positive enough" instead of providing practical advice. From what I can tell, Abraham is not big on being proactive and trying to make a plan. If you visualize it well enough then the universe will provide.

Larry

 

[donheff]

the whole thing smacks of the Scientology principle (sucker people into paying good money for simple common sense).

What in the world is common sense about Scientology? Astral projecting to moons of Saturn? That is less common-sensical than virgins (births and gifts to martyrs).

 

[Nords]

What in the world is common sense about Scientology? Astral projecting to moons of Saturn? That is less common-sensical than virgins (births and gifts to martyrs).

I worked with a Navy submariner who was saving 40% of his pay to fund the Scientology training he was going to pursue after he finished his enlistment contract.

He had the least common sense of any individual I've ever known. If Scientology was going to take his money and teach him common sense then they were both getting a heckuva good deal.

Yeah, we still decided he was OK to handle, load, & launch nuclear weapons. But I was always more afraid that he'd drop his .45 and kill someone with the accidental discharge.

 

[Alex]

What in the world is common sense about Scientology? Astral projecting to moons of Saturn? That is less common-sensical than virgins (births and gifts to martyrs).

Scientology is a scam. It was invented by L Ron Hubbard as a tax shelter. The whole scientology cosmology is a corny as a 1950's sci fi movie.