" THE SECRET "

[wstu32]

Saw this video tonight with family! Recommend it!

 

[chinaco]

Can you summarize "The Secret" in a paragraph?

 

[UncleHoney]

The trailer

http://www.thesecret.tv/

 

[dex]

I haven't seen "The Secret" but from what I've seen it appears to be similar to other ideas presented in the past. The one we are most familar with is the "Protestant Work Ethic" of years past - Work hard and do well and God will reward you with riches on earth and happiness in heaven.

These ideas come up in American culture every now and then - Remember the Celestine Prophecy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celestine_Prophecy


I would guess"The Secret" has a new age twist to it.

The gist is: If you believe and follow the rules properly you will be rewared; if you are not rewarded it is because you are doing something wrong.

Things like "The Secret" are usually don't like rational thought or the scientific method applied to them. They hinge on the idea of belief - "If you believe you will see it; if you don't you will not."

Am I right?

 

[kitty_37]

Oprah did 2 shows on this.

Foolish drek.

 

[windsurf]

I wouldn't call it "drek" but I wouldn't call it a "secret" either. It's really common sense. Thinking postive thoughts, focusing on desired changes for the better, modeling your behavior on success are all very powerful behaviors. Obsessing on the negative, constant "disasterizing," tying in with toxic people, and assuming the worst is going to happen is no way to live a life.

 

[Khan]

Summary: Blame the victim.

If bad things happen to you; it's because you didn't think happy thoughts/pray hard enough/swing your iPod around your head and scream like a chicken...

 

[happy2bretired]

One of the first "self help" books that I read in my 20s was Norman Vincent Peale's THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. I have not read THE SECRET, but, I did read someplace that it was similar.

 

[Outtahere]

I saw something about this on the news the other night, it's a collection of all the other self help crappola stuff put into another wrapper. If this stuff helps someone that's on a downward spiral then great but what's bothering me is they are touting this as a way to get rich without working at it. The money will just flow to you, yea right. I can see my sister buying into this and being what ever the cost of the DVD/Books/Accessories cost poorer. IMHO the only ones getting rich are the woman that started it and her "trainers."

There was a dr on one of the morning news shows, maybe GMA, that spoke out against this program. They were inundated with angry emails but she had a point and she didn't back down. Her thoughts were if you do every thing that the "Secret" tells you and you still fail then you're not a good person. She felt this was going to harm a lot of people and I have to agree with her.

 

[TromboneAl]

I watched the whole trailer waiting for the punch line. Thought it was a joke.

 

[Outtahere]

Oprah's had two shows about it, I hope she's not buying into this.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I was the guy that added the option of repackaged same old message.

It is the leading vote getter currently. So, I felt that it was a 'glaring hole' in the poll!

 

[Craig]

The trailer is a joke. Reminds me of the goofy investment emails I get from time to time ... going on and on with various drivel, and promising to tell me the secret answer to whatever ... if I'll only send $99.99 per month ...

 

[Outtahere]

The only "secret" is the people selling it are the ones getting rich.

Thanks CT for adding that option.

 

[HFWR]

Secret my a$$...

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Oprah did 2 shows on this.

Foolish drek.

Redundant, but I agree.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - anyone remember Napolean Hill's Think and Grow Rich - I believe was the title. Stock brokers and real estate salesmen liked that one.

This stuff never grows old - just changes clothes/fashion to fit the current decade.

heh heh heh

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

A few months ago we got "The Secret" with our monthly Spiritual Cinema Circle subscription and we watched it with my family.

After watching it, my Dad said exactly that -- it was just like Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking.

My opinion on the movie is that it is definitely old stuff repackaged into the new age genre to appeal more to the financially inclined, and it has had spillover into the more new age oriented people as well.

For those who aren't aware of how powerful positive thinking is in their lives (regardless of whether people "deserve" things for being positive thinkers), this movie is very good to get them to consider how their thoughts shape their reality.

It doesn't matter whether or not one believes that if they think good things about money it will flow to them (as the movie suggests), but I feel the main important message is that if people think good thoughts in general, they will lead a more enjoyable life.

That said, I got very little out of the movie because my father raised me on success-oriented and positive-thinking principles from birth. It's one of those movies that either really enlightens you, or you think to yourself 'old stuff repackaged.'

I guess you could say it's like Kiyosaki and RDPD. Old stuff repackaged... for those who need a start, it's a wonderful inspiring book (when taken with a grain of salt), and for those who don't need a start they see right through it and keep on moving.

One of the first "self help" books that I read in my 20s was Norman Vincent Peale's THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. I have not read THE SECRET, but, I did read someplace that it was similar.

 

[Sue J]

Nothing wrong with positive thinking. But for the key to happiness I prefer the mantra of Sheryl Crow -

It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

I seem to have inherited the happiness gene from my father. I find joy in just about anything. It takes very little to make my life delightful. I'm thrilled to wake up every morning to a new day, and if nothing hurts, well, I'm off to a great start.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

what, no poll option for ick!?

new age thinking espoused in works such as "the secret", when taken to heart and literally applied, is dangerous to the point of deadly.

i lost a new age friend to such a secret. when he caught hiv-aids, instead of saving himself, instead of striving to live a full and long life--which is pretty easily accomplished today--his new age secret thinking would not disengage.

he determined that he was dying because he wanted to die. to his way of thinking, nothing in life happened without willing it into being. it would have been hypocritical to fight death. the combination of his integrity and new age thought buried him.

even one of the practical founders of new age thinking, carlos castanada, said through his don juan character, "self-importance is the nemisis of mankind." how godlike to think that we control absolutely our own destiny.

i'm not saying that you shouldn't participate in life and be as positive as is appropriate to a given situation. but when you live life thinking you control all its aspects, all you do is delude yourself and feed your ego. when you live life as an observing participant, instead of being blinded by ego, you give yourself the opportunity to learn from even hardship in life. so instead of alternately growing & deflating your ego, what you do is grow forever your heart.

being godlike robs us of compassion. for how can you be as compassionate for another's pain if you think their pain is self-inflicted. not that you can't still be compassionate, but you will not be as compassionate because a part of you will say they either got what they deserved or they got what they asked for, instead of thinking, that could have been me.

 

[Gumby]

Well put LG4NB.

It has been my observation that those who have an exaggerated sense of control are also those who worry the most and are the least trusting. They must be hyper-vigilant, alert to the slightest changes in conditions, so that they can adjust the controls as necessary. The people who appear to have real peace are those who accept that sh$t happens, despite our best efforts. They put their efforts into things where they have a reasonable prospect of affecting the outcome, and don't worry about the things which neither they nor anyone else can control.

People who have an overdeveloped sense of control also tend to assume that others are the same way and that if someone does something that harms you, it was done with deliberate malice. In fact, most people are too concerned with their own lives to deliberately set out to hurt others. Rather, their harmful actions are the consequence of sloth, ignorance or stupidity.

 

[dex]

even one of the practical founders of new age thinking, carlos castanada, said through his don juan character, "self-importance is the nemisis of mankind." how godlike to think that we control absolutely our own destiny.

I read Castanada's books when they first came out. I remember one quote: Castanada asked Don Juan (?) why he had to take so many drugs while Don Juan's other student's didn't have to?
Don Juan's answer: "Because you are so stupid."

 

[sgeeeee]

You need to add another option to the poll: Saw it and it was pure drivel.

 

[Caroline]

Obsessing on the negative, constant "disasterizing," tying in with toxic people, and assuming the worst is going to happen is no way to live a life.

I dunno, it's worked for me! If I don't have enough saved for retirement, it'll be a disaster. So I tie in with toxic people (co-workers, bosses, and senior management), so in case the worst happens I'll be covered.

i lost a new age friend to such a secret. when he caught hiv-aids, instead of saving himself, instead of striving to live a full and long life--which is pretty easily accomplished today--his new age secret thinking would not disengage.

Sorry to hear about your friend, lazy. I had a far less tragic experience with my brother. We have both had very bad seasonal allergies since childhood. One year he decided that allergies were all in his head (and mine) and that controlling his thinking would get rid of them.

Not!

After a couple of days of terrible congestion, itching, and swollen eyes, he got back on the meds.

 

[wabmester]

You need to add another option to the poll: Saw it and it was pure drivel.

Exactamundo. The secret is that they found a new way to get people to pay $30 a pop for new age tripe: call it "The Secret."