NTTCALR: Did anyone read The Secret?

Jenny102783

I read half of it on the plane to Vegas last weekend.

What are your thoughts?

uklawgirl

You know, I think in some ways there's something to it. But then again I have a very strong and accurate intuition, so it's hard for me to say. Can we have a baby just by visualizing it and believing it will be so? I'm not sure. I think there is definitely something to positive thinking though!

jprovo

I have not read it, but it is on my "to be read" list.  Is it worth reading??

Jenny102783

jprovo:

I have not read it, but it is on my "to be read" list.  Is it worth reading??

It is all about the law of attraction and positive thinking. I think it is worth reading. As I read it, I found myself thinking "this is such bull" but then thinking, "hell, it is worth a shot!"

seasidebride05

We read it in my book club one month and it was the only time that every single person hated the book. I just couldn't get into it.

Blessed1010

NONSENSE!!! This book is full of gibberish!

This book claims that may "great" people who have ever lived knew and practiced the secret: Shakespeare, Beethoven, Einstein, Mother Theresa, and believe it or not Jesus.  She also states that these people didn't share The Secret because they wanted to keep the power to themselves.  Really?  Whatever.

Thankfully, I did not spend $24.00 to find out the big "Secret", the Law of Attraction.  According to the book, if you think the right thoughts, you can have anything and everything you want: unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth (I'd love to see the author 20 years from now, heck, she may become an IRL Benjamin Button).  But the law doesn?t just work for your advantage. If you think thoughts about possibly gaining weight, the possibility of losing your job, getting cancer, etc. those things will come to fruition in your life as well.  I swear I never thought of miscarrying and I never thought I would one day be diagnosed with being infertile.  Furthermore, on a monthly basis I actually think that I may be pregnant....um, DOESN'T HAPPEN!!! The book says, ?Your life right now is a reflection of your past thoughts.? [p.9] If you are poor, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being poor. If you are overweight, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being overweight (what the author calls ?fat thoughts?). If you are sick, it is because you have been thinking too many thoughts about being sick. You ?attracted? those things into your life with your thoughts. The Law of Attraction can be used to attract large sums of money, cars, jobs, promotions, the perfect body.  She also includes several testimonials of people who have learned ?The Secret,? put it into practice, and who assure us that it will work for all who follow in their footsteps. For example, one of the people she  quotes in the book, says, ?See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it. It works every time, with every person.? Really, with EVERY person?  That sentence alone is proof that this book is trash.  The book teaches that the universe is God.  It states that all that exists is God, the rocks, the moon, your dog, you name it.    The Secret make people out to be God.  Here is a quote from the book: ?You are God manifested in human form, made to perfection...You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator.? Well, this hardly needs a response.  Man is not God!  I don't have the power to create anything.  If I had the power to create I would have made myself a mother 5 years ago.  I'd have 4 pleasant little children.  This is blasphemous! This is pure rubbish. To add to the foolishness, the book tells us, ?The Universe likes speed [as if it were a living entity, with likes and dislikes!]. Don?t delay. Don?t second guess. Don?t doubt. When the opportunity is there, when the impulse is there, when the intuitive nudge from within is there, act.  Trust your instincts. It?s the Universe inspiring you.? Well, as thousands of people can attest to, the fastest way to make a mess of your life is to make decisions speedily and impulsively. To make matters worse The Secret distorts the facts about Jesus.  It says, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus were not only prosperity teachers but millionaires themselves.  This woman has either been deceived or is just crazy.  All of the evidence about Jesus points to the fact that He was poor; He was born in a manger, His earthly father was a humble carpenter, He borrowed a boat from which to preach from, He was buried in borrowed grave, Jesus made it clear here that He did not own a home;  ?Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head". Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also". This verse alone negates the idea that Jesus was a "prosperity teacher." The author says The Secret has been taught in a variety of religions, including Christianity [and even goes so far as to say, ?The Creative Process used in The Secret...was taken from the New Testament in the Bible.?  Huh? Taken from the New Testament!? And then she refers to Jesus? words in Matthew 7. There Jesus said, ?Ask , and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.? She hijacks this passage from its context and says that this passage teaches that anyone can ask the universe for what they want (a new house, a new job, a skinny body), then if they believe and ?feel? that it is theirs, they will receive it.  Furthermore, she stated in the beginning of the book that Jesus kept "The Secret" to Himself because He wanted all the power, however, she clearly gives an example from the life of Jesus stating what it is that we have to do.  Well, there is a problem with her interpretation. She totally ignores the context. This saying of Jesus was not given to the world at large. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples and He told His disciples that they were to ask, their ?Father who is in heaven?.  This passage lends no support to her farfetched New Age name-it and-claim-it-theology.  Here is a quote right from the book: ?If you are seeking an answer or guidance on something in your life, ask the question, believe you will receive, and then open this book randomly. At the exact place where the pages fall open will be the guidance and answer you are seeking.? Perhaps the author wants ME to make HER my god, the problem is that I would never make a person who considers rocks, mice, scum their god, my god. It's garbage!    

lisatlantic

Meh, you have to take it with a grain of salt, but there are some good ideas behind it. There really is power in that kind of positive thinking, and I've certainly met people who have those negative self-fulfilling prophecies... "I'm always going to be alone and miserable!" (Well yeah you are, if you keep thinking that). 

I do think think its silly and manipulative to use geniuses and semi-mythical religious figures as examples of this "power."