It's No Secret

Over the last couple of days, I've been rereading "The Law of Attraction" and rewatching the recent film "The Secret." I highly recommend both (especially the former book). I think it's wonderful how many people have tuned into this powerful concept through the latter documentary in the past year or so, but I do wonder if "The Secret" was the best title.

I think "The Gift" sounds more like it -- the perfect present at the right time for the collective consciousness. This gift is heightened awareness of how everything we think and believe with powerful emotion creates our reality.

Depicting this knowledge as "Secret" allowed the filmmakers to pack in a lot more drama. In the absolutely over-the-top intro to the film "The Secret" (evocative of a "Da Vinci Code"-style conspiracy), there are intense scenes of torch-carrying knights on the march, seeking to the stamp out the spread of the "The Secret."

Thank goodness the ancient tablets were buried in the desert just in time!

Fast forward to present day, and Rhonda Byrne (an Australian filmmaker) is poring over ancient texts by candlelight searching for the long lost "Secret" -- a lot like Gandalf frenziedly flipping through dusty tomes to find the forgotten knowledge of "the One Ring to Rule Them All" before darkness overtakes the land.

Granted, these scenes are undoubtedly a lot more exciting than if Rhonda had just walked into the self-help/metaphysical section of Barnes and Noble and picked books like "The Law of Attraction" (Esther & Jerry Hicks) or "Manifest Your Destiny" (Wayne Dyer) off the shelf -- resources that have been available for years.

Hasn't Tony Robbins been talking about this positive thinking/feeling stuff since his head was embalmed with hairspray in the '80s?

Before I go on, I'll reemphasize that this film is largely wonderful with a healthy sense of humor (hence the intro that cracked me up). But I do feel like there are a few oversimplifications that lend themselves to deeper exploration in a forum like this (feedback is welcome; please, please add your comments).

There's another scene in the documentary's intro of a boardroom of old white guys (I thought I spotted the back of Dick Cheney's head!) dictating a memo that "The Secret must never be released."

One of the many experts interviewed in the documentary goes on to point out that nearly all of the world's wealth is in the hands of only one percent of the population (no argument here). These guys know "The Secret" and that's why they've had to protect it (and themselves), the expert says.

But that's really a contradiction. Because if that one percent truly understood the "Secret," they would believe that the universe is limitless in its abundance. They wouldn't have to hoard everything for themselves.

They would feel comfortable knowing that everyone would have enough if they just spent time focusing on what they want and feeling strong, positive emotion about its inevitable creation (instead of doing what most of us do: focusing on everything that's wrong with the world and our lives instead of what's right -- like that damn Murphy guy).

I've observed (sometimes closely) many people with a heck of lot more money than I've got who seem gifted with a lot of confidence about their business sense and money-making ability (a sense of entitlement seems related to the "Secret" doesn't it?).

That doesn't mean the rich and powerful have a clue about how they often sabotage their relationships and health with negative thinking and feeling -- or an inkling of how to fill the void inside with anything but bourbon or scotch, Porsches or yachts.

If they truly understood this "Secret," wouldn't they be employing it for much more than the betterment of their bank accounts?

But maybe they're not so different than the rest of us, believing that our fates are largely out of our hands, dictated by luck or whim, whichever way the wind blows. Even if you now understand the "Secret," it's no guarantee that life is henceforth going to be a gentle breeze.

You see, the "Secret" is annoyingly easy to forgot (calling it a "Secret" is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy). Why do you think I keep rereading books like "The Law of Attraction"? Because I continually need to remind myself of these principles.

For many, it seems so much easier to think and feel strongly about what's wrong (bad traffic, no rain, crappy customer service, crazy co-workers, perceived physical flaws, the "End Times") than relish what's right. Just talk to my Mother for five minutes! (Bless her heart).

And when we keep focusing on what's wrong, we keep creating the same bad dramas over and over. Wise, old Ben Franklin (who's rightly credited in "The Secret") once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

On the other hand, I plan to keep writing about the "Law of Attraction" over and over on this blog and hope to expand my awareness of it in the process -- and educate others.

It no longer need remain a best-kept "Secret." It's a "Gift" to us all.

By all means...

Read the book! Watch the movie! Check back with my blog!

Peace,

Brad