 Posted Monday, February 19, 2007 4:27 PM
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| Has anyone read the bestseller book "The Secret"? There is a DVD and a book and it is all the rage on Oprah and a couple of other talk shows. I think Ellen Degeneres had some of the folks in the book on her show. I bought the book and as far as I can see it mirrors CS in many ways. I almost choked watching Oprah because she was gasping and in total awe of this "new" way of thinking. They claim that this is actually a thought process that is as old as time and known by all the successful people over centuries. It is a "scientific law", according to the authors that there is a "law" of "attraction". This means (according to them) that what you think about is what you get. Where have I heard that all my life?
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Posted Monday, February 19, 2007 5:04 PM
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Wasn't it Proverbs that said as far as human psychology goes, "there is nothing new under the sun". And today, people are more historically ignorant than ever.
And don't we always want it "our way"? "My will, not Thine, be done!" It's the original sin.
I haven't heard about it - but I'm certainly not suprised that this attractive heresy has found a new, 21st century package.
Birdstrike
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Posted Monday, February 19, 2007 5:06 PM
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Oh, but I do remember that "Futurama" predicted the rise of a new religion called "Oprahism". . .
Birdstrike
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Posted Monday, February 19, 2007 5:44 PM
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Birdstrike,
Wasn't it Proverbs that said as far as human psychology goes, "there is nothing new under the sun". And today, people are more historically ignorant than ever.
I think that you referred to Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. The full context makes the point even stronger.
Do Go Be Man
<><
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Posted Monday, February 19, 2007 9:17 PM
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| I've seen a couple of references to it and also went to amazon.com to read a some reviews, and the impression I get is that it's just the same old "Name it, claim it," "Power of positive thinking," "What you think is what you get" "What you think is what you are" stuff. I have little use for New Age thinking including this, which is very different from healthy optimism based on realistic thinking. Oprah is pushing it, so millions will think it's something new and wonderful. And, yes, a lot of this stuff sounds and feels like aspects of CS.
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Posted Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3:28 AM
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I watched that Oprah episode on "The Secret" (and the follow-up show some days later) and found myself screaming at the television. What "The Secret" and CS are all about is the illusion of control. They both exist to make out of control people who have made a lot of bad decisions in their lives feel like they can turn everything around and prevent anything bad from happening to them ever again. Hey, if these philosophies will make you stop making bad decisions, great, and your life will improve to the extent that you do that. HOWEVER, where these philosophies fall apart is when bad things happen that are entirely out of your control - crime, natural disasters, market trends, etc. The fact is, no matter how positive you are, no matter how much you focus on good and keep negativity out of your thought, bad things will still happen to you, and probably just about as much as people who haven't been positive lately.
The problem with this idea that if you put out positive energy, then positive things will come into your life, is this: the natural conclusion when something bad happens is that it was somehow your fault. The need to focus on, obsess over, and over-analyse every darned thing that happens in your life because it's all supposed to be some big lesson to learn, means you'll probably become a very narcissitic and obsessive person, and not have much of a life to begin with! I couldn't believe it when they said we need to be thankful when someone victimizes us because it's there to "teach us something". I thought of all the incest victims, victims of crime, etc, in that audience, being told they need to be thankful for the horrible event in their lives because it was there to "teach them". It made me want to throw up.
I'd love to do a follow up show with some of the glowing people testifying on how just watching "The Secret" completely and instantaneously turned their lives around. They don't understand that the reason this system worked so well for the teachers of it is because they've made millions off suckers like them. Millions of dollars will turn your life around, no matter how positive you are!
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Posted Tuesday, February 20, 2007 1:02 PM
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| I know exactly what you mean about wanting to scream at the television and Oprah and her wide-eyed astonishment at this "wonderful discovery" of the "law" of "spiritual metaphysics". There was one woman who questioned one of the gurus of The Secret. She said she is a Christian and wanted to know how all this could work with Christianity. The answer was to tell her that Jesus was a proponent of "The Secret". This guy quoted scripture about Jesus saying pray knowing you have already received. That, he said, is the law of "the Secret" which is attraction and proves that what you want you can attract to yourself. I work with a woman who is all into this. She has purchased the DVD and recorded the shows. I told her if she buys into this I know a church down the street she could go to. It is almost empty on Sunday anyway. Make no mistake, I do believe that a positive attitude does wonders. But this is more than that. In reading the book, it is the same old CS jargon that makes one feel guilty and responsible for one's one bad luck.
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Posted Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:36 AM
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| I watched part of that Oprah episode as well, and had pretty much the exact same feelings that you are all describing. Same old stuff, new shiny package. I do remember that Oprah asked one of the guests, (paraphrased to the best of my memory) - "Then how do you explain cancer? Your book almost make it sounds like people who get cancer get it because of something they did wrong." He kind of paused for a minute, and then said slowly and dramatically, "Everything is your responsibility. Nothing is your fault." It almost reminds me of reading S&H, only less verbose.
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Posted Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:56 AM
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Courtney,
He kind of paused for a minute, and then said slowly and dramatically, "Everything is your responsibility. Nothing is your fault." (emphasis added)
What an interesting commentary on accountability. 
Do Go Be Man
<><
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Posted Tuesday, May 08, 2007 6:41 PM
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Saudade,
People do not realize the danger of the New Age books. together with all metaphysical movements that started with PP Quinby and the lady in red.
Everything that we need to know is written in the Holy Scriptures. Let's pray for the world and bring our brothers and sisters to Jesus.
Elixir
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