The Secret is not a secret

A movie “The Secret” is quite inspirational, but also quite controversial. The controversy comes from its claim that the secret in question is the so called “Law of Attraction” and the underlying implication of that term: that what you think about will just come to you, like a magnet attracting metals.

The problem with this is that it oversimplifies what is really going on and as a result tarnishes the credibility of this great philosophy, because I indeed do believe it is a great philosophy. “The Secret” is not and should not be termed “The Law of Attraction”. Just as eloquently as they describe the fact that everything in the universe is actually fundamentally energy should they have described the true law behind the so called “secret” – causality – action and reaction – an ongoing infinite process that this energy fuels.

What I feel and think is going to affect my actions and my actions are inevitably gonna cause reactions in the universe which I am inevitably a part of. This continuous process is the sequence which brings people with definite desires, consequent natural faith in their ability to get it and consequent natural plans and actions constituting achievement to the final fullfillment of their goals.

That’s all there is to it. We don’t need to invent a new hot air law to explain this process, as is the “law of attraction”. The “attraction” is not what really happens. It is instead action, our action, directed by our thoughts, which is actually a stream of energy which is everywhere and bound to everything, including, thus, thoughts of others in the universe – constituting intelligence of the whole universe. That intelligence seems to be what many call god.

I did not made up my mind 100% about whether energy of thoughts, as “infinite intelligence” really is the god many describe, but what has been repeatedly happening in my mind lately is a continuous discovery of incredible parallels between what I remember from the bible, for instance, and what I learned in my pursuit of liberty (voluntaryism) and self growth through reading Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and other material.

I don’t remember the last time it all made as much sense. I don’t remember ever having flashes of such clear context to everything that it even includes things I’ve usually pushed out of my mind – that being spiritual things and religions. What I am learning seems to form a context that spans all philosophies and all religions, marking a clear way forward in the evolution of human species as we continue to discover more about our minds.

The secret is in fact not a secret. It was with us from the day we were born. “The secret” is not suppressed, merely rarely discovered. The secret is what Napoleon Hill wrote about more than half a century ago. The secret is thus out there for a long time. Nobody hid it from us. We just never bothered to look. It’s simply our mind and its ability to transform thoughts to actions and actions to the material equivalent of what we were thinking.

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5 Responses to “The Secret is not a secret”

  1. The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.

    Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts” who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!” All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.

    The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act… this is the definition of a cult.

    The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness” is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.

    Please, let’s all work together to stop the flock of “sheepeople” who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life’s challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!

  2. I agree people should learn to think for themselves and evaluate all self-help advice and content to their own experience and reasoning. That is, as you say “common sense”, albeit I’d like an alternative term because I am vary of the word “common” as it implies that there is a socially acceptable way of thinking that is “common sense” with everything else being cast out.

    That said, I wouldn’t generalize and write out the whole “self help” movement, if there really is such a thing, as a fraud that harms people. I think what you’re mostly talking about are those who are merely repackaging truths that have existed for a long while, dumbing their message down and then selling it to people via effective marketing. The Secret is one example of that indeed.

    But the fact that they’ve done that does not negate the value of the original philosophy which they built on. I really believe that what Napoleon Hill in “Think and Grow Rich” wrote is of extreme value to anyone who wishes to take control of his or her own life and achieve their dreams. He isn’t exactly telling us what to feel or think, but rather HOW to use our feelings and thoughts to achieve what we want.

    I think we all need that kind of education because in schools they seldom teach us how to use our minds most effectively and just feed us with data instead.

    So I’m not opposed to your campaign, but I’d just advise caution in terms of who you target with it, because some people may genuinely be wanting to help. And even if they make money doing so doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re harmful. Evaluate their message, not how they offer it.

    Brian Kim, for instance, from briankim.net, is what you might call a “self help guru”, albeit he doesn’t call himself that way and from what I understand is just a guy who decided to write about it on the web and write a book “The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich” where he presents the results of his study of the book. It ended up being quite a practical set of advices for anyone wishing to achieve success, however they define it.

    All this said, such as they are, even “The Secret” can have a positive effect on the viewer if the viewer keeps his rational mind on while watching and recognizes the incompleteness of what is being offered. That way, it can motivate him without duping him into this ridiculous belief that merely desiring and visualizing is going to achieve his desires.

    I’d be willing to discuss with you the specifics, to weed out the good from the bad. I think that’d be a much better contribution than warring on the self-help “movement” as a whole.

    Cheers

  3. Great message in this post! As always, you’re more than welcome to check out what I have on my site at: http://subliminalmentalperception.com/blog take care!

    Mental Perception

  4. Hey i really liked your article and thought you may enjoy FreedomainRadio.com. It is a really rational approach to things which I find very instructive. Let me know what you think!

  5. Hey Nedsferatu. I already know about FreedomainRadio and I’ve listened to it a few times and have also listened to the Everyday Anarchy audio book.

    I think Stefan Molyneux is a kind of a genious. :)

    Regards

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