Religion & Beliefs
I’ve Got The Secret
By RebeccaD / April 4, 2007
By now you’ve read about the self-help phenomenon that is The Secret. You’ve probably heard that the book is #1 in its category on the New York Times bestseller list, and that the DVD is #1 on Amazon (with the book second only to the new Harry Potter). The Secret's cadre of experts has been featured on every major talk show, from Oprah, to Larry King, to NPR’s Talk of the Nation. Unsurprisingly, the media is fascinated by our country’s infatuation with a philosophy that insists you can get everything you’ve always wanted… simply by pretending you already have it. That’s right, The Secret is, above all, about the power of positive thinking. Its central tenet is the law of attraction; according to Bob Proctor, one of the gurus on the DVD and in the book, “Everything that’s coming into your life you are attracting into your life…Whatever is going on in your mind you are attracting to you.” OK, so this is nothing new. This is what self-helpers through the ages have always believed, it’s why they go around smiling their gooey smiles and inviting random strangers to meditation meet-ups and community kitchens—in order to attract other self-helpers to meditate and cook and self-congratulate with. You are what you seek: This is what Scientologists believe; what people take home from the Landmark Forum, what they learned from EST back in the day. So what makes The Secret so different from all these “self-actualization” groups many of us think of as cults? It requires nothing of you. You need not spend anything beyond the cost of materials to reach your full potential–$34.95 for the DVD, $23.95 for the book—even less on Amazon. You don’t have to go to classes with people who annoy you, or fear being seduced into a pyramid scheme, or believe in Xenu, or force your bladder into submission during an overlong revival at some airport Hilton. The Secret fits perfectly into the lazy, thrifty hole in the soul of America. It also plays into Americans’ beliefs in omnipotence and magical thinking. Who among us hasn’t believed they might be discovered while walking down Hollywood Boulevard, or made a billionaire by purchasing a Powerball ticket? Who doesn’t fantasize about instant success without effort? Transformation without perspiration—a total life makeover in one thirty-minute segment—that is the real American dream.
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I’m sorry but that London bit reveals that you aren’t too bright yourself. Just reach into your cliche bag again, won’t you? Or are you creating a scene for the BBC?
The rest of America is not dumb, but they aren’t ‘ever so clever’ in the pretentious way so many people want us to be. I know living down there in the southland can be painful, but just go volunteer at your local hospital and you will see what I mean. Lots of practical IQ in the US but you have to get out of your shallow shell to find it.
We were having coffee with our neighbors the other day when they insisted we hadn’t been that successful in life (never mind the insult) because we simply hadn’t wanted it bad enough. We hadn’t complained to them that we weren’t successful and are actually quite happy. They informed us they would have a $10 million house in five years and we wouldn’t because, they shrieked, we didn’t want it. Of course I want $10 million, but I wouldn’t be stupid enough to spend it on a house. They then began to insist that we watch The Secret because we emitted negative energy (or is that above a 50 IQ?).
We watched it. It is achingly obvious – think positive and be grateful. The trouble is, we already knew this and practice it regularly. Didn’t most people figure this out by University? The part we didn’t know was that it would make us rich. The trouble is, where’s all the money then? Are we just too happy with our lives to deserve it? I’ve realised my neighbors are even more stupid than I thought they were (actors).
Anyways, this Secret business reveals a lot about the US to me. We found out our other neighbors are also into it. None of our previous neighbors in London would have been nearly stupid enough to have watched this for more than five minutes. We live in Bel Air/ Brentwood and people here are dumb. I’m trying to leave academia and am afraid – is everyone outside of the University in this country completely stupid?
Grassroots fighter types are totally cool, for sure. Because they're fighting for something bigger than themselves, something pre-sanctioned by other cool people. But if one of those same people started an "I am going to be the king of the world" campaign–a selfish one, not one founded to perpetuate some good-for-humanity agenda–I think they'd lose some cool points. I think you're right-on about the "trying-too-hard" line. This Secret business may put me way too far on the wrong side of it!
See, it's definitely cool to be gifted, but I think it's also cool to be passionate about your cause, whatever it may be. I mean, a lot of my young cool friends are vegans, or hard core war protestors, or random entrepeneurs. I don't think it's uncool to work for something and want something, I think it's uncool to cross that invisible line into "trying too hard." And I hate myself for it, but I do ridicule people who try too hard. Probably because they're less self-conscious than I am, and I'm impressed by that.
Anyway. Good luck!
This is great! Now I won’t have to buy the book, but I’ll get to hear all about it! I was wondering what all the buzz was about. I like the blogger’s style.
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