Well I found the secret to life, I found the secret to life, I'm okay when everything is not okay (Tori Amos-Upside Down)
I believe I've mentioned my penchant for winning free stuff before. For example this week I won two free movie passes to My Blueberry Nights along with the soundtrack.
One of the free items I won was a copy of the book The Secret. Like a previous book I've blogged about, I would never have read this of my own volition. However, it was free and more importantly, small enough to carry in my bag to and from work. (The reason I've not yet read The Poisonwood Bible is because the size is so daunting!)
At any rate, I've been reading The Secret and must say I've been pleasantly surprised. Not without criticism of course but there are many ideas that I can readily identify with.
The first is the power of positive thinking. Growing up, I was immersed with the philosophy of Norman Vincent Peale- a prolific writer and founder of the magazine Guideposts. Everything related to the power of positive thinking. This was linked to faith, prayer, miracles and the mysterious ways of God.
Also in The Secret they actually use the Bible as a reference for what they term "The Creative Process"- (Step 1: Ask, Step 2: Believe, Step 3: Receive) It's based on Matthew 21:22 and Mark 11:24. These verses basically say to have faith that you will receive what you ask God for.
Another idea I really relate to is an attitude of gratitude. Any long-term readers of Danifesto will know that I have come back to this idea of gratefulness and grace time after time. The Secret encourages this attitude by suggesting a variety of creative ways to give thanks (although it never says directly to "whom") from a gratitude rock (in your pocket to remind you) to morning rituals (to start your day off positively).
The practice of visualizing also resonates with me. This really clicked with Tae Kwon Do. I would see something demonstrated, rehearse it in my mind and then carry it out. Maybe not perfect the first time but in my mind it would be! This practice soon transferred to my dance classes and eventually Tai Chi. I had to actually imagine the kinestic feeling of doing the move being introduced. I noticed when I wasn't given time to visualize that I didn't do well at all. Additionally if a new move was presented in a way that seemed really challenging/overwhelming my initial reaction would be "Oh I'm going to have problems" which was usually the case. There is a reason why we call these "self-fullfilling prophecies."
I do have some lingering questions about The Secret that trouble me. First of all I resent the suggestion that people are at the "wrong place and the wrong time" because of negative thinking. Do the authors of this book have the audacity to suggest that the victims of the Chinese and Burmese disasters were not victims at all but actually responsible because of their mass, group negative thinking?
Also what if two people are asking for the same thing? Or two different things that are mutually exclusive? Using The Secret, does the one who believes more get it? Or do they both cancel each other out with all their positive imagery?
And finally, can't we all recall times of bitter disappointment? Times when we truly, honestly believed with all our hearts, souls and minds that something would turn out differently only to have our spirits crushed? This reminds me of problems I have with faith healing- that if you REALLY believe and have faith that God WILL heal you of cancer, MS, or homosexuality to name a few. And that if you aren't healed it's due to lack of faith.
Has anyone else read the book or watched the movie? What do you think? Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Share!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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3 comments:
I have read (the audiobook anyway) and watched, mostly watched. and marie is a devotee!
I agree with you on your positives of the book and some of the negatives. The movie actually goes into a bit more depth about the mass thinking and large atrocities and it made sense enough to go, ummm ok. not sure about that aspect of ti though. As for the people wanting the saem things it states - in the movie and audiobook - that there is nothing only the planet that is mutally exclusive that all things are abundant and we dont all want the same things, therefore we can have what we wish! I want a larger penis - not mine of course, its fine - i am talking about the ones i am with :) and i got it because not everyone wants that - like, you know, heterosexual men.
As far as wish and not getting it that came clear to me. I wanted to go to japan sooooo bad to teach english and i had opportunity after opportunity fall through. i wished, i wanted, i pined, i envisioned, i all that crap and it never happened and THANK GOD IT DIDNT! Going back to korea was the best thing that happened to me. I just think the "universe" knew better than me.
Not sure if that answers you questions. we can bitch and moan on msn later!
That is unless i get my penis wish!
You can't go wrong with Norman Vincent Peale. He was a strong influence in our household growing up.
I DID see the movie and I must admit I wasn't impressed. It seemed like the focus was more about wishing for material objects than putting positive energy into the world. I'm a big proponent for putting out good intentions. If fact, having the 'everything will work out fine' attitude tends to get me into trouble a lot with the cynics of the world.
I definitely do the visualization thing. It's usually done right before going to sleep. I have some of my most creative moments then. Although sometimes I forget them by morning.
I'm SO glad you got the book for free. I probably would have read it too if I got it for free. No, that is not a hint that you should send it to me. :)
Well, like Marie, I'm a bit of a fan of the Law of Attraction, so much so that I wrote a kids book about it [www.emilyandjacob.com]. Now that being said, I do consider The Secret to be the fluff version of a concept which goes far deeper into the wondrous world of quantum mechanics. If you're looking for a more scientific explanation of the Law of Attraction, I highly recommend the video, "What The Bleep Do We Know!?" [www.whatthebleep.com]. I also recommend the extended version (i.e. Down the Rabbit Hole). It's a very interesting adventure filled with lots of questions and infinite possibility. Enjoy!
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