New York Times reporter Allen Salkin rightly compares Byrne's "Secret" empire and its basic (and base) Law of Attraction message that "if you think it, it will come" to a long history of public interest in the latest "get rich quick" schemes (emphasis on the scheme):
Although "The Secret" is an overnight phenomenon, its message of think-and-grow-rich is but the latest version of a self-help formula dating back more than a century, with roots both secular and religious, and branches that have included Napoleon Hill's best-selling "Think and Grow Rich" in 1937 and Norman Vincent Peale's "Power of Positive Thinking" in 1952.In my Idol Chatter December review of the DVD, I slammed this watered-down, self-interested mockery of a viewer's intelligence. This film's message is so flimsy and so juvenile that I could barely sit through the screener. And now to find out that it's sitting atop the bestseller list and getting top billing in major news outlets? I am rather appalled.
J. Gordon Melton, the director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, Calif., traces the origins of "prosperity consciousness" to 19th-century Christian Science. "It's always waiting for slightly different forms of expression, the same old message," he said.
You do realize that by investing in "The Secret, you are merely making Rhonda Byrne richer, right? Not yourself?
"The Secret" is the latest New Age version of what has long been known as "The Prosperity Gospel," which is anything that preaches the "good news" that you are meant to have lots of money, and that if you just support "our church" or buy "our book" than we we let you in on the "how to"!
And you should know: some people consider members of Prosperity Gospel movements as members of a cult. Don't join the mania!
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I think that your review and other comments of "The Secret" shows that "mediacracy always attacks excellance". Simply put "The Secret" talks about so much more than money and teaches a simple law at a level that finally the majority of the world can now comprehend instead of the many religious scientists that were already using it.
Mother Teresa helped hundreds of thousands of people, SHE never got rich. I don't buy anything from anyone who dresses up their greed, and sells it to the desperate.
When the author of this tripe can assert that a parking space will appear when you think positive thoughts, then we know true silliness has descended upon the gullible. This philosophy smacks heavily of blaming the victim when misfortune befalls them.
Reyz, I agree. And it's very easy for Oprah, in her 3 or 4 million dollar apartments to say, "You can have it all". But DOES she have it all? No family, can't stand American kids, can't commit to anything but her bank account, weight that goes up and down more than 1,000 yoyos.....
If you want to read a truly incredible "self-help" book, try Thomas Merton's "New Seeds of Contemplation." In it Merton writes that we cannot truly achieve peace and happiness until we surrender ourselves to God. That means not constantly thinking about what I want, but what God wants for me. By surrendering to God s will, we throw off our false selves and our false happiness and become the true and beautiful people God has meant us to be. My husband and I have recently faced difficulty in conceiving a child. No amount of positive thinking would work, though we did desperately desire to become parents. Instead of saying, God, make me a mother now! I must have a baby I resigned myself to His will, asking Lord, give me the wisdom to see what you are calling me to do. Perhaps God is asking me to adopt an unwanted child or to remain childless and devote myself to ministering and being a spiritual mother to those who are in need of help? I believe it s only in throwing off our selfishness that we can become truly free and fulfilled. The Secret seems to only reinforce the idea that we can find happiness simply by giving into our desire for money, advancement, and material comfort.
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