Background
The Secret is based on the earlier film of the same name that was released in DVD format in March 2006. The tenet of the film and book is that the universe is governed by a natural law called the law of attraction which is said to work by attracting into a person's life the experiences, situations, events, and people that 'match the frequency' of the person's thoughts and feelings. Therefore, positive thinking and feeling positive are claimed to create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness.The book is very much influenced by Wallace Wattles' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich,[2] which Byrne received from her daughter during a time of personal trauma in 2004.[3][4] Byrne read and synthesized several classic books and the words of modern-day teachers who spoke about ancient wisdom and the ways for people to attract what they desire into their lives.[citation needed] The book includes many quotes from these people.
After being featured in two episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the book reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for 146 consecutive weeks. The book has been translated into 44 languages,[5] and has over 21 million copies in print.[6] The book and film have made $300 million in sales, according to a January 15, 2009 article by Forbes.com.[citation needed] Thanks in big part to the appearance in the Oprah TV show, the book was one of the biggest sales in the self-help field.[citation needed]
In 2009, a book for teenagers called The Secret to Teen Power, written by the film's producer, Paul Harrington, was released. Byrne has also released a calendar and several follow-up books, including The Power in August 2010.
The law of attraction
Main article: Law of attraction
The Secret describes the law of attraction
as a natural law that determines the complete order of the universe and
of our personal lives through the process of "like attracts like." That
is, as we think and feel, a corresponding frequency is sent out into
the universe that attracts back to us events and circumstances on that
same frequency. For example, if you think angry thoughts and feel angry,
you will attract back events and circumstances that cause you to feel
more anger. Conversely, if you think and feel positively, you will
attract back positive events and circumstances. The law claims that
desirable outcomes such as health, wealth, and happiness can be
attracted simply by changing one’s thoughts and feelings. It says that
our thoughts are magnetic and they attract thoughts of similar
frequency.Whatever thoughts we dwell upon,we attract similar thoughts in
our life.The law of attraction takes cues from "The Master Key System"[citation needed] and from Napoleon Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich. Behavioral psychologist Alfred Adler pioneered a means of therapy called "act as if" in which patients, as part of the therapy, were instructed to "act as if" they already had the confidence, mental strength, etc. they desired.[citation needed] Many patients did see success with this type of therapy.[citation needed]
Book synopsis
The book begins by introducing and explaining the mechanisms of the law of attraction, then goes on to describe its historical applications and the great men and women in history who are claimed to have harnessed its power. The book describes the law as a magnetic power emitted through one's thoughts. The power of thoughts is likened to a transmission tower that sends out a frequency to the universe and then returns the same frequency in a physical or experiential form.Next, a three-step creative process for manifesting dreams is introduced: Ask (visualize in the film), Believe, and Receive. This creative process is based on a quote from the Bible:[7] "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22)
"One of the most powerful uses of gratitude
can be incorporated in the Creative Process
to turbo-charge what you want"
can be incorporated in the Creative Process
to turbo-charge what you want"
The Secret, p. 80.
As an example, if a person wanted a new car, by thinking about the new car, having positive and thankful feelings about the car as if it were already attained and opening one's life in tangible ways for a new car to be acquired (for example, test driving the new car, or making sure no one parks in the space where the new car would arrive); the law of attraction would rearrange events to make it possible for the car to manifest in the person’s life.
The following chapters describe how to use the law of attraction specifically in the areas of wealth, relationships, and health. The book provides examples and ways to use the law of attraction for each. The final chapters offer a more spiritual perspective of the law of attraction, and of how it relates to one's life and the world.
Criticism and parody
The claims made by both the book and film have been highly controversial, and have been criticized by reviewers and readers in both traditional and web-based media. The book has also been heavily criticized by former believers and practitioners, with some[who?] claiming that The Secret was conceived by the author and that the only people generating wealth and happiness from it are the author and the publishers.Others assert The Secret offers false hope to those in true need of more conventional assistance in their lives—for example, in 2007 Barbara Ehrenreich, an author and social critic, ridiculed the book's weight control advice to "not observe" overweight people.[8] According to the Religion Dispatches, Byrne argued that natural disasters strike those "on the same frequency as the event" and implied the 2006 tsunami victims could have spared themselves.[9] In businesses using the DVD for employee training or morale-building, some reacted to it as "a gimmick" and "disturbing" like "being indoctrinated into a cult".[8]
In 2009, Ehrenreich published Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America[10] as a response to "positive thinking" books, like The Secret, that teach "if I just change my thoughts, I could have it all".[11] She worried this was delusional or even dangerous[9] because it avoided dealing with the real sources behind problems.[12] It encouraged "victim-blaming, political complacency, and a culture-wide "flight from realism" by suggesting failure is the result of not trying "hard enough" or believing "firmly enough in the inevitability of your success". Those who were "disappointed, resentful, or downcast" were 'victims' or 'losers'.[9] Ehrenreich advocated "not negative thinking or despair" but "realism, checking out what’s really there and figuring out how to change it".[11]
The Secret was parodied, along with Scientology, in an episode of The IT Crowd. It was combined with Scientology into "Spaceology", whose followers believe that wishes come true because of the made-up sciences of "Spacestar Ordering" and "Wishy Thinking". It has also been parodied in The Simpsons episode "Bart Gets a 'Z'," where Bart gets his teacher a book entitled The Answer, which is supposed to change her life after he unintentionally ruined it, by the Family Guy episode "Brian Writes a Bestseller", as well as the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode "The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition." The Chaser's War on Everything, a satirical comedy news program on Australia's ABC TV network, also parodied The Secret on May 16, 2007 by testing out the ideas put forward in the book.[13]
On the Adam Carolla Show (podcast), Dr. Drew proclaimed that "The Secret" is responsible for people to use "primitive thinking" as opposed to actually earning esteem
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