I am in the law of attraction niche. I have learned about it ten years ago and I have read all books I can find about it. I built a website 2 years ago and sometimes I search & browse other websites to see if I can find some new materials I can add to my site. There are 2 things I can’t help noticing, first, most often where there is the law of attraction, there is also The Secret by Rhonda Byrne; second, some uninformed & ignorant people considered The Secret to be the source of the law of attraction or that these two are synonymous. If you ever come across a site with this statement, don’t buy or subscribe to anything it offers because the webmaster does not know his stuff.
I have read The Secret too. Rhonda Byrne did impart the basic concept & application of the law of attraction and she included inputs from self-claiming gurus. However, it is hardly the best book on the subject. It is much too passive. You can tell if an author really has extensive knowledge & experience and feels passionately about the subject by the way he/she writes. Their own energy is reflected on their words. I cannot feel this from Byrne’s work.
Why am I harping so much about personal energies? Because we all know that the law of attraction is something proven only by experience. And it utilizes energies from our thoughts, words, actions & emotions. You cannot find a book or an article on the subject that do not link it to energy and the magnetism of thoughts. The central figure of the law of attraction is the SELF — so it is personal.
The title, The Secret is even a misnomer. People have known and have been writing about the law of attraction for ages. Here are some examples:
- As A Man Thinketh by James Allen (1902)
- The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles (1910)
- Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (1937)
- The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol (1948)
- The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy
- The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale (1952)
Contemporary authors like the Hicks couple, Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch and Michael Losier among others, have also written and spoken extensively about the subject.
According to wikipedia, Byrne claimed that her inspiration for The Secret was Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich which was published in 1910. If she had read about it from a person who wrote it a long time ago, then it is not a secret. So maybe the title is for commercial purposes or in reference to the author’s perceived ignorance of the general public about the law of attraction (sorry Abraham, you have not been successful in educating the public about it). If there is one thing Byrne knows a lot, it is making a good title.
Don’t think I am jealous or anything. I am not an author, but I have read extensively about the law of attraction long before The Secret came and have applied it. This is a personal opinion and if we differ in our views we just have to respect each other. You can post a comment below just don’t get nasty.
Copyright (c) 2008 Joann Ang. Some rights reserved. You can publish or redistribute this article just make sure you include Joann Ang’s bio. Links must be correct, functional & must point to the author’s site.
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!
Just wanted to say HI
I have read the SECRET twice now. Its ok as a book for the person who is reading about the laws of attraction for the first time. Its usefulness as far as applying it to your life, the summaries at the end of each chapter held more info than the material in-between. Have not seen the movie, but reading the book certainly doesnt peak my interest in going out to see it.
I believe you can change things in your life to attract what you desire, but just wanting something does not make it come to be.
Also, tried 3 times to enter security code to join your ezine, would not let me pass. Kept getting error messages.
Thank You
leuaravargo@yahoo.com