Shhh…It’s “The Secret”
A few weeks ago I watched “The Secret” and decided that my problem is that I have lived as if I exist in a community with other people. I thought I gave myself enough “me” time, but apparently I need a “me” life. According to “The Secret” (shhhh…it’s really “The Power of Positive Thinking” repackaged, but don’t tell anyone) I need to view my life as a “catalogue” in which I can order up experiences in my own personalized amusement park (can you tell that I’m being facetious?).
I know people like Oprah subscribe to the “Ask and Receive” philosophy of “The Secret,” and, clearly, Oprah has received quite a bit in her life and because she has had to struggle as an African American woman, it is a huge accomplishment. You push a small pellet down cheap viagra from india icks.org your penis and it is not prescribed to take more than one measurement for every day. Aphrodisiacs are very helpful for you to increase libido and love making pleasure. generic cialis uk Regular pelvic examination with your gynecologist helps you identify next page viagra cialis online endometrial cancer and which creates further need for proper treatment and medications. In their heads they know that high degrees of involvement, participation, and generic viagra online autonomy are key elements in high organization performance. However, the fact remains that were I stranded on a deserted island with my last container of red vines and cup of Peete’s coffee…would I really want to break bread (or red vine) with her? Would I want to hang out with her? Can anyone hang out with her? Does she “hang out” when not televised with famous people and impoverished African girls? The point is does Oprah have good relationships? Does “The Secret” really have any insight into creating good relationships in a complicated human world…which is really much more interesting and meaningful to me than a necklace.
Most likely, I would give her some red vines and coffee and ask her to go to the other side of the island where she could talk to the crabs, sea gulls, and her own idolized volleyball about how to make an exfoliant out of crushed sea shells…(believe it or not, I actually like Oprah).
THE POINT IS: Good relationships, in my experience, require more than one party. And, while I know there are “healthy” and “unhealthy” people, I do live in a planet filled with EVERYONE (at least I think I do…maybe I just imagined these billions of people in my own life “catalogue”) Am I justified in ignoring the sick, homeless, and persecuted because their vibe is bringing me down (so conveninent)? Can I just order up a experience with another complicated human person without their participation…(unless I hypnotize or drug them…both viable options).
Another annoying thing: “The Secret” espouses the Law of Attraction…but what about the fact that electrons repel each other, opposites attract, Murphy’s Law runs my life, and Irony…where would Alanis Morisette be if she practiced “The Secret’s” philosophy…?!!!!!
I’m getting very boring.
Just for today, I can criticize The Secret.
Whether piety or riches, it is sometimes easy to forget that we can be rich as a community of souls and not, as the ads would have it, a coincidental group of wannabe stars seeking the ultimate SUV with tinted glass. To reach out, to be present and to love- now there’s the human touch. Right on- your point is very well taken.
Peace,
Karl
PS- something in the air- I just heard a sermon on this. K
I have a friend who completely subscribes to The Secret. To the point that she bought a copy of the book for several of her friends (including me). This was right after a colleague offered to loan me her CDs of The Secret. After a third person brought it up, I had to read the book. (I tried to listen to the CD, but a part made me laugh – it wasn’t supposed to – and I thought I better hear it in my own voice instead of hearing the CD.)
I am all for positive thinking. But I suspect it has it’s limitations. And I want Rhonda Byrne or any of her Teachers to tell a child who really asks and is ready to receive a cure for a fatal illness that the child isn’t believing hard enough, and that is why she is still sick. Or that I brought around the horrific and terrifying marriage I experienced by some thoughts I was having. No.I.Don’t.Think.So.
I THINK (afraid of absolutes) this is what I believe: The Real Secret is that we are in control of many things in our world, and positive thinking and focus is essential in getting our asses off the couch and out to change the things we can. But beyond that, in this life, bad things happen. The Holocaust. 9-11. Incest. Aids. Some seriously nasty unfair, unkind sh*t. And you can click your pretty heels together, ask, receive and believe, and at the end of the day, still have to find a way to keep going on, because that stuff isn’t going to disappear just because you ask the Universe.
But I could be wrong.
Sorry to hijack your comments section. I got on a roll.
Hey, I’m with you both. I guess my problema with it is that I can’t help but have feelings and reactions to things going on in life that I seem to have no control over. Other than that, I’m all for positive thinking and enjoying my life…thanks!
I’m thinking that the secret is that there isn’t one. Certainly we can make things priorities – if all I wanted for Christmas is a BMW or an Aston Martin I would probably save a lot of money on lattes and toothpaste. And thinking “negatively” certainly would not help the cause. But, as Serena imparts, volcanoes erupt and places like Iran and Iraq happen. And my constant quest for a fast car might distract me from helping others: wouldn’t it be cool if we all had positive thoughts about cures for cancer and AIDS and illiteracy? Like Serena, I am suspicious about panaceas. Let us develop, and make priority, the values that sustain all of us.
Graces,
Karl