Secret Source: The Fountains of Wisdom Behind The Secret

by Carmen

The Oprah-fueled furor over Rhonda Byrne's book (and movie) The Secret has mostly died down - and those who took the pop-interpretation of the Law of Attraction to heart may be asking themselves "where's my sports car - I've been visualizing it for months!" There's more to The Secret than just that, of course, which I learned from a new book called The Secret Source.

My original reaction to The Secret was mixed - while I could appreciate the intent of teaching others about the art of visualization and the Law of Attraction, the blithe, slick and oversimplified way it aimed to appeal to the masses with promises of wealth and material acquisition through use of "The Secret" left me feeling as if I had just watched a sleazy infomercial.

If you remember the graphics and imagery prefacing The Secret movie, you may remember images of ancient Egyptians perusing stone tablets, and other fancifully-clad mystics poring over scrolls. We are led to believe that there will be explanations to these historical allusions, which are all implied to be the origins of the mysterious "Secret." These implications are not explained further.

The Secret Source not only explores and explains the Law of Attraction as only one of Seven Hermetic Principles, but also traces back through the Kybalion, the Emerald Tablet, and the New Thought Movement.

What I enjoyed about this book is the informative and objective presentation of The Secret's sources - providing context via historical fact and background, in support of The Secret's implied assertions of historical origin, as well as a more holistically responsible view of how the Law of Attraction can be used - not only for one's own profit, but for the improvement and healing of the human condition.

| 01/03/08 | Book Club

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!

Comments

I agree with John Curtis. Take your life into your own hands and use your own common sense!