The Secret (book)
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 book written by Rhonda Byrne, based on the earlier film of the same name.It is based on the law of attraction and claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness
.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
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.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:"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
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 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. 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.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".
In 2009, Ehrenreich published Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America as a response to "positive thinking" books, like The Secret, that teach "if I just change my thoughts, I could have it all". She worried this was delusional or even dangerous because it avoided dealing with the real sources behind problems. 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'. Ehrenreich advocated "not negative thinking or despair" but "realism, checking out what’s really there and figuring out how to change it".
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.
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. 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.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".
In 2009, Ehrenreich published Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America as a response to "positive thinking" books, like The Secret, that teach "if I just change my thoughts, I could have it all". She worried this was delusional or even dangerous because it avoided dealing with the real sources behind problems. 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'. Ehrenreich advocated "not negative thinking or despair" but "realism, checking out what’s really there and figuring out how to change it".
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.
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