The Secret

[Chocolate and Honey]

Not too long ago I was watching Oprah(yes, I love her ) and that particular show was about a book called The Secret. There were a lot of testimonials and happy tears of people who had unbelievable success by reading the book. I love books(I read anything from The Iliad to New Age self-improvement books) so I went and got the book just curious to see what “secrets” of unlimited power were being spilled. This is a description of the book from the Publisher:

 

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.

Let me tell you; there is no secret. This book(just like any other New Age self-help book) is based on the concept of Visualization and law of attraction: You attract to your life what you mostly think of. So if you think “I’m not going to get this job” and truly believe it, you wont! This is the basic format; you set a goal, you visualize reaching your goal(something professional Athletes and alternative healers swear by) you live it, taste it and you then ask the Universe(or God)to take care of it and then you move on with your life.

 

So my questions are:

1. Have you read this book or a book with similar concept and what did you think?

2. Have you ever practiced visualization(if you look back at your success or accomplishments, did you see it happen in your head in detail before it became a reality?) and do you believe in it?

3. Do you think visualization works?

Lately, positive thinking and what they call “neuron -programming” is all the rage! You’re the sum of you think.

[Naden]

I actually like Oprah's book club selections, the last one was particularly good ( Say You're One of Them ). But 'The Secret' is the biggest crock-o'-shidh you will ever read. I spent 25 minutes at the bookstore leafing through it and every page is about things happening because you think about them really hard. One thing I do admire about the writers is their brilliant marketing strategy and the millions it has net. Bravo.

[Chocolate and Honey]

LOl, me too. Indeed they really thought hard about making millions of money and Viola!they made it happen.

 

Naden,

Have you ever at any point in your life visualized something and seen it happened?

[Sherban Shabeel]

It kinda works sometimes.

[General Duke]

The other day, I wished my team Arsenal would go top of the league. Today they are no 1..

[Kool_Kat]

I loathe anything to do with Oprah, I dunno why! I guess my older sister's obsession with her kinda, sorta contributes to it a little...And there's the issue I have with her and Stedman...War dhinac walbo aan ka fiiriyo, naagta mugdi uun baa iga saaran... :mad:

 

EDIT:

 

Erm, what's the book about again?

[grasshopper]

Originally posted by chocolate & honey:

2. Have you ever practiced visualization(if you look back at your success or accomplishments, did you see it happen in your head in detail before it became a reality?) and do you believe in it?

This time last year I was in school and I thought to myself "I want to do my internship in the States." I started telling everyone not knowing how this will happen or if it was even possible! I started applying for stuff in the big cities (Chicago, Washington DC, NYC) and around June I finally landed something amazing in NYC. And the icing on the cake was that I got a scholarship to help pay for it

 

It was pretty risky of me because while my classmates were getting their internships in April/May, I hung on and kept applying and calling different places. I've never been that persistent before This was the only time that I visualized something and saw it happen...everything else in my life was mostly random and unplanned.

 

hm, I'm going to give it another shot! Set another goal and see if it ends up happening.

[Chocolate and Honey]

I loathe anything to do with Oprah, I dunno why! I guess my older sister's obsession with her kinda, sorta contributes to it a little...And there's the issue I have with her and Stedman...War dhinac walbo aan ka fiiriyo, naagta mugdi uun baa iga saaran...

 

If you werent my sister, I would order you to be placed in an isolation with nothing to do but to watch Oprah's 20 Anniversary DVD's And dont tell me you're on Stedman's side? The woman rules with a fist iron aan ku dhahay.

 

Grasshoper,

Thats what I'm talking about. Just setting your heart on something and believing with your might it will happen. Amazing!

[cynical lady]

*visualising Clive Owen leaving his wife for me……lets see if that happens.

[Chocolate and Honey]

visualising Clive Owen leaving his wife for me……lets see if that happens.

I can see your cynical mind working against you: "I want Clive Owen" brain puts the order forward to the Universe . Seconds later " But I dont want him to love me, yuck" brain cancels order. The Universe takes note: NO LOVE Match for this young lady who apparently hates love

[cynical lady]

Ohh nooh!!!

 

I dont want his love, all i want is him. Now dont confuse the universe young lady.

 

*resending my order to the universe...

[JUSTICE]

That should work for me , I like self help stuff they work if you really believe. lets see, OKay.....

I really want a better job for now, so I will let you know if the rules of the attraction will work for me or not.

[Blessed]

Okay, putting this to the test right this minute. I'm shattered after a long week but can't go to sleep because my guests seem to be stuck at the airport...

 

If I stare at the door, they should just appear in..... 1. 2. 3...

 

p.s this sounds like common sense, spiced up / over rated.

[Naden]

C&H, if I ever did analysis on how well my visualization converted to actual outcomes, it would be insignificant

 

What happens to me is usually a strange mix of luck, timing, some skill/effort/sheer fear on my end, and a number of unknown X's that the universe insists on keeping secret. This book didn't get me any closer to one of them.

[Elysian]

"neuron-progamming", now that's an interesting word... how would one do that?

 

A friend of mine gave me a DVD with The Secret... could only stand to watch it for ten minutes. I mean positive thinking and mentally visualizing your goal, or the outcome of your perfomance etc. is a beneficial thing and it has been known for ages... nothing new or Secret about that.

 

But when they say you can apply this to win the lottery it's just plain bogus. Your state of mind controls only your abilities not the lotto winning numbers.