In 2003, for the first time ever ‘the secret’ was revealed to the world. The secret that is to happiness, health and wealth. Promises of guaranteed wealth and abundance were bandied around. ‘We are limitless beings’, ‘There’s more than enough for everyone’, ‘You get what you think about no matter how big!’ These were the watch words of the dramatic DVD entitled simply ‘The secret’. Here’s the first twenty minutes if you want a re-cap or haven’t seen it before:
…and the creator Rhonda Byrnes description of how the movies came about:
The movie tried to persuade us of all of these incredible claims and in fact did a very good job of it. It was hard not to get carried away and buy into the theory of this secret. After all isn’t that what we all wanted to hear, that there is a way that’s relatively straightforward for us to all seemingly out of thin air to get everything that we wanted!?
We were introduced to people who had already apparently been using this secret whom told their stories with the undertones of ‘look at how rich and successful they are now, they didn’t used to be, they used to be poor and homeless. Anyone can use the secret to get anything they want! Including you.’
What really set this apart from other self-help guides however was the way more well known people from around the world were coming out and jumping on the secret band wagon. Most notable of which was Oprah Winfrey who almost set the world on fire with here claims that she used the secret to progress in her career and lose weight. Gee, the dvd creator Rhonda Byrne must have been pleased with all of the free publicity Oprah gave her! Check out these clips here from the Larry King show, talk about controversial:
The feature on CNN can’t have helped sales either lol but at least sceptics had their say too!
Meanwhile, back on planet earth…..most people who were interested in this sort of thing were already thoroughly aware of the law of attraction which is precisely what The Secret is, there have been books around on the subject for a long long time and references to it perhaps in books as revered as the bible itself. However The Secret DVD certainly was a world first in that it was the first time someone really picked up the concept of the law of attraction, branded it, hyped it up, packaged it and then used the rise of social media, the internet and controversy to ride the crest of a wave bringing the law of attraction into the homes of millions of people world wide that would otherwise never have picked up a personal development/new age type book covering topics of this ilk.
To that end I applaud the movie for opening the eyes of so many people to there own potential. The law of attraction is real, unless you don’t believe in it, which then by the laws very nature will attract events that disprove the theory. In fact it is a bit of merry go round for non-believers and is possibly why it is so vehemently hated by many of the sceptics.
In the secret DVD you had some notable people known as the secret teachers, who attested to the validity of the secret and how it had affected their lives. This is what really made the movie for most people. Presenter Bob Proctor is one of those people who draws you in with his confident charismatic smile and mannerisms, it kind of makes you want to think that nothing he says could be incorrect. This law of attraction explanation from Bob is a must see:
By and large the explanations of the law of attraction are very good in the movie and the way they explained the science part of it was also pretty cool and aided its credibility no end. The problem many people seemed to have had with the secret dvd were scenes that made the whole process appear to remove all of the hard work that is involved in attaining success. I recall one lady looking in a shop window day dreaming about wearing the necklace on display and the next scene she was receiving the necklace from her boyfriend/partner. It did king of over simplify and hype up the entire thing. This is in part the sort of thing that annoyed some people and detracted from what otherwise was a pretty slick well made movie.
The barrage of follow up books, products, seminars and so on from the secret teachers did become a bit much for my liking and of course many of them cashed in on this producing their own ‘how to’ products related to the secret and really that is where we are today. New law of attraction related products keep being bought out, hyped up and sold to yet more people willing to believe in our limitless power…and lets face it who wouldn’t want to believe that. We all want to be told and hear that we can have, be or do anything that we want.
The following is a brief summary of some of the main teachings of the Secret DVD taken from creator Rhonda Byrnes own official secret website:
Regarding Money
Be clear about the amount of money you want to receive. State it and intend it! Don’t think about how much you can earn, but how much you want to receive.
Visualize and imagine yourself spending all the money you want, as though you have it already.
Speak, act, and think from the mindset of being wealthy now. Eliminate thoughts and words of lack such as “I can’t afford it”, “It is too expensive”.
Regarding Relationships:
Fall in love with YOU!
Know that you are perfect. Do not think any negative thoughts about you.
Focus on the wonderful things in every person. Look for only those things.
Regarding Wellness and health:
Love yourself! Deeply, profoundly! Make lists of all the wonderful things about you. Add to it every day.
See yourself as completely well in your mind and visualize yourself doing things in a complete state of perfect health.
Do not speak of your illness, or disease with others.
Be happy, knowing that in your state of happiness your body is healing itself.
If you want the full summary, go here. http://thesecret.tv/teachings-summary.html
So, what should you take from the hit movie the secret?
Well you should definitely take on board the above summary points and you should definitely take on board the fact that we can and do affect the outcome of our own lives by the thoughts that we hold in our heads, our daily habits and our feelings about the situation we are in. By being focussed on what we want, visualising having/doing it and being positive and persistant in our daily life you will take yourself closer to fulfilling your goals and you will also bring yourself closer to them.
Three things I would strongly suggest you have a go at and try to build into your daily routine are:
Visualisation- see yourself with that which you desire, really feel being or doing whatever it is you desire and try and feel and believe your achievement of those goals.
Meditate – This is really great to clear your mind and focus yourself and release your negativity.
Written goals – Write down your goals and create some affirmations relating to them.
Keep it real – Don’t get all wishy washy with all of this, I’ve yet to meet someone who materialised a car overnight. You do need to work hard, you do need to stick it out and you probably won’t get there straightaway but by doing the above tasks you will stay focussed and things will begin to fall into place for you. Even if you don’t believe in the law of attraction I’m sure you can believe in the concepts of hard work, believing in yourself and self-organisation.
To take the next steps about harnessing the law of attraction have aread through the related topics on this site: Law of attraction, affirmations, positive thinking, tithing, meditation. All of these topics are really inter-connected so try and think about the bigger picture and how you can incorporate them into your life. As ever find what is true for you, what works for you, don’t take other people words for things, find out for yourself and have a go. But never forget:
“We often miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Edison
