The Secret (book)
Encyclopedia
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help
book written by Rhonda Byrne
. It is based on the earlier film of the same name that was released in DVD format in March 2006. The tenet of the film and book is that the universe is governed by a natural law called the law of attraction which is said to work by attracting into a person's life the experiences, situations, events, and people that 'match the frequency' of the person's thoughts and feelings. Therefore, positive thinking
and feeling positive are claimed to create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness.
After being featured in two episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show
, the book reached the top of the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 146 consecutive weeks. It continues to frequently appear in the top ten and extended New York Times bestseller list. The book has been translated into 44 languages, and has over 21 million copies in print.
The Secret is largely influenced by Wallace Wattles
' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich
, and it has attracted much notoriety and criticism from those who claim that the book misleads readers with its claims of positive thinking being able to influence a reader's life and real-world outcomes.
Since 2006, Byrne has also released a calendar and several follow-up books. In 2009, a book for teenagers called The Secret to Teen Power, written by the film's producer, Paul Harrington, was released. After answering several thousand letters from readers of The Secret, Byrne wrote a follow-up called The Power
, which was released in August 2010.
Byrne began her research on the law of attraction after she received Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich from her daughter during a time of great personal hardship in 2004. Byrne read and synthesized several classic books and the words of modern-day teachers who spoke about the ancient wisdom and the ways and methods for people to attract what they desire into their lives. The book includes many quotes from these people.
The Secret states that desirable outcomes such as health, wealth, and happiness can be attracted simply by changing one’s thoughts and feelings. For example, if a person wanted a new car, by thinking about the new car, having positive and thankful feelings about the car as if it were already attained and opening one's life in tangible ways for a new car to be acquired(ex: test driving the new car and or making sure no one parks in the space where the new car would arrive) and the law of attraction would rearrange events to make it possible for the car to manifest in the person’s life.
Next, a three-step creative process for manifesting dreams is introduced: Ask, 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." (Matthew 21:22)
The Secret highlights gratitude
and visualization
as the two most powerful processes to help manifest one's desires. It asserts that being grateful both lifts your frequency higher and affirms that you believe you will receive your desire. Visualization is said to help focus the mind to send out the clearest message to the universe. Several techniques are given for the visualization process, as well as examples of people claimed to have used it successfully to manifest their dreams.
The following chapters describe how to use the law of attraction specifically in the areas of wealth, relationships, and health. The book provides examples and ways to use the law of attraction for each. The final chapters offer a more spiritual perspective of the law of attraction, and of how it relates to one's life and the world.
Others assert "The Secret" offers false hope to those in true need of more conventional assistance in their lives. 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".
, 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, and by the Family Guy
episode Brian Writes a Bestseller. 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.
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
book written by Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer, best known for her New Thought works, The Secret—a book and a film by the same name. By the Spring of 2007 the book had sold almost 4 million copies, and the DVD had sold more than 2 million copies omt. She has also been a producer...
. It is based on the earlier film of the same name that was released in DVD format in March 2006. The tenet of the film and book is that the universe is governed by a natural law called the law of attraction which is said to work by attracting into a person's life the experiences, situations, events, and people that 'match the frequency' of the person's thoughts and feelings. Therefore, positive thinking
Positive Thinking
Positive Thinking... or Positive Thinking may refer to one of two songs:*Positive Thinking *Positive Thinking...
and feeling positive are claimed to create life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, and happiness.
After being featured in two episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, the book reached the top of the New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 146 consecutive weeks. It continues to frequently appear in the top ten and extended New York Times bestseller list. The book has been translated into 44 languages, and has over 21 million copies in print.
The Secret is largely influenced by Wallace Wattles
Wallace Wattles
Wallace Delois Wattles was an American author. A New Thought writer, he remains personally somewhat obscure, but his writing has been widely quoted and remains in print in the New Thought and self-help movements....
' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich
The Science of Getting Rich
The Science of Getting Rich is a book written by the New Thought Movement writer Wallace D. Wattles; it was published in 1910 by the Elizabeth Towne Company. The book is still in print after 100 years. It was a major inspiration for Rhonda Byrne's bestselling book and film The Secret...
, and it has attracted much notoriety and criticism from those who claim that the book misleads readers with its claims of positive thinking being able to influence a reader's life and real-world outcomes.
Since 2006, Byrne has also released a calendar and several follow-up books. In 2009, a book for teenagers called The Secret to Teen Power, written by the film's producer, Paul Harrington, was released. After answering several thousand letters from readers of The Secret, Byrne wrote a follow-up called The Power
The Power (self-help book)
The Power is a 2010 self-help and spirituality book written by Rhonda Byrne. It is a sequel to the 2006 book The Secret. The book was released on 17 August 2010 along with an audiobook based on it....
, which was released in August 2010.
Byrne began her research on the law of attraction after she received Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich from her daughter during a time of great personal hardship in 2004. Byrne read and synthesized several classic books and the words of modern-day teachers who spoke about the ancient wisdom and the ways and methods for people to attract what they desire into their lives. The book includes many quotes from these people.
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 Secret states that desirable outcomes such as health, wealth, and happiness can be attracted simply by changing one’s thoughts and feelings. For example, if a person wanted a new car, by thinking about the new car, having positive and thankful feelings about the car as if it were already attained and opening one's life in tangible ways for a new car to be acquired(ex: test driving the new car and or making sure no one parks in the space where the new car would arrive) and the law of attraction would rearrange events to make it possible for the car to manifest in the person’s life.
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 harnessed its power. The book describes the law as a magnetic power emitted through your thoughts. The power of thoughts are 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, 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." (Matthew 21:22)
The Secret highlights gratitude
Gratitude
Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. The experience of gratitude has historically been a focus of several world religions, and has been considered extensively by moral...
and visualization
Creative Visualization
Creative visualization refers to the practice of seeking to affect the outer world via changing one's thoughts. Creative Visualization is the basic technique underlying positive thinking and is frequently used by athletes to enhance their performance. The concept originally arose in the US with...
as the two most powerful processes to help manifest one's desires. It asserts that being grateful both lifts your frequency higher and affirms that you believe you will receive your desire. Visualization is said to help focus the mind to send out the clearest message to the universe. Several techniques are given for the visualization process, as well as examples of people claimed to have used it successfully to manifest their dreams.
The following chapters describe how to use the law of attraction specifically in the areas of wealth, relationships, and health. The book provides examples and ways to use the law of attraction for each. The final chapters offer a more spiritual perspective of the law of attraction, and of how it relates to one's life and the world.
Criticism
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 going as far as 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. In 2007 Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich
-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
, an author and social critic, ridiculed the book's weight control advice to "not observe" overweight people. According to the Religion Dispatches
Religion Dispatches
Religion Dispatches is a daily online magazine covering religion and culture from a progressive point of view....
, 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
Barbara Ehrenreich
-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
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".
Parodies
The Secret was parodied, along with ScientologyScientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, in an episode of The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
. 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
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Bart Gets a 'Z'
Bart Gets a 'Z'
"Bart Gets a 'Z" is the second episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States on October 4, 2009....
, where Bart gets his teacher a book entitled The Answer, which is supposed to change her life after he unintentionally ruined it, and by the Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode Brian Writes a Bestseller. 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.
See also
- CornucopianCornucopianA cornucopian is a futurist who believes that continued progress and provision of material items for mankind can be met by similarly continued advances in technology...
- Law of Attraction
- The Power of Positive Thinking
- self-fulfilling prophecySelf-fulfilling prophecyA self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...