It’s no secret
The Secret has led to many people becoming self-styled Law of Attraction (LOA) “gurus. This movement is rapidly expanding as friends challenge friends and the overlapping circles of acolytes grow.
The Secret AKA Law of Attraction (the power of positive thinking plus creative visualization) is not new to me. I have been reading books on this subject for many years, and also practicing relaxation and creative visualization techniques.
Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living out of Life was first published in 1960 by Prentice-Hall and first appeared in a pocket book edition in 1969.
Happiness and success are habits. So are failure and misery. But negative habits can be changed–and Psycho-Cybernetics shows you how. The mind/body connection us the concept that paved the way for most of today s personal empowerment programs. Turn crises into creative opportunities, dehypnotize yourself from false beliefs, and celebrate new freedom from fear and guilt. Testimonials and stories are interspersed with advice from author Maxwell Maltz, as well as techniques for relaxation and visualization.
Psycho-Cybernetics introduced Maltz’s view that a person must have an accurate and positive view of one’s self before setting goals, otherwise he or she will get stuck in a continuing pattern of limiting beliefs. His ideas focus on visualizing one’s goals. He believed that self-image is the cornerstone of all the changes that take place in a person. If one’s self-image is unhealthy, or faulty, all of his or her efforts will end in failure.
William Walker Atkinson, Richard Ingalese, Opheil and many others, have written books on the power of the mind to attract what one thinks about, and these books are still popular and available at bookstores. Other known authors are Joseph Murphy, Napoleon Hill and Wallace D. Wattle. Shakti Gawain also wrote an excellent book on the subject and popularized the term “Creative Visualization“. All of these books are about what is now termed The Law of Attraction or The Secret.
So what is this secret?
An underlying principle of The Law of Attraction is that the Universe is neutral. What you get from the Universe what you’re a vibrational match to. This means that if you were raised with negative core values as a child, and grew up to be a person of low self esteem, then you’re getting negative stuff you don’t want from the Universe because you are in sync with negative vibrations, rather than positive vibrations. In other words, you must also be out of sync with what you do want or you’d be already enjoying it.
According to The Law of Attraction everything in your current reality is a perfect vibrational match to you. If you want something different then you have to change your vibration to make what you do want ie. positive stuff in order for it to be part of your reality.
In Subjective Reality Q & A, Steve Pavlina contributes this: Subjective reality is a belief system in which (1) there is only one consciousness, (2) you are that singular consciousness, and (3) everything and everyone in your reality is a projection of your thoughts. We create our own reality. We attract those things in our life (money, relationships, employment) that we focus on. People who are efficient in attracting positives have trained their minds to focus on their desires and abundance comes to them naturally. They wouldn’t blink an eye if someone suggested they don’t deserve something, because it isn’t part of their reality.
The Law Of Attraction and The Law Of Resistance
In his book The Law of Attraction, Michael Losier suggests changing your perception around statements that activate its counterpart, The Law of Resistance. He suggests beginning to move towards making vibrational change with an exercise that amounts to making two columns: one that lists everything that you don’t like or don’t want; and one that reframes the resistance-filled statement with one that contains what you do want.
The following steps are to replace negative core values with positive ones thereby so shift your focus from your feelings of lack, and toward feelings of gratitude and abundance. The idea is to believe in yourself and know that you can make whatever changes in your life you want by creatively visualizing what you want and focusing on it.
The love of money: believe, request, receive
There are many different LOA “gurus” and they all have their own programs including pamphlets, ebook and videos, workshops, etc. Some are focused on instructing their acolytes to jettison the work ethic as clinging to it will means you will remain “stuck”. They encourage creatively visualizing enjoying what you love and then believing, requesting, and receiving wealth from the Universe. focusing on it. For example, if making money easily is what you’d love to do, then focus on it and attract it to you like a magnet attracts metal filings.
I have posted a link to some videos at the end of this post for those who wish to view them.
A recent survey of “Wealth Beyond Reason” students asked the question: “What are you finding most frustrating about attracting what you want utilizing what you know about the Law of Attraction?” As a result, a series of videos addressing the top responses was created.
The first two videos explain how to stay focused on your desire in the midst of “real life circumstances”… the next video deals with the issue of knowing what you really want when you start to intentionally create your life by design …
a further video deals with the critical issue of being held back by limiting beliefs that act as resistance against what you’re trying to attract … and the final video deals with the tricky subject of money.
Personal Development Videos – Law of Attraction
Core beliefs: Would you care to share?
It’s a quirk of human nature that we maintain our beliefs by selectively exposing ourselves to information that we already know is likely to support those beliefs. Yet, when we remove the emotional elements and take the time to gather information on the opposite side of any issue we are more likely to come to different conclusions. This is why it’s not surprising that gut responses based on deeply held core beliefs are not always the most accurate.
I’m aware that every decision I make is based on my core beliefs. To open my mind I review my core beliefs in an ongoing process I quiz myself about each one by asking myself why I believe it. Next I imagine that I don’t exactly believe it any more, but instead believe something marginally different, and then marginally different again.
My core beliefs are unique to me and my friend’s core beliefs are unique to them. An open mind is comfortable with the differences, and also capable of using a variety of lenses to view any issue from many angles. So I ask you, my readers, if you would care to share whether or not you have re-examined the core beliefs you were inculcated with as a child and replaced the negative with positive.
* This post was inspired by the repeated personal attacks I was subjected to by an LOA acolyte who became nasty in a forum thread.
A very nice post!
We do have very selective perception. We actively seek confirmation of our beliefs, and actively delete information that disputes (even if it doesn’t necessarily disprove) our beliefs… and we tend to do this unconsciously, so if you confront someone about this behavior in them, you will probably be met with strong disagreement.
“I have very good reasons for believing what I believe!” … Don’t we all :-)
And of course this brings up the real challenge (which can make studying consciousness, psychology, etc. with friends that much more fun). Once you study how the mind works, it’s easy to see disorders in other people. It’s not so easy to see them in yourself.
Just a tip from my experience… the most powerful/pervasive beliefs in your life… the ones that have the most influence… are the ones you don’t even think to question. Once you find these… you can really start to have a blast :-)
keep smiling,
Ben
We actively seek confirmation of our beliefs, and actively delete information that disputes (even if it doesn’t necessarily disprove) our beliefs… and we tend to do this unconsciously, so if you confront someone about this behavior in them, you will probably be met with strong disagreement.
Indeed we do. This is the nature of egocentricity and unless or until we re-examine our core values we may never uncover the negative beliefs we have been inculcated with by parents and other authority figures during childhood.
Detecting Egocentricity
http://thistimethisspace.com/2009/06/01/detecting-egocentricity/
Also as you suggest re-examination of core beliefs is a an ongoing process for those who have awakened and who are conscious. I knew as a child that the Judeo Christian path was not my path. I expunged many negative core beliefs and found my path as a young adult. During my thirties I re-examined my core beliefs again and made adjustments. I continue to re-examine them always will.
Life Eternal: The Great Cosmic Joke
http://thistimethisspace.com/2009/07/01/life-eternal-the-great-cosmic-joke/
Thanks so much for the visit and the comment. Happy blogging. :)
A couple of years ago when we relocated back to the U.S. I read a copy of The Secret, to see what all of the hoopla was about. I was mildly shocked, because there was nothing new in that book, yet the author was proclaiming that she had uncovered principles that gurus had been holding secret from people for…well, forever. I chuckled at this. As you write, they are well-known principles, and just because the author finally discovered them after a personal crises, doesn’t mean that they hadn’t been in circulation for all those interested for….well, forever (LOL) :)…I dislike the marketing side of The Attraction. I also tend to dislike that people dive in without a certain amount of self-awareness (development) in their foundation. Why? Because, people can desire things and circumstances that may consequently harm the life of another. In other words, “know thyself” and empathy for all life should be at the core. BUT! That is just my personal opinion. Great post, timethief.:)
I relate to what you’ve said here Tami. I too had many of these same thoughts in regard to the secret. Thanks for posting them here. Hugs, Robin :))
@Tami
Your experience is the same as mine. I read the book, closed the cover and said to myself “none of this is a secret to me”.
I dislike the marketing side of The Attraction. … I also tend to dislike that people dive in without a certain amount of self-awareness (development) in their foundation. Why? Because, people can desire things and circumstances that may consequently harm the life of another.
I’m with you on this. I find it distasteful that “LOA gurus” choose to think sharing this information is a Cadillac opportunity to profit financially themselves, and to instruct others in the use of these ancient techniques to acquire “wealth,” defined in terms of money, material things and power. The fact is that most profits made by most people are due to capitalizing on and/or causing lack in others.
In other words, “know thyself” and empathy for all life should be at the core.
I think your point of view contains wisdom. Thanks for posting and all my best to you.
Yes, it’s no secret. That’s the real secret.
Wanting and getting what one wants-baby stuff. The Universe isn’t obliged to fulfill one’s desires or conform to one’s beliefs.
Love life, live simply, and expect nothing in return. That’s true happiness.
@nothing profound
Love life, live simply, and expect nothing in return. That’s true happiness.
Well said. You say so many wise things that from time to time I wonder if I haven’t met you in the spirit world.
What a very interesting and thought provoking post, TT! Once more I find myself in broad agreement with you and Tami at Pentad. No surprises there.
I bought and read some of “The Secret” a while back. It did spur me on to examine my own beliefs in the subjects it addresses. I found it all a bit indigestible…somewhat hard to swallow. I found some of the hype around LOA to be off-putting to say the least. It did spin out my thoughts in a number of interesting areas. Increasingly I have found deficit psychology, the psychology that deals with human problems and difficulties unhelpful to those who wish to engage with psychological thought as a mode of human development. I have an increasing interest in positive psychology. LOA also espouses the benefits of gratitude that to me feels like a healthy phenomenon to embrace in achieving positive personal growth. I’m sure that thought and belief influences our behaviour in such a way so that what we think and believe is reflected in what happens to us. This is nothing magical. It may simply be that our thoughts condition our perceptions of our own personal universe. i.e If we believe there will be opportunity in our lives then we might more readily perceive the opportunity that arises.
I am completely convinced of our universal connectedness. The fragmentation of our natural world and our lives I believe to be man-made and potentially divisive and destructive. Fragmentation is nevertheless at the root of the way in which we construct and organise our knowledge. That belief has not propelled me towards “the Secret” but to other practices like mindfulness and meditation that at least illuminate the nature of “being” within a universal whole. For me, the quest is not for the acquisition of riches (in abundance?) but for a greater understanding of the wholeness of universal truth that may lead to our leading less alienated lives more in touch with others and the natural world we inhabit. It’s interesting to me that the etymological root of the word “whole” is “hale” from which the word health is also derived.
I do find “The Secret” and its protagonists to be a little mind-numbing. It feels like a cult-like phenomena that seeks certainty, security and comfort in our lives that does not exist and which have been the quest of religion before now. Is materialism their (not so) new religion? Have you ever heard an LOA advocate talk about human frailty or death? Those are the only certainties known to man. I’ll stick to my own journey that is taking an invigorating turn towards renewal at present. Dumbing out is not for me. I value my powers of critical thought too. They are much of all I have.
By the way, I was really relieved to read in the discussion thread that you did not know who Oprah was. Americans seem to talk of her like the new Messiah. I have never seen one of her shows. I was aware a long while back that her weight gain and loss became issues of national importance in the United States. What can I say? Ho hum!
Take very good care,
Geoffrey
I do find “The Secret” and its protagonists to be a little mind-numbing. It feels like a cult-like phenomena that seeks certainty, security and comfort in our lives that does not exist and which have been the quest of religion before now. Is materialism their (not so) new religion?
I also think we are witnessing a cultlike phenomena indicative of their materialism being a not so new religion. The New Testament writers reveal that Jesus dealt with materialism (love of money, wealth and power) in very clear cut terms. However, what he taught has been perverted in charismatic Christian churches where the gospel of abundance and prosperity is being taught, rather than the actual gospel message.
Hi dear TT, I’ve been thinking of you lately and wanted to stop in and say hi.
I am going to share here a comment I left some time ago on a post Jonathan Wells of Advanced Life Skills wrote, as I feel it best answers (for me) your questions. And….I just want to share it with you and I know you will understand.
I am sending you much love, beauty and respect,
Robin
______________________________
MY COMMENT:
I was twenty-five, living in the Rainforest (my first year there) and I consciously decided that I wanted to chuck all books, religion, shed as much schooling, familiar and social conditioning as I could be aware of, and start from scratch. Unless I knew something to be true in my gut then I chucked it out. Until I “knew” without a doubt from my own life experience that something was true it did not exist.
Starting from this totally barren and unknown place, using only all my senses and my heart to guide me I began to explore the world.
I “re-learned”, for me, what it means to be alive, what Life is about for ME, what is fully possible, what is true (for me), what was real and so forth.
The journey and my time in the wild went on for many years and it was one hell of a journey, raw, exposed, unknowing, unassuming, vast beyond my comprehension. It shattered every preconceived notion I had. I explored and became deeply intimate with a world, a reality that goes far beyond social conditioning and edict, far beyond organized religion, school, materialism, stores, things, concepts, books, TV, “civilization”, etc.
I fell down many many times, dragged myself through the muck and mire, picked myself up again and again, as I “reinvented the wheel”, so to speak, I groped many times in total darkness. I learned great patience, I learned to simply “BE”, that there is nowhere to be. I learned to trust my other brain, my enteric nervous system that lives in the esophagus, stomach, small intestines and colon, that brain that gives us the “gut feelings” we get. I learned to take risks and face fear head on. I fell deeply in love with Life.
____________________________
Thank you TT for letting me once again connect with and express this part of myself. Love, Robin
@Robin
Unless I knew something to be true in my gut then I chucked it out. Until I “knew” without a doubt from my own life experience that something was true it did not exist.
Thanks so much for sharing this with me and my readers. I too have learned how to trust my gut and I give thanks every day for learning how to trust my gut and walk my own path – living, loving and learning.
May you always walk in beauty.
”So I ask you, my readers, if you would care to share whether or not you have re-examined the core beliefs you were inculcated with as a child and replaced the negative with positive.”
In the past two decades, I have embarked on continual examination of my core beliefs. It is one acquisition of aging that is frequently underestimated or altogether dismissed. Some core beliefs are abandoned over time when they no longer serve our current reality or we discover they are not true for us; other core beliefs are acquired along with our knowledge and experiences. I don’t see the process as simply moving from positive to negative. It is far more complex.
Looking back at my childhood and early adult years, I have reframed much of my experience. I have tried to accept every aspect – the good and the bad- by acknowledging that every experience has contributed to my personal development. By accepting my own life events, I have also found myself to be more accepting of others. But it also leaves me less able to apply value judgments to people and things. Is something entirely negative if by its existence something positive is born next? Conversely, can the experience of goodness in youth be the only way we can fully understand its absence later in life? Positive and negative are most certainly connected, but not linear in our development or in our life journeys. cgn
@Cindy
Is something entirely negative if by its existence something positive is born next? Conversely, can the experience of goodness in youth be the only way we can fully understand its absence later in life? Positive and negative are most certainly connected, but not linear in our development or in our life journeys.
Thanks again and best wishes to you.
Much of the basis of the popular law of attraction stuff is made up of a) basic psychology regarding positive thinking, b) standard new-age misappropriation of eastern philosophy (if an enlightened attitude means getting everything you desire, it’s only because, with an enlightened attitude, you desire nothing), and c) misappopriated concepts from quantum physics–thus, physicists cited in What the Bleep Do We Know? have lined up to protest the ways in which their words were taken out context to back up points they don’t support at all.
Ultimately, it helps to have a positive attitude–as a chronically depressed person, I’m certainly aware of that. To call call this a metaphysical “law” however, is to say that all the world’s victims of child abuse, genocide, etc. simply had the wrong attitudes…and that, in my opinion is the very definition of the most hateful form of negativity.
@yogaforcynics
Wow! What can I say in response to your comment? You nailed it!
I can’t really add much more than what has already been said, excellent article and comments. I find it intriguing that ideas have been repackaged as somehow new. The Law Of Resistance is really a version of cognitive therapy in which negative thoughts are countered with positive one’s.
I call LOA gurus born agains, born again through therapy, born again for this or that, and they seem to think because they discovered it, it saved them the rest of the world needs to know and be saved. I have found that some born again believers of this and that are doing it more to convince themselves so they won’t slip back into the habits that led them to look for something to save them in the first place. The fact that they need to be so aggressive and nasty when challenged just supports my belief that it is a house built on sand.
My mum always warned me never to trust those who preach the loudest, and I think she was spot on.
@jafabrit
The Law Of Resistance is really a version of cognitive therapy in which negative thoughts are countered with positive one’s.
Indeed it is. There is no secret. The Secret and LOA are simply repackaged information. I chuckled when you brought forward the born again label — it’s right on.
There is no “secret”; the only secret is that so called “experts” are making a wad of money by selling BS to greedy and gulable morons.
If any of the scum peddling experts could actually manifest the law of attraction I would expect that famine, war, poverty and sickness would be wished out of existence. But they can’t – they can only BS.
The truth is that we are still prisoners of selfish interests, greed, hatred, lies and deception that have been indoctrinated into us from birth.
Look around, look at the world and see that is what we are manifesting
The day we will stop wishing for sports cars and millions of dollars and wish we were a decent human been instead, only then we will progress as individuals and as society.
@buddha
You and yogaforcynics have said what I feel.
Ultimately, it helps to have a positive attitude–as a chronically depressed person, I’m certainly aware of that. To call call this a metaphysical “law” however, is to say that all the world’s victims of child abuse, genocide, etc. simply had the wrong attitudes…and that, in my opinion is the very definition of the most hateful form of negativity. — yogaforcynics
The truth is that we are still prisoners of selfish interests, greed, hatred, lies and deception that have been indoctrinated into us from birth. … The day we will stop wishing for sports cars and millions of dollars and wish we were a decent human been instead, only then we will progress as individuals and as society.
Namaste’
“The Secret”™ materials and products have been used by the purchasers/readers as vehicles to the authors’ McFortune and McFame. They tapped into the well, repackaged an existing natural law and resold it for a kazillion dollars. While the information is positive and inspiring, it is no secret that they ended up laughing all the way to the bank. Good for them. However, it is up to the individual to find their own “Secret”
“As above so below; as below so above; as within so without; as without so within.”
Thanks so much for the comment Nards. It’s right on and I apologize for being this far behind when it comes to answering comments. The doctors say the news is “good news”. :)
Great Post! I love Psycho-Cybernetics, it’s a classic. Your post was a good reminder to me to pick up another copy when I get the chance.
Peace
JMH
Please accept my belated thanks for your comment Jonathon.
It is interesting to note that the economy started to crash around the same time The Secret was published. I don’t think it is a coincidence.
Just visualizing something is simply NOT going to make it happen. If I keep thinking about getting a job that pays great money, it is not going to JUST happen. Education, skills, self-confidence, experience and knowledge are what is going to make it happen.
Recently, I had a friend ask me for money for a new business, he was sure was going to be a winner. When I asked to see a realistic business plan, he handed me a copy of The Secret. He didn’t get my money and is now selling off all of his personal assets, just to pay the rent.
My success has been related to a combination of things, of which the real “secret” for me was getting a great education.
Timethief–
Another winner!
Have you ever listened to BRAINSYNC’s Kelly Howell? I downloaded the Universal Meditation http: // http://www.brainsync.com/product.asp?specific=152 to my IPOD a year ago and it’s amazing.