The Secret: Pseudo-Science mixed with Pseudo-Psychology.
May 20th 2008 12:14
The Secret: Pseudo-Science mixed with Pseudo-Psychology.
Oprah Winfrey endorses it so it must be as good as the rest of the thinks that she endorses. Positive Thinking, wealthy living, yo-yo dieting and Dr Phil. There is a video that promotes and explains it in the most delightful manner possible. It is ‘The Secret’ and it is selling books and DVD like no tomorrow.
The Secret, according the smartly edited video, is the law of attraction. Everything that happens to you is somehow related to what think. The universe is apparently one big areal that is turned it to your thoughts and desires. So when you are thinking and visualizing you are sending out powerful messages to the universe. The Universe will pick these messages and the Law of attraction comes into play. You get what you are visualizing.
The positive message that the video is selling is that if you think positive thoughts about what you want then through the laws of attraction you will be given what you want. The negative side of the equation is that negative thoughts attract the bad things that you want to avoid. So if you are worried about getting bills in the mail then that is what the Universe will give you because that is what you are attracting. However if you want a hot sports car then the Universe will give that to you.
The video explains that the Law of Attraction works for everything in the universe like a magnet for thoughts. How does a person tap into the power of the universe to get that hot trophy wife? They use this simple method:
Ask, Believe and Receive.
We Ask the universe for what we want,
Believe that we are going to get it,
And due to the laws of attraction the universe will ensure that somehow we get this,
So we have to be ready to Receive it as a gift from the universe.
In short this is type of positive thinking mentality that claims to be able to deliver material outcomes. You can get that red Ferrari you want, you can get that soul mate you are looking for, you can even live in that mansion on the hill so long as you Ask, Believe and are will to Receive it as a gift from the universe.
The power of positive thinking has been promoted for a very long time and this just happens to be a New Age addition to the fold. It offers the in escapable Laws of the Universe in an uncritical manner without any reasoning to believe them. It is entirely faith based that Law of Attraction deliver the outcomes that are claimed in the book. The question of evidence to support the claim is reduced to anecdotal and testimonials. Neither of which are conclusive in themselves.
The Secret is offering several concepts that can be seen a false hope and deceptions. The flip side of the argument is a Universe that rewards those that deserve good things and punishes those that do not. The rich are rich only because they know the secret and use it successfully to attract more money but the poor are so because they attract their own poverty. Never is it asked whether some of these rich people are such a position due to ill gotten gains. Nor is it asked whether the poor are so due to exploitation or factors that are beyond their control. Instead we have a simplistic Universe where every disaster is in fact the fault of the victim. For those that swallow the Secret and hit hard time it could be devastating as they would have no one to blame but their lack of blind faith in a New Age mantra.
The argument that Universe is somehow at the whim of positive thoughts may seem attractive but no amount of pseudo scientific jargon and half explained concepts of quantum physics offer a rational explanation of the mechanism. Instead we are asked to trust the program to supply all life’s answers down to your person relationships as if everything is just a puppet whose positive strings you can pull. Yet the philosophy will sit well with rabid individualists and self fulfillment obsessed individuals. The term shallow and self centered may be appropriate but as has been proved in the past this demographic have an insatiable appetite for self praise.
Meanwhile, is a tsunami or earthquake is a fit punishment for the wretched poor?
Anyway I have put some video that explain the system from different viewpoints:
The 20 Minute promo for The Secret
Why bother? But if you have patience, go ahead.
And here is a an easier way to understand it by Mark Day.
This is worth watching.
Like Voodoo the Universe can be controlled. Stick your positive pins here.
Oprah Winfrey endorses it so it must be as good as the rest of the thinks that she endorses. Positive Thinking, wealthy living, yo-yo dieting and Dr Phil. There is a video that promotes and explains it in the most delightful manner possible. It is ‘The Secret’ and it is selling books and DVD like no tomorrow.
The Secret, according the smartly edited video, is the law of attraction. Everything that happens to you is somehow related to what think. The universe is apparently one big areal that is turned it to your thoughts and desires. So when you are thinking and visualizing you are sending out powerful messages to the universe. The Universe will pick these messages and the Law of attraction comes into play. You get what you are visualizing.
The positive message that the video is selling is that if you think positive thoughts about what you want then through the laws of attraction you will be given what you want. The negative side of the equation is that negative thoughts attract the bad things that you want to avoid. So if you are worried about getting bills in the mail then that is what the Universe will give you because that is what you are attracting. However if you want a hot sports car then the Universe will give that to you.
Ask, Believe and Receive.
We Ask the universe for what we want,
Believe that we are going to get it,
And due to the laws of attraction the universe will ensure that somehow we get this,
So we have to be ready to Receive it as a gift from the universe.
In short this is type of positive thinking mentality that claims to be able to deliver material outcomes. You can get that red Ferrari you want, you can get that soul mate you are looking for, you can even live in that mansion on the hill so long as you Ask, Believe and are will to Receive it as a gift from the universe.
The power of positive thinking has been promoted for a very long time and this just happens to be a New Age addition to the fold. It offers the in escapable Laws of the Universe in an uncritical manner without any reasoning to believe them. It is entirely faith based that Law of Attraction deliver the outcomes that are claimed in the book. The question of evidence to support the claim is reduced to anecdotal and testimonials. Neither of which are conclusive in themselves.
The Secret is offering several concepts that can be seen a false hope and deceptions. The flip side of the argument is a Universe that rewards those that deserve good things and punishes those that do not. The rich are rich only because they know the secret and use it successfully to attract more money but the poor are so because they attract their own poverty. Never is it asked whether some of these rich people are such a position due to ill gotten gains. Nor is it asked whether the poor are so due to exploitation or factors that are beyond their control. Instead we have a simplistic Universe where every disaster is in fact the fault of the victim. For those that swallow the Secret and hit hard time it could be devastating as they would have no one to blame but their lack of blind faith in a New Age mantra.
The argument that Universe is somehow at the whim of positive thoughts may seem attractive but no amount of pseudo scientific jargon and half explained concepts of quantum physics offer a rational explanation of the mechanism. Instead we are asked to trust the program to supply all life’s answers down to your person relationships as if everything is just a puppet whose positive strings you can pull. Yet the philosophy will sit well with rabid individualists and self fulfillment obsessed individuals. The term shallow and self centered may be appropriate but as has been proved in the past this demographic have an insatiable appetite for self praise.
Meanwhile, is a tsunami or earthquake is a fit punishment for the wretched poor?
Anyway I have put some video that explain the system from different viewpoints:
The 20 Minute promo for The Secret
Why bother? But if you have patience, go ahead.
And here is a an easier way to understand it by Mark Day.
This is worth watching.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
I'd have more to say, but I need to go explain to the Universe why I want my rose bush to start sprouting $100. dollar bills.
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Thanks for your comments.
I will leave digs at Obama to aside for the moment as they do not relate to the subject of this post.
Yet Oprah is selling this as something great but it is not unheard of for successful celebs to try and justify their own success to themselves. Instead of considering that they just happened to be lucky or connected they need to be told that they deserve all of it. Just a twist on the 'Good things go to the Godly,' rhetoric.
Personally I think if people want to base their life on this they are going to be very disappointed and self centered. Suffering exists in this world and often it it is on those that least deserve it.
Comment by Kim L
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Comment by tlcorbin
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Raven
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
I AM SOOO HAPPY NOW!!!
I HAD NO IDEA THAT WAS ALL I HAD TO DO???!!!??
gee, isn't Oprah wonderful?
And I just know her supporting this new found
scienceumm ...whatever... does not well from a deep seated feeling of disquiet she may have, regarding the near billion dollar fortune she has amassed. No that is not her style!She has great discerning taste...umm..well...Dr. Phil..ummm...(psst..he isn't actually a REAL doctor by the way...ahem) and ok, so he exposes emotionally unbalanced people to public scrutiny and ridicule for money, as in his "reality Dr. Phil" house, but he also does it for all the right reasons...I am sure...not ratings....not money...no no no!
And Oprah, love her work...
Trouble is, I too could be all encompassing and universe hugging, if I had nearly a billion dollars!!
So, as an experiment, (Damo you will be my control-scientific monitor)..here goes...
Thank you universe for allowing me to WIN the NEXT LOTTO
Thank you universe for allowing me to meet a gorgeous hunk who falls madly in lust with my 52 year old sagging body!!!
....thanks universe...taaa muchly!!!
I'll let you know how my experiment goes next week...everyone now hold your collective breath!!
cheers
fog
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Thanks for your comments.
Mark Day cracked me on this subject. I have never heard of him before but I like his style. I will feature him in the future,
Raven
Pseudo thanks for your comments.
Your answer will be welcome.
Fog
Thanks for you colourful comments.
I am picturing a universe without spaghetti monsters.
Do you think that I will get my wish?
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
in some other dimension/time/place, I am sure your spaghetti monsters have already being created!!
However, it is the getting there that is the rub!!
cheers
fog
P.S. Oprah...your money is making you feel guilty...let me take a load off your mind..GIVE IT TO MEEEEeeee!!!!
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
The purpose of the Receive part of the mantra is to remove all guilt associated with you opulent and decadent life style. The universe gave me the hot affair with my secretary, I should receive it as a gift from the universe.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Thanks for your comments.
Sorry about the length of the video but I though that I should at least let people see what it is about first.
I have no problem with positive thinking.
Yet I do have a problem with concept that positive thinking is directly linked to material reward and punishment.
Some people might be discriminated against because they are hypersensitive then again they may discriminated against because people around them are mean.
Someone may be wealthy because of their positive attitude or they may be positive because they are a wealthy con-man.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
anyhoo,
as the unfortunate greed meister, (and allegedly generous friend) Rene Rivkin said,
"There are no honest billionaires."
Well...he should have included multi-millionaires, as that would have included himself, as it turns out!
cheers
fog
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Honest Millionaires?
What a novel concept.
I think we should try it one day.
Comment by John Curtis
Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts” who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!” All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.
The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act... this is the definition of a cult.
The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness” is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.
Please, let's all work together to stop the flock of "sheepeople" who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life's challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
now after quite some time of positive thinking and asking the universe for everything...here are the results;
MONEY...umm..I'm still penniless..
RELATIONSHIP...still single
BODY... still fat and ugly..
HUH!!!!???!! WOTZ WRONG??
What did I do wrong???
Ummm.. oh what if I sent in all my money and any worldly goods, would that make a difference???
Sometimes I wonder why I can;t come up withy a scheme like these dudes, but I always stumble when it comes to the integrity and honesty part...
Do they have courses in sociopathy?
Or do I just start my own religion and wing it?
cheers to lotto, a real "god" (with small "g") that I can trust in...
fog
P.S. no have not won yet...
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Thanks for your comment.
Definitely this comes across like false hope for the desperate and insecure.
I would not recommend it to my worst enemy.
SLB
Another hippy fad?
Fog
So having tried the system you sound disappointed.
This Secret stuff sucks big time.