The Secret: Creating One

The Secret: Creating One's Reality<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
By Russ Wise
 
Part One:
 
 
The Secret is the latest in a series of examples that are used by the enemy of Truth to try and nullify God's authoritative Word. A previous film that made its way into the minds of many unsuspecting viewers was What the Bleep!?, a 2004 film dealing with much of the same material as The Secret. There have been numerous books touted by Oprah Winfrey and others who sing the praises of the same world view.
 
Romans 12:1-2 offers us God's Truth in light of the emotional feelings encouraged in The Secret. Paul exhorts his brethren, I appeal to you therefore by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Note that Paul did not say that we should consult our feelings about the matter, but that our spiritual worship is to present our bodies as a sacrifice to the Lord. The message of The Secret is not selflessness, but selfishness and self indulgence.
 

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.1
 
The Secret has existed throughout the history of mankind. It had been discovered, coveted, suppressed, hidden, lost and recovered. It has been hunted down, stolen, and bought for vast sums of money. Now for the first time in history, The Secret is being revealed to the world . . .1 
 
Knowledge of The Secret will bring the knower great wealth, health, joy and for those who persist, their soul mate: everything you have ever wanted. The Secret reveals the perennial wisdom of the great teachers and avatars of history: The Law of Attraction. According to Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, that "secret" (The Law of Attraction) is simply the principle that like attracts like. This Law of Attraction means that when we think positive things or possibly bad things we, as a result, draw those things to ourselves. Another way of putting it is that when we think negatively we will become more negative because we have allowed the negative to be drawn to us.
 
Rhonda Byrne, a 55 year-old Australian, discovered The Secret during a time of great upheaval in her family. Her father, Roland, died in 2004, her business was near bankruptcy, and her relationships were indeed bankrupt. The stress of life was bearing down on her and she found herself in a place where she was receptive to most anything. That "anything" came in the form of a book given her by her daughter Hailey. The book, The Science of Getting Rich2, was the beginning of a transformation that would lead Rhonda down the corridors of fame and wealth.
 
Rhonda declared that "It lit a fire in me; it was exactly the opposite of the way I thought life worked." The rekindled fire within her set her on a quest that ultimately led her to devour much of the occultic literature of our day and then to sit at the feet of many of those "teachers" who deliver its message.
 
Her discovery of these "great truths" led her to employ her production company to produce a film that would bring this much-sought-after "truth" to the world. The result was The Secret now available in multiple languages.3 As of this writing the DVD (only available on-line) has sold over 1.1 million copies since its release last March (2006). The book was only written after the film had been widely received around the globe. It was released last November and has of this date sold over 1.2 million copies. The Bodhi Tree, a well known metaphysical bookshop in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />West Hollywood, reports that The Secret has been "its biggest selling item in the 30-year history of our store." Not bad results for a first time author!
 
If The Secret had a plot, it might go something like "Tony Robbins uncovers the Judas Gospel and learns to use the Force." 4 The film is regularly screened at new age venues including metaphysical group meetings, Unity Churches, and the homes of believers. The Secret was well-received on Oprah5 and it has been touted on Larry King Live as well as similar shows. The prominent discussion of The Secret in the media has given the film major cultural traction.
 
A TIME article by Jeffrey Ressner states that The Secret is the mixing of ancient philosophy found in the conspiratorial escapades of The DaVinci Code and the psychic science (read fiction) of the cult hit What the Bleep Do We Know!?6
 
According to the author and creator, Rhonda Byrne, The Secret is "a philosophy that literally can change your life and help you take control of your destiny!" 7 Now! If true, that would be like winning the lottery. Byrne continues, if you follow its philosophy, you can create the life you want . . . Well, then; I'll take a cool million and a nice holiday! But seriously, our new best friend, the one who is going to help us get rich, confides in us that The Law of Attraction is "the most powerful law in the universe," and that it is working all the time. "What we do is we attract into our lives the things we want, and that is based on what we're thinking and feeling." She says that when we engage our feelings it becomes especially potent. Our emotions super-charge the outcomes we desire! She continues, It is based on this principle that we are actually creating our own circumstances by the very choices we make in life.8 
 
In an interview with Quantumtouch, Julie, the interviewer, makes a point regarding the global impact of the film. Rhonda responds by saying that The Secret is contained in all the ancient wisdom, no matter what philosophy. It is buried within every one.9 On the surface this statement sounds quite innocent, but her actual meaning goes much deeper. The idea that this "wisdom is buried within every one" is an indicator that the divine truth of this belief is our true nature.
 
One of the Master Teachers of The Secret, John Demartini, expounds by saying, We have a magnificent inner calling, vision, mission, power inside us that we are not honoring and harnessing. This movie brings it to the forefront that we can [harness that power].10The premise of this idea is that "we all have a divine essence within us, and we just need to get in touch with it. In other words, as panentheists11 teach, God is in all of creation, including all human beings, and once a person becomes aware of this, there are no limits to what he can achieve."12 
 
            We will continue our examination of the unbiblical teachings found in The Secret in part two
 
 
Endnotes:
1.      http://www.thesecret.tv/home-synopsis.html
2.      Wattles, Wallace, The Science of Getting Rich, 1910. For a complete manuscript see: (First recommendation). http://www.universeofpower.com/support-files/ScienceOfGettingRich.pdf http://blog.marcaccetta.com/blog/files/the_science_of_getting_rich.pdf
3.      Language translations: German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Chinese.
4.      Karin Klein, Self Help Gone Nutty, LA Times, Feb. 13, 2007 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-klein13feb13,0,3953992.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
5.      One Week Later: The Reaction to "The Secret"Total Messages: 5343, New Messages This Week: 3706 One week later…the reaction to The Secret! Your emails poured in and Oprah.com went off the charts! The secret to making more money, losing weight, falling in love, landing your dream job…and you want more! The questions, the successes and the lives changed. Stories you have to hear! A follow-up to the show everybody is talking about! Talk about this show. http://boards.oprah.com/WebX?13@@.f141c77!DYNID=UXKOQHYRYEZIPLARAZ3BVQQ
6.      What the Bleep!?, http://www.whatthebleep.com/whatthebleep/  The movie is greatly influenced by the teachings of J. Z. Knight (Ramtha). The three producers of the film were involved with The Ramtha School of Enlightenment and Ms. Knight had creative control over the film. In reality the film was nothing more than an infomercial for Ms. Knight and her school. http://www.ramtha.com/default.asp
7.      The Secret comes to Oprah, 2/8/2007, http://blog.marcaccetta.com/blog/2007/02/the_secret_come.html#more 
8.      Ibid.
9.      www.Quantumtouch.groupee.net
10. www.newsobserver.com/105/story/538825.html
11. This universal arrangement is not pantheism (all is God), but panentheism, (God in all things and beings) a term devised by Karl C. F. Krause (1781-1832) to describe his thought. It is best known for its use by Charles Hartshorne and recently by Matthew Fox. Panentheism says that all is in God, somewhat as if God were the ocean and we were fish. If one considers what is in God's body to be part of God, then we can say that God is all there is and then some. The universe is God's body, but God's awareness or personality is greater than the sum of all the parts of the universe. All the parts have some degree of freedom in co-creating with God. At the start of its momentary career as a subject, an experience is God--as the divine initial aim. As the experience carries on its choosing process, it is a freely aiming reality that is not strictly God, since it departs from God's purpose to some degree. Yet everything is within God. http://www.websyte.com/alan/pan.htm
12. www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com Napoleon Hill made the statement, "Whatever your mind can conceive and can believe, it can achieve" popular in his book Think and Grow Rich.

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