So I watched that documentary...
The Secret begins by promising to uncover the secrets of success. Supposedly, all the really great people in history knew the secret... Newton, Einstein, Shakespear... it was hidden from the public, but now it has been released... and if you learn it, then you too can sculpt your own reality! So, are you on the edge of your seat already? Are you wondering what this amazing secret could be... the key to success, to making all your dreams come true?
Well... it's thinking. That's right, thinking... positively. Did you know, that whenever you think something, you're sending out a message to the universe? So, if you're always thinking "my life is shit" then it will be... however, if you employ the mechanism of denial, and say "my life is amazing!" then it will come back to you. It's called the law of attraction.
The idea itself isn't new, not at all. Praying, casting spells, affirmations - they're all the same principle. From a psychological point of view, you see, you're doing nothing but suggesting something to yourself so much that it sinks into your unconscious (ok, this is a theory, bear with me) - thus distorting your perception of reality so that you feel better, and increasing your confidence so that you actually go out there and change your life in the way that you want to.
I don't know if I'm generalising but... surely people know that if they want something good to happen in their lives, and I'm talking things like getting a new house, a new job or losing weight, they have to get up off their posteriors and actually do something about it. It's all very well and good sitting in your living room thinking "I wish I was thin", or, if you have watched The Secret, imagining really hard that you are thin - which reminds me of all the "Think Yourself Thin" ideas which are flying around. No offence, but I don't think that eating what I do, not exercising - but *imagining* that I am thin is going to do much more than possibly give me body dysmorphic disorder.
Methinks it works like this... focus on your goals, that way you are more likely to actually follow them, and notice things that you may not have done previously which will help you on your way. Yes, it MAY be due to some force in the universe, but good old self-motivation can't be ruled out either. Of course, being massively American, it concentrated mostly on material things... cars, bikes, houses... what if my dream is to be healthy, or for world peace? It is similar to that idea of cosmic ordering... ask the universe for something, and it shall find its way to you. However, The Secret goes against my usual example of "it's not as if you can just ask for a new bike and it will appear outside your door, though". But, I'm pretty sure that my lover came to me through cosmic ordering, especially considering that we only really noticed each other in "that" way due to him having a "random" urge to kiss me ;)...
The Secret also discusses the negative side, though. I find it kind of patronising to be told that everything bad in my life is due to me thinking/complaining about it, though. It's true (ish) that you can make yourself ill with worry, as hypochondriacs show, but some things are just out of our control. People claimed to have cured their cancer and stopped their bullying. Well... it's possible. There are some studies that show that people who are positive about their illness, and who use visualisations, have better prognosis than those who don't. But the message that The Secret basically gives here is "ignore your problems... dwelling on them will make them worse". Not the best thing to do when you're being hounded for money, or falling ill, really.
The Secret concludes with the platitude "you can be anything you want to be"... very nice, but surely this is going to encourage viewers to sit around daydreaming about things? I have visualised many a scenario, and they never actually happened... and I doubt that all these powerful, successful people got to where they are by thinking positively. Especially as many "geniuses" were known to suffer from things like manic depression.
It was a nice decoy, guys, but I'm not buying it.
References:
http://www.thesecret.tv
http://www.thinkyourselfthin.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Ordering
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=256#evidence
http://www.oflikeminds.com/GeniusMentalIllness.htm
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