You know..The Secret? My friend asked me this while visiting with her recently. I was miffed. Not sure if I do. What is it? Have you read the book? What book? The Secret? Okay, no I can't say I did. But I will. Her asking this question in the way she did had me curious. I went to the store and bought the book-on a mission to find out "the secret."
Well, getting ahold of this book is not so easy. It is a very sought after book. My local book store told me it was sold out in our area and he would not get it for two weeks. Now you must know, there is a book called The Secret, by Michael Berg. This is different from the book my friend was referencing, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. And a book very much like Rhonda's book, if you like the philosophy is The Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier. But back to the Rhonda's secret. Not able to purchase the book on my own, I read my friend's book. The beauty of this book is it is a short and easy read. I finished it the night I started.
I don't know if any of you out there have done the seminar series offered by Landmark Education Company. I have done three, ending with Self Expression and Leadership. Taking on these seminars is truly life altering. Upon reading The Secret, I found most of the assertions in this book to closely follow everything we learned in Landmark. I told my friend how reading the book you get 20% of what you can get from learning this stuff-hands on. Taking on the seminars, and the workshops within...life altering. Cannot compare the two. After I took on Landmark, several of my friends followed. They all were blown away by how it effected them in their daily lives across the board. It was unanimous. How Landmark and The Secret relate, is that they make it out that anything is possible in your life, you just need to declare it to be so. The empowerment comes from the declaration in itself. Both Landmark and Rhonda point out how not to speak the negative side of the issue because you breath life into it, and therefore your reality. If you don't get this...get the book. You will totally understand.
I remember doing Landmark and finding the course mind altering. Ialso remember leaving for work the following Monday and looking around at the rest of the world like I indeed had a secret. Coming out of the seminar is like having blinders removed. All these filters in life have been taken away and the light in overpowering at first. You really need to start by taking baby steps. I always say, if you want a life time experience you have to do this course. One weekend will alter you forever-it is quite a ride. And upon reading this book, I felt Rhonda must have had a similar experience and had attended the forum herself. Who knows. Her book has the language and many distinctions that Landmark offers. It is a great book to read along with doing the Forum (Landmark). If you pick up this book, you will feel an enormous empowerment by the end- Like you are "unstoppable". That is why I like the book. However, I can't say I'm sold on it.
In Rhonda's book, it has this over the top idea if you declare what you want, the universe will provide it for you. I have always felt with religion, people who relied on prayer alone, and were not in action for themselves to make a difference, were in danger of not getting what they desired badly or needed, setting themselves up for a big fall. Now I know a lot of ordinary people have made amazing things happen on this planet, but I find it hard to believe it was on a wish or a prayer. I am sure it was by hard work. Even if they found it by accident..they were in action to have something amazing happen. Blame my Protestant upbringing, but I believe only through hard work do we succeed in life. The idea of the guy sitting in his chair and declaring he will have a million dollars by years end and then "Puff" it happens? Sorry guys...I just don't believe it. And I find it dangerous to share this belief with others.
Don't get me wrong, I think declaring something is quite empowering. I believe we should all have dreams. Just got back from Disney...Talk about a dream. It all starts with a dream. There is power in the declaration of the dream. By telling someone what your declaration is and possibly having them hold you accountable, I believe you can make great things happen. The dream is the gas and the actions are the vehicle that gets you there. The declaration means nothing without the action. I won't be sitting on my couch waiting for a million to show up on my lap. Possibly Rhonda would be all over me for this. Call me pessimistic etc... This is my humble opinion. Okay, I am sounding hard on her. You know, Kudos to her in sharing that positive thinking gets you things. I do believe hope inspires us. It is a driving force. I believe confidence makes us not give up. These things along with action are truly powerful beyond belief. To sell positive thinking...I am all over that.
For the loyal followers of the secret, check out this website: The Secret
Landmark offered something that was easier for me to digest- Commitment verses attachment. That distinction is, we should be committed to what we want in life...it puts us in action. But don't be attached to where the journey takes us. We may not get the result we intended. In some cases our result will be far greater. It is the action that is empowering. And if we don't get what we want, the fall should not be so painful. Okay, a bit Taoist here.
There are some critics of Landmark as well. They feel it is cultish. I don't get hung up on this as I think many things in life are cultish- for instance...professional sports, taking on your own sport five days a week, yoga, you name it. How passionate you are in a certain arena ...can come across cultish. When people have their eyes opened in such a way that they feel a lifetime ball and chain removed from them, it makes them pretty high for a while. I have to tell you, I have a friend who read this book, and she is very empowered by the teachings. And she feels a connection to the group that read the book. Even the book has been life altering for people. They will stand there asking you...Do you know the secret...if yes, you are a part of the priviledged few.
Back to my critique on the book, Rhonda does bring up "action" in her book, but I found this section a bit weak. She needed to expound further. Her idea of being able to declare money in your life and the universe bringing it to you, or her weight loss of 140ish down to 116, because she declared it, and it just happened...suspicious to say the least. But don't just take my opinion. Go out and read this book. It is a very popular book right now. Get "In the know". If you have not done Landmark or a similar program, the language and philosophy in this book can be quite empowering for you. For some they will boil it down to simple Karma. Read it..you decide.
By the way I did not tell you "the secret," per say. You will have to pick up the book to find out what it is. Did not want to ruin it for you.
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