My Final 'Secret' post, I swear

I have a confession to make. For three evenings I have made posts about this 'The Secret' crap. Tonights post makes the fourth in a row and, I promise (I hope) will be the last.

My confession is that for the first two posts I had never actually even seen 'The Secret' movie. I had only read online commentary about it and, most disconcerting, the Oprah fan-girls who were jumping up and down about how 'true it was' and 'how it would change their life'. I figured that was enough for me to pass comment.

Last night I watched the first twenty minutes online on Google video and my assessment was largely confirmed. However, today, I received my copy of the full video in the mail.

Yes, I actually paid about $26 to buy this DVD. I bought it because I wanted to know just what was going out into popular culture. I watched it this evening and I am simply appalled.

I would be thrilled if 'The Secret' was only half as bad as my first post had indicated. In my first rant I was annoyed at the idea that 'The Secret' would suggest that secret societies had kept this so-called secret from the general masses.

That was simply a mistake on my part. The video says no such thing. It doesn't care at all about proving anything it states from frame one to the last.

It is the most disgusting example of spiritual corruption I have ever witnessed in my life. Even Aleister Crowley had more self respect than the people marketing this piece of filth.

The only 'secret' behind 'the secret' is that the people who produced this disgusting material have set out with a very clear plan to 'visualize' themselves great wealth by duping the masses.

Personally, I don't regret giving them $26 since I prefer to be informed about how the general public is forming their belief systems.

One of the most offensive segments is when they repeatedly (and I mean *repeatedly*) show a man buried in debt over and over again. According to them, the only reason he is in debt is because he uses the 'law of attraction' to attract debt into this life. And, the only way to get out of debt, is to visualize, write, imagine, that suddently, magically, checks start showing up in the mail.

The *only* reason he has debt is because he 'thinks' about debt and the only way to get out of debt it to 'think' about no longer being in debt.

Apparently, he is not in debt because he spent more money than he takes in. Apparently, the solution to his debt problem does not involve spending less money than he earns. All he has to do is 'imagine' that the debt will dissappaer and wish upon the Genie of the Universe and it will go away.

The film goes to great lengths literally, and I mean absolutely literally, depicting the Universe as a Genie in a bottle that grants wishes! I kid you not.

No action is required. No planning is necessary. Nothing must happen on your part other than wishing.

And, who are these 'experts' that 'The Secret' uses as examples of the great success of this method? Why, they are all scam artists who, themselves, wrote self-help books and made a bunch of money.

This is the most flagrant, immoral, materialistic, representation of the laws of the Universe that I have ever seen in my life. It makes Scientology look like the most respectable religion on the planet by comparison.

It has everything in it but somone advertising free Ginsu-Knives with every positive wish emailed to the Universe.

They have gotten it so wrong that it is frightening to contemplate that this video and DVD is gaining mainstream acceptance.

Is positive thinking helpful? Absolutely yes. However, only when followed up with positive action. Want to get out of debt? Ok, then start visualizing that you are out of debt. Start imagining how you will change your behavior to cause that change. Analyze why it happened in the first place, without judgement, because that is in the past and there is nothing you can do about. Think about what you can, and will, do in the future to both eradicate debt and make it go away.

In one extended segment in the film they show a pathetic, shallow, ignorant, man sitting in his easy chair pretending to gear shift a sports car while making 'vroom-vroom' sounds. According to 'The Secret' THIS IS THE ONLY THING HE HAS TO DO TO MAKE A SPORTS CAR SHOW UP IN HIS DRIVEWAY!!!!

Now, let me speak to this point specifically. In my life time I have owned numerous sports cars. I have owned six RX-7s, including two twin-turbo models, one ridiculously souped up and tricked out. It did zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds and had a top speed of 165 mph. I made sure it could do both. I owned a Ferrari 308 GTSI that I put over 20,000 miles on it a single year. I owned an Alfa Romeo and a number of other sports cars including two BMWs.

Now, that would make me somewhat of an expert at 'visualizing' a sports car. I didn't sit in my easy chair and go vroom vroom however. I did spend a lot of time 'thinking' about my desire for such a sports car. I did visualize the experience of driving it and how it would make me feel.

BUT I NEVER EXPECTED IT TO SHOW UP BY MAGICK!

Instead, I worked my ass off. I used that desire as a motivation for me to work hard, make a lot of money, and purchase the thing I wanted.

Today, I no longer have any intense desire for any material thing. I still enjoy buying things, like a new electronic gizmo from time to time, but I feel like I have gotten the sports car thing out of my system.

About 10 years ago I became passionate about having a bigger and better home. I hired an architect and designed my own perfect and ideal home. I bought two acres in Lake Saint Louis right next to a golf course. I built a 4800 square foot home with a three story glass atrium. The house was designed with one purpose in mind, and that was to entertain a huge number of people. The rest of the time it was mostly unused space.

I held a house warming where I invited many friends and it was a grand evening. I even purchased over $1,500 of my favorite champagne for this one party and flew my personal composer Rob Wallace in to perform. My good friend John Miles drove his own Ferrari all of the way from Austin Texas just to attend this event.

Six months later I lost my contract and fell into a spiral of depression. I lost my home. I sold my Ferrari. I had to take a 'regular' job after having been self-employed for years, and was generally quite unhappy. My wife and I bought a modest home that cost a tiny fraction of the incredible mansion we had spent two years designing and celebrating.

This ended up being a serious wake up call. Ten years later, I have no desire in any way, shape, or form to get a bigger or better house, a bigger or better sports car, or any other material thing.

This is the true lesson of 'the secret'. That spiritual happiness does not come from material goods.

Right Worshipful Brother Benjamin Franklin has much to say on these topics. Here is a link to a list of his quotes.

To me, none rings more true than this.

"There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means - either may do - the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier." Benjamin Franklin

And here are a few others in the same theme:

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more
he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one." Benjamin Franklin

"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money." Benjamin Franklin

"Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor." Benjamin Franklin

"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone." Benjamin Franklin

In closing, I am absolutely appalled by the fact that Oprah Winfrey is promoting this deeply flawed and immoral philosophy into popular culture.

Maybe I'm asking too much of a woman who measures personal success by material gain. I can only hope and pray that at some point she sees the light on this topic.

Brother John