2007-03-27 20:29:57 · 3 answers · asked by tnlstn 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The essence of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret is the law of attraction. According to Byrne and her twenty-nine co-contributors, all things in the universe (which is always capitalized and usually synonymous for "God" in the book) vibrate on a particular frequency. When a person thinks in harmony with the frequency of something, that person attracts it to themselves. If a person thinks about wealth, that person will receive wealth. If a person thinks instead about their debt, the person will receive more debt. You attract what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny.
The law of attraction is restated by Byrne in various ways:
- "Nothing [good or bad] can come into your experience unless you summon it through persistent thoughts" (p. 28).
- "Your thoughts are the primary cause of everything" (p. 33).
- "Your current reality or your current life is a result of the thoughts you have been thinking" (p. 71).
Other quotes:
- “You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet" (p. 164).
- "The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret" (p. 183). [Here the author thinks all of this should be said to the person in the mirror. It is the heresy of heresies. Her big "Secret" is nothing less than Satan's original lie in the Garden of Eden, "You will be like God" (Genesis 3:5).]
- "no one will stand in judgment of [your life], now or ever" (p. 177).
The author absolutely promises: "There isn't a single thing that you cannot do with this knowledge.... The Secret can give you whatever you want" (p. xi). By it "you will come to know how you can have, be, or do anything you want" (p. xii).
The Secret is nothing more than heretical so-called Name It-Claim It, Positive-Confession, Prosperity Theology (minus God and the Bible), built on a metaphysical foundation of New Age self-deification. All with an important twist: your thoughts can bring anything into your life because you are god.
2007-03-27 21:24:48 · answer #1 · answered by Ask Mr. Religion 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People have been discovering this "secret", which of course, is no secret, for ages. It has always been: The Secret of The Ages, (a collection of books written many years ago); The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy; Think and Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill...there are many others...these books and the teachings that often come with them, are basically the principles of metaphysics. I think The Secret is another such "discovery".
This is not to discount it (The Secret). The power of mind is quite real. I just mean that every few years, people always find these principles, and speak of them as if the are "new".
2007-03-28 07:36:16 · answer #2 · answered by Sky in the Grass 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are what you believe you are. You gain what you believe you can or cannot. The Law of attraction is about asking for what you desire and as the bible says...ask and ye shall receive. If you do not ask how can you hope to achieve.
2007-03-28 04:41:34 · answer #3 · answered by majik 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋