Is “The Secret” a Secret?
Well, it's not now anyway…
With over 35 million copies of the book sold worldwide (as of 2020) any claim to ‘secrecy’ must be called into question.
“The Secret’s” not-so-secret website happily proclaims that
“Rhonda Byrne’s discovery of The Secret began with a glimpse of the truth through a 100-year-old book. She went back through the centuries, tracing and uncovering a common truth that lay at the core of the most powerful philosophies, teachings and religions in the world.”
If it is maintained, you had access to ‘the secret’ then you would have the ‘knowledge of how to create – intentionally and effortlessly – a joyful life.”
Rhonda Byrne was an Australian television presenter who is said to be behind such groundbreaking TV as World’s Greatest Commercials and Sensing Murder!
In 2004 she suffered a series of emotional challenges which led to a ‘breakdown’.
She read a copy of The Science of Getting Rich during this period. This book, published in 1910 was written by Wallace Wattles.
In this book, Wattles mentioned the cornerstone of what later became The Secret – people's thoughts are like magnets: the bad thoughts create bad situations; good thoughts create prosperity.
Rhonda then spent the next two and a half weeks tracing Wattles's ideas; “discovering” that the roots “lay in 3000BC”… and of course, being a television producer she “had to make a TV show about it”.
So, let’s just stop there.
A two-and-a-half week (17.5 days??) piece of research into 5000 years of philosophy, religious thinking and history.
That’s some going!
Wattles, the guy who kickstarted Byrne’s journey, was a New Thought writer and advocate.
At the centre of the New Thought movement were the key ideas of positive thinking, the law of attraction, healing, life force, creative visualisation and personal power.
All of these ideas will be familiar to modern New Age followers.
William James wrote that New Thought is “a deliberately optimistic scheme of life, with both a speculative and practical side” and gave his title to this set of philosophies calling it the “Mind-Cure movement”.
It seems that New Thought, which directly gave rise to “The Secret” was based upon a variety of sources which included the Gospels, the idea of Transcendentalism, spiritism and elements of Hinduism.
The chief tenets of New Thought are an acceptance that:
That the Infinite Intelligence or God is omnipotent and omnipresent
Spirit is the ultimate reality
True human self-hood is divine
Divinely attuned thought is a positive force for good
All diseases are mental in origin
Right thinking has a healing effect
So in some ways, Byrne was right that aspects of ‘The Secrets” philosophy have ancient roots – or at least pre 1860.
What about her claims that many famous and successful ‘people’ had access to this ‘ancient’ knowledge?
Well, there is no real way to verify this unless of course, she is simply referring to the fact that some of these people adhered to particular tenets or philosophies which can be, creatively, linked to “The Secret”.
This kind of link is a real no-brainer as with a bit of thought we could find a way of linking the world's most influential (famous and infamous) characters to some aspect of a particular philosophy and or ‘tradition’.
Certainly, those folks who have been said to be associated with any form of Spiritualist, New Thought, Transcendentalist, Deist, Dualist philosophy would fit the bill.
Where Rhonda Byrne did an excellent job in the marketing of The Secret. Her background in television helped her here.
I can understand how, from her perspective, suffering from an emotional breakdown and being given access to ideas contained within the pages of an old self-help book which helped her through a tough time would be something worth celebrating. Indeed there is more than a shred of psychological support for aspects of the ‘mind cure’ philosophy embedded within Wattles writings.
But
“The Secret” and its version of the “Law of Attraction” have been packaged in such a way as to hide the real value of the methods within a collection of pseudo-scientific hyperbole.
Rhonda Byrne makes some very silly statements in The Secret which are perhaps intended to sell her brand of ‘new thought’ rather than empower individuals to use the techniques.
The book (and film) has spawned its dogma and its devotees. In its way becoming a ‘cult-like’ movement.
Secretly Stupid Quotations
“Every thought has a frequency. Thoughts send out magnetic energy”
How are the words ‘frequency’ and ‘magnetic’ being used here?
How are these ‘magnetic thoughts’ communicating with the universe – can we measure them?
"I never studied science or physics at school, and yet when I read complex books on quantum physics I understood them perfectly because I wanted to understand them."
REALLY! And just what part of quantum mechanics is being understood here other than the superficial popularised (mis) conceptions every New Age thinker seems to use to justify SCIENTIFICALLY (!!) claims of MACRO effects in what is a discussion of MICRO reality?
“In fact, parts of our body are literally replaced every day. Other parts take a few months, other parts a couple of years. But within a few years we each have a brand new physical body.”
UMMM…. Again what are we talking about is perhaps new cell growth to replace old cells. This constant renewal is about repair.
The Secret seems to suggest that we are growing “new parts”
– hearts, lungs, kidneys. I wonder if I desired a third arm or second head if the law of attraction would assist my body in generating that?
Oh, but hang on The Secret does tell me...
“It's OK that thoughts don't manifest into reality immediately (if we saw a picture of an elephant and it instantly appeared, that would be too soon)”
That’s good 'cause I just drifted into a daydream and was thinking about a Vogon Constructor Fleet (thank you Douglas Adams).
Of the most unpalatable ideas in The Secret, when taken to its logical conclusion, are the suggestions that…
"Imperfect thoughts are the cause of all humanity's ills, including disease, poverty, and unhappiness."
“EVERYTHING in your life you have attracted .. accept that fact .. it's true.”
So just how distasteful can we be here…
Rape victims asked for it?
Bystanders (collateral damage) in a military (para-military) action deserved to be blown-up?
Children want to be abused?
This ‘blame the victim’ mentality is nasty.
On the one hand, it implies that devotees of The Secret are ‘better’ than others because they don’t attract such terrible things
AND
If you fall victim to something it is because you were not true to the methods in ‘The Secret’.
Here we are back into that cult (religious) issue of ‘accept salvation and be healed’ and when you have not been healed either “it was because you didn’t really accept” or “because your suffering is part of a larger divine plan – deal with it”
The Secret Works!!
Does it?
It has for Rhonda Byrne with earnings of $300 million internationally/
But for lesser mortals….
Well, many people offer anecdotal evidence of ‘how’ adhering to techniques in "The Secret" actually transformed their lives.
With so many readers of the book, we can expect that a number of them would see some improvement in their circumstances just by chance alone. A one-in-a-million chance is still a one-in-a-million!
People who read the book and act on its advice are possibly more likely to be actively seeking ways out of their current situation.
Other factors are also in play here.
Confirmation Bias – we are more likely to report, remember and share experiences which confirm our beliefs or expectations.
False Attribution – which practice, technique or intervention produced the change? When people are “stuck” or in “pain” and not in controlled situations they will try numerous ‘solutions’ probably at the ‘same time’. It is easy to attribute any change to the idea that is the most psychologically or emotionally appealing (one that perhaps is supported by an existing belief system).
Cause-Effect-Correlations – as above, but when adherents to any system are presented with evidence that claims a causal relationship between, say, positive thinking and cancer cures, the actual evidence for the causal relationships get lost within the rhetoric.
Cherry Picking – those with a vested interest in a system, be that a financial, personal emotional investment, will generally only pick the evidence that supports their investment. That not only applies to the publisher, the author and the folks who now earn a living from "The Secret", but also to the person who has spent their money and told all of their friends that they have been ‘given the secret’.
“The Secret” – from a Rational Mystic’s perspective
You may well have surmised that I have some ‘concerns’ about the system as described by Rhonda Byrne.
I feel that this is a great opportunity to get to grips with the ‘mystical attitude’ a Rational Mystic can have.
Let’s start with a small diversion into the idea of ritual.
Mystical and Spiritual systems have their unique rituals. These rituals are replete with behaviours, language and symbols that are specific to each.
To some practitioners, the words, actions and icons may well have ‘power’ in and of themselves, but to many, there will be the honest understanding that these things are ‘tools’ to create ‘space’ and ‘mindset’ within which the ritual can be conducted.
Engaging in a ‘magical act’ takes preparation, study, thought and real personal sacrifice. These sacrifices (in terms of time, devotion, focus and commitment) are all about expressing the ‘inner intent’ of the practitioner symbolically in the ‘outer world’.
Magic (in the occult sense), can be defined as the ‘art of bringing about change in accordance with will’. By this definition then the very act of living with purpose and intention is a ‘magical act’.
All rituals are about intention, focus and the use of ‘symbols’ to engage both the conscious and unconscious mind in obtaining a desired outcome.
Over time, and particularly with the more dogmatic of spiritual systems, this simple fact has been lost.
Words, icons, and imagery are given an ‘external power’ of their own rather than being a representation of a set of beliefs, ideologies and philosophies.
In a Psychological sense all ritualistic artefacts, icons, words and gestures are used to trigger behaviour and emotional associations related to personal realities - which include memories, experiences, beliefs, values and attitudes.
Now of course certain items used within a ritual context do have a ‘power of their own’.
Psychoactive herbs are a particular example and if we consider the framework in which they are often used in ceremonies we find their purpose is to encourage the suspension of rational thought to access other states of consciousness. Specifically states of consciousness in which creating mythic allegory through symbolic language, metaphor and creative-free association becomes easier.
There is a wealth of neurological and psychological research showing a connection between perception, cognitive function, emotion and belief. Such research suggests that rituals do create changes in perceptual and emotional states within the individual.
Goethe wrote:
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it now. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
He also maintained that once a course of action has been fully committed to ‘the Universe itself would conspire to make things happen”.
Rather than needing to believe that the Universe is being ‘bent’ to an individual's desire, perhaps Goethe can be thought of as suggesting that intent and commitment (through the use of ritual) cause the mind to focus personal perception in such a way as to see, hear, feel and think about opportunities in a more lateral, open way.
Professor Richard Wiseman has written widely on the psychological principles involved here. See his books “The Luck Factor” and “Did You Spot the Gorilla?”
His conclusions about the effects of attitude on behaviour, focus of attention (perception) and belief are well worthy of your time and your consideration.
So, back to The Secret.
At its core, it is simply suggesting that by thinking positively we can create (bring into being) the things we want in our lives (The Law of Attraction).
The book contains several suggestions as to how to keep your focus on your true intentions (Rituals, Affirmations, Vision Boards and so forth). All of these things are no more mystical or secret than the passing of night into day.
I chose that simile carefully.
In ancient times the passage of the sun across the sky was a mystical and magical thing. The process was not understood and so mythologies were built around the observations – and rituals were born.
Today we have a better understanding of some of the processes involved in this daily wonder and we have better questions to ask because of what we have learned.
Far too many mystical, New Thought or New Age practitioners are living in the darkness and myth of the ancients. I have met some who have forgotten their basic science lessons in school – long live the spaghetti monster!
So along comes "The Secret" which hides its very sound psychological advice in a cloud of pseudo-mysticism and pseudo-science.
It builds dogma around personal practices which do have value and generates some of the most potentially obscene ‘victim bashing’ propaganda currently in print.
As mentioned above there are so many inconsistencies within what Byrne proposes that common sense really should prevail
Now I can almost hear some readers proclaiming that I promised a ‘mystics’ view of "The Secret" and all they’ve read is stuff about psychology.
Well, dear reader, that is exactly the point I want to make about Rational Mysticism – or my flavour of it anyway.
The rationalist uses ‘daytime’ language – the language of science, logic, thought, and questions whilst the mystic uses ‘nighttime’ language – the language of metaphor, myth and symbolism.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
It may surprise some folks that the path of the occult magician and that of the scientist are not that dissimilar!
Modern practitioners of ‘Magick’ realise the symbolic nature of the words ideas and symbols they use. They are perfectly at ease with the psychological, neurological and scientific worldview and recognise the trappings of their practice as being part and parcel of an emotional, allegorical and subjective experience. A psychodrama if you like.
Modern Magickians, who often distance themselves from much of the New Age Movement, are true to Renaissance ideals of exploration of arts, sciences and philosophy.
They will explore the real significance of thought and the power of intent within a magical, psychological, physical and philosophical framework.
Amongst its many flaws, "The Secret" does seem to trivialise the real nature and purpose of ‘magic’.
It can be read and certainly has been understood, as a quick and easy way to ‘fix’ your life. The real meat and value of the journey of self-discovery has become Disney-fied with more than a sprinkle or two of fairy dust.
Rhonda Byrne and her ‘appointed’ teachers and trainers could be seen as acting as some kind of priesthood perpetuating “The Way of the Secret”. They claim new devotees, collecting anecdotes and counting the cash.
In ancient mystery traditions “secrets” were passed from Master to Student in what could be considered a holistic way. It was a relationship, a synergy and at its core was the real notion that the student was ‘greater’ than the ‘teacher’.
In learning the master helps the student become knowledgeable
In teaching the student helps the master become wise.
This two-way process has been lost to many New Age gurus, where the exchange of learning and understanding has been seen as a transfer of wisdom from ‘Master’ to ‘Client’ matched by a transfer of cash from “Client” to “Master’s Franchise”.
The Rational Mystic view of "The Secret" then is that our minds do create personal realities (it’s called Radical Constructivism); that intention creates emotional commitment, which in turn can affect perception and behaviour; which in turn creates a personal attitude which may encourage greater risk-taking; moving in different circles and ‘seeing’ new opportunities.
The ‘black box’ processing that creates your reality is the mystery here.
Psychology and Neurology are giving us new insights about this every few months or so.
There is no need to consider the duality of mind and spirit -
consciousness and unconsciousness are perhaps an emergent property of neurology which can be shaped by both rational and mystical thought.
The rationalist accepts the science the mystic explores the abstract.
Together both approaches enable a balanced, creative and exploratory approach to the subjective nature of personal experience.
Too much rigidity and the scientist ceases to be a scientist. Too much “woo woo” and the mystic invalidates learning and becomes closed to true personal learning.
Alan /|\
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