10 August 2007

 

Author Thom Rutledge has some good thoughts on The Secret:

"I have no beef with the power of, and importance of, positive thinking, and
those of you who know me, know that there is no greater advocate for
accepting full responsibility for ourselves than I. But to teach that we
humans have complete control of everything that happens to us is not only
ludicrous, it is irresponsible. The very idea of it negates the essence of
our humanity (in favour of divinity). Unlike the authors of The Secret, I
certainly don't claim to know how the universe works, but the idea that our
challenge is to greet each day with courage in our hearts and the serenity
prayer in our pockets makes much more sense to me than a universe that is
here simply to grant our every wish."

Take a look at Thom's web site The Antidote to The Secret:

David Niven Miller

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18 August 2006

A personal critique of the movie The Secret (by Elijah David)


Hi dear friends,

I have just watched a movie called The Secret that has been doing the rounds in the Byron Shire. I had very mixed feelings and thoughts about this movie, and was surprised by the apparent approval of many people in the audience. This movie has a hard sell approach to the power of positive thinking and visualisation to get what some people appear to want above all else: material success. This mode of thinking is nothing new, it has been around since early in the 20th century and has been adopted in some New Age circles. Having sold the American dream for over an hour, the last section of the movie appeared to give a more cursory glance at the principles of multi-dimensionality and the contemporary view that we live in an atrophic Universe. The challenge to this tenet of atrophy is that we do in fact live in a universe of unbridled abundance, if only we can find the key to tapping into the unlimited energies that inhabit it. In the movie, this seems to be used as a justification for crass materialism epitomised by the yearning of the protagonists to own US$ 4 million mansions and other objects of material desire.

Now, I have nothing against material wealth per se, or the desire for success. Nor do I argue with some of the other tenets of this film such as our ability to create our own reality by empowering ourselves. The fact that many of the movie’s assumptions are supported by appropriate quotes from historically famous people does not impress me personally. Some of the many things that people of notoriety say may be truths in themselves, but whether those people actually walked their own talk, and whether their personal lives were an example to follow is questionable. What I am saying here is that individuals personal feelings of disempowerment often cause them to place famous or materially successful people above themselves. It has become almost fashionable to point to the financial restraints of living in a rural area such as the Byron Shire (even with its tourist infrastructure) as an example of why the spirituality of the inhabitants somehow lead to poverty consciousness. There may be some truth in this, but there are many deep benefits derived form putting lifestyle ahead of labour.

Maybe a collective depression about the state of the world all around us is leading us to question our spirituality. If this is the only thing to come out from the wash of this so called “Secret”, then it is indeed a good start. However, I must take deep exception to one scene in the film which is repeated several times. It shows a list of emotions with the positive ones highlighted at the top, and the negative ones in the shadows at the bottom. The stated inference is that our feeling states are a barometer for our well-being, and that we’d better reframe our thoughts for a better reality if we display these so-called negative emotions. I suggest that this is a recipe for yet more suppression of those very aspects of ourselves that we most need to look into if we are going to uncover the lost, abandoned and separated parts of us so that we can recover our inner passion and personal power.

All I can say is: be careful. Do not surrender your inner diligence to do the real work of knowing your self more deeply in favour of bandaid solutions backed by American propaganda. I do not refer here to the American people, but to those elements of the New Age and the Religious Right who are charging headlong towards a New Jerusalem while carrying a deeply hidden state of denial. The light addicted see their own darkness as a dim repository for evil feelings, but their inner denial serves to make them project all their unexpressed rage onto the world around them. Whether it is the returning Messiah or the return of Christ consciousness makes no difference to their judgement that a paradigm shift into a New World order must be based on the survival of the (self) Chosen Ones. Perhaps this is too big a concept to tie to this movie, but please be prepared to transit the changes that challenge humanity in a state of real compassion. Remember to look inside before you set your goals, and if you can own even the hidden aspects of passion, then you are traversing the bridge into a the living reality of a more compassionate age where you may be proud of all that you are,
With Love
Elijah David

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There is no secret.

Most of you will have seen this type of
nonsense before. Reject it. Trust your deepest self -
want for nothing - do not allow this drivel to alienate
you from the authentic Self that you are.

Your urges are from the punishing memory of personal pain.
You cannot overcome past deprivation by applying its own
logic. Going beyond personal limitations is to discover
the truly holy - not to be had so cheaply.

There is no death where I am.

thus

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