"The Secret." Is the law of attraction real or only real in your head?

[DeaconTheVillain]

A few weeks ago, I saw a film called "The Secret"

Offical secret website

http://thesecret.tv/

Taken from IMDB:

The Secret is a feature length movie presentation which reveals The Great Secret of the universe. It has been passed throughout the ages, traveling through centuries... This is The Secret to everything - the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted. All the resources you will ever need to understand and live The Secret. The world's leading scientists, authors, and philosophers will reveal The Secret that utterly transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it... Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein.

Basically, the big secret is positive thought and through your thoughts you can have complete control over your future. It states that everything one wants or needs may be accomplished by believing that one will receive that outcome, repeatedly thinking about it, and maintaining positive emotional states to "attract" it. Say for example money, soul mate, new home etc. It works for anything, but you have to completely focus on the positive, fantasize about having it already, write it down as if you do already have it and think positive.

People in the film were mostly professionals and authors in Qantam Physics, metaphysics, psychology, theology, philosophy, and lol life coaches. All these people swore by it that it works and gave some good stories and examples.

Whether the law of attraction principle in this film (and book) is true or not I find it pretty fascinating. No doubt, positive thinking is good for you, but I question the notion that you can have the life of your dreams if you think you can and act as if you already do.

Just curious to what ppl think about this. I know this film is a few years old and this topic may have been discussed before.

As an avid poker player I was thinking how could I apply "the secret" to the game throughout the whole film.

[Prosperity]

sounds like horse****

[Stadium-Armory]

Sounds like Golf.

Seriously though, I follow the line of thinking. More-so, I think the opposite is more evident. If you think you can't, you definitely won't. I have friends who are negative all the time; someone is always screwing them in their minds. They seem to be holding them selves back.

Add: Granted, many people have had terrible things happen to them that color their perspective.

[Destino]

I don't think it's about positive thinking as much as targeted thinking. It makes sense because when you stay focused on a goal you are more likely to achieve it. Seems logical and not so magical to me.

[chipwhich]

The secret has some truth to it, if you understand the secret.

If you think I am going to win a hand of poker, or win a million on a scratch off and sit on the couch your whole life that ignores the basic premise. As part of the secret, you have to take action to achieve your goals. You have to believe you can achieve something and take steps to make that action come true. It's not going to Vegas and betting your life savings on red at the roulette wheel

[DeaconTheVillain]

As part of the secret, you have to take action to achieve your goals. You have to believe you can achieve something and take steps to make that action come true

Yea, this was definitely true in the film. The people would take steps to achieve it, some seemed like minor steps with huge results which had me wondering how much luck was involved. One guy wanted to be a millionaire and would write checks for 1 million to himself and look at it everyday. I can't remember what happened exactly, but he did become a millionaire. I think he wrote a book and sold a lot of copies or something.

[drtdrums]

Yea, this was definitely true in the film. The people would take steps to achieve it, some seemed like minor steps with huge results which had me wondering how much luck was involved. One guy wanted to be a millionaire and would write checks for 1 million to himself and look at it everyday. I can't remember what happened exactly, but he did become a millionaire. I think he wrote a book and sold a lot of copies or something.

"The Secret" is not new, and is what can be found in Emerson, Wallace Wattles, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, etc.

Simply put, those who teach "The Secret" and teach it properly are all about ACTION, not thought. Thought only creates the target that you're aiming at. Action fires the projectile.

For my part, I really enjoy both Hill and Wattles. A lot of people think Wattles is too esoteric, but I feel that if he is properly understood, his teaching is perhaps the most distilled of all.

[twa]

You make your own luck by your actions and thought...nothing new

[LadySkinsFan]

Luck happens when opportunity meets preparedness. From Deepak Chopra's "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success". When I first saw this book, I pulled it off the shelf and it opened to this page. I've had this numerous times in fortune cookies and this works for me.

I interpret the Law of Attraction as what we give, we receive back. In the words of the Beatles, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

And from the teacher Jesus, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." and "Love thy neighbor as thyself." And I often reread the Sermon on the Mount because there is great teaching there. Would that those who call themselves Christians follow that teaching. Jesus was a humanist.

It sounds simple and these are simple words to live by, but they work for me.

[Going Commando]

I don't think it's about positive thinking as much as targeted thinking. It makes sense because when you stay focused on a goal you are more likely to achieve it. Seems logical and not so magical to me.

I learned about the power of positive thinking one summer when I sold books the coldest of cold calls door to door.

You're right, it's definitely not some magical thing, that's ridiculous that anyone would present it as such.

It's about adjusting your attitude in the face of adversity, changing perspectives to allow you to behave in a productive manner when all of your emotions are screaming failure and despair and you really just want to curl up in a ball on the floor.

[KDawg]

I always thought "The Secret" was something Victoria had...

Ba dum bum!

[pjfootballer]

I read the book "The Magic of Believing." I wanted a new job. This was back in November. I was hired in December. The idea is not only to thinking positive and picturing it happening, but also eliminating negative forces around you in your life. Like things attract and if you always have a defeatest attitude, bad things will keep happening. Also, during the same time, my wife and I wanted a house. There were many problems with the bank (not on our end, we have great credit) because they kept throwing up roadblocks. We would supply them with one thing, they needed another. We would supply them with that, they needed another and so on. I just kept picturing us in that house. We've been living in it for 3 months now. The power of positive thinking does work, but you have to be willing to accept it and not expect it to happen. You can't force it. You will know when it hits you.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Hulk Hogan believes in it and he really seems to have his **** together.

[Teller]

How was the movie? I read the book and got a lot out of it.

As to whether or not it works, I don't know. But at worst, it improves your attitude and outlook, so what do you have to lose?

[Corcaigh]

Let's try a experiment to see if this works. Find someone who is totally committed to the power of positive thinking, but they have chosen to be a Chinese political dissident and they are permanently incarcerated without trial.

Let me know how well their dreams are realized.

---------- Post added March-21st-2012 at 09:53 AM ----------

Any success I have achieved in life has been because of hard work, luck and being presented with opportunities. Picking one as more important than other is delusional.

But as you can't make luck, working hard, looking for opportunities and having a positive outlook is all you really can control.

[DeaconTheVillain]

How was the movie? I read the book and got a lot out of it.

As to whether or not it works, I don't know. But at worst, it improves your attitude and outlook, so what do you have to lose?

The movie was pretty interesting. It was also more like a documentary than a movie. Looked like something the History Channel would have produced.

[alexey]

The human brain is a very interesting and powerful organ. Read the manual. Learn it, love it, use it.

Thoughts you decide to reinforce, language you decide to use, those all shape your brain, change your perception, grow or diminish your capabilities.

Beware!!! Your brain is created for pattern finding. If you are not careful, the pattern finding will go to far. Seek, and you shall find things that are not there.