If you want to experience some true horror, then go and read some of the Oprah message boards about The Secret. There are hundreds of literally hysterical posts there, about how The Secret is THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE, and how it cannot fail, etc.
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boards.oprah.com]
Some of those posting are surely there to shill and promote The Secret and related products, but most of them are sincere. Oprah just dumps this stuff out there on people, and I guess doesn't think it through? Oprah is probably so busy she spends just a few minutes approving each show, but it would be nice if she had some people on a show like this, who could point out some of the problems. But that's not the way she does business. To be clear, I saw the Oprah show on this, and she supported The Secret 100%, without any questions or doubt at all.
The Secret has a good idea at its core, but it takes it way to far, as its based on some of the extremists ideas of New Thought, which is a specific set of beliefs which started in the 1800's.
I think what makes people so excited, is the idea that they can have a wonderful life simply by changing their thinking, setting goals, visualize, etc.
The irony is that this is partially true. If we modify our beliefs and cognitions, we can improve our lives...sometimes. BUT BUT BUT, The Secret goes 100x farther than that, and claims you ATTRACT EVERYTHING in your life. There are posts on the Oprah forum, where some of The Secret fanatics are literally telling people in wheelchairs, that they ATTRACTED the accident that put them there. Some of the wheelchair folks were getting very angry and hurt, understandably. Its nuts.
Again, talk about Mind Control. The idea behind The Secret, New Thought, claims that if you are having any bad experiences in life, you created them through your Consciousness. So to stop them, you have to stop thinking about them completely, and they will vanish.
They say, if you have doubt, you create doubt. So you are not allowed to doubt, and must only try to Believe 100%.
This is a mental Catch-22 mindf*ck of the highest order, as it disallows any critical thinking whatsoever.
It also creates depression in people, as after a while, when their life does not change much...then guess what? IT YOUR FAULT, because of your Stinkin Thinkin.
so its just the same old You Create Your Reality stuff, taken to the extreme. They soft-peddle it on TV, and don't explain it, to draw people into buying more products, and seminars, tapes, books, etc. Same old sales method.
What is funny is that Abraham-Hicks was in the movie, but they had a dispute with Rhonda Byrne, probably over money over the book, so Rhonda cut them out of the movie. A few months later, this movie becomes the #1 New Age movie of all time, and Abraham-Hicks has lost millions! Hah! So much for their Divine Entity knowing the future and reality. They cut themselves out of the movie, and out of Oprah...smart!!
But seriously, this is just another in a long line of these things. It will be hyped for a few months, Oprah will sell millions of books, most people won't even really read it, or "get it", and will go back to eating Doritoes, and wait for the next Hype-Train.
But sadly, lots of vulberable people will be scooped off by Rhonda Byrne, and the other promoters of this. Lots of money will be wasted, and many will be hurt by the flawed ideology.
There is no end to this stuff, it seems every week there is some new hysterical sales-pitch. Critical Thinking seems to not exist in popular culture.
Credulity and Magical Thinking are the rule.