I happened to be in a bookstore, and saw a group of women in their 20's looking over, and buying the book The Secret.
It really hit me what was being sold.
What is being sold is the IMPULSE TO BUY.
Rhonda Byrne wants to get people just excited enough to make the purchase decision.
That is why she makes all the sound-bites...

YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING, LOVE, MONEY, CARS, HOUSES...

Boom, people buy it. and the money is gone.
Its an IMPULSE PURCHASE.

Also, it is very much like a cult system. She has ambiguous beliefs on the surface, that get weirder when you go deeper.

Example: she says food does not make you fat, your THOUGHTS about food make make you fat?
What does that mean?

She really means that if you BELIEVE junk food is not fattening, you could eat it all day everyday, and not gain weight, and be skinny and healthy.
That is "New Thought", they believe your mind can do ANYTHING, including making junk food healthy by Thought Power. That is what she believes, but she says it in a very tricky way.
She is slyly putting beliefs out there in a trickily worded way, so as to not block book sales.

She has many many statements like this in her book. They "hint" at her true beliefs, which are extremist New Thought beliefs, but she phrases them very carefully, so people don't quite understand what she is saying.

Could you imagine if Rhonda Byrne stood up on Oprah and said...

FOOD DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT. ITS YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT FOOD THAT MAKE YOU FAT. WHAT THAT MEANS IS YOU COULD EAT KFC CHICKEN 5 MEALS A DAY AND NEVER GAIN A POUND, IF YOU BELIEVED YOU COULD.

That is what she believes. Its completely nuts.
Why is she cloaking her true beliefs in tricky statements?

Some New Thought "The Secret" people do believe you do not NEED to eat, if you have the correct Mindpower. You could be like Christ, and just live off the Holy Spirit Power, or whatever.

So, that is what they believe, but they know if they come out and say that, the jig is up.
Its like a cult, which starts out with very mild and tame beliefs, and then over time, indocrinates you more deeply, until before you know it, you are believing some really crazy stuff.

Lastly, I predict Rhonda Byrne, and the others will appear on Oprah and say "the critics" are just "negative thinkers".
They will be able to close any discussion, by saying being "negative" will wreck your life.

Every New Agey cult in the world is going to try to use The Secret on their people. Its quick a good little mind-trick. Good enough to get money out of people, and to keep them in line. As if they DARE to THINK for themselves, their negative thoughts will give them cancer.
Sweet Mind Control system.

Do you really think that they believe what they are preaching? that would be even more scary.

and do you think that there would be any way to on Oprah, or some other largely watched show and be able to put these critical thoughts out there, so at least some people might stop for a second and rethink things.

I actually saw 'the secret' people on CNN, I think it was this past Monday in the morning. It was a short segment, but non the less, they were able to get their message out without any opposition.

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Every New Agey cult in the world is going to try to use The Secret on their people. Its quick a good little mind-trick. Good enough to get money out of people, and to keep them in line. As if they DARE to THINK for themselves, their negative thoughts will give them cancer.
Sweet Mind Control system.

It seems so ironic that such a large part of the world is anti-Christian on the basis of not wanting to be controlled or motivated by Christian beliefs, yet the same people who are so anti-God or Christian have managed to become victims of the very thing that they despise about what they perceive Christianity to be, a big controlling mind game. No one likes the notion of the biblical laws of sowing and reaping, because they are too 'harsh' but its ok to become a slave to mind control techniques as set out by today's cults or in lies like 'the secret'.
Its ok to believe that you will 'wish' evil things on your self if you don't think only positive things and if you don't buy 'the secret' or if you don't take a landmark forum, but its not ok to believe that if you hurt another or deceive intentionally, you will reap what you have sown.
Even more ironic is that people who fall prey to scams like LE or the secret are all searching for the same thing, fulfillment and peace. Only problem with the searching is that the 'ME' drive interferes with the search, misleading the soul into the most 'ME' oriented places like LE or to foolishness like 'the secret'. Its like Oprah seems to have done continuosly in her public life. She has always struggled with her weight, always had the 'latest answer' to such deeply ingrained problems on her show, like Dr. Phil for a while, and now 'the secret'. She searches everywhere but in the source where her spirit would find rest and healing, God. I mean God as He is biblically, not as the new age thinking would like to mold Him into. God is Love, not a [i:c14d14e935]source[/i:c14d14e935] for "ME' to attempt to exploit for power and wealth or other selfish desires.
That's my opinion and my belief. This confused world is so desperatley seeking God the Creator but have mistakenly come to think that His ways are too harsh and oppressive to follow, so the search continues for false gods and false teachings. The world longs for God but will only accept Him if the 'ME' ego will not be compromised in any way. So, the search will continue in the same confused places. Even after 'the secret' has been exhausted and forgotten, people will find other things to latch onto and to worship because of the desperation not to find what they actually seek, the Love and will of God. Sad.

WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?[/size:9265449f0d]
(THIS BOOK IS CRAZY)[/size:9265449f0d]

[www.nypost.com]

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WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?
(THIS BOOK IS CRAZY)
By WENDY STRAKER
February 14, 2007 -- THAT Big Mac you just ate could have the calorie count of a stick of celery - if you want it to. You just have to think about it really, really hard.

Just visualize it and it will happen.

The same is true for that beat-up '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee you've been driving. Close your eyes and think of it as being a brand new Lexus, and it will be. At least, that is, according to "The Secret," by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books, 2007), the latest self-help phenomenon (read: crock of crap) to hit the best seller list.

The book promises that you'll learn how to change every aspect of your life - money, health, relationships, happiness and every interaction you have in the world. The idea is that by creating pictures in your mind of yourself enjoying what you want, it will become yours. If you dream it, it will come.

Now you can make millions, buy that dream house, meet your Prince Charming and cure yourself of a life-threatening disease - all for 30 percent off the cover price at your local bookstore.

It happened for Rhonda Byrne, a struggling film producer who was on the verge of bankruptcy after making 10 films that flopped, before she had been given a glimpse of the great secret of life in a 100-year-old book given to her by her daughter, Hayley. "The Secret" is the law of attraction: Think positive thoughts and positive things will happen. Byrne began tracing what she calls "The Secret" back through history. Writers such as William Shakespeare spoke of it in their poetry, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci depicted it in their paintings. It has been delivered through religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism and civilizations in ancient Babylon and Egypt. But the secret never got out.

Until it reached Byrne's hands.

Byrne applied the teachings to her own life, visualized her success and then, poof, she appeared on "Oprah." Today she is sharing "The Secret" with the world.

And so far the world is buying it - especially those who can't afford it. On the subject of money, Bryne says, "the only reason any person does not have enough money is because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thought." Her advice is to spend the money you have even if you are in debt. Imagine you have it, spend it like you have it, and it will appear.

Tell that to my accountant.

Oh, and while you are out there spending money you don't have, don't even think of spending it on clothes that fit you.

Instead, "feel the feelings of your perfect weight and you will summon it to you." Buy clothes in the size you want to be, not the size you are.

But perhaps the most absurd advice comes in the inspirational stories found in the chapter on health. "We don't have to fight to get rid of a [life-threatening] disease," she says. "Just the simple process of letting go of negative thoughts will allow our natural state of health to emerge within us. At that point our body will heal itself."

So why is it, I wonder, that I feel like I'm going to be sick?

[/size:9265449f0d]

Thanks, Anticult, for posting another great review. It's good to know that at least a few people can spot a scam, even if most seem unable to. There's something so seductive about magical thinking......SIGH! It's really disconcerting, though, when followers fail to take note that IT DOES NOT WORK!!!!! Now, that's scary! Then again, they can always fall back on the handy tool of self-blame, for not doing it right. After all, positive thinking and positive attraction can be really hard to do if you've been a negative thinker and negative attractor most, or all, of your life (aren't such "failures" and "losers" the ones who are attracted to this crap?). Typical cult formula: nothing wrong with the ideology but plenty wrong with the adherents. So handy, so handy. Keep 'em down and coming back for more, more, more. Works every time, like a charm. The REAL secret.

An acquaintance who recently thanked me for dissuading her from attending Landmine Forum (she's being pressured to go), today mentioned that she has The Secret DVD and has watched it many times. She said she agrees with it (yet she struggles with many things in her life).

I don't understand why believers struggle with anything when there is a quick and simple solution that will end all strife, all lack, all pain, all human problems. Isn't that the promise?

Can't they see that the crap they believe is not applicable to real life :?:

Its pretty clear that the more people are struggling in life, and the less hope they have, the more they are attracted to things like The Secret.
Its like people who buy lottery tickets are the one's who can least afford them. (poor people).

I do understand how people can get caught up in this type of belief system.
First off, there is a grain of truth to it. In The Secret, they say "attract a cup of coffee". Obviously, that is a simple trick to dupe naive people. Because you THINK about a coffee, and then you go buy one. So hey, that's the law of attraction right?
When in fact its simple goal-seeking behavior, the same thing your dog, or a rat does. (get hungry, imagine food, plan behavior, go eat).
As far as I can see, this is the same process to achieve any goal, no matter how large or small. Its just the larger goals take hundreds of times more effort, time, and money.

But when people are desperate, when they are hopeless, they are going to dream of an easy way out, its human nature.
In the movie Jesus Of Montreal, they are having a big theological debate, and a priest at one point says, "look, people come to this church not to debate theology, but because they want Jesus to love them, and save them"...(he then holds up crutches left in the prayer area).

I think its the same with The Secret. They don't want to know the philosophical errors, they want to be Saved from life, to escape from pain, and its simple Wishful Thinking, with a small grain of truth to it.

On the other side, "New Thought" can entrap very intelligent people. Its extremely easy to deceive yourself, and delude yourself. I would go so far as to say that self-delusion is the rule for humans.

The more I look at this, the more I see that Rhonda Byrne was also desperate, and the verge of bankruptcy, and emotionally desperate. But I don't think she really believes The Secret. I think she believed she could sell it, and make lots of money.

If you search Google Blogs, there are many many blogs telling people to go and post on Oprah's site lots of POSITIVE REVIEWS of The Secret, so Oprah would do a second show.
That is why there were hundreds of shill posts on the Oprah site, and guess what, they got their second show.
I believe some of those bloggers were Rhonda Byrne's own employees, at least those who got the ball rolling.
She was doing internet viral marketing, and getting bloggers to do propaganda is one of the best ways to do this.

On the positive side, I predict your friend will be excited about The Secret for about...2 months max.
Then it will be back to reality.
Its possible she could get more deeply hooked into it, but its also possible it will just be more road kill, and wasted money in books sitting on the bookshelf.

People go and make their fancy Vision Boards, and for most people nothing happens. But for a few it does "work", but it ain't The Secret. Its just because they went and did what they wanted, and it worked out for them.

But who knows, now that Rhonda Byrne is making some money for once, she is probably going to come out with dozens more products. But the world is somewhat full of scammers taking advantage of vulnerable people, and it always will be, as far as I can see. Only education might be able to help stem the tide...a bit.

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skeptic
...today mentioned that she has The Secret DVD and has watched it many times. She said she agrees with it (yet she struggles with many things in her life).

I don't understand why believers struggle with anything when there is a quick and simple solution that will end all strife, all lack, all pain, all human problems. Isn't that the promise?

Can't they see that the crap they believe is not applicable to real life :?:

Here is a fairly tepid "review" of The Secret. Unfortunately, most reviews are going to be like this one. Superficial with almost no insight or investigation, that actually feeds into the mental duality of the salespitch.
But that is also the nature of the media, at this time.

Since Rhonda Byrne did those movies about commercials, it appears she knows that as well. She knows that the mass media, WANTS a public that is passive and receptive.
So there will by many large media outlets that promote The Secret, as ADVERTISERS LOVE people who believe things like The Secret, or believe in psychics on Montel Williams. As if they believe that stuff, they are certainly going to believe that your detergent whitens better.
It does come down to that for TV. Advertisers want credulous audiences.
The don't want critical thinkers who ask for proof. They despise those kind of viewers!

So sadly, The Secret is going to get lots of media promotion, and not that much in-depth analysis.


[www.usatoday.com]

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'Secret' attracts plenty of attention

By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
What's The Secret?
It's a controversial self-help book (and DVD) that has reached phenomenon status — by purporting to know "the secret" to happiness.

Today the book (Atria/Beyond Words, $23.99) hits No. 1 on USA TODAY'S Best-Selling Books list.

Want a new job, a million dollars or a gorgeous girlfriend?

Author Rhonda Byrne says the secret is the law of attraction: If you think positively, you become a magnet that pulls everything you want toward you.

The book has been touted on TV by Oprah Winfrey (just last week), Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres. Word-of-mouth is helping sales as well.

"People are finding out about it from other people," says Beyond Words editor in chief Cynthia Black, who heard about The Secret DVD from a friend and then signed Byrne to a book contract.

The DVD ($29.95) was released last March and has sold 1.1 million copies. The book was published in November with a first printing of 200,000. There are now 1.2 million copies in print.

Byrne, an Australian reality-TV producer, says she discovered the ancient secret to getting everything you want through her study of religious and philosophical texts.

"Everyone has to have their own experience to believe," says Byrne, 55. "People should start with little things like deciding a cup of coffee will come to you or that you'll see a feather. There's no difference between attracting a feather and anything else you want. It's as easy to attract one dollar as it is $10,000."

It's no secret that Byrne has supporters and detractors.

Robert Thompson, a professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University, has seen the DVD and calls it "at best, silliness." It's "good old American snake-oil salesmanship," he says.

But Arlene Shapiro of Pacific Palisades, Calif., says she has used the tenets of The Secret to control her panic attacks and to double her acupuncture business.

Byrne and her supporters claim all kinds of rewards from the law of attraction, from finding prime parking spots to curing cancer and kidney disease.

Byrne says that she used it to improve her eyesight and no longer needs glasses.

Susan Folkman, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, says she worries about The Secret's suggestion that "people can cure themselves and that if they don't, they are somehow to blame."

Byrne has attracted numerous celebrities to her cause. In the book and on the DVD, the law of attraction is touted by such self-help luminaries as Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series; John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus; and financial and spiritual gurus.

As for skeptics, Byrne says: "I wanted to share this gift with every person. It's up to them to choose to believe."

Since Oprah is promoting The Secret, she is now also promoting psychics.

John Edwards is a straight-up Cold Reader. And the next lady Oprah had on was also a very BLATANT Cold Reader. She asks ambiguous questions, and then says...is that right, and gets a response and info from the grieving parents.

What these psychics do is simply the Art of Cold Reading.

[www.google.com]

Also, many psychics are not above deception, having a plant on the Oprah staff for instance, as a secretary, who accesses the names and info, and even suggests to bring the psychics on.

There are many experts who could have gone on Oprah to EXPLAIN how Cold Reading is done. But Oprah and her producers refuse to have them on.

Why?
There is a survey on Oprah.com, and 93% of the people believe in all of the psychic stuff, even though almost 70% of them get negative results from psychics!!

So its just about Ratings.
These shows do psychics, and The Secret for one reason. Ratings. Keep the ratings up, give the people what they want. Tell them that their deceased daughter is ok and loves them.

And for God's sakes keep professionally trained thinkers off the show's at all costs.

The Oprah show on The Secret on Friday is going to be a complete joke, I psychically predict. At best, they will have an incompetant, non-professional skeptic on, who will not be able to get a decent point in. (she had a bogus "scientist" on selling his book, who blatantly told a falsehood, that the journal Nature had articles proving psychic ability, when they only have articles on "entanglement" which has nothing to do with it).

Oprah may do good charity works, but I have lost basically all respect for her when it comes to this type of stuff. Maybe she doesn't know any better, maybe its just about giving the public what they want.

And they want what they want when they want it.
Wishful Thinking.

Oprah believes all this stuff, and it gets great ratings, and makes lots of money, the advertisers love it.
What a world...

By the way, the "expert" on psychics, Oprah's producers had on, is actually a parapsychologist. So its like asking Atkins if meat is good for you.

His name was Dean Radin (self-appointed designated hitter for the promotion of parapsychology)
[skepdic.com]

So that is the new template. Bring on a fake-skeptic, who is actually there to sell his book supporting the subject.

Its like having a Cult Apologist on to explain a cult. Exact same thing. [www.culteducation.com]

I guess the mass public is just a huge blob of flesh to harvest money from.