The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: March 06, 2007 02:39PM
(excerpt)
[www.iol.co.za]
Rumblings of discontent at Oprah school
Lumka Oliphant
March 03 2007
Just two months after its much-heralded opening, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls closed ranks this week after one of the girls was sent home "due to illness".
What started as a routine inquiry by the Saturday Star turned out to be a case cloaked in mystery at the plush school at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton.
...
Questions over the "culture" of the new school have also been raised. Some parents wanted "some aspects of African life and norms" to be considered by Winfrey.
...I am praying that one of these days there will be a parents' meeting where we can discuss the progress of the children and how to handle issues of culture," said a grandmother who did not want to be identified.
She said there had been a death in her family recently and she had asked for the child to be allowed to attend the funeral, but she was refused because "it must be a member of the immediate family".
"I think Oprah needs to understand that, as black people, extended family is very important. When there is a death in the family, our children attend. Family to us is not only brother, sister, mother and father - it is the entire clan," explained the grandmother.
Another parent complained she was allowed to speak to her daughter only once a week and see her only once a month. "You can live in the most beautiful and luxurious place, but home is home, and your family are your family," said the mother.
[www.iol.co.za]
Rumblings of discontent at Oprah school
Lumka Oliphant
March 03 2007
Just two months after its much-heralded opening, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls closed ranks this week after one of the girls was sent home "due to illness".
What started as a routine inquiry by the Saturday Star turned out to be a case cloaked in mystery at the plush school at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton.
...
Questions over the "culture" of the new school have also been raised. Some parents wanted "some aspects of African life and norms" to be considered by Winfrey.
...I am praying that one of these days there will be a parents' meeting where we can discuss the progress of the children and how to handle issues of culture," said a grandmother who did not want to be identified.
She said there had been a death in her family recently and she had asked for the child to be allowed to attend the funeral, but she was refused because "it must be a member of the immediate family".
"I think Oprah needs to understand that, as black people, extended family is very important. When there is a death in the family, our children attend. Family to us is not only brother, sister, mother and father - it is the entire clan," explained the grandmother.
Another parent complained she was allowed to speak to her daughter only once a week and see her only once a month. "You can live in the most beautiful and luxurious place, but home is home, and your family are your family," said the mother.
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
Hope
()
Date: March 06, 2007 09:27PM
Not surprising and very disgusting. It should be obvious (but no one will admit it) to the world that the Leadership Academy is a temple to Oprah. She is all about Africa but dismisses an important part of Africa's culture. Those poor pretty little girls and families have been love-bombed.
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
Cosmic Connie
()
Date: March 07, 2007 05:20AM
Hi, everybody. At the request of one of the Senior Members on this forum, I am re-posting this to the main “Secret” thread.
Madshus, another member, started a thread called “The ‘logic’ of ‘The Secret’.” The question Madshus posed was, “So what happens when illness falls upon one of the 'gurus' of The Secret? If Oprah or any of the other so-called 'expert panel' discovers they have cancer (God forbid), how would they rationalize such... that they 'willed it upon themselves'??”
Here is what I replied:
Hi, all, I'm new to this forum, though not new to criticizing "The Secret." I've been making fun of it on my blog for over six months now.
I cannot speak for all of the stars of this glorified infomercial, but I will give you one example: Joe Vitale (whom I once knew pretty well).
A few weeks ago he wrote a blog post about some technical problems he was having with his computers; all of his computers AND web sites crashed at the same time. His IT person was having a terrible time getting everything up and running, and none of Joe's sites recognized his username or password. At one point when writing about these problems he wrote, "Apparently, I no longer exist."
Almost immediately after that, he came down with acute appendicitis and was rushed to the hospital for life-saving surgery, which he blogged about as soon as he was able. One of his followers made a comment on Joe's blog saying that maybe Joe shouldn't have written, "I no longer exist." The person reasoned that since Joe is such a power user of the Law Of Attraction, he needs to be careful because the Universe is listening extra carefully to every word he utters. Joe admitted the guy was probably right; you have to be careful because this LOA is a two-edged sword.
He went on to say that he also believes he "attracted" the life-threatening health crisis because there are still things in his life that need cleansing and healing. He also believes that his love Nerissa, who helped nurse him back to health, "attracted" Joe's health crisis into her own life because she had a need to feel needed. And he feels that all of us who followed his computer-crisis and health-crisis dramas also attracted those events into our own lives because we needed to take a lesson from it all somehow.
So, all things considered, he believes the computer screw-ups and his appendix problems were good because they helped all of us grow. But he does concede that he basically "attracted" his own problems.
Like his bud James Arthur Ray, another "Secret" star, though, Joe says it's about "responsibility," not "blame."
But to me it seems that it's more about narcissism than anything else. I'm not saying it's altogether a bad thing to try to put a positive spin on health problems; to do so probably does aid in healing. But to look at one's own health crises as a gift to the world, which he seemed to be doing, is carrying it too far.
I should also note that Joe wasn't just drawing on "The Secret" and LOA. The idea that everyone who knew about his troubles "attracted" or helped create them is really more relevant to Joe's next big revelation: a book about the ancient Hawaiian "healing" technique, Ho'ponopono (I am probably spelling it wrong, as I usually do). Ho'po is *really* about total responsibility. But that's gonna be a whole separate thread when it really hits. Consider this an early warning. :roll:
Regards,
Cosmic Connie
Madshus, another member, started a thread called “The ‘logic’ of ‘The Secret’.” The question Madshus posed was, “So what happens when illness falls upon one of the 'gurus' of The Secret? If Oprah or any of the other so-called 'expert panel' discovers they have cancer (God forbid), how would they rationalize such... that they 'willed it upon themselves'??”
Here is what I replied:
Hi, all, I'm new to this forum, though not new to criticizing "The Secret." I've been making fun of it on my blog for over six months now.
I cannot speak for all of the stars of this glorified infomercial, but I will give you one example: Joe Vitale (whom I once knew pretty well).
A few weeks ago he wrote a blog post about some technical problems he was having with his computers; all of his computers AND web sites crashed at the same time. His IT person was having a terrible time getting everything up and running, and none of Joe's sites recognized his username or password. At one point when writing about these problems he wrote, "Apparently, I no longer exist."
Almost immediately after that, he came down with acute appendicitis and was rushed to the hospital for life-saving surgery, which he blogged about as soon as he was able. One of his followers made a comment on Joe's blog saying that maybe Joe shouldn't have written, "I no longer exist." The person reasoned that since Joe is such a power user of the Law Of Attraction, he needs to be careful because the Universe is listening extra carefully to every word he utters. Joe admitted the guy was probably right; you have to be careful because this LOA is a two-edged sword.
He went on to say that he also believes he "attracted" the life-threatening health crisis because there are still things in his life that need cleansing and healing. He also believes that his love Nerissa, who helped nurse him back to health, "attracted" Joe's health crisis into her own life because she had a need to feel needed. And he feels that all of us who followed his computer-crisis and health-crisis dramas also attracted those events into our own lives because we needed to take a lesson from it all somehow.
So, all things considered, he believes the computer screw-ups and his appendix problems were good because they helped all of us grow. But he does concede that he basically "attracted" his own problems.
Like his bud James Arthur Ray, another "Secret" star, though, Joe says it's about "responsibility," not "blame."
But to me it seems that it's more about narcissism than anything else. I'm not saying it's altogether a bad thing to try to put a positive spin on health problems; to do so probably does aid in healing. But to look at one's own health crises as a gift to the world, which he seemed to be doing, is carrying it too far.
I should also note that Joe wasn't just drawing on "The Secret" and LOA. The idea that everyone who knew about his troubles "attracted" or helped create them is really more relevant to Joe's next big revelation: a book about the ancient Hawaiian "healing" technique, Ho'ponopono (I am probably spelling it wrong, as I usually do). Ho'po is *really* about total responsibility. But that's gonna be a whole separate thread when it really hits. Consider this an early warning. :roll:
Regards,
Cosmic Connie
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
upsidedownnewspaper
()
Date: March 07, 2007 06:38AM
What of nagging symptoms of sickness: should one go to a doctor? Or is that going to compound my medical problems?
And the gambler who is certain that this is the moment for his windfall? How does one know if one's understanding of the law of attraction is in need of a tweek? One gambler hits the jackpot, the other goes home broke: which one successfully applied LOA?
Any ideas?
And the gambler who is certain that this is the moment for his windfall? How does one know if one's understanding of the law of attraction is in need of a tweek? One gambler hits the jackpot, the other goes home broke: which one successfully applied LOA?
Any ideas?
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
skepticnate
()
Date: March 07, 2007 07:11AM
im visulizing pam anderson naked. why isnt she here.
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
Blair Warren
()
Date: March 07, 2007 11:35AM
Quote
Cosmic Connie
I cannot speak for all of the stars of this glorified infomercial, but I will give you one example: Joe Vitale (whom I once knew pretty well).
A few weeks ago he wrote a blog post about some technical problems he was having with his computers; all of his computers AND web sites crashed at the same time. His IT person was having a terrible time getting everything up and running, and none of Joe's sites recognized his username or password. At one point when writing about these problems he wrote, "Apparently, I no longer exist."
Almost immediately after that, he came down with acute appendicitis and was rushed to the hospital for life-saving surgery, which he blogged about as soon as he was able. One of his followers made a comment on Joe's blog saying that maybe Joe shouldn't have written, "I no longer exist." The person reasoned that since Joe is such a power user of the Law Of Attraction, he needs to be careful because the Universe is listening extra carefully to every word he utters. Joe admitted the guy was probably right; you have to be careful because this LOA is a two-edged sword.
Cosmic Connie
Connie,
A sad side-effect of taking this philosophy to such extremes is that it can lead people to avoid approaches that could actually be very helpful.
For example...
A recent episode of 20/20 featured a psychologist who practiced Verbal Exposure Therapy. In treating a young woman who suffered from panic attacks, he had her repeat to herself one of her greatest fears. In this case, a plane crash.
He had her say, "The plane is going to crash" and even, "I *want* the plane to crash" to herself hundreds and hundreds of times.
The end result?
No, she didn't attract *any* plane crashes - not even one, despite the hundreds of "orders to the universe" she spoke aloud. Instead, she became desensitized to the fear that had once held her in its grip.
Since this approach goes directly against the "Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want" approach of The Secret and the Law of Attraction, had she been a "believer" she might never have tried such an approach.
I wonder how many people will never find the help they really need because they are too wrapped up in the "scientific" approach taught by these gurus.
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: March 07, 2007 08:43PM
yes, that is basic Graded Exposure Therapy. you start mentally facing your fears like that, and ultimately work it up to getting into a plane.
That has been shown by science to work for many people.
Its the opposite of The Secret, the Secret is more like a Phobia. "don't think about what upsets you".
We have to do the EXACT OPPOSITE to get on in life.
Otherwise you simply AVOID your problems, and they get worse.
The reason I could see through the Secret in about 2 minutes, is that I studied the ideas behind The Secret called "New Thought" for many years, long ago. [www.websyte.com]
Those beliefs can completely screw up your life, as they lead you down the wrong path.
the Secret is based on the FALSE idea that your thoughts DIRECTLY influence external reality.
There is no rea scientific evidence for that, not even in "Quantum Physics". What Quantum Physics says has NOTHING to do with this Secret nonsense.
A pretty good new book about Quantum Mechanics and the Mind is Quantum Enigma.[www.quantumenigma.com]
These guys are actual physicists, and they are even biased to the QM-Mind connection, but even they call What The Bleep complete nonsense, which is the same as the Secret, complete nonsense.
Not one of the Secret Gurus could probably even read this book, even though it is as dumbed down as you can get it.
Grrr, they are such frauds.
We need a Nobel prize winning quantum physicist to write a simple book showing that these bogus quantum physics New Age people are all frauds, liars, and cranks. They are literally all full of it. Fred Alan Wolf is probably the worst of them as he knows just enough to bamboozle people...
That has been shown by science to work for many people.
Its the opposite of The Secret, the Secret is more like a Phobia. "don't think about what upsets you".
We have to do the EXACT OPPOSITE to get on in life.
Otherwise you simply AVOID your problems, and they get worse.
The reason I could see through the Secret in about 2 minutes, is that I studied the ideas behind The Secret called "New Thought" for many years, long ago. [www.websyte.com]
Those beliefs can completely screw up your life, as they lead you down the wrong path.
the Secret is based on the FALSE idea that your thoughts DIRECTLY influence external reality.
There is no rea scientific evidence for that, not even in "Quantum Physics". What Quantum Physics says has NOTHING to do with this Secret nonsense.
A pretty good new book about Quantum Mechanics and the Mind is Quantum Enigma.[www.quantumenigma.com]
These guys are actual physicists, and they are even biased to the QM-Mind connection, but even they call What The Bleep complete nonsense, which is the same as the Secret, complete nonsense.
Not one of the Secret Gurus could probably even read this book, even though it is as dumbed down as you can get it.
Grrr, they are such frauds.
We need a Nobel prize winning quantum physicist to write a simple book showing that these bogus quantum physics New Age people are all frauds, liars, and cranks. They are literally all full of it. Fred Alan Wolf is probably the worst of them as he knows just enough to bamboozle people...
Quote
Blair Warren
For example...
A recent episode of 20/20 featured a psychologist who practiced Verbal Exposure Therapy. In treating a young woman who suffered from panic attacks, he had her repeat to herself one of her greatest fears. In this case, a plane crash.
He had her say, "The plane is going to crash" and even, "I *want* the plane to crash" to herself hundreds and hundreds of times.
The end result?
No, she didn't attract *any* plane crashes - not even one, despite the hundreds of "orders to the universe" she spoke aloud. Instead, she became desensitized to the fear that had once held her in its grip.
Since this approach goes directly against the "Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want" approach of The Secret and the Law of Attraction, had she been a "believer" she might never have tried such an approach.
I wonder how many people will never find the help they really need because they are too wrapped up in the "scientific" approach taught by these gurus.
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
The Anticult
()
Date: March 07, 2007 09:00PM
Hey Cosmic Connie, I am assumming that is your CosmicConnie blog on blogspot? If it is, looks good! I didn't post the URL in case its not you. You should post your URL if you want to.
But this Joe Vitale cracks me up. The guy might be fun at a drunken bachelors party in Vegas, but I can't believe people take that guy seriously! The guy is just a huckster. Period.
There is a funny exchange on this blog with Joe Vitale.
[skeptico.blogs.com]
There is no Law Of Attraction in the Universe, except for the Law Of Gravity. In Electromagnetism, Like Repels Like and Opposites Attract.
Joe Vitale does not only does not know that, he doesn't care. All he knows is that people BUY that shit, and it makes a ton of money, and money buys you cars, food, booze, cigars, houses, trips, broads, and is lots of fun.
[img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/final-images/photo-gallery/joe-vitale-laura-nichole.jpg[/img:21c8574add]
I swear, I don't understand how anyone could take Joe Vitale seriously. The guy calls himself a "Dr" and he got his diploma probably for $35 off the web.
[img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/final-images/photo-gallery/joe-vitale-53-birthday.jpg[/img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/photogallery.html
But this Joe Vitale cracks me up. The guy might be fun at a drunken bachelors party in Vegas, but I can't believe people take that guy seriously! The guy is just a huckster. Period.
There is a funny exchange on this blog with Joe Vitale.
[skeptico.blogs.com]
There is no Law Of Attraction in the Universe, except for the Law Of Gravity. In Electromagnetism, Like Repels Like and Opposites Attract.
Joe Vitale does not only does not know that, he doesn't care. All he knows is that people BUY that shit, and it makes a ton of money, and money buys you cars, food, booze, cigars, houses, trips, broads, and is lots of fun.
[img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/final-images/photo-gallery/joe-vitale-laura-nichole.jpg[/img:21c8574add]
I swear, I don't understand how anyone could take Joe Vitale seriously. The guy calls himself a "Dr" and he got his diploma probably for $35 off the web.
[img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/final-images/photo-gallery/joe-vitale-53-birthday.jpg[/img:21c8574add]http://www.mrfire.com/photogallery.html
Quote
Cosmic Connie
Hi, all, I'm new to this forum, though not new to criticizing "The Secret." I've been making fun of it on my blog for over six months now.
I cannot speak for all of the stars of this glorified infomercial, but I will give you one example: Joe Vitale (whom I once knew pretty well).
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
Lin
()
Date: March 07, 2007 10:45PM
Elena,
Thanks for the link to salon article regarding this farce called "The Secret", and Oprah's part in it. Great piece of writing, and exactly what I've been thinking!
Thanks for the link to salon article regarding this farce called "The Secret", and Oprah's part in it. Great piece of writing, and exactly what I've been thinking!
The Secret (a movie)
Posted by:
skeptic
()
Date: March 07, 2007 11:59PM
Quote
The Anticult
We need a Nobel prize winning quantum physicist to write a simple book showing that these bogus quantum physics New Age people are all frauds, liars, and cranks. They are literally all full of it.
Refutations are badly needed!!!!!!!!!! Where are the voices of reason in this crazy time? This crazy thinking is spreading like cancer.
Maybe voices of reason can't be marketed the way that voices of lying & scamming can, nor do they appeal to the masses. Critical thinking's no fun.
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