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How I Understand and Use "The Secret"

Along with the hype accompanying in the possibilities outlined in the films "The Secret" and "What the Bleep", there is a growing chorus of criticism going around lately which I would like to say something about, and hopefully bring a bit of balance to this topic. 

There are criticisms that it is an immoral tool, that it is not substantiated by science (Quantum Theory), that its philosophy is being used in a disrespectful way against people who are unfortunate, and finally, that it just doesn't work. 

There is also the hype. That it works like magic, always and effortlessly if you really apply yourself to it by keeping your attention steadily on what you want.

I want to show that there is nothing new, arrogant, immoral or futile, or, for that matter, complete, about The Secret, but like any technique or technology, it can be used for good or ill. But it can best be used when combined with significant self-understanding.

First, there is the moral criticism of the techniques illustrated in The Secret, because some people are obviously using it for selfish concerns, or in materialistic ways. Critics  apparently feel that because the makers of those films made connections to the spiritual Law of Providence, (the idea that "God Provides"), that if the techniques are not being used altruistically by everyone, then they must be being used immorally by everyone. Therefore the whole business must be rubbish! This is unsustainable logic, and patently absurd.

On the other hand there are others who are dismissing The Secret and What the Bleep because the makers of those films try to authenticate and corroborate the principles expressed in those films by associating them with Quantum Theory/Mechanics. These critics claim that the connection is not proven in the film.

Maybe, maybe not. But the point I want to make is that there is a law of mind operative in humans, which is significantly responsible for creativity. I have always known it as the Law of the Attention, and the filmmakers call it the Law of Attraction. That law has been known and used in esoteric/spiritual/magical circles for thousands of years to advance the agenda (both for good and ill) of those who have known and used it. The Hindus put it this way: What you meditate on, you become. In one of the most ancient and grand spiritual texts, the Ashtavakra Gita, it is said:
"If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, Thinking makes it so."

What's extremely important about having the Law of Attraction becoming widely known in the general public is that --- everyone uses this law unconsciously all the time, anyway! And it influences all our lives, whether we like it or not! Trying to ignore or dismiss of the Law of Attention is kind of like trying to ignore the law of gravity. It just is. Get used to it. It is neutral, and like all technology it can be used to selfishly serve ourselves, or to help others. But it does work, and the folks who are producing those films and books are just the latest messengers of that truth.

Robert Fritz, the man who not only popularized much of the modern expression of this Law, but who has tracked the successes and failures of people who have embraced this Law since the early 80 s, has said: The phenomenon of synchronicity and unusual manifestation of results is only one aspect of the creative process, and one that is often minor rather than major. Our aspirations are usually not fulfilled by the law of attraction, but by hard work, strategic decisions, and an ongoing life-building process in which we learn, improve, evaluate, and develop competence.

Another serious difficulty for some people who have tried to use manifestation techniques such as The Secret, is that it has failed them even after they used it energetically and conscientiously to try and create positive results.

As a psychotherapist I can offer a relevant explanation. When one of my clients on occasion wants to directly incorporate the law of attraction in a counselling session, in order to begin to create something positive in his or her life, because of the therapeutic work we have done prior to that point, we both have a much deeper understanding of how that person's subconscious beliefs and wounds and personal narratives are already running in the background and contributing to their negative circumstances (The Law of Attraction, again). 

Robert Fritz refers to this element as the person s structural dynamics. But the advocates of The Secret ignore this dimension, although others who are interested in the question of Creativity do not. By comparison, the film What the Bleep hit very strongly on this point: remember the Polish wedding scene?

But because we have done a significant amount of work bringing these scripts to awareness and taking responsibility for them, we have a much richer and deeper and more sophisticated understanding of what is running in the background. Optimally, all of that needs to be accounted for in any creation process, or else you may find that you may begin sabotaging yourself, without even knowing it.

Furthermore it is understood that the creative tension between our present personal programming from the past, and what we now want to create (in order to manifest our new goals in life), is what propels and energizes us in a grounded and feeling way towards a successful manifestation. Otherwise, many practitioners feel that you can become overly detached and mentalized, adrift from your feeling-core, and also ungrounded if you try to simply ignore or suppress your current programming. I believe that The Secret is extremely weak in this regard.

Indeed it is my observation and experience that below even the core beliefs which must be accounted for in the creative process, there are feeling-wounds which must be healed, not by improved beliefs or better thinking but by educated self care and self-love.

That being said, I also want to add that in my understanding, if at a deeper soul level we need to have difficult or challenging experiences in order to further develop as a soul, then no matter what sophisticated laws of attraction we invoke, we will probably be thwarted, until we get that lesson sorted out.

And that leads me finally to the criticisms of people who may be using their knowledge of The Secret to irresponsibly and insensitively criticize or dismiss those people who are suffering from painful situations in life such as terminal diseases, or violence or other misfortunes, or to discredit or disrespect those who can t seem to succeed in life.
I believe that we never really know what the life lessons are of people who are apparently failing (not to mention, those who are apparently succeeding), so indeed, let s leave them all alone, without judgment.

So I hope I have made the point that the use of the Law of Attraction is a natural and inevitable reality in our lives, and that it can indeed be used in a positive and creative ways, especially if we are aware of what is already running in the deeper spaces of our hearts and minds.