To be honest, I never finished this book, I have too much respect for my brain to put it through such horrors, however I did read enough of it to get a fairly good understanding of why my uncle said it was the only book he felt comfortable about burning.
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book written by Rhonda Byrne. It's based on the law of attraction and claims that positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased happiness, weight loss, and wealth.
On the other side of the scale, negative thinking is also said to have real physical consequences, so if you spend excessive amounts of time (like I do) thinking about getting ripped apart by hungry bears, you can pretty much expect a few angry Kodiaks to shred you to pieces like a prenup in my ex-wife's hands.
I don't want to say I disliked this book, so I'll just say that were I given the option of reading it again, or being circumcised with a cigar cutter, I would gladly choose the latter.
I'm completely on board with the part about thinking in a positive manner, I attempt to do this with every aspect of my life (not really), but the nonsense about attracting bad things through negative thoughts had me angry, then indifferent, then sleepy, then wanting to slap someone, then back to angry again. And to be fair, negative thoughts are more useless than a diaphragm made of cheesecloth, so I do see the benefit in eradicating them.
One time (true story), while on holiday in my neighbours back yard, I began to grow anxious that he would come home early and find me shaving his dog, and wouldn't you know it, just as I finished giving Rocky a bowl cut, my neighbour pulled up in the driveway. According to 'The Secret' it was I that manifested his early arrival, and had I just been thinking about love, joy, and cholate pudding, instead of worrying about my neighbour, he would never have come home again, and I would now be living in his house, watching Antiques Roadshow with his wife.
These negative thoughts are said to be the cause of all the problems in ones life, the trick is to avoid all negativity by simply not thinking about it. So, if while having a long and thorough shower, you happen to find a BB sized lump on one of your testicles, you should not go to the doctor and have it examined (which will cause you to think about it even more), but ignore your new found friend, and instead, think about playing shuffleboard with angles, while Jesus tends bar. This should cause the (probably) cancerous intruder to run screaming from your balls, leaving them happy, harry, and healthy.
The book goes on to say that you can have anything you want through 'visualization.' What this means is you can do things such as loosing weight, not by eating properly and exercising, but by simply picturing yourself as a Greek god in a speedo. It also suggests you not even look at fat people because of the negative energy they emit, which means going to the mall is completely out of the question.
Out of curiosity, I decided to stop taking the litany of pharmaceuticals prescribed by my psychiatrist, and instead "visualize" myself as mentally stable. Three days later I woke up naked on a park bench with a squirrel stuffing nuts in my ear. The visualization thing did not work for me, this could be for many reasons; perhaps I was not properly manifesting my desires, or maybe I needed to give it more time, or it could be that I have a real problem, and pretending I don't by forcing myself to think about unicorn farts and rainbows, is not only useless, but detrimental.
What this all basically means is that if you have any problems in your life, such as a giant lizard stomping through the neighbourhood, the explanation for it's existence, is YOUR failure to remain positive, and not nuclear testing in the south Pacific. You only need to remain optimistic and there will be nothing you can not do or become, and if you do not, it is your fault for being such a Debbie-downer.
If you want to be a type rope walker, it's irrelevant that your missing three toes on one foot and your entire foot on the other foot, just imagine yourself walking that thin piece of wire across the Grand Canyon, and it will be so. If you dream of being the captain of a submarine, but are claustrophobic and hate the smell of other men, no problem, just think it, and you shall have it. If you always wanted to be a gynaecologist, but the sight of a vagina gives you dry heaves, think only good thoughts, and in no time you'll be rooting around in one, like a hobo in a dumpster.
There is also a chapter in The Secret that discusses how you can use your magic thinking powers for the common good, like world peace, or ending superhero movies, but I'm not sure you should waste your time with this. Why help starving children in Africa when you could be manifesting a Springsteen concert in your backyard? Why waste your time healing the sick when you could be giving the Pope eczema on his butt-crack?
No, I think the best use of these powers (were they real) would be one of complete and total selfishness, besides, if all I'm thinking about is the distended little bellies of hungry children, how an I suppose to remain upbeat and positive?
So, would I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you're lazy. Only people who are too lazy to get off their asses and do the actual work will find this book useful. The rest of us understand the only way to achieve our goals is to actually put in the physical work, rather than crossing our fingers or buying a lottery ticket.
I would even go so far as to call this book dangerous, not because it can be used to hit small children in the head (which it can), but because it lies to its readers about reality, suggesting obesity and poverty can be overcome with pleasant thoughts, instead of action. There is no shortcut .
On the other side of the scale, negative thinking is also said to have real physical consequences, so if you spend excessive amounts of time (like I do) thinking about getting ripped apart by hungry bears, you can pretty much expect a few angry Kodiaks to shred you to pieces like a prenup in my ex-wife's hands.
I don't want to say I disliked this book, so I'll just say that were I given the option of reading it again, or being circumcised with a cigar cutter, I would gladly choose the latter.
I'm completely on board with the part about thinking in a positive manner, I attempt to do this with every aspect of my life (not really), but the nonsense about attracting bad things through negative thoughts had me angry, then indifferent, then sleepy, then wanting to slap someone, then back to angry again. And to be fair, negative thoughts are more useless than a diaphragm made of cheesecloth, so I do see the benefit in eradicating them.
One time (true story), while on holiday in my neighbours back yard, I began to grow anxious that he would come home early and find me shaving his dog, and wouldn't you know it, just as I finished giving Rocky a bowl cut, my neighbour pulled up in the driveway. According to 'The Secret' it was I that manifested his early arrival, and had I just been thinking about love, joy, and cholate pudding, instead of worrying about my neighbour, he would never have come home again, and I would now be living in his house, watching Antiques Roadshow with his wife.
These negative thoughts are said to be the cause of all the problems in ones life, the trick is to avoid all negativity by simply not thinking about it. So, if while having a long and thorough shower, you happen to find a BB sized lump on one of your testicles, you should not go to the doctor and have it examined (which will cause you to think about it even more), but ignore your new found friend, and instead, think about playing shuffleboard with angles, while Jesus tends bar. This should cause the (probably) cancerous intruder to run screaming from your balls, leaving them happy, harry, and healthy.
The book goes on to say that you can have anything you want through 'visualization.' What this means is you can do things such as loosing weight, not by eating properly and exercising, but by simply picturing yourself as a Greek god in a speedo. It also suggests you not even look at fat people because of the negative energy they emit, which means going to the mall is completely out of the question.
Out of curiosity, I decided to stop taking the litany of pharmaceuticals prescribed by my psychiatrist, and instead "visualize" myself as mentally stable. Three days later I woke up naked on a park bench with a squirrel stuffing nuts in my ear. The visualization thing did not work for me, this could be for many reasons; perhaps I was not properly manifesting my desires, or maybe I needed to give it more time, or it could be that I have a real problem, and pretending I don't by forcing myself to think about unicorn farts and rainbows, is not only useless, but detrimental.
What this all basically means is that if you have any problems in your life, such as a giant lizard stomping through the neighbourhood, the explanation for it's existence, is YOUR failure to remain positive, and not nuclear testing in the south Pacific. You only need to remain optimistic and there will be nothing you can not do or become, and if you do not, it is your fault for being such a Debbie-downer.
If you want to be a type rope walker, it's irrelevant that your missing three toes on one foot and your entire foot on the other foot, just imagine yourself walking that thin piece of wire across the Grand Canyon, and it will be so. If you dream of being the captain of a submarine, but are claustrophobic and hate the smell of other men, no problem, just think it, and you shall have it. If you always wanted to be a gynaecologist, but the sight of a vagina gives you dry heaves, think only good thoughts, and in no time you'll be rooting around in one, like a hobo in a dumpster.
There is also a chapter in The Secret that discusses how you can use your magic thinking powers for the common good, like world peace, or ending superhero movies, but I'm not sure you should waste your time with this. Why help starving children in Africa when you could be manifesting a Springsteen concert in your backyard? Why waste your time healing the sick when you could be giving the Pope eczema on his butt-crack?
No, I think the best use of these powers (were they real) would be one of complete and total selfishness, besides, if all I'm thinking about is the distended little bellies of hungry children, how an I suppose to remain upbeat and positive?
So, would I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you're lazy. Only people who are too lazy to get off their asses and do the actual work will find this book useful. The rest of us understand the only way to achieve our goals is to actually put in the physical work, rather than crossing our fingers or buying a lottery ticket.
I would even go so far as to call this book dangerous, not because it can be used to hit small children in the head (which it can), but because it lies to its readers about reality, suggesting obesity and poverty can be overcome with pleasant thoughts, instead of action. There is no shortcut .