The Secret
Byrne, Rhonda.
New York; Toronto: Atria Books, 2006.
So, this is a really beautiful book. Fantastic cover, gorgeous paper but what's with the icons next to people's names?? They were distracting while I was reading, and I just couldn't figure out what some of them were supposed to represent. I did like the summaries at the end of every chapter as a way of reinforcing the message.
What is the message you ask? Well, apparently it really was a secret because the trailer for the movie and the first Amazon reviews I read a couple of month ago were so vague, it was frustrating! I didn't have much interest in it but I decided to read the book because I wanted to start our new web site off with something that lots of people seemed interested in (if the hold lists are any evidence) and would hopefully feel inspired to Comment on below.
The Secret is the Law of Attraction - "like attracts like" and our thoughts are magnets and we're transmission towers. I could sort of buy into this but I perceived it more simply as the power of positive thinking and using visualization. It makes sense that the more positive you are about something, the more you'll do things to achieve that goal whether it's being positive with people who can help you, or creating a plan to get you where you want. My personal experiences have shown me that thinking negatively can have negative consequences but I really can't accept this book's premise that everything has happened because I'm attracting negative thoughts, feelings and events.
Many other reviews I've since read point to the same things that bothered me as I was reading. I was even compelled to text someone when I read on page 59 that "Food cannot cause you to put on weight, unless you think it can." I'm sorry, I know feelings of happiness and depression can affect how much or how little I eat but even if I'm euphoric and visualizing myself at my perfect weight, eating burgers every day is going to make me fat. That's just a scientific fact. And I didn't really like the message to ignore overweight people or walk away from conversations with those who are sick. I get that you need to remain positive and this could have an adverse effect on your progress but it seemed a little callous to me.
Some of the stories in here were inspirational and I've had talks with people in the library who say this has worked for people they know. I'm not entirely convinced but there are a lot of people out there who benefit from this type of motivational self-help. What do you think?
For commuters, we have the book on cd.
Don't forget to check out our movie reviews. I'll be posting a review of the DVD soon.