Okay, so I’m clueless about the latest trends. I’m always way behind the curve. By the time I find out about “what’s hot” it’s not. By accident I stumbled on the latest hot button issue, “The Secret”. This movie supposedly unlocks the key to having everything you ever wanted, abundance beyond your wildest dreams. The trailer for this movie is so mesmerizing. The woman keeps whispering, “The Secret, The Secret” as part of the background sound effects. Now who doesn’t want in on a juicy secret? So this movie has been a hit. Just go to Amazon.com and see over one hundred comments, pro and con, about The Secret. Some of them on both sides are quite entertaining. I was hooked.
Now the good news is you don’t have to spend $30 to find out “The Secret” (sorry if you already have). I spent my own $5 to watch the movie online just so I could find out for myself what all the hoopla is about. Then I hit on it, I’m going to tell you all “The Secret”. Ready? Buckle your seatbelt for the wild ride- the secret is if you think it you can achieve it! Okay, ride over. Please watch your step as you exit. Satisfied? I see you shaking your head. Well no refunds, sorry.
Seriously, I was entertained by the movie. It was visually appealing, intriguing and had some cool background music. Yet I’m not all bent out of shape like a lot of people though I definitely see why some of us Christians are so upset. You see, some of the experts say things like “Just visualize what you want and it will happen” (only one expert said you have to take action to make what you want become real), or “Our thoughts created the universe, you are God!”. Uh, no. God is God and He created the universe. Any questions? Good.
I do agree with some of the statements. For example it’s true that you can’t change other people, all you can change is how you react to them and your attitude. I agree that you must have faith and put your faith into action. We all make choices and we can choose to put energy into the negative or the positive, yet happiness comes from putting energy into the positives in life. I do believe in the power of our thoughts and that these thoughts can be changed in a way that changes how we feel and act. As a therapist this is what I do for a living! But, and this is a big BUT, I believe that God has his own plan and sometimes what we want is not his plan for us. So you can think until you get dizzy and pass out, if He says it ain’t goin’ to happen, sugar, it ain’t goin’ to happen. Period. This is His world, He’s just letting us live in it! Now here is more good news- most of the time our little minds get stuck on “Woe is me, God didn’t give me what I asked for”. But we have lots of blessings if we just open our eyes. Here’s “The Secret”, you are already Blessed! The trick is to recognize and see the blessings you already have. Too many times we’re so focused on what we want that we don’t enjoy what we have. I’ve done that, spent so much energy feeling sad because I didn’t get this or that when I’m sitting in the middle of abundance and don’t really “see” it. You have to see it with your heart and soul, not just your eyes. You need to feel it.
I’ve been disappointed and shed tears over what I didn’t have. That’s human. But I have also sent up “Thank you” prayers to God for not giving me certain things that I wanted, asked for, yearned for. Not everything you want is what you need or even should have. It’s about His wisdom, not yours. One of my favorite jokes goes like this, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans” 🙂
Final good news reminder- you are Blessed right where you are.
Okay, okay you want to know more about Oprah’s big deal. Here it is The Secret (movie trailer) The official website is here The Secret website Now excuse me I’ve got to go think up more money to pay some bills (hey, I’m a work in progress!)
Be Encouraged 
Thank you for commenting on the so-called “Secret”. It is just the same old New Age mumbo-jumbo repackaged. They want you to think that you are little gods. You are absolutely right, God is in control and sometimes his plans for our lives are so different, and usually some much better, than anything that we could ever envision.
Oprah has done some great things with her money and her time, but she jumps all over the place spiritually. She usually goes for what ever New Age guru comes on the scene. She has promoted Ilyanla Van Zandt, Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson and Neale Donald Walsh among others. All these people are all the same. I am not too bent out of shape about all of this either because the Bible said that in the last days it would be like this.
The real “secret” is no secret at all. Jesus loved you so much that He gave His life for you and if you believe in Him you will live forever. You want a better life? Make Jesus Lord of your life, seek the wisdom found in God’s Holy Word, apply it to your life, increase your prayer life and give God the glory He so richly deserves and watch how the blessings come down!
Ms. Hubbard,
I just would like to to say…”eat the fish but spit out the bones”. Jesus didn’t force doctrine on anyone. So, whatever anyone decides to believe and/or accept as their own, so be it. I enjoyed the movie. It was very informational.
In reference to Mr. Emery’s comment, I would like him to explain John 10:34-36.
Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36).
To Wayne- thanks for the comment. As for us being in the last days, I’m not sure about that. People have been saying we’re in the last days for generations. But then thousands of years for humans can be just a couple of minutes to God.
To Nichelle- I enjoyed the movie, too, but “The Secret” wasn’t a great mystery. Hey, free will means exactly that, folks can choose to believe anything. God doesn’t force anyone to do good or bad, go left or right. Choices, we’ve got them.
Nichelle,
The Lord’s conversation in that scripture is with the Jewish leaders. His reference to them as “gods” is a taken from Psalm 82. In that passage God is speaking to the judges of Israel. When he says that they are “gods” he does not mean in any way that they are deity. He means that they represented God when they judged the people. The Hebrew word for gods in that passage was elohim(small e) which means “mighty ones” or “mighty one” and just like many words in Hebrew and in Greek, they could be used in more that one way. One of the names by which the God is called is Elohim with a capital E.
When Jesus made reference to Psalm 82, He was comparing the rulers that He was facing to the unfair and wicked judges being castigated in that Psalm. He was saying that if they, who were incorrectly using the power that God had given them, were called gods, then how much more authority did He who was God have. Jesus was doing the same thing to those Jews that He did when challenged by Satan in the wilderness. He used scripture.
We cannot take that scripture to mean that we as believers are God. If you want to take that to mean that we have some authority, go right ahead. You are absolutely right. My reference is to the New Age thinking that we are equal to God. Also when refering to scripture context is important when quoting scripture. Notice all of the events happening at that time that the words are written and spoken.
Lynn,
You are right when you say that it has been said for generations that we are in the last days. You are also rigth to say that a day is as a thousand in years to God. Whether or not is has been said for the past 2000 year is not the point. The point is that because we don’t know the day or the hour when Jesus will return we need to be ready. Saying that it is the last days doesn’t mean that I am taking the chicken little approach, just discerning the times as all Christians are to do.
My days of battling religious views and philosophies are minimal. Haven’t seen The Secret, either. But like most humans, I’d like to express my opinion without doing the homework.
It seems to me that if the book/movie gets people to be productive members of society, positive people toward each other, and community builders rather than leeches, then bully for them.
People are accountable for their actions/thoughts/faults. Yet, many institutions have failed them, too. And just maybe, by going this route to being a better person may open their hearts to certain religious influences too.
Michelle
Hi Michelle- I saw the movie. I’m not battling anybody about The Secret. If people want to be positive that’s a huge upside to the whole deal. As for people being failed by institutions, The Secret teachers say that we are responsible so it’s not the institutions that failed, folks put forth the wrong thoughts/energy/feelings that bounced back on them. In fact, Micheal Beckwith says living in a state of “victimhood” is a sure route to drawing negative energy. Like I said, I agree with parts of it, but then these concepts are part of Christianity and I’ve used them in therapy.