Monday, July 30, 2007 | by nathan

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

So, as part of my books project, I just finished The Secret on audiobook. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts mostly at the gym and before bed, and I have to say, if you’re going to listen to a self-help audiobook, the gym is certainly a fascinating place to do so.

This book’s been the subject of so much discussion lately that I really couldn’t resist giving it a fair shake. I immediately expected to find the whole thing moronic at best, but was honestly expecting to whip off the ear buds and give up after a half an hour. After all, I really don’t go in for self-help, or motivation, and the things I’d heard about this book’s philosophical premise made me doubt it from the start.

To be sure, there is some stuff here that might best be described as - God, what’s the word? - insane. "You can create the universe with your thoughts!" No, pretty much not. That our brains have some kind of physical influence over the world of their own accord is in opposition to almost every good bit of philosophy and theology I’ve ever read, and since I have a religion and philosophy DEGREE, I can say with confidence that I’ve read quite a bit.

However. I didn’t rip out the ear buds after an hour. I got all the way through it, because there was some stuff here - once you cut through the New Agey mythology of the whole thing - that I thought has the potential to be very valuable. I think it is fair to say that we take our thought lives for granted a lot of the time, and we fail to realize that if we expect bad things to happen, our lives will seem like nothing but a succession of bad things. I think there is a lot to be said about the way we conceptualize our existence; you could have two people, the facts of whose lives are identical as far as background, events, etc., and if one of them is the type to see his life as good, the world and God as safe, and himself as loved, the events of his life will generally seem to work in his favor. If those same events happen to someone who allows anger, bitterness, envy and self-pity to color his worldview, that person will see his life as difficult, even impossible. What I think most people do not realize is that we get to choose this outlook; this is what it means, at least in part, to believe. To have faith. Most people, I think, would see their essential disposition as something that’s out of their hands.

But here’s the thing about The Secret. It’s not a secret. Other than that little tidbit above, I found it to be exactly the same as every bit of Prosperity Gospel I’ve
ever read or heard. Throughout the whole book, in fact, I thought you could probably take the words "The Universe" (as in, "the Universe is a kind, gentle, and loving place; the Universe wants you to have that which your heart desires!") and replace them with "God," and the words "The Secret" ("The Secret is the way for you to become what you’ve always wanted to be, to have the life you desire!") and replace them with "The Gospel."

Also, I have to talk a minute about the idea of "manifesting" things presented here. The idea, again, is that if you ask for something, you can call it to yourself with the power of your mind. (Again - replace "call it to yourself" with "pray it to yourself"). So, if I "manifested" hard enough, I could wake up tomorrow with a $20,000 check in the mailbox and a flat stomach. Um - except aren’t we rewarded more by the fact that we worked hard to get the things we have, that the journey is as much reward as the destination? Once again - if you remove the mythology here there isn’t a bad point - focus and determination are important in achieving goals. But, I promise you that this book isn’t racing off the shelves because people need to be reminded of the importance of focus and determination. It’s racing off the shelves because people want to rub a magic lamp. (I won’t even mention the fact that she does say that people who experience hardship and pain brought it on themselves by the power of their thoughts. I think the SNL skit about the guy in Darfur says it all).

My main problem here, of course, is this idea that what we want is what should be most important to us. We should never be critical of our own desires, of course, because if I want something, it’s got to be the best thing for me, right? Think about the whole of human history and tell me if that statement could possibly be correct. 

The Secret’s got a great marketing thing going for it: "Look, we’ve uncovered this thing that has been hidden by historical conspiracy!" But really, it’s no secret that if you focus on your goals, if you think positively, and throw yourself and your energy into attaining what you want, you at least stand a better chance of getting it. There’s not really anything new here, and while I couldn’t write the whole thing off, I can tell you that if you’re even the tiniest bit thoughtful you’ll realize that this "Prosperity Gospel for the Secular World" has some serious philosophical flaws, and no matter how many things you "manifest" into your life, you’re still going to have to work hard and sacrifice to get the things you want. And even if every one of your physical desires come true, your life will amount to very little if you have not spent it loving the people around you, loving the world, and trying to leave a better place behind you than in front. And while, yes, the book does say that, it dares not bemoan the point, reasoning instead that the way to love the world? Is to love yourself, and the way to love yourself? Is to get everything you want, because then - and only then - could you possibly ever do anything good or meaningful.

So, y’know - Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Jesus - chumps, apparently.