Book Review of The Secret

2.  Author : Rhonda Byrne
 Country : Australia, USA
 Language : English(available in 44 languages)
 Genre : Self-help Spiritual
 Publisher : Atria Books
 Publication date : 26 November 2006

3.  Rhonda Byrne (born 12 March 1951) is an Australian
television writer and producer, best known for her
New Thought books, The Secret and its sequel, The
Power. She has also written The Magic.
 In 2007, Byrne was featured in Time Magazine's list of 100
people who shape the world. Her philosophy is that believing
will allow you to achieve your wishes and dreams.
 The Secret sold more than 19 million copies in more than 40
languages by the spring of 2007, as well as more than 2
million DVDs. According to a January 2009 Forbes.com
article, Byrne's book and film have made $300 million.

4.  The Secret is based on the earlier film of the same name
that was released in DVD format in March 2006.
 The tenet of the film and book is that the universe is
governed by a natural law called the law of attraction which
is said to work by attracting into a person's life the
experiences, situations, events, and people that "match the
frequency" of the person's thoughts and feelings.
 Therefore, positive thinking and feeling positive are
claimed to create life-changing results such as increased
wealth, health, and happiness.

5.  A documentary movie has been made on ‘The Secret’ to
showcase the importance and methods of implementation
of this concept, but I feel there is a great difference
between reading and viewing something.
 The impact created when we read something attentively is
far more than any form of visual representation of the
same.
 But owing to the shift of allegiance from printed text to
videos in the current age, the movie is expected to reach a
greater chunk of the human population.
 But I am sure that there is still a crowd that will support me
in advocating for the book.

6.  The Secret describes the law of attraction as a natural law
that determines the complete order of the universe and of
our personal lives through the process of "like attracts like".
 The author claims that as we think and feel, a
corresponding frequency is sent out into the universe that
attracts back to us events and circumstances on that same
frequency.
 For example, if you think angry thoughts and feel angry, it
is claimed that you will attract back events and
circumstances that cause you to feel more anger.
Conversely, if you think and feel positively, you will attract
back positive events and circumstances.

7.  The book begins by introducing the mechanisms of the law of
attraction. The book describes the law as a magnetic power
emitted through one's thoughts. The power of thoughts is
likened to a transmission tower that sends out a frequency to the
universe and then returns the same frequency in a physical form.
 Next, a three-step creative process for manifesting dreams is
introduced: Ask, Believe and Receive. This creative process is
based on a quote from the Bible: "And all things, whatsoever ye
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
 The Secret highlights gratitude and visualization as the two most
powerful processes to help manifest one's desires. Several
techniques are given for the visualization process, as well as
examples of people claimed to have used it successfully to
manifest their dreams.
 As an example, if a person wanted a new car, by thinking about
the new car, having positive and thankful feelings about the car
as if it were already attained; the law of attraction would
rearrange events to make it possible for the car to manifest in the
person's life.

15.  The Secret puts forward several ideas that are surprising,
exciting, and perhaps controversial, such as: If you focus
your attention on achieving a goal and believe not only that
you can do it, but that you already have done it, you can
achieve virtually any goal you set your mind to.
 If you focus on what you don't want, you are inadvertently
drawing that into your life. For example, if you constantly
ruminate on what is stressing you, you'll actually draw
more of those situations into your life. Instead, the trick is
to focus on what you do want in your life, and you'll get
more of that.
 The Law of Attraction, the principle that you attract
whatever you focus your energy on, works with
relationships, possessions, goals, and anything else you are
able to focus on - even your own health.

16.  Getting people to focus on having a positive attitude is
a good thing.
 You can’t expect good things to happen when you are
walking around like Eeyore the donkey from Winnie
the Pooh expecting the worst of everything and
everyone.
 Getting people to develop a long-term plan for what
they want to accomplish is a good thing because it’s
pretty hard to accomplish things you don’t even know
you want.

17.  This book is really just another version of Napoleon
Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”.
 Yes, you need to have a positive attitude and you need
to focus on the right things. Both attitude and focus
are essential for success. What is easily overlooked by
readers is “Think and Grow Rich” and they think that
you need not to take action to make the things you
want to have happen.

18.  The book has caused some controversy. For example, some
people believe that it conflicts with the religious values of
Christianity and other major religions, while others see it as
a complementary approach.
 The book does spend considerable time on how to use the
Law of Attraction to gain an expensive car or other material
possessions, and without direct action; many people have
asserted that having such a focus on external things and
material wealth goes against the spiritual wisdom of the
Law of Attraction, reducing it to a parlor trick of sorts.
 And there's also been criticism of the idea that we create
our own difficult circumstances in life; the obvious
examples of children born into abuse or millions of people
born into extreme poverty doesn't seem to fit well with that
explanation of reality.

19.  My main concern with the Law of Attraction, is that some
people may take the 'you create your own reality' message
as proof that they are to blame for challenging
circumstances which are beyond their control.
 Accidents, serious illnesses, and other major life
circumstances can be easier to overcome with a feeling of
personal control and a proactive attitude like that espoused
in the secret; these same challenges can be all the more
crushing when people blame themselves for their
existence.
 The Law of Attraction, in my opinion, can explain a lot and
can be used for its positive benefits, but does not account
for all negative events we encounter.

20.  Countless thousands of people have found the principles
espoused in The Secret to be life-changing.
 Many people have found it to provide significant relief
from stress in that it can provide the reader with more of an
internal locus of control, positive attitude, and clarification
of goals.
 Though there are some hiccups to it, I would say that this
book can provide some excellent opportunities for stress
relief, and a rough roadmap to a better life.
 "The Secret" promoted "primitive thinking" as a
replacement for actually earning esteem.