The Secret by Rhonda Byrne Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Secret
Book Review: "An Attractive Secret"
Summary: 4 Stars
The cover interested me, I have read and re-read the book many times highlighting as I read.
Pros:
* easy to read, no jargon
* different points of view on the same subject, addresses different situations with a common thread.
* pictures and graphics are eye- pleasing.
Cons:
* addresses the more passive side of the law of attraction
* little emphasis on actions
Book Review: "Common Sense" Is Not So Common
Summary: 4 Stars
As I stare at this blank screen before me, I am aware of one thing; Infinite Possibility. To me, a blank piece of paper, or an empty canvas, or a blank computer screen are metaphors for Possibility and so as I begin to write my review, I am aware that my closest companion in any given situation is Possibility Itself. That is why I loved the movie, The Secret so much. That is why I literally gushed in my review of the movie and yet I had some comments on my review that I was a "professional advertiser", that I was getting paid for my endorsement of the movie, that I was attempting to sell a "mystical bill of goods" because I dubbed myself as a "Light Coach". I am a Light Coach...I am a Spiritual Counselor and one of the things I desire to have happen in my life is that I will be able to make it my "full-time career" instead of it just being a part-time gig.
I am excited about this movie and this book, The Secret, for one reason; because it is an idea whose time has come. Yes, this book will be dismissed just as the movie was dismissed, but out of the hundreds of people that may dismiss it, there is going to be one person that gets it. By getting it, I do not mean, a pure intellectual understanding of it. What I mean, is that this person embodies the information. One reviewer said that this was all "common sense". What I have found on my journey is that common sense is not too common. Most of us are operating on old scripts from the past. Most of us are operating on unconscious conditioning. If everybody did what they say they know, this world would not be in the situation that we are in now.
I love the line that Dr. Michael Beckwith says, "What thought has done, it can undo..." He is paraphrasing the late, great Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, who probably paraphrased it from somebody else, and so on and so on. One reviewer asks, "Is there anything new under the sun?"
No. There most assuredly is not. What we must do is apply those things that we thought we knew. If we wish for our life to transform we must daily take the time to see our lives becoming the way we say we desire them to be. Yes, a lot of New Thought/Spiritual/Metaphysical people just get caught in the thinking that all they have to do is envision their dreams and they'll happen, and sometimes, they're right, sometimes dreams just seem to appear out of thin air...but many times we need to act on those things that we say we desire to be in our lives and the book and the movie reminds us of this constantly. Pulling no punches, I often find myself good at envisioning what I desire, but lacking in the action department. That is why I loved the movie and that is why I like the book; it reminds me constantly of those things that I need to consciously and deliberately practice. Not out of a feeling of "not being good enough", but out of a feeling, that I am good enough to be what I say I want to be, do what I say I wish to do, and have those things that I say I desire to have. What I find pretty funny is that the reviewers who say that this is all about materialism are missing one of the greatest truths of the universe and that is, we were all born to live life and to live life abundantly in EVERY SINGLE AREA of our lives.
I do not necessarily think that this book or this movie wants us to ignore the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lonely, etc. What I think the movie and the book stress is to not get "caught up" in the appearances. When we just focus on "what is" instead of "what can be" we are contributing to the continuation of whatever it is that we are looking at. Jesus the Christ was able to heal not because he focused on the disease or the appearance of the situation he was in, but by looking at the Infinite Source of Possibility, GOD!
And to me, this is what the film and the book are all about; focusing on where you want to go with your life. I could sit around and complain about how unfair life has been to me, or I could realize that today is a "blank piece of paper"...a "clean slate" in which I can decide once again what I want my life to be about. That every single moment of life has brought me to right here and right now and that is a blessing in itself.
I liked this book...not as much as the movie, but I am still not sad that I made the investment. And yes, I may have hundreds of books that may sound the same, but sometimes, just a little derivation in the way something is said can change everything. I would also like to stress that it will not be the book or the movie that will transform our lives; that job belongs to us. "Common Sense", I know, but for the most part I really don't think that the majority of people in the world today really don't think or feel that they have control over their thoughts, their feelings, and what happens in their lives. Most of us, and I have done so myself for many, many years, are on auto-pilot. But we can choose again. We can rise up from the ashes of the past and reclaim the Wholeness that is our Holiness and the Holiness that is our Wholeness.
And one last thing, to the person who thought I was in professional advertising and wrote for a living, would you like to hire me? For you see, I am currently using this "Law of Attraction stuff" to be guided and directed to a wonderful new career. I know and I feel that something great will be coming my way just like I know and feel something great is about to happen in your life, as well!
Peace and Blessings.
Book Review: "I've got a bridge to sell you"
Summary: 1 Stars
The real secret here is that Rhonda Byrne is making tons of money from all of the idiots who bought this ridiculous book.Book Review: "If Wishes Were Horses..."
Summary: 1 Stars
...Beggers Would Ride".. there is nothing wrong with positive thinking, however if I want a mountain to move, I had better pick up a shovel regardless if I whistle while I work..
If we want success, quality of life, security and happiness, we may want to consider Thomas Jefferson's writings and implement some of his thoughts into our daily lives. We would have much better outcomes.
Book Review: "If you think you can do it, or you think you can't do it, You are right."
Summary: 5 Stars
Rhonda Byrne didn't write that. Henry Ford did. If you skip everything but the quotes, you'll still get your money's worth. I'm a skeptic, like many of the reviewers here, but I'm not angry with the book for suggesting a few thoughts that just might help me get more of what I want out of life. I don't think my thoughts vibrate at any frequency, or attract things and events that also vibrate at that frequency. I'm a physics guy, so the words don't work for me. The ideas behind the words, however, do.
I think it's important to think in a way that is appropriate for what you want to be or become. An example: Food can make people fat. When animals like us eat the wrong things or too much of the right things without burning the energy, we store it. If a person sits down in a restaurant and orders an appetizer, an entrée that could feed two, and a desert, they are thinking and eating like a fat person. If that same person thinks "I am fit and eat like a fit person" they will tend to make choices congruent with that thought. Thoughts are real, and have a real impact on our choices. Our choices have a real impact on our lives.
Maybe it's more powerful than that. Maybe not. I don't know, but at least that much is true. This little book is well worth the two hours of your time it will take to get through it. Take the parts that work for you. Leave the rest behind.