The Secret by Rhonda Byrne Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Secret
Book Review: "The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding."
Summary: 5 Stars
The title of this review is a quote from the Kybalion, a treatise on Hermetic Philosophy, and one of the original sources for the current incarnation of these principles, The Secret.
The Secret focuses mainly on only one of the more general Hermetic Teachings, the Law of Attraction, and touches briefly on a few others.
There are a total of seven main principles in the Hermetic Philosophy, taken from the Emerald Tablet, and an understanding of all of them both separately, and as a sum of their parts, is crucial to a complete understanding of the principles at play.
They can at first be learned individually, one at a time, through media such as The Secret, but to fully understand any of them, they must all be put together to form an understanding of the larger perspective presented.
As summarized from The Kybalion, these are all seven main Hermetic Principles along with the brief axiom associated with each:
1. The Principle of Mind "The All is mind; The Universe is Mental"
2. The Principle of Correspondence "As Above, so below; as below, so above"
3. The Principle of Vibration "Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."
4. The Principle of Polarity "Everything is Dual. Extremes meet. All paradoxes may be reconciled."
5. The Principle of Rhythm "To everything, an ebb and flow. Rhythm compensates."
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause."
7. The Principle of Gender "Everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles."
The Secret uses numerous sources for its presented theory, but most of the sources used are actually interpretations and explanations of these aforementioned original seven principles, which have influenced nearly every major philosophy on this planet, including most of the religions, in one way or another. They will sound familiar to most of you.
The Secret is a good place to start for most people interested in this sort of philosophy; its more "user-friendly" than some of the headier treatises on the Hermetic Principles, though not as in-depth, either.
The Secret provides good, general guidelines to transmute the negative thoughts and feelings we experience, by changing our mental habits, which then changes our perspective on life.
If you would like to experience what it is like to see the glass half full for a change, this is one place to start.
Keep in mind that what you get out of it is equal to what you put into it.
Like everything that requires practice to attain proficiency, one must actually DO the practice to attain the results. It is impossible to judge its effectiveness for yourself without you actually trying it. The obstacles to results will be equal to the degree of cynicism that you bring to it, how deeply entrenched you are in pessimistic habits, how fatalistic, jaded, etc.
If you are on the fence about it, barrow it from the library or a friend or relative, and take a look. If it repulses you, leave it alone, it won't help you.
If you have an epiphany, you are ready to begin changing your life via this avenue.
When you have applied it diligently, and are ready for deeper philosophical pondering, I recommend the Kybalion, or any of the other Hermetic collections. Like Zen Koans, the axioms and maxims and precepts are designed to spark a deeper resonance within the mind.
Its not there to tell you what to think, it there to teach you how to think.
Book Review: "There is no such thing as something for nothing."
Summary: 1 Stars
Napoleon Hill wrote those words in the various books he authored (such as Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success.) They are the unadulterated truth about the "Secret".
I read him, and then read the Secret in order to give it a chance. But apart from clever marketing and packaging, there is nothing innovative about the information.
If anything it is impractical watered-down misinformation and new age philosophy. They leave out that in order to achieve what all the great ones such as Edison, Disney, Carnegie, Ford and others did, it takes more than just dreaming or visualization or whatever. They put in long hours and worked harder than even their employees, persevering when everything seemed hopeless.
If they had followed the advice in The Secret, they would have stopped when things had gotten hard because they would "feel" bad, and we wouldn't have most of the great things they made.
If you want to "feel good", read The Secret. If you want to change your life and achieve real success, check out Napoleon Hill. Seriously.
Book Review: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you get what you need."
Summary: 2 Stars
While I basically agree with what a lot of the one star reviews say(with regard to its marketing and it's misrepresentation as a secret, particularly), I think that if someone feels drawn to buy The Secret, they should. After all, the paths to the Mountain are myriad and, for some, The Secret represents a trail head. I remember when I first became aware of being on The Path at an early age, I read a lot of books that wouldn't much interest me today. I think the same may be true for many, years after reading The Secret.
My main caution with The Secret (I watched the DVD and browsed the book), is that The Secret gets the so-called 'law' of attraction wrong. Mick, Keith and the boys got it right 40-some years ago when they sang, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need."
In my experience, what we draw to ourselves is what we need to further our own evolution toward real and abiding happiness (which only comes with a visceral understanding of our oneness with 'God'). This doesn't always correspond to what we wish. That which we draw to ourselves are lessons, not wishes.
I note that the DVD of The Secret extensively uses the image of the Universe as a genie which endlessly grants your wishes (if you only would visualize and feel what you want properly). But this is a cartoon image of the traditional folklore of the Djinn. Many of the tales of the Djinn were cautionary tales along the lines of "be careful what you wish for." Wishes are like that. Because we live in a consumerist culture, we are conditioned from early on to believe that it's money, cars, houses, etc. that will make us happy. But the wealthiest among us --I know quite a few-- are not. It is like Jesus said, "It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to pass into the kingdom of heaven."
My hope is that those who feel drawn to read The Secret or view the DVD will not find disappointment when everything they wish for doesn't come true and make them happy and turn away from some of the very valid lessons it presents. My sincerest hope is that it functions for what it is - a trail head to a deeper pursuit of truth.
Book Review: & It Works Like Magic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Rhonda Byrne had developed a most interesting compilation of 'creation wisdom' in her book 'The Secret.'
All that I can say is I've read this book a few times over. With each reading I understand the wisdom more completely.
I highly recommend that you read 'The Secret' because it works like magic!
Also read:
'Nexus' by Deborah Morrison & Arvind Singh a fascinating New Age novel about people who are attempting to transform their lives & they are using some aspects of 'The Secret' to do so.
Nexus: A Neo Novel
Book Review: '' THE SECRET ''
Summary: 5 Stars
THE BOOK OF LOVE . THE BOOK OF TRUTH . PERFECTION .
I'M 82 YRS YOUNG. HAVE WAITED A VERY LONG TIME FOR
THIS BOOK OF TRUTH . THE DEEP DARK AGES WE HAVE HAD
TO LIVE THROUGH COULD NOT KEEP ' THE TRUTH ' BURIED
FOREVER . WHAT GLORIOUS LIGHT HAS BEEN SHED UPON
US . HOW VERY BLESSED WE ARE . DOROTHY MASTERS