Help
Sign In
attraction
September 2009 
Creating Reality--the Secret behind The Secret
Posted on Apr 16th, 2007
by 
Donan
Donan
i've avoided discussing the secret for as long as i could...tonight i rubbed against its philosophical web of pop culture and decided to reveal the secret that sits behind the scrim of attraction. So if you want to meet the wizard, read on.
Belief in the mutability of truth is a common thread in society today. The Law of Attraction or if you're hip enough, LOA as it is being called these days, makes use of this common and often deeply held belief; it does so in error.
Truth is not so mutable as modern philosophy might have one believe, but perception is quite a different story. The confusion between the two arises from morality struggles over actions taken by good people due to different perceptions--one should not condemn one who is merely mistaken, or who rejects the dogma of someone else (who is just as likely mistaken) e.g. "Society no longer thinks this is wrong so it is not." And largely on this rationale the recent sociological paradigm of reason has held that truth changes with perception...To follow this logically, the earth was indeed once flat because it was true that the earth was flat for the people who believed it to be flat. So if you believe this to be true, does your belief in relative truth actually make the world flat? even for you? But realize that believing in your 'truth' does not make you a fool, it merely makes you someone observing the world from a narrower perspective. Such is the world of relative truth.
Now if the thing you believe, your personal truth, happens to be true, which presumably could occur with some frequency as long as tolerances are set widely enough, so much the better. But realize that your belief did not make it so. It was so whether or not you believed it, or saw it. If it was false, but was truth for you, you were simply mistaken, nothing more. No harm, no foul. Unless of course you happen to be a despotic schizophrenic, like, say, Bertrand Aristede, and you are off your meds--then making your own truth has real drawbacks for those not so good at enforcing their own realities (and there's the truth about why he 'voluntarily' submitted his resignation--twice). But enough of Haitian politics and back to manifesting reality.
There really is a secret behind the secret but it is not some great conspiracy to hold down the populace while the initiates of the grand esoteric art prosper beyond measure. The Secret boils down to this time honored aphorism: People who practice intentional living a la Secret, achieve not because they know "the secret", they achieve not because they 'create or co-create reality (and finally i get to the point): People who achieve, achieve because they set goals and obsess about them. They pin a picture of their dream house, as motivation to material wealth, on a bulletin board and years later they subconsciously recognize it and, having material wealth, purchase the shell of their dream without even realizing that they achieved the thing on which they focused. This is also why champion athletes are champions...when you eat, sleep, drink, and breath your goals, you are less likely to make decisions contrary to your goals...but your success is not an altercation of reality, or the manifestation of your desired reality, rather it is the result of making conscious and subconscious choices within an extant and external reality, of which you are an element, that are in keeping with your goals. And yes, when you have singular focus, people with similar goals and interests will flock to you and even help you stay on track and achieve your goals.
On the flip side, when you dwell in negative energy and intention doom and gloom, you are more likely to make decisions that will take you away from your desires. And your attitude will find you attracting those with the same kind of attitude...it's not that the secret does not have some merit...it's just that those who would promote it are collecting the data and are misinterpreting it--and they are selling good goal setting advice in a sham bottle.
You don't have to create reality to accomplish your dreams whatever they may be--If you really want something, or to accomplish something, write it on a piece of paper and put it in your pocket. Carry it with you and read it frequently. When you approach a fork in the road, one path leading to your goal and the other somewhere else, you will likely choose your goal, perhaps without even realizing you made a choice to move towards whatever your heart may desire. There is enough in this reality...and that is the real secret.
Cheers,
Donan
Access: PublicTagged with: the secret, LOA, attraction, setting, goals, relativism, relative, truth, perception, reality, creating, pop, culture, philosophy
Donan,
I fully agree with you. So does Wallace D. Wattles who tells you 'to spend as much leisure time as you can in contemplating your picture'. 'And behind your clear vision must be your purpose'to realize it…'. 'And behind this purpose…. your faith…'
This thinking is also applied scenario-thinking, a management tool used to prepare for the future. Multidisiplinary teams draw up a common viable picture of a (one of more) future for either society, an organization, a city, a country etc. SHELL used it before the oil crisis turned up. But the company scenarists had already envisioned the possibility of this type of crisis. When the first symptoms showed up, SHELL was the first major oil company to recognize them. They 'had already been there' in their collective minds.
The same goes for your dream job, house, personal or business project etc. Thinking them through in advance (and giving this thinking permanent - you call it obsessive - priority) will make you aware of the abundant opportunities that you otherwise only encounter unconsciously and let pass by. Like Little Red Riding Hood, I think most people just dwell away from their own way when indifferently picking daisies in stead of intently looking for one specific flower, their flower.
I think the secret behind the secret is to make the effort to envision your personal dream in the first place (which means making a choice and not keeping all your options open) and then work on it proactively, every spare moment (as Wattles says). This as opposed to the reactive, consumeristic way we are taught to live and serve our parents first and the big consumption machine after that. Genuinely believing in abundance in stead of scarcity is a prerequisite.
Cheers to you
Dan
Personally, I've never got on the Secret bandwagon. I think secret bandwagons are far too overrated! lol!
But seriously, I've never read the book or watched the movie – even though a well-meaning friend loaned it to me and it has been sitting on my dresser at home, collecting dust, for a couple of months. I've read enough reviews and blissful postings proclaiming its worthiness that I think I've got a pretty good idea of the premise. Good enough to form the opinion that it's another fad – someone playing to our materialistic desires, telling us that “yes, indeed – you CAN have everything you want without working for it,” offering yet another “quick fix” in our quick fix culture.
That being said, there is some merit to the idea of co-creating our reality. As has been scientifically proven, our thoughts have an influence on the operation of sub-atomic particles, most notably demonstrated in wave-particle experiments involving photons. Researchers found that photons would behave as particles if they set up the experiment to measure particles, but as waves if they set up the experiments to measure waves. If our thoughts and intentions have such influence over the building-blocks of our physical universe, it stands to reason that we CAN influence our reality in this manner.
But I definitely don't think it's a good idea to tell people that they can have anything they want, if they only want it bad enough - without having to work for it. “Oh, I really, really want good grades! I'll just sit here and meditate on it, visualize it, write affirmations, and I'll ace all my finals this week!” Wrong! You gotta study and do the work or you're gonna fail the test. Period.
I am not familiar with Wattles so thanks for letting me know about him. I used to keep a poster on the wall that had the progression of my cycling all of the way up. i marked things off as i achieved and the only thing not marked off was junior national champion (though i qualified road, sprint and kilo, i could not go to nationals that year). I chose a fork that went somewhere else, but i did it intentionally.
The problem with secret bandwagons it that the brass always gives them away ;-)
The experiments with photons, with which i am familiar, do beg another question…is it more likely that we, fundamentally, do not understand what is going on with photons that leads us to interpret the results as being dependent on the experiment? Perhaps when we understand light better we will have the frame of reference to interpret what the sneaky little things are doing.
The other side of this is, if we can influence our future is that because we have already done so? If we don't fully understand light, can we really use it as the measure of time?
And if you want those grades badly enough, and you keep your goal present, chances are you will decide to study when the choice arises…regardless, reality will manifest about a week after finals ;-)
Cheers
I'm too lazy tonight to be erudite about it, so I'll be blunt *grin* – Secret or no secret, I absolutely create my reality. It takes more than thinking and cannot be observed or validated via only the mind. It's about more than the decisions I make or what I mentally focus on. Things happen, forces align, the mystery and poetry of life unfolds from within and without in ways that are seemingly beyond this familiar container of mind-body, and great knowing comes from a place within that is much deeper than any brain cell can carry me.
P.S. I wanted to mention that part of the deal with photons is that they will move *in the direction researchers want them to* under certain conditions.
Re: The Secret, I have noticed that a lot of us (myself included!) are guilty of rejecting bandwagons just because they are bandwagons. This comes from a good place in us – the desire to be independent thinkers and not sheeple on a brand-buzz – but it can serve to limit us as well. In moments of self-honesty I have noticed that my own resistance to bandwagons is rooted in fear and self-preservation, not so much the open and independent mind that masks it. Trying to be honest and soften my sight about a bandwagon of course doesn't mean I then have to join it, but I need to look at the root of my resistance to it. With critics of this film, there is a whole anti-bandwagon bandwagon which might be worth using as a point of self-exploration.
I've found that a lot of people debate The Secret without having seen it (or having skimmed it with their left brain and a big wad of preconceived resistance based on what they've heard about it or think it's about). I was skeptical about it too and did not watch it for months until – ahem! – the Universe/my soul brought it across my path at a critical time and it affected me even though I already knew (or thought I knew) its principles.
I was impressed to find 1.) the emphasis critics think is there isn't, unless you're missing the huge meta-message and the loving and powerful spirit with which most of these folks are presenting the material. 2.) the criticisms I had read and heard were ultimately based in a lack of understanding of marketing, film production, communication to the masses, etc.
There are various complaints about the film, but from a production standpoint it makes complete sense to me why the movie was done the way it was done – from its title to its branding to its visual illustrations of material success. The methods used to communicate make sense to me rather than block my experience of the film's truth.This was the way to get the message across effectively to a world who really needs to hear this message. And is there not something to be said for receptivity and an ability to learn something new from any source? I know I learned wonderful things from the film even though I thought I already knew and understood its principles.
Sure, the principles themselves are no big secret – the film's makers know that. But if all this is such common knowledge, why aren't more of us creating the lives we want instead of discussing manifestation on blogs?
I am told by those who really know astrology well that all is written in the planets, moons, asteroids, and stars. They say the more knowledge you have of astrology, the more fatalistic you are likely to become–it is that specific. I know far less about this relational study of life than others, but, given the widely known high statistical correlation between moon phases and all manner of things from accidents to births to suicide, it seems reasonable that there is some energy that the moon exerts or blocks (which I cannot say), and if the moon can do this, is it not likely that more subtle influences from other bodies might exist? But still, I am not a fatalist. I believe that such energies or influences are there to be surfed like waves on the ocean—our decisions determine which way we go, if we even ride the wave at all, or if we wait eternally for the ‘perfect wave’ while riding none at all… and I also believe that if one takes a wave sideways it is possible to be swamped, even capsize, and find life upside down, living with one’s head beneath the water while considering how thick the air does seem to be and marveling at how the birds now have such beautiful…scales.
So all this talk of manifestation: what is it really and how does it fit in with other belief structures? Perhaps we can manifest Pluto from its orbit or Saturn into trine with the Sun? No? …for me, I’m content to surf what comes my way–as best I can–and I will, of course, willingly hike a thousand miles to discover the best beaches and breaks.
I think you have perhaps misapplied what I told you about astrology. He he. *wink* (do we need to take this up in email? *grin*). But, regarding manifesting Pluto from his orbit – a bunch of us had an almost identical conversation tonight. A friend was arguing that if we could manifest reality the way she thinks I'm saying we could manifest, then her crazy grandmother who truly sincerely believes the earth is flat would make it flat by believing it is. She perhaps misses the point, at least in reference to what I am saying. But in this context, and to perhaps scratch the beginning of an answer to your question, what if everybody everywhere – on earth, on other planets, in other galaxies… all sentient energies with the power of intent – desired the Earth to be flat? I dare say we could likely make it so.
No, I cannot change the fact that Saturn will shine his teacher energies upon whatever of my natal planets, but that is a mighty large container in which I can still manifest any number of realities. And, as with his most recent transit to my 5th house, part of his teaching is that very principle of literally grounding consciousness and actualizing, creating, manifesting my creative intentions.
I am not content to go through life surfing. Fate may dictate that the wave will come, but it is not a wave that is beyond our ability to direct. We are not relegated to simply surfing. Flowing, yes. And by flowing with it I am more able to direct it and determine its effect on me.
Fate and free will co-exist. I would prefer to get my butt off the surf board to flow with and direct the power of the water, whether to blend with it like a fish, or to let it seem to annihilate me with its fluid force to show me what it wants to show me, or better yet, I can choose to conjure some new waves of my own to ride where I determine I want to go.
Perhaps, but you know that I have always held a different view of astrological energies, believing, for instance, that Saturn was more teacher than trickster though one may choose to find him as either, and this i see by intuition and no one's telling. If I then were Saturn, I would say, “It is a semantic argument you make. You either ride the waves and use them, surfing (your flowing), roll over or through them, again surfing (flowing), or you get hit by them, not surfing (not flowing). In surfing you do get to choose your path (your “direct” the wave), you can choose to cut left or right or double back, drop a hand and slow a bit or a miriad of other options and where you end up depends on these decisions and where you want to go…you can eaven choose to paddle out to sea”
That aside, let’s go relative truth for a second… in my relative reality, truth for me is that if one can, by intention, alter the composition of the universe an inch, so can they alter it a mile with a suitable force of will. Clearly in your reality there are limits… I would simply like to draw attention to them and ask you, gently, what creates them? If a mustard seed can move mountains, what then of an avocado?
Regardless of what anyone calls it, the important thing is that all decide what they want to do and flow or surf the choices…with your amazing creative talent, you should emmerge sparkling…and i truly wish that for you.
Do you mean can an avocado move a mountain or can a mustard seed move an avocado? (kidding)
As for Saturn, he *is* a trickster for therein lies his teaching. We do not encounter him as either-or; we experience the trickster and hopefully thereby find the teacher.
Yes, I absolutely have limits. There are limits (self-limits) of some sort in everyone's reality and their ability to create it – the limit of each individual's desire and the limit of their capacity to focus and direct will and energy, etc. A whole book could be written about the complexities of limits and no limits, natural law, universal law, karmic law, personal psychological limits, etc. But in terms of the magic of manifestation, in theory, there are no limits; in reality, we experience limits. In the realm of limits, some come here to learn boundaries, some to learn what they can about limitlessness. Depends on the personal path. But i believe that in terms of our common human existence we all have the natural birthright of discovering and using our ability to manifest our reality. As I see it at this time, we are all extensions of creative energy here for the purpose of figuring out what we want and creating it. We invent the limits.
Neither intention nor force of will is alone sufficient for manifesting. I'm beginning to think “The Secret” is aptly named. We are quick to dismiss it as no real secret, and yet debate its formula and effects. Wonderfully mischievious irony. *smile*
The bottom line for me is that I don't care so much what any of us (myself included) speaks about manifestation, astrology, any of it. What matters to me is have we lived and experienced what we are speaking or is it simply fancy brainwork.
I'm not quite on the same page with you on the wave thing, but it could be somewhat due to semantics. At the least, semantics are in the way (the surfing analogy gets thin compared to the actualities of how we experience the planetary energies and what our choices are… and I really don't recommend putting words in Saturn's mouth… LOL), so yeah “that aside..”
Thank you for the kind wishes. Likewise. I eagerly await your manifestations.
lol…i guess any analogy with an avocado in it is best taken with a grain of salt.
Just received the latest Byron Katie newsletter, with a looong text about “The difference between The Work and The Secret”. I've enjoyed it a lot.
“The Secret: You can have whatever you want.
The Work: You can want whatever you have.”
Amen.
The secret behind the secret - a well chosen title for this intuitive zBlog post - from the smile which so obviously reflects the everlasting light which eminates from the splitting of kindling or the lifting of a stone.
Cheers and Amen :)