"The Secret" is a Scam

Well, I do agree that you will never find scientific evidence for the Secret. It isn't science, but it incorporates scientific elements to appease the scientific minded folk of today.
It is metaphysics, and it is esoteric mysticism. It demonstrates the law of Karma - even every thought has an effect that will manifest. Is it really that ridiculous? If I unconsciously keep imagining how bad a job interview is going to go in my head, can I really be surprised when i am nervous and don't present my self well? If I keep telling myself I am a bad person and harbour irrational guilt (for example), I am affecting my future self in all sorts of profound and negative ways.

That is what the secret is about. How by thinking positively today, tomorrow you feel more motivated and do one thing more thing, like go to the gym. Eventually 6 months down the line your subconsciously programmed in a more positive way - more happier states, more confident - and the results will show in your life. It is simply a warning that what you are thinking is important, mixed with how to be mindful i.e. aware of what you are thinking.

Or at least thats the way I see it. The science bit is dubious, but either way it doesn't take away from the message above. And the religious side of it - not a fan of that either. But they do charge money and seem to run it like a business - and I don't think theres anything wrong with that. Its the spiritual new-age hippy connotations that you are annoyed with maybe, and don't blame you for that.

Well having read all these posts I could say a lot......

I've watched it at least 3-4 times, I think it helps to watch it twice to get where they're coming from a little more.
AND.... for crying out loud will people stop saying that the secret tells you to just sit back, think positive and let it all come to your doorstep.
Personally I have had some cool stuff happen since, I'm a car nut and a 1 of 6 ever built car, that I had dreamed of landed in my lap. I had to get a loan, and keep working to pay the $$$, but the opportunity alone to get a go at puchasing this car was amazing enough.

They say that true focus on what you really want (not what the bloody tv convinces you to want)
and keeping yourself positive and your thoughts away from pain of the past, or fear of the future.... and are what can help you get what you want.
They say that if you are projecting and thinking well, that the path to what you want can present itself.... but still, you must make the right choices and step that path.
This is why it's important to release the pain and the fear.
They mention some stuff of the metaphysics that is really starting to back some of these concepts scientifically, even if the science itself is still a bit theoretical and being proven in very small steps, with surprises along the way.
Watch "What the Bleep do we Know?" that goes into that side of this kind of thing a lot more.

No, it's not new info, but it's still 'info' and concepts many, many people are not very familiar with. I think it is a bit nasty of anybody to profit largely on this when they could just introduce people to this stuff for a small cost, and put them on the path to much of the free stuff on the net and so on....
But.... if a bit of marketing hype and whatnot spreads the word and wakes people up a little bit.... good.

I do not know of how they make money other than book and DVD, I imagine there are probably some "classes" or some bloody thing that people can subscribe to and keep paying for, but ultimately it's their choice anyway. If paying some money for something makes them feel good well so what?
People pay through the nose for drugs to feel good, and end up feeling sh***.

I think it's rough to call it a scam, but if people rant about it for ever and ever then that's silly. There's nothing so amzing that you can't digest it, use it and move on while continuing to use the concepts if you so wish.
I've listened to a lot of Deepak Chopra's audiobooks, Synchrodestiny is brilliant. Wayne Dyer is good, I'm not a fan of Robbins, way too American for me, he rants a bit. He has good points to make though. All of these sorts of things and similar films like What the Bleep... are all good to watch/read/listen as you get different perspectives on essentially the same thing - how we work.

yeah--I agree with gts--the secret may not be for everyone--but it does have something to give if you want it--if not move on--but why complain about it--if you understood the secret in the first place--you wouldn't waste your time and would have just moved on--- I AM A BIG FAN OF THE SECRET AND THE MESSAGE IT HAS FOR INDIVIDUALS ON THE EARTH! ENOUGH SAID.

__Tigger__ wrote:The so called "Secret" is a MLM (Multi Level Marketing... spin off of the good old pyramid marketing, aka illegal, immoral, nasty business).

Anyone in Australia can watch ACA this monday and watch the a&%hole that helped start this crap getting rather squirmy once again.

Positive / Affirmative thinking, yes... excellent, it's good to have good thoughts.

Sending out thoughts / brain waves such that things come back to you... sorry, it's bogus cr@p... quantum physics don't quite work that way my friends (I have a degree in Physics). Quite attractive to the material generation though... a quick way of getting ahead in life... just think the right things, sit on your couch and things will happen! LOL!!! Well, I would be LOL if people weren't gettingt taken advantage of and wasting precious time with this cr@p.

I have no doubt I will be debating this... bring it on. I am sick and tired of watching people in times of stress being taken advantage of.

Its not ALL crap!! It is true that whatever you focus on you get more of and your beliefs about yourself and what you believe you are able to create in the world is going to result in what you actually do and the opportunities you actually notice everyday.

But yes it is a bunch of bogus hype!!

The secret is only based on that one model - 'whatever you focus on you get more of'. But there are tons of other methods and theories that blow that one simple principle out of the water completly.

The fact of the matter is that these people are assholes because they took one universal law that is practically useless without all the other tools to make it work to its fullest potential. Its incomplete!

There are little pieces of truth in the secret, but even the biggest chunk of crap will still have little pieces of corn in it!! LOL!

The secret is for those who like to eat that corn! lool

It's not a scam, and the OP is off the mark. I didn't even watch the whole thing and I get what they are saying. I do think however it is kind of shady to call it "THE SECRET".

What they try to teach is not that you can sit in a chair and wish to become rich. We know the laws of the universe. If you do that, you are nothing more than a tard sitting in a chair with empty wishes.

What they want to teach, is that if you constantly set your mind on something, say for example, becoming "rich", and you always have that frame of mind, you will attract behavior that leads to your goal. Of course you can't just wish, you have to act, but that's the point. When you keep thinking about positive thoughts, you'll start to act in a way that makes this more possible. Perhaps if the goal is to become rich, one will start seriously thinking about ways to do so, which could involve going to school, focusing hard on your studies, thinking about employment opportunities, looking for job ads. If this is always on your mind, then you will attract those things to you. Sorry if this is messy i'm very tired.

From The Secret's own website:

'The Secret explains with simplicity the law that is governing all lives, and offers the knowledge of how to create - intentionally and effortlessly - a joyful life. This is the secret to everything - the secret to unlimited happiness, love, health and prosperity.'

[I have added the italics for emphasis].

The Secret claims that you can do it 'effortlessly'. The other claim that it makes is that it is a law and the Universe will manifest it.

If it is a law, like the law of gravity, it must true 100% of the time, find just one person for whom the universe has not manifested their thoughts it is not a law.

There is also no evidence that 'the universe' can act in such a way as to manifest people's thoughts. Previously people made similar claims about god, but the universe has become the modern day replacement for the sellers of The Secret.

Whilst it may be good to focus on what you want, that does not make the rest of what The Secret claims true. It is using the old trick of following truisms by something that may not be true, or is unfalsifiable, which makes us more likely to accept it.

law of attraction is very sound.
I don't buy into this multimedia pop psychology rubbish myself but watching the Secret certainly beats watching a soap opera or the news, in terms of increasing our consciousness levels

My mother is the believer of The Secret. I just feel that it is simply an exaggeration of the power of positive thinking. I dont believe that simply thinking positively with give the being direct power of the environment around them but I feel that those emotions could push certain events in that direction.

And its the whole belief that if "you want to see ghosts, you will find a ghost"

The "secret" in The Secret is that there is no secret.

It's the same thing repackaged and remarketed to the gullible masses who are always looking for a "quick fix" to their financial and emotional problems.
I only saw part of the movie until someone said it's also possible to win the lottery with the 'secret', I knew then that the secret was BS and stopped watching.

If the book and DVD had been free I wouldn't criticize it, but the only reason they exist is to make money for the writers, publishers and actors in the movie!!!

The best way to succeed in life is to put some effort and time into what you want, this usually works.

I thought this was the biggest load of crap I have ever heard!!!

At the end of the day its going to be about money, or making it

Hi,
Have you ever heard a term that says 'we see things the way we are, not the way they are.' AHA!
The secret does not only promote positive thinking; action your thoughts into reality. Watch it again with an open mind and Jack Cnfield tells a story about how his vision board turned into reality 5 years later through positive thinking, faith, desire and action.