I cannot tell you how many times I have been invited to a seminar for The Secret. They (usually a businessman/realtor/banker of some sort) start the spiel with, "You seem like a cheerful optimist! I think you'd really get something out of this!! Rent, um, no, BUY the video, and come to the talk!!!" Their eyes are glazed over like a newly born again Christian.
Yes, I am a born optimist, am cheerful, and I do see my glass half full most days, even in the face of doom. My reply is, "No thank you. I am pretty happy with what I have."
Someone was telling me there is a gal in the States who wrote to Oprah to inform her that she was going to stop all treatments against her breast cancer because of Oprah's glowing endorsement of The Secret. Consequently Oprah had her on her show, and did some backpedaling.
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject: Re: "The Secret": A Model for Cornucopians?
While I think "The Secret" phenomenon and its proponents are generally a bunch of greedy, single-minded space cadets, I agree with some of the underlying principles especially in terms of quantum states, unresolved complexity and probability fields.
In a sense, we are surrounded by a web of probability with values between 0 (no probability) and 1 (absolute certainty). What this means is that we are constantly in a situation where we can interact with anything in our "field" -- even at a distance, although the probability of doing so decreases greatly, as certainty approaches zero. For example, I can think about Oprah calling me right now, but the chances of this happening are very close to zero. But, NOT exactly zero until the period in which the request was made has passed. By thinking about it constantly, it may influence my actions in a way that raises the probability. If one understands how the probability web between Oprah and ones' self is constructed, there may be actions that can be taken to elevate the probability higher than .00000000001. So, if I write a letter to Oprah imploring her to call me as my dying wish, the field may go up to .00003 whereas if I just write it on a piece of paper, the value may only go up to .00000000002 (imagine I write it on this paper, and it is found by Oprah's producer and given to her, and she acts on it).
Thinking about the world in these terms may allow one to accomplish things they might not have otherwise, because it frames actions in terms of statistical outcomes as opposed to simply "hope". The Secret is starting to walk down this road, but it dumbs it down so the layman can understand it.
Joined: Jun 12, 2005 Posts: 4189 Location: 1st territorial capitol of AZ
Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:25 am Post subject: Re: "The Secret": A Model for Cornucopians?
Heineken wrote:
How you think can certainly affect how you feel, but it can't by itself create a conveyer belt of riches flowing into your bank account.
I must say that it's "Secret" type thinking that's gotten me into the trouble I am in now. If, when I started my biz, I was much more pessimistic, was careful not to use credit, tracked every penny, saved aside that 1/3 you're supposed to save out for taxes, etc., I'd not be in massive debt now. The debt was not necesary. I could have done what I did without debt, at all. Sure, it would mean using the computer at the library instead of the one I bought on credit (I actually paid that one off in 2 months though, but it softened me up to the credit habit) and just plain not buying some stuff that day but coming back the next day, to use cash, things like that, but I could have ended up where I am now but with ZERO DEBT if I had been more hard-headed and pessimistic. If I'd thought like an engineer instead of like a marketing type.
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Thanks for that. Maya Rudolph is so cute.
