The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne

I have a $23.95 book. I'll give you a summary, for free.

What is the secret?
Your thoughts are "things"
What you visualize, your thoughts and images in your head, whether conscious or lurking deeper, define your future. Thoughts have a "force." They are attractors, magnets. If you are thinking happy, positive thoughts about stuff, that stuff will come to you. You have to do a little self-hypnosis, though. You have to make yourself believe you already have what you want. You have to imagine, visualize, know, expect that the Universe will rearrange itself to give you what you have asked it for. Love makes your magnet stronger. It's the strongest emotion. Repetition also strengthens the force. Apparently, physicists say we're mostly (all?) energy anyway, so thought really is more "substantive" than you might think.

Likewise, however, and here's the rub: emotions can be negative, and they will also attract, not repel, counter to what you might expect or wish. The universe is a bitch like that, Rhonda would say, if she were me. If you think the universe is a loving place, love will come to you. But if you dwell on the negative, your life could perpetuate or spiral downward in negativity; i.e. you will attract like negatives. She's all about thinking happy thoughts. Life's a bitch, then you die? NO. Life is full of miracles, you can get whatever you want! Most people think what they don't want, and it keeps coming back to them. If you order things from the menu/catalog of the Universe, expect it will come. That's what this whole you are God thing is about. It's almost a step beyond faith, which many have lurking doubts about, as a "blind" faith, and so therefore feel the need for repeating prayers, with merely hope, not conviction.

You have to shift your consciousness: Use your internal "shifter" like on a bike, or change the channel, like on a tv, and think of things that will bring you out of negativity, dwelling on problems, faults, hardships, scarcity, lack. Like, for me, I think of myself like a penguin, a hardcore endurance kind of guy who will persist through whatever life may throw at me and come out on top. I used to be a turtle, in that I thought of myself as self-sufficient, which was largely true, but didn't quite work. It made me think of being homeless, carrying my home on my back, which is not want I want to be. Now I'm in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife. Actually, I'm not sure I want to be a penguin. I want life to be easy. It is, for the most part. I'm lucky, or, as my mom would say, blessed. So I guess I'm more of a dog. Life is good, all needs are met. And all dogs go to heaven, they say. Good stuff. Plus, dog and god are the same letters. Hmm. Maybe I'm becoming my pets. I've still got some penguin in me. Anyway, like I was saying, I shift to the remembrance of successes past, and love present. Plus, there's a lot of music I like. And the radio/tv music often plays music related to whatever I happen to be thinking about. I'm smack at the center of this matrix thing, it seems. So I feel I'm in a strong position, and I think of how far I've come and how grateful I am for the love and beauty around me. I'm also hopeful for the world to come/future. So I'm an optimist, who has a habit of collecting associations and negativities. I still think it's an overall positive thing to know what it is you don't like, so you can take action to remedy it. I've always been a practical, action-oriented, problem-solving kind of person.

So, as I don't have a car for example, or a lot of money, being on disability, I should start visualizing health and wealth. I also want my wife to be happier. So I'm working on several fronts. You're supposed to start small, learn that the Secret really works, and then move on to bigger things (although asking for one dollar is the same as asking for a million, she says). For example, if you expect parking places to be available, they will be.

So the universe is like a genie, granting unlimited wishes. Ask, believe, expect, express gratitude, visualize, and be happy. Joy, laughter, love, play: this is the engine behind the force of attraction between you and what you want. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have said that you should always do what you love, and the money will come. Wealth, of course, is more than just a figure: it's about happiness and quality of life. Be grateful for what you have, and be grateful in advance for what you expect to come.

Here are some mental tricks from the book: Have a gratitude rock; put it in your pocket, and every time you touch it, think of something you're grateful for. When you go to bed, think of all the things you wish had gone better, and visualize them having had happen the way you would have wanted: be a revisionist historian. You can't control what happens around you, so change the way you think and feel inside, she says. I'm more of an activist, and I say keep up the fight to make a better world, and be grateful for every gain, no matter how small. Obviously, Rhonda wants to create a better world by having written this book. So yeah, be selfish, but don't forget to share your secret(s) to happiness with others (keeping in mind, everyone has their own path). Remember to remember you have unlimited power. Think, say, and do in accordance with your gift. Anyone has the potential to do anything. Whoa, eh?

As regarding relationships, you have to love and respect yourself, and the law of attraction will draw people who love and respect you to you. If you're dwelling on what you don't like about your partner, more of that will manifest.

As regarding health, happier thoughts lead to happier biochemistry. The placebo effect is immensely powerful, and real. The body heals itself if you remove stress (and add laughter). Shift attention from being sick to being well. So called "miracles" happen as everyday occurrences. The human mind has unfathomable power.

The anti-war movement creates more war. The anti-drug movement creates more drugs. The anti-hunger movement creates more hunger. You have to shift to being pro-peace, pro-sobriety, pro-abundance of food, pro-sanity, whatever. No one likes a negative Nelly. Everyone likes a positive Paully. Or something like that.

Apparently, I'm being a horrible God. Ugh. If I am, I'm truly sorry.
I'll show an attitude of gratitude for all the goodness in the world. I'll emphasize the successes over the failures, and emphasize what needs to be done, rather than what hasn't been.