Rhonda Byrne Reveals the Law of Attraction in the Secret

As a member of several esoteric Orders and a former business manager, I approached The Secret (both the movie and book) by Rhonda Byrne with some trepidation. After all, what I heard about it from others sounded so...New Age. Having watched the movie, and having read the companion book, I must admit that I am still not entirely comfortable with the bright and shiny, upbeat theme of the Law of Attraction.

If you find sales conventions and life coaching seminars painful to attend, then you are going to have trouble watching the movie with a straight face. I almost quit watching after the first couple of minutes. The first few minutes of the movie is made like a History Channel Halloween week special, with Rhonda telling the story of being at the lowest point in her life when she stumbled across The Secret. It then moves into a historical montage, linking The Secret with the Ancient Egyptians (the Emerald Tablet), the Romans, the Church, and the businessmen of the industrial revolution. The rest of the movie is a montage of quotes form famous dead people, uplifting scenes, and pep talks from life coaches (there is a philosopher or two, the "Miracle Man", and a couple doctors and a quantum physicist).

At the end of the movie, one feels that they just watched a ninety-minute commercial for life coaching. Reading the companion book feels like reading junk emails for the same. So is there any substance beneath the sugar? Perhaps.

The "big secret" revealed by Rhonda Byrne and her fellow speakers, which has been jealously hoarded by the wealthy and successful, is the Law of Attraction. In a nutshell, the Law of Attraction is the concept that everything that is presently in your life, both the good and the bad, is a result of your thoughts. And if you are unhappy with your life (in debt, in bad relationship, unhealthy, or whatever), then you only have your own thoughts to blame. The good news is that all you have to do is focus your thoughts on what you desire and the universe will manifest it for you.

As a member of several esoteric Orders, I know how hard it is to control one's thoughts. As former business manager, I know that just thinking friendly thoughts at the universe does not replace the act of working. Because of this, I walked away after watching this movie, laughing that the real secret was that the film was nothing more than a feel-good commercial. But I also know that there some truth buried deep in this sugar pill.

There is an occult teaching that states that mental activity (consciousness) precedes material manifestation. This teaching also applies to business, medicine, quantum physics, and possibly relationships. But there are also deep philosophical problems with this teaching. Basically, it leaves no room for bad things just happening---if you embrace the Law of Attraction, if something happens to you, then it is all your fault.

There is good information to be found beneath the ton of sugar in this movie, and its accompanying book, but I feel that it is only part of a solution. Because of this, I give the movie a 5 out of 10, and the book a 7 out of 10. The Secret is more commercial than operating solution. By itself, the movie and the book will not get you to the place that you want to be. One must invest in membership in an esoteric Order or life coaching program, or work really hard by oneself, to obtain the full results that The Secret promises.

Rhonda Byrne. The Secret. Movie (2006) 90 minutes. Book (2006) Atria Books.