I haven’t read or watched “The Secret”, but from what I’ve heard it’s all about “getting what you want to make you happy” and “what you want” is usually a lot things like cars, money, sex, a house, job, etc. The law of attraction, whether or not it works, continues to perpetuate a unending cycle – I want stuff. I get stuff. I want more stuff. I get more stuff….blah blah blah.

Nothing wrong with wanting stuff per say, but in seems like a misdirected energy to me.

I could be wrong.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by John.

David,

Have you watched the whole of “The Secret”? It does take into account that the positive thinking doesn’t make the world randomly bless us with fruit, rather it shifts our body at a quantum level, allowing our inspiration to move us in the direction of our desires.

My difficulty with this is that power without a proper moral direction (such as the 8fp) is like a rocket without tailfins. There is a lot of thrust, but if we manifest conditional happiness such as cars and boats and sexy partners, we probably also increase the net suffering in our life, not to mention the lives of others. However, co-creative ideas such as positive thinking about righteous ideals, such as creating compassion and wisdom and unconditioned joy is not only feasible but a well established path.

Hermann Hesse described it well in Siddhartha, where a meditative mind moving toward its desire is like a rock moving toward the bottom of a river. Gravity takes over and the path becomes a direct path and doesn’t waver.

In your post, perhaps the ugly could be that if we manifest material gain, it produces craving… either for the missing fruit (if the vision does not manifest) or the next horizon of satiation (if the vision does manifest). The hungry ghost realm is the result, which is likened to a being with a tiny mouth and a big belly, unable to find a satisfied feeling… because the wander from craving to craving without finding genuine nourishment.

In short, use with caution… because what you wish for might just come true. Then what?

With warmth,
Matt