Without presenting this basic knowledge in the correct way, people are getting frustrated; many are not manifesting their new life as quickly as they’d like and give up too soon. The film makes another big mistake when they say that the Secret to achieving abundance doesn’t have to be hard or painful. Of course, what they really mean is that you don’t have to perceive it as ‘hard’ or ‘painful’. But people are hearing that it shouldn’t be hard work to attract the things you want. Is this really the right message to be giving to a basically spiritual vision of how to conduct your life? What’s wrong with hard work? Why is it bad? Look at our teenagers today. They expect the world to be handed to them like a new cell phone, and so many of them are totally unprepared for life in the ‘real’ world. Is it really good for any of us, let alone is it true, to be told that we can have anything we desire without having to work for it? My favorite poet, Rainer Marie Rilke says in his writings “Love is work.” And he’s right. Anything worth loving is worth working for.
Gregg Braden, author of “Rewriting the Reality Code: The Quantum Power of Living From The Answer”, talks about how both quantum science and spirituality understand the possibilities of human consciousness. “From the monasteries of Egypt and Tibet to the forgotten texts of our most cherished traditions we are reminded that we are part of, rather than separate from, the world around us. As part of everything we see, we have the power to participate — not control or manipulate — but to consciously chart the course of our lives and our world.”
We ARE part of the whole – we are part of a global consciousness. The people who knew the Secret in the past were pillars of our culture, people of conscience and consciousness. Did they use this Secret to create riches for themselves, or did they give themselves in service to create a better world? The Secret, which so many great thinkers and masters have known, is that you have to become a conscious human being. You must live consciously, live a life of choice. And then, after living and studying and growing in wisdom for many years, most teachers and, yes, even magicians, were wise enough to know that you never use magic for your own desires. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane did not try to ‘create his own reality’ by getting out of his destiny. He told his Heavenly Father he would like this cup to be lifted from him, but he participated in his own destiny by freely acknowledging, “Not my will, but Thine.” The Divine Spirit moves in mysterious ways, and we are not yet privy to all Its’ plans for us.
Since the ideas in “The Secret” are valid guidelines to a better life, I worry that they will be seen as dis-information and therefore discredited. If this happens, everyone will lose out in a backlash that discredits the power of the imagination, the very talent we need to work with to create change in the world. There is also the great danger that people will misunderstand the ideas and think they can just imagine their illnesses or responsibilities away. And of course, the biggest issue with “The Secret” is how it gets lost in a Napoleon Hill / Tony Robbins mentality that revolves around the idea that creating abundance = making money. With making money as the bottom line, it is no secret that “The Secret” has fulfilled its own system by creating abundance for those who wrote it. This is not a bad thing for them. But I would have been more impressed if they done better by the people they are trying to teach. And if they had lowered the prices of their products so their ‘message’ was affordable.
Last but not least, the Secret Law of Attraction is really about living in and honoring the cycle of life, of light and dark, of expansion and contraction, of life and death. We do need to focus on the Good, but must also accept the Bad as a necessary force that turns the wheel in a dynamic life. The Secret has always been a spiritual law. Now that we have a scientific understanding of how spirit and matter are one through quantum physics, do we have to rush to embrace its’ economic rewards? The mystics knew this secret for millennia. Will we use this scientific proof of its potential to achieve greater consciousness and an abundant life? I hope so. Otherwise, it just becomes another money-making scheme.
Most people are seeking an abundance of inner light and life. Do we really need to wed spiritual abundance to capitalist greed? Greed is still one of the deadly sins of humanity. Look at what our capitalist system has wrought in our world. We need to keep our true goals in mind as we play with this cosmic energy. It is abundance of creativity and joy that we seek, creativity at the service of humanity. The money – because of our economic system – will follow.
I was struck by a funny and yet poignant image about our enthusiasm for “The Secret”. I saw a group of Hogwarts students (Harry Potter and friends) – suddenly released from the Rules that govern the magical community – rushing off to manifest their desires, creating an abundance of beautiful creative intentions and inventions, as well as an equal abundance of half-baked, ill-defined desires and even some downright monsters. Watch the news for strange, unforeseen events in the next few months!
We have the hubris to play with the powers of death and destruction on the world stage. And now it seems we are a country and a world ready to experiment with the individual power of creation. May we use it wisely.
Cathy Pagano, M.A., C.E.C, is a Jungian Psychotherapist and Mythic Astrologer as well as an Individuation Coach and Archetypal Story Coach. Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom. She knows that if we are going to change the world, each of us needs to live out our destiny and contribute our gifts to the collective culture. She helps people do that. She also believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity. Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues. To find out more about Cathy's work, check out her websites: www.wisdom-of-astrology.com,
www.9muses.biz,
www.starofthebards.com
www.imaginecoachingservices.com.
Please contact Cathy if you are interested in her services and have any questions. If anyone is interested in creating community political action using artistic means - storytelling, ritual, etc - and you need help with your vision, please let me know. I'd love to help.
