Will the real Churchill quote please stand up (to scruitny?)

If you haven’t yet heard it there is a great, free recording of a call with Dr. Kevin Hogan, Dave Lakhani, Blair Warren and Pastor Dr. Bob Beverly called “The Truth is the Secret.” If you want to hear an intelligent and heartfelt summary of every criticism of the movie (and a few I had never heard before) I do recommend it. It will certainly get you thinking. You can get it at http://www.thetruthisthesecret.com

One thing they pointed out, that I had assumed when I watched the movie, is that many of the quotes from famous people who supposedly knew The Secret and kept it hidden were taken entirely out of context. One blatant example of this kind of misuse of quotes is the quote from Winston Churchill.

The Quote in the movie is:

“You create your own universe as you go along”

The REAL Quote is:

“Some of my cousins who had the great advantage of University education used to tease me with arguments to prove that nothing has
any existence except what we think of it. The whole creation is but a
dream; all phenomena are imaginary. You create your own universe
as you go along. The stronger your imagination, the more variegated
your universe. When you leave off dreaming, the universe ceases to
exist. These amusing mental acrobatics are all right to play with.
They are perfectly harmless and perfectly useless. I warn my younger readers only to treat them as a game. The metaphysicians will have the last word and defy you to disprove their absurd propositions.” (Emphasis added by me. See how this last part negates the quote they used in the movie? Churchill used that phrase as an example of what he DID NOT believe in!)

How sad that they felt the need to quote Churchill, and others, out of context. Was it really so necessary to create this aura of mystery around The Secret? Did it really lend so much credibility? Do people really believe that Gandhi used The Secret and kept it hidden from the world?

Of course, there is a kernel of truth in everything. The Secret, or Law of Attraction was not widely taught, but I do not think it was actively suppressed either. They just created this conspiracy theory to set themseleves up as ‘our liberators.’ Now they are going to share The Secret so we can share the wealth! Don’t you feel emancipated?

NOT.

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Do you know of any quotes from famous people that were taken out of context in The Secret? Post them here by leaving a comment.

The Secret, Minus The Hocus-Pocus, = This Year I Will

As you may know by now, I see the steps that are discussed in The Secret as some practical techniques that you can use to create your own success, but I think there’s a world of difference between actively ‘creating your own success’ and passively attracting things to you via your vibrations and the ‘power’ of the universe.

If you tend to agree with me, then I’ve got a great book for you!

This Year I Will…: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True by M.J. Ryan is a great tool to teach you how to change your habits & reach your goals. M.J. delves into everything which will help you succeed including: brain science, motivational research, practical techniques and yes, even a tiny bit of Secret-Style hocus-pocus as well, but the book is firmly planted in reality without resorting to unprovable “laws of the universe”!

If you’re a hopeful skeptic like me, who wants to take an active part in creating new positive habits & creating your own successes — read this book!

What about authentic emotion?

One thing that concerns me about The Secret is that after seeing the movie & reading the book people may be tempted to rid themselves and their lives absolutely everything negative in order to ‘tap into the power of the universe’ to bring them health, wealth and happiness.

On the surface that may seem terrific. A whole bunch of extremely positive people running around, however, I think it could be quite dangerous for them as well as others.

Negative emotions are part of us for a reason. Our fear warns us of danger. Our depression can be a signal that something has to change in our lives. Our anger can help show us when someone is infringing on our dignity.

I would not want to ‘live in’ these emotions, but trying to get rid of them all together is not healthy either.

I’ve never read anything by Deepak Chopra, but I did happen to catch him on Bill Maher talking about The Secret and he said something really insightful:

“Postive Thinking is the most stressful thing you can do. Have you ever met someone who is totally positive and exasperatingly positive? I think the mistake of some of these people make is that there is nothing more natural than being a human being who radiates a simple, unaffected humanity. A person who is able to express their anger when they get angry, but they don’t get hostile; that is able to get in touch with their emotions and to ask themselves ‘What am I thinking and feeling, what’s the need, how can I fufill that need?’ There is a great confusion today between spirituality – which is insight and intuition and creativity and inspiration — and [so-called] Positive thinking.”

So I urge people who want to tap into the power of The Secret – don’t lose touch with your basic humanity. Don’t deny or try to “pivot” out of your negative emotions — feel them, own them — then you can do your best to reframe the situation in a positive light.

Process your emotions – don’t try to pivot out of them prematurely!