The Secret

I'm glad I saw the movie *before* I read all these comments.

I greatly appreciate the words of GreySphinx, japonaliya, alunde-1, robschmidt, and the like. I have read comments of the "haters" very closely, and their tone is so acerbic that leads me to ask them the following: who hurt you? The irony is that I don't have a problem with what they said, it doesn't bother me they reject the message of the movie - however, I do believe their critical words make the best case for the premise of the movie.

I consider myself an intelligent man with better than average critical thinking skills (and I know my employer does as well); and I do not believe that this movie insulted my intelligence. But if you believe that this movie was suppose to tell you *everything* you need to know about how to transform their life in 90 minutes, then I completely understand the source of your upset. But consider the following: this movie is only the "tip of the iceberg" (I intentionally chose that that metaphor because the tip of the iceberg only shows one about 10% of itself above the surface – I'll leave it to you to figure out how much of this philosophy is left for the interested party to discover ;-) ). Hence I respectfully disagree with vuduzombie – I believe one of the points of this movie is to inspire intellectual evolution.

I also respectfully disagree with OnlyPassingBy's assessment that this movie promotes "victim-blaming." I believe it's quite the opposite. I believe that the movie is asking the viewer to consider the radical concept that one is 100% responsible for anything that happens in their life. So if we are 100% responsible, then by definition we cannot blame anyone else. And from there we have the opportunity to realize that we are solely responsible to change whatever it is we want, if for no other reason than the fact that we are not wasting any of our precious time/energy/effort blaming someone else, not even 1%. (Even though I wholly believe in the principle of "100% responsibility," I wish I could say that I were talented enough to accomplish it all the time, but I do stumble and find myself "partially" blaming someone else. At least now I realize when I'm stumbling and that gives me the opportunity to right myself.)

What I find interested about hazzard_hotel's beer-theory is that he is so close to "getting" the Law of Attraction. Unfortunately I believe he is confusing the Law of Attraction with the Magic of Manifestation. Consider that the point of the Law of Attraction is that before you can have something, you must want it first. So yes, if you want a cold beer, you "imagine" having a cold beer (and where does one "imagine" but in their mind). And then you do what it takes to get yourself a cold beer – go to a bar, go the fridge, go to the store, whatever it takes (even asking someone to get it for you)…and voilà, you've got yourself the cold beer that you wanted – in other words, "thoughts become things." And yes, if you have ever listened to Bill Gates talk about his life before Microsoft, he has said "I imagined myself being rich." But then he follows up with "And this is what I did to make that happen." (Consider that JFK's "positive thinking" in fact did put a rocket on the moon and that this weekend there are 32 men, who as boys, imagined themselves as NFL starting quarterbacks. Of course there was a lot of hard work between the initial desire and the final achievement.)

So I get how to some this movie can be seen as a tease. The movie does not tell you in precise words that the road to what you imagine is paved with action. Ultimately it's up to you to do and realize the remaining 90% of the iceberg…but that's just "common sense," right? Actually, no, this level of sense is not common – if it were, then Dr.Phil would be out of a job. Even the smartest of us need help and occasional reminders (especially me).

I believe this movie is intended to be provocative, and the "haters" demonstrate that the movie meets its intent. If one thinks that this movie will be a one shot panacea, then you're in for a big disappointment. But if one is ready to do the rigorous work and take personal responsibility to do what it takes to transform their lives, then by all means see this movie.

Honestly, this makes the lowest grade of pornography look like Shakespeare. Just believe and the Universe will do exactly as you command! Hey positive thinking and belief are incredibly important, if they stopped there it would be fine. I'm all for a near-spiritual support for positive thinking. But don't believe you command the world! Believe what you like, and respect the beliefs of others. But here they make the case that your (subjective) beliefs drive the (objective) realities of the universe. They present it as though its a scientific fact. And they imply that this is the true secret of the ages, that all the greats possessed this precious knowledge, and that an evil conspiracy subdues it. That is patently false. It is truly a demented, grade school pseudoscience wrapped in an infomercial. At least Jerry Springer doesn't pretend his show is Cosmos!

Reading the comments I'm surprised :D Most of the negative comments say "cannot I be a top NFL player just by visualising it?". No you cannot. If simple asking is all you can do, then no - you can not. You have to believe it. I'm not convinced in some outer world, but I do believe positive thinking brings success. I watched the movie yesterday, today is such a great day compared to 99% of last few months! I thought about "I want to make some money fast soon" and yes, suddenly i made 400 today almost out of nothing and got an offer on some future projects! But it's probably not connected to anything about the movie. What is important, that every time you think about something, you give more importance to it and your mind works much better to achieve it. It will not end a war, it will make you think how to survive the war better. It will not 100% cure bad diseases, but it will help you live better the rest of your life until you die. If you're pesimistic "oh, i got cancer, i will die, im loser, im dead", you better off shoot yourself already. YOU WILL NOT GET A 350Z ROADSTER JUST BECAUSE THE MOVIE SAYS SO! If you're passionate about cars and have a dream car, you will get it. If you don't get it, probably it's not that important for yourself - you don't really want it so much. I smiled and talked kindly to so many people today and I'm happy about it. I want to get closer with my friends. I chose different routes during lunch and suddenly met 2 good friends. Isn't happiness all that you want in your life? The movie said only once, but it must be articulated - positive attracts negative. You cannot have everything positive! If you believe in God, this sentence describes it somehow: "God always listens, but sometimes the answer is NO". As for the quality of the movie - its poor. Very poor. It starts as a story of some woman. What woman? What problem? No idea, suddenly it starts as a documentary and a Tel Sell advertisement. Just selling the movie for 1.3 hours. But it's worth it if you understand what it means. Most of the commenters don't. 9 for the worth of the movie, 4 for plot and cinematography. 7/10 total Recommended movie for everyone who is stressed in life (99% of us)

Imagine two scenarios. First, a basketball player is on the free throw line. In his mind, he sees the ball going into the basket, traveling in that perfect trajectory - he envisions himself making the shot, his hands performing the perfect movement. Maybe he even repeats in his mind a few times "I will make this shot". He focuses on his confidence. He releases. The ball goes in. Second scenario - now, imagine a kid who wants a red bike. He shuts his eyes, thinks hard of a ride bike with a basket in front. He does this religiously, in fact that's all he does for two straight days - just lays in bed and thinks hard of his bike. After two days, he opens the door and lo and behold the exact red bike with a basket is sitting in the front yard.

Now, come back to reality. Think about these two scenarios and ask yourself "Are these two the same?". Hopefully you answered "NO". Both demonstrate positive thinking - but there is a fine, but incredibly significant line that separates common sense from delirium. "The secret", while containing a few nuggets of truth, comes dangerously close to implying what the second scenario implies. And because of that, in the hands of the gullible and the desperate, this film may have a few positive benefits (hope) but could ultimately be dangerous (inaction, unreasonable expectations). Positive thinking has been proved to help - yes. Focus and concentration on your goals helps - yes. But, to use the basketball analogy, to make the shot you have to take it. "The Secret", with it's slick presentation, almost suggests that if you focus on the ball long enough some magical wind will carry it into the basket. To be fair, the film is not 100% of this - but believe me it comes dangerously close. It doesn't help that they allude to the book as if Thomas Jefferson and Einstein actually owned it and passed it along, that along with the titled people like John Doe, Physicist and John Doe, Author that they interviewed, they included John Doe, "Mystic" and John Doe, "Visionary" (what in god's name is a visionary anyway???). It's slick, over-produced, and will turn-off any sensible, intelligent person looking for an honest eye-opener. Look elsewhere for enlightenment and growth - there are a ton of books, old and new, that are better than this fluff masterpiece.

I've watched the whole documentary and these are my impressions divided into positive (+), neutral (±) and negative (-) remarks.

(+) To those who experience negative thoughts throughout every day this is a great opportunity to change their way of thinking. This documentary encourages people to change their lives in a positive way.

(+) The theory is explained in a way that's easy to comprehend. To those who are already familiar with this theory (resembling Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) it may seem repetitive, but to newcomers this might be necessary.

(±) In my opinion, there are claims being made during the documentary that aren't backed up with solid proof. They do tell some remarkable stories, but it doesn't really convince me for some reason.

(±) Several times the interviewees give certain numbers and facts as proof of a statement they're making, but the methods of researching those facts aren't being explained. You just have to believe that what they say is true.

(-) At start The Secret gives the impression that you're going to watch a movie about a woman who will discover "The Secret", how and why it has been kept as a secret for so long, exposing a conspiracy and in the end revealing the secret to the viewer... But it's none of that. It's basically just a documentary.

(-) It's overdone. It feels like I'm watching Tel Sell, and the talking just goes on and on... (But again, to newcomers and people who need a periodical pep talk this might be just the right thing.)

(-) At a certain point, the documentary talks about a "constant state of joy" (at least twice)! The makers of this movie fail to mention that there is nothing wrong with grief and such feelings. If a family member or a good friend of yours dies, then why should you force yourself into a constant state of joy? It's alright to cry, be angry or whatever, as long as you don't exaggerate it, stay in control of yourself and act wisely. But the movie lacks in mentioning this.

(-) The documentary does seem to emphasize on money, welfare and "thus" happiness. I miss the element of growth. If you'd live life the way they recommend you to it feels so superficial to me... As if at the end of your life you only seemed to care about your own well-being.