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Excerpts from

The Secret: A New Era for Humankind

Reviewed by Lighthouse Trails

http://www.lighthousetrails.com

 

Last year's film release, The Secret, makes no secret about it's intentions: to let the world know that humanity is on the brink of a new era. This new era will open up to humanity unleashed power, riches, creativity and all that we ever dreamed of. A "secret" that has been locked away for centuries is now available to all.

The film, available only on DVD or online, is promoted by celebrities like Oprah and Larry King....

News & Observer explains just how this "Secret" works:

"In the film, viewers learn to ask for what they want. And, if they believe it, they will receive it.

"It sounds simple enough, but here's the catch: If you're cynical, sad, depressed and resigned that nothing will change, nothing will. Thoughts are so powerful, the teachers insist, that you attract what you think about, even if you don't want it. Get it?"
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It's these "teachers," both ones from the past and present day ones, that The Secret uses to reveal this hidden knowledge. Present day teachers include Jack Canfield ... and an assortment of philosophers, writers, and visionaries who share their insights on the "Secret":
"We have a magnificent inner calling, vision, mission, power inside us that we are not honoring and harnessing," says philosopher and "Secret" teacher John Demartini.... "This movie brings it to the forefront that we can [harness that power]."2
Larry King calls the DVD the "most profound information he has run across in 40 years."

The film focuses on the "law of attraction" and was produced by Australian-born screenwriter and producer Rhonda Byrne... came to believe that it "was part of every religion, including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism."

In the trailer of the movie, it begins by showing a genie from a lamp, who tells the beholder "your wish is my command." Research analyst Ray Yungen explains this concept:
[T]the genie represent[s] the Higher Self, who was reached through meditation by staring at the flame of an oil lamp. It was believed that a person could have whatever he or she wanted, once in touch with it. Our word genius comes from this Latin word for spirit guide and now means a person with great creative power.3
The premise of this is that we all have a divine essence within us, and we just need to get in touch with it. In other words, as panentheists teach, God is in all of creation, including all human beings, and once a person becomes aware of this, there are no limits to what he can achieve. Yungen elaborates:
Once a person merges with the Higher Self, he is on his way to empowerment, meaning he is capable of creating his own reality. Basically, all power is within the Higher Self, so when one is in tune with it, he can run his own show....

Metaphysicians believe that we all create our own circumstances anyway, so when we are guided and empowered by our Higher Self, we can consciously co-create with it.
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What is so alarming about The Secret is that it shares the same mystical view as the contemplative prayer movement, which is that all is one. The Secret film constantly makes reference to "the universal mind." This is the same mindset that Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and Tilden Edwards had. Listen:
"The human family is one in God's spirit"--Edwards5

Thomas Merton said he believed that all religions share "the experience of divine light"
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Nouwen believed that "it is in the heart of God that we can come to the full realization of the unity of all that is"
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...meditation is becoming an integral part of our society, in every facet: education, business, government, entertainment, health and religion. And with most Christian leaders promoting contemplative spirituality to at least some degree, Christendom is being affected dramatically....

 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons."


The endnote references are listed at http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=208

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