Enough already. Yes I know about the golden rule and you get what you give and sugar versus vinegar and even ACT-informed therapy…religion and philosophy have drilled this into our heads for centuries. But seriously, that movie (I think it’s a book too; poor trees) is one of the most annoying things I’ve ever seen and I’m so sick of people quoting from it like they’ve discovered the holy grail. It’s like nails on a chalkboard, and when I hear people mention it not only do I want to laugh in their faces, but I start to question why I’m friends with them. Of course, if I roll my eyes there’s always a part of me that wonders if they’re thinking “this is WHY this book was written–for negative people like you.”
First, a little housekeeping - I believe you can edit your title if you go into Edit, then go into Go Advanced - you should be able to edit a title of a post or thread there.
Second, I think “The Secret” is kind of dumb, too. Positive thinking is a good, powerful thing, no doubt, but I don’t think expecting a lottery win is going to make you win the lottery.
The way I’ve heard “The Secret” explained, it sounds just like prayer . . . only you leave God out of it . . . so it sounds just like wishing. And a quarter tossed in a wishing-well is cheaper than the book or the DVD.
This is a place where you can “wish” for information and the wish will be granted (overgranted, usually) without reference to your offline moral character or conduct.
Assuming for a moment that it does work as advertised using the lottery to disprove it doesn’t work. Because no one actually expects to win the lottery they simply hope and pray and wish they don’t really expect, and genuine expectation is key. Taking it outside the realm of the fantastical for a moment, if you think about it you’ll see that people really do get what they genuinely expect.
There’s a certain amount of truth to that; self-fulfilling prophecies (both negative and positive) do exist. If you’re expecting something to not work, you won’t put a lot of effort into making it work, then it isn’t a big surprise when it doesn’t work. If you expect something to work and you put all your efforts into it, it has a better chance of actually working.
Disclaimer: I haven’t read “The Secret” so I am not speaking from a position of knowledge (just what I think it’s about).
Reading that people are embracing having a positive view, coming from gratitude, expecting the best doesn’t make me sick at all, whether its blended with a belief in a supernatural force or not. Faith in something unprovable isn’t sickening to me, especially when it is part of something which is coming from a very positive place.
Cynicism, meanness, cruelty…those kinds of things make me sick about my fellow humans.
That’s just sweet of you to be sickened by obvious cruelty.
What about cruelty that disguises itself as a guide to improving lives?
Because that sickens me. What sickens me is people profiting off of making gullible people believe that they have access to a universal “secret,” “power,” or “magic” ability to alter reality on a basis which is not reflected in reality.
News flash: prayer, positive thinking, and other magical-thinking-attempts to alter reality do not, of themselves, DO ANYTHING to alter reality! I don’t care how positive the woo sounds, it isn’t positive to tell people to do something that isn’t going to help them any!
Which is more positive in reality?
“My kid is really sick and coughing up blood!”
“Think positive thoughts - I know you have the power to help him!”
OR
“My kid is really sick and coughing up blood!”
“Here is a phone, dial 911, and I’ll pull the car around to help you bring them to the ER.”
It doesn’t matter what it’s dressed up as - if you’re ***selling ***something to people that purports to make their lives better, it should damn well actually have the power to actually make their lives better!
In addition, I am especially sickened by the resulting implication that if things go badly for persons, it is their own fault for not availing themselves of the aforementioned universal “secret,” “power,” or “magic” ability which would make everything hunky dory and super perfect in their lives.
It is the worst sort of insidious victim-blaming, and I hate it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.
You have fun hating the obvious stuff - I’ve got plenty of hate for this shit to cover you too.
Except its not an either/or proposition. This isn’t Christian Science.
You said reading the comments made you sick about the people who wrote the comments, or so it seemed. Were they selling something, or were they suffering from having been foolish enough to pay attention to the books and reporting how damaging it was in their lives, making you feel sick? Or were they reporting that they found the books helpful to them? If it’s the latter, then I don’t see how that fits into your statement that reading the reviews would make someone feel sick about their fellow humans.
Again, did you see that it the comments section you found so sickening? Were people sharing how these books made them feel miserable and ashamed for their inadequacies?
Wait if it’s a secret how do people know?