The Secret - Oh NO Oprah!!!!

The Secret was the subject of Oprah today, probably a while ago in the USA.

Now I am one of Oprah's admirers but I really do not agree with her on this subject . In fact, I am pretty much appalled to hear her pushing this New Age rubbish.

It is no different in it's message to that of the Westboro Baptist Church and other Fundamentalist religions.

HUH???!!! I hear you choke.

Okay. The Westboro Baptists and other Fundy belief pushers, believe that bad things only happen to bad people. If you get cancer, or murdered, or go broke or whatever, it is a sure sign that God is angry with and you will rot in hell.

Now the pushers of The Secret say that if you are good enough, nothing bad will happen to you. If bad things do happen to you, it is because attracted it yourself.

How?

By your thinking.

Your thinking was negative so therefore negative stuff will happen to you.

So when Oprah was sexually molested as a child, it was her thinking that caused this to happen.

When a parent watches their child die of cancer, their thinking brought this upon them.

Okay, maybe I am dense but I cannot see the difference between the Westboro Baptist message and that of The Secret.

One thing we as people are fearful of is lack of control. If we feel we can control events, we tend to feel happier and more secure. So victims of abuse, for instance,hang on to the guilt for what was done TO them because it is less painful than realising how powerless they were.

We tell ourselves that if we think right, eat right, pray right, or in short are good enough, we will not get cancer and die.

We will not get divorced, will not lose our children, jobs, money, homes. We can convince ourselves of this and walk around with that annoying smile those who are certain have.

Until the day something bad happens.....

Then what? Well, we either blame ourselves-

we weren't good enough, didn't pray enough, didn't think positively enough, didn't pay enough for enough seminars run by these people with The Secret

OR

we examine our thinking and belief system.

We might come to realise that bad things happen to good people all the time.

Much happens that is random. People die because we are have physical bodies that malfunction and do not live forever. People often suffer at the hands of others. Many times we can do nothing about it. Did the victims, yes they were victims, of Sept 11, attract that appalling death to themselves? Was their thinking to blame? Or were they victims of circumstance?

So do we just cower in the corner and fear to live? NO!!!!

What we do is love ourselves, value ourselves and realise that we have the strength within in us to cope with whatever life brings us. We can tap this strength thru prayer and meditation. You do not have to have a religion or even a belief in a God for this to work.

Yes, we can change our lives and much of that change can be brought about by changing our thinking. but do not be fooled into thinking you can think way EVERYTHING. You cannot.

It reminds of this prayer:

GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY
TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

I think Oprah and these pushers of The Secret could do worse than to look at the meaning of this prayer. I really am disappointed to find that Oprah is pushing a belief system that ultimately blames the victim.