Feed the world

"Give a man The Secret, and you have fed him for today. Teach a man that The Secret is only the beginning, and you have a steady income stream for a lifetime."
~ Cosmic Connie*

My email "in" box, not to mention my poor Whirled brain, are just overflowing with deliciously juicy tidbits – a veritable smörgåsbord of Secret-related morsels. I really and truly need to get back onto more important topics, such as the upcoming end of the world, my religious background, and other matters of consequence, but The Secret just keeps popping up on the buffet table. So if you can stand another helping, today's specials are...

Secretrons grow a conscience (or, a Panoz Esperante in every garage?)
The ever vigilant Tony Michalski has alerted me to an interesting discussion on Marcy from Maui’s Powerful Intentions forum, regarding the poor and disadvantaged. Yes, I know that we’re not really supposed to "give energy" to unpleasant things, lest they find their way to our front door step. But sometimes, despite our most noble efforts, and the efforts of the New-Wage leaders who are only looking out for our best interests, that bothersome conscience gets in the way.

That’s what happened to the woman who started the PI forum thread. She had a most disturbing thought while playing a Secret video clip on her computer, a clip that she says she always plays while she talks to God:

Today it hit me hard. Here I am asking for all these things and I wonder what the poor and disadvantaged people of the world are doing this very moment. The misery they are in. The misery they deal with each minute of the day. What about the poor people in Darfur Africa who are being macheted and murdered by the thousands. What about the starving in Biafra and other parts of the world. What about the abused children. The handicapped, etc.

Do I have a right to be asking for things that I need when there are situations like this in the world? I read these forums and I see how people are trying so hard to manifest a new car, or $1,000,000, or a new soulmate, or new jewelry, etc. and I felt immediately guilty for even asking for the things I want.

Doesn't guilt such as this result in a negative vibration and therefore block us from receiving what we desire to receive? Do I have a right to ask for such things when there are other people in the world suffering so much? Can I ask for food for everyone, clothes for the homeless, cures for the diseased, peace for those in war ravaged countries? I don't know. Maybe we should all join with a massive group intent some night at a specific time and send our vibrations en mass to the Universe to resolve these problems.

What’s a gal to do when such dark thoughts enter her rosy world? Well, it turns out she needn’t have worried. Her question has already been answered. See, it’s possible to have the new car, the million bucks, the bling, and the new soulmate – and still be able to go out and save the world!

But you have to look out for number one. The first responder to the thread got it right: "Don't feel guilty! Once you manifest your wealth, you can share it with the disadvantaged. Look at Oprah!"

Bubbly Marcy, hostess of this LOA Tupperware party, piped in:

I do not believe calling people, any people poor and disadvantaged does them any service!

To me that is a judgment and i am certain there are many people who may have alot of money and stuff but are no more happy or healthy or even less than many people that are called poor or disadvantged (sic) by others.

I would never choose to think that a child that saw it's (sic) family killed would never get to see the Secret, or anything else that can serve them that can sooth them back to their connection! To me that would be holding them, in my mind, to a place where they can not feel better or align.**

And Mr. Fire, writing on his blog the other day, got it right as well: "After you've manifested a car or two, or more money, or a better relationship, you start expanding your desires. There are already numerous people in the world doing just that: using the Law of Attraction to cure cancer, AIDS, poverty, and more." (He’s working on erasing homelessness and poverty, both of which he has experienced.)

So, folks, don’t worry, be happy. Focus on that new car, that first million bucks, that diamond necklace, that trophy soulmate. The poor and the sick will always be there. But your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of that exciting new Internet-based business – the opportunity that could very well bless you with the life of your dreams – could disappear tomorrow. So you must act now!

The Secret helps woman get big new rack
In my ceaseless wanderings around the Net (more specifically, around Marcy’s wonderful PI forum, which Tony aptly describes as "comedy plutonium"), I found a reference to a January 30, 2007 article by Kimberley Hayes Taylor in The Detroit News.

According to the article, "The spiritual film has been distributed to every country in the world, [Rhonda] Byrne says, including 6 million copies in Africa."

Who says the producers of The Secret don’t care about those starving, war-weary, and possibly AIDS-infected waifs? The Secret will save them all.

The article quotes a skeptic who says The Secret is vapid and possibly dangerous, but Hayes ends on a high note, with an example of a person who tells how The Secret changed her outlook on life.

Aldonna "Godis" Smith watched the movie for the first time about two months ago. In small, simple ways, she says all her desires are being fulfilled. For example, Smith wanted a tall garment rack for her loft. A few days after she thought about it, a neighbor coincidentally called to ask if she needed a tall garment rack.

"It's so pertinent," says the Detroit photographer. "I believe this is what people call revelation times, and it's a time for truth. This truth is coming forward."

And you thought the Law Of Attraction wasn't scientific. You...you...you...SKEPTIC, you!

How do you say "Neener, neener, neener!" in a robotic monotone?
Tony tipped me off to another tidbit, this one from USA Today. The article contains quite a few critical quotes, not the least of which come from a main source of Rhonda’s original inspiration, Esther and Jerry Hicks and their imaginary buds, the Abe Gang. This is probably one of the few times the Abe Gang has spoken to a reporter.

Hicks and her husband, Jerry, have written about the so-called law of attraction — the "secret" that was the focal point of The Secret DVD. But contractual issues find the couple, and their Abraham entity, excised from the version now circulating.

No worries, they say. They're happy to stay on the road and pass on Abraham's keys to better living through the power of the mind.

"The secrets of life have never been a secret. It's like calling the law of gravity a secret," says Abraham via Esther Hicks, whose normally lilting twang suddenly takes on a robotic tone.

"People have been calling Jerry and Esther, saying, 'I have bought The Secret, but now what do I do?'

"The truth is, The Secret is merely a powerful catalyst that presents the possibility of a better life," says the monotone voice. "Abraham is smiling in the simple knowledge that, in truth, The Secret has not revealed 'the secret.'"

But I’m sure that Jerry, Esther, and Abe will, for the right price, take up the slack.

Starstruck Secretrons
It is very easy to get lost in the aforementioned Powerful Intentions forum, but every wrong turn is really a right turn. It isn’t luck that brings me to the odd thread here and there; it’s the Law Of Attraction! Wherever I go, I was meant to be there! In my wanderings today I came across a snippet from a male member named Chris, a self-described "citizen of the world" who, judging from his profile pic, is also a literal tree-hugger. This post was written last August, during the Tahoe Reno International Film Festival. It was at this festival that The Secret movie had its official world premiere. Chris writes:

Tonight I found myself at the Tahoe Independent Film Festival, but I felt like I was more at a rock concert when saw Rhonda Byrne, Rev. Michael Beckwith D.D. and Bob Proctor walk through the door. In fact I acted like I was at a rock concert. I was screaming their names as they walked in for the World Premiere of The Secret and the kick off of my Law of Attraction Tour!

Take a moment to think about this. Here is a middle-aged man SCREAMING for Rhonda "Let Them Eat The Secret" Byrne, Michael "Zormak" Beckwith, and Love That Bob. They must have been passing around some REALLY good drugs at that festival. Either that, or The Secret is even more insidious than I’d thought.

Well, that's it for today's buffet. I hope it didn't cause too much heartburn. Now let's all get back to manifesting the bright shiny objects of our dreams, and maybe while we're at it we can help manifest a square meal for someone who really needs it.

* You will, I hope, pardon my use of the male gender pronoun; I was simply trying to remain true to the original saying.
** Pssst, Marcy! Maybe if you had been more willing to exercise a little JUDGMENT, you wouldn't have been taken in by Tilak.