Greetings from New Seattle, Texas. If it doesn’t stop raining here, The Rev and I are going to relocate to the original Seattle so we can see the sun once in a while.More Schirmer drama
The saga of David Schirmer, the lone Aussie star of The Secret, just gets steamier. It seems there’s a sex-scandal element to add to the bidness scandal. An anonymous commenter on my June 25 post alerted me to a discussion that’s going on at another blog. Now, I know some of it is just gossip, but if you like that sort of thing – and who doesn't? – here’s the link.
(Monday addendum:) I was in a hurry yesterday; I apologize for not taking the time to clarify something. The discussion to which I linked does seem to point once again to Schirmer and his apologists resorting to blame-shifting rather than addressing the real issue: the accusations that Schirmer cheated a bunch of people out of their money. In fact, the original post at the blog in question had nothing whatsoever to do with a sex scandal. The person writing the blog, who actually is a fan of The Secret, but not of Schirmer, wondered why the two PR firms Schirmer hired seem to be doing such a lame job. The first responder introduced the sex-scandal angle, falsely accusing the blogger of having an affair with Schirmer. You have to read the thread to understand that, but, as my anonymous correspondent said, it's become a real soap opera. Anyway, again, here’s the link.
iPhone launch success attributed in part to WM
I don’t wish to imply that I single-handedly saved the day for Steve Jobs, but could there be a connection between the brisk first-day sales for his iPhone – at least at AT&T stores – and the fact that I was gracious enough to abort Hawai’ian Week on Whirled Musings this past week in order not to overshadow his big product launch? Granted, iPhone sales were kind of lackluster at Apple stores, but I just can’t control everything. I still think we did pretty well, all things considered. And Steve, you don’t have to thank me; just knowing that I played my small part in greasing the wheels of commerce is thanks enough.
I see another (cell)blockbuster coming
I don’t usually shoot at easy and obvious targets such as Paris Hilton on WM, but since there is a pop-spirituality connection to the big jailhouse saga I couldn’t resist. Also, the postman accidentally mis-delivered someone else’s copy of the July 9 People magazine to our house, and I took a sneak peek at the cover story we’ve all been waiting for – Paris’ exclusive post-jail interview – before delivering the magazine to its rightful owner.
I have to say that the People article opened my eyes. I honestly didn’t know that this young woman possessed so much emotional, intellectual, and spiritual depth. And it wasn’t just her answers to the interview questions, as poignant and thought-provoking as they were. It was her writing talent that really affected me. On jailhouse-issued paper, using a jail-issued pencil, Paris brought out her tormented inner writer, conveying her most profound and intimate thoughts with remarkable candor and originality. Some samples:
"This has been a life changing experience."
"God has plan to use me on higher level."
"Justice system has failed me."
"We all have a soul and it has an eternal destiny."
"I’m a survivor."
But then, one would expect no less from someone who found sustenance during those grim and seemingly endless jailhouse years… I mean days… by reading, among other great works, The Secret. At least there are pics of her carrying the book; maybe it was just a fashion accessory. Anyway, I can’t wait to read Paris’ book when it comes out.
And who knew she was also an artist of such stunning talent? People reproduced the Father’s Day card she made for her daddy while in the joint. This work was also rendered in pencil on jail-issued paper. The spare lines of the drawing, which depicted Daddy and his tearful little girl attempting to touch hands through the thick glass that separated them in the jailhouse "Visitor’s Area," conveyed both texture and depth in a way not normally seen outside of primary-school remedial art classes. And the poignant written message accompanying the image, "I love and miss you sooo…much," revealed a sweetness and tenderness not readily apparent in Ms. Hilton’s most famous performance-art videos. No doubt the drawing occupies a proud place on Daddy's Sub-Zero.
Paris, sweetheart, the world has misjudged you. And I for one support you as you begin your new life of humble service to humanity.
Another Secret parody
Finally, my friend Blair Warren sent a link to another Secret parody. I think you’ll enjoy it. And now I’m going to go enjoy my Sunday evening with The Rev. We have some…ah…catching up to do.
10 comments:
So Connie, was the picture with your Sunday posting just to prove you are not the only blue woman in the world?
The S parodies are a riot. My favorite part is Bob Proctor talking about electricity. I've never seen the actual video - does he really say nobody understands how electricity works? Easy to see how they are so believable....
Happy 4th!
LOL, David. Nah, I just like to make things blue, to match the decor here. Although it's true that Paris has starred in what used to be called "blue movies"...but that's something altogether different. :-)
I haven't seen much of the actual video either, to tell the truth, but I do seem to recall Proctor saying that same bit (re electricity v. Law of Attraction) on his ABC News "Nightline" interview last March. Also, the Joe Vitale bits in the parody *were* accurate, so it's possible the Proctor bits were too.
Happy 4th to you too!
I just watched the video. It is hilarious. We should all have life coaches like the guy in the pointy hat(lol).
I agree, Moi! :-)
Connie, after reading your comment on Steve's blog, I popped over here and noticed that Paris Hilton(if that's the one in the pic) is also blue. Don't tell me that you and Paris are from the same blue race?! I hope not, for your sake. But at least you can claim to have some connection to Krishna. It makes you more Cosmic.
No, Moi, Paris and I are not from the same race or even from the same species, near as I can tell. I just decided to use my cheap "blue-ing" photo trick on her so she'd match the decor here in WM. Then I added "The Secret" logo to the pic but left it as is so it would stand out.
As for me, I'm pretty darned Cosmic, but not in a Krishna-esque sort of way. :-)
Today is DDay for David Schirmer and there are a lot of people watching.
This is what the secret IS in my opinion:
a) A massive marketing campaign designed to line the pockets of the teachers NOT help the masses.
b) An evil form of human seduction and emotional manipulation.
Not one of the teachers on The Secret are making REAL changes to humanity despite boasting about making their millions. If they are, wheres the proof?
Where are the Mother Theresa's the ones who are willing to live ample but humble lives and gift their excess successes to the needy? Instead they choose to tell the needy that they created their own problems so get off your butt and fix it up. Try telling that to a small child in Africa with aids. This is the most evil that mankind can be and by the looks of it, the only reason why he talks like this is because he has nothing to give because he has spent it all living a pretentiously wealthy lifestyle. Lets see if he can prove that one wrong today.
We all hope that Schirmers wrongs can be righted and that MUST start today otherwise David Schirmer should be seriously under investigation by everyone not just the authorities. For the Schirmers to continue successfully now is almost impossible according to the laws he feels compelled to egotistically preach when all the evidence shows that he knows bugger all about any of it.
Thanks for your comment, Dom. I agree with what you say about the Secret teachers apparently failing to make any lasting changes in humanity.
And I've been curious about what's going on with the Schirmer case. I don't wish the man ill but I do hope justice is served.
I came across the secret in a book store and found Schirmer as the only australian apart from the author. What I am finding very disturbing that one person can create such an amazing amount of negativity and be included in something like the secret. I think he is a hypocrite and should walk away or be forced to walk away from the personal development industry. David Schirmer is causing more hurt by continuing along his greedy path to self gratification and it looks like he doesn’t care in he least. I believe his stubborness and greed will be his downfall because he is losing more and more respect every day and every time he tries to take from others. That was the problem in the first place apparently so doing more of the same is not going to change the results. Even David Schirmer should know that and I think he even said that somewhere. I think he needs to walk away and give everyone time to heal and himself time to be calm and make a committment to each person. I guess that is what the most ethical people do but I’m not sure David Schirmer understands what ethics are. Maybe it will take the enforcement of the law to make him come to his senses. I do know that the Australian authorities are very serious when it comes to people fleecing the community like this and I believe David Schirmer is well above their radar right now so there is hope that everyone will see justice after all.
Penny, thank you for your comment. I'm sure many, many people agree with you. But I am also pretty sure that the producers of The Secret chose David Schirmer before his shenanigans really came to light. I don't think the s--t really hit the fan until A Current Affair did their exposé on Schirmer, and that was only in June of this year.
I'm sure Rhonda Byrne and company chose Schirmer partly because he was one of the few Aussies who had made a "name" for himself in the New-Wage movement. (Although most of us in the U.S. hadn't really heard of him till The Secret.) I also think the fact that he was doing seminars with Bob Proctor put him on Rhonda's A-list; who knows, maybe Proctor himself suggested to Rhonda that Schirmer would be a good person to include. I bet she has changed her mind since then!
For the sake of everyone who's lost money with Schirmer, I hope justice is done. But I also feel for Schirmer's family -- at least his kids (I don't know how involved his wife was) -- and I hope they don't all get dragged through the mud along with Schirmer.
It's good to know the Australian authorities are serious about these matters. The U.S. authorities are generally pretty serious too, but as I've noted before, the stuff that most of The Secret stars dabble in is so nebulous that it's difficult to prove fraud. That's how they get away with peddling their crap year after year after year.
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