Educate-Yourself
The Freedom of Knowledge, The Power of Thought ©

The Secret

By Tom Montalk
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/secretfilmreview03nov06.shtml
November 3, 2006

http://www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/montalk.shtml

Film Review
Imagine having the power to easily manifest whatever your heart desires. Imagine being able to magically attract experiences that bring you joy and fulfillment. Sounds fantastic, but what is more incredible is that you already have this power!

For most people this power remains a secret. Others may have noticed its influence but not yet figured out how to use it reliably. And those who know the technique often forget to put it into practice. No problem, the solution is here and it's called "The Secret," an amazing new film that elegantly reveals everything you need to know to manifest your dreams.

Never before has the Law of Attraction been explained so thoroughly, concisely, and beautifully as in "The Secret." The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like; your thoughts and feelings attract corresponding experiences. Sounds simple but the implications are beyond imagination.

For me, "The Secret" accomplishes three objectives: 1) it deepens my understanding of the Law of Attraction and provides numerous examples of how to apply it, 2) the uplifting presentation engenders a positive attitude, and 3) it helps me remember to use my power more often. So even if you are familiar with the technique of shaping your thoughts and feelings to shape your life, this film holds additional value in serving as both reinforcement and reminder.

"The Secret" is suitable for anyone with an open mind. Not only is it ideal for novices due to the concepts being presented in a transparent and enjoyable manner, but it also satisfies advanced students of metaphysics because the execution is so delightfully original and insightful. Fans of "What the Bleep Do We Know" will undoubtedly find "The Secret" even more enjoyable because in comparison, the latter is more focused, concise, and thorough.

I heartily recommend "The Secret" to anyone interested in transcending limitations and shifting to a higher state of existence. It is available on DVD and, for a limited time, may also be viewed through the official website as a streaming movie.

The reviewer (see his brilliant site: Transcending the Matrix Control System) is a truthseeker, on a quest to expose the dark and empower the light. Like those before him, his primary goal is to help others arm themselves with knowledge to better fulfill their evolutionary potential. Having studied four years of physics and electrical engineering, he left college to pursue more independent research. His interests include physics, inventing, esoteric knowledge, music and painting. He lives with his girlfriend in Virginia. More articles from Tom will follow in Metamorphosis.

Peter Shepherd's review: Upon the recommendation of my friend Dale Askew, who had himself learned about the film from Tom, Nicole and I set down to watch "The Secret" last night. Immediately it began, I realized it was that recently "hyped up to the eyeballs" Internet promotion that was obviously about the Law of Attraction - you know, that New Agey principle which is often so badly described as to sound like fairy dust.

The reality, however, is that this film offers by far the best description of the Law of Attraction I've ever heard, and it makes the principles crystal clear and evident. I completely endorse the teaching it presents, and can think of many episodes in my own life that prove its validity and workability.

The film doesn't talk much about the subconscious aspects, such as hidden conflicting beliefs and suppressed fears, which are resolved only through deep work on oneself such as through Meta-Programming. Nor about ethics, such as the way one feels more worthy of the exchange of wealth for value that you have created for others or services done. Nor about the value of personal growth and cognitive development for increasing emotional intelligence, intuition and creativity - because we have to clear our intentions, open to guidance and play our part. But it does introduce lots of good techniques for introducing a positive approach to one's life that anyone can do and which will certainly result in welcome effects. They are the starting point and it's right to emphasize them first.

Like Tom says, the film is beautifully done. In particular, it was a personal delight for me to watch Joe Vitale, Bill Harris, Bob Doyle, and lots more of the eminent people in the field of personal growth, all coming across as charismatic and very perceptive individuals indeed.

It's not so much a "secret" as a way of being that is quite foreign to most people. The average guy just does not realize that he can change his actions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs and identity. Instead they are perceived as the result of influences upon him, so he feels moulded and at effect, with few choices. Life just happens to him, and it's all other people's fault. The truth - that he is responsible for the quality of his life - is, in that context, a revelation. Because if he's responsible then he can change things around.

The film quotes Einstein: "Imagination is everything; it is the preview of life's forthcoming attractions." As usual he's spot on. With many further such examples, the film demonstrates that this "secret" has in fact been revealed over and over by the great men and women of history. And even, I might say, in my writings and those of quite a few contributors to this newsletter. And on trans4mind the applications of the Law of Attraction are well described in the sites of Ayal Hurst and Jeanne Hatch. You've heard this stuff before. But have you listened? Did you fully grasp it? If not, watching this film is an ideal way to get to grips with this powerful and positive approach to life. It's a transformative film and for me, a very moving one. For Nicole too.

"The Secret" is a feature length movie presentation made available (for a strictly limited season at just $4.95) in full screen, high quality video direct to your computer screen. Download it here.

 
These are a reader's criticisms of the "Law of Attraction" discussed in our review last week of the film, "The Secret"...
A fundamental problem: like does not attract like! Basic laws of physics are that 'opposites attract' - you put 2 south poles of a magnet together and they will repel each other! Also I disagree that we can manifest and change life events... The whole of our lives are about cause and effect, we cannot control other individuals and bend them all to our will, therefore we will always be at their mercy. How many people dream and strive to be a famous pop star, author, athlete, etc. They want it so badly and believe 100% (think about the X factor contestants!) but no matter how much they want it, how hard they try, it will never happen - because it relies on the will of others, and they have NO control of this!

Dale Askew replies:
Walk across the room. Who is moving you? Are you at the mercy of where your feet take you, or are you in control of your feet?

Wave your hand around. Is the hand waving itself, or is the hand at the mercy of the body's decisions? 

You are arguing from the perspective of the hand, not taking into account the fact it's part of a much larger body, and I am arguing from the perspective of the body as a whole.  

You are saying, "I am a hand, the body controls me, I have no free will" but the answer, and truth, is that the hand and the body are one and the same.  Neither part 'controls' and neither part 'is at the mercy of' ... they simply are, and they simply do.

We humans are like hands, small extensions of a larger body. Do we make our own choices, or are we at the mercy of the larger-body-system? The answer is BOTH and NEITHER. It's all the same - it's all one.

Tom Montalk replies:
I would like to give a parallel explanation based on my studies in physics and metaphysics. While "opposites attract" is a fundamental law of physics, as demonstrated by opposite electric or magnetic poles attracting, "like attracts like" is another fundamental law as evidenced by like masses attracting each other gravitationally despite both having positive mass. Even in social dynamics, we have opposites attracting each other as in male/female or aggressor/victim, yet also likes attracting such as people with similar attitudes and interests coming together. As the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together." Both laws exist, it's just a question of which law is true in which case. The Law of Attraction refers to attraction of similar things through resonance or mutually congruent vibration. It is like two equal tuning forks, a vibration of one will subtly induce vibration in the other nearby and vice versa until both vibrate together in unison. Thoughts and feelings, beyond being biochemical impulses, are electromagnetic patterns of energy that will externally resonate and attract that which corresponds to it.

As for cause and effect, remember that causality falls apart on the quantum level. Everything above the quantum level can be predicted mathematically because for every cause there is a calculable effect, but at the quantum level there is indeterminacy. This quantum uncertainty means the future is open to choice, for a freewill choice cannot be calculated in advance otherwise it would not be freewill. The tangible world we know sits atop a quantum foundation, and although we see cause-effect all around us, sometimes cause itself is preceded by choice. It's like a DVD collection of movies -- you cannot change the content of the movie at whim because it is final from beginning to end, but you can choose a different movie.

There is something more fundamental than physical causality, and it is consciousness, freewill, thoughts, and emotions working through the agent of unpredictable quantum fluctuations. Mind is active on the imaginary plane and shapes or gives rise to the real (physical) plane. That is a higher order causality, one where mind shapes matter. By guiding your thoughts and feelings, you are simply influencing which "DVDs" (probable futures) are selected to be played next. Summary: consciousness shapes the statistical behavior of quantum systems.

Freewill is the only constraint upon the Law of Attraction. You cannot make another do what he or she chooses against. And you cannot always override some prior choice you made. That which your heart desires is most easy to manifest. That which your baser impulses or social programming desires will meet some resistance. This is because the Law of Attraction works through the higher part of you that chooses a certain "curriculum" for how your life progresses, and any frivolous desires that interfere with this are minor attempts to violate your own higher freewill; that higher self does not have to stoop to the whims of your lower self. When people desire to be filthy rich or idolized pop stars, where is that impulse coming from? If from the heart, then it will fall into place. If not from the heart, then little chance of it working.

If freewill is respected all around, then your intent can manifest easily. Rather than forcing someone unwillingly to bend to the intent of another, the Law of Attraction works through anyone available who is in the position to assist and does not resist. So it's more a "call for volunteers" than a forced manipulation of another, but with the huge complexity of our world and all the people in it, there is bound to be something, someone, somewhere that answers the call.

The point of all this is that the principles outlined in "The Secret" are based on experience, principles you can prove to yourself again and again until you are convinced that, under proper conditions, probability is being bent like a paper clip to accommodate your intent. And more, the Law of Attraction confirms, rather than contradicts, the principles of physics. One may discard the idea, but hopefully after understanding it first. Give the Law of Attraction a chance... there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Peter Shepherd replies:
You envision the reality you want, as if it is in the now and even - or perhaps especially - be grateful for it! That's creating from the God/Spirit level, the spark of God that you are. Yes, you start from lack (want) but you don't move forward in lack. Many, many people have found this does make a difference in this material world... it's not just wishful thinking.

Also this process gives the feeling that what you want is achieveable, desirable. You feel abundant, and like attracts like, a kind of magic. The Law of Attraction, "LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE." It's a spiritual law of the universe.

This may seem to be contradicted by the observation that opposites attract. "If like attracts like, then how can opposites attract?" you might ask. The reason is that opposites attract only to make a completed whole entity which needs both opposite parts to survive. This is an example of the spiritual law, "NEED ATTRACTS FULFILLMENT." For example, man attracts woman in order to make a complete unit. Once the whole partnership is made, it then attracts other completed entities like itself. So we see that married couples tend to attract and associate with other couples who are like themselves, not opposite to themselves.

Similarly, it is a common observation that partners in a business frequently bring different personality traits to the business. But this is simply to make the business a complete entity, capable of surviving. Once the business entity is complete, it tends to attract others that have an affinity for the business, not those that feel the opposite.

As a result of the Law of Attraction, magical results come about. Of course this "magic" is not really magic; if it happens then there must be science to explain it, albeit not the orthodox. Metaphysics is a super-set of physics, not its enemy. Perhaps Sheldrake's theories of information fields are the closest - I perceive it more in the order of information/thought than about energy/vibration - it's in the zero-point, the implicit encoding of the holographic universe. But then they are two sides of the same coin anyway, as in the case of gravity; whether potential or energy, either way it has a field of influence.

The implicit, hidden world is that of creative potential, of Spirit, outside of space and time; the real world is its explicit manifestation through creativity; and the mind is the intermediary, interpreting intuitions and drawing up plans of action. Therefore, I think for most of us the Law of Attraction works at the mental/spiritual level, not the physical. But also Spirit has the power to align causes and effect sequences right down to the material level. Each person is an independent cause but also they are part of the universal Spirit or Source and in this respect they act as One too. 

Telepathic influences on others and their resulting actions cause events to occur and things to appear as if by magic or synchronicity. But it's not really magic, it's cause and effect. Spirit works on matter through mind and actions. Real action needs to be taken to manifest real things... there are such solid agreements cementing the physical: a lifetime's conditioning and learning to play "the game of life." It wouldn't be much of a game if any of us could easily change the rules or alter the playing field! We have the potential of being games makers, and I believe we should rise to that, but when we play football that's what we do.

Even if you discount the spiritual, I also think the Law of Attraction has a psychological basis. Your every thought and word is contributing to your life experience. For openers, your thoughts produce your emotions which, in turn, result in how you feel about a particular event occurring in your life. It has always amazed me how people can walk around feeling a particular way and not understand that it is their own thoughts, or more accurately what they are telling themselves that is producing the feeling in the first place. This is why two people can look at the exact same event and have opposite feelings about it.

You are creating your own subjective reality, moment by moment, with the thoughts you choose to think and what you say, both to yourself and others. And through the power of spirit - the controversial bit - your subjective reality impinges on the physical reality.

With the blocks removed about considering it's OK to be/do/have whatever, you can then more easily do what ever it takes to manifest it. It's the Robert Fritz creating principle: a crystal clear vision inspires and energizes the path of least resistance to your goal. Your current abilities and having are irrelevant to you being able to start creating; that's where you're going and you now - with that empowering vision - have the energy to work through any barriers, and acquire any necessary skills and resources along the way.

That's why the vision has to be genuine, specific and what you truly want, and any blocks and conflicting beliefs that you may hold need to be exposed and released. Otherwise wishes and prayers can be, in effect, the avoidance of a reality that one is unwilling to confront. But if it's genuinely your vision, and in accordance with the knowing of your Higher Self, it will happen, and you won't be able to stop yourself running around like a wild thing making it happen - since YOU are the most important channel of your creative power, just as much as the world around you.

Many people sincerely wish for their life circumstances to be different, to win the lottery or to obtain promotion. Most of the time this doesn't come about - "wishful thinking" or desire doesn't cut it and one suffers. What is needed is creative intention or will, not just a wish or desire. It's the process of manifesting and it needs to be done without attachment, and it needs to be followed through with the correct attitude and actions.

When the Buddhists speak of desire as something to overcome, in order to prevent suffering, they mean the attachment to a possession or an outcome, such that you can't be happily without it. Buddha was right, but it's not desire itself that he was warning about, it's attachment to the outcome or object of desire. So as a result you have a fear of not attaining it or of then losing it. So you put force and effort in there. Force results in counter-force, a reaction. That acts as a counter-intention and nullifies the intention. Nothing happens.

Manifesting intentions need to be effortless and without attachment to the outcome, i.e. with unconditional love and gratitude but not with fear or greed. That suffering one normally feels when your desires do not manifest is from an attachment of some sort, the source of the counter-intention. It was not a pure intention, it was undermined by counter-intentions, feelings that point in quite the other direction.

Subconscious forces, such as hidden conflicting beliefs and suppressed fears, are resolved only through deep introspective work on oneself. And one's ethics neared to be cleared, such that one feels more worthy of the exchange of wealth for value that you have created for others or services done. One also needs considerable emotional intelligence, intuition and creativity - because we have to clear our intentions, be open to guidance and play an active part in the manifestation process.

It's not so much a "magical" process as a way of being that is quite foreign to most people. The average guy just does not realize that he can change his actions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs and identity. Instead they are perceived as the result of influences upon him, so he feels moulded and at effect, with few choices. Life just happens to him, and it's all other people's fault. The truth - that he is responsible for the quality of his life - is, in that context, a revelation. Because if he's responsible then he can change things around.

This is the reason Tools for Transformation exists - to help people in the process of improving their lives. All the products we recommend support an improved ability to manifest your dreams - to take your life to a new conscious level. But here's one new program I'd like to point out that is ideal for those who are newly inspired by viewing "The Secret"...

To take your knowledge and understanding of manifestation a great deal further, significantly further than you'll learn in the film or most other places, I recommend you look into this really amazing program:


Comments

Subject: The secret
From: Don B
Date: Wed, November 8, 2006
To:   Editor

The Secret

Going over the aspects of the film as already mentioned by the reviewers on your site would be redundant, and yes this basic technique coupled with a fundamental law of attraction is ancient. There is much mention of it in the arcane literature of the past, with the usual caveats of "be careful what you wish for," and the like.

I liked the positive nature of the film, but found it's message of sex and materialism as its selling points extremely shallow. Why stop there, when it can be used, as I have done in the past, to gain knowledge, truth, insight, and spiritual attainments, the real treasures that transcend space and time and follow us beyond the grave.

Verily, it was said, "seek ye first the kingdom of heaven." And if the "kingdom of heaven is within us," then it seems to me that using this technique can and will have the only long-lasting benefits that we can take with us, life after life. Of course, having the basic material elements for a successful existence is always a blessing, but I would tier them as priorities.

Even so, let's look at what this possible tier might be, and in fact, it?s the one I use.

At the top are things of spirit " a deeper relationship with the Spirit of Truth, Love, and Higher Worlds " the things the Great Messiah spoke of and others in different lands and languages in times past. Next come qualities, such as patience, kindness, understanding, courage, etc. After that, I would rate skills like being a better musician and the like. Then, experiences sought after like cliff-diving, or hang-gliding, or helping out at a soup kitchen to better understand the truly needy, etc. Only after I?ve gone down this list, do the considerations extend to the material of life: money, means, and modalities of same.

The whole thing requires sincerity of purpose and heart and the ultimate attractive quality: to use ANY of the these Blessings we call into our life experience for the betterment of all, as well as self.

Just some quick thoughts.

Don B

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All information posted on this web site is the opinion of the author and is provided for educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as medical advice. Only a licensed medical doctor can legally offer medical advice in the United States. Consult the healer of your choice for medical care and advice.