The Secret - Book Review

I was introduced to "The Secret" by one of my uncles. I got hold of a personal copy of the book and ventured into reading it with expectations soaring high. I found it very interesting and inspiring. The design of the book is awesome and caught my fancy at a single glance. Every aspect of the design is breathe-taking. In my opinion this book defies the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. The feel-good factor flows through its content as well.

The author Rhonda Byrne claims to have captured the essence of the most powerful philosophies, teachings and knowledge in the world in this book. She says that she discovered the glimpse of "The Secret" through a 100 year old book. Since its discovery, she was consumed by the desire to share her wisdom to the world and it lead to the birth of "The Secret". Apart from Byrne, there are 29 authors for this book. The profiles of these authors is the most attractive part of "The Secret". There are some of the prominent personality developers, quantum physicists, authors, teachers, and philosophers among many others. It is noteworthy that the author of the Chicken soup for the soul series, Jack Canfield is also one of the authors.

The core concept of "The Secret" is "The Law of Attraction". The authors describe this law as the most powerful universal law. But the whole book preaches this law to a sickening extent. It inundates us with an over dose of information on the law of attraction. However, there are apparently less or no concrete action points on using the law of attraction. The readers can merely read the book as if they read a story book. There is no appropriate call for action.

In the same way, the authors say that our thoughts attract their corresponding results. They say that our “thoughts become things”. However, the book fails to address how thoughts alone (without appropriate actions) can become things. Similarly, the authors say that "The Secret" techniques work best for self but not others. They have only contradicted themselves here because in one of the chapters called the secret to the world, one of the authors recommends us to visualize the people around the world being happy during disasters. If "The Secret" techniques can only work for self, then how visualizing other people being happy can better the situation?

In the same way, the book says that people those who succumb to disasters, invite themselves to such situations through their thoughts. It further says that the person may not necessarily think of the same situation but may have some or other negative feelings such as fear, separation etc If a few or more people have died in a disaster, how could all of them been in the same frame of mind?

Similarly, many people have criticized "The Secret" for being impractical and focusing more on material goals. "The Secret" is still a welcome addition to the self help genre. Though it may not turn your life around in a single day, it is an effective tool for shifting our thinking and understanding the thought process.

The supporters of "The Secret" including the big names such as renowned talk show personality Oprah Winfrey hail this book as a mind-blowing and ground breaking phenomenon. However, I am not sure whether or not this book can have the same life-altering impact in you because the reviews and reactions for the book are mixed. But I understand one factor here. Any change should start from You. This book is only a good vehicle for the change. If you are looking for a change, ride on it.

Here is the link to "The Secret" website:
http://www.thesecret.tv/