Secretforlife.com

I attracted the cat to eat my rabbits!

According to some “law of attraction” teachers, that’s what I did by imagining that some cat might eat the three bunnies living under my backyard shed.

Actually, I didn’t imagine it at all. One day there were three bunnies. Next day there were two. And a big orange tabby hiding around the corner and eyeing them.

So I built a quick enclosure for them, leaving them plenty of grass area to roam and munch.

Just doing that, of course, send my fears into the universe and geared up the “law of attraction” to fulfill my fear—a cat would eat the bunnies.

“If you see it in your mind, you’re going to hold it in your hand.” That is what mind-potential teacher Bob Proctor said in Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret. I saw a big cat eating my bunnies—uh oh! Those little furry things are in deep doo-doo!

I put up a fence. That instead of loving the cat, as Byrne in her new book, The Power, would suggest I do. Can I love both cat and the bunnies? I even named the bunnies—Bonny Bunny and Peter Rabbit (he’s the one who finds way to get through the fence).

This morning I glanced out the window and saw THE CAT jump into the enclosure and pin Bonny Bunny to the ground. In a second I slid the window open and screamed at the cat to go away. It did and fortunately Bonny lived to tell about it—by coming out of her hiding place two hours later and resume mowing my grass.

I sure don’t know what the universe thought about my actions. After all, the cat is a natural hunter, fulfilling its instincts. A misplaced hunter, of course. And rabbits are part of the food chain. And I’m not called “Robert the Rabbit” for nothing. But I feel I interrupted the “law of attraction” in some indefinable way.

For 50 years I’ve read books, listened to audios and attended seminars on positive thinking, mind power, thought control, personal achievement, etc. Basically, you can say I’ve ruined myself to do any realistic thinking. But now I’m correcting that as much as I can.

I found a book that is a great help in untwisting my too-many-gurus-warped brain. It’s called Health, Wealth & Happiness by David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge, both PhDs and longtime researchers in realistic living.

I wrote about that book in my last post and will explore it some more in the coming days. Stay tuned—and I’ll let you know what the universe did about my bunnies.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE

How do I get everything I want in life? And should I?

On my desk are two books about the same subject but very opposite in their view of achieving success.

Like many people, I’d love to achieve success in the shortest and quickest way possible. Rhonda Byrne in her books promises you can do just that.

In her THE SECRET, all you have to do is send out your desires “to the universe” and put the “law of attraction” in motion. In her THE POWER, she tells us that “love” is the force that will unlock “the secret.”

To support her advice, she uses quotes from revered thinkers, including Jesus himself. “Everything is possible for the person who believes,” he said in Mark 9:23. This quote is often the basis for the teachers of the Prosperity Gospel. But should Christian believers accept the teachings of this “other gospel?”

“No!” say the authors of a new book, HEALTH, WEALTH & HAPPINESS. David W. Jones, PhD in Christian ethics, and Russell S. Woodbridge, PhD in theology and church history, build a strong case against today’s Prosperity Gospel. They show that it is a false gospel, in opposition to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, 46% of self-identifying Christians believe that they can generate enough faith to get what they want—mainly, money, health and happiness. After all, isn’t that what God promises His people?

What’s the danger in that? First, the teachings of the Prosperity Gospel don’t hold true in real life. Second, the authors maintain and show how “the prosperity gospel leads to idolatry: people worship God’s blessings instead of God Himself” (page 164).

The authors ask: What about those believers who send donations to Prosperity Gospel ministries and experience restored health or other positive results? Rejoice and thank God for these, as Romans 12:15 tells us. But judge your experiences by God’s word, not by your feelings. The authors have done extensive research in the “miracles” of these ministries. They give examples of how these miracle ministries manipulate, arrange, select and promote the results they want their congregation and audience to see. These “faith healers” do not report the non-miraculous, those who sought for help and didn’t receive any. And they are in the vast majority.

HEALTH, WEALTH & HAPPINESS is a solid, well-documented and very readable approach to success for anyone who desires to live life with the attitude of reality. It is for the Christian who wants to give God the glory for all blessings. And it is for the seeker who wants to live by the facts, not by fiction.

This book is filled with practical advice. I’ll bring some of that to you in the coming days. Thanks for your comments.

There was no time for 9-year-old Anaiah to depend on “the law of attraction,” a supposed force that Rhonda Byrne touts in her book The Secret. Not even time for Anaiah to wait for “the power” to kick in.

Anaiah reacted instantly with agape, the “love” of John 3:16 and First John 3:16 that Jesus talked about.

She acted out of a love that is far above the kind proposed in The Power, where you can harness “love” to bring you “money, health, career, business, and relationships” (page 61).

Anaiah’s love brought her near death, loss of a leg and a kidney, high medical bills, a long tough recovery.

In being instantly motivated by her love, she was willing to sacrifice herself for someone else.

It happened on a rainy day in February, 2011, on a street in an Atlanta suburb. Nine-year-old Anaiah was walking with her 5-year-old sister, Camry, across the street. A truck roared toward them, just feet away. In a split second, the thought struck her: “She’s too young to be hit and she wouldn’t hardly be alive. She’d be probably gone forever.”

All Anaiah could do is shove her sister to safety before the truck struck full force.

Little Camry was safe—but Anaiah lay crumpled, not breathing. A passing school bus driver dashed out of her bus and gave Anaiah CPR. She took a breath, then another.

Anaiah spent three weeks in the hospital, broken neck, damaged spleen, loss of a kidney, two broken legs—one of which could not be saved and was amputated. Love. Sacrificial love.

People call Anaiah a hero. But she doesn’t call herself that. She just calls herself “a big sister.”

Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13, NEB).

Little Sis gives her 9-year-old sister a kiss of thanks for her life. MSNBC Photo.

So what is “the power” according to author Rhonda Byrne in her book THE POWER, a follow-up to her best-selling THE SECRET?

It is “love.” And what does she say “love” is?

“Everything you want to be, do, or have comes from love….It is the positive force of love that inspires you to move and gives you the desire to be, do, or have anything” (page 9). Sounds rather desirable, doesn’t it?

And the purpose of this “love?”

Byrne’s book explains that it is a mechanism you use to experience life in its fullness, mostly for your own benefit. “As far as the law of attraction is concerned, there is only one person in the world—you!” (page 103).

Like many song writers, Byrne reduces “love” to its lowest denominator—“love” is for me, my feelings, my emotions, my self-centeredness. Oh, some of it might rub off on others, especially if I think that by giving to others I will receive more back. “Whatever you give out in life is what you receive back in life” (page 24).

Makes you wonder. What did millions of Japanese “give out in life” in order to receive back a 9.0 earthquake and a 77-foot-high tsunami? What did over six million Jews “give out in life” to receive hunger and death in prison camps? What did freedom-hungry protesters in the Middle East give out to receive back death by snipers, tanks and bombs?

Byrne says that creating your world into “whatever you want” is easy and “simple” (page 61). Actually, her explanation of how this happens is simplistic—“characterized by extreme simplicity, naïve; making unrealistically simple judgments or analyses” (World English Dictionary).

There is little reality in THE POWER, for it ignores history, sociology, economics, and common sense.

But is there power in love? Yes, it is a force equal to God. But that kind of love is not Rhonda Byrne’s kind. More on that next time.

Many folks want a mathematical equation that pinpoints a precise formula.

Here’s one from Rhonda Byrne’s book, THE POWER, page 52: “THE TIPPING POINT. If you give more than 50 percent positive thoughts and feelings instead of negative, you have reached a tipping point. Even if you just give 51 percent good thoughts and good feelings, you have tipped the scales of your life!”

Now, several hours after the lottery results are in, I just don’t understand. Out of 45 numbers I picked for eight tickets, I only got one number right. And that wasn’t enough to win even a dollar.

Yet, from yesterday to just minutes ago, I absolutely LOVED the millions of dollars for the winning ticket. I believe I had reached more than the tipping point in my imagination. “Whatever you give in imagination and feeling, will become real” (page 137).

At the lottery machine, I stood behind a fellow who put in $200 dollars and received 200 chances at the lottery. Maybe he had more “love” and “imagination” than I did. But according to tonight’s results, no one won; therefore he didn’t win either. How many tickets you need to reach “the tipping point?” Is one dollar enough? One thousand?

I must be missing something in this “law of attraction” that Byrne touts in her THE SECRET and now THE POWER.

“You can see the law of attraction working when people win the lottery. They imagined and felt with all their heart that they would win the lottery. They spoke about when they win the lottery, and they planned and imagined what they would do when they won” (page 152).

Out of the 50,000,000+ people who bought Powerball tickets last week, did only one person imagine winning with “all their heart?” Because only one person won. More often, not even one person wins—out of millions.

So as I look at the numbers, I make several conclusions. (1) I didn’t imagine and love enough. (2) The law of attraction had other things to do that day. (3) THE SECRET remains a secret and THE POWER is essentially powerless.

I’d appreciate your sympathy and your thoughts. Thanks.

Rhonda Byrne in her book, THE POWER, tells us that “love” will supply all that we want—money, health and healing, happiness, good relatonships, a satisfying career, influence, inner peace. To her “love” is the power of the universe, forcing the “law of attraction” to act in our behalf.

This “law of attraction” was spelled out in her book and movie, THE SECRET. Now, according to THE POWER, by our using “love” we unlock the power that propels “the secret.”

What is this “power”? Frequently, Byrne says it is “simple.” It is as simple as “love.” We don’t have to define “love”–just feel it, send it out into the world and Universe and use it for our gain. It is the power that will attract to you “everything you love and desire” (page 1).

So if you love cheesecake and milkshakes, you will attract them in abundance. And if you love to be healthy and skinny, you will attract that too. If you’re a man who loves that girl in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, you’ll attract her. And if you love to have a stable, loving home and an intimate relationship, you’ll attract that too. If you love to have a guzzler SUV and roar through the hills and forests, you’ll attract that. And if you love quiet woodlands and mountains, you’ll attract that. If you love your beer and vodka, you’ll attract plenty of that. And if you love to have a clear mind and healthy kidneys, you’ll attract those too.

To Byrne anything you desire deeply is “love”—not “attachments” or “addiction” but “LOVE!”  Somehow “we can have it all” and everybody can “have it all.” There is no scarcity in the universe. That means, the thirsty and starving people in our country and in other countries are just not thinking right, not loving right. Their minds are just too centered on hunger and thirst, and thus that’s what they’re attracting. There’s plenty of water in their drought-dry wells and grain in their parched fields. They just have to “love”it into reality. And there is more than enough food for both the profit-centered dictators and agricultural conglomerates to ship overseas for money and also for the people in the neighborhood to be well-fed.

A corporation’s board members and stock-holders love profits, so that’s what they attract. But the poor folks must love hunger and want instead and that’s what they attract. The dictator loves power and will kill people to hold on to it. But, to carry Byrne’s “law of attraction” to its obvious conclusion, the victims must love to be tortured and killed, otherwise they wouldn’t receive those outcomes.

I’m in a quandary right now. Should I continue sharing my thoughts on THE POWER or spend all that time loving to win the POWERBALL lottery? I’d love to have that $150,000,000. Oh, I’d love it! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Hmmmm….I’d even share half of it with others. I’d love to do that! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Tomorrow I’ll be zapped by the Law of Attraction because of my powerful love and I’ll win the POWERBALL! I have to–because I now have THE SECRET and THE POWER. Oh…and I’m buying two tickets.

Do you want to be an icon? Can an icon come to you live?

If a newscaster was a zombie, would he be reporting live, dead, half-live or half-dead?

Oh, you say, some newscasters definitely are zombies – “the walking dead.” Especially those reading teleprompters or scripts without knowing what they’re reading.

Television news programs particularly like the word live. That word, they think, gives the event special significance, presence, exclusivity. I’ve been watching the Vancouver Winter (that’s win’er for many broadcasters) Olympics. And the TV promotion says “coming to you live from Vancouver, Canada!” But actually the report is at least three-hours delayed.

But, “it’s recorded live!” How else could it have been recorded? Maybe to keep costs down, NBC could occasionally record something dead. Like the headline I saw on AOL News: “Terrorist Shot Dead Live.”

Now another common term is icon, as in “living icon,” “a movie icon,” “a baseball icon.” My question is: Can an icon come to you live?

Primary meaning of icon: “In Eastern church [Orthodox church], a representation of some sacred personage, as Christ or a saint or angel, painted usually on a wood surface and venerated itself as sacred.” Secondary meaning: “A picture, image, or other representation.” I won’t get into computer “icons” as that technology has redefined hundreds of old words, like “mouse.”

An “icon” is an artistic representation of a dead holy person. So how do stars like Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, Sidney Poitier, etc., become “icons”? Simple. Through live TV, which as we have seen could be delayed broadcasting.

The media is getting sloppy in its use of language, and it is changing many of its viewers in the same way. Gone is the preciseness of speech by broadcasters like Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and more recently Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings.

Now we have copywriters writing error-filled scripts read by broadcasters who spend little time editing or understanding what they’re reading. So we get NBC’s “iconic” Meredith Vieira coming to you more or less live from Vancouver: “Classic mix-up: NBC confuses Terry Fox and Michael J. Fox.” To top it off, the Yahoo news writer used the word “classic” to mean – I have little idea what. Perhaps “embarrassing” or “ignorant.” Certainly not “classic.”

Do you want to speak good English well? Don’t trust the media to teach you.

Thanks for reading this classic article, written live by the iconic Robert the Robert.

The Face That Can Boil You To Death

Ideas have consequences. Harmful ideas have harmful consequences.

For several years I have tried to show people the weaknesses and dangers in the so-called LAW OF ATTRACTION, particularly as taught in the book and film THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne. Such notables as Oprah and Larry King mindlessly promoted some of the gurus in that book, such as James Arthur Ray.

James Ray uses the illustration of the genie in the lamp and “your wish is my command.” There is a power, he maintains, in the Universe that will grant us our wishes if we just put them out there….the Universe says, ‘Your wish is my command.’” THE SECRET, pp. 46, 89.

So do we conclude that three people who attended Ray’s sweat lodge wished for a painful death?  And 18 others wished for hospitalization? Mr. Ray himself must have wished to be arrested for manslaughter and civil lawsuits amounting to millions of dollars.

The irony of this sad situation is that Ray and his lawyers refer to this event as “an accident,” yet the Law of Attraction does not allow for “accidents.” Basically, it teaches that we get what we put out to the Universe. (Don’t ask me what Universe means here—it’s one of those esoteric, hazy words often used by self-help teachers.)

“Every great teacher who has ever walked the planet has told you that life was meant to be abundant.” THE SECRET, p. 148. So, James Ray is not a great teacher, for he has led trusting people into huge expenses, illness, delusion and even death.

He’s not the only one like that. There are so many other “gurus” who say much the same thing, touting the so-called “Law of Attraction” as the mantra for success. Although most of these teachers have not caused death to their participants, they have lead them to false hopes, racked-up credit card bills, and a belief in some magical formula for success.

Now, James Ray has been given the opportunity to show the “power to create your world.” He has been arrested for three counts of manslaughter. He is also being sued for millions of dollars by those wrongfully harmed. But, Mr. Ray, no problem–just send your positive thoughts into the Universe, rub that magic lamp, and these problems will just go away–and you might even get more abundance in in their place.

Here’s one of Ray’s favorite teachings: “I’d ask you, ‘Are the results you have in your life what you really want? And are they worthy of you?’ If they’re not worthy of you, then wouldn’t now be the right time to change those? Because you have the power to do that.” THE SECRET, pp. 164-5.

Ray and his attorneys blame others: “…the people who built the sweat lodge and the people who own the property where this occurred.” But they propose that the greatest blame rests on a “freak accident.” Said one attorney: “Mr. Ray claims that this is just a freak accident and takes not even a one percent responsibility for what happened.”

Ray’s modus operandi is simple: If good comes out of your teaching, it is from the Universe. If bad comes out of it, “It was an accident.”

Who is a Who and not a That.

Why do I make a big fuss about some grammar errors or changes in our English language?

It is not so much for the defense of correct grammar. It’s because there are some rules that have to do with attitudes toward personhood. My resolve is strengthened by the title of a book written by Yvonne Oswald called EVERY WORD HAS POWER. But even more so by the truth in the Gospel of John: “The word was made flesh.”

Years ago an unborn baby of unknown sex was generally referred to as “he” or “him.” That was a generic pronoun and could refer to either male or female. Then the libbers came and changed that to “it.” Even “manhole cover” became “utility cover.” Fortunately, it didn’t become an “it-hole cover!”

Special interest groups must first abrogate the humanity of people, make them appear less than human, before controlling them, or destroying their right to life. In wars, each side seeks to demean the personhood of the enemy so that killing them is easier on the conscience. To some extent, modern English has done that to unborn babies and, to a growing extent, to babies in their early years.

What does this change in pronouns signal? Infanticide—the killing of handicapped babies?

I predict that in time elderly folks who are severely handicapped will be referred to by the pronoun “it.” “I tried to talk to the Alzheimer’s patient, but it didn’t respond to my questions.” Seems far-fetched? About as far-fetched as if 50 years ago people would call a newborn baby an “it.”

We are approaching that itness, though, with sentences like: “I tried to talk to an Alzheimer’s patient that didn’t respond to my questions.” I hear the non-human pronoun that used frequently for humans, even in sermons from the pulpit.

Now we have a Bible translation—Today’s New International Bible—that is supposed to be gender friendly. Why? Because some modern folks are no longer able to accept “he” as a generic pronoun to describe someone whose gender we don’t know or who may not have a gender. That’s why to me it is correct to refer to God as “He,” not because God is male but because he is neither male nor female.

When an unborn baby becomes “it,” abortion is easier on the conscience than if one referred to the baby as a “him” or “her.” It is just easier to kill an “it” than a “him” or “her.”

I’ve seen a growing trend among journalists, commentators, preachers and politicians to refer to a child up to two years old as an “it.” I’ve even seen Christian writers fall into this habit, even if they know the gender of the child. Is that laying the groundwork for infanticide, killing of born babies with defects? After all, if the child is an “it,” infanticide can’t be murder.

The use of the relative pronoun “that” is now also supplanting the use of “who.” A simple rule: “Who” refers back to a person and sometimes a pet. “That” refers back to a thing, event or idea. To refer to a person as a “that” is to call him an “it.”

“The carpenter WHO built my cabinet was one of the best. The cabinet THAT he built was a beautiful one.”

If we want to maintain the personhood of people, we need to describe them in terms referring to people, not things.

If we honor God’s creation of mankind and his redemption of man (used in the generic here), then we should honor people with the human pronoun “who.”

What about “whom?” I’ll let that go, for it is now acceptable to use “who” for both subjective and objective cases. I’m all right with “I’m happy that you gave the ring to whoever wanted it. He is the person who I referred to.” That use doesn’t lessen the idea of personhood.

It’s near midnight—so now I’m off to bed to join the woman that is sleeping!

A SHARP MIND ALL YOUR LIFE

Alzheimer’s…dementia…memory loss…fuzzy thinking—all frightening terms, not just for older folks but even for today’s younger adults.

Are these conditions unavoidable, a crap shoot in something called life, a penalty for growing old, a result of mixed-up DNA, an inheritance from our parents and grandparents? It’s estimated that one out of eight of today’s “Baby Boomers” will develop Alzheimer’s. That’s scary.

Lifestyle, of course, has much to do with the disabilities we earn as we grow older. But there are other reasons for some diseases.

Let’s investigate something more positive—how to avoid or lessen the impact of brain drain.

Most media has ignored an astounding discovery. In the last few years researchers discovered that nicotinamide can restore memory loss, even from Alzheimer’s. Dr. David G. Williams writes extensively about this in his ALTERNATIVES newsletter, February 2009. I’ve also researched other sources. I am convinced that this protocol could help without causing any harm.

Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., also published a similar article his March 2009 Clinical Nutrition and Healing newsletter –http://ahha.org/Alzheimers.htm

During this last year, I’ve been on the nicotinamide regimen as Dr. Williams recommended. I believe my memory and my creatively has sharpened substantially. In November, I even wrote a novel of 50,000+ words. Some days I got physically tired long before my mind wanted to rest.

My 87-year-old mother-in-law has also been using nicotinamide and she reports positive results.

Nicotinamide is also known as niacinamide, an inexpensive water-soluble vitamin part of the B-group. A year’s supply should cost less than $40. Don’t confuse this vitamin with niacin, which could cause a flushing effect.

Dr. Kim Green at the University of California at Irvine did one study on mice with Alzheimer’s. After using his treatment for just four months, he declared, “Cognitively, they were cured. They performed as if they’d never developed the disease.”

Dr. Green also added: “The vitamin completely prevented cognitive decline associated with the disease, bringing them back to the level they’d be at if they didn’t have the pathology.” In his study, he also found that the vitamin improved memory and behavior in the control group of mice without Alzheimer’s. On www.pubmed.gov, there were 16 other current studies reported, all showing benefits of niacinamide supplementation.

OK, you say, that’s mice, not humans. There are ongoing studies now with humans. It’ll be months before we know the findings. But here’s the main point: this vitamin is cheap and with no harmful side effects, but with the potential of many benefits.

Dr. Williams’ concludes: “If I had a friend or family member with the disease, or if I were predisposed to Alzheimer’s…I would immediately start taking higher doses of niacinamide. And remember, the research also strongly suggests that it could improve memory in healthy individuals as well.”

Dr. William Kaufman was a pioneer in the 1930s and 40s in researching niacinamide in regards to problems associated with its deficiency, such as arthritis as well as mental acuity. “He discovered that many of the physical and mental problems associated with ‘normal’ aging are actually the result of inadequate amounts of niacinamide in the diet.”

But here’s one problem. Being water-soluble, this vitamin was absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and central nervous system. The benefits peaked after about 90 minutes and were almost gone within three hours. So one would have to take it at least every three hours. The recommended amount is 250 mg. However, even ingesting it less often could benefit people, especially those who don’t have mental deterioration as yet.

I have a handy dispenser on my desk and carry it with me when I go away, even for half a day. I hardly ever miss taking a tablet on time—after all, it does improve your ability to remember!

You can order it from www.swansonvitamins.com – 250 caps of 250 mg. for less than $4. At six a day, that’ll last you 40 days—ten cents a day. If you want preservative-free, you can buy them at www.freedavitamins.com – 500 caps of 250 mg for about $20. (I have no connection with these companies and get no commissions.)

Of course, no single food supplement is the answer. A total wellness lifestyle is. The right supplements just make that lifestyle more effective.

Let me know your thoughts and experience with this niacinamide regimen.