May 3, 2009 — THE SECRET = SELF-HELP FOR NAVELS
May 3rd, 2009 | 
Author: Proverbs 15:33: “Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility perceives honor.”
In the last few years, millions of readers and viewers have adopted the mantra of “The Law of Attraction” as propounded in THE SECRET and other media.
As I listen to and read this teaching, I am sickened by the self-focus so much of this stuff teaches and encourages. “The Universe” (or THE THING—see last post) exists for YOU. Every guru in THE SECRET focuses self-absorption. “As you learn The Secret, you will come to know how you can have, be, or do anything you want” (page xii). We used to call it “meditating on your belly button!”
They will quote, often out of context or little snatches that fit in with their teachings, from the great teachers and leaders of the ages, such as Jesus and Solomon. But they dare not refer to equally pertinent quotes from “leaders” who, in seeking their own destiny, destroyed millions of lives.
Such as Adolf Hitler. If you examine his teachings in Mein Kampf and his actions and those of his cohorts, you will see that he would have been an ideal candidate for THE SECRET. He obeyed the so-called law of attraction. “To use the law of attraction to your advantage, make it a habitual way of being, not just a one-time event” (p. 93). Hey, you sure did that, Herr Hitler! You went all out.
What’s greater than “the law of attraction?”
The law of loving action.
My sister-in-law sends me a lot of “forwards” on my email. I’m very thankful for today’s. I’ve heard of many heroes of the holocaust, such as Anne Frank, the family of ten Boom, Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg—the historical list includes thousands of known saviors.
But until today I never heard of Irena Sendler, who died May 12, 2008, at age 98. She was a Polish Roman Catholic social worker who saved at least 2,500 Jewish children in the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War.
Irena Sender, Holocaust Hero
Did she use “the law of attraction?” You decide. This I know: God used the love in her heart to act for children targeted for the Nazi death camps. She risked her life.
“All you have to do to receive is feel good,” writes Rhonda Byrne in THE SECRET (p. 53). I’m sure Irena felt deep joy in saving the lives of babies and children from death camps. She also received capture by the Nazis and imprisonment, felt torture, broken legs, mangled feet, disfiguring scars, and a death sentence.
She attracted those “rewards” to herself, not by navel-gazing and sending her thoughts out to “the Universe,” but by acting out her love in a tangible, risky way.
I’m so moved by Irena’s story that I will continue it in future posts. You might want to read more about Irena Sendler on the internet. Very inspiring…and humbling.
You might even forget, for a few moments, that you have a navel. I wish those teachers in THE SECRET would forget theirs!
“We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true. I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death.” – Irena Sendler (1910 – 2008).
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May 4th, 2009 11:15 am
Hey Rabbit,
Once again your dissection of “The Secret” is spot-on. Our ACTIONS attract consequences, both positive and negative. Yes, our thinking and our focus can influence our actions, but it boils down not to what we actually DO that creates cause & effect. I doubt it mattered how positive Irena Sendler was about what she was doing, the consequences were dire indeed.
It’s obvious she did not “get what she deserved”. Promoters of Karma, and “The Secret” obviously do not want to look at the entire picture here… only when it pans out in their favor.
May 19th, 2009 12:44 pm
Irena Sendler was the subject of the Easter season Hallmark Hall of Fame. As a cCatholic,(is this a Freudian slip, both a specific and a general practitioner of Christianity! I’ll leave it uncorrected and let the reader decide.) I watched her story with pride and gratitude.
Irena lived to a very old age, and it was a school assignment by two American junior high students that brought her heroics to the attention of America. The Hallmark DVD is available for purchase at the Hallmark site, I believe.