The secret is as follows:

1. Come up with positive sounding self help idea
2. Create a fake conspiracy story.
3. Cheesy self help book
4. Make cheesy movie to make more money off the rubes.
5. Make an endless stream of follow on books and videos....
6. Profit!

The vote is against the secret nothing against you mlx....

I simply detest this woman, her video and her goddamn book.

Nothing what she says is a secret, it's common sense that has existed for eons. If it was called "Positive Thinking For the Win" no one would have bought the book, but it's called the Secret and sold off as being some ancient texts and rubbish like that becuase it's the same rehashed story you can find in Self-Help texts dating back to the 19th century.

It's just so vapidly stupid... Her entire case is that if you think about it hard enough it will happen? Oh yeah? Tell that to the people in Darfur or Iraq am sure they can just wish all the death and violence away.

Oh I found something that does a much better job...

Karin Klein, editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times, called The Secret "just a new spin on the very old (and decidedly not secret) The Power of Positive Thinking [book by Norman Vincent Peale (1952)] wedded to 'ask and you shall receive'." The editorial, in one of its strongest criticisms, asserted Rhonda Byrne "took the well-worn ideas of some self-help gurus, customized them for the profoundly lazy, [and] gave them a veneer of mysticism..."

Journalist Jeffrey Ressner, reporting in Time, writes that some critics are concerned with the film’s attitude toward "using ancient wisdom to acquire material goods." In one example in the film, "a kid who wants a red BMX bicycle cuts out a picture in a catalog, concentrates real hard, and is rewarded with the spiffy two-wheeler."

Jerry Adler of Newsweek notes that despite the film's allusions to conspiratorially suppressed ancient wisdom, the notions presented by the motivational speakers who make up the film's cast have been commonplace for decades. Adler notes that the film is ethically "deplorable," fixating on "a narrow range of middle-class concerns — houses, cars, vacations, followed by health and relationships, with the rest of humanity a very distant sixth." Noting that the scientific foundations of the movie are clearly dubious, the Newsweek article quotes psychologist John Norcross, characterizing it as "pseudoscientific, psychospiritual babble."

Tony Riazzi, columnist for the Dayton Daily News, also questions the merits of The Secret, calling Byrne's background as a reality TV producer a "red flag." He also said that "The Secret's" ideas are nothing more than "common sense. Take out the buzzwords and pseudo religious nonsense about what you 'manifest' for yourself, ignore the vague prose and you get the message that thinking positively serves you better than thinking negatively."

it says the same kinda things in buddhist self-help books.

I remember a long time ago, Dennis Prager was a self-help guru.
More money in being a right-wing tool, I guess.

And couldn't you imagine a self-help guru admonishing people for not living righteously in the fifth dimension?

A fine example of how cheesy the 80's really was: Mr.T's self-help "Be Somebody, Or Be Somebody's Fool" video. Including such great visual metaphors, as: Peer Pressure (kid's smoking on a Pier with obligatory dairy-based dance off!) and Frustration (Mr.T misplaying instruments!)...comedy genius (although, not one for the Dairy-Free-Diet Sifters!)

EDIT: Also features the wonderful clip of Stylin' With Mr. T (the height of 80's fashion) Sift, where Mr.T explains how to 'express yourself' (before you wreck yourself, mo-fo!) through DIY fashion and 'dance'...

A "religion" is a cult with the benefit of time. I view all religions as harmful to humanity. But the level of harm varies. Scientology is particularly harmful in the present day. They destroy lives and cause great financial and psychological damage to their members.

At the very lowest levels, Scientology is not a lot worse then most "self-help" systems - not surprising as Hubbard stole the vast majority from other, better writers. But as people reached the original goal of "clear" and didn't obtain and real benefit (and were no longer giving money to Hubbard), he started creating new levels and goals.

Each higher level is crazier than the last. Each level re-defines words in new ways. Eventually, Scientologists have a completely distorted view of reality. By the time one has reached the "OT" level, you believe a whole bunch of palpably untrue things. When you combine the reinforcement of other cult members with the ego echo chamber in which many big Hollywood stars live - eventually you can believe anything.

For instance, Scientologists at Cruise's level believe they have "MEST powers" - that is absolute power over Matter, Energy, Space and Time. They believe they can kill with a glance. That intense stare that Cruise often uses in his acting is the fabled "OT III Death Stare".

It would all be hilarious if they didn't have a body count. If they didn't regularly engage in criminal acts. If they didn't use the courts as a weapon intending to bankrupt their foes. If they didn't force members to "disconnect" with family members who oppose Scientology. If they didn't use female members as temple prostitutes to pull in male recruits (Lisa Marie Presley, Mimi Rogers).

They are a destructive and malign force.