The Power of the Negative

It's what I wish I'd written. And maybe still will.

Allison Glock and Michael Solomon riff on The Other Secret, "The Law of Detraction":

This other secret has been fought over for centuries by kings. It has been debated by rabbis, hidden by bearded sorcerers, swallowed in balloons by Colombian drug mules and once spent a very unpleasant weekend in Sheboygan, Wis.

Now you get the idea! That's what The Really Big Secret is all about. Let's hear what you think the other Laws of the Universe are!

Cubs Curse, Meet Rhonda

I have just had a revelation!

The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908. OBVIOUSLY they have been attracting defeat for the past century. We simply need to purchase several dozen copies of "The Secret," ship them to Wrigley Field ASAP, then just sit back and wait. Sweet victory is at hand.

Catholicism 1, The Secret 0

WWJD?

Joe Paprocki, who blogs at Catechist's Journey, wondered how "The Secret" measures up when seen through a Catholic lens:

I suppose if this book is helping some people to dispel negative thinking and replace it with positive thinking, that’s good, but here are some serious problems with The Secret in relation to the Catholic faith...

Joe then explains in exquisite detail -- in 34 specific ways -- why "The Secret" stands in stark defiance of Catholic belief.

Explains why sales of "The Secret" have been slumping at the Vatican bookstore.

It's All So Laughably Nutty

Nope, I didn't say that about "The Secret" -- former bookstore employee Tim Watkin did, in The Washington Post:

In the book, investment trainer David Schirmer describes his own experience. He used to receive bills every day. "So I got a bank statement, I whited out the total, and I put a new total in there," he says. "I thought, 'What if I just visualized a bunch of checks coming in the mail'? Within just one month, things started to change. It is amazing; today I just get checks in the mail. I get a few bills, but I get more checks than bills."

Amazing! Odd but true! Grows real toenails in just weeks!

It's all so laughably nutty. And it would be harmless but for the millions buying the book and DVD and the exposure that "The Secret" is getting from the likes of Winfrey and Larry King. And for the danger lurking in its philosophy.

This forum is not intended as an attack on Rhonda Byrne, who clearly has the right to write any kind of book she wants to, and market it aggressively. We, of course, have the equal right to evaluate it, offer our commentary on it, ignore it, or ... satirize it. Let's see. I choose the last one.

Post your own "Really Big Secrets" and let's see if we can get Oprah's attention, too.