The Secret

I caught a little of two recent episodes of Oprah, in which the philosophy of "The Secret" was discussed. I have to say that I haven't done much research into the new-age idea, but I thought it was thought-provoking. In a nutshell, The Secret teaches the law of attraction -- whatever you direct your energy towards (your thoughts, feelings, and actions) will be returned to you. So if you walk around thinking, "I'm frustrated that I can't lose weight," then you will never resolve your weight problem. But if you think "I'm so thankful that I have a healthy body that can move and speak and think and see...," then you might have more success losing weight because you'll want to respect your body more. Mother Teresa was once asked to join an anti-war march, and she said she was not interested in participating. "But if you hold a march for peace," she said, "then I will walk with you."

The teachers of The Secret claim that this attitude of thankfulness and positive thinking can provide a common basis for the different religions of the world. The scripture in which Jesus says "Knock and the door will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and you will receive" was referenced. It's interesting to think about the free will that we have in combination with prayer to a higher power. I thought this was an interesting perspective on gratitude.