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bohm
July 2009 
new age thinking - part 2.
Posted on Jan 19th, 2007
by 
Siona
Siona
I talked a little about new age thinking in general in my last post, about the What the bleep?!, which was a bit of a precursor to The Secret. But I didn't go into this more recent film itself.
Now I'd like to do so. So here's my take on The Secret.
The Secret: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
I'm going to assume you've seen the movie, or have some general understanding of the principles it espouses. In short, if you know anything about the Law of Attraction or "reality manifestation," you'll have a good enough understanding to be able to follow this post. (Julian has a bit more detailed - if, um, somewhat biased - review here.) And I'll start on a positive note.
What's good about The Secret?
The Secret encourages the development of positive thinking, an internal locus of control, a sense of mastery over one's environment, visualization, and an appreciative and grateful attitude toward the world.
All these things, regardless of whether or not one believes in some magical reason behind them, are heavily correlated with an enjoyable, abundant, satisfying life; there are myriad psychological studies that indicate those people who feel that they are in control of how they respond to situations, and that their life circumstances are their own doing, are happier and more psychologically healthy than those who feel their lives are at the whim of uncontrollable circumstance. The illusion of control is a wonderful boost to happiness. Positive thinking, too, is a similar technique in creating a better life for oneself; optimists live longer, report having more satisfying relationships, and tend to be physically healthier than their pessimistic counterparts. Looking for what is positive in one's environment opens up doors to possibilities and keeps you looking for new opportunities for growth and change and success, while a negative attitude will shut you down and close your mind to these potentials. Visualization can do amazing things to the very structure of one's brain, helping to strengthen connections that will serve you well in the material world when it comes time to act, and encouraging the development of habitual responses that are conducive to happiness and success. And finally, practicing an attitude of appreciation and gratitude is a sure route to a more deeply satisfying life.
(An aside. We are, all of us, enough, just as we are.
No other creatures in the world sit and fret about how they're imperfect examples of their species; dogs and cats and elephants and dolphins do not worry themselves over whether they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, or living how they're meant to live. They merely are. We do not need to teach dogs to be dogs. We do not need to provide an acorn with a blueprint for its growth. We need only provide a healthy, supportive environment for those biological miracles, and they'll grow and thrive and happily do their thing. It's only we, with our burden and blessing of consciousness, who become bogged down in self doubt. It's only we who believe that satisfaction will come from something to be learned or gained or taught from outside. It's only we who fail to trust our own deeper guidance. We'll listen to advertisers, who'll tell us we need to look and behave a certain way, or to own a certain set of toys. We'll listen to experts, who'll tell us to eat a certain diet or avoid certain foods or follow a certain prescription. We'll listen to the shared insecurities of society, who'll tell us to go to a certain university and follow the right career path and own the right mansion and put our children into the right school. Why?
We are enough as we are. We don't need to gain anymore or be anything other. All we need to do is to find who we are and express that -- to give that gift of expression and contribution to the world, be it by cooking or teaching or building or painting or care giving or gardening or healing. We've created institutions for all these fields, and, in the process, lost sight of the fact that they're something given rather than techniques to be gained.
Practicing an attitude of appreciation reminds us, bit by bit, that we are enough. By focusing on what we have, and what we are, rather than what we lack, we're brought back to that truth. To my mind, this is one of the most important lessons of the movie . . . that you are perfect, and whole, and alive, just as you are.
But back to the discussion.)
Following the psychological principles The Secret encourages is going to improve your life. People are drawn to happy, self-confident human beings. We all like to be around those who aren't needy, and who don't make demands on us, and someone who believes that they are in utter control of their own reality is not going to be shaming or blaming or grasping. They'll radiate a certain peaceable calm that's infectious to family, friends, and business partners alike. They'll enter into dealings with a relaxing reassurance that others find compelling. And, if these people are following the other principles of the film, and looking for opportunity and potential rather than misery and fault, they'll be bound to start doing well in the world. Beyond this, they'll start interpreting things to reaffirm these believes: positive occurrences are proof of their manifesting abilities; negative results, evidence that they're focusing in the wrong direction. It's a neat little (unfalsifiable) trick. In short, if you see the film and start implementing what it suggests, you'll likely be inclined to think it 'works.' You'll think you do, in fact, create your reality; that you are, in some sense, God, and that the world is what you make it.
So what? Isn't this, at some deep level, true? Isn't this what the mystics and sages throughout history have been claiming all along?
Well, yes. Yes, AND . . . and there's a very important and.
I wrote a response on Brian's blog that I'd like to share here. Despite what I just wrote above, I don't see The Secret as an empowering tool. For me it's precisely the reverse … or, rather, it just trades one authority for another. It still recruits science (an outside entity if there ever was one) in its favor. It still promotes the illusion that material things are what we deserve, and material items are the things we should work toward. It still endorses an overwhelmingly cognitive (if lacking wholly in critical reasoning) approach to spirituality.
Spiritual development is so much more about going inwards, about sitting and being still and discovering these truths for oneself, not looking to some outside authority to confer them, or, for that matter, having this same outside authority support the idea that what we have and what we can get are important.
The reason I see The Secret as troubling is because of how it can contribute to divisiveness and a disturbing lack of compassion. If we avoid the eyes of a homeless person because he “hasn't been thinking positively” or chide a relative dying of cancer because they “haven't been visualizing” enough or brought it upon themselves because that's the “reality they were focusing on,” or if we shun our neighbor whose son just died in Iraq because of her “negative energy,” or if we ignore environmental and social justice issues because they've been “manifested” by those who are troubled by them, we risk contributing to an even more fractured world. And more than that, we're demonstrating that we don't really GET the deeper truth that The Secret brushes on … that that homeless person, and the dying relative, and the suffering mother, and those left homeless due to environmental damage, are ALL you … and thus can't possibly hope to have them “work.”
Because the truth is, we all are connected, but on more than just one level. We're interconnected spiritually, and we're interconnected materially as well; the car I chose to drive has an impact on the world around me, and the shoes I choose to buy are the product of someone else's labor, and the way I lead my life impacts the rest of the world. A spirituality that comes from inward awareness, from sitting and meditating and doing the necessary work, understands this; getting the message from outside in no way guarantees the understanding of social and environmental consciousness that's necessary to a better world. Where was the call to turn inward? To sit and be still and to discover this truth for yourself? The Secret asks us, instead, to turn to experts (as we love to do), and to take their words, shored up by a few personal stories and some shoddy science, at face value. Real transformation - the sort that leads to both inner change and change in one's surroundings - must occur at a deeper level. No movie will change that.
Some of you will hold up examples of strange synchronicities in your life, odd occurrences and near-magical coincidences, and say that my more psychological critique of the film and "the Laws" don't leave room for these incredible mysteries. Bear with me just a little longer, and I'll try to paint my view.
I love synchronicities. I love that feeling of being in flow, in alignment, with the world. I'm one of those who have had all manner of deeply moving experiences along these lines, from meeting that perfect person at just the right time to picking up just the right book that changed my life just as I was ready, to wandering, on a whim, into a room where I found a conversation that answered just the question I needed. I don't think this was because the universe was "sending me messages," or that I somehow "manifested" these events. Rather, I operate from a view of reality that's heavily influenced by the work of the physicist (I know, I know ;) ) David Bohm and the theories of presence that have flowed from his work.
Bohm talks about the implicit order, a sort of ontological holism that can be distinguished from both the reductionism of traditional science and of systems theory. He makes the case for a view of the universe that sees matter and life as a coherent whole, a domain that transcends our usual conceptions of space and time. This domain, again, is the implicit order.
I won't go into the details of this worldview, though I would recommend looking into Bohm if you're interested. But what I will say is that, to me, there is something brilliantly right, and logical, about this realization of the universe (both subjectively and objectively) as an interdependent, and deeply connected, whole. It might be hubris to think that I could even begin to grasp, intellectually, the complexities of the networks of relationships (if that is even the right word) and rules (again) that govern this wholeness; still, I do feel deeply that there is something reasonable about this holistic perspective.
And here I'll turn again to science. I know full well that when it comes to being, and acting, in the world, my conscious, intellectual understanding plays only the tiniest of roles. My ability to move and act and respond is dependent on thousands of unconscious, bodily apprehensions that I take for granted; the neurons in my brain are no more and no less important than those nerves that thread throughout the whole of my body. I depend on the system that turns the silvery sensation of the keypad under my fingertips into something meaningful; I depend on my lungs to keep rhythmically supplying me with air; on my heart to keep beating, on whatever amazing translation is turning these pixelated dots into interpreted words. I have no idea how all this works! And yet I trust it.
And here is where the notion of synchronicities and wholeness come into play. I've learned from experience that when I'm still, that when I go within and calm my mind and come to a place of feeling in flow with the larger whole of the universe, things tend to happen. I trust my body - every heightened sense, every twitching muscle, and all those intuitions I know not how to explain - and my inner silence to pick up on what the dog and the acorn and the cat know naturally; that is, how to be, and how to tap into the deeper mystery of the larger, disastrous, beautiful, sphere around me. If I think about this, I'll get lost; again, my mind is not large enough to possible grasp the complexity of what goes into this sense of being. But I do trust myself enough to be able to tap into that larger pattern, and that constant, unending, unfolding, and when I do, when I'm in alignment there, that's when those synchronities occurs.
The Secret, perhaps, might get some of us to taste that sense of coherence and congruency, but it does at a cost, and it misses out entirely on something so much more rich. Part of what accompanies this inward realization of the wholeness of the universe is a deep and rich heartbreak. It's the paradox of being in and of a world which is at once so perfect, and so whole, and so full of love, and, at the same time, so broken, and so fractured, and so full of pain. The Secret promises only a shallow, cultish happiness.
And that, to my mind, is the ugly. The universe - including you! - is so much more profound and intricate and complex and unfathomable than the brutal simplicity of that film could ever grasp. So take the principles that help, and jump again into the fray! This is all one big fabulous, beautiful, inexplicable disaster, this endless game of survival, and so why not marvel in the mystery of it all? Why would you want the easy answers? The most fascinating stuff lies within - inside you, especially, but inside, as well, every other human being you run across. It's at those intersections where the answers lie. And the real secret is - if it's not already obvious - that there are no answers.
;)
Access: PublicTagged with: the secret, law of attraction, new age, bohm, reality, manifesting, compassion, love, psychology
man! you're like The Energizer Bunny! :) i like the way how you focused on the good side of The Secret though. well said. we're all translating :)
~C
One thing is certain - THE SECRET was financially helpful for the people involved in making the movie! http://www.cafepress.com/itsnotallgood
Siona!! You just put into words, EXACTLY, what I hadn't quite put my finger on about that movie: the vague “yes, but” that was nagging at me about it. Thank you.
I'm always struck by the inspired, authentic, *brilliant* cadence of your writing.
* soaks it up *
I love it. To C's point, we're all translating…and transforming…
A bit of a tangent, but this phrase struck me (I realize it was in context and I'm certain we're on the same page, but want to distill a thought that came to me): We are enough as we are. We don't need to gain anymore or be anything other.
It's a yes-no-yes thing for me. There's the first “yes” of “I need to be more b/c my conditioning (advertisers, parents, etc.) tells me so. Then there's the “no” of “I'm enough and perfect as I am! (with an implicit “and f*ck all those people who told me otherwise…ahhhh…”)” and then there's the next “yes!” of “I need to become more and experience more and give more and get more and just plain circulate more of it all b/c THAT is the driving force of the universe–beckoning me to more fully (and by definition, more authentically) express myself.
Ahem. I get excited about such things.
And, you actually address it in your next line: “All we need to do is to find who we are and express that – to give that gift of expression and contribution to the world, be it by cooking or teaching or building or painting or care giving or gardening or healing. We've created institutions for all these fields, and, in the process, lost sight of the fact that they're something given rather than techniques to be gained.”
Which reminds me of one of my favorite passages from Self-Reliance (an essay I read about once a month):
Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. No man yet knows what it is, nor can, till that person has exhibited it. Where is the master who could have taught Shakspeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? Every great man is a unique. The Scipionism of Scipio is precisely that part he could not borrow. Shakspeare will never be made by the study of Shakspeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. There is at this moment for you an utterance brave and grand as that of the colossal chisel of Phidias, or trowel of the Egyptians, or the pen of Moses, or Dante, but different from all these. Not possibly will the soul all rich, all eloquent, with thousand-cloven tongue, deign to repeat itself; but if you can hear what these patriarchs say, surely you can reply to them in the same pitch of voice; for the ear and the tongue are two organs of one nature. Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart, and thou shalt reproduce the Foreworld again.
Siona,
Beautifully articulated and I especially enjoyed your remarks about “We are enough as we are. We don't need to gain anymore or be anything other.”
It's the zen saying of “We are perfect just as we are. But we could use some improvements.”
I'm with Julian still on The Secret not being “stage appropriate” in that if you take the movie as a whole instead of taking it apart and picking and choosing what sounds good to you and sticking with that “STORY” it's pretty much feeding the narcissist their candy.
I really don't see how the move is beneficial at all. We all have survival strategies and psychologically these are denial, avoidance of situations we don't like, and various other
methods we employ in our learning and growing process. For me the movie wishes to continue to make the “Illusion” as “real” as possible. What I mean is something you talked about at length which is material gain, power, relationships, etc. These “things” that we desire are all impermanent and in my Buddhist perspective a huge “attachment issue” that we make very real.
It's great to listen and dialogue but we can't all say everyone and everything is “Right”.
Because somewhere along the way someone is “WRONG”.
It's great to listen and dialogue but we can't all say everyone and everything is “Right”.
Because somewhere along the way someone is “WRONG”.
True, but they're not smart enough to be completely wrong. :)
and, from my vantage point, it's not the desire for more (things that are impermanent) that creates the suffering…it's the attachment to the things…seems like denying the desire is a quick way to kill the expanding/evolving life force that is our essence…
(I should prolly apologize for taking turns away from the secret… :)
not sure what you mean by “denying the desire is a quick way to kill the expanding/evolving life force that is our essence…”
Unless you are concluding that I'm saying that having desires is a bad thing, which I'm not.
I'm all for desires, who isn't?
actually it's the attachment to things that is impermanent that is the cause of suffering.
I think that's what you were trying to say.
yup degrees of wrongness. You got me there! :-)
we agree it's the attachment not the desire. :)
hehe on the degrees of wrongness.
Thanks for posting this! I did watch and enjoy The Secret, and can appreciate it for introducing these concepts (the pros that you mentioned) and techniques to so many people who would have never encountered them and would otherwise remain powerless and miserable. But a few things occurred to me after watching it a couple times:
1. It really needs to be paired with something like Eckhart Tolle. Someone recently said (and I can't recall who) that the problem with intention-manifestation is that it is a good approach, but not for people who are still heavily identified with their so-called lower functions (sex, money, power, etc.) That's a lot of people. If I were teaching a class about how I've made my life better, Intention-Manifestation would be an advanced topic. You're missing the point if you don't have the basics down, like how to simply BE.
2. The more you look into intention-manifestation, the more you realize that the Secret is the basest form of it that you can find. It was obviously made with profit in mind. They focused on money, relationships, material goods, etc. because that's what the majority of the population wants. Focus on those topics, get more sales. It's not a surprise, I suppose, and they want to make their living this way. I just wish that they hadn't relegated more spiritual and peaceable pursuits to the very end.
3. I'm not even going to get into their science. You said it all. I get pretty irritated with this new movement of, “Science makes it real, so use science however you can.” I view intention-manifestation mostly as psychology, but it's been very helpful to me. Of course, I work in the behavioral sciences and I probably just committed heresy by distinguishing between science and psychology ;)
Overall, though, I'm glad it came out. I have a friend who doesn't read well and could never get through any sort of self-improvement books. Being able to watch a DVD was life-changing for her. I wish I had realized this before! She's now listening to Eckhart Tolle on audio and I know that's helping to fill in the gaps that the Secret left open.
Siona!
You are an inspiration! this part… Part of what accompanies this inward realization of the wholeness of the universe is a deep and rich heartbreak.
This is rich! Great fertilizer for the garden of life. Without the heartbreak, the deep heartbreak that begins the journey, we simply could not grow the abundant fruit that we ultimately grow.
I have not seen the movie. I deliberately chose not to! I do not seek anything more to be stuffed into me…. Living each day wholeheartedly intending for the mystery to rise from within in direct relation to what is on my plate each day… that IS enough. And this from Brian… Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much.
PJ
Siona - Oh my goodness! I finally got the opportunity to read Part 2, and I'm so glad I did!
You have articulated such powerful thoughts with pure elegance, my friend. I especially loved the “aside” on the idea that we are all already good enough, and that stepping into that knowing and experiencing the natural expansion that it brings is what we're here for. (Great build from Brian too.)
One question - if we are all interdependent, if one person shifts her consciousness into a more positive, expanded space, wouldn't that work to lift the whole? I don't in any way, shape or form claim to understand the science behind it, but my inner guidance leads me in that direction.
And, in terms of looking for outside resources to guide us / tell us what to do, I wholeheartedly agree that the answers really do lie inside each one of us and, therefore, learning how to BE is a MUST. Having said that, I have also had some amazing teachers on the planet (many of whom reincarnated just to teach) and would hate to have missed their wisdom. Importantly, we're not all beginning our spiritual journey (at least most of us aren't) with the ability to jump up to a pure state of being - in fact, most people at the begining of their paths don't even comprehend what that is. All too often, we have to remove the mental barriers that we have taken on first before we're able to get to that point. So, a great teacher can help us to remove those blocks, knowing that the ultimate journey of getting to an internal place of being and knowing is up to us. We definitely have to allow for beginners on this spiritual journey we're all living. As you so eloquently stated, I believe The Secret is a great tool for shifting people's perspective to the positive, removing limiting beliefs we have placed on ourselves and, in essence, is a great tool for beginners.
And now, the big topic! =) Oddly, I guess I didn't take away the huge material focus that others have picked up on. I suppose I saw it for the principles and automatically applied it to the way I'm living my life. I can see, however, how it could be dangerous if a very material-focused person began using it as a tool for greed, judgment of themselves, judgment of others, etc. For me, the energetic quality of the film did not lead me there - and I couldn't separate the content from the energetic quality. And, I suppose the fact that I have had personal experiences with Rev. Michael Beckwith and Bob Proctor also led me into the movie with a very positive perspective re: their intentions.
Were the intentions met? Are there some flaws? I think the biggest flaw is that it isn't a complete story. And, having said that, could it ever be? I worked in advertising for 19 years and would hear over and over again from clients that they wanted to engage people, introduce them to something new, tell them all the details about it, and then make sure they want to buy it - all within a :30 ad! That's part of the reason why no one pays any attention to ads any more - by and large, they all suck! And, it's also the reason why print ads (or books, in this case) are appropriate as follow-ups or ways to communicate the full picture - while the video / broadcast medium is great at engaging and introducing, it's not necessarily the best tool for in-depth teaching.
(As an aside, I'm SO happy not to be in advertising any more. While I learned a lot, the criticism people have toward The Secret - greedy, materialistic, narcissistic, etc. - definitely apply to parts of the ad world! I see the consciousness beginning to shift upward but, by and large, it's not happening [yet] at the level that feeds my soul or is in alignment with who I am.)
So, back to The Secret. If the movie focused too much in one area in the effort to attract beginners into the spiritual process, I suppose I give it some leeway that others might not be inclined to - just because of my background.
On a connected note, I find it interesting that the biggest critics of a new idea / communication of an idea - whether it be in science, literature, communications, education, etc. - are always the folks in that particular field who are steeped in the knowledge and practice. They are not beginners and, therefore, are not always coming from a beginner's perspective. A beginner's mind can only take so much in - they need to get little chunks, assimiliate, more little chunks, assimilate more, etc. And, importantly, the first step isn't the last step. A truly inspiring beginning leads people to the next step. Which, while I can see the dangers of people stopping at step 1, is my hope for what The Secret can accomplish.
And, I'm actually hoping for The Secret Part 2 - the sequel that deepens this initial learning by connecting it to a profound internal journey, as well as tying it to the deep positive impact we can make on the planet.
On a final note (sorry for the long-windedness, but Siona absolutely inspired me!), it's really dangerous to assume we know the intentions of the makers of the movie - we don't. There's really no way to know for sure. What I will say is 2 things: 1) knowing some of the backgrounds/beliefs/ways the people featured in the movie actually live, there is no way I could ever doubt their positive intentions as anything other than a desire to catalyze a powerful, upward shift in people's consciousness, and 2) if your immediate thought is that they're all out for money, I encourage you to explore the relationship you have with money in your own consciousness. Cuz I'm willing to bet that the negative, narcissistic, money-grubbing intention is not coming from the teachers in The Secret. ;-)
I was wandering along the 'The Secret, What the Bleep & Critics thread, in the What the Bleep pod - his from Michael, with my favourite bit in bold :-)
I finally saw the secret.
My opinion is that its not anything new. Thought, word, deed creates your world. This is the formula Neale Donald Walsch presented in his first book Conversations with God. So If you think about something long enough it will manefest no matter what it is good or bad….. Problem here is that we dont create our thoughts at all. Take a moment and tell me what your next thought is? So how can we manifest money and fame? Why would we want to? Are we not happy here now?
This is also a problem because the message of the movie is that the Now is not a positive moment, only the future is and that future depends on a “you” creating it. There is no “you” to create anything… you are all of it… the up.. down… you and others….Life… creating itself.
Thanks to Sandra for sending me here. It is all well said, insightful and compassionate. I really have nothing to add but that it was worth staying up late to read what you put so much effort into expressing. Thank you for caring so much and for reminding me to redouble my efforts regarding not only my own self but also the ways I can make a difference. It is all a huge, wonderful mystery and I'm glad I'm here in this world to participate. I particularly like the thoughts about simply being. Too many have no idea what their core self is, I'm still trying to define for myself what my own is and I'll keep working on it, while I have consciousness.
siona, i love to listen to you think. it's delicious. there are two blogs i read as regularly as possible (though i lurk and hardly ever find time to reply as i wish i could): yours and stuart davis'.
i don't know if this blog post is live anymore, or whether this comment will be seen, but i want to direct anyone who may still be reading this to stuart's most excellent commentary on the matter.
here's a link:
http://www.stuartdavis.com/blog
deep bleesings,
lauren
I totally agree with and liked this blog up to the second last paragraph. I did not agree with the last paragraph. I don't think it's a 'disaster'. Rather, I think it's one absurd cosmic joke, and thus we read about and sometimes experience ourselves the cosmic joyous laughter for no reason whenever we experience Oneness in the Stillness, and yet sometimes, we have emotionless tears fall for no reason too.