Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - The Secret ridiculed on Real Time with Bill Maher

Rocket Surgery · 03-12-2007, 11:24 PM

Anybody see last Friday's show?

Bill Maher, host of Real Time on HBO, and former host of Politically Incorrect on ABC, panned The Secret as a "load of crap" that tries to convince people that they can get rich simply by "visualizing it."

Deepak Chopra was a guest on the panel, and he even referred to the notion as "ridiculous," which surprised me since he is a respected spokesperson for metaphysical theory.

I think that the negative feedback that is on the rise about LoA and The Secret is a direct result of how the so-called "teachers" of The Secret have been packaging the concept.

Many of these "teachers" are of the Tony Robbins mold of self-help gurus, who, IMHO, place way too much emphasis on acquisition of wealth, career success, and "finding true love." While I find nothing particularly wrong with these pursuits, certainly they have little to do with SPIRITUAL GROWTH, IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS, and overcoming ILLUSIONS OF SEPARATION, which, to me, should be the primary focus and course of study of each and every human life.

I understand that, as a marketing tool, appealing to an individual's material desires will probably be much more successful in selling a product than pitching to the masses how "buying this DVD will save you hundreds of lifetimes stuck in karmic purgatory..." but at the same time, this emphasis opens the concept of LoA up to more skeptical criticism than it deserves from all the Amazing Randi's of the world.

How do you see The Secret? As another scam akin to the "Lazy Man's Way to Riches," or as a clever packaging to attract the masses into a first exposure to metaphysical theory?

~ RS

03-12-2007, 11:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rocket Surgery Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 95	The Secret ridiculed on Real Time with Bill Maher Anybody see last Friday's show? Bill Maher, host of Real Time on HBO, and former host of Politically Incorrect on ABC, panned The Secret as a "load of crap" that tries to convince people that they can get rich simply by "visualizing it." Deepak Chopra was a guest on the panel, and he even referred to the notion as "ridiculous," which surprised me since he is a respected spokesperson for metaphysical theory. I think that the negative feedback that is on the rise about LoA and The Secret is a direct result of how the so-called "teachers" of The Secret have been packaging the concept. Many of these "teachers" are of the Tony Robbins mold of self-help gurus, who, IMHO, place way too much emphasis on acquisition of wealth, career success, and "finding true love." While I find nothing particularly wrong with these pursuits, certainly they have little to do with SPIRITUAL GROWTH, IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS, and overcoming ILLUSIONS OF SEPARATION, which, to me, should be the primary focus and course of study of each and every human life. I understand that, as a marketing tool, appealing to an individual's material desires will probably be much more successful in selling a product than pitching to the masses how "buying this DVD will save you hundreds of lifetimes stuck in karmic purgatory..." but at the same time, this emphasis opens the concept of LoA up to more skeptical criticism than it deserves from all the Amazing Randi's of the world. How do you see The Secret? As another scam akin to the "Lazy Man's Way to Riches," or as a clever packaging to attract the masses into a first exposure to metaphysical theory? ~ RS