Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 1:01am
'The Secret': Spirituality it's not
Column: Spiritual Psychology
"The Secret" tells you that you can have anything you desire. Just think positively, vibrate in alignment with the universe, and the sky will open, dropping a Lexus in the driveway of your $3 million home. You can even check the time of these windfalls on the Rolex watch that will appear on your wrist.
"The Secret" ups the ante of the 1936 tune sung by crooner Bing Crosby, "Pennies from Heaven." As the lyrics say: "Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven — you'll find your fortune falling all over town. ... " The song was written for the film "Pennies from Heaven," which appeared at the height of the Great Depression. It offered some cheer for discouraging times when more than 25 percent of the working-age population was unemployed and homelessness and soup kitchens were haunting images of America.
Too bad "The Secret" wasn't out yet. If hungry families on the verge of starvation only knew that there were sirloin steaks behind the clouds that could pour down, not just pennies. Their thoughts were unfortunately out of alignment.
Better times did come in 1944 — the Depression was over and we were winning World War II — delivering more upbeat promises that foreshadowed "The Secret." A Johnny Mercer/ Harold Arlen tune, also recorded by Bing Crosby, proclaimed: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mr. In Between."
There, "the secret" was out six decades ago, breaking the conspiracy of the great successful people throughout history — Plato, William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford and others — who knew "the secret" but were jealously guarding it from the rest of us.
"The Secret," though, skips over some of the pesky details underpinning the success of the greats of history — extraordinary intelligence, imagination, creativity, determination, stick-to-itiveness, and the most important principle, given to us by Woody Allen: showing up. Ninety percent of success, Woody said, was showing up. We might add to that, doing it — actually putting in the work and sweat on the project you have thought about positively.
A few years ago a colleague was thinking about writing a book on an important social issue. He dreamed about the book, visualized it, spoke about it to others in the most positive and enthusiastic manner — he vibrated the book, and in his mind HIS book was written. A year and a half passed, and he continued his positive thinking. Then, someone else published the very book that he had envisioned.
My colleague was depressed for quite a while afterward and could not shake the feeling that the other person had written HIS book. Fact is, the other person did it and he didn't. He hadn't put a single word on paper. In this instance, the universe had deaf ears — it did not deliver the book to his positive thoughts and vibrations.
Some young people refer to the annoying details of successful doing as "getting your sh*t together." Loosely translated, this means acquiring the skills and education to be eligible for a productive and useful role that can shower on you some benefits that the universe offers. Then you must apply for a job, get to sleep at a reasonable hour the night before your interview, rise before noon, get appropriately groomed and attired and show up within an hour of the appointed time. Also be sure not to wear a sweatshirt that says, "Die yuppie pigs" — someone actually arrived with that script on her back when applying for a job at my wife's antique shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
In other words, thinking positively is fine and dandy — even essential for success. But it needs a rich context and backup.
Even then, make no mistake about it; spirituality is not "The Secret's" strong suit. It may not be its suit at all. Spirituality is about an egoless state beyond thinking — emptiness, and formless awareness beyond desires. "The Secret" swims in thoughts and desires — thoughts about things — stuff for me. Authentic spirituality transcends me and mine. Take away me and mine, and there is no "secret."
More next week, including a challenge to "The Secret."
Last week's column about "The Secret" can be found at
"The Secret" vs.the Buddha
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches psychology and leads the Spiritual Forum at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is currently completing a book, "Escaping the Prison of the Self," to be published by Rowman and Littlefield, that explores spirituality as a psychology of consciousness. His email address is {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr
"The Secret" ups the ante of the 1936 tune sung by crooner Bing Crosby, "Pennies from Heaven." As the lyrics say: "Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven — you'll find your fortune falling all over town. ... " The song was written for the film "Pennies from Heaven," which appeared at the height of the Great Depression. It offered some cheer for discouraging times when more than 25 percent of the working-age population was unemployed and homelessness and soup kitchens were haunting images of America.
Too bad "The Secret" wasn't out yet. If hungry families on the verge of starvation only knew that there were sirloin steaks behind the clouds that could pour down, not just pennies. Their thoughts were unfortunately out of alignment.
Better times did come in 1944 — the Depression was over and we were winning World War II — delivering more upbeat promises that foreshadowed "The Secret." A Johnny Mercer/ Harold Arlen tune, also recorded by Bing Crosby, proclaimed: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mr. In Between."
There, "the secret" was out six decades ago, breaking the conspiracy of the great successful people throughout history — Plato, William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford and others — who knew "the secret" but were jealously guarding it from the rest of us.
"The Secret," though, skips over some of the pesky details underpinning the success of the greats of history — extraordinary intelligence, imagination, creativity, determination, stick-to-itiveness, and the most important principle, given to us by Woody Allen: showing up. Ninety percent of success, Woody said, was showing up. We might add to that, doing it — actually putting in the work and sweat on the project you have thought about positively.
A few years ago a colleague was thinking about writing a book on an important social issue. He dreamed about the book, visualized it, spoke about it to others in the most positive and enthusiastic manner — he vibrated the book, and in his mind HIS book was written. A year and a half passed, and he continued his positive thinking. Then, someone else published the very book that he had envisioned.
My colleague was depressed for quite a while afterward and could not shake the feeling that the other person had written HIS book. Fact is, the other person did it and he didn't. He hadn't put a single word on paper. In this instance, the universe had deaf ears — it did not deliver the book to his positive thoughts and vibrations.
Some young people refer to the annoying details of successful doing as "getting your sh*t together." Loosely translated, this means acquiring the skills and education to be eligible for a productive and useful role that can shower on you some benefits that the universe offers. Then you must apply for a job, get to sleep at a reasonable hour the night before your interview, rise before noon, get appropriately groomed and attired and show up within an hour of the appointed time. Also be sure not to wear a sweatshirt that says, "Die yuppie pigs" — someone actually arrived with that script on her back when applying for a job at my wife's antique shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
In other words, thinking positively is fine and dandy — even essential for success. But it needs a rich context and backup.
Even then, make no mistake about it; spirituality is not "The Secret's" strong suit. It may not be its suit at all. Spirituality is about an egoless state beyond thinking — emptiness, and formless awareness beyond desires. "The Secret" swims in thoughts and desires — thoughts about things — stuff for me. Authentic spirituality transcends me and mine. Take away me and mine, and there is no "secret."
More next week, including a challenge to "The Secret."
Last week's column about "The Secret" can be found at
"The Secret" vs.the Buddha
— — —
Bernard Starr, Ph.D., formerly professor of developmental and educational psychology at the City University of New York, now teaches psychology and leads the Spiritual Forum at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition to his work in radio, he is a longtime contributor of commentary and opinion articles to numerous major publications. He is currently completing a book, "Escaping the Prison of the Self," to be published by Rowman and Littlefield, that explores spirituality as a psychology of consciousness. His email address is {email OmniCns@aol.com}OmniCns@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Bernard Starr