So does The Secret really work? I’ve asked myself that many times since watching this seemingly “too good to be true” movie.

When I first saw it 2 ½ years ago, it made a HUGE impact on me. The idea that what I thought could create reality—without taking any action at all—was simply amazing.

Then why hasn’t it worked for me?

Many are asking themselves this same question. A lot of people have visualized what they wanted until the cows come home—but without seeing any results.

This isn’t surprising when you think about it

If you take The Secret LITERALLY—meaning you just visualize <u>without taking action</u>—nothing will change.

Thoughts without action are MEANINGLESS

The Bible says “faith without works is dead”. This obviously isn’t talking about the same thing but it’s an interesting corollary.

And if you don’t believe me…

I challenge you for the next year to sit around and visualize having a million dollars without doing anything to make it happen. Assuming you don’t take action, I GUARANTEE you won’t be a dime richer.

So The Secret is a scam?

Not necessarily—I believe it does have a lot of good principles—it just conveys them in the <u>wrong way</u>.

Positive thinking is very important—but only because it helps you notice resources to get you what you are focused on.

If you are always thinking about what you don’t want, you are UNCONSCIOUSLY going to take action to make those things a reality.

The reason it might seem like it happened by “magic” is because you didn’t notice the actions you take. You were so focused on what you didn’t want that you did things without even realizing it too make that happen.

In other words…

Thoughts do <u>indirectly</u> create reality—but only because they dictate the actions you take.

The ONLY THING that creates reality is action—and action is governed by thoughts. So it’s the 2^nd part of the equation that The Secret forgot to mention.

So what’s the verdict?

If you don’t take it literally—The Secret is very useful.

So should you visualize or not?

That’s up to you. Visualizing what you want for 5-15 minutes a day can be very invigorating in my experience—but only if you follow it by taking action to make those things a reality.

So what does all this have to do with religion?

If you’ve read the rest of this blog, you know it mostly deals with the hard questions of life—things like why we are here… what’s the meaning of it all… etc.

On 1^st glance this post seems like it has nothing to do with those questions.

But actually it has EVERYTHING to do with it

I believe The Secret can be very dangerous when taken out of context. It’s not so much the premise of that bothers me–I’m all for positive thinking.

It’s the fact that it makes it sound like attracting things is the key to happiness.

It’s not

Go ahead—attract all the wealth… all the experiences… the relationships… and anything else you’ve ever wanted. Even if you are 100% successful and achieve everything you set out to—it just satisfies for a little while.

<u>Let’s face it</u>—we are all pretty much the same—we all want fulfillment. Since many people are seeking to address that fulfillment with attracting experiences, The Secret addresses that.

Why am I being such a wet blanket?

Don’t get me wrong–I personally love The Secret. I’ve spent many happy hours visualizing what I want—more than I care to admit.

The problem is…

Earthly things or experiences might make you <u>feel good</u> for awhile–but they won’t provide <u>permanent peace</u>. No amount of positive thinking will provide everlasting peace or happiness—just temporary feelings.

So how do you find that?

That’s a question that has haunted me for a LONG TIME. I’ve searched the world for answers—and come to some very interesting conclusions.

If you’ve ever said to yourself in frustration “there has to be more than this!” I encourage you to read this post—it could change your life.