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.

What are the different New Age religions… and how have these seeped into our society? As I’ve stated in other posts, this really isn’t a “religion” per se.

Why not?

Because there is no central church… no formal religious text… and no “core beliefs” that all New Agers hold.

For example, all Christians believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. There might be differences of opinion on theology and doctrines, but they all hold this common idea.

This isn’t the case with New Age

This is defined more by practices than its’ <u>central beliefs</u>–because there really aren’t any. It derives a lot of its’ teachings from traditional Eastern teachings.

Common practices include meditation, visualization, self healing, self help, hypnosis, channeling, and many others.

But it’s no longer confined to the “Eastern World”

More and more this philosophy is gaining prominence in Western Society… and <u>especially</u> in the business world.

Nowadays “success seminars” and motivational speakers are constantly promoting visualization, hypnosis, and other New Age principles to become financially successful. These seemingly harmless “success techniques” are what get many sucked in.

You make it sound like a bad thing!

That’s because—based on my experience–I firmly believe it is.

Let me explain

For those who aren’t familiar with me, I was bought up a “born again Christian”… but gradually adopted more New Age ideas when I first saw the movie, The Secret.

It blew me away

The idea that the Universe was my personal genie… and I could control my circumstances with my thoughts—simply flabbergasted me.

Don’t get me wrong…

I had <u>no intention</u> of changing religions–I was perfectly happy with my Christian faith. I just wanted to make a lot of money… and if visualization helped me do it, then so be it.

But it didn’t stop there

I slowly began incorporating more Eastern practices into my Christian faith. Along with my prayer and Bible time, I would say my daily affirmations—and eventually I started meditating to become more “aware of my thoughts”.

At first I tried to convince myself I was still a Christian

But inevitably I began exploring Eastern Philosophy more fully. I read every book I could get my hands on the subject… and the more read, the more sense it made. It wasn’t long before I was converted.

Things were going great

I was a 22 year old owner of a fledgling business I <u>loved</u> doing… I was visualizing my success daily…and it was only a matter of time before I owned that mansion on the ocean and a Ferrari 360. My life was ahead of me.

That’s when things started going wrong…

After a few months I no longer had the energy or enthusiast I had in the beginning. Things just seemed sort of… meaningless.

I began to consider what would happen AFTER I had bought all the materialistic things I had always wanted… climbed every mountain… and done every extreme sport I’d dreamed of. It didn’t seem I had much to look forward to.

Previously as a Christian I had always believed that there was more to life than just what this world had to offer.

When I died I had been counting on meeting Jesus face to face… getting a mansion in Heaven… walking on streets of gold… and generally a life of eternal happiness.

What did I have to look forward to now?

In New Age/Eastern Philosophy the whole goal—once you’ve moved past the “materialistic and experiencing” phase—is to become enlightened.

What is Enlightenment?

Basically it’s where you experience yourself as “one with everything else”. According to Eastern thought everything is connected… but simply knowing that isn’t enough—you have to “experience it”.

Once you die in this state, you essentially “merge” into the one energy source you came from. Then you simply “cease to exist”.

That didn’t sound very appealing

Even if there was some eternal “bliss” waiting for me at death—no longer would God be a part of it.

The emptiness of everything suddenly hit me—without God, nothing really means anything. At this point I seriously began to question my newfound beliefs.

I came to some VERY INTERESTING conclusions

If you’re completely satisfied with your life right now—and if it as the meaning you want it to—then you can stop reading right now. Heck, I’m surprised you’ve made it this far.

But if you are dissatisfied with how your life is turning out… or it just feels like nothing has any meaning—then I FIRMLY believe these conclusions will change your life forever. Click here to learn more…

So what is New Age Religion? This really isn’t a “religion” per se–rather it’s more a philosophy that encompasses many different beliefs and philosophies.

It doesn’t have any holy text or central belief system which differentiate it from most organized belief systems. It’s more a worldwide movement of like-minded people (for the most part) who are tired of “organized religion”.

Where does New Age Philosophy come from?

It’s largely influenced by eastern thought such as Hinduism and Buddhism—although there are some significant differences as well.

So what do they believe? There are 2 main ideas:

#1) We create our reality with our thoughts

If you’ve seen the movie “The Secret” you know what I’m talking about. New agers believe that our thoughts literally affect the world around us–and just by visualizing what we want we actually “attract it”.

As you can imagine, New Age teachings are HUGELY popular in the business world. The idea of using visualization to create wealth is one of the things that attracts a lot of people to this philosophy.

IDEA #2) There are MANY paths to God

There is no single right religion–it’s “whatever works for you”. Followers are actually urged to use whatever beliefs they prefer to get them to God—after all, they all lead to the same place.

But what is God?

They don’t believe in an All-Supreme God that is separate from His creation—like in Christianity and Islam. Rather they say that everything is part of God since we all come from the same energy source.

What about life after death?

This is where New Age and Eastern thought really collide. They both share the belief in reincarnation, and that we have all lived many lives.

What about morality?

“Right and wrong” don’t exist in this philosophy–—and how can they if an All Supreme God didn’t create the world? After all, if everything is really “one” than how could there be 2 dualities such as right and wrong?

The people who invented evil are those that are not enlightened–or haven’t realized their “divine nature”.

So how do we achieve enlightenment?

By becoming more “conscious”. What is “consciousness”? In simplified terms, it’s becoming more aware. At first it’s primarily about becoming aware of thoughts to enable you to create whatever you want.

But at some point–after you’ve attracted your “dream lifestyle”–you stop being focused on creating things or experiences. Instead you become more intent on achieving higher levels of spirituality—or becoming ENLIGTHENED.

And when you’ve achieved enlightenment you become less concerned with creating material things… and more concerned with helping others become enlightened as well.

Lifestyle

What’s the typical lifestyle of a new age practitioner like? While it obviously varies slightly from one to the next, they for generally share 3 “core” elements.

#1) “Holistic health”

Most tend to stay away from “traditional” medical practices… and instead gravitate towards more natural healing and eating habits. A common staple of this philosophy is the vegan diet.

#2) Meditation

This is used by many to become more “conscious”—and it’s a very important part of most New Agers’ lifestyles.

#3) Environmentally conscious

On the whole people who subscribe to these ideas try to protect the environment as much as possible.

So let’s review–what is New Age Religion? It’s not a religion—it’s a philosophy that has its’ roots in Eastern thought. But is it the right philosophy? Click here to find out…

Want to know how to find meaning in life? Just 2 years ago I was looking for the exact same thing. It’s not that things was BAD—I was actually quite happy.

I had just dropped out of school (which I hated) to start an online business and make my millions. I wasn’t earning much yet but I knew I was on my way—and I VISUALIZED my success every day. I loved my newfound independence.

But something was missing

Just a few months earlier I had OFFICIALLY discarded my Christian faith in favor of New Age ideas. Why? I wanted to be in control—I didn’t like the idea of an “All Supreme” God that determined my future.

That’s where things went SERIOUSLY AWRY

A common saying in the New Age movement is “nothing I see means anything”. Sounds great—right? Since you can make anything mean whatever you want–nothing bad can ever happen to you.

It sounded good IN THEORY anyway

The problem was that the good things that happened no longer meant anything either. Why did I want to make money… get married… and travel the world if it had no meaning?

It eliminated the GOOD with the BAD

My previous goals that had seemed so incredibly important were now utterly pointless. My new found philosophy… which at first had seemed so liberating… had now sucked the life out of me.

Why was I so miserable?

For the same reason many others are today–because it’s impossible for there anything to have meaning without God.

Don’t believe me?

Think about it–without an “All Supreme God” we are just here by random chance. If our existence is based on luck then it’s IMPOSSIBLE for anything else to mean anything. We might as well just “live it up” until we die because we are all going to simply return to dust.

This led me to do a THOROUGH EXAMINATION of the real meaning in life

No longer would I just blindly believe what my church had told me—I wanted the TRUTH. I embarked on an intense 4 month long investigation… in which I threw out all my biases and simply read everything I could on the topic of “why we are here”.

I made some SHOCKING discoveries

Are you satisfied with where your life is headed? Have you often asked yourself “there’s GOT TO BE more than this!” If you answered yes to either question then click here to discover the meaning in life NOW.

So is Christianity true or not? Many want to know the answer to this. Before you learn it you have to understand the foundation of Christianity… Jesus’ death and resurrection.

If you can disprove the resurrection then you can disprove Christianity. But if you can’t then Christianity has to be true.

Why is the resurrection of Jesus important?

Because Jesus had to die to cleanse us from our sins… but He also had to rise again because He is our “living access” to the Father and Heaven.

That’s what Jesus meant when He said that “nobody comes to the Father except through Me”. He literally is “our salvation”… and you can’t achieve salvation in somebody who is dead.
If Jesus did indeed die and rise again then Christianity has to be true because this exactly what He claimed would happen.

How many other people have resurrected themselves from the dead? 0. How many have predicted their own resurrection? 0. How many have not only predicted their resurrection but also the exact date of it? 0.

So did Jesus rise from the dead… or not?

If so… Christianity is true. Is there enough evidence to definitively say one way or another? What is the verdict? Click here to learn more.

So is Buddhism monotheistic or polytheistic? Neither.

How can this be?

Because the point of Buddhism IS NOT to proof or disprove the existence of God or gods–it’s to explain how to live your life. It doesn’t get caught up in the “how the universe formed” debate.

Buddha himself said that there was no point in trying to explain the origin of life on earth because it didn’t further you on the path to achieving enlightenment—which is the whole purpose of Buddhism.

So Buddhism doesn’t attempt to answer the question “does God exist or not”… because it’s not important to the philosophy as a whole (or so they claim).

The problem with that is…

If God exists then the point of life is not to become enlightened–it’s to serve Him. If He doesn’t exist then you can live life as you please.

But either way your strategy for living is determined by the existence or non-existence of God.

Think about it–if God did indeed create the universe then He must have had a reason for doing so. This means that our purpose is to do what He wants—whatever that might be.

If the “big bang” created the world then we are free to live lives as we please because it doesn’t matter in the long run anyway. Ignoring how the universe as created ignores the very foundation of our existence.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m all for finding ways to better my life. Buddhism attempts to do this by helping people achieve enlightenment.

The problem is that you can’t just ignore the existence or non existence of God…

It’s the very foundation of our existence

So to answer the question… is Buddhism monotheistic or polytheistic? It’s neither because it neither denies or verifies the existence of God. But you simply can’t ignore this question because it’s the foundation of our existence.

So why are we here on earth? This is a question that has been asked for as long as humans have existed. Everybody wants answers on the meaning of life…but most people don’t have them.

So why are we here?

Over time many philosophies and religions have started to explain the reason for human existence. Let’s quickly take a look at the 4 most prominent ones.

#1) Evolution

According to the theory of biological evolution the very fact we exist is an act of random chance…and therefore it would be impossible for our existence to have a purpose. If you believe Charles Darwin’s theory on evolution than you might as well just “live it up” until you die…because then it’s all over.

#2) Buddhism

This is one of the answers on the meaning of life that is rapidly growing in popularity. According to this philosophy or religion, the answer to why are we here on earth is simple…to achieve “enlightenment.”

What is enlightenment?

It’s the realization that everything in the universe is “connected.” When this is accomplished you get to stop reincarnating and you as a separate self “cease to exist”…although in reality you never existed in the 1^st place.

I won’t get into “how to achieve enlightenment”…that’s for another post. At any rate the outcome is similar to evolution…you stop existing. It’s just that you get a lot more lifetimes to get there.

#3) Islam

According to this religion we are here to serve God. Sound similar to Christianity? The difference is that Muslims don’t believe that Jesus is God….merely a good prophet.

Since the whole point of Christianity is salvation by faith in Jesus, this is a huge difference. Also the God in Islam is not a loving God like the one found in Christianity, often judging people for no reason at all. Also there is no assurance of salvation with this religion regardless of how good a life you live.

#4) Christianity

Like Islam we are supposed to serve God. The differences are outlined above. These are the primary answers on the meaning of life and “why are we here on earth”.

So which “religion” or “philosophy” is true? Discover the answer by clicking here.

So why do Buddhists meditate? More importantly, does meditation work? Many people want to know the answer to this and the answer is quite simple…

They do so to achieve enlightenment

What is spiritual enlightenment? It is the realization that everything in the universe is really “one” because it all comes from the same energy source.

What’s the point?

According to Buddhists, when you understand that everything is really “connected” you get to stop suffering because you realize that nothing is really “good” or “bad”—they are all the same. People suffer because they want things to be a certain way…and their attachment to that causes them to suffer.

How to stop suffering

Most people suffer because they want to be making more money than they are. They want this because they think it would be preferable to make more money…rather than just accepting their current income for what it is. If they knew that more money wasn’t really preferable they could stop suffering.

That’s where meditation comes in

According to Buddhists “knowing” that everything in the universe is connected and “experiencing” it are 2 completely different things. This practice supposedly helps you experience it firsthand.

So how does it help you “experience it”?

Well, advocates of the practice claim that your mind that gets in the way of you experiencing the interconnectedness of everything. Therefore if you can just get your mind out of the way you can experience everything as one energy.

How do you eliminate the mind?

That’s the hard part…and it often takes years to master. This is what chanting mantras is supposed to help with.

So does meditation work or not?

Some people claim that it has helped them experience this “one energy”…and therefore stop suffering…but for the vast majority it does not.

Also there is no conclusive proof that everything comes from one energy source in the 1^st place…which is what this whole practice is based on.

To sum up…

So back to your original question…”why do Buddhists meditate?” they do so to achieve enlightenment and stop suffering…but whether it really works or not is debatable.

So is Buddhism the right philosophy or not? Discover the answer by clicking here…

Do meditation and Christianity jibe? Many people want to know if they can do this and still maintain their faith.

So will you lose your faith?

Of course not–all you need to be saved is to accept Jesus as your Savior. Technically you can drink alcohol…smoke pot…steal…and even murder…and you will still going to Heaven if you’ve done this.

However that doesn’t mean you SHOULD do those things…and if you do then you need to question whether you were really saved in the first place.

Is meditation a sin?

It depends on how you do it. There is the protestant version and the “transcendentalism” version…and they are as different as night and day. The Biblical form is “focused thinking” about God or the Bible.

The new age/eastern version is where you “clear your mind” and let it go wherever it wants. You make no effort to think anything at all to focus on anything…and in fact doing so defeats the whole purpose.

The main reason Christianity and meditation don’t match

One of the main ideas of transcendentalism is that everything is “one” and that your mind prevents you from experiencing yourself as a part of everything. The solution?

Get the mind out of the way. This realization of oneness or “change in consciousness” is the method for achieving enlightenment…and how Buddha “became enlightened”.

So why does this violate Christianity?

#1) We ARE NOT one with God

According to Protestants there is a God who is separate from us and the only way to Him is through Jesus Christ…not through clearing your mind and altering your consciousness. We are not “one” with God because our sin has separated us from Him.

#2) We are to GUARD our hearts

The Bible clearly teaches we are to guard our heart, because when we let our guard down we open the door to spiritual deception. Clearly eastern meditation is not guarding your heart…it’s the exact opposite.

So does transcendental meditation really work?

That depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to simply relax and be more aware of your thoughts than I suppose it does…but at the same time it opens up the door for Satan to plant lies in your mind.

So to sum up…

Christianity and meditation are not compatible because their core principles are in direct conflict with each other. Want to relax? Go for a stroll on the beach…take up a sport…or read a book… or do deep breathing relaxation techniques.

Is Christianity really the “true religion?” Discover the answer by clicking here

Why is my life so boring? If you’d asked me this 1-2 years ago I would have said experiencing and doing exciting things is the answer.

Let’s face it…most people live very dull lives.

They work their 9-5 Monday-Friday, spend the weekends catching up on yard work…and the next week the grind starts all over again. Until recently I was one of them. But I finally decided enough was enough…I wasn’t going to settle for my boring existence anymore.

In the past 12 months I’ve…

Taken up and become reasonably proficient at snowboarding…kayaking…mountain climbing…rock climbing…and skateboarding. I’ve gone on 8 trips…2 cross country. I’ve launched a reasonably successful online marketing business.

What I’ve discovered…

Experiences are not enough to generate constant excitement. They might be exhilarating for a little while…but after a certain point it wears off.

How to be excited about life EVERYDAY

In order for this to happen you need to know the answer to the question—“why am I here on earth?”

So the obvious question is–how do you find your purpose in life? First things first…the only way we can have a purpose if God exists.

Why we CANNOT have a purpose if God doesn’t exist

If God didn’t create the world then we are all here by pure chance. If this is the case than none of us has a reason for being here…and therefore life has no meaning at all.

On the other hand if God created the world than He obviously had a reason for doing so…and therefore each one of us has a part to play in His grand plan. So what it all boils down to is…

So is God real or not?

That’s the question of the hour. If He does than you can find excitement in life…but if He doesn’t you will always find yourself asking “why is my life so boring?”