The Secret

katieg520 · October 2013

Do you believe in The Secret??

If you're unfamiliar with what I'm referring to, it is a book written by Rhonda Byrne and it basically details how the energy you put out will be returned to you. Meaning, if you put out positive energy and thoughts, then that is what will be happening in your life - positive things.

I generally believe in it. I do believe that if you want something to happen or to manifest in your life that you have to speak it and bring it to you. I believe nothing in life is a coincidence. We are all living out the destiny we have brought upon ourselves. I could give examples from my own life of how this works, but I know people may view me as crazy or coo-coo lol.

So I just want to get your opinion and perspective on this. I know we all have different views on why things happen to us in life.

I also wanted to add. I DO believe in God and do label myself a Christian. I believe that you have the power to ask God for things and if He sees fit for you and His plan for you, it will be brought to you. I'll give examples from my life if the conversation goes in that direction.

Happy Thursday, ladies!! xoxo!

buddysmom80 · October 2013

I read The Secret a long time ago and I always had the thought that if you're a positive person and put out a positive attitude that you will receive it as well.

I stay positive even though I'm a "prepare for the worse, hope for the best" type of person. Last year I was in escrow on my first home and I thought every day something was going to happen to make the deal fall through. I was stressed, but kept a smile on my face and a year later I'm still in my house.

Another example. My friend and her H were both laid off, both have very negative attitudes about the situation. My friend got a PT job and H is spending his days fishing and hunting because to hime "I can't find a job, what's the point, whoa is me" type of attitude. Then, you see people who get laid off, pick themselves up by their bootstraps and move on. They usually have a positive attitude and good things happen to them.

I really don't think Christianity have anything to do with it. My friend who her and her H were both laid off are devout Catholics, like twice a week Catholics, and if I were them I would be questioning their faith and beliefs. They're very "God has a plan" but I don't think in the meantime you should wallow in self-pity and spend your days fishing instead of getting a job ANYWHERE.

I was brought up in a Christian home (Episcopalian) and as of late, I've questioned the meaning of God, Jesus, etc. I think sometimes people use it as a cruth ie: "Jesus told me to shoot this guy". Or a way of explaining horrible events. I live 20 minutes from Sandy Hook elementary school and every time someone said "It was God's plan that that kid shot up a whole classroom" it used to infuriate me. Make the kid accountable, make the family accountable, don't use the God, Jesus, etc excuse for something horrible like that.

So long story short, am I believer if you stay positive your life will be positive? Yes. Am I believer that God has a plan for this? Nope. You make your own path in life.

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

I am a firm believer in The Universe - the basis of The Secret.

I am not religious, and don't believe in God.

I feel like I should say more, but I can't formulate it right now. haha.

Swazzle · October 2013

I don't believe in "energy" and I don't believe in God.

I'm not a religious or a spiritual person.

katieg520 · October 2013

Just curious @Swazzle what DO you believe? As in, everything is just coincidence and (in the words of Forrest Gump) we're all just floating around all accidental-like or what??? I am not judging (I am not a judgmental person at all) and I genuinely like hearing about others' perspectives and POV on things.

Swazzle · October 2013

@katieg520 -

I guess I just believe that everyday, we get up and we make choices on how we're going to live our lives. Each decision has a consequence. If I decide to snooze, I'm probably going to be running late for work and I'll have to rush. If I rush, I'm probably going to be clumsy and I might trip down the stairs. That's the result of the decision I made this morning and IMO, has nothing to do with God or the energy I put out by choosing to snooze for 10 minutes.

katieg520 · October 2013

But what about jobs, people, etc that come into your life? Do you believe it just happens?

buddysmom80 · October 2013

katieg520 said:

But what about jobs, people, etc that come into your life? Do you believe it just happens?

I don't know if that was directed just to @swazzle, but here's an example of things just happening:

My ex-bf and I were in a pretty bad relationship. Towards the end I started up a POF account since both of us were just waiting for the other to leave or kick them out or whatever. I went on a few dates and then got busy with the holidays. During that time, my ex left. Just packed up and left without a word. We talked on the phone earlier about who's going to take the trash out.

I was okay during the holidays until NYE. I stayed in bed, ate bad food, watched bad TV, drank bottles of wine and cried. I thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life. I decided I was done with dating and relationships and in my drunken haze I was like "that's it I'm deleting every internet dating profile site I have!" So before I delted I went through my emails and that's where I saw that my now-BF emailed me. He seemed nice and genuine and at the time I knew that's what I needed, so I responded and it's been hunky dory since.

So there was no divine intervention, no praying about it, it was wine and being lonely on NYE that caused me to be the happiest that I've ever been.

Maybe wine is my higher power???? *mind blown*

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

buddysmom80 said:

katieg520 said:

But what about jobs, people, etc that come into your life? Do you believe it just happens?

I don't know if that was directed just to @swazzle, but here's an example of things just happening:

My ex-bf and I were in a pretty bad relationship. Towards the end I started up a POF account since both of us were just waiting for the other to leave or kick them out or whatever. I went on a few dates and then got busy with the holidays. During that time, my ex left. Just packed up and left without a word. We talked on the phone earlier about who's going to take the trash out.

I was okay during the holidays until NYE. I stayed in bed, ate bad food, watched bad TV, drank bottles of wine and cried. I thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life. I decided I was done with dating and relationships and in my drunken haze I was like "that's it I'm deleting every internet dating profile site I have!" So before I delted I went through my emails and that's where I saw that my now-BF emailed me. He seemed nice and genuine and at the time I knew that's what I needed, so I responded and it's been hunky dory since.

So there was no divine intervention, no praying about it, it was wine and being lonely on NYE that caused me to be the happiest that I've ever been.

Maybe wine is my higher power???? *mind blown*

ME TOO.

I messaged BF on Facebook after sitting at home alone on a Saturday and drinking a bottle of wine.

With him, I feel like the Universe just kept putting us in the same place. We went to college together, but didn't really know each other. He moved around a bunch after college before finally landing here. The first people he met here were people I was friends with. I was trying like hell to move away, but nothing was working out. I got out of a terrible relationship, was ready to move on, and decided to get in touch with him.

A year-plus, a dog, a cat, and two apartments later, here we are.

katieg520 · October 2013

But on the other side of that, how can you say it's not divine intervention? I believe we all have multiple guardian angels that make things happen for us in our lives. They are there/here to bring things to us or help us in various ways. Again, only my beliefs, but I have had things happen in my life that prove it for me.

I have had multiple sessions with a spiritual reader (so against my Catholic faith, I know... shhh don't tell LOL) and I KNOW certain things to be true for me and in my experience. I had never really thought about it much until my ex passed away. After he died, because it was suicide, I was very driven and HAD to know what would happen to his soul and where did he go, what are we all here for, etc. In February, it will be three years that he is gone from the physical earth and I am more sure now that he is not totally gone than I have ever been.

For me, I choose to think and believe that people who aren't spiritual or connected with their spirituality are younger souls and will be much more spiritual in a future life (yes, I also believe in multiple lives as the soul never dies).

Anyway, that's just my take on it. I know not everyone believes these things, and that's ok too. I think we can all learn from each other.

**Edited because I can't spell or punctuate today.

Hummingbird125 · October 2013

katieg520 said:

But what about jobs, people, etc that come into your life? Do you believe it just happens?

I feel like chiming in on this too, because I pretty much agree with everything Swazzle said so far. Yes, I believe it "just happens" as a result of the decisions we make. I don't think you can call that "just floating around" because I believe many decisions we make have consequences, and some of those can change the course of our entire lives. I just don't believe that there is some "higher power" that has control over our decisions, or that what happens in our lives is a result of the energy we put out into the world. Why don't I believe that? Because lots of good things happen to bad people, and lots of bad things happen to good people. Randomness affects our lives every day, and it is not a result of other things we do.

"Correlation doesn't imply causation" - Just because someone prays for something, or puts out "good energy", and then the thing they wanted to happen happens, doesn't mean that their actions caused it to do so. That's not to say that it is all just random - you can absolutely do things to better your chances of getting what you want, but in my opinion, those things you can do are not spiritual or energy-related.

lennonkdc · October 2013

Right now I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking. Case in point- I had to go to court today and withdraw from a case, which meant I had to tell a judge that I really respect and have known for years that I was laid off. I've been putting all my energy into seeing this lay off as a blessing in disguise and wouldn't you know it- I left the court house with 2 business cards from people I would love to work with/for a demand that I call them to talk options.

In general I think life is more about how we respond to what happens to us then the actual events. In the end the only thing you have control over is your attitude and your emotions. I'm not saying that one must be suzie sunshine all the time, its totally ok to be sad, angry or depressed at times, but just own that feeling, know that its temporary and never forget the big picture.

FWIW, I just started my confirmation classes. I was raised Catholic but was never confirmed, going through the classes as an adult has given me a new perspective on my faith, and I can see how God has been at work in my life. But I also tend to agree with Buddy, I think there are just some things that happen that weren't in God's Plan (eg Sandy Hook). Or maybe its just that humans confuse the concept of 'plan' with that of a 'reason', but hey, IDK, I'm still working it all out.

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

katieg520 said:

But on the other side of that, how can you say it's not divine intervention? I believe we all have multiple guardian angels that make things happen for us in our lives. They are there/here to bring things to us or help us in various ways. Again, only my beliefs, but I have had things happen in my life that prove it for me.

I have had multiple sessions with a spiritual reader (so against my Catholic faith, I know... shhh don't tell LOL) and I KNOW certain things to be true for me and in my experience. I had never really thought about it much until my ex passed away. After he died, because it was suicide, I was very driven and HAD to know what would happen to his soul and where did he go, what are we all here for, etc. In February, it will be three years that he is gone from the physical earth and I am more sure now that he is not totally gone than I have ever been.

For me, I choose to think and believe that people who aren't spiritual or connected with their spirituality are younger souls and will be much more spiritual in a future life (yes, I also believe in multiple lives as the soul never dies).

Anyway, that's just my take on it. I know not everyone believes these things, and that's ok too. I think we can all learn from each other.

**Edited because I can't spell or punctuate today.

I can't say for sure that it's NOT divine intervention, I just believe that the Universe puts you where you're supposed to be, not your guardian angels.

My biggest problem with God & religion isn't the good things that happen in life - it's the bad ones. Take a school shooting for example. I can't believe that if God is so great & wonderful, he would sit up there & say "You know, I COULD let these 20 kids live today, but they didn't pray to me this morning, so... they can die." If I come THISCLOSE to a major car accident, I don't believe that God intervened and saved me. I think there are too many other things in this world for one deity to control.

I believe that the Universe decides when it's your time to go. So it puts you in that spot, at that time, or you come upon the circumstances for those things to happen.

Swazzle · October 2013

katieg520 said:

But what about jobs, people, etc that come into your life? Do you believe it just happens?

Yep, I think it just happens. I got my job because my aunt worked at this company and she was able to get me an interview which I then prepared for and nailed.

H is in my life because I chose to go to a certain college and I randomly got paired up with a certain girl in the dorms. I don't think any higher power caused that to happen. It was random and, I guess, coincidental.

I also don't believe in soulmates or that there is only 1 person in the world that is perfect for you. I think I could be compatible when many people on this Earth. I just happened to fall in love with my H and then we chose each other to spend our lives with.

katieg520 · October 2013

Oh I agree with the "correlation doesn't imply causation" statement. I think that, above all, we are humans and we are not God. I believe that, ultimately, God has His hand in our lives. For instance, I want to get pregnant right away and I would REALLY like it if it were a boy baby, since I have a girl already. However, God only knows what is right for me and my life here on Earth, as I believe I am here to serve HIM. So I may not get pregnant at all, or it may be a girl. No matter how much energy I put out there, it still may not happen. But I do believe that putting the energy out there, asking God for it, and talking it into existence is a positive thing and what God deems for me will come to me.

For example: I have always known I was meant to be a mother, wife, and teacher. It is always been what I felt called to do. After my divorce, it never occurred to me that I wouldn't get remarried. After a couple years, I really started to fear that it wasn't going to happen for me. Yes, I can be impatient. Well, a couple more years passed, and none of my relationships were working out. I had seen the aforementioned spiritual reader and he kept reminding me to not be afraid to ask God specifically for the things I wanted. So I began to talk to God and told him I was ready to be married, to be a wife, and I was tired of the dating game. I kid you not, two weeks later I met the man who is now my FI. AFter dating him for a year, I began to feel like I was ready for marriage. So I prayed and told God I was ready and to please make him ready too. Three weeks later he proposed.

Could it be coincidence? Sure. It's not definite proof that because I prayed for it, therefore it happened. But I believe that because I put the energy out there, it was returned to me. I manifested that in my life because it was what I, and God, were ready for for me.

katieg520 · October 2013

@Swazzle I do believe in soul mates, but I don't believe that we get to spend each lifetime with that person as a romantic partner. I think our soul mate could be someone else in your life that you've spent multiple lifetimes with. You could also have more than one soul mate. Your soul mate could be your mother, your best friend, sister, landlord, husband, etc....

Swazzle · October 2013

I agree 100% with @Hummingbird125. We share a brain today.

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

I guess I would rather believe that *I* have more control and influence over my life instead of it being up to God. Then, when things happen, whether good or bad, I can't praise, or blame, God. It was me.

Essentially, we believe the same thing - I just put my thoughts & energy into the Universe, and you pray and talk to God.

cu97tiger · October 2013

I believe in 'The Secret' in so much that I think you have the power to make your life more positive. Not that you'll necessarily draw all of this money/love/power stuff to you, but that there are two ways you can react to things, and that if you choose the more positive course (finding the diamond in the pile of shit), then you will be a happier person in generaly. DH and I watched a documentary on it, and he is a bit of a pessimist, so we practice turning negatives into positives on a regular basis.

I believe in God. As a reformed Catholic, I feel guilty that I don't go to church regularly, but I still pray. I don't think God has preordained every action and consequence in our lives, because, like @swazzle, I believe we play a part by making our own decisions. I won't blame my bad choices on God, and I won't necessarily think everything good that has come my way has been because of God. I do think that I was blessed to by being born in the socio-economic circumstances that I was, that I'm reasonably attractive, that I'm smart, and that I have a caring personality. None of those things were things that I could make happen for myself.

With that said, I do think there was some divine intervention in how I met my DH. I don't believe there is one soul-mate in the whole world for each person, just a series of people that if you met at the right time and place, could have been 'the one.' With DH, I went on myspace to ask a very platonic question of a perfect stranger (about places to live in a city I was moving to that I'd been to once). I had NO plans to date or marry this person, but everything aligned for us, including that neither of us were in a relationship at the time (nowhere in the 12 years before that, were we single at the same time).

My biggest struggle with religion is what happens to people like Muslims and Buddhists and Jews. They have strong beliefs, can be good people, and yet, since they don't believe what I believe, are they going to hell? I have a hard time believing that God would punish someone because they grew up somewhere where they only had access to one religious belief.

loves2shop4shoes · October 2013

No one asked me, but I'll step up to play.

I'm a Catholic with very Agnostic tendencies. I believe in a higher power. I didn't for a long time. But then I started thinking about the creation of the universe. And the Big Bang. And how you have to basically accept that the Law of Conservation of Matter has to be broken in order for the Big Bang to have ever transpired.

And if a scientific law had to be broken for the creation of the universe, I think it was God. Or some higher power.

I just think the world is too perfect and complex for it to all have been a coincidence. Think about the functioning of the human body, and how complex and perfect it is, right down to an atomic level. It's fascinating. I don't think atomic parts could have evolved into living beings as complex as humans by themselves.

And so, I believe in a higher power. Whether that higher power is a Christian God, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Vishnu, or Madonna... I don't think I'll know till I'm dead. And I'm ok with not knowing. I don't think humans are meant to understand God completely.

katieg520 · October 2013

See, I don't believe in heaven or hell. I know that's not very Catholic of me either, lol, but I believe in what I call the other side. I believe that souls exist on a different frequency than we experience here in the physical world. Some people are more sensitive to this frequency, which can explain clairvoyance.

I believe if you are a good person, do more good than harm, live your life in service, then of course you will have a more rich life. But I don't believe that we are punished or rewarded in one way or the other after our bodies die. I believe that this is our punishment, our "hell." We, as souls, ultimately long to return back to God, so this frequency that we are on is the learning, the difficult part of our existence.

katieg520 · October 2013

@loves2shop4shoes I totally agree. We as humans are not meant to understand God. God (and whichever form you believe that God is) the being/power/source of life and we all are on this physical plane to serve Him. That is my belief.

buddysmom80 · October 2013

katieg520 said:

@loves2shop4shoes I totally agree. We as humans are not meant to understand God. God (and whichever form you believe that God is) the being/power/source of life and we all are on this physical plane to serve Him. That is my belief.

I'm not being judgemental or anything, but I get confused when people say they are here to serve God or whatever. I mean, God doesn't care if you make $1 a week or $1000000 a week or if you murder one person or thousands. You and your family care about that. You're born, you live, you die and to me it's like when I work or do good things or do bad things, I'm not doing it to serve God, I'm doing it for myself.

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

katieg520 said:

@loves2shop4shoes I totally agree. We as humans are not meant to understand God. God (and whichever form you believe that God is) the being/power/source of life and we all are on this physical plane to serve Him. That is my belief.

That's where we differ - I don't believe I'm here to "serve" anyone. I think that's another one of my "issues" with religion. I have no proof of God (and I definitely don't consider the bible valid proof), so why would I spend my life living "for" him? I live for myself, my family, my friends, etc. I could very well be wrong, and have to answer to someone when I die, but I'm not going to live my life being afraid of that either.

katieg520 · October 2013

I don't serve God with the money I make. I serve God in my actions and how I treat other people because, I believe, we are all children of God. To be more like God, we are to treat others as we would want to be treated. Be forgiving, love even when it's difficult, be a positive source of encouragement to others, etc.

I also personally hate when people say they are "God-fearing." I am never and have never been afraid of God. I believe God to be this intense source of love; so much so that we cannot comprehend it.

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

Me & Buddy, we share a brain today.

Also, thank you @katieg520 for starting this discussion. I like having thoughtful, meaningful discussions about semi-controversial things that remain civil

GoldenPenguin · October 2013

katieg520 said:

I don't serve God with the money I make. I serve God in my actions and how I treat other people because, I believe, we are all children of God. To be more like God, we are to treat others as we would want to be treated. Be forgiving, love even when it's difficult, be a positive source of encouragement to others, etc.

I also personally hate when people say they are "God-fearing." I am never and have never been afraid of God. I believe God to be this intense source of love; so much so that we cannot comprehend it.

So then how do you explain all the terrible things that happen? Kids dying of cancer or in school shootings? If all God was was intense love, why would these things happen?

buddysmom80 · October 2013

I don't serve God with the money I make. I serve God in my actions and how I treat other people because, I believe, we are all children of God. To be more like God, we are to treat others as we would want to be treated. Be forgiving, love even when it's difficult, be a positive source of encouragement to others, etc.

I also personally hate when people say they are "God-fearing." I am never and have never been afraid of God. I believe God to be this intense source of love; so much so that we cannot comprehend it.

--------------------------

I think I made a bad example of working. What I mean is that you do all these things in your day to day life and you do it to serve God? So what about people who are just nice and decent people and ten days before Christmas their kid is murdered by a lunatic? And the people who are out there to serve God are enjoying Christmas with their family, kwim? I'm sorry I brought up what happened in Sandy Hook but what happened really turned off my belief of a higher power.

Or another example: my cousin recently came out of the closet and my grandmother told everyone "this was NOT the plan that god had for me, I did not raise him to be a f-word (seriously that's what she said)" who cares who my cousin chooses to love? If god loves everyone and that was his "plan" he still loves my cousin gay or not.

Swazzle · October 2013

I'm also appreciative of this thread. It's nice to have a mature discussion and see other people's points of view even though I don't agree with or fully understand them.

doubleSS07 · October 2013

I have read the secret a very long time ago. I will admit that I am a negative/pessimistic person by nurture. I believe I was taught to be that way but I work really hard to not be that way. It is difficult for me to see the positive side of things most of the time, awful I know.

I also don't believe in organized religion. I feel like it is a way to control the masses. I believe that there is something out there at work, but what I don't know and I really don't question. I tend to lean towards the side of science much more than spirit but there are some things that science can't explain...yet. I agree with @swazzle too. I think that most things in my life happen as a result of decisions I have made, good or bad. I also like what a PP said about how you react to the things that happen in your life(positive vs negative). I think that will dictate the NEXT decision that you happen to make. We all have one of those people in our lives that continuously make "bad" choices and then proclaim why me, why does God hate me.

I think the reason I say I don't believe in organized religion is because I also can't believe that a loving God would let all these awful things happen, that we are going to hell for our sins (yet not if we just repent) and be a party to so many negative things all in his name. I think there is alot of hate, judgement and fear within the church and that just doesn't work for me. Doesn't mean I'm not spiritual, just means that I do it my own little way each day not just on Sunday.

bethsmiles · October 2013

I haven't read The Secret but I don't think I really believe it probably because the most positive people I know in life have had a lot of really bad things happen to them. I also don't like the implication then that when someone has a life where a lot of negative things happen it's because they didn't put out enough positive energy. But maybe I'm not understanding and that implication isn't there.

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