May 19th, 2009 by Michael Sharp

It occurred to me the other day that this whole big “The Secret” phenomenon, what with the “law of attraction” and all that other hokum, has done more to damage the cause of spirituality and awakening on this earth than anything else in recent memory.

I mean think about it.

A couple years ago some yoyo+friends decided to put together a DVD telling the world how all you have to do is stay passive, positive, and “attract” and the universe, which doesn’t deal in negatives (tell that to all those people losing their homes), will send you what you want.  It’s that easy, said the man who was almost crying at the thought of how he had “attracted,” via a vision board, his multi-million dollar California mansion.

Now, fast forward a few years and the globe is in economic crises. I know several people on the brink of financial collapse and the state of California is so badly off that Mr. Terminator himself has suggested legalizing marijuana as a way to cope with the catastrophic budget shortfalls.

What the heck?

I mean, if the people who did The Secret were right, shouldn’t we all be basking in a positive universal prosperity right now?

Sadly, we’re not. Oh, the bankers are a lot richer now than they were a few months ago, thanks to George Bush and all the other “public representatives,” but a lot more people are suffering now than before Bush and Obama decided to transfer all those greenbacks out of public hands and into private coffers.

Hmm.

Something’s definitely not right in the land of milk and honey.

In any case, the way I see it, there’s two possibilities here.

Either we (and by we I mean most people on this earth) don’t know how to “attract” the goods or the people who did The Secret didn’t know what they were talking about. Personally, I put my money on the second choice. After all, if they were right we shouldn’t be in global recession, period. We should have attracted our way to Shambhala, end of paragraph.

I know it’s a bit harsh but I have to admit, as a spiritual teacher myself, I’m kinda annoyed by the whole thing. Not only did they sell a bottle of snake oil, but they did more damage to the cause of spiritual awakening that you can imagine. Who, in their right mind, it going to believe anything that self styled “law of attraction” gurus say now? I bet a lot of people who bought into The Secret thinking that those folks were actually revealing some deep esoteric truth are feeling pretty silly right about now, and probably a lot of them don’t want to have anything to do with new age mumbo jumbo any more, even if they can afford the book prices.

At this point my only question is, was it planned? That is, did the people who did The Secret intentionally sell a half truth just so people would be disappointed a couple years later when Bush, as his last action in office, transferred close to a trillion dollars into the hands of his banker buddies? It’s an ongoing question for me because I believe that a lot of the “spiritual teacher” and new age gurus out there are really just government plants, people paid to do things to mislead the people and distract them from what I might like to call “authentic” spirituality.”

Well, I don’t know and frankly in this case, I don’t care. Whatever their reason for doing The Secret, the damage is done and we should just move on and begin rebuilding people’s confidence in spiritual teachings, maybe using a little more discernment.

In the meantime, if you want a sensible introduction to the economic system, the current economic crises, and what’s in store for us the next time the globe goes into recession (assuming of course the suits get us out of this one), read my Rocket Scientists Guide to Money and the Economy. If you want authentic spirituality that’s not designed to enrich a few while selling snake oil to the many, visit me at my homepage and have a look at what I have to offer.