Goodreads Review: The Secret
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I have to be honest in saying that I couldn’t stomach to finish this book. After the first couple of chapters, I was left in a state of disgrace and had to put it down – never to be opened again. I hate reviewing books before I finish them, but there are immediate thoughts that need to be put down about this one – there was a particular reason or two I couldn’t finish it.
There’s something to be said for thinking positive thoughts – the kind of thoughts we think definitely change our attitude. When we think positive thoughts we tend to have a more positive outlook on the world around us – we are more idealistic, bigger dreamers, more joyful. When we think negative thoughts it’s easy for us to fall into a hole of despair, which can send everything tumbling around us including our jobs, our families, our finances, etc.
But this book is about more than just the power of positive thinking. This book claims that each of us is the biggest impact on our own life. That we are the most powerful “transmission tower in the Universe.” It puts us at the same level as God – and I just can’t get on board with that.
It’s also very self-serving and materialistic. It’s about how we can make more money, get more things, be more successful. It’s not about how we can reach out to more people, live more simply, be more satisfied with who we are and what we have. It’s very clearly about the world we live in. Because of my faith and hope in God’s promise to us of a very different life – I just can’t keep reading.
In my opinion, this is a very dangerous book. The most dangerous part of it is how many people believe and live the way that it prescribes. Because of that, I suppose that it’s one that we should read in its entirety so that we can critique it in a healthy way. In order for me to finish it though, I’d have to view it as “research” – and I’m not in a place where I’m ready to pick it up again.
