Why doesn't "The Secret" work for me?

Larry King did another show with some of the folks from The Secret a couple of weeks ago, this one specifically on The Secret (3/8/07). The first two broadcasts were entitled "Beyond the Power of Positive Thinking", but all the shows explored the ideas presented in The Secret surrounding the Law of Attraction and answered questions about how to use it in one's life. (If you did not catch one or more of the shows, you can watch any or all of these episodes online for free at JamesRay.com, or you can purchase a DVD of the CNN broadcasts from Voxant for personal use.)

Although the shows were provocative, informative, and quite thorough, there is one question that seemed to come up in various forms, again and again, without ever being fully answered, and that is: Why isn't The Secret working for me?

The truth is that there are many, many reasons why it might not be working even if your are actively applying the principles. It could be conditioning, bad habits, the presence of unconscious beliefs that are working against you, competing intentions, the influence of naysayers around you, a negative environment, a lack of action, or a lack of right action, timing, the lure of the safe comfort zone, tuning out your intuition, disbelief, or not believing long enough, or simply not being clear enough about what it is you really want... But I believe that a big reason why it may not be working is the tendency we all have to inadvertently be focusing on NOT having it rather than truly focusing on having what we want!

This is a very subtle but essential point. Allow me to try to explain:

• When you think of money, what is the very first thought that pops into your head?

...Is it your credit card balance, the bills that are due, or the car repair you can't afford? Or is it the absolute utter joy you feel at the piles and piles of cash you have lined-up in your bedroom closet?

• When you think of your body, what is the very first image in the mirror of your mind?

...Is it that you need to lose 10 pounds, the cellulite and the love-handles, or the chronic back ache and tension headache you are feeling these days? Or is it how very HOT you KNOW you look today and how great it felt to smile sweetly at ALL the compliments you've received?

• When you think of love and relationships...

You get the point.

The experts on the show, including Lisa Nichols and James Ray talk about the necessity of applying action steps when you are struck with an intuition or insight, and that IS absolutely true! Action IS necessary, however, action steps taken in the wrong direction (in answer to the thoughts about the LACK of what you want) will most likely serve to bring you more of that lack - more of what you don't want!

Take a good look at what you want to manifest for yourself, and WHY... Now, when the ideas that come forward seem to illustrate images of not yet having what you want, begin to turn them around, one by one: What does the opposite of what you don't want look like? What is the opposite of "in debt" and what does it look like? What would 180 degrees from "overweight and in pain" feel like? What are some antonyms for "looking for love"? Begin a practice of being vigilant with regard to the images you are creating for your future!

Make sure you are truly picturing and imagining HAVING what you DO want - *NOT* NOT having what you DON'T.

Sweet bread toasts faster...

I was toasting a piece of very sweet bread this morning, and I noticed that although the toaster was on the same setting it always is, the bread toasted MUCH faster!

You may be wondering, "yeah, so?" like I was when I made the startling discovery, but then I thought that perhaps this is a parallel, or metaphor, for how we attract what we want into our lives...

We attract we we want by creating and envisioning a sweet imagination of ourselves actually experiencing that which we want - by imagining it so completely that we are awash in sweet, happy, warm, toasty feelings that make us feel happy just to know that our desired experience IS on it's way!

Try taking just 3 minutes or so, RIGHT NOW, and imagine yourself having something you want - imagine yourself REALLY having it, experiencing it, and feeling it as already true in your life right now! Add in sweet details: how it feels, tastes, smells, what it looks like, feels like in your hands, or how your skin feels in that environment - imagine the experience fully.

When you can really feel the sensation of that sweet experience, your manifestation will toast faster too!

The Secret: "Original" vs. "Extended" edition

Many people have been confused lately about the two different versions of The Secret DVD that are floating around out there in circulation now...

Well, I have the answer! I took it upon myself to get the skinny on the facts and bring them to you!

Sometime late last year, the producers of The Secret re-edited the film to replace scenes that were originally done by Esther Hicks (The Teachings of Abraham / Abraham-Hicks) with scenes featuring other teachers from the film. This new version is the only version currently available when purchasing the DVD or streaming from the web site devoted to the film, and it is classified as "the extended edition" when purchased through other vendors (including the Applied Inspiration resources page.)

The "Original" edition of The Secret is the one that we are most familiar with, and it includes large portions which feature and/or are narrated by Esther Hicks, including many of the basic principles of the Law of Attraction as explained in The Teachings of Abraham. This version is still available, but only in the secondary market (used) and, considering it is no longer being released, it comes at a price. If you do want to purchase the original version of the film (or check the best going rate) you may also do that from our resources page. It is the The Secret icon with no image available, and Esther Hicks listed as the primary author.

And, just to clear up the last bit of confusion, the "extended" edition is not really extended - it is just different. It is the exact same length as the original edition, and has the same ideas/images/information, it is just that some of the wording, phraseology, explanations, and narration has been changed.

UPDATE: The newer edition of The Secret is actually 1 1/2 minutes longer than the original edition. I have gone through it to try to summarize the points throughout where the differences occur, but they are numerous, and a significant portion of the narration has been changed.

The long and the short of it is this: If you DO ever have a chance to see the original edition, I highly, highly recommend it!

Also, so you'll know it if you do get lucky enough to come across the original edition - you can tell which is which by looking at the box as well as the disc:

• The original edition is © and ™ 2006 PRIME TIME PRODUCTIONS
• The version without Esther Hicks / Abraham is © and ™ 2006 TS Productions LLC, and, it has the words "extended edition" underneath the "The Secret" logo on the back of the case, just above the language options/Dolby Digital logos as well as on the disc itself
  

The shortcut to attracting anything!

The shortcut to attracting anything you want is simple: Be happy now.

This is the key for two reasons:

1. If you are happy, you are automatically, simultaneously attracting more of your heart’s desires (without even consciously focusing on them) – the Universe will just keep giving you MORE of what makes you happy.
   
2. If you are simply happy now, you don’t NEED anything else to MAKE you happy, so you are happy.

Now that may sound flippant, but it is actually good advice – the shortcut to attracting more of what makes you happy is to look for reasons to feel happy now! It is the essence of the Law of Allowing – make yourself a vibratory match to that which you are seeking.

Look for the good things in your life, try to find reasons to feel good, list the positive aspects of situations and people around you, think of the ways in which your life is “just right” right now, search for examples of good news, collect stories and memories of the good things that have happened in the past and are happening still, all around you. Ask the Universe to give you experiences to feel really happy about…

I’d be willing to bet that not only will you feel really good, but you’ll be having more happy coincidences come your way too!

What are you focusing on?

No, REALLY, what are you focusing on??!

Try this little exercise: Think of a couple of areas in your life in which you have goals and/or ideally you wish some improvements were made… Perhaps your job, the state of your home (I mean its organizational appearance as opposed to the area of the country you live in – but either, if a problem, will do), maybe how much fun & recreation you are getting these days, your health, your social life/personal relationships, money, money, money, finances, money…

Now, for each one of those areas that you’d like to improve a bit, what is the FIRST image that pops to mind when you think of it?

Be really honest here – it is a matter of life and death to your true desires! ...WHY does that aspect of life need improving?

If you are like most people, myself included, the chances are that the VERY FIRST image that comes to mind when you think of those areas (on the subjects that need some improvement) is what is wrong with them, or, what you DO NOT have.

• When I think of my house, the FIRST thought that comes to mind is that it is a mess…
• When I think of money, my mind instantly races to the bills that need to be paid…
• When I think of my body/health, I can just feel the little roll over the top of my jeans and my sore back…

…And I am not alone! I have many a friend, who, when asked about his or her love life, will almost instantaneously reply that there isn’t one before I have even finished the question!

THAT is what you are focusing on! (And, THAT is what you are creating more of!)

The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like, and that what we think about expands. If you have seen The Secret, you have heard the expression that "where attention goes, energy flows". Well, those pictures, images and feelings that flash across your mind when you think of a subject ARE where YOUR ATTENTION is going! …THAT is what you are focusing on, and, consequently, it is what you are getting more of in your life. Bummer.

The antidote is to start to form pictures in your mind of what you DO WANT in those life areas… Each time you catch yourself snapping to the depression inducing woes of what is wrong, say to yourself: “That is not my reality! My reality is ______” and form a vision of what it might look like if it already WAS they way you DO WANT it to be!

• Envision what your house would look like if it were neat and organized…
• Picture your “accounts payable” box as empty and a lovely sum on your bank statement…
• Imagine what it would feel like for your clothes to be loose, and to be totally healthy…
• Compose an image in your mind of being with that special someone and filled with joy…

It’s easier said than done, I know. But it has GOT to be better than spending the kind of time I have been spending picturing (focusing on) exactly what I don’t want and expecting the opposite of that to suddenly just appear!

...I'll let you know when my house is clean.

The key to $$$$...

The key to Money is knowing what you want TO DO with it!!!

Money energy needs channels to flow into and through your experience... In other words, instead of focusing on the money you want, think about what you intend to DO with it!

Picture and visualize what you will be doing, having, experiencing, and FEELING **AFTER** you have the money you would like to have.

Nothing is more important than that I FEEL GOOD!

"Nothing is more important than that I feel good!"

This is a quote you have no doubt heard if you have listened to any of the Abraham-Hicks recordings or been to any of their events. But, even if you have not, it is an excellent quote to commit to memory and say often!

In terms of the Law of Attraction, there is NOTHING that is more important than FEELING GOOD!!!

In a nutshell, there are four reasons for this:
1) The deeper longing underneath almost every goal, wish, dream, desire or wanting is usually happiness, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, wellness, peace - to feel better than you did before - to FEEL GOOD!
2) What you think about expands... When you feel good you are simultaneously attracting more of what your inner self (true self, higher wisdom, heart of hearts) wants for yourself! Even if you are not feeling good "because" you are making progress on whichever goal is foremost in your mind - just feeling good is making ALL of YOUR wishes and desires manifest more quickly for you! This is a part of the Law of Allowing - when you FEEL GOOD you are ALLOWING your desires to manifest FOR you!
3) Even if you do not know why you may not be feeling that hot, simply stating the desire "I want to feel good! Nothing is more important than that I feel good!" will begin to bring your attention to that which can make you feel better and better, and begin to raise your vibration.
4) Feeling good JUST FEELS GOOD!!!

So, go out there and FEEL GOOD today! Look for reasons to FEEL GOOD! Try to find things to FEEL GOOD about, and more GOOD will find you! (And, best of all, when you are FEELING GOOD, the particular good that you like best of all is the GOOD you are attracting more of!

FEEL GOOD and prosper!