Those of you on my newsletter received an email last week where I talked about a subject related to the movie The Secret.
The responses I received to that email where quite polarized, which should not be surprising since subject matter that can be interpreted as spiritual or religious tends to elicit hard-line opinions. Yet I have to admit I was surprised by some of the emails I received in reply to the newsletter, which was a little naive on my part.
I received messages from my readers from both ends of the spectrum. Everything from I love what you are saying and totally agree, to that movie is a bunch of hogwash — just thinking about what you want won’t get it, all the way to the movie is against my religion and you shouldn’t be promoting it.
I’m happy whenever people engage with my content, and I never take one person’s feedback too strongly unless I’m receiving many responses along the same line. It was certainly interesting to read the different places people were coming from and thank you to everyone who wrote to me – it was an enlightening experience to read your point of view.
I don’t adhere specifically to a branch of religion, nor am I an atheist. If a label must be applied, I’m closest to agnostic, believing in a higher power but not looking to lock that power into a rigid framework like doctrine can do. I like to take on board concepts and ideas from all religions and belief systems, but I never became so restricted by them that I can’t at least listen to other people’s ideas without labeling them blasphemous.
You might call me a perpetual fence sitter, which in itself has problems. The wonderful thing about taking on board and truly feeling a specific religious calling is that you no longer suffer from being “lost”. You now have a framework to follow, a way to live and a community of people who share your beliefs. That is a wonderful thing.
Of course I have a moral compass, as we all do, which gives me some sense of rules and structure that govern my life. I’m going to draw the line on certain actions and label them wrong or right. Some things fall into a grey area, which once again is where having a strong religious belief has “benefits” – you have less greys and more black and whites – although I don’t think that’s always a good thing. Unwavering absolutes can be very dangerous – religious fundamentalism has certainly taught us that.
Do I Believe In The Law Of Attraction?
If you haven’t seen The Secret I’ll summarize it for you quickly now.
The movie, which in my opinion is the superior way to absorb the message (the book by the same name doesn’t do it nearly a well), is a documentary that effectively teaches a principle known as the Law of Attraction.
Before we had the Law of Attraction, as it was presented in The Secret, a book many of you will be familiar with – Napolean Hill’s Think And Grow Rich – introduced the idea that by thinking of what you desire and taking congruent action to seek the outcome, the “universe” will help you get there.
I’m not 100% sure as he never states the name of the book, but I believe Bob Proctor, who features prominently in The Secret, refers to Think and Grow Rich as the starting point for his successful application of the Law of Attraction, which if you really want to break things down to the core, means that all of these books, movies and people are referring to the same universal principle, or “the secret”.
The idea here is that the universe is structured in a way that if you think in a certain way, you actually manipulate your conscious reality to manifest what you are thinking.
If you dive into metaphysics, which movies like What The Bleep Do We Know/Down The Rabbit Hole go into deeper than The Secret does, we find that everything is made up of the same thing, so differentiating between thoughts and what we perceive as reality is a moot point – the universe see it all as the same thing.
We can make this more practical however – and this is where I think some of the detractors of The Secret go wrong. It’s not simply a case of thinking about what you want and then it magically appearing, which is how some people criticize the concept, it’s about thinking about what you want in a positive way, taking action congruent with those thoughts and then – here’s the key – when the window of opportunity opens, you take it.
Whether it is a case of the universe being structured in a way that intention, thought and action are rewarded with what you want – in other words it’s the universe that opens those windows for you – or it simply happens because you keep working towards a goal, is up for debate. No one can really know for sure and ultimately it comes down to belief.
One thing that is important to note, if you choose to believe in this idea and successfully execute it, you create a positive feedback loop. You take the actions that result in what you want because you believe taking those actions will get you there, thanks to a universal law. The law may not exist, but the outcome is positive because you executed – the link between cause and effect can be blurry – but the outcome is what counts and if you get what you want then there’s no compelling reason NOT to believe in the idea, unless you like not getting what you want.
As I wrote in the newsletter, I wasn’t purporting that I am a believer or otherwise in the teachings of The Secret or the Law of Attraction, although I have experienced positive outcomes as a result of my exposure to the movie and the idea. I certainly feel that some of the people in The Secret presented concepts that helped to raise my own consciousness in some way, and that’s what’s important in my opinion.
Proof of Results?
About six years ago I was feeling pretty bad about many aspects of my life. I had returned from six weeks backpacking in Tasmania with a girlfriend who was an ex-girlfriend by the time I got back.
I wasn’t broke, but I wasn’t making much money either – about $500 a month from the Magic card game website I owned back then. I was reading a lot about the Internet business success of other people, but most of the time that served only to depress me. I wouldn’t begin blogging for several years yet.
I was just about to start working seriously on my proofreading business, which wouldn’t be really successful for a couple of years, but before that decision was made I had to go back to my part time job to make sure I could pay the rent. I was feeling pretty rotten, I didn’t have many friends around me as they were all in full time jobs making new friends and finding life partners.
I felt like I was very far away from most of the things I wanted in my life – love, wealth and real friendships.
It was during this time that I began hanging out with a friend of my ex-girlfriend. She worked in the city and I often visited her when I went into town. Our relationship was platonic, although really it was situation of mutual sadness. We decided to spend lunchtime complaining to each other about how much our lives sucked.
It wasn’t a healthy thing to do of course, yet misery enjoys company, so for a few months we continued to indulge in this unhealthy past time.
I remember clearly having a conversation with this girl about business and what I thought would be my “big goal” in terms of how much money I wanted to make. I said to her that what I wanted was to make $1,000 a day from my business.
I recall how I felt when I said that statement and her reaction. She thought that outcome was near impossible and an incredible amount of money (she was earning a basic wage at the time, about $500 a week). I could only imagine what I would do with $1,000 a day, and while I didn’t consider it impossible, it really felt like a very far away goal, very, very far away.
In some sense it was a very far away, depending on how you value time.
I was just thinking during the last few months that the goal I set myself all those years ago, has become a reality. I haven’t done the exact numbers yet, but I’m pretty sure on average for the year, I make about $1,000 dollars a day now.
How Did This Happen?
Did my statement of intention, the following six years spent working towards reaching my goal and then finally meeting my target, get any assistance from some kind of universal law?
It’s tough for me to answer that. What I can say is that for many years that goal remained very far away, but slowly, with consistent action and making the decision to do certain things and take certain opportunities when they arose, the signs that I could get there became more frequent and I started to believe it more and more.
Today, I’m so confident of my ability to make money, as the cliche goes – it actually feels “easy”. I don’t say that to impress you, merely to demonstrate how your state of mind can change based on your reality changing thanks to experience.
Realizing When It Is Time To Change
While I have moved towards a place of deep satisfaction when it comes to my financial situation, I feel there is much room for improvement in other areas of my life.
As a result of this, 2009 so far has been a period of focusing energy on improving these other areas of my life. It’s because of making the decision to change and improve myself, that I’ve once again come up against the challenge of relying upon faith in a possible outcome to push me towards experiencing the outcome. I’m moving towards new territory, trying to do things I’ve never done before, forcing me to overcome strong feelings of self doubt along the way.
As many of my fellow Internet marketers know, we can often lead very solitary lives, working from home. This has suited my personality and benefited me financially because I’m blessed with the ability to be very productive while in solitude, but it’s caused an imbalance in the other two aspects of my life that require socialization.
My awareness of this imbalance really came into prominence when I returned from my overseas travels. I looked at my bank balance and despite spending a stupid amount of money while overseas, I came back with more money in my account than what I left with. I realized that focusing most of my attention on making more money would be futile and misguided.
Don’t get me wrong, I will run my business at the same pace I have, serve my customers, educate myself about what’s going on in my industry and continue to enjoy what I do to make money, BUT, there is no need to add to my workload simply for the sake of making more money. More money won’t make much of a difference to my overall happiness and will take energy away from the things I need to do in order to improve upon the aspects of my life I want to change.
In case you can’t read between the lines, that last paragraph is stating that once you’ve reached a certain point financially, making more money does not equal more happiness. All you money-hungry, success-focused entrepreneurs should heed that advice or you might end up pouring your energy into activities that you do simply for the short term rush that comes from making money. It’s not going to make you any happier long term – in fact it might even do the opposite once the thrill of the rush starts to have less effect.
How To Raise Your Awareness
I’m going to sample now from the newsletter I sent last week. Some of you will have read this, but I know most of you have not. This is important stuff, because it shows how you can bring change to your life, but also how you can rely on other people to raise your awareness so you have the courage to make the change.
Pay especially close attention to the section where I talk about the power of finding gurus – real gurus – and why they can help you in more ways than just giving you successful techniques to replicate.
The Courage To Seek Change
Success in business, in blogging and in life in general, comes down to many facets.
You have raw business techniques and strategies, you have your mental state and your body condition, your present physical reality, your access to resources, your skills, inherent talents, the people around you and many other elements.
As a human being we are complicated creatures, but what I have learned after years spent working to improve aspects of my life, in almost all cases your sense of self, your “inner game” or strength of character, or whatever you want to call it, is the root determinant of your success.
In other words, the power is within YOU.
In order to improve yourself you need to raise your awareness. Raising awareness, in my opinion, is the answer to most of the world’s current conflicts, and from a micro level, the answer to the problems you currently face in your life too.
To raise one’s awareness simply means to become aware (or conscious) of what needs to change and how to change it.
The problem people face – and we all go through this – is feeling frustrated not because we don’t have something, but because we feel helpless due to not knowing HOW to change.
Are You Capable Of Change?
Change is the key to success. In order to realize new states of being, something about you must CHANGE.
In order to realize change you need to see what actions are required to make the change happen. If you don’t have the awareness, you have no idea how to make the change. Problem solving begins with problem awareness.
What makes this particularly difficult is our in-built belief structure, which is largely made up of our passed experiences. If you’ve never experienced the change you want, then in order to begin the process of change, you essentially make a “leap of faith”.
If you’ve never done something before you don’t have the comfort to know that doing certain things will result in certain outcomes. In order to have the courage to make the change, you must believe in the possibility of the outcome, without having ever experienced it.
That’s why it’s so important to make that first dollar online. Once you know that making money on the Internet is possible, even if you only make a dollar, you start to experience the reality of an outcome, rather than just believing in a dream.
If you can make $1, then it seems a lot easier to make $10, then $100, then $1,000, etc. With experience comes confidence, but how do we get confidence without experience?
From Awareness To Experience
It’s amazing how easy it is to do something once you have done it before. With the experience, comes familiarity and a realization that yes, it can be done, you know how and you can thus do it again.
However, before you gain the experience yourself, steps taken towards change are based on your observation or study of other people’s experience. Seeing what others have and do, gives you awareness of patterns of behavior you can then repeat, with the expectation to experience the same or similar results.
Unfortunately if you’ve tried to make change happen before and failed to achieve the outcome you want, your assumptions are going to become increasingly negative, and you will start to battle with your own self belief. It takes a strong “inner game” to move passed this and keep striving. Your faith must be unwavering.
This is why it’s so important to learn from people who have gone through the change you want to realize in your life. They offer the best roadmap to follow, to carry with you along with your faith in the belief that it can happen to you too.
That’s why gurus, in the true sense of the word, are gurus.
The term, which comes from Hinduism, refers to a spiritual teacher. “Gu” means darkness, and “ru” means light; thus a guru turns ignorance into enlightenment.
People place faith in the teachings of gurus because gurus can manifest awareness in others. With awareness comes the power to change.
It’s not necessarily an easy process, but we should be thankful we have so many people willing to share what they know so those of us who want to improve ourselves have gurus to turn to.
When a person possesses a strong clarity about key aspects of life, it’s their strength and guidance that can empower others to realize their goals. Clarity is a powerful liberator, almost as powerful as experience itself, and of course true clarity comes from experience.
Find Your Gurus and Make Change Happen
There are many insights to be gained from this article and I don’t expect everyone to interpret it in the same way. I value your feedback, so if you have anything to say after reading this far, please leave your comment. I can’t promise to respond to everything, but I will read what you have written.
What I hope is that you will read this blog post and use it to help you find the courage to make positive change a reality in your life. In particular, if what I have written helps you to battle through periods when your belief is faltering – which we all go through during periods of change – then I consider that the best outcome possible.
Whether you take stock in concepts like the Law of Attraction, believe in The Secret, are religious, or you think it’s all bunk and live a very scientific and pragmatic life, doesn’t matter. You are human and thus you are wired to experience life with emotions and live with the same internal conditions we all face. Ultimately that is your greatest weakness and your greatest strength.
How your life progresses rests in your awareness and acceptance of reality, and how you then leverage it for positive outcomes in your life.
Yaro Starak
Raising Awareness One Blog Post At A Time
I love the idea of the Law of Attraction and discussed it in my website which is about this type of thing.
We can all benefit from being less negative and more positive. That is a must if we are to be successful in challenging times. It all comes down to attitude.
Love the blog and your work.
Malcolm
Hi Yaro,
Your post was indeed very insightful. I have prooved over and over againn to myself if I focus on what I want and not on what I don’t want, together with deligent action I get what I want.
The problem is to often our minds focus on what we don’t want – we get caught up in fear because we ar already seeing failure and procrastination from the outset because life has always just been that way.
We know that no book can make us do what it says, no exercise machine can force us to actually use it ect.
The secret is correct in saying that you must feel the situation as though it was already there. That way you are already elevated into a happier mood and are motivated to go ahead.
For me everything happens in the mind – I believe we are all creators , heck there’s even a part in the bible that says we are made in the image of God. I’ve been told I’m going to hell for thinking like this!
Oh and about the Silva programme – it really is goood it was created by Jose de Silva and he has some excellent mind exercises to increase intuition and awareness.
Yaro,
“Silva” referrs to Jose Silva (and now his daughter Laura.) Jose Silva wrote a book that I believe was called The Silva Mind Control Method which was popular in the ’70′s
Jose Silva was the first of the Guru’s ala Bob Proctor who tried to tell people that there is a great deal at work in our lives of which we know and understand very little. He was the first to try and change that through his teachings which remain valid today.
Abraham-Hicks has done much to clarify for us today what Jose Silva was already onto.
Your post was great, right up until the last line. How your life progresses depends not on your acceptance of reality, but your creation of it — something that we all do for ourselves, in concert with Universal laws, whether we’re aware of it or not.
Keep up the good work.
not by using any modern scientific machinery of course (x-rays, MRI etc). Instead they prefer the ever-reliable way of… asking the patients! Yes, they ask the patients about their symptoms and then they match these reported symptoms against the book of “proving” in order to find the substance that *causes* these symptoms in healthy people! Who needs high tech expensive machines when you can simply ask the patient?
Dear Yaro,
I think we all philosophize about life and the meaning of it when life is not what we would like it or you’re searching for answers. I think you had a series of cognitions, sudden realizations about your existence. A spiritual awakening. Enlightenment. There are universal truths that govern the Universe, this world and beyond. I have looked for The Truth myself and it is whatever is true for you is true for you. There will be believers and nonbelievers of the Law of Attraction. I’ve questioned the existence of God for many years and I’ve come to the conclusion that I need proof. If I can’t communicate with him, then he must not exist. I may be considered a heretic, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I must rely on empirical knowledge to attain The Truth. I am not telling you to believe what I’m saying, but look for the truth for yourself. We must all walk the path by ourselves to find the answers to our questions in life. We are all looking for salvation. Like Gautama Siddhartha (Buddha) said: “No one saves us but ourselves.”
Best regards,
Rick
Nice article.You can´t sit in the “waiting room” all your life thinking good things will happen eventually.Get out there and make things happen.It takes courage to come out of the comfort zone but you don´t have any options.
Hi Yaro!
Your honesty is disarming, and you are an excellent writer. I agree that if you choose to believe in the concept behind “The Secret” (I saw that movie — found it full of hype however) — then you are likely to achieve better results than if you reject the idea — provided you *do* take action.
Indeed, it is like saying that you have more success being an optimist than a pessimist — which I guess is usually true. An optimist sees the possibilities in a situation, while a pessimist sees the problems and overlooks the possibilities.
Well, I guess we all need to be reminded of that.
However, my feeling is there is a deeper truth behind it all. You mention Eckhart Tolle — a spiritual teacher I am also very impressed with. This deeper truth is explained beautifully by him — only problem is you need to *experience* it; merely reading about it really makes no difference.
I’ve enjoyed this in-depth dialogue. I hope it shows folk that you haven’t made money simply by teaching us how to get on the ‘make money by blogging’ loop. The best blogs are those with something to say, where the writers write with authenticity and passion about something they’re driven to share, and would share even if there was no money>traffic-spike>money in it for them. The Law of Attraction and Tolle’s New Earth are all about resonating with what’s meant to be, about becoming who we were born to be. Hence the great intelligent, thoughtful comments above. People need to feel connected; we all need to feel that we were given a unique voice, not just so we could express ourselves, but so that it resonates with others.
Whatever we’d like to attract into our lives, it’s worth making sure we always ask the question “What would I like to have, do and BE in my life?” It’s not all about the HAVING. ~Janice
I have not read any comments so this is raw. This is a good article. I know ‘The Secret’ is controversial to most Christians because it does not specifically mention God. However, there are certain principles that can be taken from it and incorporated into Christian living and you can give credit to whomever you want. The main point is that you must begin to ‘call those things that are not as though they were’ in order to manifest changes in your life. That is in the bible and carries the same positive principle as ‘The Secret but the credit is not given to man.
I agree with you that the courage to initiate change is vital to successful outcomes. I am still waiting to make my first dollar and you have encouraged me to maintain my positive ‘inner game’ and continue to follow my blogging gurus. Thanks.
Hello Yaro,
A very powerful and thought provoking message, and well presented. Something for all of us to consider with an open mind without letting personal prejudice get in the way.
I am trying to remember a saying that went something like this , “Once you make up your mind and finally start to take action, all manner of things fall into place to help you reach your objective.”
Sorry for the mis-quote. If anyone knows the proper version, I would be obliged if they would let me know.
Best wishes’
Geoff
Wow that was long read! I am not too sure about law of attraction but I guess murphy’s law do exist. If you know what I mean? Anything that can go wrong will go arong!
Its so true with whatever you do in life..
hi Yaro,
very balanced article, thank you. Maybe I can contribute a bit about the background of ‘The Secret’. This sequence of interviews (there was no story at all=no movie) was based on a book by Wallace Wattles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Wattles), “The Science of Getting Rich”, written 1910. Together with Charles Haanel he was one of the pioneers of the ‘New Thought’ as it was called at the time. Wattles wrote also “The Science of Being Great” and “The Science of Being Well”. Unlike many ‘self improvement’ authors of today he studied his subject a lot, and to make money was not his primary goal.
“The Secret” for me was a pure marketing stunt. Afterwards I cut all my ties (newsletters etc) with Proctor, Vitale etc. There is no room here to elaborate on that. But ‘The Secret’ is so simplistic that it hurts. People deserve better and that takes much more attention, not conducive to marketing. Partly Wattles was even quoted wrong etc., just to create a need for new products.
If somebody wants to get involved with Wattles: years before ‘The Secret’ Rebecca Fine created a whole course based on Wattles’ book. I found that an effort with more integrity and also more useful. Check it out here: http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/ (no, I don’t get any kickbacks from that).
I like your way, Yaro. Good luck to you (and yes, we could talk for a long time about what luck and happiness means. It can’t be put in ‘Secret’ like headlines.)
Cheers, Mycle
HI.
Your explanation of the position you sit in reference to religiosity is one that think is shared by many youths of our world. None the less i must say that its phrasing was well constructed.
The secret i think is a production that we can all take something away from. Aside from the “Hype” i think the message underneath (much like religion really) is an important one to be interpreted in a more applicable context. The concept inspires positivity and motivation in its readers, traits that many people are lacking in the chaotic situations enveloping our world currently. To be able to implant such trait into another is another skill that few hold, and i commend those that have commercialized the idea and touched many lives.
Cheers
Sam
Yaro,
Thanks for that post!
I’ve been studying the Law of Attraction for a while now and it’s really quite in alignment with what Jesus taught.
In my life I focused on finding peace with God – and I have. Now I’m working on the money piece! It’s kinda funny how we are all on a different path to the same goal.
Raising your awareness is key.
I love this Einstein quote
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created it”
Raise your level of thinking and new solutions will become available.
Easy? No. Worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
Robert
Come visit my blog – you inspired it!
http://www.bestillknowgod.com/blog
Communicating With God
Hey Yaro,
For what it’s worth – great article. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t read you blog regularly. I don’t read it much at all unless you point me here from your Newsletter or Blog Mastermind.
As for self-belief, I think this topic is so poorly misunderstood by a great majority of people. I agree with what you’re saying that self-belief comes from focusing on the possibilities or outcomes we desire; and of course, this desire stems from our mindset.
Self-belief creates it’s roots in our reference experiences. Anytime we experience a win (or earn money online, $1, $10, $100, $1,000) we create a greater belief that we can experience this over and over again.
But here’s the problem: creating that first experience; earning that first dollar. You have “to do” something to create that experience; you have to take action.
I think the greatest lesson that anyone can learn from The Secret is the practice of gratitude. And here’s why:
The more often you focus on gratitude, the more often you see the “good” in your life. And the more good you see, the more good you perceive. Now take that person and put them in a position where they must raise their level of courage to take a new action and they might say to themselves:
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Probably very little to someone who only sees the “good” that can come from their actions because all they see are the possibilities.
In my own experience, being grateful has given me the courage to take more acts of courage. And these acts of courage have created new reference experiences and a new belief in what is possible for me.
I have been following you for over a year and have always been impressed by your conversation. Many of these self help books simply identify things we may or may not already do, but somehow pointing them out to us make such a difference. The mind is a powerful thing, but a negative attitude will always hinder results. How does one change that? By putting the right content in. You know the old “junk in , junk out” philosophy. It also takes being honest with one’s self. I am doing the 30Day Challenge, and I am learning so much. For me, it is not about the money. It is about learning a little bit more than I do and applying it to enhance my life. For me, Christ is my “Higher Power” for all that I undertake no matter how large or small. I can trust him for getting me on the right track, as well as changing my attitude when it gets out of hand. Think on these things: true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report. Think on these things. It makes a difference.
Hell Yaro, I do enjoy your blog.
Is the ‘end’ just the ‘beginning’ ?
hmmmmm…..
Does anyone know the ‘ Truth’ ?
What can you write on a ‘clean slate’ ?
Anything that you wish to.
A newborn child is a ‘ clean slate ‘.
Take that child and seclude him/her in an environment,
that is totally opposite to all of civilizations beliefs.
IE: black is white, white is black;
the moon is the sun, the sun is the moon;
darkness is light, light is darkness; * ( you get the picture?)
Everything is ‘ completely opposite ‘ for them as to what ‘ we
are led, by civilization, to believe ‘.
Keep that ‘ person ‘ in this secluded state for 20 years of
their life;
Then turn that person loose in todays society.
The way of life and truth ‘ is to each of us ‘ whatever we are taught.
The spoken word, the written word ?
Ponder on ‘ what would happen to this person ‘ ?
Complete harmony is your brains ‘ natural state ‘.
There would be no hunger or sickness in this world
if the ‘ world ‘ ( all minds) were in harmony.
Greed is ‘ the order of the day ‘.
There are so many races, religions and, yes, social and political
beliefs in civilization today that causes stress and pressure to
the point of imbalance in the ‘ modern brain ‘.
What is a ‘ Truth ‘ , what is a ‘ Lie ‘ ?
What is the definition of each of these ‘ Words’ ?
Are they in fact the opposite of what we are ‘led’ to believe?
For centuries humans have searched for ‘ the Truth ‘.
The ‘ Truth ‘ has been buried under myriad tons of ‘ Lies ‘ ;
‘truth’ is miniscule.
The bigger the ‘ Lie ‘ the more it is believed.
Therefore, I think ,
if one should unearth and dispense with ‘ all Lies ‘,
What is left,
in conclusion, would be ” Truth “.
Everything in existence is ‘ pure energy ‘ .
Death is not ‘ the end ‘.
Just a new ‘ beginning ‘.
A clean ‘ slate ‘ if you will.
Bob….
the ‘ Crusader ‘.
Beautifully balanced write up on this subject. Whether one wants to believe it or not, our creative mind do create our want. In many instances however it just did not materialize because deep inside we tend not to want it to…Subconsciously, many are just afraid of the change
Yaro, one of the posts mentioned someting about the “now”. I am offering my thoughts on “now”.
Now, moment, instant, these words, what do they signify? Past, present, future, are symbolic representations of three time related concepts that incorporate the now, moment, and instant. Now is the boundary between past and future. Now is different then present in its symbolic relationship with corporeal time fluctuations.
Present is the smallest retrievable memory of past events, and future dreams. Now is the unmeasurable distance between past and future. No time value is placed on now because now is all that exists. The past is memories fading over time, and the future is dreams composed of hopes and fears. Both of which exist only in the mind.
What does exist is now—or does it? Take a string, fold it in half. Call one end future, the other end past. Cut it in half, and you have nothing between the two pieces. They are not connected in any real sense of the word. It is the same with our existence; there is no connection between past and future except our memories and dream expectations. The point of demarcation between past and future does not exist, can not exist. Without a clear separation of past and future the two are aspects of a point in time that does not exist except as a concept of mind.
Without mind to create and manipulate esoteric philosophies arising from our experience, the concern about here, now, and time does not exist. Only our awareness of mortality separates us from lower life forms. Misuse of awareness prevents us from escaping the trap of arrogance to become the higher life form we claim to be. If we are capable of choice, why do we follow the false profit when the other road is plainly marked by the treasures of life?
Ask yourself what is important to your joy. Do you aspire to clean air, fresh water, nourishing food, comfortable shelter, and loving companions, or do you aspire to things that become useless over time? The use of technology in the service of life is a worthy endeavor. Technology used for immediate gratification without foresight is akin to driving an automobile when drunk. The results are, more times then not, disastrous.
Life is like climbing a mountain. Is climbing for the sake of the adventure the reason, or are you reaching the top so others may admire your picture of the achievement. There is nothing wrong with mementos as long as the event remains the focus. It is the experience that is real—not the memory. A picture, or record, is a symbolic representation of past events held by the conscious mind.
“More money won’t make much of a difference to my overall happiness and will take energy away from the things I need to do in order to improve upon the aspects of my life I want to change.” – Yaro Starak
I am a newbie blogger. In a span of 2 months, I have come across all sorts of “web gurus”. However promising they sound there is always a doubt that lingers in me on what their real purpose is.. besides they want to teach.. to help… to share…. blah.. blah.. blah.. ( how about…earn money ?)
In fact …I did doubt the author of this article. But don’t get me wrong, I’m a follower, a subscriber and a member of BAB… ..but still in doubt.. ( I’m still in the process of searching and sorting the fakes from the real McCoys).
This article gives a reflection of the author’s character… an insight of what he was…. a hint of what he had become. That is all I need. That is what is important …. to erase all doubts.
The Medium vs The Message.
If I trust the medium, I’ll listen to the message.
I have found one damn good “guru”.
He’s got long hair.
I am not sure what commentary you got from a Christian versus other religions but as a Christian I don’t see these principles far from what is thought in the new testament which focuses on having nurturing relationships, love for one another, respect, understanding, walking in spirit and truth rather than your own personal desire, etc. I guess the issue would be the focus on monetary gain through relationships which can be seen as deceptive but even then this is not a bad thing if you exclude the negative things that may drive you to do it – We all just need to remember that money is tool in your life and not your only focus.
Yaro, you rock so keep up the excellent work.
There is a fundamental flaw with The Secret. The problem is that it will wants us to believe all power is within us. Yes, we do have a role to play as individuals, but must not forget that God is supreme and without His sustaining power we are nothing. It’s hard to discuss this topic without bringing God into the conversation. Anyone can have temporal success by personal effort, but it will not be long term success unless we are ready to acknowledge God and His role in our lives. I know this comment will be controversial. But I challenge you to look honestly at the universe and explain what “force” could be sustaining it (and you).
All that said, Yaro, I’m glad you are analyzing these things in your own life.
good stuff Yaro, and nice to see an honest assessment of your situation as it relates to such concepts.
Ah Yaro,
What a nice searching blog combining my two favorite words “Communication” and “Change”.
Acknowledging that Change is the only thing constant in life brings a realization when it comes to perception of our surroundings and who or what we are. Many things in life we automatically assume will always be there until one day we notice they are not there anymore, what happened then is the inevitable question on people’s minds and lips. A change took place and most of us didn’t notice it. Change is the only aspect in out life that we can guarantee, therefore doesn’t it make more sense being consciously aware of change, directly involves and prepares us more readily for the positive opportunities that change will bring.
Communication the corner stone and foundation to all that we know and understand in today’s world wither it was by grunts from prehistoric man bartering his goods or today’s commercial online marketing and contracts. The necessity for communication has and always will play a paramount role in our lives. Not only communication we have with each other but consider for a moment the communication and even sometimes the miscommunication that we have had with ourselves over the years. The miscommunication has most likely resulted from misperception of what was happening or about to happen within our immediate surroundings.
The power and energy within us which fuels us day in and day out is quite incredible as I am sure you will agree, Capturing and harnessing this power is the function of the mind. The mind is the most advanced computer known to mankind, were it not for the power and capability of the mind we would not have the technology which is available to us all today.
Medical science today cannot fully explain how the mind works specifically. Unlike the other organs of the body which can be transplanted the mind has yet to be conquered by medical science. However we do know that the mind can be described in two sections (1) The conscious mind which guide us through our day to day tasks and (2) The subconscious which handles the back office when we are not awake. We also know that the conscious mind controls our five conscious senses which is governed from an area accounting for approximately one tenth of the brain which leaves approximately nine tenths with the subconscious handling the back office so to speak.
I believe the power lies within us all by tapping into these subconscious resources and aligning them and if you like re-tuning them more in harmony with our conscious mind. We all do it to some degree or other each and every day for example (a) How often have you made the same regular car journey each day same route, how many times have you arrived at your destination and thought, I don’t remember the journey or passing Mrs. ,Wilsons store. (b) Late night tired a problem to solve, gave up gone to bed deal with it in the morning and woke up the next day and solved the problem but put it down to being too tired the night before. These are all examples of what could be termed as “on auto pilot”, but consider this, some other part of your mind other than you conscious senses were working it’s a fact. or the mother with the newborn, exhausted at night in a deep sleep, suddenly sits bolt upright in bed and says the babies crying in another room, what part of her subconscious heard this. I for one have been sitting up in bed reading many times when this has happened.
Consider the subconscious mind like a computer hard drive from the day you were born until present all your life experiences are stored filed in there and the beauty of it is that what is stored is all positive; the subconscious mind does not accept negatives or criticism only positive is stored. It might all be filed away haphazardly, but it’s filed away in your subconscious nevertheless.
Thinking back to children have you ever asked a small boy and what are you going to be when you grow up and he answered I am going to be a fireman, a policeman or an engineer like my dad. To the small boy there is no reason he can’t be who he wants to be and that’s because he has yet to experience the influence of the everyday conscious environment. You would be surprised how many people grew up to be exactly what they wanted to be. I for one knew exactly what I wanted to be when I was 5 years old and actually became a deep sea commercial diver. It would be a nice question to know how many of your readers who read this blog will say the same.
Like the small child taking its first steps embarking on any new venture is exactly the same…taking the first step is always the hardest but one step at a time and your going somewhere different, don’t think of it as a chore, think of it as an adventure. When faced with challenges I tend to take about 15 minutes out of each day for pure relaxation, finding somewhere quiet, relax in a comfortable chair, listen to some quiet music and consciously relax all the muscles in my body, starting from my ankles all the way up to the tip of my head. Whatever you are planning to do in your life it will never be a failure; there will always be a degree of success. There always has to be a balance in life and although the common denominator here is business and money. The emphasis is on excellence strive for excellence in what you will become excellent in yourself and the rewards will come naturally.
I hope this has not been too long a blog I am kind of new to blogging, but I did think your blog was excellent and if I am not mistaken can detect some new awareness.
Paul sunning in Sri Lanka
You’re a deep thinker Yaro Starak, and you’ve obviously been doing an awful lot of it lately! I enjoyed reading your article Yaro, I found it very inspirational. There are sooo many ways of expressing a positive mental attitude (PMA), and one of them that I find particularly profound is this statement:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right!!”
When I I first read that statement, it took me a second or two to realise the power behind what it was really saying. It not only shows the enabling power of your mindset, when you think “You can”, you’re halfway to achieving it, but it also highlights the debilitating effects of having a negative mental attitude, because when you, “think you can’t”, your halfway to being beaten!
Best
Ian
One of the best blog posts I’ve ever read, Yaro. Thank you.
The Universe is organized. From a religious point of view, it makes sense that G-d would have some order… a way to follow his plan so to speak–whatever you believe that plan is. The Law of Attraction is a spiritual law that is at work in your life continuously. It’s so frustrating when things don’t “do our way” and we don’t get what we want and we end up using the Law of Attraction as a tool to beat ourselves up… evidence that it doesn’t work… but it’s working. Take responsibility for your thoughts, words, and actions and discover the worthy ideal you are willing to trade your life force with… then take actions toward that ideal (that makes a difference in the world) and it’s never about the money…. but how money allows you to live that ideal. Thanks, Yaro.
There are always going to be skeptics and naysayers at each stage in a persons progression. Not everyone will agree with what people like Yaro says, and that is fine. There are enough of us out there that value his work and agree with what he is saying to continue to support Yaro.
When I talk to people that think I am full of it, in regards to The Secret or universal law, I make one small point that ties into what Yaro said already. Whether or not this universal law is real or true, that is not important, what is important is that changing your mindset changes the way you feel about yourself and what you can do. If you doubt yourself, then you will not accomplish much. But, if you feel that you can accomplish the goals you have set for youself, then chances are good you will accomplish those goals, regardless of universal law. A shift in mindset, to one of “I can”, is one of the most powerful tools a person has, follow that up with action and look out.
You’re becoming quite the philosopher but I’ve got to say what your saying is true.I’m 64yrs old I’ve been up and down the money tree several times in my life.I started playing with this Internet Marketing on Nov 1st with no real idea what I was doing. My mentor is a guy named Colonel Sanders for those of you who don’t know who that is he started Kentucky Fried Chicken when he was my age and died a very wealthy man .What I’m trying to get across is I made my first sale the other day a whole $33.00 not setting the world on fire but it’s a start, what I’m trying to covey is that if you’ve got the huevos to start this stuff and stick to it you can most likely get where you want to go. I hope this makes sense though it ‘s easy to get discouraged don’t give up!
Hello Yaro,
Very insightful post. I love your openness, courage and honesty. We get to see who you really are. You let us into your inner world and the processes you take to find your truth. It’s very refreshing and helpful. You show us that it’s a continuous journey. As we grow in awareness (or consciousness) the challenges become more and more subtle and refined.
I blogged about this very subject recently under the title, “Do You Want The Secret Behind All Secrets?” that has a great video from Tulshi Sen, author of Ancient Secrets of Success for Today’s World. His teachings are helping me become more and more who I really am.
Thanks again for raising awareness, Yaro!
Aditi
Hey Yaro, I am glad to see you putting it out there. I personally find the language of the Secret too New Agey for me. The Law of Attraction is real I think, but I prefer to think of it as the Law of Paying Attention. \Positive thinking doesn’t work as a concept for me. But focusing on what you want and having the will to make it happen makes you therefore pay attention to it. Its like a photographer with an interest in trees. His eye will be on the trees and the patterns of trees until he is able to compose the most beautiful tree images in his mind and then find them with his camera. Its like falling in love. When you love a person they take all of your attention. Therefore when the door opens you are ready to walk through it because you have been anticipating the opportunity.
So that’s my 2 cents worth.
From an old warhorse on the spiritual path,
Arlen
Excellent post Yaro!
I have enjoyed the Secret, and, as a metaphysical teacher and minister, I teach universal laws and principles. It’s a funny thing that the laws and principles of the universe work whether we believe in them or not. We don’t have to believe in gravity to be subject to it. I’ve never heard of a sane person that argues with it, yet we argue with other universal laws we don’t understand. Ignorance to the way the universe works doesn’t exempt one from experiencing the effects.
We are creators, and whatever we consistently think about, with emotion, will manifest. Whatever we give our attention to will eventually become our reality. It’s a very simple truth, like all universal truths.
Loved this discussion, and I get a chuckle out of people who think the Secret goes against their religion…
Valerie Love
Destiny Coach & Metaphysical Minister
Oh, I would also like to add that as professional psychic for 20 years I have read tarot for so many people who are convinced that “magical thinking” is all they have to do solve problems. This is sheer lazy mindedness. I have to say, kindly of course, that there is no big hand in the sky that will do it for them, God helps those who help themselves, and if wishes were horsed then beggars could ride.
What you call ‘faith’ (a word I am allergic to), I call risk taking and getting out of your comfort zone, and stop being a frog in the well.
You know the story of the Frog in the Well, don’t you? The frog lives at the bottom of the well and when he looks up he sees only a little circle of sky and thinks that’s all there is. If he would only jump out of the well he would know there is a big world out there.
Now some frogs might choose to jump right back in in again. Others, like you and me, Yaro, would go exploring.
The word Courage comes from the French — Couer means heart. Coming from the heart — caring, desiring, and willing are what makes one courageous.
If you live in your head you get head trips.
Sally forth into the Abyss young man!
LOL
Artlene
Yaro, very thoughtful. As I read your post, I kept wondering if I had drifted over to a different blog site.
I sent you a note about Deepak Chopra’s “The Third Jesus.” Now I know you must read it because it deals with many of your carefully written thoughts.
Chopra advises against “belief”–things that are based on what we know–and “faith” that deals with the unknown. His book is not about the historical or “religious” Jesus. It’s about awareness and God-consciousness.
He argues that, fundamentally, the Universe is not the normal reality we all experience. Chopra presents Jesus, like all spiritually-enlightened humans, as a man who experienced a transformation that changed him forever. For example, “I am the light of the world” was not Jesus’ attempt to declare himself as more God-like. In fact, he really meant that all of us have the potential to experience what he did.
Get the book. It changed how I view the Universe and Jesus’ message completely.
Hello Yaro,
Thank you very much for this article. I am just beginning with my blog and with the help of Become a Blogger and other information I have found online I am taking it step by step. I have actually accomplished more than I thought I would be able to accomplish. So – thank you very much for that.
I have a question about gurus. It isn’t a question I am expecting to find the “right” answer for – so it is more about thinking out loud and wondering what others think too. One thing I have learned in the last two weeks of starting my blog is that there are many many people online who claim to be gurus. It is very difficult for a beginner to sort out true wisdom and value from the hype and hard-sell. So my question is – how does a beginner distinguish the value from the hype. As a newbie online I feel very much like fresh meat sometimes – there are so many people eager to sell. There is also a lot of very valuable information available at no or low-cost – so I am wondering if you don’t have a formal mentorship with a guru or if you aren’t a part of their club – can you call them your teacher – even if they don’t know you?
I have been going with my gut, (which is about 50/50 accurate I’m guessing) but you have passed this learning curve and I am curious about how you made choices when you were at the starting gate about whose light to follow.
All the best,
Kirsten
PS – I am comfortable with the view from the fence too. Having faith is a challenge. I guess that’s part of deal, right?
Hey Kirsten – before I lose your comment in the sea of amazing comments posted to this article, I’ll respond to your question…
I find the best way to isolate the people you should trust and follow as mentors and possibly even gurus (I don’t like to use that label to loosely!), is to ask these questions of yourself -
1. Does this person resonate with me in their style/personality?
2. Did I learn something practical that I took away, applied, and enjoyed a result from?
3. Did they help me become more aware of the problems I face and how to fix them?
Inspiring is good, but not enough. You want inspiration, a greater sense of awareness and real practical outcomes, plus it helps if you like the person.
Your gut can tell you lots of these things, but look at practical outcomes too.
Yaro, thank you! This is a very helpful answer and I will keep these three questions posted on my desktop. I truly appreciate your guidance. Thank you!
All the best,
Kirsten
This makes for a GREAT accompaniment to The Secret. I know you mention this explicitly, but your article make it all sound real as opposed “secretive” and difficult to grasp for people who aren’t used to believing in themselves.
I have to say Yaro, personally I really like your story because it’s so similar to my own. Only I’m 24, graduating from uni and getting ready to go teach abroad for a year. Your fears and very similar to mine and encourage me whenever I read about them.
Yaro, I enjoyed your post since I am also one of the “lost” people who does not belong to a specific religion. Although I was brought up as a Christian, I guess my natural curiosity about the universe and its Creator leads me along quite a few heretical paths of knowledge.
Thank you for sharing your own internet marketing experiences. I currently work part-time for my father while trying to create an online income stream. It is quite a solitary working environment and I sometimes get either frustrated or depressed when success stays out of reach. But then the next day I continue again. I have tried other things and working from home is the only lifestyle that suites me. I am quite amazed and troubled at the same time when I hear of old school friends of mine who are married and have one or two kids already. Here I am still single and without a steady job or vocation. Or a soul mate for that matter. Quite a predicament.
Images are powerful and we think in terms of images a lot. When you connect intention and images together, you certainly present a clear target or goal to yourself. When you know what you want to do, the next logical step is to do it and keep doing it until you can match your outer reality to the inner reality of your mind. Self image is also quite important. Psycho-cybernetics is probably loosely related to the Law of Attraction.
In the gospels Jesus of Nazareth is reported as saying “According to your faith be it unto you.” We are constantly seeing things and doing things according to our own perceptions and beliefs. Reality is not an objective experience, but rather a very subjective experience influenced by each person’s particular angle of belief. Of course, these beliefs have to be habitual in order to manifest as your reality.
The word “lie” actually hides in plain view in the words “beLIEf” and “beLIEve”. Taking a leap of faith demands that you believe a lie since what you see in your mind does not yet exist in time and space. When after working towards it for some time you finally experience what you believed in, it ceases to be a lie and manifests as truth. A kind of “fake it till you make it” mentality. Anyway, one can get lost in discussions such as these.
Thanks again Yaro. Always good to find someone who shares a passion for such universal musings.
Great stuff bro! If i had to label myself… I would say that I am closest to an agnostic as well… that whole paragraph is like me exactly!
I think that the secret can be helpful and harmful.
here’s why…
those who take action and know the secret it helps.
those who think only and do not take action it hurts…
Ya feel me?
thanks for the great post!
DBK
Very good article. Very honest, heartfelt and truthful.
I am a bit iffy on the whole “power of attraction” thing. I admit that there is an element of truth to it, but as you so poigniantly called to our attention, the real results are achieved when those thoughts become actions that move us toward our goal.
There are some principals that are so universally true that they are taught in every major religion, be it Christianity, Hinduism, etc. Things such as, “you reap what you sow”, and “as a man thinks, so he becomes”. People who always focus on the negative, and spread negativity to those around them always seam to get it back multiplied. Likewise with people who have a positive outlook.
It stands to reason, then, that these same principals can be applied to other areas of our lives, such as achieving success in business or in relationships. I do not believe, however, that you can simply spend all your time thinking about something and have it manifested without being proactive in achieving it. If this were true, then all the band geeks in high school would have dated cheerleaders.
It all really comes down to focussing on what you want to accomplish, then taking the action to do it, one small step at a time.
All the net is full of law of attraction blogs, infos and the bookstores are full of LOA books. The system works for the writers of those books. They attract a lot of money
)
Great post Yaro! It was filled with valuable nuggets and I just want to thank you for sharing.
Jit
Change is a good but scary thing. A lot of the wisdom in the laws of attraction or the secret seems to me to be good ol’ common sense. There’s a lot of good in common sense.
The important part is that one must have an open mind and be receptive to change. Most peope resist change even if they don’t realize it; change requires study and effort. Change requires leaving your comfort zone and adapting to new ways of thinking. Change must lead you away from past unacceptable experiences or failures using your “desire to succeed” as a driving force. Visualizing what life would be like from making the change is an important part of this process. This keeps the desire in the mind’s eye and helps keep desire in an upper most position.
This is more an idividual perception than most experts proclaim. Each inividual is driven by their past experiences, environment, and beliefs; some are more likely to succeed than others. The individuals acceptance to change is probably proportional to their past successes. With success comes confidence in ones self; making it much easier to put forth the effort to apply learningand making change.
I see people that are not aware of the laws of the universe, they constantly break them and then suffer consequences, then complain and then they break them again…
Knowledge of universal laws highly benefited my life and I could not imaging living unconsciously like many people do.
Wow, awesome post! There is an old saying that states “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”…..Religion and the nature of “god” is a subject that most people have been programmed with a fear response from a very young age, and are quite frankly too scared to debate or ponder upon.
dear Yaro, Napolean Hill’s book (and life) was about Andrew Carnegie’s (the steel king, not to be confused with Dale Carnegie) principles to success. Carnergie’s “secret” had 2 parts to it. The first part “has not been directly named” and “is already in possession of those who are ready for it.” The second part is the “thirteen steps to riches” laid out in the book. These 2 parts make up the “carnegie secret” or the “carnegie formula” to success.
After Carnegie shared this secret formula with Hill he then asked him to spend the following 20 years or more “preparing [himself] to take it to the world.” He then “analyzed hundreds of well-known men…[including] Henry Ford, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller…” and stated that “[he has] never known anyone who was inspired to use the secret who did not achieve noteworthy success in his chosen calling.”
The point I wanted to make was that Think and Grow Rich is about the carnegie formula to success, as taught to Hill by Carnegie himself and subsequently studied for 20 years by Hill. “The Secret” loosely talked about today is a vague term which each person can – and does – interpret in their own way.
Wow a really strong article! Both of them. When I was first introduced to the secret I thought it was amazing! I think it is a good introduction to the laws of the universe but most people don’t understand that the secret is simply an introduction to how reality works. Religious types do not realize that most of the teachings of the religions is about how the basic laws of the universe work.
Jesus Christ was really the first new age guru if you come to the understanding that he was speaking figuratively. The people that don’t like the secret usually are ignorant of it because someone religious told them they should not view it. Or they believe it is only positive thinking mumbo jumbo and not realizing the depth of how it works.I am not religious, but I do read the bible because it gives me insight into how the ancients viewed our world and the laws of the universe. Jesus believed in the secret, read it.
i see your point, and i agree that there are many similarities. the difference though is that jesus was willing to be crucified in order to defend his ‘secret,’ and so were many of his apostles. for some reason i dont see oprah or bob proctor or any of the others doing the same.
when you you say “laws of the universe,” do you include the law of attraction? in science class i learned that one of the laws of the universe is that opposites attract, and from what i understand the law of attraction teaches “like attracts like”..?
Jesus was not crucified “defending his secret” he was crucified because he said he was the son of God and that we are gods in our right because we are connected to the same source as he. He was not attempting to keep that a secret.
At the risk of getting way off topic on the gist of the article I will answer your question about like attracts like and science saying opposites attract.
Both are correct. Everything in the universe is energy at the most base level. Everything in the universe vibrates. In order to create anything there has to be an opposite counter part for any charged particles, wave or people to come together and create anything. We tend to want to use the terms negative and positive however, it is more useful to understand them in the aspect of masculine and feminine. They are opposites. But it takes the masculine and feminine aspect to come together to create anything. That means from a thought to a child. It works on any level of creation.
That which you vibrate in harmony with is the masculine or feminine counterpart that will attract to you.
Yaro used the example of his platonic friend saying that they got together to complain about how life sucks. They were in harmony with how they thought. They got together and created a world that sucked for them selves. Yaro obviously changed his vibration/thoughts and created another world for himself. When he vibrated differently, the things that he harmonized with came into his existence. That is what he attracted. The masculine aspect sought out the feminine counter parts to create what he saw his world as being. Masculine and feminine attach for the purpose of creating. The counter parts, that you vibrate in harmony with is what attracts to you. Hope that helps.
(personal note: im not convinced that jesus was God, sent to earth to die for our sins. like you, i approach this topic with an open mind)
jesus was not crucified because he was defending his secret, nor was he keeping anything a secret (it was only a metaphor)
he was crucified because, in your own words, “he said he was the son of God.” To generalize, he was saying things (very powerful and controversial things) which many people did not believe that they could be true.
when he was then given a choice to:
a) be tortured and crucified
b) announce that he was not the son of god, or any other controversy
he chose the former
the question than follows – if oprah, bob proctor, etc were given a choice to either:
a) be tortured and/or killed
b) get on youtube and say “i no longer believe in the secret”
what do you think they would do? or, perhaps more important – since our opinions on what other people might do are only our opinions – what would YOU do?
Many people think that Jesus was a “guru” of some sort. Well, he was not. He certainly has no affinity with the new age teachings. The Secret and the teaching of the new age emphasize the “inner” power of the individual. Here is a fundamental difference with Jesus. He said that he did nothing of himself, but as the Father gave him. Over and over again you will see that he claim no power of himself, but attributed it all to the Father.
reginaldc – youre right, jesus was not crucified because he was defending his secret, nor was he keeping anything a secret (it was only a metaphor)
he was crucified because – as the bible says, which could be debated but it seems like you agree? – he was saying things (very powerful and controversial things) which many people did not believe that it could be true.
when he was then given a choice to:
a) be tortured and crucified
b) announce that he was not the son of god, or any other controversy
he chose the ladder.
the question than follows – if oprah, bob proctor, etc were given a choice to either:
a) be tortured and/or killed
b) get on youtube and say “i no longer believe in the secret”
what do you think they would do?
oops, jesus chose the former*
gustavo, new age teachings say something similar, but instead of ‘Father,’ ‘universe’ is used
Gustavo,
I don’t know how you would define guru. In the article “Courage to Seek Change”, Yaro defined a guru as this
That’s why gurus, in the true sense of the word, are gurus.The term, which comes from Hinduism, refers to a spiritual teacher. “Gu” means darkness, and “ru” means light; thus a guru turns ignorance into enlightenment.
if you used the definition in the has in his article then Jesus would be considered a guru. What most people do not understand is that Jesus spoke figuratively. See below
John 16:25, 25″Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”
When you take his words and teachings and decipher them as he meant you then get the universal context of the teachings of Christ. This is and example of his figurative way of speaking in the NIV Bible:
22″The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
If you look at what he is saying in these scriptures then it is simply the law of attraction stated another way. If you look for good you see good. If you look for evil you see evil. Like attracts like. Classic law of attraction.
The “Father” simply stands for or means, universal source.
I am not Christian, but I do understand the message Christ was attempting to convey.
In my ‘opinion’ Jesus was not a Guru;
he was mentor and teacher.
What he taught was to look into yourself.
The ‘inner power’ (that everyone has) comes
from ‘the Father’.
The Father, to me, is ‘the power (energy)’
that the universe consists of, which has
been ‘the creator’ of all things in existence.
Look unto the heavens…
the energy of Galaxies, the total ‘universe’,
which even the best of humans will never conquer
let alone, understand completely.
Regards,
Bob ‘the Crusader.’
Expose all lies, you will then
know the truth.
There is much mystical teaching in the Upper Room Discourse: I in them and Thou in me that we may be perfected in unity. This stuff is very poorly handled by evangelicals – read the commentaries on it – they are decidedly underwhelming.
Likewise ‘the secret’ (which I don’t believe) emphasises receptivity.
There are points of similarity.
The big difference between Jesus and the New Age teachings, as I understand them, is the valuing of the individual. Jesus’s teaching values individuality and difference and bodily experience, the New Age teaching devalues all these. The big worry with the New Age teachings I think is that they undercut compassion – why be compassionate to another if there suffering is just an illusion? This doesn’t mean that New Age people aren’t compassionate, just that their teaching doesn’t take account of all of their experience.
Yes, I believe that Jesus was crucified to keep
from teaching the secret (truth) to the masses.
The people that crucified him knew the
secret (truth). They maintain control of
the masses as yet, today.
Bob…
the crusader.
Cheers Yaro,
Followed you for awhile… superb article! In total alignment with my planned new business… LifePathNumbers.com. I now know that blogging must be part of my internet/product/speaking/workshop strategy to bring life to my mission/tagline…
“Your Roadmap to Conscious Living”.
I am copying your article over to my colleague Joanne Justis (www.NumbersRU.com). Her software/system/tools will power my new business. Thanks to you, I am more aware than ever of the need for what I do and why I must do it. No doubt, soon I need what you offer to rting my gifts and information to the world.
Warm regards,
Randy Hlavin… Your Numbers Guy! (maybe Guru!)
(925.895.5905)
Yaro- It is interesting to see so much focus on the Secret and Think and Grow Rich. Both of these actually take their ideas from the philosopher James Allen, who lived at the turn of the 20th century. He wrote a book called “As a Man Thinketh,” which is a short read but extremely powerful. You can also buy a compilation of his philosophies entitled, “As a Man Thinketh 2.” James Allen’s writings not only completely encompass everything that Napoleon Hill and the founders of the Secret write about but goes much deeper. If there was ever a guru on the subject of human empowerment it is James Allen.
As for your post, I have to say you did a smashing job. I have been following you for sometime and your posts lately have had a lot emotion in them (which makes them more real and enjoyable). Thank you and please keep up the great work. ~Paul W.