Letters to the Editor
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We all know the real secret
Peter Birkenhead raises important questions about promotional self-help books like "The Secret," even though the tone of his article is far from neutral or reflective.
I have worked for more than 20 years in a field known as Health Realization/Innate Health, which expresses principles that explain how spiritual energy generates thoughts which create feelings, which results in our moment-to-moment state of mind, which colors our ever-changing perceptions of reality. So we do create our own reality and our reality is our own thought-created experience of life, not an assembly line of goods and services that we want to "get" or "spend". When my thinking is functional and constructive, I feel positive and hopeful, and I can more easily see with clarity and enthusiasm how to conduct my life. When my thinking is negative, I can allow it to pass without becoming frightened by it and know that my thoughts will change because thinking is a dynamic, spiritual process that guides us through life and the "default setting" is harmony and peace of mind.
The grain of truth is that people who understand that our experience is created from the inside out recognize their state of mind as a guide to how seriously to take their thinking. In a positive state of mind, it makes sense to act on our thinking; in a negative state of mind, it makes sense to leave our thinking alone and allow our minds to quiet -- or to seek help if our minds do not quiet. In any case, there is no doubt that people in a positive state of mind are more likely to be awake to what is possible and to recognize opportunity and to use their minds creatively and productively to do things that take them in the direction they want to go. The operative "secret" is that joy and creativity and gratitude bring about generosity and good will and an appreciation for the potential in all people. And there is no doubt that people who live primarily in that healthy and positive state of mind contribute to the well-being of all and bring out the best in themselves and other people. Not because they visualize it and "make it so", but because they are secure within themselves, and energized and innovative and engaged in life and all its challenges and able to find solutions to problems and transcend obstacles.
We don't have to buy a book to learn this. We all "know" it deep down inside. We are born understanding how to be happy no matter what. Look at little children; they don't give away their peace of mind to circumstances; they bounce back; they don't hang onto negativity; they are masters at creative problem-solving.