Letters to the Editor
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Has noone here taken any social psychology? - links
http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Power-Negative-Thinking-Defensive/dp/0465051391/ref=sr_1_1/105-3960722-6645234?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173286111&sr=8-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_biases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism
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Whoops
Sorry to the guy who was just kidding around with the 'sloowly' stuff. You were so convincingly condescending, I thought you were serious.
I had a "Bilious Screed" moment.
Perhaps that's good, because today I was thinking of the ways one might use "bilious screed."
The name of a rock band.
The sound of a fingernail on a chalkboard.
That feeling your stomach gets when you've drunk too much coffee. And what happens after that.
The sound of egos expanding and believing that they can get themselves a million dollars by thinking about it with their minds.
Yes. It all works for me.
I would say that this particular philosophy, while some serious snake oil, would cause no one harm, excepts the foolish ones who believe in it and spend money on it, if it weren't for the implicit stuff about how we 'make' ourselves sick--how some people thinking negatively can cause themselves to be sexually and physically abused as children ... That stuff is not enlightening. THAT is disgusting. It implies no responsibility for others is necessary. It implies that those who are rich are positive enlightened people, when, in fact, I'm certain there are rich people who are unenlightened pricks. It implies that, if you're a rich politician, you are automatically spiritually ahead of the game. Er, are you kidding? No offense to the good politicians out there, but come on!
So, now, finally, I really am going to stop posting. But, you know, ick, people. Get a grip. What did they say in the Princess Bride?
"Life is pain... Anybody who says differently is selling something."
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Woo-hoo!
Here come the rational empiricists!
Thanks Swellsley, Tim Lukeman, Anna, haggismold, L Reeve, a.d., Howard K., S.F., etc...
So long as the voices of sanity speak so eloquently, I know all is not lost.
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Glad to be of service Emily
In the last two months I've actually LOST FRIENDS to this wretched pap, because I was being toooooo negative in thinking critically and using my education.....
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Whoops one more thing ...
Oh hell. After I read the letters ... one more thing.
Actually, you can find the Bible online for free.
So, it's free. Or, if you stay in a hotel overnight, you can keep it. The Gideon people like that.
Just a small factual note about that.
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I've lost friends to this nonsense too!
Apparently, for all the Secret's fan's appeals to tolerance, part of sipping this particular Kool Aid means ditching any of your friends who don't.
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My pleasure, Emily
I've seen people tearing themselves up with this nonsense for many years, under its various names, and it's painful to see.
I honestly think that many people go for such beliefs because the world is indeed too painful at times, because the apparent injustice & unfairness of life is too threatening to bear. And I can empathize with that feeling -- while my temperament is innately optimistic, I've seen enough suffering to wrestle with the big existential questions. I wish there WAS some sort of reasonable, acceptable explanation, something that ultimately balances the scales for everyone, something that makes sense of the senseless. I really do.
But there doesn't seem to be one.
All I know for sure is that we're born, we exist, the universe exists, and that eventually we die. In the time we have, there's both injustice & justice, sorrow & joy, horrors & wonders. We can only do our best to increase the positive & decrease the negative -- but much of that is out of our hands. We might wish it otherwise, but wishing won't make it so.
Funny thing is, I'm not sitting around brooding & stewing in despair. And I don't think most of the posters out there are doing that either. We're living our lives, partaking of joy, dealing with suffering, doing what we can to help others, and striving to find or make personal meaning, to become whole human beings -- grown-up human beings.
That seems a worthy path to me ...
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Ditto to Emily
I am so relieved that there people out there, such as yourself, who knows that life is full of the pain and suffering of others - who, by the way, did NOT bring any of it on themselves.
I cannot believe the selfishness of this Secret rubbish, nor can I believe (- and am quite disturbed about it actually)that so many are embracing this self-righteous and self-serving drivel.
If there is one thing that I have learned in life, things such as these tend to fall flat on their face after a while. Let me see. Let's look into my crystal ball, shall I? Ooh yes. Thousands of believers...yes...I am visualing the headlines now...here it comes..."Authors of The Secret Found To Be Money-Making Scam. Believers Devastated." - hmmm. I wonder if that will come true? After all, I just visualised it, didn't I? ;-)
Incidentally, if you are looking for a discussion group about this subject, just click on my name. So far, I am the only woman (and the owner) and it would be great to see more women like yourself who are not hanging on every word that drips from Oprah's billion-dollar gob.
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I just don't get it
I just don't understand what the hoopla is about. It's a Book Club, for God's sake. There is such a thing as free will. If people choose to rely on Oprah Winfrey to select their reading material, then I suppose they are getting what they deserve. I am not among those teeming masses who watch Oprah and subscribe to her Book Club. Nor do I choose to read a book merely because it is on the New York Times (or anyone else's) bestseller list. I possess my own distinctive style, have particular tastes, and have developed my own likes and dislikes - not in a vacuum, of course, but without the help of Oprah, bless her soul. As for uplifting reading, there are many books out there that qualify, and which do not rely on TV hawks -- "Think and Grow Rich"; "The Power of Positive Thinking"; and others. But then, if people truly thought for themselves, the world would probably not be in the mess that it's in today. I can only hope.