What Is The Secret and How Do I Use It?
The summer of 2007 my girlfriend Amy took me to her living room and said "You have to watch this." I had never heard of The Secret or The Law of Attraction before that moment. She told me that it would show me how to get the things I wanted from life and I became intrigued. At the time my love life consisted of one bad date after the next. I had bought a house big enough for a family, but I was the only one living in it. Financially, I lived paycheck to paycheck and had little leftover for travel and leisure.
The presenters explained The Secret through stories of personal success. Each story detailed the steps they took using the mind and intention to attract the situations they desired. Not only were there personal testimonies, but quotes from successful figures in history such as: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, and Martin Luther King Jr. were presented to show that they knew The Secret too. I began to ask myself, "Is it really true?" Sitting there I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept that I had created all the things I was unhappy about. Who in their right mind would create things they don't want?
Amy said she had been using some of the tricks in The Secret for years and they have worked for her. Trusting my friend I went home and took her advice to begin journaling. She said, "Write down the things you want in your life. Don't be greedy, of course, but write as if you already have that life." So, for a few days I did. I wrote about traveling to a tropical beach and learning to surf with the boyfriend I didn't currently have. In my journal I learned to sail and even started my own company. The journal was put away on a shelf and I went on with life.
When the next installation of fixing my life appeared I decided to create a vision board. I thought perhaps if I have a visual daily reminder of the things I should be thinking positively about maybe I'll be more successful. So I began going through magazines and cutting out pictures of things I wanted. I still had a hard time believing this would work, but when I was finished I hung my finished project on the wall in my bedroom. Occasionally I would stop to look at it. Later I would learn that I didn't use it correctly.
That summer I came across a business opportunity where I would sell wholesale travel packages. I could have started at the bottom, but I wanted to begin in the middle so that I could increase my earning potential. The trouble was that I would need at least $5,000 which I didn't have. Self-employed at the time I learned that it was nearly impossible to get a loan. Waiting one afternoon for a gentleman to call me back I thought I'd give The Secret another shot. As I sat there I closed my eyes and imagined I was holding a check for $5,000. Remembering what I was taught I knew it was more than just the mental image; I had to feel it. While I sat there feeling $5,000 richer the phone rang. When I picked up the phone the guy said, "Congratulations, we've approved you for a $10,000 loan." I couldn't believe it. This stuff might actually work.
The presenters in The Secret use the tool for little things such as parking spaces, cups of coffee, and even checks in the mail. So I began "feeling" the parking space I wanted before I went to the store. Most of the time it worked, when I remembered to do it. Then I thought I'd move on to something a little more significant such as a check in the mail. I would walk to the mailbox trying to feel the way I did when I received my loan. Many times I found junk mail offering a loan, in the form of a check. It was a check, maybe not the kind I was hoping for, but a check nonetheless. One day I opened the mailbox and there was an unexpected $600 check from the mortgage company.
As I began to understand how my mind and my feelings were creating the world around me I started to shift my focus. It was difficult at first because I had to catch the thoughts I didn't want and redirect them where I wanted them to go. Science has shown that neurons that fire together will connect. Whereas, if thoughts are interrupted, ie. you prevent the signal from being sent through the neurons, the neurons will break apart and form new connections.
Over the past 4 years I've shown The Secret to my classes and have occasionally watched it on my own. I still remember sitting on Amy's couch, completely clueless. Now when I watch The Secret I realize I am no longer the same person. Everything they say about using the power of intention and The Law of Attraction is absolutely true. I no longer live paycheck to paycheck and my house is now a home filled with family.
Remember the journal I first began to write in? I found it a year or so later. For my birthday that year my boyfriend took me to Hawaii. While we were there we won free surfing lessons. That summer I went to the lake with some friends, two of which owned a sailboat. As we were making our way back to shore there were 12 people on the boat. John, the owner, looked at me and asked, "Do you want to drive?" He didn't ask anyone else if they wanted to sail.
A few weeks ago I met Amy for coffee. She's been trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. So we tossed around a few ideas but her criteria makes it almost impossible. In the middle of our discussion she stopped and asked me, "What are you doing? You have gotten everything you've wanted lately." I said, "I've just been using what you taught me." It is easy to get lost in the drama of life. Keep your awareness and live from the feelings you truly desire and The Secret will unfold for you as well.
