What's The Secret?

Yes, I'm okay!

It has been five months since I published my last “monthly” newsletter, and a number of my subscribers have emailed to ask if I am okay.  I really appreciate your concern and am happy to report that I am doing very well.  I simply chose to take a break from my monthly publishing schedule to spend more time on an exciting business opportunity that required me to shift my focus a bit.  One of the benefits of being my own boss is that I can make these kinds of decisions without asking permission to do so.

Exactly a year ago I took my first month off from writing my monthly articles.  I've learned that when I feel like I "should" rather than feeling like I "choose to" write an article, that causes me to examine my self-talk to see if it supports or stands in the way of what makes my heart sing. 

Self-talk ties in with the topic I am inspired to write about this month…with a different twist.  This month’s topic is about the famed book and documentary called The Secret.

What is The Secret?

Simply put, The Secret is also known as the Law of Attraction.  The Law of Attraction is a universal law:  whatever is going on in your mind (thoughts and feelings) is what you attract more of into your life.  We are like magnets – like attracts like.  Whatever we give thought and energy to, we attract more of it.

This sums up how the Law of Attraction works:

Words produce Thoughts.
   Thoughts produce Feelings.
     Feelings produce Decisions.
       Decisions produce Actions.
         Actions produce Habits.
           Habits produce Character.
             Character produces your Destiny.

Although the documentary came out a year ago and was instantly popular among coaches, it hit the mainstream when it was featured on Oprah in February of this year, and a week later she aired a second show to share people's reaction to her previous show.  In a very short time, it has become a best-seller and topic of discussion throughout the western world. (Click here to view Oprah's The Reaction to The Secret, aired on 2/16/07.)

The Secret was born out of Australian author Rhonda Byrne’s own personal despair and her search for answers. During her search, the author got a glimpse of a great secret while reading a book titled The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles (a book written in 1910 and no longer in print – click on the link above to read an authorized public copy in PDF format).  She began tracing the secret back though history by reading other books and talking to others.  She was amazed to learn how many people throughout history knew about the secret – Plato, Churchill, Einstein, Carnegie, Buddha and Beethoven – to name a few.

The Secret was written to appeal to a wide group of people with varying spiritual backgrounds and beliefs.  As a result, it does not embrace the terminology of any particular religion. Some interpret the lack of specific references to their own religion as a negative and find it difficult to embrace the underlying message of the documentary. Others simply reframe the terminology and look for points of agreement between the message and their own spiritual beliefs.

Some critics of The Secret are concerned that viewers will take the documentary too literally and will decline needed medical care or therapy.  The documentary suggests that we “ask, believe, and receive.”  Jack Canfield, one of the presenters in the documentary, points out that it is also just as important to take specific action in alignment with our intents and desires.

An "I AM" statement can hold a negative charge!

For the past several months I have felt overwhelmed.  The more I was aware of feeling overwhelmed, the stronger the feeling got, to the point that I was consumed by my own sense of overwhelm. About a month ago during a conversation with a friend, I caught myself saying “I am overwhelmed.”  I realized it was time to write a new I AM statement to replace the one that was keeping me stuck in overwhelm. 

Here’s the new statement I created:  “I have all the time I need to do what’s most important to me.”  When I catch myself beginning to feel overwhelmed, I repeat this I AM statement.  What a difference this shift has made in how I feel. 

Just after writing my new I AM statement, I looked up at a “daily thought” desk calendar that a friend gave me.  I was behind by several days, so I started ripping the pages off and reading the daily thoughts.  Here are a couple that really spoke to me:

“You may indeed be a very busy person, but remember that filling your head with thoughts of how overwhelmed you are only exacerbates the problem by making you feel even more stressed than you already do.”

“The first step in becoming a more peaceful person is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases, you’re creating your own emergencies.”

You will get what you focus on consistently, even if you focus on NOT getting it.  For example, don't think about pink elephants with polkadots.  (As you read that, I'll bet you were imagining a pink elephant with polkadots.)  Most people focus on what they don’t want and wonder why they keep getting more of it!

The positive power of an "I AM" statement

I have created a whole page of personal “I AM” statements that I read daily.  Here’s one of them:  I am singing my heart out and am expressing myself in ways that deeply connect with my soul and with others.  I am making a positive difference by sharing through song.

Although I wrote this a year ago, I had not done much singing over the past year.  Why?  I think it's because I had a competing "I AM" statement that informed me I did not have the time…that I was too busy with all the other good things in my life.  So singing remained on the back burner.

In February I attended a monthly networking event that always holds a drawing for several door prizes.  There was only one prize being given away that I really wanted – tickets to an upcoming production put on by a local theatre company offering three productions I want to attend: Tuesdays with Morrie, The Hiding Place, and The Sound of Music.  My name was drawn for two free tickets to the production of my choice.

In March I attended the same monthly networking event, and two more tickets were being given away by the same theatre company.  Although I had won the drawing the previous month, I still wanted more tickets.  After all, there were three plays I wanted to see, and I only had tickets to one of them.  From the 40 or so business cards in the hat, mine was once again drawn for the tickets.

After the drawing I spoke with Raelissa, an old friend whom I had not seen in 10 years.  We got caught up on what was going on in each other’s lives.  Raelissa was following her heart and was doing a weekend volunteer activity that she was passionate about.  Although it meant she had a very full life (she runs her own business during the week), she said she was having the time of her life.  I mentioned that when things settled down with my thriving business, I wanted to bring music back into my life. 

Raelissa knew that I had majored in music in college and that singing in stage performances was a significant part of my past.  About 10 years ago she had heard me sing the National Anthem at a Seattle Mariners game.  Raelissa asked why I wasn't doing more with music in my life right now.  I explained that now was not the time to add one more thing to my already full plate.  As I was giving her all the excuses as to why I could not get involved now, I was reminded of another daily thought from my calendar… ”When someone asks you how you are, don’t emphasize how busy you are.  You’re an interesting person with many other qualities besides busyness.”  In the back of my mind, I thought, "What happened to that interesting person who used to sing?"

Later on I was visiting with someone else.  Raelissa sought me out of the crowd and literally pulled me away from my conversation with someone else and dragged me across the room, insisting that I needed to meet someone right away.  She introduced me to Randy, the person who had donated the tickets.  She said, “This girl can sing, and she needs to audition for The Sound of Music!” 

I was reminded of yet another daily thought from my calendar…”Your time and energy are among your most precious and important assets.  It’s extremely important to make wise and well-thought-out choices about who you spend your time with.”

Long story short, after being away from performing in stage productions for 22 years (something I did a lot before our daughter was born), I recently auditioned for The Sound of Music.  Last week I was invited to callback auditions, where I sang my heart out. I just learned that I will be a member of the production cast for The Sound of Music -- an all-time favorite musical from my childhood years.  It feels wonderful to have music back in my life.  Rehearsals begin this week!  (Click here to hear a couple recorded songs.)

Now I have the means to participate in all three of the productions -- two as a member of the audience and one as a member of the cast.  For two of the plays I simply asked, believed, and received.  To participate in the third production, it took more than asking and believing ... I had to show up and audition!

“You create your own universe as you go along.”
--Winston Churchill

Synchronicity is often labeled by some as luck or coincidence. When you get focused on a specific intent, you will find that help often mysteriously shows up in various forms. You may decide to do, be, or have a certain thing and within a short time a person, resource or experience will suddenly show up out of nowhere and help you get what you want -- like my friend Raelissa, whom I had not seen in 10 years.. She dragged me across the room and insisted that I needed to audition, and this took place the week before auditions were to be held for a favorite musical that has deep meaning to me.

How does the Law of Attraction work?

The Law of Attraction states that you are attracting what is coming into your life -- including things that you perceive as good and things that you perceive as bad --with your thoughts and emotions. For example, you can say you want to get out of debt.  However, if you continue to think about debt and focus on your debt, you will simply attract more debt. 

“All that we are is a result of what we have thought.”
-Buddha

Here’s the process that engages the Law of Attraction:

• Decide what you want.
• Believe you can have it and you deserve it.
• Visualize already having what you want.  Think in the present tense, as if you already have it.  (The “I AM” statements help with this.) 
• Experience the feeling of actually having what you want.  Start by using this sentence:  “I am so happy and grateful now that…”
• Focus on being grateful for what you already have.  Enjoy those feelings for a moment. You can begin feeling whatever you want – even if it is not there.  Your circumstances will correspond to the nature of your song.
• Then go into your day and release your attachment to it.  Don’t worry about how it will happen.  Simply trust that it will happen.  The how will become known to you as you go.

So often we get stuck in the “how.”  If I had focused on how I would find time to bring music back into my life, I doubt it would have happened.  I would never FIND the time, but I will certainly MAKE the time to be in the cast for The Sound of Music!  Rather than focusing on how, I allowed for this possibility by following the process above. 

• I decided I wanted to bring music back into my life.
• I believe I can have it and I deserve it.
• I have visualized this for the past year by reviewing my I AM message:  I am singing my heart out and am expressing myself in ways that deeply connect with my soul and with others.  I am making a positive difference by sharing through song.
• I focus on how grateful I am to “own” my own time. (Our daughter is now in college. I make the rules for my own business.)  “I am so happy and grateful now that I have the time to bring music back into my life.”
• I let go of the attachment to how I would do this, and various circumstances led up to me auditioning for my favorite musical.

Another daily thought from my calendar comes to mind…"If you wake up in the morning with gratitude on your mind, it’s almost impossible to feel anything but peaceful."

The gratitude, enthusiasm and present-tense thinking sets everything in motion. The key is getting your thoughts, feelings and actions in alignment with what you want to attract. So choose your thoughts carefully.  You are the architect of your life.

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of

life’s coming attractions.”
-Albert Einstein