Apr
The Secret Remixed: What About God?
During Oprah After the Show with The Secret’s James Ray and Michael Beckwith, one of the audience members asked if we have the power to create whatever we want, the power to heal ourselves, and become wealthy, then what about God? The answers provided weren’t very clear. In part because everyone’s concept of God is different.
Dualistic Idea of God
Most Christians believe that God created the world and everything in it. However, they also believe in the fall of man - that one day we became separate from God. They believe that Jesus was sent as God’s only begotten son to save man from his sins. Furthermore, in America today, I dare say that Jesus is God. One is synonymous with the other.
The audience member that asked the question seemed to believe in the idea that God is separate from man. In this case, the Law of Attraction is seen in the hard sense of cause and effect. The audience member wanted to see the clear line between the thought and the manifestation, but as I explained in the previous article, How Does The Law Of Attraction Work?, the line is not always clear.
To her, my response would be that God still creates everything, but you determine how you approach life. By shifting her reactions to life she could change her perspective and things appear to be different. Just doing this would put her in a more powerful place than thinking that life is just happening to her and she has to endure her lot in it.
You may not believe that you create your life, but you can believe that your attitude affects your outlook on life.
Non-dualistic Idea of God
In most eastern religions, God is the essence of Life. Everything is God, and God is everything. Man is separated from his God-liness by his ego. This could be easily remedied if man realized that he is separated by his ego and moves it out of the way so that there is no separation. If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you may have seen me explain it as a lens.
In this paradigm it is more clear how you create your world through your thoughts as the Law of Attraction posits. Your thoughts are the lens that determine how the invisible is manifested in the visible. Change the tint of the lens from negative to positive and you have positive experiences.
Keep in mind though, that the ultimate in eastern religions is to remove the lens completely.
In Between
What happens if you don’t believe that you are completely separate from God, but you don’t believe that you are God? Closer to the dualistic side, you might believe that God is the supreme being, but you still have the free will. Closer to the non-dualistic side, you might believe that your life is created by your choices, but directed by an over-arching fate.
The degree to which you believe your thoughts influence your life depends on your idea of God. Only you can make that determination. However, the Law of Attraction is more about acknowledging that you are responsible for your life, that it isn’t just happening to you. To some degree you create the experiences that you are having. At the very least, you determine how you perceive the experiences you are having.
Consider this:
- How does God fit into the Law of Attraction for you?
- If God created you in His image and likeness, aren’t you a creator too?
- Have you ever experienced a situation differently by changing your attitude towards it?
- What would it be like if there were NO lens?
In Spirit,
Nneka
April 7th, 2007 at 3:57 am
Nneka - this is great - you provided a beautiful spectrum that accommodates and supports the different lenses. This is really helpful for me in my work with clients. I can adjust how I spEak to this depending where they are on the belief spectrum. thanks!
April 8th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Hi Dave, do you discuss your clients religious beliefs with them as part of your evaluation? Just curious on how you would determine where they are in their belief spectrum.
In Spirit,
Nneka
April 8th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Great post, Nneka.
You’re right, there isn’t much mention of God in The Secret, or in the publicity surrounding it. It’s almost as if they don’t want to offend anyone.
I’ve been to Dr. Beckwith’s church where he talks about God freely, but it’s not the same on Oprah.
I think that part of the reason is exactly what you described. People have different views of God and presenting one view might alienate some and miss the point.
April 8th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
He’s a minister, I’m sure he talks about God all the time. In fact, he started to answer the question, but his idea of God is more on the non-dualistic side, and the lady that asked the question seemed to be more on the other end of the spectrum.
He tried to explain that God was all of it, but she kept pressing and James Ray stepped in. I don’t really expect that the difficult questions can be addressed in a forum like Oprah or Larry King. However, by the same token I think it’s a bit irresponsible to put this information out there without any context or support network. I hope that they are training people to answer questions like these in a small group environment.
In Spirit,
Nneka
April 11th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Not directly - but I am evaluating the lenses through which they see the world. What they see will dictate their actions. So I am assessing several lines of development, the spiritual being one of them
April 17th, 2007 at 2:53 am
For all the positives about “The Secret,” and the honing in on how our words and thoughts help create our reality, the continued lack of acknowlegement of the blessings of God (not the Universe) amongst many of the Secret teachers just doesn’t compute for me. Except for Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale and one or two others, you have a group of people who were pretty much unknowns, who even with the success of “The Secret” fail to give the honor the God (at least publicly) for their “Secret” success. In an age where a town wanted to ban the Easter Bunny no less for so-called political correctness (they didn’t want t offend anyone), we NEED God in our society and we NEED to speak to God. I won’t even get into the Virginia Tech shootings. People are hurting and they need the authority to God to rule their lives, not the impersonal, amorphous, and spiritless Universe. Let’s get some Holy Ghost going!
June 15th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[...] (For more on these ideas, go here, here, here, or especially here.) [...]
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I believe in God. I believe that when we are in the spiritual world, we are learning to create things, like trees, rocks, etc… I think we create these things in the spiritual world with our soul’s mind. Our soul travels from spiritual world to human existence. God still oversees us, but we are learning new things, like controlling the universe he created to create new things. Building and creating is a positive thing. I believe we can create whatever we want because of the training we have in the spiritual world. We are carrying it over to the human existence we all have. It is all a part of God’s lessons for us. We have to learn something each life time. As we become more advanced, the creation of our minds becomes easier. Younger souls may have to work harder to achieve the Secret. Whereas, well practiced souls may come by it easier. Nothing is impossible. It is how it is perceived by the individual. How clear can the mind get to achieve what it is you want to happen. God wants us to use the universe to create, I think. The Secret said that giving is an important part of receiving. I have heard this all of my life. You must be willing to give to be able to receive. I believe. I have never written anything on a site before, but I feel very strongly about our union with God and the universe in which we live.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hi all,
I am a Christian and I would like to know how I should bring together “The Secret” and my religion? I mean, did God create “The Secret?” Did he tell people, thousands or millions of years ago, how to use “The Secret” ? I am really confused and would really appreciate it if someone could mybe give their opinion on the matter. How should a Christian understand it?
April 18th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Hi I am Christian as well, and God has created everything…. that means every thing, past, future, big things, small things, and just things, along with thoughts, actions, abilities and everything else. People learn from sins, and we are all sinners by nature there is nothing we will ever be able to do about it, except acknowledge the sin and ask for forgiveness. Everyday we need to reset, and start a new day. What may be evil or a sin, may turn into salvation and God’s grace. If it’s one thing I have learned, it’s that where ever there may be greatness, the enemy is lurking. That is when fear starts to set in which is not of the Holy Spirit…. that is when we have the opportunity to step out in our faith and trust God with the outcome. If we want to be victorious, then we need to fight the daily battles. Sorry, I don’t know where I was going with this, but I am also questioning the book ” the secret” because God has created everything, and from what I hear the book takes all the credit from our creator and controller. However, if you trust God with your life, and are seeking Him daily, then it will not matter what you do or read, and if God has given you understanding then I think the book “the secret” may be a tool God uses to give you an understanding of how He works. It will be your trust in God and faith that will lead you to the truth, whether that comes from a bible or a book, it is still coming from God.
I think if you have a solid spiritual foundation and know who really is in control, ” the secret” may reveal some of the divine logic that is in the bible, but in more of a “modern” translation. (Where eventually people will be getting their spiritual fix with life coaching books instead of good’ol faith). I may try to read this book, and if I do, I will pray to God each time I open it up to reveal His message and to give me guidance and discernment. I have never wrote on any message board before, and more then likely no one will read this, but oh well… May God give you understanding and wisdom, and we ask in Jesus’ powerful name. Amen.
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 am
i think The secret could be part of religion , when u ask for something from the universe ur asking god .Everything in the secret really works with religion honestly.
January 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
i would really like to hear your oppinions
April 11th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I am still wrapping my mind around the concepts presented in “The Secret”. I have a firm belief in God. I know he exists and is the only god of this earth. There are no other Gods. He is the sole provider of everything. When I first listened to The Secret I was mad that they would dare try to replace God with another provider. I drive 1.5hrs each day to and from work and have listened to The Secret every week-day for the past month. I am looking at it differently now. My understanding is this.
The universe is everything provided by God. How WE(meaning our spirits combined with our bodies) interact with everything depends on how our personal combined energies are aligned. Our bodies are energy, our spirits are perfected energy. The two need to work together and they can work together more efficiently if their energies are in alignment with each other. When we align those energies towards a specific goal, we become magnetized or aligned and begin to attract what we are focused on. We need to communicate with God and figure out with him what is best for us to be focused on. When we include God in the Law of Attraction process, we will be successful in attracting into our lives what God feels is right for us.
In other words, the Universe is not a God that provides. Nor is it a Genie. Don’t think of there being any other provider than God. Instead, think of energy. How we align our energies will determine what we attract. As a man thinketh, so shall he be. Where we choose to focus our energy is what we will bring into our lives. God gave us free agency for a reason. So that we can choose how to align our energies. By aligning our energies towards that which God is in favor of, we become co-creators with God and work with him and not against him.
In “The Secret” when they refer to us asking a Genie or the Universe for what we want, we are really talking to our inner selves and the energies that comprise us. We are asking those energies to align themselves to a frequency that will attract what we desire. God is responsible for helping us to achieve that which we desire if we just ask. And if what we ask for is what God thinks is right for us, he will bless us with what we desire. When we are focused and God is blessing us we receive.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:01 am
I honestly don’t see how most of the people here are having
such a difficult time trying to correlate The Secret with God. Have many
times you have heard “Live by faith and not by sight”, “Live by the word
of God and not by your own understanding” Did you know that
“BELIEVING DETERMINES WHO YOU ARE”, “IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE INVISIBLE,
YOU CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE”—For those that are still confused
“The Secret” which is called the “The Law of Attraction” In God’s word
is “BELIEVE” If you don’t believe it wont happen. DO you believe that
if you die today , you would go to heaven? Do you believe the God die
in the cross to pay for all your sins? Do you believe you are going to be
successful? One thing we all have to remember, is that when you BELIEVE
YOU ARE A KING OR A QUEEN, YOU ARE GOING TO BE TREATED LIKE A QUEEN OR
A KING. Now don’t get confused, this does not mean you don’t have to
go through trial and tribulations, because you are going to have
to go though it. But as long as you Believe, you wont even noticed the
trial you went through to get there. Also remember, God knows when
is the right time for you to know “THE SECRET” of the
“LAW OF ATTRACTION” that in God’s word is “THE POWER OF FAITH”,
THE POWER OF BELIEVING.
November 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 am
what is the differents betwen God and the secret.
do you not thank they work to gathe.
sorry but i do not under stand why both God and the secret work can you tell me the differents so i can under stand them better.
March 1st, 2010 at 12:23 pm
[...] (For more on these ideas, go here, here, here, or especially here.) [...]