This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a long time now. Last month, I attended a gathering at an aunts place which was based on discussing the book called “The Secret” – it’s quite a popular book based on *the law of attraction*- it talks about how you can achieve whatever it is you desire in life just by positive thinking. A lot of people have been intrigued by the concept of being bale to just imagine what they want, sending out positive vibes and the universe aligning itself to make it happen. However, having been not-so-successful, my aunt asked an esteemed guest to come give a talk on the subject, and to demonstrate her tips n tricks for making “The Secret” work for her, and “The Passion Test” (The effortless path to discovering your destiny) was used as a tool for demonstration. The passion test helps you to uncover what your REAL passion is – not what you think it is, but what is the hidden passion is INSIDE, that you are afraid to confront- and once you know your passion, you can use law of attraction to make it happen for you.
What we learned are some key tactics:
1. Visualise:
Visualising what you want is essential, because it helps you not be intimidated by your fear.
eg- Visualising yourself answering all the questions in an examination correctly. – If you simply remove the fear of failiure from your mind, you stop negativity from blocking what you want. Achieving things becomes easier
2. What your mind can conceive, you can achieve:
If there is ANYTHING you want, you can achieve it. Spend quality time with yourself, relaxing in a dimly lit room , letting your mind envision what it is you desire most, and attract positive thoughts towards yourself. Remove the words “can’t“, “won’t” and “failiure” from your mind.
Janet and Chris Ackwood translated the principles of The Secret into the form of mission statements, that help you recognize the TRUE passions in your life.
Eg, your mission statement is
i. “I want to complete my degree“.
What is missing from the picture? The time frame! so your statement becomes
ii. “I want to complete my degree within [add time frame]”
What else can we add to this statement? how about how we want it to end?
iii. I want to complete my degree within [time frame] with a great score [add figure]
How about the amount of effort we want to put it?
iv. I want to complete my degree within [time frame] with a great score [add figure] EFFORTLESSLY!
Does this not make a more comprehensive mission statement?! by adding facts and figures, you make it more real,hence more conceivable. If you fear failure, be it in the form of getting bored, not having the energy to pursue the venture, or feeling too overwhelmed – remove those fears by having faith in yourself, and feel grateful that YOU are in charge of your own desicions – listen to your statements. Do a lot of them start with “I” ? You are incharge of your decisions, and you are lucky not to be inhibited by anyone one else, who may be in a position of authority that supercedes you, or puts constraints on you.
Having set these aims for yourself, aka “MARKERS” (according to the passion test), you must tell yourself that you will be satisfied with yourself at every level of achievement and acknowledge your efforts and success.
Another great tip for making your day happen exactly as you plan or anticipate is by writing it down. Sit wit a paper and pen and write down exactly what you are going to do in your day, and write down your emotions according to each event – ANTICIPATE those emotions as the event time draws near – that way you acknowledge them and know how to deal with them skillfully, being more mentally prepared. It also helps one maintain control, and be happy at the end of the day.
The point of this exercise is – to tell God , “Thank you for giving me life, this is what I want to do with it, and I need your help, guidance, and light to achieve my goals”. Did I mention that FAITH is the most important principle? Faith in Allah is imperative. One needs to place their faith with a creator who is above us in spirit, wisdom, holiness – our maker.
We have been blessed with free will, and the power to execute it – all we have to do is tell Him what we want, and Allah will make it happen – but Belief and Faith must be ABSOLUTE.
To conclude, some important points to remember are:
1. Feel Gratitude:
By feeling gratitude, or making it a point to be thankful for 5 good things in our lives every day, it helps us not only be happier people, but also fix our problems – because they seem less intimidating and overwhelming.
2. Keep your statements simple:
By keeping your statements uncomplicated and simple, keeping the objective in mind becomes easier.
3. Be careful how you phrase your statements:
We often , without realising, place barriers in our paths with our words or negative thoughts. Keep it short, simple, and start with “I”. Be the decision maker.
I hope this post inspires more people to read the book, and become less skeptical of the concept like I was. Now, finding a parking spot when pulling into one of the local crowded malls is so much easier 🙂
The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.
Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts†who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!†All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.
The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act… this is the definition of a cult.
The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness†is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.
Please, let’s all work together to stop the flock of “sheepeople” who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life’s challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!
This sounds very much like NLP, which is something profoundly useful in my experience and a fascinating subject in its own right. I remember once going to a business networking event and telling myself I’d come away with a new client if I pulled out all the NLP stops. Inevitably, I did!
john – it appears u have had a few bad experiences with self help.. 🙂
While i will not contest your opinion on the mattr, allow me to point out ot u that the secret does not tell u how to think – neither does the passion test. it just helps you to become more goal oriented, and gives u more conviction to achieve things you want. And the basic concept revolves around faith – dont be a skeptic – whats the harm in putting your heart into something and hoping it iwll work out .
welshwillow – im glad you enjoyed it, and that you have learnt how to make the concept work for you
well done! 🙂
The Secret movie was an awesome example of how the law of attraction can summon the universal powers to manifest people situations and material things into your life.
All of the presenters had compelling stories that described in detail how their lives changed once they applied the secret principals.
I watched the movie several times only to discover the secret was never revealed nor did they explain how to actually make the law of attraction work in your favor.
I searched for a year and finally discovered exactly how the secret law of attraction works.
Anybody can put the principals to work for them and change their life dramatically in a short period of time.
It’s true, they are laws and they work all the time but its your choice to make them work for you and not against you.
What a great blog entry. Congrats Batul!
thank you TUD 😀