There are two camps developing throughout the world. One dwells upon how bad everything is: we are all in trouble; the economy is crashing; after Global Warming we won’t have enough food and water (or too much water); the spiraling war in Iraq; and a whole platter of other problems that continue to get worse. The second camp is growing rapidly, a movement of forward thinkers bringing awareness to the fact that our thoughts and feelings are creating our reality. Authors like Dr. Wayne Dyer, Rhonda Byrne, and Gary Renard and publications such as the Bible and A Course In Miracles all tell us that we create our world by our thoughts…
Baby-boomers like myself watch the news and are astonished at the daily accumulation of world mayhem. Christians whisper of the “End Times”. Moslems speak of a jihad. Newscasters tell us it is worse today than just yesterday.
Yet, if we dwell on world problems, instead of solutions, we will find more problems. If we dwell on bad government, we will find only more bad government. The “Forward Thinkers” know this and are in the process of informing the public of the power held dormant within, that can be released with our thoughts.
Quantum Physicists tell us that energy doesn’t become matter until it is perceived by us.
Earl Nightingale taught us that “We Become What We Think About.”
A number one best seller, The Secret, teaches, “Thoughts Become Things.” The DVD, book and CD set is spreading worldwide the message that, yes, you are creating your reality with your thoughts and perceptions.
The greatest philosophies and religions say that we were made in the image of the great Creator. Teachings by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer say the same thing. Bible Scripture agrees.
This growing second camp of “Forward Thinkers” focuses on the positive. Solutions are foremost in their thoughts. They sift the bad news and concentrate on fixing the problems.
The big question is: Will the second camp grow fast enough to offset the first camp within the next 20 years, a critical time in which to offset the growth rate of the problems.
How can you join the second camp of Forward Thinkers?
How do you become part of saving the world? It involves changing some old habits. Don’t watch the bad news on TV. Shy away from anything negative and replace it with something positive. Your thoughts have amazing power. If you wish to get involved in one of the many issues, concentrate on solutions without attacking who or what you perceive to be wrong.
Get up in the morning and think, this is going to be a great day, and it will. Focus on goodness. Einstein’s much quoted question was “Do you consider the universe friendly or hostile? Think of it as friendly and it will be.” Think of it as hostile and the bad news will continue.
Watch The Secret. Read Wayne Dyers last four books. Visit goodnewsnetwork.org daily for some positive uplifting news.
Seek out other Forward Thinkers. Two minds are better than one. Hundreds or thousands of positive thinkers, joined together, are a force to be reckoned with.
Most importantly, use the techniques taught in “The Secret” and in the books of Dr. Wayne Dyer, like Manifest Your Destiny
If we join the Forward Thinkers we take one step closer to Enlightenment, apparently just in time to save ourselves.
Discover The Secret that transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it — Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, (Buy It On DVD)
Disappearance of the Universe
John Hayes owns an alternative energy company in the mountains of North Central Idaho. His intentions include promoting solutions to catastrophic climate change. He lives with his wife and two dogs and was delighted to find Good News Network.
I, personally, don’t recommend “The Secret.” It only touches on the law of attraction, and doesn’t go deep enough into it. It also focuses on material gain, and there is so much more to it than that. I would recommend books by Dr. Dyer, Caroline Myss, Collette Baron-Ried, or many of the other fine authors on HayHouse.com as a good place to start, but don’t waste your money on “The Secret,” a glitzy, superficial look at one of the many deeply profound universal laws.
There are no secrets. If there is wisdom, it is to know that freedom and happiness arise in a mind which isn’t wanting anything. Naturally, one works towards fulfilling one’s needs, but that in itself is not an end result at all: There will always be another attractive point. Learn to find your own desireless abiding in the moment as yourself and offer doing so for everyone’s benefit.
FOR THE BEGINNER, The Secret DVD is a GREAT place to start.
If you are going to read a book about the law of attraction, there is no better teacher than the Abraham-Hicks material, which is featured in the Secret.
Don’t forget that if one is a beginner, superficial and material is a good place to start because most people are motivated in that area, and that’s the place they’ve been …
I am a defender of the Secret on the positive psychology today website where many people really hate it (and I don’t use the word lightly). I believe they are doing exactly what the law of attraction would suggest you do to get more of what you don’t want: Focus On What You Don’t Like…. There is plenty of material in the DVD that is righteous, and yet they only want to focus on the part about the necklace which appears around her neck, and such…
For me, there is nothing wrong with having desires. (It provides the joy for me!) The key is to focus on the positive in everything and all people (again, that’s just my way).
Perhaps appealing to a part of us which has to go if we wish to be happy, isn’t a smart place to start? Perhaps the thing to want is in a different order of things, such as a united humanity? Want, materially, no more than you need?
I stopped taking in bad news years ago. I am delighted at the good news here and anywhere, crying often from joy. I began practicing continuous joy not long ago, an interesting exercise in grasping muddy clay from thin air to mold porcelain china. Not to be dismissed for lessons learned. But then I hit rock bottom in material ways and “let go and let god”. How I could feel so much core joy, bubbling clear to the surface, at such a low point is incredible. I’d never experienced joy any longer than Christmas morning up until this year. I’m trying to boil this all down to my strong support and belief in a two-fold path of living (with an aim to bring balance to this earth):
1. The Universe is my True North 2. My deepest heart’s desires are my compass.
The more anyone can show anyone else more tangibles of any sorts from their positive experiences is my modern day hero, it makes belief all the stronger.
And P.S. good news [GNN] has brought me good and tangible items (free movie tickets, free games, Shakespearean education and hobbies, etc). Bad news never got me anything but 10 cent coupons.
Hugh, I loved your idea: “Perhaps the thing to want is … a united humanity”
It gets in the way of my happiness and fulfillment and evolution when I focus on a part of me that needs to go and try to put it back stage. (It just smashes up the place!)
A United humanity within is a very nice picture indeed.
But I do take issue with the Buddhist-sounding ideas that we should not want more or not embrace our desires and run with them. They, to me, are divinely, individually inspired and in the designs of the Universe created to stir me onto this greatness that lies dormant inside, and the joys that I imagine.
When I hear people say money doesn’t buy happiness, I shrug, and say, Maybe for them…. In the words of a man who gives all his money away and yet lives to the fullest, “I LOVE CASH.”
Being unhappy — I disagree with Buddhists here — is not simply a result of having desires for cash. It’s where you are focusing when you’re on the cash trail (when you’re in your everyday life).
Chikiberi,
I love your comments too, and will return to address them later… Gotta go measure for a deck.
Love you all!
g
UPDATED next day: (I can update a comment cos I have administrator powers here. . . bwahahaha..)
Chikiberi, What is your best tip on how to engage in “continuous joy”? It sounds great. I like how you are taking the “bad” and making life lessons out of it and finding the positive beautifull aspects of mistakes.
More info?
I think the article and comments are all great, this is a great discussion. Here is an article I wrote recently that ties in with the subject:
Can Watching â??Star Trekâ? Make You Happy And Successful?
Interested in being happier and more successful? We can all learn a lesson from an episode of TVâ??s â??Star Trekâ? that gets in under our radar and teaches us the importance of focusing on the positive.
In one episode of Star Trek the crew lands on a vacation destination planet where they could create any reality they wanted, just by thinking about it. At first the crew has a great time creating wonderful things, but gradually they become bored and tired and begin to focus on negative things, which creates negative situations for their reality there. Many of us run our lives the same way, by starting out focusing on the things we want, but then shift our focus to what we donâ??t want and our lives turns out as badly as the â??Star Trekâ? crewâ??s in that episode.
So how do you focus on the positive? You need to make a decision to focus on the positive, it doesnâ??t just happen. As a motivational expert, I stress the importance of having goals to guide your life and â??focusing on the positiveâ? should be one of them.
People attending my seminars are surprised when I tell them to announce to the people they are in contact with that you intend to focus on the positive. My personal experience with this is that the reactions you receive to this will run the gamut from total acceptance to almost outright hostility. I advise you not to let the reaction of others to affect your own thoughts and behavior. By announcing to the world that you intend to focus on the positive, you reinforce your decision to be positive by putting yourself on notice and encouraging other people to give you feedback on how you are doing regarding being positive.
Scientific research can help you take full advantage of a positive focus to make decisions. Research shows that we tend to become happier as we move through the day. Our mood is generally lowest when we wake then peaks at noon, then declines till four in the afternoon, and then begins to build to its highest point of the day around 10 PM. So use those peak times to make plans, set goals, tackle hard jobs, etc. Make decisions when you are the most upbeat during the day in order to reduce the negatives in your life from pulling you back.
It also helps to realize that you can only control yourself, you canâ??t control things like the weather, things that other people do or donâ??t do, mechanical failures and so on. Focusing only on what you can control takes a lot of pressure off you and leads to greater happiness.
Business and Life Coach Theresa A Smith spends time having her clients become very clear about what they want of life and then helping them focus heavily on pursuing the steps needed to attain the life they want. She finds knowing what you want out of life and then working towards it is the number one step her clients can take that gives them long lasting happiness.
I publish a free daily email of â??The One Minute Motivatorâ? and recently in one I said â??
Every day we have a choice. We can choose to focus on negative thoughts that leave us feeling insecure, frightened and cynical or we can choose to focus on positive thoughts that empower us and fill us with a sense of optimism about our world and our role in it.
What type of thoughts we choose to focus on, grow stronger, and the other type will grow weaker. Make the choice to focus on the positive, and you will find it gets easier the longer you do it.â?
In my book Sixty Seconds To Success, I make a similar point. â??Your focus is your future. You get what you focus on. You can focus on the things that will move you and your projects ahead, or you can focus on things that will not. Focus brings all your power together and enables you to do things in one area that you couldnâ??t do without it. Picture yourself achieving your goals, and your chances of achieving them go up dramatically. Believe it and youâ??ll see it.
What you think about on a daily basis is what your future will be like. Tibetan monks believe that if you want to know your future, look at what youâ??re doing right now. Everything we do now affects what will happen next. Our lifeâ??s a chain of nowâ??s and all the things we did in those nowâ??s. Now is what counts and now is what will make your future.â?
The two worlds are there for each of us to choose which to live in. Choose the world of your dreams and focus on the positive in your life-itâ??s as close as your next thought- and before long your dream will be your reality.
OK, thanks all,Ed Smith, [email protected]
Consider the Secret in this view. I have read the criticism of The Secret saying it promotes materialism. To reach the largest audience possible, I believe the authors used an appeal that would attract the most people to watch the message. Getting â??The Secretâ? out, is the objective. Where an individual goes with it is up to that person.
Iâ??m betting that the vast majority of people who are introduced to who they really are will flower and pursue further teachings on the subject.
I forget what book or encounter it was that first got me interested in real Spirituality but I will guarantee you that the majority of people will proceed way past the material part of The Secret. I believe â??The Secretâ? has initiated the start of hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people to ponder the thought â??What is the Truth?â?
I can tell that the people who commented on this article were well past the introduction to Spirituality. â??The Secretâ? is a genius introduction designed to appeal to the most people possible and it has really exceeded all expectations. I agree with â??The Secretâ?. Life is meant to be abundant. You donâ??t need to be poor or a minimalist. There is enough for everyone to be comfortable and satisfied.
Millions of people are finding out: â??That they are really made in the likeness of God with His creative powerâ?, and that is what mankind needs right at this moment in history. Letâ??s help spread the word. Maybe, We can save the world.
I am very grateful for this article (and even MORE grateful for the GNN, in general). It feels so incredibly good to hear something along the lines of “You don’t need to be negative,” or “You don’t need to get steeped in negative thoughts.” I tend to get drunk on them when I encounter them, and they just seem to get worse every day, especially in the news.
Obviously I don’t want to be ignorant or uninformed, but it’s extremely difficult to be moderate in how we can take a little bit of positive and a little bit of negative, and somehow remain “neutral.” When I think about it, it sounds like it would be boring to be that way, and more attractive to be positive and happy, which is why, on the continuum of negative thinking and positive thinking, I’d like to veer a little more positive than completely moderate.
Negative thinking seems to increase my fear and insecurity, to which I respond by getting more negative and more secluded. It gets to the point that positive thinking seems to be an unreality, a unreal way of looking at the world, though at the same time, an attractive one.
When I see positive Forward Thinkers in action, I am often VERY envious (though not jealous, as I don’t really hate them), and I wish I could be like them, unafraid of life around me, and not about to be pessimistic about the future. Forward Thinking is very much about NOW, rather than “What I DID wrong,” or “What WILL go wrong.” It’s “What do I do right?” and being able to answer that question.
I’ve received quite a bunch of criticism in my life, to the point that I often am not sure of any of my values or positive qualities. Going to Church and hearing about what I don’t do right or do wrong is disciplinary, but gets depressing after a while. Hearing about the latest deaths, locally or globally, and being presented with even more depressing imagery, makes me fear for a world that’s about to end, rather than one that CAN be renewed.
On the other hand, going out with friends to enjoy life and be loved and appreciated can up your personality 100%! Being reminded of how much you mean to others (and the world) can invigorate you to keep on going. Finding that you excel at some unique talent (I’m getting great excitement and enjoyment out of making a walrus suit….you heard me! 😉 ) makes you realize said unique talent(s) and can prove how you shine among so many.
This is still a difficult road for me. I still wake up every day fearing for the worst and scared to even get out of bed, and allowing horrible thoughts and memories to enter my mind and linger there for the whole day, when it would be so good for me to find strength in those I love, that I enjoy, and the goodness that is in me. I have spent so much of my life feeling that humans are fundamentally “bad,” despite what Anne Frank believed (that “people are still good at heart.”). It’s still tremendously difficult to imagine the contrary, but it’s probably only because I still get my view of the world through news and media, rather than through real life and those good people that think like the people on this network.
Lesson learned: Go out and see the GOOD things in life. Acknowledge the bad, but spend more of your time smiling, laughing, doing something silly, and enjoying the best of everyone that you can find. I plan to do all that tonight with a very special someone. 🙂
A final note: Material consumerism is indeed dangerous, and I deeply envy and honor all those who are able to break off all desirous tendencies to the point where they can find enlightenment and true happiness. But for those who find they cannot do that, as long as you realize that the things you amass are not of utmost importance (i.e. your friend and home entertainment system are both in a house on fire. Which do you rescue and take care of first?), you are not a “bad person.” Take what you need, and once in a while, take something you want. Realize WHY you want it. Sometimes we want something for the sentiment it reminds us of. And don’t be shy to give, either (while making sure that you can afford it, too). I heard a quote that went “A man who would save others must first save himself,” meaning that we must be sure we are alright so we can help others, too. Moderation, again.
Sorry for blabbing. Today and yesterday were really down days for me, and this article was just what I needed. Thank you for letting me speak, and lots of love and positive feelings to all of you.
Yours,
Marc
To put it simply, this is not the kind of content I want to see when I get the weekly (I think its weekly) newsletter.
If you think The Secret is good, that is your opinion. However this is not “news” in the sense “Purple Frog Among 24 New Species Found in Suriname” is news. This is hardly even a book review.
I shouldn’t worry though. I don’t think this will be a trend.
Hi Paul,
Sorry. It might have something to do with the fact that I don’t label the newsletter items with their categories — like, earth, health, inspired, or religion (maybe I should change that).
But that article was posted on the website in the Opinion category — in the Inspired section. So it really is someone’s editorial on the state of affairs at it appears to him, just like a newspaper would run their commentary or opinion.
And, additionally it is interesting to note that this type of article is one of the most popular on the website by a large margin.
Geri
Oh, it’s oped like. That makes me feel much better.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Yea, The way the site is set up, it’s rather hard to distinguish but if you click Inspired! on the left, you see a drop down of the categories like Opinion.
Here is a link to that Opinion page where you can see all Op-Ed pieces since my relaunch last March, including one from the King of Jordon on MidEast peace…
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/content/blogcategory/23/85/
Hi there everyone at GNN. I love this network. You are a shining example of the choice we all have available, which is to focus on the good things. I also am a big fan of The Secret, I especially agree with John Hayes above in terms of the big picture effect this movie is having.
I have created a 24 verse affirmation of gratitude inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, and The Secret. Read by 42 individuals, it gives thanks for the Good News we are in the process of attracting. Please enjoy it.
http://redefiningthedream.com
This place is wonderful! So many of you sharing ideas and opinions about how to make yourselves and the world a more joyful place.
I have recently been through something called the Hoffman Process. You can google it if interested. My perspective has dramatically shifted, and I have been at this self development thing for over twenty-five years! Compassion for all is possible. Experiencing love for myself regardless of anything is the most liberating thing I have done in my life so far. I so much agree that our lives are a string of nows. It is truly the only thing we can influence! And yes, that, in turn, influences our futures. I have such compassion for those having trouble feeling safe. It takes experiencing love and trusting that it is always there for us, from us, to truly feel safe. And it is circular: as we love others, it strengthens our capacity to love, and hence love ourselves.
Love others where they are at. If The Secret is where they are at, love them! The book in no way preaches self gain at the expense of others. It does teach empowerment and the resulting corallary of responsibility. I see that as a good thing. It certainly is way better than other methods being taught in books and seminars that by and large ignore the effects of our actions on others.