An international phenomenon, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is a bestselling book and movie. The Secret alleges that anybody can be happy as long as one can think in a certain way. If a person wants something in life, be it a job, a car or the love of one´s life, it is not just obtainable, but as long as the rules of The Secret are strictly obeyed, some believe that it is a certainty.
A fundamental underlying tone of the book is the "Law of Attraction," as Byrne puts it. That is, that if a person wants something, you can attract it, by 1) asking for it from the universe, 2) believing that you shall receive it and 3) receiving it as though it were already with you by means of experiencing joy and feeling at the thought.
Wallace D. Wattles and The Science of Getting Rich.
Byrne´s book was indeed read by millions and the movie watched by millions too, where she states that through The Secret, she is "bringing joy to billions" of people around the world. Quite a statement. However, she hasn´t really written anything extraordinary, nor has she claimed to. The Secret is basically a 21st century model of the 100-year-old book, The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles, written in layman´s terms and turned into a glamourised, often sensationalist movie.
What Rhonda Byrne actually alludes to is that she is bringing this set of beliefs to a wider audience, as taught by Wattles in his book as the only true way of helping humanity. Wattles´ book forms part of the transcendentalism movement of the late 1800s and early 20th century, largely initiated by another of Byrne´s philosophical references, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Wattles´ book speaks of the necessity to be rich in mind, body and soul. He argues that without material wealth, one cannot be rich in other areas of life. Man needs money in order to be happy physically; to have shelter, warmth, warm clothes and food. Without money man cannot exercise his mind through the purchasing of books, materials and items necessary to pursue artistic endeavours. Lastly concerning the soul, man needs love to live a full life. Wattles´ asserts that poverty stifles the true expression of love, that without money love cannot be in its truest, highest form.
What The Secret takes from The Science of Getting Rich is its fundamental law of the universe, what Byrne calls the "Law of Attraction." Wattles alleges that in the universe, all things are made up primarily "of a thinking stuff", through which all things are made, and that all of man´s thoughts can manipulate anything in the universe to come into his life.
In The Secret Byrne places heavy emphasis on the notion of gratitude, just like Wattles does in his teachings. Wattles advises that people should give thanks to God, while Byrne says that one should offer up thanks to the universe for all that he has and will have, in life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson´s Transcendentalism and Nature
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a noted American philosopher of the mid-1800s, whom along with his groundbreaking work, Nature, was particularly noted for his reputation as being one of the great orators of his time. With Nature, Emerson gave birth to the transcendentalist movement, a branch of philosophical new thought. Transcendentalism of the 1800s held the belief that man can experience a spiritual state greater than what was believed at the time, the traditional teachings of institutions such as the religions. A non-traditional idea for an appreciation of nature is put forward through transcendentalism.
Emerson explains the importance of man´s relationship with nature itself, that nature is a masterpiece, of which man must use. He teaches that man has an affinity with nature, and everything and every person around him is part of that very nature. The theory that nature works for man, a notion continued and mused on by thinkers such as Wallace D. Wattles was given great momentum by Emerson. Rhonda Byrne referred to Emerson extensively in The Secret, but most notably with the attributed quote, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."
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