Cosmic secret pays out earthly dollars for controv

[jimijams]

Cosmic secret pays out earthly dollars for controversial guru

Jacqueline Maley
March 1, 2007

RHONDA BYRNE believes that if you ask the universe for something, the universe will deliver - it is the philosophy on which she based her best-selling DVD and book The Secret.

So when the Melbourne-born television producer asked the universe to deliver millions of dollars to her from sales of her film, which details the self-help strategy she calls "the secret", it came up trumps. It is unclear whether she also asked the universe for the top spot on the Amazon.com bestsellers' list for the film's spin-off book, or for a two-show special on Oprah, but she got those, too.

The former Channel Nine producer's fortune is based on what she calls "the law of attraction", that if you have positive thoughts, you will attract success in life. But her success has not come without controversy.

The film, which was reportedly made on a budget of $3 million, 10 per cent of which was advanced by Channel Nine, has been remarkably successful, particularly considering it had no theatrical release and no advertising.

The Los Angeles public relations firm representing Ms Byrne said sales of the DVD, which retails for $34.95, had reached 1.5 million, and 1.7 million copies of the book had been printed and were expected to be sold.

It is now the biggest seller on Amazon.com and heads The New York Times bestseller list in the "Advice and How To" category.

But Esther Hicks, an American self-help guru who, with her husband, Jerry, has been promoting her own law of attraction philosophy for about 20 years, claims few of The Secret's fans know they are being sold a second version of the film.

Ms Hicks told The New York Times she and her husband were promised 10 per cent of DVD sales revenue from the film, but after a falling out with Ms Byrne, her voice and image were removed from the film and a new version was released. The couple were advised to sue for breach of contract, but they did not do so because suing was against their law of attraction philosophy.

The DVD and book are redolent of the same sort of imagery and conspiracy theories which made The Da Vinci Code such a huge success.

The film also features various self-help gurus who have already released books, such as Jack Canfield, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and John Gray, famous for Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The gurus say things like, "Everything that's coming into your life you are attracting into your life", and, "Become a deliberate creator of your life", and are set against a backdrop of Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings.

The DVD also claims that through the centuries "they" have sought to suppress The Secret because of its awesome power. Both Ms Byrne and Paul Harrington, the Australian co-producer of The Secret, declined to comment yesterday.

The Herald asked the universe for interviews, but it didn't respond either.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cosmic-secret-pays-out-earthly-dollars-for-guru/2007/02/28/1172338710029.html

[limelady]

Yes indeed The Secret has been a raging success, but the producers didn't make any money out of me because I have been using the "Law of Attraction" for a long time now, and as such I have been manifesting into my life the things I need to help me explore human potential..... without money changing hands... and whatever I need always arrive in a timely manner, even when I don't know it exists. Such was the case when out of the blue (from a most unexpected source), I was handed a copy of the The Secret DVD, 6 months ahead of it's Australian scheduled release date. I can therefore vouch for the fact that the "Law of Attraction" really does work, and although there was little in that DVD I did't already know, I found it very uplifting to see others talking so openly about their own experiences utilising what is known about quantum physics.

LL

[i_am]

Cosmic secret pays out earthly dollars for controversial guru


But Esther Hicks, an American self-help guru who, with her husband, Jerry, has been promoting her own law of attraction philosophy for about 20 years, claims few of The Secret's fans know they are being sold a second version of the film.



I have read many books on the Law of Attraction over the years. The Science of Getting Rich, ebook, being excellent but with all of that information it still evaded me. Then I read the Hicks/ Abraham book , Ask and it is Given. That to me explained why most people have difficulty with this concept.

I have had this Law happen in my life without actually being aware of how it all worked. Once many years ago, when my husband and I first set up house together, we were pretty poor. We didn't even have a TV (bummer) Anyway, where I worked had a raffle, the prize being a TV. I bought a ticket, which I really couldn't afford and I kept asking when it was going to be drawn, cos I really needed it. They kept saying when all the tickets had been sold to which my reply was always, "but I am going to win it anyway." I did!!

Another time, while driving down the freeway I looked at this house up on the hill and thought how much I would love to live there. Every day driving to work I used to look up and imagine living there. I stopped working and rarely went that way again. Later we had to move and went to look at a house, that we loved, got it and moved in. It wasn't until later when I drove down the freeway and looked up at the hill, that I realised it was the house I had imagined living in.

There have been many other occasions and always they come from just picturing something. The problem we have with manifesting is because of focusing on the lack. We need something because...... Our energy is therefore focused on the because and that is what we attract.

[oneofmany]

Yes indeed The Secret has been a raging success, but the producers didn't make any money out of me because I have been using the "Law of Attraction" for a long time now, and as such I have been manifesting into my life the things I need to help me explore human potential..... without money changing hands... and whatever I need always arrive in a timely manner, even when I don't know it exists. Such was the case when out of the blue (from a most unexpected source), I was handed a copy of the The Secret DVD, 6 months ahead of it's Australian scheduled release date. I can therefore vouch for the fact that the "Law of Attraction" really does work, and although there was little in that DVD I did't already know, I found it very uplifting to see others talking so openly about their own experiences utilising what is known about quantum physics.

LL

I've had these exact experiences especially in the past year except the DVD was What The Bleep instead of the Secret but talking about the Secret, I came home from a wedding a few weeks ago and turned on the telle just out of habit, and within 5 minutes guess what was on?

Yep, The Secret, and i've been having these experiences, ever since i dedicated my free time to finding the truth. First it was 9/11 then the Spirituality aspect and recently it's been Quantum physics and Shamanism.

All I need now is to be Abducted by aliens, see a Yowie(Bigfoot) and solve the mystery of the Giza plateau. :D

[jimijams]

All I need now is to be Abducted by aliens, see a Yowie(Bigfoot) and solve the mystery of the Giza plateau. :D
Get in line fella!:p

[limelady]

All I need now is to be Abducted by aliens, see a Yowie(Bigfoot) and solve the mystery of the Giza plateau.

Twice in the last few weeks I have woken up with a perfect triangle-shaped burn mark on my elbow. First the right elbow (I didn't think much of it at the time) then a couple of weeks later the left elbow......which because it was a 2nd time I felt was rather strange. Does this qualify count as alien abduction? :D


http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6448/screenhunter397bx5.jpg

Here is a photo my daughter took on 2 days ago with her mobile phone. We put a pen outline round it to show the shape. First it was weepy, yesterday it was drying up somewhat,, and today it has a light scab on it.

I don't recall seeing any googly-eyed greys in my night travels......or for that matter black helicopters. But who knows!

[beyondwords_uk]

Do you have a close bedside table, as i had a similar experience and my partner was awake one night and i lashed out sideways while in a dream and smacked my elbow!!!! ala one big bruise. BW

[tyler]

Earlier on this evening I started to watch an old Stuart Wilde video on attracting wealth and abundance into your life but after less than ten minutes I had to switch it off. There was something I just didn't like about that guy and all that emphasis on aquiring stuff annoyed me. We really ought tb getting by with less. Once you are on this path you will find that all your needs are provided for. Stop worrying. Look at the standard of living we have compared to the majority of people in the world. be thankful we don't have to scrabble through rubbish tips hoping to find food. That's what hundreds of thousands of people do to just survive in the third world. We are so lucky and we have too much of everything.
The law of attraction will always be around. Check out Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Google it. That says all you need to know and I'm no looney born again Christian.
"Consider the lilies of the valley, they toil not............etc."

[limelady]

Do you have a close bedside table, as i had a similar experience and my partner was awake one night and i lashed out sideways while in a dream and smacked my elbow!!!! ala one big bruise. BW

LoL!! Sorry to hear about your run-in with your bedside table! :p

Although the photo above didn't come out very well, what I have on my elbow is nothing like a bruise - but having experienced burns, I can say with some certainty this mark is acting EXACTLY like a burn ....like one would expect to get from the triangle-shaped tip of a very hot iron.

It has also acted like a burn, with a bit of blistering and some weeping. Now there is a scab on a good portion of it. The mark I had on the other elbow a few weeks back did the same thing.

But I know its not an iron burn because I gave up ironing years ago!!! Its not a burn from the stove or the oven either because I gave up cooking years ago too!! Lol .....not not really....still cook a bit, but we do eat a lot of our food raw these days.

Can't explain it, but I've got a funny feeling I may have done this to myself while 'sleep travelling' - the gut feeling is the burn is meant to prompt me to remember something that transpired during the night while I was 'elsewhere'. Unfortuantely I can't get anymore than that at this time.

LL

[limelady]

Earlier on this evening I started to watch an old Stuart Wilde video on attracting wealth and abundance into your life but after less than ten minutes I had to switch it off. There was something I just didn't like about that guy and all that emphasis on aquiring stuff annoyed me. We really ought tb getting by with less. Once you are on this path you will find that all your needs are provided for. Stop worrying. Look at the standard of living we have compared to the majority of people in the world. be thankful we don't have to scrabble through rubbish tips hoping to find food. That's what hundreds of thousands of people do to just survive in the third world. We are so lucky and we have too much of everything.
The law of attraction will always be around. Check out Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Google it. That says all you need to know and I'm no looney born again Christian.
"Consider the lilies of the valley, they toil not............etc."

Yeah, your key words here were an old Stuart Wilde video on attracting wealth Back in the 80s and 90s many of the circuit speakers focussed mainly on accululating wealth and obtaining abundance etc, but it served a purpose, because it got many people up off their bums to go and listen to what they had to say, and for many it was their first encounter with the laws of attraction and quantum physics. In and of itself I have no objection to attracting money into my life because like everything else, its merely an illusion, but sometime money can be a VERY useful illusion to have in ones life. The REAL secret about money is to learn to just feel neutral or 'nothing' about it whatsoever. By not allowing money to have any power of your life at all, you can still maintain an expectation or 'knowing' that all your financial needs will be taken care of. You will then find that money will quite naturally start flowing in and out of your life as and when it is needed.

LL

[i_am]

We really ought tb getting by with less. Once you are on this path you will find that all your needs are provided for. Stop worrying. Look at the standard of living we have compared to the majority of people in the world. be thankful we don't have to scrabble through rubbish tips hoping to find food. That's what hundreds of thousands of people do to just survive in the third world. We are so lucky and we have too much of everything.
The law of attraction will always be around. Check out Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Google it. That says all you need to know and I'm no looney born again Christian.
"Consider the lilies of the valley, they toil not............etc."


Yes, as someone once said, "there is always enough." This is so true, if you believe it, but there is nothing wrong with attracting abundance. Money IS an illusion. If you read the story of fiat money you realise that it is not worth the paper it is written on. However, it is also energy, just like everything else. Just because you are spiritual does not mean you can't be filthy rich.. Imagine if you were able to help those less fortunate.

Those who use their wealth for greed, know the universal laws. The universe does not judge. It just responds to your vibration. Would it not be good if more people could tap into that energy and use it to not only help others but be freed from the continual worry of how they were going to make ends meet? Enjoy life without having to struggle?

I am not rich by a long way, nor do I have any desire to be but I have enough. I like to have nice things and I like to travel and see other cultures. What is wrong with that? I also enjoy helping my family and others. I have been poor and I hated it. Since tapping into how these laws work, I really don't give it much conscious thought, just let it flow.

The secret, is not to become attached to things. There is nothing wrong with enjoying them as long as you don't become emotionally attached. They are not real!

[jimijams]

Just because you are spiritual does not mean you can't be filthy rich..
I don't think being being filthy rich is compatable with spirituality at all. Spirituality is about moving away from the material, the two things are diametrically opposed, that is the choice we make.

You can though have abundance but it is what you desire to have in abundance that is important.

[i_am]

I don't think being being filthy rich is compatable with spirituality at all. Spirituality is about moving away from the material, the two things are diametrically opposed, that is the choice we make.

You can though have abundance but it is what you desire to have in abundance that is important.

Is that all you got out of what I said Jimi?

There are some wonderful people who are extremely rich and yes some of them are very spiritual. Perhaps their intent was to do or be something extraodinarily simple. They did it with love, joy and pure intent. The wealth just came to them. Their intent was NOT necessarily material, just doing something they loved. Would you have them reject the wealth? Leave it all in the hands of the corrupt while others struggle to survive?

We are all on our own journey here and, I believe, that when you are insync with the universe you can do, be and have what ever you desire, it is your choice. None of it is real any way so have fun with it.

I made my choices a long time ago. Material things I enjoy but they mean jack to me. If I had to go live in a tent, it would not phase me. I now do something that is helping others and I am better off than I have ever been. I didn't go into the job to make buckets of money. I did it because I needed to pay the rent but at the same time I was not compromising my standards. I don't own a home any more and I don't care. Never did actually, even when I did. I may enjoy material things but I am not attached to them.

You may think spirituality and things are incompatible and that is your trip. I don't and that is mine. Shall we agree to disagree? :p

[jimijams]

Is that all you got out of what I said Jimi?

There are some wonderful people who are extremely rich and yes some of them are very spiritual. Perhaps their intent was to do or be something extraodinarily simple. They did it with love, joy and pure intent. The wealth just came to them. Their intent was NOT necessarily material, just doing something they loved. Would you have them reject the wealth? Leave it all in the hands of the corrupt while others struggle to survive?

We are all on our own journey here and, I believe, that when you are insync with the universe you can do, be and have what ever you desire, it is your choice. None of it is real any way so have fun with it.

I made my choices a long time ago. Material things I enjoy but they mean jack to me. If I had to go live in a tent, it would not phase me. I now do something that is helping others and I am better off than I have ever been. I didn't go into the job to make buckets of money. I did it because I needed to pay the rent but at the same time I was not compromising my standards. I don't own a home any more and I don't care. Never did actually, even when I did. I may enjoy material things but I am not attached to them.

You may think spirituality and things are incompatible and that is your trip. I don't and that is mine. Shall we agree to disagree? :p
Of course we can agree to disagree.

[oneofmany]

Is that all you got out of what I said Jimi?

Would you have them reject the wealth? Leave it all in the hands of the corrupt while others struggle to survive?

I would have them redistribute the wealth rather than keep it. The karma of keeping more than you need personally doesn't sit right with the spirituality used to gain it in the first place for me. I feel that the karma would flow in the negative direction by keeping it all and to keep the positive karma it would be your duty to help others.

oh the lessons of living right:cool:

[happyone]

Yes indeed The Secret has been a raging success, but the producers didn't make any money out of me because I have been using the "Law of Attraction" for a long time now, and as such I have been manifesting into my life the things I need to help me explore human potential..... without money changing hands... and whatever I need always arrive in a timely manner, even when I don't know it exists. Such was the case when out of the blue (from a most unexpected source), I was handed a copy of the The Secret DVD, 6 months ahead of it's Australian scheduled release date. I can therefore vouch for the fact that the "Law of Attraction" really does work, and although there was little in that DVD I did't already know, I found it very uplifting to see others talking so openly about their own experiences utilising what is known about quantum physics.

LL

I have had much of the same experience Lime & have been utilising the law of attraction for many years without having to pay for the information which is readily available if you seek it...

I have learnt (& I am not sure if this is touched on in The Secret because I have never read it) that when I stop giving of myself on a spiritual level as a healer so many other things stop regardless of my thought patterns. Perhaps that suggests, whilst the law of attraction doesn't change when it is one of the laws of the universe, we are asked to do much more with that knowledge & give much more of ourselves from it than just profit whether that is financially or otherwise or it will eventually dry up so to speak? Perhaps learning the law of attraction is the start of an awakening by being given what it is we need to partake on that journay whether for some that means financially, spiritually or emotionally while we go on to learn the other laws of the universe?

[limelady]

I don't think being being filthy rich is compatable with spirituality at all. Spirituality is about moving away from the material, the two things are diametrically opposed, that is the choice we make.

You can though have abundance but it is what you desire to have in abundance that is important.

I once used to believe spirituality and having money were diametrically opposed, but that's when I still held negativity towards money.

There's an old saying 'money makes the world go round'. I HATE this saying, and in my lifetime I'd like to see that change to "LOVE makes the world go round", but nowadays I realise EVERYTHING is an illusion, therefore while spending time here in the matrix I can chose to create whatever illusion I want in order to make my time here as interesting as it can be.

Part of what makes life worthwhile for me personally is being able to help others, and so often the only real help some need is financial help.....even if just to give them a bit of breathing space while they sort themselves out.

While people are so stressed over money there's little chance they will ever 'wake up and smell the coffee' The matrix has been designed that way. Keep people poor and forever in need, and you have them controlled from birth till death. I'm certainly not a materialistic person, but I have no problem with welcoming money into my illusion and showing others how to welcome it into theirs.

Personally I'd like to see the entire monetary system scrapped - it sux - but while its still the system of control here, I refuse to be controlled by it.

[jimijams]

I once used to believe spirituality and having money were diametrically opposed, but that's when I still held negativity towards money.
The journey from the material back to spirit, something to nothing is the spiritual journey, but my original comment was refering to whether being filthy rich was compatable with spirituality. Oneofmany mentioned the hoarding of wealth, this is what I was refering to in my original post.

[i_am]

I would have them redistribute the wealth rather than keep it. The karma of keeping more than you need personally doesn't sit right with the spirituality used to gain it in the first place for me. I feel that the karma would flow in the negative direction by keeping it all and to keep the positive karma it would be your duty to help others.

oh the lessons of living right:cool:



I think that is what I said in my first post (or at least was trying to) :p I doubt any of us here would want to keep it all.

Thing is, if what you put out comes back to you, then it is just going to be a continual exchange of energy. What fun. The giving could be endless.

On the radio this morning they were talking about a cyclist who had been left paraplegic after an accident. He has a young family and had just started a new job so had not got his insurance sorted out. In the space of my driving home, about 30 minutes, listeners had donated around $25,000. How good would it be to ring up and donate $100,000, annonomously of course. To be able to help the sick, the poor, the homeless, orphaned, hungry , those who have fallen on hard times etc would be just awesome.

[happyone]

The journey from the material back to spirit, something to nothing is the spiritual journey, but my original comment was refering to whether being filthy rich was compatable with spirituality. Oneofmany mentioned the hoarding of wealth, this is what I was refering to in my original post.

Yes, there is also such a thing as having nothing to begin with & making your fortune that way. It is those who build their riches who never forget their original roots & give back generously financially & with their time, wheareas the opposite end of the scale is where the material back to spirit derives from.

[jimijams]

Yes, there is also such a thing as having nothing to begin with & making your fortune that way. It is those who build their riches who never forget their original roots & give back generously financially & with their time, wheareas the opposite end of the scale is where the material back to spirit derives from.
Even the word material or matter is derived from the hindu word mat which means illusion.
As our Dave would say "It's aalll an illooosion".:D

[oneofmany]

I think that is what I said in my first post (or at least was trying to) :p I doubt any of us here would want to keep it all.

Thing is, if what you put out comes back to you, then it is just going to be a continual exchange of energy. What fun. The giving could be endless.

On the radio this morning they were talking about a cyclist who had been left paraplegic after an accident. He has a young family and had just started a new job so had not got his insurance sorted out. In the space of my driving home, about 30 minutes, listeners had donated around $25,000. How good would it be to ring up and donate $100,000, annonomously of course. To be able to help the sick, the poor, the homeless, orphaned, hungry , those who have fallen on hard times etc would be just awesome.I think that's what this game is all about!!!;)