This is a subject that has peeked my curiosity of late...now work with me here, and keep an open mind.

I think it is safe to say that, as a segment of society, the gender gifted generally are struggling with self-esteem/self-acceptence issues, and our thoughts prbably tend towards the negative. All those who can relate raise a hand. (Kelly's hand is brushing the ceiling!)

Now if the theory is true that what we focus on in our thoughts, we manifest into our lives...could this have some explanation for the marginalized status of our group?

Okay, I am probably one of the biggest skeptics there is, and when I first started hearing all of the buzz about The Secret, I immediately dismissed it. Well...I stumbled upon this today, not sure how long it will be available...


Here are the links for the remaining chapters:

2:
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I have to admit, it blew me away! One minute I'm stunned, the next I'm sobbing. I would love to know, if anyone is moved to watch...how it moves you....

Kelly

Kelly:

I found a distillation of this from Joseph Campbell called "Follow Your Bliss".  I made it part of my credo.  Here is the quote from the Campbell site:

BILL MOYERS: Do you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

-Sandy(I am following my bliss!)

I was not familiar with Mr. Campbell, I now see he was a very prolific writer and a gifted intellect. I am going to have to explore further.

So "Follow your Bliss" is sort of like "do what you love and love what you do" and "listen to your heart?"

Thank you for broadening my horizons,

Kelly (I'm in the NOW, attracting all sorts of good S**t!)

I've believed in the secret for some time.  I pay particular attention to the Ramtha material.

In this philosophy, your life is dictated by how you view your world.  If you are full of despair and fear, then the universe will deliver more opportunities for you to have fear and despair.  If you are full of joy and hope, then the universe will deliver more opportunities for you to experience joy and hope.

For example, if you are afraid of car accidents, then you are more likely to end up in one.  Or in another example, if you expect to achieve your dreams, you will.  It sounds really far-fetched at first.  But if you analyze your life, you will find that your most joyous moments always follow closely behind hopeful thinking, which is often the result of you being sick and tired of failure.  For this reason, people often see-saw between hope and despair.  The real trick is always expecting your life to turn out the way you want it to, rather than the way you don't want it to.

With faith, even mountains may be moved.  But don't take my word for it.  Try it for yourself and see if it works.

If you liked the secret, you should probably watch What The Bleep Do We Know.  It's less "fluffy" than the secret, less practical, but very stimulating.  It also has extremely good advice on dealing with emotions, near the end of the film.  I can't recommend this film enough.  I plan to get the Quantum Edition at the end of this month.

I watched What the Bleep last summer. It too resonated, I really liked all of the science, but I thought the story line was a tad hokey. "How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?" I really get jazzed when something messes with my mind like that.

I agree The Secret might be a bit fluffy, and too much emphasis on the material aspects. But I can clearly see how throughout my life I have manifested exactly what I was focued on, especially getting exactly what I didn't want.

And to the point that the gender gifted spend a lot of time thinking about all of the unfair and negative aspects of our circumstance...which came first...self-image, thought, reality? Makes you wonder....

I think this topic is interesting. I've always used it, and it has always worked for me. A lot of people sit on wonder why things happen so well for me. I've seen some of the stuff and read some of the material (I had an ex-roommate who showed me the Secret movie, which was good, but stuff I've already knew, but good for people who don't).

Here's a song that I like by the Cruxshadows (one of my fav bands):

Carnival -- by the Cruxshadows

If you're very very quiet
And you do not make a sound
I'll share a little secret
That seems a bit profound
Each thought that is imagined
Gains a life its own
And drifts into reality
Looking for its home

Some people call it Karma
Some people call it fate
Some people call it kindness
Others call it hate
Some people use it wisely
Some people sell it cheap
Some people call it happiness
but others call it grief

Tragedy from tragedy
A lover's kiss (that's simple)
Religion falls behind the walls
where paradise remains
Does suffering suggest the cause
of all our little questions
The answer was not coming soon
She paused for reflection