The Secret... ugh

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

Words of wisdom from the murky worldview of Ecclesiastes (1:9 KJV). I quote that author here, because he has the sole distinction of being the only historical figure not cited in the pages of Rhonda Byrne's book The Secret.

And no wonder. Life is tough and gather ye rosebuds are hardly the sentiments to sell books. You won't move nearly 2 million units with gems like "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."

Don't ask me to go into why I think The Secret is a yawner. I've already gone into my thoughts about the book, America's long-standing New Thought syncretism, and my own family's weird involvement with New Age gurus. But it's nice to see some thoughtful coverage, especially in the dailies. The Toronto Star gives some serious ink to The Secret and the mysteries and histories it is a part of. Great, great article, in which author Murray Whyte talks to happiness experts, ex-gurus, and Steve Salerno, the author of SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless.

After giving The Secret and its detractors their due, Whyte finishes the article by showing up at an event held by a publisher holding a Secret-related event. The interaction between the guru and the acolytes is priceless:

[Canadian publisher] Burman hosted [author Marie] Diamond at an event at Indigo Books on Bloor last weekend, where she took some questions from a packed audience. "I'm a really big believer in The Secret," said one, a young black woman. "But I also believe that discrimination and racism are real. How can you harmonize those things?"

Diamond, a middle-aged Belgian woman with a welcoming air, nodded knowingly. "You just said you believe in discrimination. You be-live it. I'm going to ask you to stop believing it, because if you focus on the negative, you project it yourself."

Another, from a young man. "I really love what you're doing," he says. "But how, for example, was 9/11 attracted to the people in those buildings? That's something I can't understand."

Another thoughtful pause. Diamond, in her madras blazer and jeans, furrows her brow and speaks softly, breathily. "Sometimes, we experience the law of attraction collectively," she says. "The U.S. maybe had a fear of being attacked. Those 3,000 people – they might have put out some kind of fear that attracted this to happen, fear of dying young, fear that something might happen that day. But sometimes, it is collective."

The only area I wish Whyte had explored was the extent that books like The Secret have influenced mainstream Christianity. Positive thinking has held a grip on congregations since Normal Vincent Peale, and megachurches and the explosion of Pentecostalism have, for the most part, strengthened the message of God-equals-prosperity-and-happiness. Gone are the scowls of our Puritan forefathers. Here to stay is the era of blind optimism - with it's adolescent obsession with stuff and the road to "happiness".

Whoa. Did I just use scare quotes on the word happiness?

All right, time to soft-pedal the cynicism. In my defense, I officially became a New Yorker last week by the seven-year rule. Time to grab a slice or a blintz and chill out with the Daily News. A time to weep, and a time to laugh - right?