No, Lindy, it wasn't the Hollywood production values which immediately turned me off to this concept, it was the idea that somehow we exude a field or a ray of some sort that attracts good or bad fortune to us. This is simply not true. There is absolutely no evidence or proof of this, and anyone who actually has lived his life and thought about it knows it is wishful thinking based on lazyness; to promulgate this idea is not only a fraud, it is a fraud perpetrated on people who are particularly vulnerable to it and can be potentially harmed by it. That is not just harmless speculation or exercising an open mind., in my opinion it is a criminal and immoral act because people can get hurt..

We are citizens of the universe, we observe what is going on about us, and we are free to act on it, based on what we learn and on the advice and example of others. This is how we make things happen, the only way, and there is no guarantee that it works all the time, either. No matter how aware or clever we are, we are all affected by luck, both good and bad. The Secret, and other supernatural end runs like it are an attempt to cheat this process, to short-circuit it. It is the psychological equivalent of a perpetual motion machine, something for nothing, a free lunch.

Yes, I agree that certain psychological qualities such as confidence, optimism and enthusiasm and even faith can help us in the struggle of everyday life, and exploiting such emotions is an essential and valid means of providing us with the strength and determination to perservere in the face of adversity. I also agree that it should be part of the education of youth to teach them how to harness these qualities and make them work for us. But to believe that we radiate some kind of feelgood radar which somehow affects probability and physics around us to bring us happiness (which is always money, and relationships, haven't you noticed?) only distracts us from what we need to know to achieve these things.

Like Santa, religion, superstition, astrology and all the rest, it is a fraud that appeals to our temptation to substitute a quick work-around for the hard job of living. And it is a fraud that always seems to provide a real financial benefit for those who peddle it. It's a business, a means of getting you to give them your money. This is why I feel so strongly about this. If people want to believe something that's wrong, that's none of my business. But when someone sets it up as an industry, it offends me profoundly.