The Secret's Outted

Replying to Julian's most recent post on "The Secret" phenomenon:

http://tinyurl.com/3y7f3b

Julian - Interesting post, continuing down the line of critical thinking visavis The (not) Secret. I agree entirely that the popularity of this movie is, at least on the surface, a pathological manifestation of a culture in decline and crisis. As far as “The American Dream,” the walls are closing in on us as the era when the American people benefit from the largesse of the world economic system and from those who “think they” control it is drawing to its end and we gravitate toward the Third World. The middle class is being gutted, we are cut off from connection to the natural world, we are experiencing ratcheting powerlessness and in general don't even have good information about the situation we face, even if we had the stomach for it.

So, different sectors of society, different personality types, are presented with psychological release valves to “help us cope” with the dismal picture and our sense of helplessness and inadequacy. The unmotivated and fearful get “pie in the sky when U die,” coming right up in the wake of Armageddon…, the more clever, cynical and resourceful get the idea that they are in control, and can create a beautiful dream in the world of illusion (That's alright, we told you what to dream).

I was involved for a few years with a “New Thought” Christian Church in Silicon Valley, and was chronically disturbed that so much attention was constantly given to “manifestation” without recognition that accepting the power of our body/minds to affect the dream begs the questions of just what we actually hope to reify, of what IS real in the first place before we go at it with hammer and tongs.

There is no question that at the moment there is palpable desperation abroad in the land. Of course, people want the quick fix. Of course, in grasping for something that will cover the gnawing fears people will go for a tawdry, threadbare vision of “the good life,” just around the corner if we only think lovely thoughts.

However, this doesn't obviate the truth that thought is creative, and that we are, in fact, in the process of manifestation constantly. And when someone, perhaps set afire by seeing The Secret hyped on Oprah, starts to try to “control” their thinking with a view to manifesting some paint-by-numbers dream, they are inevitably on a collision course with what IS real. It's going to get them, perhaps not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of their (many) lives. They will try this and that, experience frustration and heartbreak, and then, perhaps enter disillusionment, becoming teachable, at least for moments.

Julian said:
“The grounded spiritual journey is one of becoming more conscious of the social, familial, historical forces that have shaped you and finding your way into some kind of bittersweet authentic relationship to the grace and grit of reality as it is. Our difficulties are the doorway into insight, wisdom, compassion and freedom - but all of that has to be earned, like anything else worthwhile.”

The above seems to imply that there is one general correct approach to the truth of what we are. I think this is erroneous, in that we are all in the school, consciously or un, and, ultimately, doomed to success. All judgements we hold about others exist only within our mental interpretations of the One Life. When we surrender to That we enter into seeing with the eyes of Love, knowing that life will provide heartbreaks, opportunities, and direction as appropriate to all. Our difficulties, truly, are the openings to deeper experience of what we are, but nothing is “earned.” As the Prajna Paramita says “There is no wisdom, there is no attainment whatsoever.” When ANYONE, regardless of merit, struggle, dues-paying, seriousness or hard work stops arguing with what is, the truth of their inner nature emerges, immaculate, unblemished, whole, shining. For many, this will come after hard work on the spiritual path and years of struggle, but that's no requirement. That for which all thirst is always already here, waiting for us to attend.

Julian said:
“it comes down to something very simple: part of being an adult is learning to tolerate the difficult facts of the unfair and often painful world in which we live. Effective spiritual practice and philosophy is not a kind of wishful-thinking subversion of this important process - that would be spirituality as defense, which is a whole different game than spirituality as transformative healing/inquiry process.” (emphasis added)

The “difficult facts” of our experience of life are always only thoughts, held in mind as somehow separate from the unmanifested background on which they appear. Pain can be one thing, particularly as it relates to injury of the body or the invasion of our lives physically by others, but suffering only occurs when delusion about our story enters in. Fairness is an entirely useless concept, which obviously rises from holding some thought about how reality should somehow be different than it is. When one is in the resistance implied by seeing the world this way, the way out IS in perhaps not “tolerating,” but in fully accepting the situation as it is. Following that, perhaps I can allow the innate joyfullness that is within me at all times to flow into my already accepted experience. Then, as the pattern of life emerges as I get out of my own way, I can enter into it with enthusiasm as the mystery that I am is revealed to me moment to moment. If we assume that our opinions about the difficulty of spiritual development are truth, then anyone who refuses to punch the tar-baby may seem to be in wishful-thinking subversion of our rules, but the truth is that self-realization is far simpler, and at the same time more rigorously demanding of our complete earnestness to allow what's undying and whole to emerge exactly as it is without regard to our demands or expectations. In the end, no one is transformed, no one is enlightened, nothing is attained, beauty emerges undiminished. We may be living in a mansion with the Bentley Azure, we may be in a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, but the stark beauty and perfect unfolding of life will be omnipresent. We will discover that, while we can always make any movement that seems appropriate from our only place of power, the present moment,  there was never any self there to try to tweak reality.