Beyond 'The Secret'

THIS WEEK’S WINNER

Clarissa Estuar, a scriptwriter and six-time Palanca Award winner, has been a scriptwriter for 10 years now. She has written for wildly different genres: soap opera, romantic comedy, drama anthology, youth-oriented shows, and even tried her hand at continuity writing via The 700 Club Asia. “My stint in the last probably explains my affinity for inspirational books.” She is currently writing for Precious Hearts Romances Presents: My Cheating Heart on ABS-CBN.

MANILA, Philippines - For anyone who is not completely happy with his life, the central thesis of Rhonda Byrne’s book The Secret is downright enticing. She asserts that there is one infinite power at work in our lives, and that is the law of attraction. Supposedly, everything that comes to us is a result of the images we have in our minds. Say you expect bad things to happen; just you wait and setbacks will inevitably come. But if you learn how to harness the power of the law of attraction, you can make your wildest dreams come true. There are no limits.

I was psyched to prove this theory true. I made my vision boards, tacking in pictures of the things I wanted — a whole lifestyle actually that was sorely out of reach. Ask, believe and receive, the book said. A few months later, I did receive a sprinkling of stuff here and there, but I didn’t see my life improve wholesale, as Byrnes’ tome promised it would. I definitely wasn’t any happier than before either. In fact, I was probably even a tad more miserable.

You see, The Secret comes with a huge caveat: if even a hint of doubt enters your mind as you are visualizing the stuff you want, you can be sure that you won’t see any of it cross over into reality. I suppose I could’ve worked on erasing any trace of doubt from my system, but I wondered: what if I was successful in conjuring a better life for myself, what then? Would I spend the rest of my days visualizing bigger and better things for myself? Would I ever feel content? So although the book had been featured on Oprah and CNN, I dropped the whole idea of living my life guided by The Secret because I just couldn’t ignore the feeling that something was not quite right.

This is probably my fault because in her book, Byrnes says that if we do our part, the universe will respond and give us our every desire. I couldn’t relate to the idea of communicating with a vast, formless entity labeled as “The Universe,” so I thought, maybe I could “translate” the ideas of The Secret into a (somewhat) Christian way of thinking. I tried seeing God as the source who, if I would concentrate only on positive things, will grant my every wish. But after coming across Dr. Henry Cloud’s book, The Secret Things of God, I finally realized why this approach would never work.

First off, Dr. Cloud points out how Byrnes’ book basically tries to convince us that we can create our own reality because the universe’s prime purpose is to cater to the whim of each person who knows how to use The Secret. The idea clashes directly with what the Bible tells us: that God is the only true Creator, and he created all of us to live a life of meaning.

Yes, it is a bit of a letdown to find out that we cannot treat God (or The Universe) as a genie whose catchphrase is, “Your wish is my command.” But then, Dr. Cloud illustrates how this very idea is illogical in the first place: “What would happen if you and I both send out vibes desiring the same parking space or we’re positively pulling for opposing teams in the Super Bowl?” It’s a bigger buzz kill to be told that God has actually made a plan for each of our lives. Isn’t it more fun to think of the world as your playground, and that you’re entitled to everything you want?

But you know how there are times when you read something, and it instantly speaks to you? That’s what happened when I reached the point when Dr. Cloud explained the “secret things of God” that he promised us on the book cover. This phrase actually pertains to the very nature of God and why forming a relationship with Him can give us the kind of fulfillment that no amount of stuff from “the universe” will ever give us.

Unlike Byrnes who presents the forces that control everything around us as impersonal and detached, Dr. Cloud reminds us that God is a relational being who is interested in sharing our thoughts, feelings, cares, dreams, fears and everything else with him. God didn’t map out a plan for each of our lives to be a dictator, but because He wants us to discover the set of talents and abilities He gave each one of us and put these into good use.

At this point, you might say, gosh, The Secret’s formula of “ask, believe, receive” still sounds way better because it promises that you can get anything you want when you want it. But as Dr. Cloud points out, this is the biggest lie that The Secret and other New Age spiritual teachings tell us: that there is no one to answer to but ourselves, that we can make up our own rules because we are “gods” in our own right. On the other hand, the Bible tells us that we are not our own gods: we have to answer to the sovereign God who laid down a set of rules on how He wants us to live. In exchange for this, we can lean on Him when things are tough because the Bible tells us that whatever happens, He is in control.

What I love about Dr. Cloud’s book is the fact that it isn’t full of abstractions. Where Byrnes tells us to just keep positive and our lives will inevitably improve, Dr. Cloud actually lists ways in which we can work through the pain of the difficulties we face. He reminds us that these challenges can bring out positive changes in our character that will make us ready for coming opportunities, so we shouldn’t ignore them but instead learn from them. I especially appreciated what he had to say about the secret behind having good relationships: it isn’t enough to wish them into being, you actually must have the skills to produce them. He backed this up with this anecdote: “A pastor was counseling a couple and gave them the following feedback: ‘The problem with you guys is that you want a ‘ten’ relationship, but you are both ‘fives.’”

After reading Dr. Cloud’s book, I felt like I had received spiritual nourishment, as opposed to Byrnes’ book which is in fact, full of empty promises. The Secret spoke to my greed, but Dr. Cloud’s book touched something deeper within me.