The Secret

The Secret..!!

I usually read books purely on recommendation. Either by friends or some rave reviews of the book online. And if no recommendations then conviction comes into play. I go to the library and browse books, very randomly. Only thing then works for me is the title. I get attracted to the title as a magnet attracts iron pieces. The story of the book might turn out bizarre even if the summary would suggest otherwise but title is all I go for. Strange and weird. Tell me about it.

But this particular book was not a recommendation directly. Rather this book has a story. Normally, I never have stories to tell when I read books but this one for some reason has. And normally, you would find me reading only fiction. It’s a rare occasion when I read non fiction. I mean I can never forget Conversations with God or Brian Weiss series I read. But that’s about as far as my memory goes.

I clearly remember having a philosophical discussion with my friend, which in itself is very rare. By and large, we will be caught simply laughing and making fun of unimportant stuff. I was my normal cranky self questioning everything. And this book happened. Some examples were quoted by my friend from this book. As always, I revolted and disagreed. A month or so passed and we never had that discussion again but my mind was constantly thinking about this book. That’s when I decided to make my trip to the library and get this book. And as fate would have it, the book was on hold and it took me a month before I could get my hands on it. Now I could have bought the book but then something inside was telling me not to. Finally, when I did get the book, I couldn't read beyond 4 pages or so. I kept the book aside. I couldn’t make any sense of it. Yeah! Talk about my attention span. I told my friend that this is one book where our tastes differ, drastically.

The library rents the book for 3 weeks and I didn’t open the book again until there were 5 days left to return. That too I was left with no choice. We were flying to Yellowstone National Park and I wanted to keep something that is very handy to read in the flight. And turned out of the 3 books I had, this one was the lightest so got chosen.  I read it during the flight and was shocked. I mean I couldn’t believe I really thought of not reading it.

Did I mention the book? Well, am sure all would have guessed by the title of this blog. It is “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. It’s amazing how we connect with some books instantly, that’s if we decide to give them some time. In short, I loved this book. And mind you, it’s not written in a conventional style where the author writes about her experience and what eventually she learnt. Instead it talks of experiences of many people who came together to be a part of this book in making.

And all this book unravels is the beauty of our thoughts. Of how powerful they are. Of how we become what we think of. Not that we don’t know all this stuff and not that we need some outside inspiration but just the way life is explained here, makes you muse. Just the fact that how what we think strongly about, we get that. How the universe conspires us to give it to us. Simple example of how sometimes you would be thinking of the well being of someone and suddenly you will hear from that person. Or the radio will play a song which would remind you of your times with that person. Or you would accidentally end up meeting that person. It’s all about how strongly we send out those messages to the Universe. It’s all about the frequency. The wavelength. And the faith.

One very nice example in this book isthe comparison between television and our thoughts. Read it in an abridged version :-

“Think of it this way: we understand that a television station’s transmission tower broadcasts via frequency, which is transformed into pictures. Most of us don’t really understand how it works, but we know that each channel has a frequency and when we tune into that frequency we see the pictures on our television.

You are a human transmission tower and you are more powerful than any television created on earth. Your transmission creates your life and creates the world. The frequency you transmit reaches beyond cities, beyond the world. It reverberates throughout the entire Universe. And you are transmitting that frequency with your thoughts. If you want to change anything in your life, change the channel and change the frequency by changing your thoughts.”

It further goes on to explain the 3 important steps to have what you want in life :-

Step 1:

Ask: Simply means you decide what you want in life. And you better be clear of your desires. Whatever they are. And then ask for it. Send out signals as if you wish for it. It could be anything. You shouldn’t worry of how you will get it. Just Ask..!!

Step 2:

Believe: This is the tough one. It says you have to believe you already have got it. And here it cites an example of how we feel when we order something online. The minute we place an order we forget about it and just feel happy that in few days we will receive it. We already feel that we possess it. Similarly, after we ask for what we want, we have to believe we already have it. It doesn’t happen in a day and involves a make-believe theory. You need to have faith, the word on which the whole book is based. It quotes a lot of different people who suggest their own reasons of why this is true and it works.

Step 3:

Receive: Feel as if you own and you shall receive it. Send those signals to the universe that you are happy and grateful that you possess it and by law of attraction those thoughts would become reality.

There are many lines I like in the book and one of them says :-

”Imagine life as a fast moving river. When you are acting to make something happen it will feel as if you are going against the current of the river. It will feel hard and like a struggle. When you are acting to receive from the universe, you will feel as if you are flowing with the current of the river. It will feel effortless. That is the feeling of inspired action, and of being in the flow of the Universe and life.”

And a major chapter of the book talks about gratitude. Of how grateful we should be. Of how we should thank for our life, as is. Of all those precious moments which we experience. It talks about all these different people who get up in the morning and the first words they speak are “Thank You.” It is as if you are telling the Universe of how content you already are and thereby unknowingly attracting all the happiness in the world. The more positive the vibes, the more positive life you live. It cites examples of few people who have experienced this in their life and now how they so strongly believe in it and live by it. It is all about faith.

Somehow, it reminded me of these lines from Om Shanti Om, my favorite lines :-

“Itni Shidat se tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai,
Ke Har Zarre ne tumse milane ki sazish ki hai,
Kehte hai agar kisi cheez ko poore dil se chaaho
Toh saari Kayanaath Usse tum se milane ki Koshish karti hai.”

Well, that’s the crux of this book so to speak. So if you do get a chance, read it. It might transform your thoughts or way you perceive things or the way you even lead your life. Finally, I quote from the book :-

“What you resist, you attract, because you are powerfully focused on it with emotion. To change anything, go within and emit a new signal with your thoughts and feelings. Expectation is a powerful attractive force. Expect the things you want, and don’t expect the things you don’t want. Be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things.”

And not that it matters but after reading the book, I finally did buy my own copy.. :-)