Critics of 'The Secret' Bemoan Claims

Rhonda Byrne, author of the book "The Secret," arrives at the Time 100 gala, in this May 8, 2007 file photo, at the Time Warner Center in New York. The gala celebrated Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin) (Stephen Chernin - AP)

"I think the secret is that everyone has their own secret, and everyone has their own dream," she said. "And the book is one of the tools we can use to get it, but I don't think that it's a little magic wand."

Even one of the participants in "The Secret" DVD and book laments the lack of action. James Arthur Ray is billed as "a philosopher," although he says in a telephone interview that he is five hours shy of a college degree in behavioral science.

He speaks to groups on his own philosophy of success, and he maintains that the "law of attraction" is just one of seven "laws" people must use to improve their lives. He felt "The Secret" was "a good way to introduce people to a new way of philosophical thinking and looking at their world." But Ray said during the creation of the DVD, much of his talk about taking action ended up on the cutting room floor.

"You can watch 'The Secret' and come away with the illusion that you can sit around in your living room and visualize your millions dumping into your lap, and that's just not going to happen," he said.

Byrne counters that the type of action her critics discuss isn't required by the "law of attraction."

"It is impersonal, exact and precise. Become that which you want on the inside, and you shall receive it in the outside world," she said in her e-mail. "The most important action to take is the work within you. When that is done, you will be moved in the outside world to receive what you asked for."

As for the woman with breast cancer, Byrne said "The Secret" fully supports all forms of healing, and feels "enormous gratitude" for what traditional medicine has accomplished.

"The Secret" owes its life as a book to an Oregon dinner party where the president and publisher of Portland-based Beyond Words Publishing met one of the DVD's commentators, who prompted them to watch "The Secret." Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, has a co-publishing agreement with Beyond Words. Judith Curr, Atria's executive vice president, said when she watched the movie, she immediately envisioned a book.

She was especially confident because of the success of the "teachers" featured on the DVD. The contributors, including Jack Canfield of the "Chicken Soup" series, had sold roughly 400 million copies of their own books, she estimated.

"I told everybody here when I still just had a DVD that we were going to sell a million copies," she said. "They all, of course, thought I was smoking something."

Now "The Secret" is being published in 35 foreign languages and is the fastest-selling self-help book in Simon & Schuster history.

"It's great to be involved in something that can help change people's lives in a positive way," Curr said.

Amanda Jacobellis, 25, believes her life has changed for the better since she watched "The Secret."

Earlier this year, she was trying to turn a building in West Hollywood, Calif., into a makeup salon specializing in eyelash extensions and evoking the glamour of Old Hollywood. Her renovation was only half done, her credit card bills were coming due and her banker couldn't explain why the money for a $50,000 approved loan hadn't arrived in her account.

Sensing her despair, a friend suggested she watch Winfrey's upcoming show on "The Secret." Jacobellis did, and bought the DVD as well.

She spent a night diagramming what she wanted in her life, using a piece of paper and a Sharpie pen: happiness, security, freedom; good relationships with her friends and family; fitness and health goals; less stress _ and in one corner, she wrote that she wanted her $50,000 loan by the next day at 3 p.m. She made a call to her banker the next morning: no news. But by 3 o'clock, the mail arrived, containing a letter saying she could call to get the funds transferred into her account.

Jacobellis now sells the DVD in her Makeup Mandy salon.

"I think where people are mistaken when they watch it is they think all they have to do is wish and it's going to happen," she said. "That wasn't exactly the case. This is something I had put a lot of energy and time into.

"What I take from it is not that you just have to wish or hope or think something's going to happen. ... There's a way it's going to happen. ... When you're more positive, I think new ideas come to you and you're able to kind of get through hurdles or over obstacles."