After watching ?The Secret? over and over again, I am beginning to wonder why I am getting the feeling that something is missing. Of course I did all the things that were expected of me, and yet I still had a feeling deep down inside that something was amiss. Putting this down to my possible resistance to the prosperity that was soon to come my way, I batted on regardless. Nevertheless, I could not shake off the growing thought that things were not quite as easy as they were being portrayed in the DVD. Then I found a site which said that during the interviews with the people in the film, information that we would need to give us the complete picture of how we could manifest our desires was being left out. The smoke and mirrors seemed to increase the more I read, but from which side?, that was the all important question.

Does ?The Secret? really work?, or is it just another way to pander to the ?get rich quick? mentality which seems to prevail in our society today?. Something somewhere doesn't seem to be adding up, and the expectation that we can all be millionaires and successful at anything we do needs to be weighed with a certain amount of discrimination. All ?The Secret? appears to be doing is creating more frustration and a feeling that maybe we are not quite good enough to manifest like the people in the film says they can if nothing happens after a few months. Am I and most of the people I know alone in feeling this?.

As spiritual beings I believe that abundance is our birthright, then how come almost all the spiritual people I know are having a hard time of it?. I do not believe we are here to suffer either, the only thing it is good for is to teach us how best to avoid it in future, re: a different mental attitude next time, which coincidentally is how the Law of Attraction works as portrayed in ?The Secret?. I've also tried to look at this in a different way. Are there other factors involved which could influence the outcome of any attempt to attract things to us?. I have an astrologer friend who says that while Saturn or Pluto or whatever is in a certain sign, then forget the good times for a while and just dig in. Another friend who's an economist says before long the money we have will not be worth the paper it is printed on, the run on Northern Rock being just the thin end of the wedge. Do these things impact on our subconscious mind and stop us from living with abundance?, maybe they do to a certain degree.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem per se with using the Law of Attraction, I truly believe in the effectiveness with which it can work in our lives. What I have a problem with is it being portrayed as the only law we need to be happy, to the detriment of all the others. We all came here to live our lives and remember who and what we really are, spiritual beings on a journey of self discovery. Being rich and successful by themselves is not the remit of a spiritual person, it's not how we can tell who is spiritual and who isn't, nor should it be the driving force in our searching for our truth. Be the best person you can possibly be, but not at any cost. Listen to your intuition at all times when asking for the things you want or desire, and be prepared to adjust your expectations if they are making you feel uncomfortable or frustrated.

In her book ?A little light on the Spiritual Laws?, Diana Cooper tells the story of a friend of hers called Kevin who went to Sai Baba's ashram to ask for a blessing on the next step of his life as he saw it. Kevin wrote out a note and placed it in front of him as Sai Baba walked past. His note was ignored. After a meditation he wrote another note slightly different to the first, which was also ignored. During another meditation, Kevin received a flash of illumination which allowed him to see things from a different perspective. His third letter was written with this in mind and came from the Heart instead of from the Ego. This letter was duly taken, and allowed Kevin to move forward with his life.

Is ?The Secret? really the secret to all our needs and wants and problems?, Like Kevin, we can ask for anything we want and present it to the Universe for approval, but to my way of thinking it is in the way we ask ( not how we receive, as portrayed by ?step 3? in ?The Secret? ) which will determines whether we receive or not. The all important preparation work comes before we ask, not before we receive, and if our list is in attunement with our Soul's purpose and desire, then the Loving Universe will move ?Heaven and Earth? to bring it to us.