The Secret, a Karma Chameleon Like a Prayer

I recently watched "The Secret" on dvd. It was interesting and, in some ways, truly enlightening. Granted, Tony Robbins and other self-help gurus have been talking about the "law of attraction" for more than 25 years. "The Secret" was, however, presented in a visually entertaining way, reminiscent of "The Da Vinci Code." Apparently, this presentation connects with many people.

To me, the "law of attraction" discussed in "The Secret" (what you put out to the universe, by asking and then believing [through visualization], is what you will attract) was strikingly reminiscent of two different religious concepts. Karma is typically defined as the belief that "the effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others." Isn't that the same thing as the "law of attraction" put forth in "The Secret"? Likewise, prayer is generically defined as "an action or practice of communicating, commonly with a sequence of words, to a deity or spirit for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, confessing sins, or to express one's thoughts and emotions." Isn't that the same thing as the process of the "law of attraction" in "The Secret"? Is it all really that simple?

In fact, one memorable aspect of "The Secret" was the discussion of how spirituality, a universal force or higher power (whether called God, deity, "the force" or something else) that binds us all together, and organized religion are all the same concept. Are they all really the same? If so, then couldn't thousands of wars and hundreds of millions of deaths throughout the history of mankind, all in the name of God or religion, have been avoided?

Too bad they didn't have dvds six thousand years ago.