Or, How P.T. Barnum was a Pollyanna:
Self-help gone nutty
A craze called 'The Secret' blends Tony Robbins with 'The Da Vinci Code,' telling people to have it all without trying.
By Karin Klein, KARIN KLEIN is a Times editorial writer.
February 13, 2007WHEN MY SISTER arrived from New York over the holidays, she plopped a hand-tooled leather satchel on my piano bench and said, "See the beautiful bag I manifested for myself?" Gorgeous, indeed. But manifested?
Well, I suppose that's easier than dealing in cash.I suppose, if you don't hurt yourself.
"Manifesting," for those outside the self-help loop, is the big buzzword from "The Secret," a new DVD with a tie-in book featuring the ancient idea of having it all without trying very hard. If "The Secret" had a plot, it might go something like "Tony Robbins uncovers the Judas Gospel and learns to use the Force."Tom Hanks?The DVD is screened regularly at gatherings of the energy-healer crowd. The video opens with a "Da Vinci Code"-style shot: A man in a ragged tunic makes off with a hot papyrus.
A voice-over assures us that an ancient secret, hidden from most of mankind, is about to be revealed. (Insert little conspiracy montage: A medieval priestly type privately unrolls the secret scroll; men in suits scheme in a smoke-filled boardroom.) Then motivational speakers take turns elaborating on this idea: If you want something, think of it with loving and positive feelings and it will "manifest." The concept apparently stems from the work of Esther Hicks, a famous channeler.Already I don't like this Hicks person.
I never would have heard of "The Secret" if it weren't for my sister, the sort of person who has a spirit guide and professes to "massage energy." (Friends say the wrong sister moved to California.) But apparently it has found major cultural traction. It was featured on "Oprah" last week. The book is No. 4 on The Times' nonfiction bestseller list and No. 2 on Amazon (with the audio CD set No. 3). At my local Barnes & Noble, it was sold out.Christ. It's the LATimes. You just knew it would include a lying cheapshot at Bush.[...]
Here was my favorite bit: "Food is not responsible for putting on weight. It is your thought that food is responsible for putting on weight that actually has food put on weight." It's a position that seems to have a lot in common with President Bush's ideas about global warming. Carbon emissions warm the Earth only if you worry that they will.
On the flip side, nothing — nothing — happens to people that isn't brought to them by their own persistent thoughts, and the book strongly implies that this includes those killed in the Holocaust and the World Trade Center. Under this philosophy, why bother contributing to Oxfam or worrying about Darfur? What a guilt-reliever.Well, that may just turn out to be Darwin in action.Near as I can tell, the whole idea is just a new spin on the very old (and decidedly not secret) "The Power of Positive Thinking" wedded to "ask and you shall receive."
[...]
Strange to say, people are buying it. Not just the book and DVD. The message. Therapists tell me they're starting to see clients who are headed for real trouble, immersing themselves in a dream world in which good things just come.
The therapists obviously ought to visualize smarter clients.Yeah, I saw that coming.My sister says I'm over-intellectualizing. She, after all, had manifested a fine leather satchel. And I have to admit, if there were designer leather goods to be had out of this, I was interested.
The reality was — drat it all — far more prosaic. Watching the DVD gave her the idea that she could afford this bag if she really wanted it, and so she went ahead and charged it.
I say, if you need an Amex card to make a handbag appear, you're an amateur.And a sissy.
[Wanders off shaking head]
Posted by Ken S at February 13, 2007 06:31 AM | TrackBack (0) |Never underestimate the power of positive thinking, Ken. If you try hard enough, you can manage to force yourself to believe that there aren't people this fucking stupid walking around.
Posted by: Emily at February 13, 2007 06:57 AMI guess I just haven't tried hard enough.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at February 13, 2007 07:17 AMIn that case, I want to force myself to overcome my ethics and make money off these suckers, too.
Posted by: Kate P at February 13, 2007 07:18 AMDamn. This whole time I've been trying to visualize world peace.
Posted by: Dave E. at February 13, 2007 07:20 AMWhy not? The entire high-end fashion industry is built on exactly that premise.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at February 13, 2007 07:20 AMWell there's your problem Dave. You should have been visualizing whirled peas.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at February 13, 2007 07:22 AMoh, freakin' H.
There just is no shortage of idiots in the world: "The food didn't make me fat. Thinking about the food made me fat. Ergo, if I don't think about food, I will get thin."
Sorry, I wish it worked that way.
Also: "Manifested" would be a bad enough word if you MADE the damn bag. But to use it for something you bought - good Lord, that's pretentiousness to the nth degree.
the only time I will EVER use the word "manifested" in conjunction with something coming into my life is if I begin delving into some kind of ancient sorcery-art, and become able to call up demons at will.
But that pretty much fits in with the "monkeys flying out of my butt" category of likelihood.
I'll also observe, on a more serious note, that this opens up the path for people to be really crummy to each other, and I've seen similar before:
"You got cancer because you didn't think positively enough. If you had a better attitude, you wouldn't get sick."
People who make comments like that, I'd like to bash their heads into a brick wall (on behalf of the cancer patient who's usually in too much of a state to be able to do it themselves). And I'm not a violent person by nature.
Posted by: ricki at February 13, 2007 07:33 AMThat is too freaking unbelievable. **Waves hand in front of face** "Hello? Anybody home?"
Posted by: Lemon Stand at February 13, 2007 07:57 AM"If you try hard enough, you can manage to force yourself to believe that there aren't people this fucking stupid walking around."
You have to try pretty damn hard if you take Amtrak on a regular basis.
I was trying to get through this, but I had to run to the bathroom to take care of a manifestation.
Posted by: Cullen at February 13, 2007 08:23 AMJeez, this goes beyond stupid....this pretty much gives people free reign to justify their actions because it makes them feel good. My ex-wife maxed out every credit card we had without this crap philosophy....I feel for the slobs married to people who swallow this scam.
Therapists tell me they're starting to see clients who are headed for real trouble, immersing themselves in a dream world in which good things just come.
Sounds like the Democrats are seeing therapists these days.
the only time I will EVER use the word "manifested" in conjunction with something coming into my life is if I begin delving into some kind of ancient sorcery-art, and become able to call up demons at will.
I dunno, I was "manifested (noun #1)" every time I boarded a military aircraft!
During one overseas mission, I was threatened with a poor evaluation report if I ever again referred to signing the aircraft manifest as "our manifest destiny".
;-P
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at February 13, 2007 10:01 AMHey, Ken, manifest me a sandwich while you're up?
Posted by: Julie at February 13, 2007 10:16 AMBy the pricking of my thumbs,
Something manifestly stupid this way comes.
I can totally see this becoming a "when worlds collide" type of thing, between old-school misogyny and New Age stupidity...I am hearing in my head some guy yelling,
"Hey, bitch! Get in that kitchen and 'manifest' me a beer!"
And the woman is sitting there under the table, her fingers pressing to her temples, going, "He's only yelling at me because I'm VISUALIZING him yelling at me."
Posted by: ricki at February 13, 2007 10:40 AMAnyone in the Church will recognize this as the Word of Faith Movement, just with it's mask of Christianity stripped away.
Posted by: Boy Named Sous at February 13, 2007 08:28 PMAnyone in the Church will recognize this as the Word of Faith Movement, just with its mask of Christianity stripped away.
Posted by: Boy Named Sous at February 13, 2007 08:28 PMOCD kicking in, buddy? ;)
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at February 13, 2007 08:40 PMI realized I had misspelled "its".
Posted by: Boy Named Sous at February 13, 2007 09:11 PM