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The eternal silence of these infinite spaces terrifies me.
�� Blaise Pascal, �ʱ�Բ�é���

Ask: I’m thinking positively, feeling grateful. I want to travel back in time.

Visualize: I see myself driving a DeLorean and going back in time; it's Saturday and I just decided I won't read this book, thus avoiding another Coelho experience due to being dangerously curious and irremediably naive when it comes to the 'don't judge before reading' issue.

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Hello?

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Much has already been said about the content of this book so I'll just share some random thoughts after being absent for months on here since I've been busy with work, studies, life, pandemic...
Personally, I agree with the power of a positive thought and meditation which help with stress management and improve one's health, even though 'agree' may not be the right term since it's not a matter of belief.¹²³⁴��
However, when I speak of a positive thought, I mean the normally transient positive thought, not the exhausting kind of positivity used to satisfy one's materialistic desires - spiritual beings sure like mansions, expensive cars and other representations of opulence.

I also agree with the concept of gratitude, of course, and put it into practice on a daily basis. And, from time to time, I like the idea that everything's connected, which brings about some trepidation when one sees the other end to which one's supposedly connected and prefers to cut all red, green or uncolored strings in order to preserve one's mental health or even lives - ultimately, that would be one's fault, according to the law of attraction. In fact, one shouldn't even sympathize with other people's problems, that would bring chaos to the individualistic bubble.

In that sense, Byrne and Co. shouldn’t refer to the law of attraction as ‘the secret�� if they want everyone to know about it as claimed in the book. This law considers the universe stupid: it doesn’t distinguish good from bad. Following this logic, by calling it ‘the secret�� they bring more secrecy to it. They should call it ‘public knowledge��. (Conveniently enough, it does sound like a Seinfeld joke.)
Either way, I'm planning on leaving the country in the near future so I'll test this law and will report the results; perhaps wishful thinking does buy plane tickets. And will eat all the food available on that flight (and in life) since weight is no longer an issue: to lose weight, don't focus on "losing weight." Instead, focus on your perfect weight. Feel the feelings of your perfect weight, and you will summon it to you. Did you really think the solution was a healthy diet and exercise? Did you really think it couldn't get worse? If you see people who are overweight, do not observe them, but immediately switch your mind to the picture of you in your perfect body and feel it.

On another note, it's remarkable that, taking into account the subject Byrne is dealing with, she didn't even try to bring a speck of seriousness to the book. As a journalist, lawyer, reader and human being, I wasn't expecting reliable sources, references to the resources she consulted (otherwise, saying that someone said something in the 1800's might as well be fiction), well-developed theories nor the beauty of a somewhat Proustian language all at once, but there's not even an effort to make it look less absurd.

I'm aware of the fact that there's not much to work with, but it doesn't hurt to give your best to create a book and not a Tumblr post. The way the entire book is presented, the repetitive lectures interspersed with simplistic testimonies, the mediocre writing that made me feel like a native English speaker, the other sources the author mentions... or dead writers that can't state whether their quotes, those loose sentences she uses as evidence, prove they were actually using 'the secret' or not.
For instance, among the quotes, there's one by Einstein asking himself is this a friendly Universe? Naturally, the book speaks about the universe as an entity and the conclusion is Yes, the Universe is friendly... The Universe is conspiring for me in all things (where did I hear that before?). However, that quote is mostly known as is the Universe a friendly place? which could be about us and our attitudes, not the universe itself. Since they resorted to Einstein, it's important to remember he also wrote once a quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest��.

I'm sure Byrne has been feeling good and reveling in positive thoughts, nevertheless, it wasn't enough. There's a number of factors that inevitably attracted another one-star rating.

The law of attraction is a law of nature. It is as impartial and impersonal as the law of gravity is. It is precise, and it is exact.

And still, the silence is terrifying.




Sep 27, 20
* Later on .
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6. Credit: photo via