The Secret

Have anyone of you have had the chance to read 'The Secret'? Well, I haven't read it and quite frankly, with everything that I have on my waiting list, I really doubt that I'll do it in the near future. Today, however, I was reviewing a small article that I had written in Spanish on Facebook regarding this book and I decided to share it (in English) through my blog.

Those who are more familiarized with the book know that 'The Secret''s premise can be summarized in having a positive mind in order to attract good things to yourself (and the same fact applies vicersa too; that is, if you have negative thoughts, negative things will come to you) Perhaps I'm reducing to the lowest term the content of what that book has to offer; nevertheless, I understand that (based on commentaries and summaries that I have read) the subject matter of it falls somewhere along those lines.

Now then, I do consider that some of the arguments in that book can be proven as logical fallacies with a mere 'reduction to the absurd'; however, I will not dwell too deeply on that because that's not the point I want to make. What I do share is the idea that having a positive mind, or to say it in another way, having faith that good things will arrive, helps a lot in achieving things that, otherwise, would be a little difficult to attain; think for example: Winning a scholarship abroad, Managing to enter that tough school you were aiming for, landing an excellent job opportunity or conquering the heart of the girl that doesn't let you sleep at night! =) I completely concur with this theme of the book since faith is the “substance” of things hoped for; the proof of things not seen. Nevertheless, who can assure me that that which I hope for is 100% good? It does not matter how positive a person's mind is, there will always be something inside him/her that will question him/her if that which he/she hopes for is truly good for him/her. We'll always have this dilemma. It is actually part of our human nature; it is part of our own limitations and contingency. We could be 99.999% sure of something (positive thoughts), but that small margin of error (negative thoughts) of 0.001% could trigger the bad things that befall to those who don't 'attract good things with their thoughts.'

Unfortunately, in this sensible world there is nothing that can assure 100% that my hope is well placed. Everything is substitutes after substitutes that never truly manage to keep the promise that my hope is well placed. Always leaving us feeling unsatisfied... Thank God that our life does not limit itself to the sensible reality because the only way to be 100% sure that that which we hope for is truly going to make us happy is by putting in the hands of God precisely that which we hope for. That way, there would not be any margin of error to start with. That which we hope for, no matter if it brings us something good or something 'bad', will not be subjugated to the subjective/objective (depends on how you want to see it) state of our minds. But rather, it will be in the generous hands of a loving Father that will ALWAYS give us the best things for us. If that which we hope for brings us something good, give Him thanks. If that which we hope for brings us something 'bad', give Him thanks because it was not for you; and if it causes you pain, offer Him that pain ("My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn" [1]). 

Offering things to God and Thanking God. In other words, Praying to God. We should not loose sight of this since hope is raised in the school of prayer. Saint Augustin puts it very nicely:  "Suppose that God wishes to fill you with honey [a symbol of God's tenderness and goodness]; but if you are full of vinegar, where will you put the honey? The vessel, that is your heart, must first be enlarged and then cleansed, freed from the vinegar and its taste. This requires hard work and is painful, but in this way alone do we become suited to that for which we are destined." [2] Suited to that which we hope for.

One thing must be set clear though: As we say in Spanish "A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando". We have to fight for that which we hope for. Give our best in accordance to the maximum of our capacities and possibilities even if we may not reach it. But we have to put all that effort under prayer. Faith, through prayer, gives us something of that future reality we are waiting/fighting for today, and as such it is a proof of the things that are still unseen. So, it doesn't suffice to have hope in our positive thoughts to be truly happy; rather, that borrows and takes its fundament from Christian Hope. It is in this Christian Hope that we have a trustworthy hope "by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey." [3] And what is this Goal? What is this Journey? The answer lies in Christ...

[1] Psalm 51, 19.

[2] Cf. In 1 Ioannis 4, 6: PL 35, 2008f.

[3] Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, Rome, November 2007.