Unpacking The Secret [Part Two]

This is part two of my three part examination of The Secret. I'd suggest reading part one before digging in here. The Secret wasn't marketed using conventional methods but took advantage of viral advertising means. It is available in both book and movie form. Reinforcing my selective book purchasing policy, I decided to watch the movie [isn't that the American way, anyway?]. So I carved out an hour-and-a-half of time to check it out. The film is a mixture of interviews with proponents of The Secret interspersed with dramatic reenactments.

From an artistic perspective, it isn't the worst thing I've ever seen, but it's pretty close. It was a mixture of cheap CGI effects and green screen interviews. The acting in the reenactments was reminiscent of a Lifetime movie. And there was a hint of The Da Vinci Code as they showed the mythological myth being passed down dramatically from generation to generation [note: I say mythological because its defenders offer up even less evidence than Dan Brown pretended to]. Rhonda Byrne, writer of The Secret, first offers up an excerpt of her journey towards discovering The Secret. She explains that she searched the world over for teachers who knew The Secret [apparent the search was limited to English speaking countries]. Byrne then allows the teachers to explain The Secret to the masses.

The movie begins with the teachers explaining the Law of Attraction and how it affects the world we live in. Esther Hicks*, author of The Law of Attraction: The Basic Teachings of Abraham, instructs listeners of the two basic feelings that we have: good and bad. It's instant karma- the kind of thoughts you're putting out there is the kind of return the world will give you. So as people look to expand their share of the universe, they need to follow the three step creative process behind The Secret: 1) Ask for what you want 2) Wait for the universe to Answer and 3) Receive what the universe offers you. Hicks assures, "You are the creator of your own reality."

Included in the film were testimonies of business men who claim to have used the Secret for significant financial gain. Also profiled was Morris Goodman, a man who survived a horrible plane crash and beat the odds to walk again. The inspirational stories are retold to lend credibility to the power of positive thought.

Dr Joe Vitale, a motivational speaker, is the pragmatic Secret teacher who instructs viewers on how to approach the universe. He advises viewers that when you live your life by the Secret, "The universe becomes your catalogue and you choose what you want."

The movie spends 90 minutes rehashing self-help/power of positive thinking principles cliches in digestible sound-bytes; it's basically a "You can do whatever you imagine" love-fest. I can only imagine that the book is similar in nature.

Now that we've looked at what The Secret media blitz, what does it mean to the Christian? I'll attempt to deconstruct it in the next post.

*Apparently Esther Hicks didn't appreciate the aggressive marketing surrounding The Secret and his since parted ways with the movement.

Unpacking The Secret [Part One]

One of the struggles of ministering in a small[er] church is keeping up-to-date on religious fads. It's critical that pastors be knowledgeable of the latest thing coming down the turnpike. When I was at the ole' megachurch, it was easier because I always had people knocking on my door asking about the new trends. Now, I'm forced to be more deliberate, seeking out info on the internet. Twice last week, someone asked for my thoughts about The Secret. Having no idea what they were referring to, I had to do some independent research on the topic. The Friday before last Oprah devoted an entire show to The Secret. She did a follow-up show last Friday which I DVR'd and watched this week. Oprah claims that The Secret has been the driving force behind her worldview for the past twenty years. She believes that she knew The Secret but never heard to it systematized like it has been recently.

If for no other reason, then, we Christians should familiarize ourselves with The Secret. For better or worse, Oprah is the spiritual voice of our country. And she's quite the evangelist. People you know will start buying in to this, if they haven't already. So we all should do some background work on this. I'll do my best to break down what I've learned here on my blog over the next few posts. I don't claim to be an expert, I'll do my best to give a fair treatment of the subject.

So just what is The Secret? The Secret is actually the New Age principle of the Law of Attraction. This law states that "you get what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny." Perhaps you've heard of the power of visualization- athletes that visualize themselves winning supposedly perform better during the actual competition. That's basically the Law of Attraction, but you're supposed to harness the powers of the universe in order to get what you want. So the thoughts that you send out into the universe is what you'll yield, ergo, just think good thoughts and good stuff will happen to you [and to the rest of the world].

An Australian named Rhonda Byrne developed the concept of The Secret, citing several modern day New Age teachers as possessing it. Byrne also claimed that many people over the course of history had knowledge of it even, in instances, unbeknownst to them. She claims that Winston Churchill, Plato, Isaac Newton, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry Ford are just few people from throughout history that knew The Secret.

Byrne released both a book and a movie in 2006 entitled The Secret and the movement has been well received. In addition to Oprah, Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres featured it on their shows.

I'm thinking that this will be a big year for the Secret. With that in mind I'm going to try to post two more parts on this topic. In my next post, I'll point out some of the things mentioned in the movie that I found interesting. In the third part, I'll offer an overall critique.

Do yourself a favor and get familiar with The Secret.

The Secret homepage USA Today article The Oprah Show

Bibliography

I'm a reader. I read recreationally, but do so in search of factual information. I'm preparing to be a contestant on Jeopardy in 2019. If they cancel the show before then, I guess I've been wasting my time. In previous years I was a book-hound, plowing through literature like it was Diet Coke. I've cut down on my literary consumption because I'm getting cheaper [I've never liked library books. Guess I'm a snob] and I'm more selective about what I'll read. I still read a ton, making the most of our internet connection; I get my money's worth absorbing voluminous information online. So I can feed my factual fixation without having to buy books.

In addition to my Biblical studies, I've read only two books this year. One was a book on church planting that testified that most of what we've done with Echo is wrong. The other was a book my mother-in-law got me for Christmas about the Crosley brothers that I finally finished today. Entitled Crosley, it was a 500-pager full of historical notation about the lives of these two influential Cincinnatians.

Powel and Lewis grew up in the College Hill area. Powel was the visionary, Lewis made the dreams a reality. They were responsible for innovations in radio, automobiles, refrigeration, and aviation. They're perhaps most well-known for their ownership of the Cincinnati Reds. If the Crosleys hadn't owned the team, it could very easily ended up in New York or Houston. It's a fascinating read for people interested in the shaping of Cincinnati during the first half of the twentieth century. The more you know . . .

Britney Shears

Let's all do our society a favor and stop caring. I'm not talking about dismissing the things that truly matter: there are plenty of serious issues out there worthy of our attention[ I won't list any of them her because, "If you have it, you don't need it. If you need it, you don't have it."].

But if we all could agree to show unanimous disinterest about celebrity gossip, the world would be a much better place. Why I was engaged in a conversation tonight with a bunch of educated adults concerning Britney Spears' freshly shorn cranium is beyond me. It's the byproduct of a lazy, sensationalizing media, and my naive viewership.

I've never met these celebrities, but I know more about them than I do my own friends. And it's not like I go out of my way to learn this information. It's presented to me in easy-to-digest chunks whenever I'm watching TV or on the I\internet.

I blame the media because even reputable news sources [Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Entertainment Tonight, etc,] are now reporting this crap. But if there wasn't demand from the paying public, they wouldn't keep throwing it in our faces. So we have to make the first move, unite as one, and ignore this journalistic cotton candy.

So let's forget about Paris Hilton's latest after-school special. Don't worry about who's Anna Nicole Smith's baby's daddy. And unless it's Buzz Aldrin giving me Pampers for Kaelyn, I vow to know nothing about astronauts and diapers.

This world could be a better place if we only try.

Did I mention that I'm still ticked that Jessica Simpson screwed over Nick Lachey?

When News Isn't News

Regardless of how you feel about the death penalty, does it shock you that letters to Ohio's governor are running 5-to-1 in favor of ending capital punishment? It shouldn't. On a whole, people aren't death-mongers. How many people do you know that would write a letter to the governor like this:

"Dear Mr Governor,

Please keep using the electric chair. Lethal injection is cool, too.

Your friend, Steve"

It just doesn't happen.

But people will crawl over land and sea in order to voice their objections to the death penalty. I'm not quite sure why people are so passionate about defending the lives of murderers when there are innocents all around the world dying preventable deaths that could also use advocates.

Personally [and I know you're dying to know], I am for the death penalty; it's a necessary punishment for those who take another life. Despite those who wish to use a few isolated comments of Jesus to condemn capital punishment, you can easily derive a Scriptural ethic exists that would support it. It's a post-Noadic flood [second creation] mandate that "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." This commandment precedes Mosaic law, making it very difficult to refute.

We should not rejoice in the taking of life, but there are times when it is necessary.

SKCUS RACSAN

Allow me the opportunity to disrespect my southern roots. What the crap is up with NASCAR? Isn't this sport the biggest sham going?

They penalize numerous teams for cheating before the Daytona 500 so that all the other teams get the message: cheating is bad. Then they run the qualifying for the pole position and Jeff Gordon wins. But in a post-race inspection they discover that his quarter panels were too low. NASCAR officials admit that it probably happened accidentally during the race, but still he went from first position to last position to start Sunday's race. Makes me want to watch cars going in circles really fast.

Gordon was cool about it, though. Remember that Jeff is hated by true NASCAR fans because he's the sophisticated, educated racer. His interview after being penalized shows his intellectual depth:

"It was nice to get out there and just go racing. I've been glued to the TV as much as anybody else over all this stuff. Between that and Anna Nicole Smith, I couldn't pull away."

NASCAR and Anna Nicole Smith: the working man's cocktail.

The whole thing is backwards, if you ask me.

Things That Go Bump

Don't call the Po-Po. And you don't need the Ghostbusters either. I saw a story on the local news tonight about people calling the police to report intruders. Loud noises on roofs been freaking people out, thinking it's a robber. Actually, it's the accumulated snow and ice reshifting and making some unusual sounds.

As we sat here tonight we heard a huge thump. It would seem to be man-made but it's not. Can't imagine anyone wanting to break into our place with the veritable ice rink on our deck.

So if you're here in Cincy and you hear something strange, refrain from pulling out your twelve-gauge.

It's just a little water.

Seacoast Out

So far, we've only missed a few American Idol episodes. I'm not sure why I don't find it as annoying this year. Maybe it's a sign of how far television programming has fallen. Beit Carr's runaway favorite is Chris Sligh, the Jack Osbourne look-alike with a killer sense of humor. And apparently he's a worship leader at Seacoast Church in South Carolina. He was my front-runner before and, now that I now he's obviously God's choice, he's a shoe-in to be the next Carrie Underwood, or Reuben, or something like that.

It's a reason to keep watching anyway.

HT: Ben Arment

I Have No Heart

It's been a rough day around the Carr household and cabin fever doesn't help. Then, I realize that I made a massive mistake. No, I didn't forget Valentine's Day.

I did, however, lose my Valentine's Card for Kelly.

I bought while in Danville, Illinois this past weekend. It was a stellar card, too. Somehow, between there and the house, the card has disappeared. And before you think that I'm covering my rear-end, my sister saw the card herself and can vouch.

But without a card, how will my wife every know how I feel about her?

How can she understand that she's my everything, that the past ten years have been the best of my life? Will she now not realize that I'm nothing without her? Is the fact that she's the most amazing wife and mother in the world lost forever? Will the reality that even after all these years my heart skips a beat when I see her smile ever be made known?

I could really use that card. Maybe I can give her a piece of Juicy-Fruit instead.

If I were my father, I'd have boxes of Esther Price stashed around the house and wouldn't have to deal with this. He's a genius.

Cincinnati School Closings

I'm getting even more hits here from people looking for school closings. I'm betting this title will bring even more. I'm a jerk. Here's your updated closing list: Cincinnati is closed.

This weather is just nasty. While the ice-covered trees are beautiful, I fear for what it could do to us. I'm just glad we still have power; over 100,000 homes in the city are without it. They just showed some footage of the bottom of our street on the news and the lights were out. I'll probably wake up every few hours to make sure we still have juice. You never know.

I'm pretty sure there's a snow emergency out, which means my park is illegally parked. I'll applaud any officer who stops by and tickets me.

After that mild first few months of winter we enjoyed, it's time to pay the piper.

Uno

February 12, 2006. It was a Sunday night and I had just preached at our church. I called Kelly who was in her third week of hospitalization at Good Sam. She encouraged me to go out to eat with church folk. I said I preferred to pick up some food and come back to the hospital where I had spent every night with her. After a quick stop by Wendy's I was back in the same old room eating dinner with Kel. There was a new nurse on duty who had called the doctor to check on the baby's progress.

We both thought the nurse was overtly cautious and finished our french fries. The doctor, after checking Kelly out, said they were moving us over to the other birth wing. We didn't quite get it until he said, "the baby will be here in a little more than an hour."

It was finally time.

As they prepared Kelly for surgery, I was alone in a prep room with time to kill. I don't recall thinking much, just wondering what it would be like.

I had no idea . . .

. . . how awesome . . .

. . . it would be.

I smile constantly. I love having a little girl. It is very good.

I pray that that God continues to use Kaelyn make me and many others smile.

I know she will.

And thanks to my wife, who was amazing during those first few weeks. She's an incredible mommy. And Kaelyn knows it.

If you're interested in what I was thinking then, here's a go.

My City Is Dumb

. . . but it's still my city. We had a record number of homicides here last year. The infrastructure for economic growth is severely lacking. The most prominent acreage of Cincinnati real estate [the Banks] is still a barren wasteland. So what is City Council's response: pass a resolution disapproving of President Bush's troop escalation in Iraq.

Brilliant.

In case you are confused, the Constitution has not been rewritten giving Cincinnati's city council the power to determine national policy.

There are some who say that there is an "interconnectedness of American society" that requires local politics to influence the national. If this is the case, then why limit resolutions to the Iraq war? Where are the local municipalities voicing official positions about issues like AIDS in Africa, North Korean nukes, and the invasion of aliens [space, not illegal]? Nowhere to be found. Why? Because it's now sexy to come out and criticize the war. And some in Cincinnati don't want to be left behind.

Sidebar: Let's be honest about Iraq for a second. Ever since the poorly conceived "Mission Accomplished" banner was unfurled on the USS Abraham Lincoln, people have slowly joined the bandwagon against the conflict. It's now uber-chic to bash the war and dropping the Vietnam card is the new red ribbon. But there's a definitive difference between Vietnam and Iraq: a volunteer army. The Vietnam protests were rooted in opposition to the draft. But we forgot that because . . . well . . . we were stoned, young, or unborn then. War is hell. Our generation is finally seeing this firsthand.

But as far as City Council is concerned, this is nothing more than a waste time. It's not like there's anything else out there that our city needs. If you're that interested in Iraq, find a job that affects our international policy. This city's citizens are unimpressed.

***I refer you to an interview with a dissenter on the resolution. Councilman Chris Bortz gives an excellent explanation on why he voted against the resolution.

Catching Up

The family was in two different time zones this weekend [literally] so I have a lot to write about here. For starters, check out the wife's recap of Kentucky's loss to Florida this weekend that she witnessed firsthand. Pay special attention to her expert analysis of why the Wildcats lost.

A wife who has a great sports IQ. I am blessed.

Thanks to my father-in-law for raising her right.

Roll'd

Here's an advanced warning for you: I've got a picture further down in this post that you might not want to look at. You have every opportunity to turn away. You've been warned. For the past month I've been waking up twice a week to play basketball at Cincinnati Christian University. Used to play all the time when I worked there. I really suck at basketball but it gives me good exercise. Since I have no other physical activity right now, it's become a highlight of my week.

Last week we were playing and I landed on my left ankle. Hard. It was bad, but I messed up my right one worse playing at the wonderful carpeted court in Mason. That time I was on crutches for a few days, went to physical therapy, and didn't fully heal for two months. Since this one wasn't that bad, I thought it'd be a couple days and then back to normal.

Eight days later, I'm still hobbling. I have to tip-toe up steps to relieve the pain. Had to take a picture to prove that I'm not a wuss. And now you have to see it:

Nice coloration, eh? The bruise almost looks like a Nike swoosh. Oh, and you're welcome.

Honestly, I freak out about getting injured now. I used to roll ankles all the time playing soccer in college but I'd pull on an ankle brace, pop some Advil and not miss a beat. Now, I'm out for extended lengths of time. I don't think my body heals as quickly as it used to.

I'm not feeling old otherwise, but this is rather noticeable. I'm still going to fight off the effects of aging as long as I can [thank you, Oil of Olay], so as soon as this heals I'm going back to the basketball court . . .

. . . where I can suck again.

White Out

In the winter, when all the leaves are off the trees, we can catch a glimpse of Interstate 71. At 10:50pm, it's still bumper to bumper heading into the Lytle Tunnel. That's a lot of snow in a little time. All over the news tonight people were complaining that road crews didn't get the snow up long enough. When did they have the time to get it done? An inch a snow an hour is a ton, especially when the roads are littered with cars.

I heard someone from Chicago today mentioning that Cincinnatians don't know how to get around in the snow. Considering that the Windy City has a rather intricate train system that doesn't slow down when it snows, it's not an apt illustration. I've heard similar crap from people from Indianapolis. I just wish people would stop bashing the 'Nati and think objectively: we're an extremely hilly city dependent on motor vehicle transportation. Snow slows the city down. Get over it.

When this much snow falls during rush hour, expect the delays and suck it up.

Exit Stage Left

This is the most American Idol we've watched since season 1. This is still my favorite part of the entire show: the bad auditions are unbeatable. It seems like even Paula is a little less sympathetic to the bad singers. One thing that's bothered me this year is the doors of the audition room. Some producer thought it would be humorous to leave one of the exit doors locked, offering up some embarrassing moments for people who just completely embarrassed themselves. There's no other reason to have the door locked; it's a quick exit push bar. I've been telling Kelly about it for weeks and, sure enough, tonight was their "locked door montage."

Of course, why am I expecting American Idol to be sophisticated? The snow is making me crazy.

Carr out.

No School Today

I love how this city gets into snow mode. We're 24 hours away from a predicted winter storm and everything is already shutting down. Notice that we're still not sure exactly how it will all unfold, but cancellings and delays are out in full force. Fortunately, when it comes to forecasting, Cincinnati weathermen are never mistaken. Sidebar: still miss ya, Rich Apuzzo. Any-hoo, checking my blog stats tonight I discovered that four people today found Beit Carr by Googling "school cancelings Wisconsin." In December of 2005 I used all three of those words in various posts. It's the only response that Google lists.

Embarrassingly, I guess I misspelled "cancelling," so I only attract those Wisconsinites who are either bad spellers or poor typers. Most likely, they're school kids so confused that they still have to go to school with three feet of snow on the ground that they inadvertently omit the second "L."

So to you kiddies who made your way to my corner of cyberspace because you can't spell: welcome. I'm pretty sure you'll have school today. My advice: move to Cincinnati. Most of our districts shut down at the mere hint of a snowflake.

Oh, and the Badgers suck. Yeah: insult+injury.

S**** Bowl

I don't have to preach today, so I thought I'd drop a little wisdom down here on the ol' blog. Topic: Church Super Bowl Parties. If you haven't heard by now, the NFL dropped a "cease and desist" this past week on an Indianapolis church who was going to show the Super Bowl at their church. The mistakes made by the Falls Creek Baptist Church were many:

1) They used the copyrighted term "Super Bowl" all over their website/advertising. 2) They advertised that they would show it on a huge projection screen . 3) They were charging admission to the event.

When the Baptists attempted to renegotiate, the NFL said, "talk to the hand." Inundated by complaints, the NFL finally did a 360, saying as long as the image shown is less the 55 inches, they're fine with it.

There are a ton of great angles on this one, but here are six I'd love to point out:

1) The fifty five inches limit will probably be challenged soon. This is supposed to be in effect for all private and public viewings. But now that they're making a whole slew of flat panels over sixty inches, I'd say they'll have to reexamine this.

2) Many say the NFL takes exception to these large viewing parties because it hurts their ratings which, in turn, brings down their advertising revenue. Really, it makes no difference unless you're a Nielsen family who has a box on your TV monitoring all your viewing habits.

I have always longed to become a Nielsen family, even sucking up to my friends who work for Nielsen [Dale and Emily!] but even they have no pull here. It's a totally random selection. If I was, however, a Nielsen family, I'd probably leave my TV on 24/7, even when away from home. What Nielsen family wouldn't have their TV tuned to the Super Bowl, anyway?

3) The NFL didn't realize who they messed with. Church folk ain't anything if they're not grumpy. This move made headlines all across the Bible Belt, even locally, as people declared this a travesty. The League has long excused sports bars of this viewing rule, giving the Christians a chance to complain of an anti-family bias.

4) What's even crazier is that another Indianapolis Baptist church that sent out a press release stating they would defy the NFL's policy and show the game on a huge screen anyway. Their pastor stated, "We want to save souls by any means necessary. Football, traditional service, street ministry -- it doesn't matter." Yikes! So now showing the Super Bowl at church is a salvational issue. If you like football and Jesus, Second Baptist is for you.

5) I find it ironic that many churches chose to take the moral high road here. Across the country churches began cancelling these Super Bowl gatherings, stating they didn't want to break laws. But churches break bigger copyright laws all the time. Whether it's mass publishing photos they don't know, making copies of curriculum, or having movie nights in the sanctuary, it's just not legal. But nobody bats an eye over that.

I'm not trying to excuse the actions. I'm just saying that there are 364 other days in a year when churches are in danger of violating copyright laws and you won't hear a thing about it after tonight. If you're going to play the "it's the law" card, do it consistently.

6) In a somewhat related note, I had to laugh that a large Texas church was giving away Super Bowl tickets [including free airfare and hotel] at their services last night. Part of their defense of the gimmick was posted on the web:

"It’s all about life change. If even one person comes hoping to win a free trip to the Super Bowl and experiences something positive in their life as a result, it’s worth the effort to do this promotion."

Um, if some church had given me free Super Bowl tickets, I'd say that would be a positive experience. This kind of thing is getting ridiculous, but that's another post.

In case you're curious, we'll be showing the Super Bo . . . er, the Big Game tonight at Echo. In case you're curious, I'm going with the Colts by ten.

Admission is free and I'm bringing a tape measure with me.

Bloody Valentine's Day

One of the benefits of our current abode is a beautiful view of the Christ Hospital. It's a beautiful edifice to observe, with its white-capped tower. But for a few days each year, it gets a little icky. I don't remember it well from last year since we were actually living over at Good Samaritan Hospital waiting for Kaelyn. At the beginning of February, they add filters to the lights atop Christ Hospital so that it looks like this:

Yeah, this is what we have to see for the next few weeks.

Not quite sure how I feel about this. I understand the desire to be seasonal, but is Valentine's Day the best choice? Instead of making me feel amorous, it makes me think of a horror flick. And I'm pretty sure that if I were being rushed to the hospital and observed that spire, I'd suggest that the driver head on over to University Hospital.

Happy Valentine's Day.

It Is What It Is

A few weeks ago I told Kelly that "it is what it is" will be the new catchphrase of 2007. I just heard someone on ESPN say it again, as it seems that it's the only phrase athletes and coaches are willing to offer nowadays. Apparently, I'm a few years too late as USA Today declared the phrase the cliche of 2004. Al Gore even used it publicly in 2002 when reflected on his failed Presidential bid. Maybe I haven't been paying attention. But I've started hearing it lately beyond the sporting world. "It Is What It Is" is ready to take over the world.

And, honestly, I've been trying it out myself lately. It's kinda fun.

Sample conversation:

Old Lady: "Mister, you just ran over my cat, got out of your car, kicked it a few times, got back into your car, and peeled out over its carcass!!!"

Steve: "It is what it is, Ma'am."

My advice: try it, Mikey. You'll like it.