Mammon Book II: Belief Orientations behind the Great Recession Newton Fortuin pot

Mammon Book II:
Belief Orientations behind the Great Recession
Newton Fortuin
Copyright ©Newton Fortuin 2008, 1012
Published at Smashwords

Mammon
Book I
The Demise of Critical Thinking in the Age of “The Secret”
Book II
Belief Orientations behind the Great Recession
Book III
Thriving in the Age of Austerity
These books are available in most eBook reader formats
at
Smashwords.com
Please Note
This is a continuation of the previous book which provides the
necessary context for this instalment.
FORWARD
With the exception of the section Conservative Religion and the
Economic Crisis, all writing in the main text is as it was written
before 15 August 2008.
If you follow the argument in the book, you will note that similar
new age prosperity views proliferated in the 1920's, and that an
underlying unquestioning faith in prosperity is what ultimately
derailed the economic system at the time. The issue again is not that
of The Secret per se, but that there is a ubiquitous unquestioning
belief in prosperity in the US at this time, but also in South Africa
where I live, but it appears, globally as well.
Although these events have now transpired, it is important to take

note of the underlying argument which predicted them, as well as
what the consequences may be if it is not heeded. In this regard the
events were predicted not purely from an economic perspective, but
based on what I perceived as the prevalence of a greater
Consumerist Psychosis driving the underlying attitudes which
resulted in the financial calamity, and which The Secret in
particular, is emblematic of. In this regard The Secret is
symptomatic of the greater mindset that had led to the economic
crisis, but moreover, the book discusses a philosophy which I
believe can aid one in one’s personal recovery from the
psychological and existential effects of the continuing downturn.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM
THE UNCONSCIOUS RELIGION
THE LORD OF MIND
SHACKLING IMAGERY
VOLUNTARY ENSLAVEMENT
CONSUMERIST NIRVANA
CONSCIOUS MALICE
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
NEO TYRANNY
DESCENT TO INANITY
TROUBLED WATERS
SOBER REFLECTIONS
PARADISE FORECLOSED
THE FINAL STRAW
ON A KNIFE’S EDGE
INTO THE ABYSS
OMINOUS PARALLEL

THE GOD OF MAMMON
THE DAWN OF DOOM
VANQUISHED TRUTH
DECLINE OF REASON
SUFFERING WITH GRACE
CONSERVATIVE RELIGION AND THE EUROPEAN SOVEREIGN
DEBT CRISIS
SHORT-TERM THINKING IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES
RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOUR
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE AND FAITH
THE PRIMACY OF WORK
THE CARDINAL TRUTH
FORGING A NEW FUTURE
CONCLUSION
CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE ECONOMY
ADDENDUM
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS: THE ROLE OF AMERICA
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS: THE ROLE OF CHINA
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS: SOUTH AFRICA’S RESPONSE
COPYRIGHTS ISSUES PERTAINING TO USE OF EXTRACTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
I started writing this work in October 2007 after watching an airing of a
The Secret panel on Oprah, and then realising the extent of the
consumerist psychosis alluded to in this text.
All writing on the economy was completed by August 2008—that is
before the economic crash of September 15. It was not meant to be about
the economy per se, but rather about the dangers of an insatiable
mentality that exists particularly in the United States, and the potential
dangers it holds for society. As discussed in this instalment of Mammon,

one of these being its impact on the economy.
I hence wanted to point out that the events which culminated in the dire
economic circumstances we are now finding ourselves in, was a product
of a psychological/spiritual malaise ( i.e. greed), as much as it was
economic. In this regard the makers of The Secret simply cached in on
the prevailing mentality during this time and did not necessarily create it,
albeit that they definitely exacerbated it by proliferating its insatiable
belief system.
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CHAPTER ONE
SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM
The Unconscious Religion
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a
religious conviction. – [Blaise Pascal]
This section examines how instilling a pseudo-religious ideology in the
minds of one’s prospects, allows for a level of suggestibility which can
readily be exploited for financial, political or any other gain. In order to
acquire some insight into this it’s again useful to refer to the views of Le
Bon. Specifically the following extracts are from a subchapter of The
Crowd called A Religious Shape Assumed by All the Convictions of
Crowds.
…
When these convictions are closely examined, whether at epochs marked
by fervent religious faith, or by great political upheavals such as those of
the last century, it is apparent that they always assume a peculiar form
which I cannot better define than by giving it the name of a religious
sentiment.
This sentiment has very simple characteristics, such as worship of a being
supposed superior, fear of the power with which the being is credited,
blind submission to its commands, inability to discuss its dogmas, the

desire to spread them, and a tendency to consider as enemies all by whom
they are not accepted. Whether such a sentiment apply to an invisible
God, to a wooden or stone idol, to a hero or to a political conception,
provided that it presents the preceding characteristics, its essence always
remains religious. The supernatural and the miraculous are found to be
present to the same extent. Crowds unconsciously accord a mysterious
power to the political formula or the victorious leader that for the moment
arouses their enthusiasm.
A person is not religious solely when he worships a divinity, but when he
puts all the resources of his mind, the complete submission of his will,
and the whole-souled ardor of fanaticism at the service of a cause or an
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individual who becomes the goal and guide of his thoughts and actions.
Intolerance and fanaticism are the necessary accompaniments of the
religious sentiment. They are inevitably displayed by those who believe
themselves in the possession of The Secret of earthly or eternal
happiness. These two characteristics are to be found in all men grouped
together when they are inspired by a conviction of any kind.
To-day the majority of the great men who have swayed men’s minds no
longer have altars, but they have statues, or their portraits are in the hands
of their admirers, and the cult of which they are the object is not notably
different from that accorded to their predecessors. An understanding of
the philosophy of history is only to be got by a thorough appreciation of
this fundamental point of the psychology of crowds. The crowd demands
a god before everything else.
It must not be supposed that these are the superstitions of a bygone age
which reason has definitely banished. Sentiment has never been
vanquished in its eternal conflict with reason. Crowds will hear no more
of the words divinity and religion, in whose name they were so long
enslaved; but they have never possessed so many fetishes as in the last

hundred years (even more so in the following century), and the old
divinities have never had so many statues and altars raised in their honor.
It is thus a very useless commonplace to assert that a religion is necessary
for the masses, because all political, divine, and social creeds only take
root among them on the condition of always assuming the religious
shape—a shape which obviates the danger of discussion. Were it possible
to induce the masses to adopt atheism, this belief would exhibit all the
intolerant ardor of a religious sentiment, and in its exterior forms would
soon become a cult.
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The Lord of Mind
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains,
though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes. — [Kahlil
Gibran]
The danger of religion is very real, primarily because a great many major
wars and a great deal of inhumanity until now have been perpetrated in
the name of some or other religious view. This includes atheism as had
been the case in Stalinist Russia and the killing fields of the Khmer
Rouge, but currently in North Korea as well.
The aforementioned dangers associated with religious thinking,
ironically, was also highlighted by one of the world’s major religions,
Buddhism. In Buddhism this aspect is referred to as The Lord of Mind.
This is one of the Three Lords of Materialism coined by Buddha to
describe the controlling power of the ego.
In the seventies Tibetan Buddhist Chögyam Trungpa in his book Cutting
Through Spiritual Materialism specifically referred to The Lord of Mind
as Spiritual Materialism. It suggests that the ego tends to subvert spiritual
concepts and ‘spirituality’ for its own egocentric ends.
Spiritual Materialism in this instance has to do with the individual’s
subversion of spirituality in their own mind. In other words it is not

necessarily as a consequence of outside manipulation as is the case with
spiritual con artists such as Byrne et al as discussed in Book I.
Interestingly Trungpa points out that Spiritual Materialism, as opposed to
the conventional notion of materialism, is most powerful in subverting
spiritual growth. Interestingly he points out that it’s even more spiritually
and psychologically destructive than Physical Materialism. In other
words, the real danger is in fooling oneself that one is ‘spiritual’, but that
this identity is a largely self-serving one.
In the book Trungpa warns that American Spirituality in particular was
largely succumbing to spiritual materialism. And in this regard he warned
that fledgling groups, particular those incorporating Eastern religious
notions, was in great danger of being subverted by fraudsters and con
artists.
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This chapter, therefore, is not strictly about Spiritual Materialism, but
rather about this subversion, and how 'spirituality' can very easily be
commercially exploited; hence the overriding reference to Spiritual
Consumerism.
As such, spiritual consumerism is about how ‘spiritual’ goods are
purveyed, and not necessarily about how we as individuals may
psychologically attach to any particular spiritual dogma for our own
egocentric or other psychological reasons.
Shackling Imagery
The mirror of Erised (Desire) shows us nothing more or less than the
deepest, more desperate desire of our hearts… However, this mirror will
give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it,
entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if
what it shows is real or even possible…It does not do to dwell on dreams
and forget to live, remember that… — [J. K. Rawlings]
The way The Secret has formulated its action plan – that is to ask, believe

and receive) – for all intents and purposes is an antithesis to actually
achieving one’s goals. This one can conclude only when one explores its
deeper more malicious intent.
To understand why it is so one must be cognizant that the ability to get
people to unquestioningly believe their visions will materialize by its own
accord, is a very powerful weapon in the greater armory of the mass
hypnotist.
It is once again from Le Bon’s ponderings that we can gain some insight
into the methodology of the mass deceiver.
…
Whatever the ideas suggested to crowds they can only exercise effective
influence on condition that they assume a very absolute, compromising,
and simple shape. They present themselves in the guise of images, and
are only accessible to the masses under this form.
Whatever strikes the imagination of crowds presents itself under the
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shape of a startling and very clear image, freed from all accessory
information, or merely having as accompaniment a few marvelous or
mysterious facts: examples in point are a great victory, a great miracle, a
great crime, or a great hope (or isolated grand sounding claims about
Quantum Physics). Things must be laid before the crowd as a whole, and
their genesis must never be indicated (it must be overtly positive, and the
potential pitfalls, the negative, must never be presented).
These imagelike ideas are not connected by any logical bond of analogy
or succession, and may take each other’s place like the slides of a magic-
lantern which the operator withdraws from the groove in which they were
placed. This explains how it is that the most contradictory ideas may be
seen to be simultaneously current in crowds.
According to the chances of the moment, a crowd will come under the
influence of one of the various ideas stored up in its understanding, and is

capable, in consequence, of committing the most dissimilar acts. Its
complete lack of the critical spirit does not allow of its perceiving these
contradictions.
Such is always the case with the collective hallucination so frequent in
history—hallucinations which seem to have all the recognized
characteristics of authenticity, since they are phenomena observed by
thousands of persons.
It is not, then, the facts in themselves that strike the popular imagination,
but the way in which they take place and are brought under notice. It is
necessary that by their condensation they should produce a startling
image which fills and besets the mind. To know the art of impressing the
imagination of crowds is to know at the same time the art of governing
them.
…
Thus, as much as it is absolutely not true that visualizing an end will of
itself make it happen, what is important to draw from the above is that
nurturing such a belief in one’s prospect, is all important if one is to
mentally control them.
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In other words: the ability to conjure up such illusory visions in the mind
of one’s prospects is all important to mentally entrapping them, and for
them to unconsciously do one’s bidding.
Voluntary Enslavement
Who covets more, is evermore a slave. — [Robert Herrick]
Most importantly, what must be borne in mind with regard to spiritual
consumerism, is that there in truth is no ‘goods’ or any other meaningful
value exchange taking place, but rather, as with the fable of The
Emperor’s New Clothes, the mere purveyance of the suggestion that
something of value is being offered.
Linking this to Shackling Imagery and The Unconscious Religion, we see

that powerful imagery accompanied with an unconscious belief
orientation can be a very powerful cocktail used by the mass hypnotist to
entice their chosen victims. The real danger with attaching a concerted
consumerist agenda to ‘spiritual’ innuendo as is the case with The Secret,
is that the consumerist visual imagery of today is unmatched and far more
subliminally compelling to anything that has gone before. We are
constantly bombarded by visuals suggesting stuff we cannot live without,
and how we are lesser humans for not having them. Thus we have to
contend with a never ending onslaught on our consciousness which we
are obliged to constantly ward off for our sanity to prevail.
While this state of affairs in itself is untenable, what is apparent is that
The Secret deliberately exploits this unfortunate reality by purposefully
implanting consumerist mental hallucinations. We are literally persuaded
to actively load our imaginations with the images of the things we want,
such as Vitale’s BMW Z3 Roadsters for example.
It however must be borne in mind that, evoking such overt vivid visual
imagery, is part of a concerted effort to entrap those enamored by such
views into a particular brand of unconscious consumerist religion.
Though instead of heaven after death that is being concocted, the belief
being purveyed is that one can attain one's dreams and desires merely by
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maintaining the illusion of it in one's head. Then, to immerse oneself in
the hallucinatory feelings as if one has already attained it.
In other words the implanted suggestion is that we can attain our stuff
merely by wanting it badly enough. The specific means to materialize it
being is simple as immersing oneself in vivid mental images of it. And as
an aside, to intend good things for others to further assist with its certain
miraculous manifestation. And let's not forget, to also attend expensive
seminars or form part of a new age worship group to further expedite this
magical acquisition.

All along, while engaging our pleasant hallucination, the reality outside
our imagination — aside from the pleasant illusion — usually having the
nasty side-effect of sneaking up on us if we do not pay it the due attention
it demands.
However while one is engulfed in one’s fantasy, blissfully unbeknownst,
one would be fully under the hypnotists binding spell.
Consumerist Nirvana
He who loves wisdom loves his own best interest and will be a success.
–– [Proverbs 19:8]
To put it bluntly, The Secret is unabashed spiritual consumerism,
proliferating exaggerated new age ‘spiritual’ paraphernalia intended for
sale to those foolish enough to buy into the associated delusion.
Though, as The Secret literally amounts to the propagation of a bunch of
carefully selected half-truths, its overall societal impact cannot readily be
discerned. Perhaps the best way to understand its innate danger is by way
of the Parable of the Sower.
This is iterated by the following quote by Andrew Paterson from a
critique of Brandon Bays' The Journey titled Hijacking Natural
Enlightenment. It was written in March 2005, a few months before The
Secret’s release.
So the whole thing comes down to authenticity. When we are living
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authentically, we plant the seed of natural enlightenment in the soil
of our soul. When we focus on techniques and teachers, that seed is
never planted, or if it has been, any shoots will quickly wither and
die. It is not that teachers and techniques cannot be useful, but we
must always make our own inner lives the focus of our spiritual
work. Unfortunately, there are many commercially minded men and
women out there who are desperate for us to focus on them and
their technique so that they can sell us their workshops, retreats,

books and CDs. These are the hijackers of enlightenment; and these
are the individuals we must run a mile from if we want any chance
to taste the true inner freedom that is our birthright.
Essentially The Secret is a regurgitation of John Kehoe’s Mind Power
techniques (though many other similar techniques before), but
significantly less grounded and with unprecedented commercialism. In
basic marketing speak the way it is packaged is as the prototypical
example of “how to sell snow to an Eskimo”.
Again referencing John Demartini, it is interesting that his latest
workshop is called How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to
Heaven. While it might sound catchy, this in my opinion flagrantly
promoting his consistent consumerist agenda and he may very well have
called it “How to have your cake and eat it too”.
As much as Demartini professes to be a spiritualist, his idea of heaven
became apparent to me some time before The Secret when a friend asked
me to attend a book signing by someone she referred to as a great
philosopher and scientist. I nevertheless was not impressed, particularly
with Demartini’s umpteenth reference to his five houses dotted around
the world, his luxury yacht with its resort community he circumvents the
globe annually; and how we all could live his fabulous life if we just
attends his very expensive workshops.
It's not that making a helluva profit and going to heaven is of necessity
mutually exclusive. No doubt being rich can be heavenly, but for others
having too much money also appears to be a literal hell on earth as well.
The latest case in point being the death of one of Britain’s richest woman,
48 year old Eva Rausing, due to a suspected drug overdose. At her death
she and her husband had severely degenerated due to drug addiction. An
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affliction which they, with all the resources at their disposal, were
powerless to overcome. Rather the point to grasp is how such references

to becoming instantly wealthy are consistently reflective of The Secret’s
consumerist message and how achieving commercial success has become
intertwined with popular new age spirituality.
Furthermore when one understands the methods used by propagandists
one can further gain insight into this unprecedented appeal. Though
irrespective of its seeming attractiveness, one must constantly be vigilant
of the consumerist motive that drives such views.
It simply comes down to this:
It is not that they (the spiritual marketers) wish us to become rich, but
rather that the advocates of these views want our money… as such
diminishing our true chances in this regard.
This is very strongly worded in an article titled Oprah’s Ugly Secret by
Peter Birkenhead who puts it as follows.
Steve Martin used to do a routine that went like this: "You too can
be a millionaire! It's easy: First, get a million dollars. Now If you
put that routine between hard covers, you'd have "The Secret", the
self-help manifesto and bottle of minty-fresh snake oil currently
topping the bestseller lists.
I suppose when looking at it from the predominant commercial paradigm
of our time, in having elevated their particular brand of self-help
psychology to the level of a pop religious faith, the producers cunning
should in a manner of speaking be lauded. As such they perhaps are not
truly the evil one’s in this regard. For as evil is often defined in the new
age world, it is considered to be the denial of self. And it is patently
obvious that Byrne and her team certainly had been incredibly sober-
minded about their incredibly profitable undertaking.
They therefore may very well not be new ageists at all, but that they saw
the market opportunity in the prevailing new age mindset. In this manner
cunningly disguising themselves as the proverbial wolves in sheep’s
clothing and so to seize upon their unsuspecting prey.

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While laughing all the way to the bank I’m sure they in their wildest
imaginings could not have envisaged the abandoned appeal their
concoction would have had. Particularly since the scale of its acceptance
must have been significantly beyond what even they in their wildest
dreams could have imagined.
Conscious Malice
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but
because of those who look on and do nothing. – [Albert Einstein]
Ultimately, the failure to take responsibility if one is responsible for the
consequences of our actions, certainly is evil notwithstanding our intent.
Hence the association between ignorance and evil in Book I.
Yet what sets The Secret apart from any other professed self-help means
that preceded it, is that it more than any other, unashamedly feeds into
these unconscious proclivities – in particular, wantonness and greed – by
disseminating falsehood through gross omission of the facts, while
actively encouraging a delusional denialist mentality.
One of its greatest omissions being the failure to convey that in most
cases the truly great people of history were particularly sober-minded
about their magnificent undertakings. In most cases they were prepared to
sacrifice potential poverty and humiliation in order to persevere with their
endeavors, often without even a hope of success or recognition in their
lifetime.
And to bring this to the previous discussion, were completely aware of
the potential personal costs associated with their endeavors. Frequently
these great spirits were willing to face losing their life without any
promise of greatness, only for society to adjudge them great in posterity.
Nevertheless most of the truly great individuals of history are nameless as
they had not sought any recognition to begin with.
In fact most of the truly great men and woman of all time became great

primarily because they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. This
includes losing everything, and even their life such as Socrates, Jesus,
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Alexander, Joan of Ark, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X…
But also because they were prepared to suffer whatever discomfort they
deemed necessary to eventually achieve their goals. Examples include
Galileo, Darwin, Einstein, Planck, Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Aung San
Suu Kyi…
History also shows that most of the great scientific pioneers over the ages
have only achieved acclaim in posterity, having been considered
mavericks for having endeavored in the areas in which they did.
Thus even though I have somewhat excused the makers of The Secret in
the previous section, I now want to fully retract this defense. I’m doing so
primarily because of such omissions which deliberately seek to convince
that achieving one’s goals is easy and that one can do so merely by
thinking wishfully.
For this reason spiritual consumerism must be regarded as an evil against
humanity as opposed to the material kind. This is primarily because it is a
concerted and deliberate manipulation of the deepest fiber of what makes
us human.
What else do these carefully selected half-truths’ amount to but blatant
indoctrination for financial gain without any regard for the spiritual and
psychological wellbeing of those targeted?
This clearly is contrary to what it professes to do. As such it is
unscrupulous and unconscionable, and as the common definition is
understood, is true evil—not mere unconsciousness as Jung defined it as.
Thus, apart from the unintended harmful consequences our unconscious
actions or inactions may have on ourselves and others, our inadvertent
ineptitude is yet not evil. At least as we ordinarily interpret it. According
to the usual definition, the association we have with those who commit

evil, are that they do their callous deeds with clear conscious intent,
regardless of the consequences on others.
Though rather than condemning The Secret for the blatant sacrilege it is,
for some obscure reason even some of the most learned and influential
members of society also appear to have become completely infatuated by
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this outrageous deceit.

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CHAPTER TWO
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Neo Tyranny
I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of
tyranny over the mind of man. –– [Thomas Jefferson]
When contemplating Le Bon’s words in The Unconscious Religion one
must grasp that Nazism first and fore mostly emanated from a religious
cult. In fact the fervor that ensued resulted from Hitler seizing on the
knowledge that the masses can more easily be manipulated in this way.
Hence what essentially transpired was that he formulated his own self-
styled religious doctrine as a vehicle to drive and promote his devious
political ends.
This is further intimated in the following extract from University of
Calgary professors Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe’s New Religions as
Global Culture: The Sacralization of the Human.
To most people outside of Germany the Nazi movement is an
example of a political ideology gone mad. It was that. But, as
George Mosse pointed out in the early 1960's the Nazi movement
was inspired by various new religions and, at its core, was deeply
religious, but violently anti-Christian. Of course, for most Germans,
National Socialism was a political movement that claimed to be

able to solve the problem of unemployment and end the Great
Depression. But, the SS were almost totally adherents to a new
German neo-paganism…
The Arian race concept was specifically derived from Hindu mythology,
in particular the Aryan invasion of India by northern tribes a few
thousand years ago. The conclusion we therefore can reasonably draw
from the above is that, at the core, religiosity – and specifically New Age
‘spirituality’, albeit a devious perversion of the original form – was
largely responsible for World War II and the ideology that fuelled the
madness that led to the Holocaust.
Furthermore, other than having aided the dictators and despots of the
early 20
th
century, the main application of Le Bon’s work had been in the
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field of marketing.
The question this raises is: what distinguishes marketing from
indoctrination?
What is evident is that the marketing industry's emphasis is specifically
on the visual aspects referred to in Shackling Imagery. Belief on the other
hand tended to be a far more subtle matter. The eventual belief in a
product or service usually becoming entrenched in the brand image which
develops over time. Thus there is not an overt attempt at instilling a belief
orientation per se.
Belief consequently becomes entrenched in the quality perception of the
product itself, though this at times can border on a form of virtual
worship. Nevertheless whatever the belief perception may be, it usually is
an essential element of the quality of the offering itself. For this reason,
given that business can at times be cut-throat, in this regard there always
tended to be an implicit ethical line which seldom is overtly crossed.

What therefore distinguishes The Secret from being mere marketing is
that it most certainly had crossed this implicit line. Firstly it does not
offer a product or anything else of true value, but specifically purveys a
belief it deviously purports to be based on science. But more crucially,
that this belief itself feeds into the prevailing consumerist milieu which it
deliberately seeks to exploit.
To discern the fundamental difference between a marketer and what can
otherwise be referred to as a spiritual marketer, is this.
A marketer will usually ask: “how can I bring attention to my offering in
order to maximize its sales?”
This would include emphasizing the special features of the product or
improving the quality perception of the offering in whatever way the
market demands. Thus despite the marketer's inducements to purchase,
the consumer ultimately is still in control of the overall process.
On the other hand the spiritual marketer would be motivated by the
question: “How can I instill a belief orientation in the mind of my
prospect that I may program them into giving me ongoing revenue
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without having to provide any meaningful value exchange in return?”
The following 2006 Time.com article emphasizing exactly how blatant
this emphasis had been.
The film's backers say they deliberately aimed to make "wealth
enhancement" a major element of the project. "We desired to hit the
masses, and money is the number one thing on the masses' minds,"
says Bob Rainone, a former IBM salesman and telecom exec who
now serves as Byrne's U.S. business partner. Wealth enhancement
is also part of The Secret's business plan.
This in itself should be the dead giveaway. That The Secret was
conceived as a business idea, particularly targeting it at the greedy
(“money is the number one thing on the masses mind”) and not a

spontaneous act of inspiration with the intent being to enlighten.
As such they’ve use methods of indoctrination in the same way a
Napoleon, Hitler and a Mussolini had done. So while Hitler evoked the
imagery of the blond-haired blue-eyed (notably not his own
characteristics) superior 'Aryan' race, The Secret evokes vivid images of
the stuff we desire, accompanied with the belief that one can effortlessly
manifest them by using The Secret's 'secret' methods. Thus instead of
doing it for political expediency, The Secret's tyrants were motivated by
unadulterated commercial gain.
Again, if you had become a devotee of The Secret, the question I’m
obliged to ask you is: how do you feel about it now that you know you
had been deliberately targeted? That you were previously deemed likely
to abdicate your conscious reason to these unscrupulous marketer’s
inducements, in doing so, to have become part of Rainone and co’s select
psychographic as had been predicted by their carefully crafted business
plan?
_______________________________
As will be discussed in Formula for Disaster, it should be noted that Hinduism has
nothing to do with Nazism, except that Hitler had maliciously subverted Indian
mythology, the associated symbolism – such as the Swastika which is a Hindu Symbol for
Good luck – had been used as a particular method of indoctrination as per the advocacy of
Le Bon. Himmler however indicated that it was the ideal religion to support his idea of a
superior race, particularly given the notion of reincarnation as well as the associated rigid
enforcement of the caste system entrenched in its name. Himmler also carried a
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Bhagavad-Gita in his possession. This melding of diverse religious notions with a
perverse political ideology led to the greatest evil of all time.
For a more in-depth study into the relationships between Nazism and the New Religions
of 20’s and 30’s, Karla Poewe’s New Religions and the Nazi’s provide substantial
documentary corroboration. Also refer to the Discovery World documentary Nazis: The

Occult Conspiracy as well as Esoteric Nazism.
Descent to Inanity
Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe,
but in their readiness to doubt. – [H. L. Mencken]
It might sound melodramatic fearing that a simple DVD and book is a
great evil threatening the soul of humankind. Though the real danger is in
the subtlety of the deception. It has become really problematic arguing
against any aspect of it without being labeled a negative spirit or one who
is anti-love and human brotherhood.
On the other hand how can one sit back when such an inane philosophy is
as readily accepted? How for instance can we reasonably reconcile views
as the one below by Lisa Nichols with our oftentimes harsh daily reality?
Everytime you look inside your mail expecting to see a bill, guess
what—it’ll be there. Each day you go out dreading the bill! You’re
never expecting anything great. You’re thinking debt, you’re
expecting debt. So debt must show up so you won’t think you’re
crazy. And everyday you confirm your thought: Is debt going to be
there? Yes, debt’s there. Why? Because you expected debt to be
there. So it showed up, because the law of attraction is always
obedient to your thoughts. Do yourself a favor—expect a check!
On reading that you might ask: but what’s wrong with it, she’s not saying
we should not pay our bills? She's merely suggesting we look at our debt
differently, rather to look towards what we want and not what we don’t
want and towards the future instead of being stuck in the past.
This extract should however be viewed within the greater context of the
book where all aspects such as health, weight loss, potential accidents,
are to be remedied with a similar notion—by merely shifting our focus
away from the problem, as if in doing so, the problem will go away by its
own accord. Thus my vehement criticism is in the consistent idea that one
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should only perceive the positive while completely dismissing the
negative.
I also am convinced that most people are not sitting around dreading the
bill, and then as a consequence of this dread are not expecting anything
great. The reality today is that we are expecting far too much and thus
that the exact opposite is true. It is that most people tend to be in denial
about the state of their debt, a great many not even opening the bills when
it does arrive. And the main reason for this denial is that confronting it
soberly will unavoidably impact on their ever growing list of unfulfilled
expectations.
That this is in fact what is being conveyed is iterated by the following
reference by Bob Proctor found immediately after Nichols quote.
Desire connects you with the thing you desired and expectation
draws it into your life.
What they in fact are communicating is this.
To get more of what you want, you merely need become more
expectant of life.
One therefore can reasonably conclude that the associated expectant
mindset had been responsible for accumulating the substantial debt in the
first place. As such the only reason one would dread the bill is that it is an
unwelcome reminder that one’s expectations may have to be significantly
curtailed.
The danger with accepting sweeping remarks as Nichols’ in the context
of The Secret’s philosophy is that, when the bill does arrive, one is
inclined to become complacent about it. The sense of ease deriving from
the belief that one does not need to worry about such matters as the
imaginary check will indeed be arriving soon to rescue one from one's
already dealt with and consequently nonexistent predicament.
The resulting distorted view of reality directly following from The
Secret’s three step action plan—which in fact is credited to Nichols. As

step one proposes: “Place an order with the Universe…” Then onto step
two: “How the universe will bring it to you, is not your concern or job…
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When you are trying to work out how it will happen, you are emitting a
frequency that contains a lack of faith…”
And step three: “It’s important to feel good, to be happy, because when
you’re feeling good you’re putting yourself in the frequency of what you
want… It could be you wake up and it’s just there. It’s manifested…”
Paraphrasing the above, what in truth is being conveyed is that, facing
the reality of the bill will not make one feel good in the moment, which in
turn will nullify “The Universe's” assistance in getting one out of one's
‘temporary’ tight spot.
It is furthermore inane because thinking a check in the mail, will not
make it happen of its own accord, no matter how hard one intends. This is
not a statement of belief, but one grounded on absolute cause-and-effect
scientific fact. I suppose it must be a lottery cheque she is referring to
which our weekly cash investments and positive mental vibrations would
have scientifically assisted us with.
The inanity of it aside, the suggestion that one ignores one's debt is
tantamount to proclaiming that taking responsibility for the actions that
brought it about, is irresponsible.
To put it another way, being in the moment in this case requires one fully
accept the burden of one’s debt that it ceases to be an unconscious sword
constantly hovering over one’s head. The reality is that debt in most cases
is a painful consequence of not curtailing our spending when we did not
truly have the finances at our disposal.
As financial expert Suze Orman indicated, most Americans cannot get
out of debt simply because they have no idea about how much they owe,
and how much their debt is costing them. This being no different to an
overweight person not wanting to look at themselves in the mirror, and

therefore to come face to face with the reality that their eating may well
be out of control.
In fact this denial is exactly what Byrne is relying on when targeting her
victims. But more importantly, is actively fostering. This is very evident
from the following concluding extract taken from the chapter on wealth
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creation.
I never opened my bills until I had got myself into the feeling that
they were checks. If I opened my bills before convincing myself
they were checks, my stomach would churn when I opened them. I
knew that the emotion of the churning in my stomach was
powerfully bringing more bills. I knew I had to erase that feeling,
and replace it with joyful feelings, so I could bring more money
into my life. In the face of a pile of bills, that game worked for me,
and it changed my life. There are so many games you can create,
and you will know what works best for you by the way you feel
inside. When you make-believe, the results come fast!
With this Byrne has taken the notion of living in the land of make-believe
to a dangerous next level: that one completely immerses oneself in one’s
fantasies, and that in merely doing so, to expect that one can
miraculously manifest any reality one desires.
However our debt is a reality we cannot afford to ignore or wish away,
and certainly is one we most definitely should not willingly choose to as
it inevitably will only be to our much greater future detriment.
And it is not karma that will bring this future suffering to you. Rather it is
the simple cause-and-and-effect principle of the psychological universe
known as consequence you will be attracting.
And it usually builds up considerable momentum if it is to be ignored. It
is almost the only psychodynamic one can bank on. Indeed it is so
reliable in its outworking it may well be called “The Law of Attraction”.

Thus if we are in severe debt, the recommended recourse would be to
first feel every ounce of that pain, that your stomach churns is yet a sign
that you are living in reality and not insane, but not to be crippled by its
specter either as there almost always is a way out—albeit that it more
than likely will be very painful in the short term.
In this way, by taking responsibility for the actions that had brought it
about, to devise a clear plan of action to get us out of our dire
circumstance. And while feeling every bit of the agony our irresponsible
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actions had brought about (though often it merely is the result of
unfortunate timing of uncontrollable events as the current financial crisis
is), to vow never to unconsciously bury ourselves into such a debilitating
hole again.
_______________________________
Related to Nichol’s remark “Do yourself a favor—expect a check (that is through the
mail)!” it is noteworthy that the number one method with which American’s are scammed
every year, is through bogus checks which are received through the mail. This
information came to my knowledge courtesy of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Troubled Waters
The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at
any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the
get rich quick theory of life. – [Theodore Roosevelt]
As an adjunct to the previous discussion on debt, it is also pertinent to
ponder the current state of the global economy in relation to the timing of
the release of the DVD. This was more or less 2005/2006, a time when
the world economy was booming and banks were urging consumers to
take on substantial debt. Now just over two years on we are facing one of
the bleakest recessions for many a decade.
According to those who have been around long enough, we are facing the
first significant bear market for more than two decades, with a 20% drop

in value in Wall Street during June 2008 (though far worse during
September/October 2008). But ominously, that the economic
environment has never been as confusing. And unlike bear markets since
the great depression, where the effects emanated from emerging markets,
America is at the epicenter of the current economic turmoil.
Factors influencing this are: America’s spiraling budget deficit; the
perilous drop in dollar value over the past 5 years having lost more than
50% of its value to the euro; the oil price being at previously
inconceivable highs; prices of basic foods such as rice and wheat
doubling over the past year; threats to US employment with the seventh
consecutive month of job losses by the end of July 2008, a 21% increase
in a single year (that is considering that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan
should have had an artificial decreasing effect); U.S. consumer
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