'The Secret,' a phenomenon, is no mystery to many

There are evangelical versions of this theme, Dr. McCloud adds, such as the "prosperity gospel" among Pentecostals and the Word of Faith movement, which includes pastors T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen.

Eventually, "The Secret" touches on spiritual or religious themes, including the importance of gratitude, expectation of good, and love as the greatest power in the universe. It borrows from the New Testament to define the "powerful process" for employing the secret as "Ask, Believe, Receive." Yet it's not talking of Jesus' prayerful approach to God, but a personal process of visualization.

But even some New Thought advocates object to this approach. "We believe in the law of attraction but apply it differently," says Thomas Shepherd, chair of history and theological studies at Unity Institute. "It's not really about materialistic things, but about spiritual growth – the goal is to become one with God ... not demonstrate a Cadillac in the driveway or get personal power.

"For me," Professor Shepherd adds, "it gets too much into magic, the idea you can control the world by what you think as opposed to letting go and letting God work through you."

Visualization has been most associated with New Age religion and forms of healing, but it has long been used as a meditative technique in both Eastern and Western religions, says Christel Manning, associate professor of religion at Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, Conn. "It can be part of religious practice, but most traditional Christian or Jewish perspectives would understand prayer to be opening yourself to the will of God."

In various forms, visualization is practiced in sports and business, as well as in alternative healing methods that focus on imagining changes taking place in the body, such as cells becoming healthy again.

"The Secret" also claims to draw from quantum physics in its view of the operations of the universe. John Hagelin, a quantum physicist says in the book, "Quantum mechanics confirms it; Quantum cosmology confirms it: that the universe essentially emerges from thought and all of this matter around us is just precipitated thought. Ultimately we are the source of the universe...."

Other particle physicists dispute that claim, however, on the basis that it goes beyond scientific evidence.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find a physicist or cosmologist who would agree that quantum mechanics or quantum cosmology would confirm that the universe emerges from thought," says Bruce Schumm, of the University of California, Santa Cruz. "That's something science has not addressed ... and scientists wouldn't consider provable at this point."

While the observer does influence the universe, Professor Schumm says, quantum mechanics does not say humans can do so intentionally. Schumm adds that Dr. Hagelin has done work that mainstream scientists value, but he also stands for "pseudoscientific" things that the majority do not support.

In the eclectic or synergistic mode of the New Age, "The Secret" clearly mixes various streams of thought. (An early version of the DVD featured a couple who "channel" someone called Abraham to teach the law of attraction.) Some Christians call it blasphemous, saying it encourages people to substitute themselves for God and ignores sin.

Others term the message narcissistic, adding that it focuses on self to the exclusion of helping others and ignores the need for hard work to achieve results.

Some criticize it for "blaming the victim" by telling people that bad things happen because of their bad thoughts. "If you follow that through, imagine what it says to somebody who's just been raped or kidnapped," says University of Waterloo's Dr. Cowan.

"The Secret," meanwhile, seems to be turning into a brand. Several of the teachers are giving seminars and retreats across the United States, and one says that a sequel to the DVD is also in the works. Publishers, hoping to ride the phenomenon's coattails, are releasing related books, and a few are already climbing the charts.

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