Customer Reviews

The Science Behind The Secret: Decoding the Law of Attraction

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What an interesting read this was! I really didn't know what to expect from this book, but it turned into an educational experience for me that was enjoyable and gave me a fresh perspective on "The Secret." I must admit, I own the movie, "The Secret" but had not practiced it in my life. You do not need to own or have read "The Secret" to enjoy this book. The author does a good job at describing "The Secret" for those who may be unfamiliar with the concept.

I am not terribly knowledgeable about physics, although I minored in a different scientific field. There were a couple of "muddy" pages in the book, but most of the book was very straightforward. I learned many concepts in this book that I wasn't aware of and I genuinely feel like a smarter person just for having read it. You can draw many explanations for paranormal phenomena from what is presented in this book. I found it fascinating to see how the paranormal and science could finally be linked.

After reading this book, I am nearly convinced that there must be something to "The Secret." The very afternoon I finished reading this book, I created a vision board (I'd never created one before) that is sitting perched atop the computer monitor I'm looking at right now. (If that isn't an endorsement, I don't what is.) My vision board has only been up for 4 days. I know this will sound unbelievable, but one of the items, I need to remove, because it happened... yesterday. Not sure if it's just a coincidence, but even if it is, it's an eerie one nonetheless. Just so you know, it's not something magical that I "wished" for, like winning the lottery. It was something I had been working on for over 10 years. It just seemed odd that I finally got the deal to go through, just 4 days after putting an image of signed documents on my vision board. WILD!

I have become an avid believer in this concept BECAUSE of this book. Like I said before, I already owned "The Secret" but never bothered practicing it in my life. I am now. I'd love to share this with other people, but I'm certain that I'll be labeled a quack or a heretic, so I'll just advise them to read this book and make up their minds for themselves.

Read this book! It could be life-changing. If it does nothing else for you, you'll be a little smarter and definitely have a better attitude. Sounds like a win-win.

I think that I'm exactly who this book was intended for. I'm a cross between an LOA (law of attraction) fan and a science nut, so this book covers the best of both worlds. I've watched and read The Secret (I've got the original DVD with Esther and Jerry Hicks still in it), and I love quantum physics "stuff". I had high hopes for this book explaining the science behind why the LOA works.

This book does that, to some extent, but I felt the book was difficult to read for several reasons. First, the book is quite self-indulgent. The author makes a point of constantly reminding the reader what an awesome scientist he is (maybe so, but keep it to the intro).

The author, despite being previously published, is not a great writer. I was distracted by his constant use of cliche expressions. For example, "suffice it to say" appears numerous times in the book. The book suffers for a lack of stylistic editing.

The most important drawback for me is that I really wanted a more logical progression to the chapters. The material seems to be somewhat randomly organized. I wanted to see "The Secret" linked to quantum physics in the same way someone might build up a mathematical proof. I really think this could be done, here, but I found myself waiting for some kind of big payoff in each chapter that never seemed to come.

The historic information is interesting, but seems like filler for an already very short book.

If you are a die-hard "The Secret" fan with little science education or understanding of modern physics - you may learn some things.

By now, everyone knows what the so-called "Secret" is. It is the "Law of Attraction", which was a term that was first coined in the 1880 by Mme. Helena P. Blavatsky in her book, "Isis Unveiled". Since that time much has been written about the idea that we attract what we want by the idea that we get and become the things that we focus upon. Dr. Travis S. Taylor, PhD. in his book, "The Science Behind the Sectet" gives us a run down of how this idea came about in history through various cultures from at least 2500 BCE in places such as India, Ancient Egypt, China, Persia, and throughout history. The ancient wisdom of this idea are explored not just by rote recitation of quotations (of which there are plenty!) or through philosophy or religion, but also through the science that makes these things true.

Taylor takes apart the ideas behind The Secret using quantum physics as well as the psychological reasons why the Law of Attraction would work or not work for someone. It is not an easy book to read. The author does tend to jump around in explaining the science of the Secret. It should be easier to read than it is, especially with the profusion of pictures and quotations and diagrams. While it is interesting, wading through Dr. Taylor's explanations in an overly conversational or casual style were a little less helpful in understanding the material that if he had used a more formal style of writing. I would have expected an index and resources cited in the back of the book for further reading / explanation. Dr. Taylor didn't provide either one, and for me the omission of them left me wondering why. Certainly anyone can do further research on their own via a web search, etc. However, the expectation is that authors do cite their sources and provide them for their readers.

Travis Taylor has made a very sincere attempt to scientifically decode "The Secret." This phenomenon hit the market a couple of years ago and, although I must make the upfront disclaimer that I never read the book nor saw the DVD (nor did I see Oprah's special show on the topic), enough information has funneled through to the general public that I have a passable understanding of what "The Secret" is, so I felt qualified to undertake the reading of this particular book.

Although the book is maddeningly repetitive at points, I think Dr. Taylor has succeeded in simplifying some very complex theories from quantum physics, philosophy, and religion. He's also taken the time to outline some of the recent writings/audio recordings/seminar work that preceded and gave birth to "The Secret."

In a nutshell: literalists will hate this book. Dreamers will love it.

(I am copy/pasting my blog entry to this review because I feel very passionate about the book)

The Science Behind The Secret by Travis Taylor

Quantum Epiphany

It was half way through reading this book that I had a sudden epiphany of sorts, a visual imagery came into my mind. Now, I've had this imagery before, in fact several versions of it; however, I've never seen or `felt' it in quite this way. The vision was so profound to me personally that no words could ever describe it; however I will attempt to fumble through the appropriate words to describe one of my most profound experiences of all time, nevertheless.

At this point we're all aware that one of the basic and biggest premises of The Secret is that we live in a limitless Universe. Of course, saying that and actualizing it are two completely different things. This is anther one of those concepts that I have gone back and forth on forever, first believing it only later to disbelieve it. At this point, I believe it-in fact, I know it.

Let me explain...

As I previously stated, my epiphany happened in the form of an image. It consisted of a vast Quantum Universe with limitless space/time capacity and limitless energy and limitless abundance, almost as a holographic `empty' space computer. In fact, if you thought of a sort of holographic 3 dimensional space filled with stars and endless space between the stars then you may have an idea of what I am poorly attempting to convey here. In my vision I felt as if my human body, my human form or experience, was a very small part of this. This was also part revelation to me as well for I suddenly felt as if I had been living my life incorrectly, if you will. I felt that we really are here to create what we want, to experience the joy of abundance and limitlessness. I felt as if, for those of us who are able to realize and actualize this, that at any time, anywhere, in any way, we can connect to this vast quantum computer and create our life exactly the way we want.

Where did limitation come from anyway?

Limitation is a man made idea, I'm telling you. It was created by a man who felt the fear of separation from Source and believed that he needed to control other people to feel safe. This is the origin of all fear, the fear of separation from Source, the feeling of being cut off from the greater part of ourselves. It was this fear that drove a man, just one man at first, to feel as if he needed to control another man or woman, to do what he wanted so that he could cover up this fear. From this fear derived the concept of limitation, that there is not enough to go around.

People have been believing in limitation for thousands of years, fighting over land and sea. Yet, we are all still here, living, breathing, talking, fighting, thinking, creating, surviving. Why is this? If 2,000 years ago, we were fighting over land because there was not enough of it, then how is it with 6 billion more people on the planet, that we are all still here and surviving? The reason is because we actually are not of the Earth, we are of the Universe. We live in a quantum hologram that is endless and limitless to the capacity that it is inconceivable. You or I could not possibly conceive of the vastness of space and the resultant abundance of energy.

Travis Taylor

Travis Taylor is the author of this amazing new book called The Science Behind The Secret and has also worked for NASA and the Department of Defense, no joke. This guy has written a book, a very substantial book, supporting the premise of The Secret. In short, he not only believes that it is real, he supports it and promotes its way of thinking and being. This is a guy from NASA and the DOD, again. From Wikipedia: "He holds a doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering and master's degrees in Physics and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville; a master's degree in Astronomy from the University of Western Sydney; and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University. He is also a licensed professional engineer in the state of Alabama." When have we ever had someone with these types of credentials come out and say that they believe that The Law of Attraction is real, active, and alive in the World? Well, there have been more than a few quantum physicists who have advocated for this way of thinking, but no one has ever openly supported it in this way before.

Break Through

For the world this is a major breakthrough and for me personally, a massive breakthrough. You see, this was the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to tie it all together. I had previously written that I had already found the last piece of the puzzle, but now I realized that this was just not true. I needed one more piece in order to fully integrate this as a `knowing' into my consciousness.

In this amazing book, The Science Behind The Secret, Travis endeavors to explain the quantum physics behind The Secret and The Law of Attraction. To me, it's no less than amazing as well as telling. He has quotes from many of the most famous philosophers as well as the origins of the first people to speak about The Law of Attraction. The concept has been around for about 5,000 to 7,000 years apparently.

So the question is, what if? What if all you had to do was visualize, with feeling, what you wanted to happen in your life and it happened? You see, for me this is not a `what if?' For me, this is more of a `when?' When will we, the people, begin to believe in ourselves, our abilities, our inner gifts, our own true power, to do, to be, to have, to experience, whatever we want? In my opinion, the science has now caught up with the abilities and beliefs of those people who have always known that we create our own reality with our thoughts and feelings.
You see, some skeptics that actually dare to try this usually never really believe that anything is going to happen. Thus, they never apply one of the most important concepts to this philosophy and law of life; you must also feel it into being. Actually, you don't even need to feel it to the extreme; you just need to not be simultaneously disbelieving it when you `try' it. In fact, if you do it during deep meditation, the slightest visualization has exponentiated power. This is because you are not blocking it with your conscious thoughts of disbelief, doubt, sabotage, and limitation.

So, the secret to the secret is to add feeling to your visualizations, to act `as if' it has already happened. This is how you manifest something at speed. It's all energy folks, you, me, the dog, your car, your house, the Earth, everything. We're all made of up this energy and when you visualize you are simply tapping into your power to manipulate the energy into what you want.

We're not here to suffer as so many folks think. It's not noble to be poor and broke, as so many folks think. It does not mean that you are good or bad if you are rich. There is nothing wrong with having wants and desires, nope. It's actually a sign of a healthy Soul/Personality if you have dreams, desires, and wants. This is sign that you are a creator, here to create your dreams. But, this experience will be very painful for you if you either disbelieve in your power or your worthiness to use your power. Be a kid again, get excited, and have fun! After all, that's really what we're here to do, you just forgot.

Apparently the author has written other books - textbooks, sci-fi, etc. Like me, you may never have known this, until reading this book. Because he mentions himself, often, and in the most glowing of terms.

Also, the title of this book should be "A Scientists View of 'The Secret,'" because there is so little actual science in here that the title is, at best, a horrible exaggeration. The book is basically trying to prove that The Secret is scientifically sound. This book fails at proving anything, other than the author has a very inflated sense of himself.

As the author's scholarly self has written this book, his beliefs obviously provide evidence of facts:
"The second axiom of the Law of Abundance is that life is supposed to be lived in abundance. In other words, there is a buttload of energy in the universe, everything in the universe is energy and therefore there is no reason for us to not have whatever we want, because there is plenty of it to go around! Why not? Makes sense to me."


There is also a liberal heaping of Star Wars references throughout the text. Other readers can determine whether this helps the story for them... But something that certainly does NOT help the story: the pictures. Every time there is a mention of someone the author deems important, sure enough, there is a picture of the person. Pictures of the sculptures of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and the real deal for Helena Blavatsky, Planck, Broglie...and, of course, Louise Hay of You Can Heal Your Life: Special Edition Box Set (Book & DVD Box Set) fame.

Other annoyances: The first time "Orchestrated Objective Reduction" is shorted to "Orch OR," he mentions it. However, almost every time he refers back to it, he uses the full name AND the shorted version. And when you get past all the pictures of the people he mentions, there are big bold quotes in the middle of the page that usually some some relevance, but are just thrown in haphazardly: they break of the continuity of the reader's rhythm, and don't appear to be providing a new section within a chapter.

My personal favorite: late in the book, the author tries explaining why both "The Secret" (and perhaps this book) will be met by anything other than great reviews. Skeptics. It's all about the skeptics. And he may be correct: I'm skeptical that the author can write in a fashion that doesn't feed into his own ego while simultaneously forming coherent ideas around a central thesis. Maybe in his academia, but certainly not here. (After all, he does have a doctorate in Physics, a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering, a Masters of Astronomy, and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering..and he's a licensed professional engineer in Alabama. It says so right in the text of the book (AND in the "about the author" section.) You must be sure of his credentials.

Not recommended.

This book is written by a scientist who became fascinated with the popular new thought spiritual concepts taught in the film The Secret, wishing to examine the connection of these principles to actual theories and experiments in the study of physics. If our thoughts are shaping our reality, how exactly is that happening? Thus, Taylor dives into quantum theory and shares ideas from spiritual thinkers and scientists of multiple eras to shed light on this subject. While the attraction of The Secret has recently faded (amidst the world's economic woes and the legal woes of "Secret" star James Arthur Ray), the reality of the pertinent metaphysical principles and the forces underlying our reality remains a topic of interest for many seekers. This book is more akin to the interviews accompanying the film "What The Bleep" than the "attract whatever you want" focus of The Secret. Thus, it is best suited to those seriously exploring metaphysics and may be too academic or intellectually engaging for those just looking to get confirmation that they can create they life they desire. Taylor's conclusions in this book are relatively balanced, and this is a commendable effort in examining these topics - for the synthesis of science and spirituality produces complex paradoxes and debates.

Going into the book, I was somewhat skeptical about what it would bring to the table. The book is trying to prove that the Laws of Attraction as presented in the book The Secret is not just some mental feel-good hype, but grounded in substantial scientific fact. However, rather than being rigorous in its presentation, I felt that the book tries to overwhelm the user with physics facts, and tries to relate - rather laboriously - every scientific discovery as further proof of the Law of Attraction.

The basic premise is that if you think of something happening, that something may just as well happen. This book presents it such that it necessarily happened because you thought of it, and this is all due to waves and neutrons and the indeterminism of quantum physics. But this is such a roundabout way to explain common sense: if you wanted to do something, and you tried to do it, you may end up doing it. Sure, the brain is controlled by neurons, and the world is governed by quantum physics, but to say that these prove the Laws of Attraction is like saying it proves that the brain works, and that gravity exists. The whole book is a totally futile exercise, and tries too hard.

To top it all off, the writing isn't all that interesting, and it's quoting everything from Gandhi to Star Wars. It's a bit of a mess of a book.

First of all let me say if you don't like "The Secret", you will not like this book. I don't think it is fair to give a bad review of something simply because you don't agree with that particular view to begin with. My review will be on the book itself, for people who have an obvious interest in reading this book.

Quantum Physics is by no means easy to understand, yet The Law of Attraction depends heavily on it. The Science Behind the Secret does a fair job of breaking down the science and making it understandable to a general audience. I still had to muddle through the quantum physics part and found it hard to totally wrap my mind around some of it. Anyway you slice it quantum physics is still quantum physics, it's just not something you can "dumb" down very easily.

It seems the Author wrote the book with the intent of proving the Law of Attraction to himself, and I think he did just that, and it was done admirably. Taylor uses quotes from famous figures, religious belief systems and historical societies to point out they all had the same thought: Your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Simply written, and relatively easy to comprehend, "The Science Behind the Secret" offers a general, yet incomplete decoding of the Law of Attraction.

Written by a scientist, the book gratefully provides validation of the subject matter; however, it would benefit the body of knowledge more by exploring Isaac Newton's theory of attraction, in addition to others like Robert Hooke, Kepler's writings on Planetary Motion, or Tesla's lineage as master of electricity and vibration.

UPDATE:

Since writing the aforementioned review, anew science-based text has sprung into the mix, and may include further insight that researchers are seeking to discover. See > Solar Plexus: The Secret Gravitational System