Summary
Attaining happiness should be a breeze these days. After all, we can choose from a veritable Oprahsphere of help and advice from therapists, psychologists, self-help authors, talk-show hosts, psychics, life coaches, meditation, motivational speakers, and, of course, the pharmaceutical companies.
The help just keeps coming. In February, "The Secret" ($23.99 Atria/Beyond Words) vaulted onto the best seller list after being featured on "Oprah." Author Rhonda Bryne, a former reality-show producer from Australia, assures readers that they can obtain wealth, happiness and love by exerting the power of the mind. It touts "the law of attraction": If you think about positive things, they'll come to you -- whether it's a soulmate or a gym membership.See the full content of this document
Extract
Don't Worry Be Happy
Robert Thompson, professor of media and culture at Syracuse University, struggles to control his sarcasm when "The Secret" is mentioned.
"It hijacks traditional religion," he says. "I've talked to a lot of people who are professional, perfectly intelligent people who are fully convinced that they get better parking spaces because they discovered 'The Secret.' "Its popularity is hardly surprising, however, in a country...See the full content of this document
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