When you’re trying to influence the world around you though the power of positive thought, you need to direct mental energy outward. But, just what are we talking about here, anyhow? Mental energy is real and can be measured by existing equipment as electrical current. However, many believe that the specific frequencies that various parts of the human body work at, including the brain, are yet to be discovered (or rediscovered, depending upon your feelings about the civilizations of antiquity). Learning how the mind works can help you better envision positive outcomes, and thus, transmit the success you want to the world around you.

One of the lessons of “The Secret” is that your thoughts are constantly interfering with each other, especially when you use modifiers to focus on what you don’t want instead of what you do want. There is no such thing as “not” when it comes to visualization and transmission. Whatever is in your head is what goes out. It’s just like when radio stations interfere with each other. Their frequencies are “beating” together or adding and subtracting to create chaotic waveforms and you get static.

If you think of mental energy like a physicist, it is like any other sort of energy, capable of appearing as a particle and a wave at the same time. That means that while there might someday be a way of detecting the “quanta” of whatever energy our minds create or channel, we tend to think of it as traveling waves, only the period of which we can measure.

The mathematical representation of what is called a “waveform function” is also known as the sine wave. You may think of it as a circle divided into two pieces so it can be represented in the context of one-way time. Like the ripples on a pond, your mental energy normally projects out in all directions at once (omni-directional). There does not seem to be any way to focus it in a particular direction, but making it more efficient can increase the effectiveness of your “output”.

Consider that power lines have a frequency of 60Hz in the United States (50 Hz elsewhere). The lowest frequency you can hear is about 20 Hz and the very deepest bass voice is about 300 Hz. By way of comparison, you can hear up to 20,000 Hz, and current computer processors have an internal clock frequency (the smallest amount of time a computer can recognize) of a few billion Hz.

In fact, very recent research, as published in the journal Science, has shown that, “Much of the brain's enormous energy consumption is unaccounted for by its responses to external stimuli.” Their work has found a current that operates at 0.1 Hz (aka cycles per second) that might be responsible for what they call, “the dark matter of the brain.” Just like the dark matter physicists think it out there, keeping the Universe expanding, it’s something we can’t see but can infer. There’s something in our minds we know is there, idling away, using energy that could be directed for an additive purpose.

On the other hand, the average frequency the entire body resonates at is about 82 MHz. The frequency that something operates at isn’t necessarily the frequency that can affect change on such a system. We use relatively high frequency infrared to change the channel on our TVs that operate on a base current of 60Hz. The human eyeball resonates at an infrasonic 12 Hz and can cause visual hallucinations when a source sets up a resonant vibration in the eye itself. Needless to say, it’s complicated.

Paranormal and Fortean researchers have released numerous studies that indicate a meditative state or the experience of paranormal apparitions can be induced with exposure to a directed source of energy. Other studies have shown that brains will “lock on” to directed frequencies (by amplitude and frequency) best in the 8-10 Hz range at powers as low as .0005 watt.

Brain waves in this Alpha range are those accounting for consciousness when you’re not thinking about anything in particular or watching TV. That’s why hypnosis tends to produce waves at this frequency. Frequencies below 8 Hz are considered Theta waves, commonly associated with creative thought. The brain seems to be able to “lock on” to Theta frequencies in intermittent bursts.

Such extremely low frequencies are notable for not only being able to penetrate out even the thickest skull, but also right through the Earth. In fact, frequencies between 6 and 10 Hz have been used by the US military to communicate with submarines on the other side of the world.

The entire Earth itself is thought to resonate at around a “Schumann resonance” of 7.5 Hz, though it seems to have increased since the 1950s to as high as 11 Hz. It is thought by some that certain chambers in the pyramids of Eygpt are build in such a way as to set up a sympathetic frequency with the desert below that is capable of inducing resonant frequencies that can induce a trance state.

A great deal more information about the use of brain waves and the threat electromagnetic radiation may pose to our health and well-being is sure to become more readily available in coming years. Those who practice the mental training at the heart of the first step of “The Secret” may find it useful to practice visualization in an environment as free of electromagnetic interference as possible.

When you become adept at focusing on positive thoughts, you’ll be amazed at how often this positive thinking seems to increase the intensity of your “luck.”

One tenet of “The Secret” is the notion that you can influence the random events that affect your “luck” by diligently focusing your mental energies in the same positive direction by visualizing success.  It is believed the focus on such success not only results in a more proactive approach that is more likely to be successful but also, that there is real power in the thought itself.

Related to this notion of actually creating one’s own luck is the idea that one can actually bring physical matter into existence with the power of mind alone.  Of course, whether one would want to or not is debatable, but both use the same process to bring what one envisions into reality.

Anyone who has read Carlos Castanada is familiar with the idea that under certain circumstances and with a commitment to mental training, people are capable of bringing thought-forms (as opposed to life-forms) into existence.  While it seems to be something anyone can do, few are interested in trying because it’s an intensive commitment that can, when not done very carefully, involve a certain and permanent loss of self, just in case sounding crazy wasn’t enough of a deterrent. 

While many traditions worldwide have had an individual, caste or tribe that was responsible for such practices and interactions, today individual practitioners or intentional communities perform this extreme type of intentional manifestation.  In the lore of indigenous cultures worldwide, thought-forms (spirit-guides or whatever the animal-shaped thought forms are called locally) could then impart wisdom or cause mischief.  Their conjuring is viewed by all cultures with such traditions, as a double-edged sword – like a poisonous plant that could cure or kill, depending upon how it’s used.

On the other hand, modern practitioners who have inadvertently conjured up humanoid forms (or Tulpas) have almost always found the experience frightening (to say the least) and have had great difficulty maintaining control and stopping the process.  Indeed, many cultures also have myths, such as the famous Jewish tale of the Gollum, where conjuring a human-like thought form into physical reality has disastrous consequences.

Practiced today by Theosophists and Clairvoyants, manifestations of thought forms occur in three phases.  The simplest is creating a very clear mental image of your self.  Without such a picture, you cannot begin to project from that self to the outside environment.  This is useful for any type of mental work where you wish to create a physical manifestation of your thoughts.

Next, you will focus on what is intended.  The more detail one gives this mental image (over what can be a very long time for the novice), the more form you will be able to lend to a physical manifestation.  This is also where most practice with visualization and manifesting intent leaves off.  Those wishing to change their luck don’t need to create a Leprechaun out of the ether. 

The final step toward actual physical manifestation is “an independent image expressing the inherent qualities of the thought.”  Most practitioners agree that negative (or “low” emotions) will create dark, foreboding colours and forms while the more powerful, positive emotions produce light colours and with a more distinctive shape.  When using such manifestations with other people, they are said to “bounce back to the sender” if the emotional states of the two people are not aligned.

Usually only clairvoyants, who often describe them auras taking flight, see manifestation events.  Those who regularly perform such tasks regularly are careful to put only as much thought into them as is needed for the immediate session.  Otherwise, they could linger, as thought forms have been known to do, for years at a time in some cases.  These “professional” wisps almost always dissipate within a few minutes or hours. 

Concentrating on manifesting personal success seems to be far less dangerous than focusing on crating a long-term link to what is often described as the thought or astral plane, or other dimensions.  Those who call such manifestations into existence as part of a group consider such “Egrigori” a dimensionally limited manifestation of a “supernatural intelligence.”  The only fact is that no one knows for sure – all the empirical evidence is inconclusive. 

Wherever they come from and whatever they’re made of, thought forms are perhaps most commonly known in Western Culture as the “Familiars” of 17th century witches.  Such manifestations, taken from Caribbean folklore, were thought forms, usually in the shape of animals that could give advice, power or perform tasks.  Even some modern practitioners of various schools of mental training even claim they can send cohesive thought forms to go run simple errands for them.

Children and teenagers (especially girls) are said to be the most likely to accidentally create such a form.  The strong emotions of puberty are especially likely to give rise to such manifestations.  Additionally, some people believe the “invisible people” many children see are actually thought form manifestations that dissipate when they cease to believe in them.  Some children who aren’t well-socialized or live in very rural locations may not realize for some time that their play friends aren’t real, because in a sense, they are.

However, as usually practiced, intentional manifestation is half of what makes “The Secret” work for people.  While it sounds a lot like magic, books such as Wallace Wattles’ 1910 publication, The Science of Getting Rich, lay out a recipe for success that involve many traditions, without ever naming them.  While this may include a little bit of this so-called “occultism,” it also contains snippets of just about every mode of thought from the last 5,000 years of human history.

Move over Tupperware – the next new thing to gather your friends together for an evening’s presentation may prove far more uplifting than scented candles or storage containers.  Even those who would ridicule the tenets of The Secret can’t help but be impressed at the power of the unique business model that has sprung up around this production, building it into a people powered movement that has quickly become a household name in the US and Australia.  The get-together has proven to be a very popular way for people to enjoy watching and discussing the film.

Well before the principal voices behind The Secret were featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, people who came across the movie on the Nine Network in Australia (and elsewhere on the internet), were so excited about the message of the film, they felt compelled to share this potentially life-altering information with their friends. 

While word-of-mouth or “viral” marketing took a while to really get going, when it did, the success of the film and book took off exponentially.  Among advice and self-help titles, this has been an unprecedented phenomena.  Even Bob Proctor, who has taught self-help seminars throughout the United States for 40 years, claims to have never seen anything like it. 

There have been other books that have been very influential over time and did generate book club readings when they were released, such as The Power of Positive Thinking, I’m O.k., You’re O.k. and Jonathan Livingston Seagull; but none as successful as The Secret.

No doubt part of this success are the several ways the information is made available.  In addition to the movie and book being available in many formats, the use of the internet to distribute the film was innovative.  Many who watched the movie from the comfort of their own desktops felt compelled to confer with others to get their opinion on it.  Few people seem ambivalent in their opinion of any aspect of The Secret. 

Just as there is no such thing as bad publicity, a flurry of online and print denouncements seemingly functioned to get thousands more interested.  Months after its release, the book battled with only the final Harry Potter book for top Amazon ranking. 

Droves of people couldn’t get enough and wanted desperately to know how to implement these changes in their own lives.  Many began delving deeper into the past movements and authors that have written on the subject.  Thousands attended seminars presided over by one or more of the subjects interviewed in the film.

Soon, people were getting together all over the world to have “Secret Parties” where, after a showing of the film, it would be discussed.  Many of those who remained sceptical of the Law of Attraction were left such meetings energized and optimistic.  Some had a truly out-of-the-ordinary experience with ideas they’d never considered before.  Others were magnetically drawn to the film’s closing message:  “Feel good.”

Some meetings took place in private homes, some in church basements or community centres.  Others, who had seen the film elsewhere, were getting together to discuss the ideas presented therein.  Still others have met virtually in online message boards and online forums to discuss the underlying messages of the film, as well as, specific implications and observations since adopting the practice outlined in the book and film.

Perhaps more importantly to the creators, the message they hoped to convey was catching like wildfire.  These gatherings were proving wildly successful in getting people to look up the movie website and related information about the Law of Attraction.  In depth information about the over two-dozen professionals interviewed in the film was made available from the official website.  Regardless of how or why they came to see it, the film had clearly made a very significant impact on some.

Those who were responsible for putting the film together were very sure those who saw it would be interested in further research.  So, as a gamble of sorts, Prime Time Productions will give copies of the DVD away to those who agree to show it freely to an audience and fill out a contact form.  The disk that normally costs $20 is delivered for free to anywhere in the world.  The gamble has paid off many times over.

These screenings have proven a incredible success, allowing the message of the movie to get out to more people than one might have thought possible from a company that lacks even a single major distributor.  Just one group at a time, power of personal recommendation has been unleashed to become something of a phenomena in the fewer than three years since Rhonda Byrne had her original experience of epiphany with The Science of Getting Rich.