AIMS FOR THE HEAVENS, LANDS IN THE WATER...
Reviewer MichaelWhiteBuffalo
May 28, 2015
Rhonda Byrne’s audio book “The Power,” is a continuation (re-run?) of the Law of Attraction begun in her movie “The Secret” and a powerful reminder that life is an out-picturing of consciousness, a reflection of our inner thoughts and feelings. Byrne shares many great truths and includes inspiring stories, a cinematic soundtrack, helpful summaries and a bevy of quotations by an array of authors, sages, and scriptures.
Unfortunately, “The Power” fails to address several foundational questions leaving us with a narrative which, while brimming with uplifting proclamations, is left incomplete, over-simplified, and misleading. Here are just three examples:
WHAT ABOUT THE ROLE OF ACTION?
One of Byrnes’ biggest troubles shows up whenever her sentence begins with, “All you have to do is…” “All you have to do is give love through good feelings and what you want will appear.” With love, “everything will fall at your feet.” Her magic formula? “Imagine, feel, receive.” But anything in life worth having rarely materializes out of thin air. Therefore, why not address the role of action?
WHAT ABOUT THE THINGS WE CANNOT CHANGE?
A most problematic ramification of Byrnes’ oversimplifications arises when it comes to understanding the deeper trials and tests of life that we’d never consciously wish for and often cannot change. According to “The Power,” whenever life isn’t the way we want it, we’re merely lacking enough love. We’re forced to conclude, therefore, that it’s a personal failure on our part when our child contracts a terminal illness, or the stock market crashes and our IRA disappears, or a natural disaster destroys our town – we simply didn’t have enough good feelings. Really?!
Ironically, this is the sure pathway away from good feelings – to guilt, shame and blame since whenever our life doesn’t show up as we desired, we’re the ones who just didn’t love enough.
But, alas, the Soul often has its own purposes – if not karmic destiny – and isn’t easily assuaged by magical solutions designed to vanquish the inconvenience of adversity. In fact, great learning and transformation can occur during our darkest times.
AND WHAT ABOUT OUR SOURCE?
Although the majority of the people Byrne quotes are highly spiritual, “The Power” stays busily preoccupied with magically manifesting our wish lists. Apparently, the world is our oyster, so let’s make a string of pearls and live happily ever after.
But as bedazzling our string of pearls may appear, those great existential questions lay in waiting: Who am I? Where am I going? And: Is this all there is?
And that’s where the Pearl of Great Price comes in. Interestingly, the greatest masters of the Law of Attraction – i.e. Jesus, Buddha or any of the Great Saints and Enlightened Masters – have used that law not to simply gratify the ego, but in service of a far deeper and richer life filled with spiritual devotion, compassion and selfless service wherein the ego’s dream gives way to the return to our true identity. This return to God or Source has always involved the transcendence of the ego and personal desire. “The Power,” on the other hand, while wanting so much to romantically talk about the love and joy and infinite power within, apparently desires to have its spiritual cake and eat it too, leaving us with what all too often seems like an ego-based new-age pleasure cruise.