Christian Canfield writes:

Subject: The Opus -- a new The Secret but with common sense?

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I think inspirational films such as The Secret and now The Opus can be both harmful and useful.

People who take them too literally, and without a sense of humor, can enter a fantasy world where the Universe is their butler. That's clearly harmful.

On the other hand, inspiration, and the energy that comes from positive expectations, is very useful. Visualization and vision boards are energizing and motivating, as most people who have used them will vouch.

It's common sense, really: too much of a good thing can be harmful. Visualizing, believing, are good in moderation. But if you buy a $3000 suite of furniture on credit because you have visualized the universe sending you the money to pay for it, that's like having two bottles of wine instead of a glass. Just too much.

The Opus seems to back off of The Secret's most unrealistic and harmful dogma, for example the notion that "success" is easy.

Or that unlimited wealth and happiness is a realistic expectation.

A simple truth is that life is difficult. Difficult doesn't mean unpleasant or joyless. Mountain climbing is difficult; and if it were not, it wouldn't be fun.

You can find the movie linked at many places on the internet, I'm sure you've found with a google search. They're all affiliate links, of course. Without exception. That's simply the way these things are promoted. Some affiliates hype their products to unrealistic levels. Others try to present a more balanced, frankly less harmful, point of view.

My links are affiliate links, too.

darren K writes:

Subject: The Secret came in second to The Opus

Thought you might find this interesting. It sounds like The Opus was first made but second to market.

The Movies The Secret came out on DVD in 2006 and came into mainstream in 2007. The Opus was released in 2008 but had been in pre- production since 2005. Most people feel that had The Opus beat The Secret to marketplace the story of success may have been quite different. While both movies feature several of the same speakers and similar messages, the presentation is very different. The camps are not severely divided between the two films however, as they both offer a very different presentation.

Rhonda Byrne has never made an official statement on which film came first and neither has Douglas Vermeeren the producer of The Opus. Both films claim to stand independent one from another, although most people consider the Opus the Secret's sequel. (How intriguing it is to consider that it may actually be chronologically the other way around.)

The Books The secret book was released in many markets at the conclusion of 2006, but saw most of it's success in 2007. The book based on The Opus is yet to be released. Some reports have suggested The Opus book will be coming out through Random house in early 2010.