I love your explanation and insight into The Secret vs. A New Earth..I have to agree that The Secret, as Oprah had said, wasn't intended actually to help us all win a lottery...I actually think that when we picture ourselves with more money, or a newer car or whatever material item we were "asking" for (i.e. using The Secret), what our true selves wanted was teh "freedom or peace or serenity" or whatever other emotions you saw yourself having, when you obtained said items. A New Earth is a wonderful expansion, in my opinion, of The Secret, because it taps into what we are actually wanting, where our thoughts need to be focused, so that we are able to let go of the many burdens/forms that we impose on ourselves...thanks for the insights folks!

Thank you, all, for such a lively discussion! I signed up for the Tolle discussion group the same day Oprah hosted the panel of woman discussing "The Secret." I bought both books and, like some of you, was having a difficult time pulling the two together IN MY MIND. Oh, yes, I am a very MIND-FULL person, which makes Tolle's premises so relevant to me. Nonetheless, the IDEA that I could manifest all those things that my mind is so full of was, and remains, very compelling. Here's where I've landed for now: After listing the many THINGS I felt I would like to manifest (even creating a picture board), I came to one profound realization -- that what all those THINGS were about was my desire to be my own, stand-alone security force. (Secure in my looks, my dress, my speaking, my profession, my future, etc.) On the surface, that security "feels" conditional and materialistic, but when I observe those thoughts, really sit quietly and note them as they occur, what I get is that the entity that is observing all that thinking is totally secure. In other words, my being persists, safe unto itself. Simplistically put, I'm not my things or my thinking, though I (ego) am profoundly attached to both. What I want now is to be open to what "life does through you" (p.115 ANE). Like the other 56-year-old who weighed in, I've been waiting a lifetime to be passionate about what I am doing in life. Could be being, rather than doing, is the ticket.

Red,
You are not away from the kingdom!!!

Thanks

There is no actual discrepancy between The Secret and the New Earth. The perception of confusion comes from not having sufficient information about the secret sacred science behind The Secret and the process as it correlates with thinking and the formless state of awakening to Awareness. The use of the vision board was one person's way to visualize in order to hold his "focus" on a particular "thought" or "object" to manifest. It's a procedural aspect, instead of a principle or Law. The understanding of the Law of Attraction is described in New Earth form as "thinking". Whatever your common thinking and attention is being placed upon is what determines your Life. If you learn to cease thinking and hold a formless state of awareness, then you will learn to create a New Earth or a new manifested reality in your Life. It's the same, but explained in a different way. There have been individuals that have been in Calcutta or the equivalent and they had experiences that lifted them up out of that reality, just like the person who eloquently told us about moving beyond the tribal mentality. It happens all the time. There's your external proof, but you will welcome your own personal proof that both these descriptions of living a spiritual Life are valid. There is additional spiritual science and disciplines to practice and master with The Secret and the Consciousness described in the New Earth. That is the information which will liberate you and allow it to work for you!

I wonder if The Secret and the concepts that Tolle is talking about aren't apples and oranges in a way. With The Secret you set an intention and then go about your life taking every opportunity that comes your way to realize that vision or a vision close to it. In going on the inward journey of questioning your mind, and discovering what is truth through that process, leads to a form of liberation that sort of sets you free from manifestation. You are as you are, light embodied in form. What comes and goes in that higher state of consciousness you aren't bound by...it's all a blessing...an experience. So with Tolle, your mind and attachments are clear, then you are free to create a new reality for yourself though manifestation tools taught in the secret without attachment to whether it works or not. As to what you perceive as a failed manifestation, look at what you learned in your attempt to manifest...there maybe something there worth reviewing.