Miss Bella

Well the content of the book may not necessarily be true; therefore, you don't need to take whatever is written in there personally.
No, actually no one who hasn't read a book himself can comment on a book, so I won't say anything about it.
Btw please don't say to the teacher "You are not true, hence I don't consider what you say about my work to be personally directed at me".

See! Exactly, YOU, I and the NEXT person understand that.
That's contradicting everything once again!!!!

School programmers, teachers and secretaries of education are under constant pressure to give the impression that they would know more than a five year old kid about everything unexplainable. They don't. So this book might be ok in the sense that the author at least tries to cope with the fact that he doesn't know more than the reader. But I can only assume this, as I haven't read it. It might not be true because it's contradictory, or it might be true despite being contradictory, and the opposite of contradictory might as well be true or untrue: We don't know it. And the teachers also don't know it.

well, just because I am not taking things people say personally doesn't mean that others won't. And although I am trying to not take what others say personally that doesnt give me permission to be mean to someone else or to speak without considaring others feelings.

The statements/agreements must be used together. they are not contaidictory of each other they are complimentary. Give the concepts a chance. go deeper. I havent read the book tibii is right but from what you wrote I can see that you are thinking that the statements contradict each other but I dont read it that way.

I think it means be kind to yourself and to others. be kind to yourself and don't rely on other people to compliment you or wait for others to compliment you. Take it upon yourself to do so. As well don't take it personally if someone is mean to you, be kind to yourself , let it roll off of you and compliment yourself. I think though its good to hear what people say and try to learn from things people around you say and do.

well they say Hitler hated himself and was actaully part jewish. So he took it personally and hated jews.

Sometimes we create wrong beliefs about ourselves and the world. And we believe that we are bad or wrong or dirty or no good or worthless or ....etc. I think its trying to say, be kind to yourself even if you are in Belief that you are a bad person, it might not be true.

I think people dont change for the better when negatives are continually cast upon them, and so I am always looking for ways to strengthen peoples strong points so as to lessen the strength of thier bad points. Because good and bad are relative. If good is more apparent then bad is less apparent.

I think this is the philosophy that negative critisism doesnt help people become better . sometimes I see that as truth and sometimes I dont. But philosophy is for pondering and expanding your own perseptions, so no matter right or wrong it is worth exploration.

interesting topic that both tibii and i have commented on because of the critisism I recieved recently. So weather you like the book or not, I am glad you posted. It has awakend some learnings in me that I have forgotten and I appreciate remembering.
peace,

I think that antisemitism should be left out of this discussion. This kind of delusion is not worth being treated and discussed like normal good or normal bad human behaviour. I can't remember who said it but it was sth. like "Antisemitism is as primitive as from a beast, but lacking the animals' natural instinct".
The book itself surely is worth discussing, but there will be thousands of equally good or better books around which did not happen to be promoted on TV shows, so maybe it makes sense to search out these books instead.

^ Completely agree. Like 100000000%.

Julieee, you are hilarious! And totally right on. What a load of crap.

I believed in something completely wholeheartedly once, and acted accordingly a la The Secret...then was told that I just didn't "get the hint." And then I realized, oh yeah, oops, that how much I believed didn't make a bit of difference, to persist would be called denial... : )

Ah, the fine line named "reality."

Right on, Bella for seeing the truth

I learned that "People treat you, how THEY feel". So, if someone dumps a load of shit on me, I can stabilize my reaction as to not dump my shit on them. I can't control their feelings, nor can I control mine sometimes, all I can do is control MY reaction. I accept compliments graciously, but I don't completely buy into them, just as insults are treated the same way. I consider the validity of each, balanced with my own perception and intuition, and thereby can determine the true nature of the actions expressed by someone else. I've had guns pointed at me by both legal and illegal individuals, and treated all with the same respect as I have for the gun itself. Well, not entirely true, I had more of a humorous reaction when the cop was pointing the gun at me. Not giving away my power to someone elses imagined authority, allowed me to survive both situations, which I couldn't have done had I allowed my reactions to dictate my actions.

Electronaut...apt moniker...the electric astronaut. I love your clarity.

I was thinking about this some more...the whole phenomenon of "The Secret" and all the copycats following. Don't they encourage blind faith in a way? I picked up an independently published book at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last year called "It's Time to be Selfish." Basically "The Secret," but with a twist; justifying a self centered outlook as a vehicle to success. It IS self centered to walk around thinking that your beliefs can control the outcome of events. Kinda a recipe for failure and delusion.

The difference is between depending upon your own ability to control what you allow in and out - controlling your own perception - and being brave enough to let go of control and make thoughtful decisions out of a sense of integrity to your own perception. It takes a huge amount of bravery just to listen. To listen to your inner voice, the world around you, things that you may or may not want to hear...to have the capability to let it in and to possess equal capability to leave it behind.

It would be awesome if you could challenge the book as a cultural phenomenon in any paper that you might write on it. To examine the self centeredness of our current culture; how it doesn't serve intrinsic, self sustaining value systems using examples from the book...shooting them down one by one with the truth! Hahahahaha! Sorry. It's finals time and I'm locked in the lens of academia. This too shall pass.

...where are you taking classes? anyone who can teach a college course based on the secret or the four agreements deserves an academic death. i don't give a fuck about the arguments for or against those bullshit trains of thought...