Recently I became aware of a DVD called “The Secret” which is based on a 1910 book called “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D Wattles. I haven’t watched the DVD, and therefore won’t attempt to comment on it, but I have read Wattles book which is stated to be the source of these ideas, and would like to discuss this.

The book is now in the public domain and you can view it at: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Science_of_Getting_Rich

My motivation is to determine whether Wattles’ ideas help or hinder someone who wants to live a free and independent life, so I am attempting to verify the truth or falseness of the ideas. A true idea can stand scrutiny and can be independently verified. A false idea may include an element of truth, but on balance is misleading.

Also, Occam’s Razor states that out of competing explanations, the simplest is most likely to be true. If there is a hubcap on the road, you can either believe that it is from a car or was dropped from a UFO. Which option requires fewer assumptions?

Understanding the principles presented

I have attempted to summarise the main ideas of this concept (later called New Thought) by reading his book and have provided the following quotes that sum up his teachings. Wattles gives a good synopsis of his ideas here:

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought, in this substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

Wattles states that the universe “Formless Supply” can be manipulated by the acts and thoughts of a person:

You are not kept poor by lack in the supply of riches; it is a fact which I shall demonstrate a little farther on that even the resources of the Formless Supply are at the command of the man or woman who will act and think in a Certain Way.

Wattles believed that the universe automatically produces what is needed:

There is no limit to the supply of Formless Stuff, or Original Substance. The universe is made out of it; but it was not all used in making the universe. The spaces in, through, and between the forms of the visible universe are permeated and filled with the Original Substance; with the formless Stuff; with the raw material of all things. Ten thousand times as much as has been made might still be made, and even then we should not have exhausted the supply of universal raw material.

This implications for health and prosperity:

To look upon the appearance of disease will produce the form of disease in your own mind, and ultimately in your body, unless you hold the thought of the truth, which is that there is no disease; it is only an appearance, and the reality is health.

and:

To look upon the appearances of poverty will produce corresponding forms in your own mind, unless you hold to the truth that there is no poverty; there is only abundance.

In summary, by fixing thoughts on a particular subject, the universe produces what is thought about. If you think about poverty, that is what you get.

My evaluation

On balance, these ideas are misleading, but Wattles does believe that prosperity is a good thing. I agree that having enough food, adequate shelter, health care and the other good things that money can help with is desirable. This is different from crass materialism, which many followers of Wattles seem to embrace.

There is more than enough materials on the planet to give every person a prosperous life if utilised correctly – it is a matter of thought and action to transform the raw materials into finished goods. Poverty is a result of being unable to utilise the creative potential of the individual, and is therefore not something to be acclaimed.

Wattles also correctly states that the attitude of the person affects their prosperity. However, I think that he confuses the mechanism by which this occurs and this error is at the core of his teachings. Wattles believes that this sends a message to the universe that makes prosperity happen. I believe it is more correct that the change is only internal, and we still need to act for it to become a reality.

Wattles appears to define prosperity in purely material terms. That is important, but for many people true freedom is actually more valuable – to be able to live the life you choose. Materialism is all about impressing someone else – freedom is living a life on your own terms.

He makes the point that if you believe and affirm something, then the “universe” will automatically push it towards you – that is, our thoughts affect the universe. So if you are fat, that is because you have focussed on being fat, and have brought that towards you. If you want a bicycle, simply visualise and believe, and it will turn up for you.

To solve poverty, simply be an example to others and if they change their thinking, they will become prosperous. To overcome a business problem, just believe.

I believe that the universe exists independently of our own thoughts, and that we can’t influence it by thinking. If I think about something, that does not somehow communicate with a mystical cosmic entity that supplies what I desire. If I act like I have something when I don’t, that doesn’t make it true. It is our action, not our thoughts that makes a difference. This is demonstrable and is accepted by scientists.

However, if I think about something, then that does use my RAS (Reticular Activating System) in my brain, which helps the subconscious to start to plan a strategy to achieve a goal and to let relevant data filter into the mind. For example, if you are planning on buying a certain type of car, you will start to notice that car on the roads. Are there suddenly a lot more of them? Is the universe making extra copies? No, it is just your RAS at work.

By the way, that is how the process of goal setting works. It helps to direct your subconscious towards the goal. There’s nothing mystical about it, no secret that is waiting to be revealed.

Applying Occam’s Razor, this is a simpler and more profound answer to achieving goals that believing that our thoughts somehow influence the universe. So we can influence our own thinking, but not somehow mystically change the universe.

Conclusion

Wattles makes a subtle but important error. He introduces the notion of a demiurge which responds to thoughts. This is unnecessary (using Occam’s Razor) and potentially harmful. He replaces reason with blind faith in his message. If you read his book, this notion is repeated throughout it.

He leaves out action, and states that the universe responds to positive thoughts.

The ultimate implication, which will be taken by some people who don’t think it through, is that you can sit at home and “think” money into your account. Or you use your credit card and charge your purchase, thereby achieving what you want, but with a debt. Or if you are overweight, you don’t go to the gym or change your eating, you just “think” yourself thin. There is a certain seductive appeal to this shortcut. Not surprisingly, the route that involves actually doing something is less attractive.

I saw this in effect in some churches in the 1980s and it ruined many lives. Some people are still trying to rebuild their psyches now. Maybe they should have read Ecclesiastes which describes a man achieving prosperity from working, the verse in Proverbs that states that a man who doesn’t work shouldn’t eat and the other verses that describe work and creative energy as essential to generating wealth. Instead they took what they thought was the easy way out, except it didn’t work.

Prosperity comes from doing something that creates new value in the world, not from simply thinking. In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand referred to the prime movers – those who made changes, developed inventions and created prosperity. She contrasted it with those who had a mystical perspective of life who expected their beliefs to shape the world.

In conclusion, I don’t believe that there is a message in “The Science of Getting Rich” that will help those who want to achieve greater freedom. Instead of thinking about what you want to do, and expecting it to fall into place through the action of “the universe”, I suggest the following steps, which are harder, but which do work:

Find out who you are as a person, and establish your values. Values are what is important to you. Establish goals that are help you to achieve your values. These should encompass financial, mental, health, spiritual and relationship aspects.

Define the steps that you need to follow, and start following them. Unlock your creativity by brainstorming ideas and learning more by reading widely. Take action to achieve your goals. The last point is the most important and difficult one, and action separates the dreamers and “wannabees” from the achievers.

Tags: science of getting rich, the secret, wallace d wattles

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Book / film reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.