Get ready for "Enlightainment"; the "Secret" is out

Self-help just got taken to a new level with The Secret a TV special, best-selling DVD, printed book and audio book. What is The Secret? The producers use the somewhat awkward term "Enlightainment," a cross between enlightenment ("life advice") and entertainment.

Here is what Amazon.com has to say:

Not really a movie or documentary, The Secret is more of a video seminar, a presentation featuring a series of authors, philosophers, doctors, quantum physicists, entrepreneurs, and spiritual practitioners expounding on the powers of The Secret (probably the most well-known of the presenters is Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles). What is The Secret, exactly? "That principle can be summed up in three simple words: thoughts become things," proclaims writer Mike Dooley, author of Notes from the Universe. Put it another way, it’s The Power of Positive Thinking and how it can be applied to attracting more money, better health, and relationships; in short, happiness.

Still unsure what "The Secret" is? WSJ says it is a $3.5 million multimedia self-help project with the overriding theme of "envision what you want and it will come to you." It is reportedly based on the 1910 self-help classic "The Science of Getting Rich." You get this message from 24 advice experts. The DVD is as of this writing #1 DVD seller on Amazon (outselling James Bond's "Casino Royale").

The Secret is not without its critics. One reviewer on Amazon said "This 'movie' is nothing more than an infomercial marketed to look like the Da Vinci Code." Another on IMDB said, "This is just a new-age rehash of snake oil." In other words, caveat emptor, and like all such efforts it will probably work for as many people as it doesn't (and visa-versa).

There are other enlightainment titles in the works. Deepak Chopra's "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" co-starring Olivia Newton-John.

The DVD:

The Book: