The Secret Doctrine

These days there are surely not many people left in the world who have read Madame Blavatsky's magnum opus, The Secret Doctrine from cover to bulky cover. Never an easy read, it has become increasingly impossible to comprehend, with its flowery Victorian prose and eccentric grammar. I have tried several times, but have never managed to get more than a couple of pages in before I become thoroughly confused. It wouldn't be the first great and important book to slide into obscurity, however.
Madame Blavatsky's star has faded somewhat, but the fact is that she was one of the most fascinating women of her own, or any other, time, and The Secret Doctrine was an enormously influential text. Indeed, it has probably had a much greater influence on the way we think and express ourselves today than most people would give it credit for.
Madame Blavatsky was the person behind the great influx of Eastern religious ideas into Western culture. Without the firm and slighly dictatorial guidance of Madame B, and the peculiar hodgepodge of Buddhism, Hinduism and Western Esotericism that is The Secret Doctrine, we would never have witnessed the popularity of Hindu gurus and Tibetan Buddhist masters that we are so familiar with today. Madame Blavatsky invented the New Age, and was singlehandedly responsible for making words and concepts like karma, Chakra and Lama the commonplaces they are today.
Henry Olcott, Madame B's great friend and co-founder of the Theosophical Society, was careful of the great lady's reputation after she died, but even he was puzzled as to how a poorly educated Russian emigrant was capable of producing a 2,068 page book. Like her, he credited the influence of her mythic "Masters" and, in his Old Diary Leaves, hinted that The Secret Doctrine had its provenance in more astral planes.
Reading The Secret Doctrine is really a commitment of years, and most Theosophical Societies around the world offer classes and study groups to help guide the confused. The more generous call The Secret Doctrine one of the world's great spiritual classics, on a par with the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. I wouldn't quite heap such fulsome praise upon it, but one day I will read it in its entirety, and it really is the pioneer book of the modern world, filled as it is with orientalist imaginings and inspiring inunctions to evolve, grow and become more spiritual.

Richard Bach

When I was just a toddler I was taken to see the film version of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Perhaps it was the Neil Diamond soundtrack that attracted my parents (my father was always a huge fan), or perhaps they imagined a Disney-esque animated feature filled with singing, cavorting seagulls. They stoically sat through the film, and later on it became a part of family legend - how insufferably bad and terminally dull was Jonathan Livingston Seagull. All throughout my childhood it was held up to me as the pinnacle of boredom. Should I complain of having nothing to do, my mother would roll her eyes and say, "Oh you're bored? Well you obviously don't remember sitting through the entire length of Jonathan Livingston Seagull..."
Richard Bach's novel, on which the film was based (what an idea!) was absolutely ubiquitous in the 70s. Every home had a copy, and as a child I would be drawn to it. With trepidation I would pull a copy down from my aunt's bookshelf and, just before I could crack it open, my father would shout, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull!? Ho ho, you're in for a treat there. Most boring book ever written. But it back, right now. Did I ever tell you about the time I took you to see the movie...?"
Years later I worked for a long period at Australia's then-largest New Age bookshop. I was surprised at how popular Richard Bach's novels continued to be. We always kept them in stock, and they would always sell a dozen or so copies a year, which is quite respectable for a backlist book. Even the dreaded Jonathan Livingston Seagull would be asked for on occasion.
Now, because of this childhood stigma I have never read a single word of any of Mr. Bach's books, so I'm not about to offer a critique. I'm sure they are lovely, and they are certainly an essential part of the history of New Age/Self-Help publishing, which means I'll have to be reading them sooner, rather than later.
Last weekend I went to the big book sale at the Great Hall at Sydney Uni, and it was heaven. I scored a box and a half of self-help classics, including a copy of Richard Bach's The Bridge Across Forever. I'll start reading it as soon as I've finished the wonderful Dennis Cooper short stories I'm currently reading. I don't like to have two fiction projects going at the same time.

Laurie Levine

One of the few people left promoting the ideas of New Thought in Sydney is Laurie Levine, who conducts a monthly Positive Living Spiritual Service, and is the author of two books promoting her own eclectic spiritual vision.
Originally from America, Laurie has been in Australia for many years, and is a popular yoga teacher and spiritual healer. Her first book, Spiritual Medicine, was published in Australia by Simon & Schuster in 1999, and later in America by North Atlantic books. It is a remarkable book that encompasses a wide selection of self-help ideas stemming largely from New Thought, but also drawing from yoga, spiritual healing and other metaphysical traditions. Quite a charming read.
Her most recent book is self-published, and is a collection of blessings and prayers for use in all different life situations - it would be a perfect resource for any minister or celebrant. Hopefully Laurie will be releasing many more books in the years to come, as she is a gifted writer, with a palpable energy and a lightness of touch that make her ideas easily accessible and free of pretension.
These days Laurie is affiliated with Agape Spiritual Centre in California. This is the incredible "Trans-denominational" church whose minister, the handsome and charismatic Michael Bernard Beckwith, became such through his appearance on the mega-selling DVD The Secret. This church, and Laurie's own group, draws mainly on the Science of Mind ideas of Ernest Holmes, and represents a less rigidly religious vision of New Thought.
Agape is quite a phenomenon in America, where it has reached the status of mega-church, though without the dogma and right-wing leanings of most of the other churches that delight in that status. It has yet to gain the same degree of popularity in Australia, though Laurie is hopeful that the future will bring more people with interest and energy, inspired by Beckwith's books and appearances.

Magnificent Obsession

Magnificent Obsession is one of my favourite movies, for all kinds of reasons. Mostly because it's a film I saw several times on television as a child, and its settings and plot remained vivid in my memory for years afterward. I picked up a copy in Singapore a few years ago, and watched it over and over again, absolutely in love with its overwrought performances and implausible plot.
I also recognised something that had gone over my head as a child - the film's plot is overtly religious, though until now I've never really been able to get my head around the mysterious theology that informs the plot.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a new edition of the DVD, and it's simply marvellous. It features the original 1935 version of the film, as well as the 1954 feature (the one I love) with a fascinating commentary by Australian film historian Dr. Mark Nicholls.
Put quite simply, the film is a brilliant (if slightly over-stated) enunciation of the philosophy of New Thought. The original novel on which it was based was written by Lloyd Douglas, a retired clergyman who moved more and more toward New Thought ideas as he pursued a career as a novelist. The novel was greatly beloved by those in the New Thought field, and it is quoted at length in Napoleon Hill's Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. In that book he advocates that all people should develop "a magnificent obsession" just as the character Bob Merrick does in the book and later the film.
Apparently the director Douglas Sirk was largely unaware of, and uninterested in, the film's underlying philsophy. He couldn't get through the novel on which it was based, and he never saw the original version of the film, in which the New Thought ideas are much more explicitly, and repeatedly, stated.
Of course, the degree of absurdity and high improbability of Bob Merrick's achievements in the film (becoming a brain surgeon in order to save the life of the woman he loves) tempers the power of its message to a modern audience. But it is nevertheless filled with a naive, melodramatic charm, and I defy anyone not to cry during its closing scene.

Science of Mind

Science of Mind is the organisation/philosophy based on the great New Thought philosopher Ernest Holmes. It was also the name of his enormous book, which still serves as the bible of the movement, and of the monthly magazine which is still published.
Holmes was a prolific writer, and a late-arriving student of Emma Curtis Hopkins, the woman most people consider the grandmother of New Thought, the teacher of teachers.
Holmes was obviously a charismatic and energetic man, because he established a religious empire which is still going on today. One of its most illustrious followers is Louise L. Hay, probably the most famous exponent of New Age beliefs in the world.
The basic philosophy of Science of Mind is pretty much the same as you would find in Unity or any of the other New Thought based churches. Also known as Religious Science, its founder Ernest Holmes never really intended it to be a new church. The magazine Science of Mind, which has been in continuous production since 1927, certainly has a readership well beyond the church membership, and many subscribe to Holmes' ideas without declaring themselves a formal part of the movement.
The fundamental idea behind Science of Mind seems to be that we are created perfectly, just as God is perfect, and so we are capable of achieving anything. We are all moving into a new age of possibility, and if we can align our thoughts with the energy of the Divine, we can become a race of supermen.
Like much New Thought philosophy, Science of Mind flirts with the fringes of spiritualism and Theosophy, and Holmes' magnum opus is littered with tantalizing references to the extraordinary possibilities of the human mind freed from the old ideas of negativity. The book itself is reasonably difficult to read these days. Its enormous size and frequently prolix style means that it is best consumed in small bites, rather than sitting down to read it from cover to cover.

Esther & Jerry Hicks

Probably the biggest stars on the self-improvement circuit right now are Esther and Jerry Hicks, an unassuming, middle-aged couple from Arizona who have slowly built up a following until, around 5 years ago, they suddenly became massive.
Mrs. Hicks is a channel, and she channels a disembodied collection of entities that, rather confusingly, go by the singular name Abraham. The copious books and CDs produced by the couple are, in fact, the teachings of Abraham, though the name Esther and Jerry Hicks appears prominently on book jackets etc.
The message of Abraham seems to be a perfectly innocuous collection of New Thought ideas, with a heavy emphasis on the Law of Attraction and the concept of co-creation. In truth, it is hard to know why the books are so enormously popular. They have a tendency to ramble, and are incredibly repetitive. I suspect it is the sheer folksy charm of the Hicks, and the relentless positivism of the message. There is also a distinct message of the inevitability of progress, which I suspect is also comforting in a world that is normally heavy on the doom and gloom and the downward spiral of humanity's journey.
Jerry Hicks credits the influence of both Napoleon Hill (Hicks was a teacher of Hill's methods for many years) and the channeled Seth writings of Jane Roberts. These latter are what inspired Esther to accept her own talents as a channel.
The Abraham material is focused on the idea that we are at a particularly important juncture in universal development, and that all people are capable of flowering and prospering if they will only do the necessary spiritual work and cultivate a sufficiently positive worldview. The books, audios and DVDs are normally reproductions of talks and seminars conducted by the Hicks, replete with question and answer sessions from the audience. With this format it would appear that the potential to produce new material is endless, and certainly their publisher, Hay House, is pushing out Abraham stuff at a rate of knots. It will be interesting to see if the market can continue to absorb such a high volume of releases.
The Hicks' have become incredibly influential on the New Age/Self-Help scene. They were the original inspiration for the movie The Secret, but by all accounts they withdrew over financial issues, and The Secret was eventually unleashed on the world without their contributions. Both Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay are great fans of the Abraham material, and constantly endorse it.
Hay House has been quite visionary in its handling of the Hicks and their work. Realising that more and more consumers are moving away from books, Hay House has focused just as much on audio and DVD in its Abraham releases, and it seems to have been working for them.
It is hard to be offended by the Abraham material, as it is entirely free from controversial claims and statements. My only reservation regards the style of the books, and the basically unedited nature of the content. There really is an enormous amount of duplication from book to book, and I daresay that the serious reader need only read one of them to get the full gist of Abraham's message.

Samuel Smiles

I'm doing a talk about Samuel Smiles and the invention of self-help at the Sydney Unitarian Church on Sunday August 8, so have been immersing myself in the wonderful world of Smiles.
Possessed of what is quite possibly the most gorgeous name in the world, Samuel Smiles was a Scottish doctor, newspaper editor and pamphleteer who went on to become the biggest selling author of the Victorian age.
The book that rocketed him to fame was the simply named Self-Help - he being the first ever person to employ the term.
Now Self-Help is quite different to contemporary self-help books - it is frequently moralistic in tone, and is really just a collection of biographies of the great and good and how they became that way. Smiles also moralises about the virtues of a simple life, and how through hard work and self denial the working classes might be able to improve their lot. I doubt such advice would be very popular these days. But all in all it is the original, the very template for a genre that has gone on to become one of the most popular in modern publishing. Mr. Smiles probably never dreamed that he'd spawned a monster industry - though he certainly made plenty of money from his book, and from the subsequent follow-ups that were all variations on a theme: Thrift, Duty, Character etc.
But criticise him as much as you like, Mr. Smiles set out a moral and social vision that is still admirable, and his great conviction was that honesty and good cgaracter were infinitely more important than riches and social position. He disparaged cleverness for its own sake, and he despised the various elites that held sway during the Victorian era. He was an unpretentious man, a country doctor with Unitarian leanings.
The fact is that Smiles believed that everyone was capable of improving and becoming something better, regardless of natural talents or inherited social class. His was an egalitarian vision that has ultimately triumphed, and I think he was a great visionary.