The Secret behind “The Secret”
Photo by Mauro Lima
Napoleon Hill famously says,
Whatever the Mind…
can conceive and believe,
it can achieve. ¹
The book of Matthew includes the same bold statement:
If you believe,
you will receive
whatever you ask for in prayer. ²
And the book of Mark echoes this point as well:
Whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have [already] received it,
and it will be yours. ³
Here we’ll explore this theme of manifesting ideas, especially as it’s found in Kabbalah, the mystical texts of the Jewish tradition. Our discussion unfolds in three parts:
Conceive. Believe. Achieve.
1. Conceive
In her book, From Imagination to Reality, Abiola Abrams writes that
Anything you see
in front of you now
first existed
in someone’s imagination. ⁴
In fact, as I like to say,
There isn’t a thing
you can think of
that isn’t a thought.
Think about it! ⁵
The conception of ideas can only take place in consciousness. Science used to think the brain generates consciousness and is, therefore, the source of thought. Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria, however, teaches the following:
Human thoughts originate
in the highest ‘realm’
of consciousness…
the ultimate,
unrestricted
will of the Divine. ⁶
This viewpoint knows only absolute oneness with God. In fact, it is said that:
Thoughts unspoken
are not unknown
to the divine Mind.
Desire is prayer... ⁷
Abrams says:
From the moment you desire it,
it is done...
Desire is a Divine gift… ⁸
Several other traditions agree that individual thoughts originate in a universal field of consciousness, in what Charles Fillmore refers to as ‘divine Mind.’ ⁹ Advaita Vedanta, for example, teaches that the human intellect possesses no light of its own. Rather, it merely reflects the light of infinite consciousness.
Even when we accept this conclusion, the question often comes immediately: If Divinity is Good–All Good—where do thoughts come from that are ‘not Good’? That’s another whole discussion! But in brief:
Evil [Anything not good]
does not descend from above.
The transmission from above
is pure and coherent.
Evil [Anything not good]
is distortion and noise,
an artifact of our reception. ¹⁰
Let’s consider how this can possibly be.
First, we agree that the One God, Divine Mind, or Consciousness is infinite.
Second, we agree that there’s nothing beyond Infinity.
Third, we reason that Divinity, being All, is the only possible Source of anything—including thought.
Fourth, we conclude that the Source of thought is divine.
It all comes down to our perspective and how we view our world. As Mary Baker Eddy explains,
…The heavens and earth
to one human consciousness—
that consciousness which God bestows—
are spiritual,
while to another—
the unillumined human mind—
the vision is material. ¹¹
2. Believe
Does the instruction to ‘Believe’ or to ‘have Faith’ mean to think it is true?
No! It means to know it’s true.
Knowing what’s true of reality is far beyond positive thinking. In fact, it is transcendent, divine thinking!
There’s an old Yiddish adage that says,
Think good, and it will be good. ¹²
This doesn’t mean positive thinking where we hope for the best. Rather it means that
[Our] absolute …conviction…
actually becomes
the conduit …that draws down
God’s blessings. ¹³
This is because, as public prayer practitioner Lisa Taylor points out:
The belief that is held
becomes a law to us. ¹⁴
In Kabbalah, to manifest an idea, you have to connect to it with absolute certainty. It is our conviction of Good that anchors our conscious thought in the divine Mind.
Where does certainty derive its power? Shneur Zalman of Liadi teaches, in essence, that:
Faith is supra-human. ¹⁵
This means that it originates from a divine or spiritual source rather than from human ego or effort. Faith aligns us with God’s primal Will.
In short, certainty becomes
Divine Will be done—
not personal willpower. ¹⁶
Cathy Heller is a student of Kabbalah who incorporates the mystical teachings into her business coaching. She says,
Faith is a frequency.
And when you learn
how to tune into it…
life starts responding
in miraculous ways. ¹⁷
In the book of Hebrews in the Bible we find that,
Faith is
the substance of things
hoped for,
the evidence
of things not seen. ¹⁸
If you’re a Bible student, you’ve probably noticed that it is often recorded that Jesus gives thanks—even before a healing or a miracle. Abrams says:
Expressing gratitude
for your desire
as if it has
already manifested
amplifies the energy
of [what you have assumed
and know to be true.] ²⁰
Now doubts may come up, but Charles Fillmore, founder of Unity, says simply,
If doubts come in,
do not entertain them. ²¹
In fact, whenever I have doubts I
Return to the Self.
Return to Bliss! ²²
In other words, like Neville Goddard writes:
Pick out a lovely state,
go right into it
and dwell there.
[This is called] ‘occupying the state’
and thinking from it
instead of thinking [about] it. ²³
In my experience, there’s nothing more important than dwelling in bliss consciousness. It is the simplest form of awareness. Bliss is God's ‘house,’ our true dwelling place, ‘the secret place of the Most High.’ ²³ When we’re consciously ‘there,’ we spontaneously feel peace and praise!
What are the mechanics at work here? Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says,
When consciousness
is in its simplest state
it is able to transform itself
into any desired value…
[This is because]
this pure state of awareness
is a field of all possibilities.
[This] simplest form of awareness
is at the basis of everything
in the manifest creation…
When this common source
of all creation
opens to one’s awareness,
then [one’s own] awareness
[is consciously] at one [with]
the common source of all creation.
This is the dignity
of human awareness—
a lively field
of all possibilities. ²⁴
Professor John Hagelin at MIU appeared in the movie The Secret some years ago. In a recent video he says,
If you can get familiar
and comfortable
in the transcendent…
and plant one foot there,
so to speak…
Be awake to that level,
while you're thinking also,
at the tenderest,
subtlest level of thought.
That juxtaposition of subtle,
powerful thought anchored
in pure being…
[is the] secret behind ‘The Secret.’ ²⁵
This is worth emphasizing. Hagelin says:
The secret
behind ‘The Secret’
is [to] transcend.
Go to the subtlest
levels of thought,
and even transcend
the subtlest level of thought,
and project a desire
from that level.
Nature [then] picks up that desire,
and you will find
your goals and desires
being fulfilled
with the effortlessness
that is promised
in ‘The Secret'—
but not often delivered. ²⁶
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says,
Always remember:
Joy [Bliss] is not
merely incidental
to your spiritual quest.
It is vital. ²⁷
He says,
Joy is not the gift
at the end of the road.
Joy is the lantern
that shows you where to go.
Without it,
prayer is ‘paper
in the wind.’ ²⁸
To manifest a goal, Neville learned from Kabbalah to:
Assume the feeling
of the wish fulfilled.
By assuming the feeling
of your wish fulfilled,
you are setting
your dominant
emotional tone
to one of ‘having’
rather than ‘wanting.’ ²⁹
3. Achieve
In the 1970s, I found myself in a competition with several others for a political appointment in Michigan state government. There was an opening for the executive director of the Consumers’ Council, whose mandate was to be the state’s consumers’ advocate.
They were big shoes to fill. The previous director had been a long-time state senator, and the director before her was an attorney who had left to become vice-president of a major corporation.
This 9-member Council was made up of 5 Republicans and 4 Democrats. At the time, I was press secretary to the Democratic Attorney General, and the press reported that someone else was the clear favorite of the Republicans.
A friend of mine in the National Women’s Political Caucus told me I should apply. But, like Moses, when God gave him an assignment, I had excuses:
I’m too young to direct a state agency; I was only 25
I’ve never hired, fired, or supervised staff
I know nothing about annual government department budgets
I’ve never been a lobbyist—that’s not me!
Plus, I told her that the Republicans would never vote for a Democrat, especially the attorney general's press secretary.
My friend said, “If you were a young man, you wouldn’t say that!”
I had to admit that she was right.
Now this conversation was a few months after I had learned Transcendental Meditation. In the deep bliss of that evening’s meditation, an entire strategy unfolded in my thought for exactly how to get five of the nine votes.
Capture the fort! Go for the highest first! These are principles of the Science of Creative Intelligence. This meant I only really needed the top Republican (the head of Commerce) and the top Democrat, who was my boss. With this glimpse, I just knew it was a done deal. I could feel it, so to speak, ‘in my bones.’
After my meditation that day, I began to have doubts. But when the bliss returned in subsequent meditations, the doubts always vanished.
At some point every morning I was inspired to play Helen Reddy’s album, “I Am Woman," as I got ready for work. Whenever I looked in the mirror, I literally ‘saw’ myself in the role of the agency’s director. This routine went on for some weeks.
In short, both my boss and the Director of Commerce pledged their votes to me. I won on the third or fourth ballot when they each, in turn, signaled that their votes would not change.
To be clear, I did not know at the time that conceiving in bliss and gratitude—and having an unshakable confidence—was key to achievement. But I do now! This lesson has served me well for many, many years.
The movie The Secret calls this
the ‘Law of Attraction,’
Neville calls it Kabbalah’s ‘Law of Assumption,’
I call it the ‘Law of Bliss!’
Recently I shared the Law of Bliss with one of my associates. She understood immediately and shared that some 40 years ago, after 13 years of marriage and no children, she was inspired to visit fertility experts at the University of Iowa Medical Center. Their conclusion: no possibility for pregnancy.
She was devastated. Then she remembered something she had heard Maharishi say:
It’s our joy to be impossible. ³⁰
Maybe, she thought, the experts were wrong. This blissful memory gave her hope. But she didn’t stop with hope. Soon the thought came to purchase a baby blanket. She then proceeded to rock that ‘baby,’ nurse it, sing to it, and cherish it day after day. And as she did so, she says she could even see a little face peek out!
She was rewarded with the birth of a son—and another son a few years later.
I mention these examples to illustrate that Conceive. Believe. Achieve. It is not a fanciful formula but a natural cognition.
These women had never seen The Secret. They had never heard of the Law of Attraction, the Law of Assumption, or the Law of Bliss.
By whatever name, this Law is universal. It’s no wonder that we find it in the Bible, in Kabbalah, and in modern-day spiritual teachings.
The bottom line, according to Abrams, is that:
What you are seeking is,
in the most extraordinary way,
seeking you too.
Instead of asking,
‘What do I need to do
to get what I want,’ ask,
‘Who do I need to be
to…be aligned
with what I want?’ ³¹
Remember, what you want already exists spiritually in consciousness, the Field of All Possibilities!
[Conceive. Believe. Achieve.]
is not new.
It is universal law.
That means that, like gravity,
it just is,
and it always was. ³²
Celine Rouben shares teachings from Kabbalah through her work as a Persian-Jewish activist and attorney. For example, she writes that
Life is not happening to you,
nor for you…
Life is happening from you.
Because if life is only happening to you,
then you become a victim
of random events.
If life is happening for you,
then suffering becomes a lesson.
But if life is happening from you,
then life becomes a mirror…
of consciousness… ³³
To engage the Law of Assumption, we’re called to:
Declare the end
from the beginning.
[Because] the end
of an action
is contained
in the thought
[from the very first sprouting.] ³⁴
We can summarize the core mechanics in four points,
Consciousness is all there is. The physical world is just a projection of your inner thoughts and beliefs.
Your deepest Feeling is key: You must feel as if you already have your desire.
You must Live in the End: This means think and act as if your goal is already achieved.
Ignore Physical Evidence: Disregard current negative circumstances because they are just past thoughts materializing.
3 Key Practices
Imagine your desired end-scene while deeply relaxed right before falling asleep and upon waking. Imagination is ‘Divinity in action.’
Be alert to your mental dialogue. It must match the reality of a person who already has their desire fulfilled.
Strictly monitor and redirect negative thoughts throughout the day to maintain your assumption. In metaphysics, the long-standing instruction is to:
Stand porter
at the door of thought. ³⁵
This is not control of thought, but choice of thought! And really, returning to bliss is beyond even a choice. It is simply to sink back into our natural awareness of infinite Being.
Neville reminds us that
Because creation
is [complete],
what you desire
already exists.
[The Law of]
Assumption
brings the invisible
into sight.
It is nothing more
nor less
than seeing
with the eye of God. ³⁶
Now you know the secret behind The Secret!
Waves of the Ocean
[1] Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, p. 32 AX 9379
[2] Matthew 21:22 KJV AX 9372
[3] Mark 11:24 KJV AX 1282
[4] Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist, (Hay House LLC, 2024), p. xix AX 9194
[5] Joy Hirshberg, The Secret Behind ‘The Secret,’ https://www.expressionsofjoy.com/readexpressions/the-secret-behind-the-secret, 06.14.2026 AX 9279
[6] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6214343/jewish/3-The-Yechidah-Effect.htm 06.02.2026 AX 9374
[7] Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 1 AX 1194
[8] Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist, (Hay House LLC, 2024), p. 14 AX 9204
[9] Charles Fillmore, The Revealing Word, (Unity Books), p. 56 AX 9304
[10] Tzvi Freeman, Poor Reception, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/52682/jewish/Poor-Reception.htm • 10.15.20 AX 8004
[11] Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 573 AX 9400
[12] Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch quoted in Good Thinking By Yanki Tauber, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2492/jewish/Good-Thinking.htm 05.31.2006 AX 9367
[13] Ibid.
[14] Lisa Taylor, author of Look UP Look IN Look OUT, This Choice Matters Book Group, 06.2026 AX 9404
[15] Yanki Tauber, Faith and Reason: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi’s Synthesis of Two Never-Intersecting Planes, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3237/jewish/Faith-and-Reason.htm 06.16.2026 AX 9388
[16] See Luke 22:42 KJV AX 9410
[17] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1292619929392877 06.03.2026 AX 9377
[18] Hebrews 11:1 AX 1394
[19] Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist (Hay House LLC, 2024), p. 46 AX 9221
[20] Charles Fillmore, Weekly Unity WU030911/9, AX 4084
[21] Joy Hirshberg, https://www.expressionsofjoy.com/readexpressions/the-secret-behind-the-secret, 06.14.2026 AX 9406
[22] Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist, (Hay House LLC, 2024), p. 104 AX 9238
[23] Psalms 91:1 KJV AX 4793
[24] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, lecture 29 September 1980 Seelisberg, Switzerland, AX 9351
[25] The Secret Behind "The Secret",https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxvdZTUMRa8 04.21.2026 AX 9267
[26] Ibid.
[27] https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTBB7JrXM/ 06.03.2026 AX 9375
[28] Ibid.
[29] Neville Goddard via Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist, (Hay House LLC, 2024) pp. 100-101 AX 9235
[30] attributed to lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
[31] Abiola Abrams, From Imagination to Reality: Secret Manifestation Lessons and the Law of Assumption from Abdullah, Master Alchemist, (Hay House LLC, 2024) p. xii AX 9191
[32] Ibid., p. 117 AX 9245
[33] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYnOgndIcx_/ 05.31.2026 AX 9371
[34] Shael Siegel, Thought, Free Will, and the Shabbat Bride: Sof Ma’aseh B’machshavah Techilah, https://medium.com/@shael/thought-free-will-and-the-shabbat-bride-sof-maaseh-b-machshavah-techilah-c3eef229f869 05.31.2026 AX 9370
[35] Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 392 AX 4433
[36] Neville Goddard, The Power of Awareness, (TarcherPerigree: 2012), p. 39 AX 9224
