Pawling's Optimism No "Secret"

The New York Home Of Positive Thinking Has Its Own Take On The Self-Help Mysticism Of "The Secret"

(CBS)  According to a new study conducted by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, Americans are the most depressed people on Earth. That finding helps explain why so many people reacted to "The Secret," a book that tells people anything can be attained simply by having a positive outlook on life.

With all the buzz surrounding the Oprah-touted tome, many Americans have suddenly become interested in trading their gloomy outlooks for sunnier ones. But in one New York town, positive thinking isn't just a fad — it's a way of life.

Pawling, N.Y., is a village of optimists in a country of pessimists.

48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty learned that in this town, located 70 miles north of New York City, many real estate values are above the national average — and so are salaries. It's almost as though positive thinking is in Pawling's DNA. The town is home to the Peale Center for Positive Thinking , founded by the original self-help guru Norman Vincent Peale, author of the bestseller "The Power of Positive Thinking."

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Podcast: Hear some of the wisdom of the original self-help guru, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

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"When I first came up here, we were weekenders — and I'd come home," a Pawling resident named Michelle told Moriarty. "I'd be like, 'Oh my God, you can't go anywhere. You can't have a cup of coffee without having to have a conversation!"

According to realtor Taryn Tanner, locals are less likely to feel isolated for a simple reason: the importance of the family.

"Lots of family," he said. "My family goes way back here. There are certain names that you recognize here and that filters through the fabric."

Which is why Christine Pikel opened a scrapbook shop here — a rather risky business many other places. She said Pawling is something of a modern Mayberry and Peale's influence is still evident everywhere.

"We’re a product of the people who lived here," Tanner said. "I mean, I was brought up here and you know, from the time I was little: 'Well, do you know who Norman Vincent Peale was?' And you learned the history and what was important to those people, and we may not be able to say ‘This is exactly why we're more positive,' but I think it really filters down.”

And it filters down far beyond the town's borders. People who go to bookstores today in record numbers to buy self-help books like "The Secret" may not realize that much of what seems so fresh and even revolutionary was — in fact — first popularized by Peale in "The Power of Positive Thinking" more than half a century ago.

"When Dad first wrote 'The Power of Positive Thinking' and it made an instant hit and became very popular," his daughter Maggie Peale Everett said, "that was the first time I think that this whole idea of positive thinking and how your thoughts can influence your actions came into the mainstream of thinking."

Peale, a minister in New York City in the 1930s, wanted to inspire parishioners during the dark days of the Depression when he came up with his simple but effective philosophy: Think your life will improve and it will.

"So he began to talk in an uplifting way that they needed to believe in themselves — that God had put into them as human beings, wonderful potential and the possibility to be all that they could be," Everett said.

Peale and his wife Ruth were also preaching his philosophy on a weekly inspirational television program when he decided to put it into a book.

"But the story goes he was discouraged by it and threw it in the wastebasket and that she retrieved it from the wastebasket and sent it to the publisher," his other daughter Liz Allen said. "I don't know whether that's true or not, but that's the story."

"The irony is that of course she was acting more positively in this situation than he was," Everett said.

The book, published in 1952, still resonates today, even though the economy is no longer depressed but Americans are.

"Some people have characterized it as the poverty of affluence," University of Scranton psychology professor John Norcross said. "The more we have, the more we want, the more expectations. A night at home in front of a crackling fire no longer suffices. We need more and more juice. So when you have impossible expectations, they can't be met, and down goes the esteem."

This emptiness, says Norcross, explains the continuing boom in self-help programs, with 3,000 new books coming out every year.

"Some people call it the Home Depot effect," Norcross said. "We can do this by ourselves. We don't have to go to professional treatment."

Norcross said the fact that so many self-help books exist means that they don't really work, and if they do, usually work for just a short time. More importantly, he said, it means they sell.

"These things would not be published if they weren't selling," Norcross said.

[dmkipper]

To continue, in reviewing the real history of positive thought, we must go back into the late 1800's atleast. Found in early philosophors Holmes, Troward, Watts, Waddle, etc. It is my belief that the name Religious Science has prevented general consumption of its literature, and (prevented)its practitioners and ministers (Louise Hays, Michael Beckwith, etc.)from claiming it as their training and experience.

As a side note, the producers of The Secret have demonstrated marketing genius in withholding sales of the film until demand was created, and in releasing it first to New Thought churches and metaphysical bookstores prior to general availability. They are also selling "teaching" rights and Secret products at extremely high prices to anyone who will pay the price.

Ethics in all of this? Lots to be discussed. But overall, it is refreshing to hear the theme of positive thinking and possibilities as the main content of the daily news cast in the face of our normal gloom and doom.

And how about establishing a Department of Peace while we are at it? Every state has a contingent working on passing the house bill to create a government department tasked with finding non-violent solutions to national and international problems. What a concept! Might there be a positive, albeit different solution to war?

Thanks for the opportunity! Ontological Coaching Makes a Difference.

[dmkipper]

Thank you for airing the segment on "The Secret". Long before Norman Vincent Peale published his work, many previous authors spoke of positive thinking, and the interpretation of spiritual energy. Namely, Ernest Holmes, Troward, Waddle, and more recently, Deepok Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Eckart Tolle, and Louise Hays, just to name a few.

Many of these philosophical authors were students of "New Thought" religion. Michael Beckwith,of Secret fame, Louise Hays,"You Can Heal Yourself" and Wayne Dyer, specifically of the Dr. Ernest Holmes variety of New Thought, Religous Science, or more commonly known as Science of Mind.


Up until now, suggesting that Spirituality and Scientific evidence (quantum physics) as presented in "What the Bleep Do we Know?" (presursor to The Secret) has been unacceptable.

Bravo to Oprah and Larry King for bringing it into the mainstream. However, as with all self-help works, the real Secret is in the "doing". I can pray, and hope, and cut pictures out of winning the lottery, but if I do not buy the ticket, not even God can make me win!

My concern, as an experienced psychiatric nurse, and credentialed coach, is that "The Secret" speaks nothing of taking ACTION in every day life to create what it is you really want. It also places most of the focus on materialistic accumulation, rather than improvement of self worth and demonstration of positive behaviors.

Thanks for shifting the focus of the news to a positive space.

[chandabhoo1]

I agree the show was a bit shallow, it could have given a little more depth to subject

"On the Pawling story, I would have like the story to cover or uncover the effects postive thinking. Are people more succesful, do they stop to smell the roses, do they volunteer more, are the kids less preassured, do they care for their elderly, are they free from materialism, do they handle stresses of living in todays society better, do they have a better plan of how to raise children post 9/11 and lastly are their teens easier to handle because of postive thinking? ????????"

[drprof-2009]

Of the presenters on the Secret, Michael Beckwith explains the spirital basis, as he did on Oprah. Like Rev Peale before him, the "positive thinking" is based on scripture. See Mt. 8:13 .. as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

The Sunday morning story seemed shallow, beneath the memory of Rev. Peale and disminishing the spiritual underpinnings with narrow editing of the video clips. This is about life not just parking spaces.

[caligirl82]

The distrubing factors, the vast money being made from the an old idea. I can guarantee Rhonda B. is much happier these days just by the positive thought she had one day to write this book. I believe I would be a very positive person had I written this book and by the mere fact of the millions of dollars being made from a non professional layman.

[kingjerbo]

I LIVE IN PAWLING!
I was born and raise in the BX now reside in Pawling for 17 years.
Fighters don't know what failures are!
Fighters often learn many ways something won;t work before achieving their objective.
Victims try once and give up because "Nothing ever goes there way"
LIFE Has No Failures. quitters have failures!
Successful people have Challenges!
Less fortunate people aimed at success also have challenges.
My opinion is "the majority of Americans are always jealous or envious of others successes or better days etc.." That sends the wrong message out to the universe. That says you will be the one frowned upon IF you EVER make it.... Those who think that way are setting themselves up for Nothing better than they have today.
That goes against The Secret!
I have written to much already.
I hope I have enlightened even one person.
God Bless and May everyone find their happiness!
J.M.

[kingjerbo]

I LIVE IN PAWLING!
I was born and raise in the BX now reside in Pawling for 17 years.
Fighters don't know what failures are!
Fighters often learn many ways something won;t work before achieving their objective.
Victims try once and give up because "Nothing ever goes there way"
LIFE Has No Failures. quitters have failures!
Successful people have Challenges!
Less fortunate people aimed at success also have challenges.
My opinion is "the majority of Americans are always jealous or envious of others successes or better days etc.." That sends the wrong message out to the universe. That says you will be the one frowned upon IF you EVER make it.... Those who think that way are setting themselves up for Nothing better than they have today.
That goes against The Secret!
I have written to much already.
I hope I have enlightened even one person.
God Bless and May everyone find their happiness!
J.M.

[esullivan22]

With innocent people being slaughtered by the hundreds on a daily basis around the world, our national debt approaching $9 trillion, no universal health care, etc., no wonder U.S. citizens are depressed. Your "positive thinking" piece was shallow and insulting to your viewers' intelligence. Maybe the woman who, by her thoughts, gets a free parking space for herself can turn the power of these thoughts toward doing good for others.

[roxbo-2009]

In respect to your story on"The Secret", I believe it needs more positive attention.
I have been reading self-help books for many years. They have been helping. Some authors I do connect with, others I don't, but I did give more than one an honest shot. I did happen to read "The Power of Positive Thinking" many years ago.Others have never been introduced to it. Though "The Secret" may be the same message in a new book, it may also be someone's introduction to this perspective. New to them. I am sure the philosophy has been around since well before the 1930's.It needs to be continually re-introduced.
New ways, new perspectives, more people being less depressed. Don't take this opportunity away from them by being negative about the ideas.
Thank you for listening.

[roxbo-2009]

In respect to your story on"The Secret", I believe it needs more positive attention.
I have been reading self-help books for many years. They have been helping. Some authors I do connect with, others I don't, but I did give more than one an honest shot. I did happen to read "The Power of Positive Thinking" many years ago.Others have never been introduced to it. Though "The Secret" may be the same message in a new book, it may also be someone's introduction to this perspective. New to them. I am sure the philosophy has been around since well before the 1930's.It needs to be continually re-introduced.
New ways, new perspectives, more people being less depressed. Don't take this opportunity away from them by being negative about the ideas.
Thank you for listening.

[roxbo-2009]

In respect to your story on"The Secret", I believe it needs more positive attention.
I have been reading self-help books for many years. They have been helping. Some authors I do connect with, others I don't, but I did give more than one an honest shot. I did happen to read "The Power of Positive Thinking" many years ago.Others have never been introduced to it. Though "The Secret" may be the same message in a new book, it may also be someone's introduction to this perspective. New to them. I am sure the philosophy has been around since well before the 1930's.It needs to be continually re-introduced.
New ways, new perspectives, more people being less depressed. Don't take this opportunity away from them by being negative about the ideas.
Thank you for listening.

[glaszlo]

I find it ironic that at a time when a majority of Americans are dismayed by the way our President is handling the war in Iraq, a strategy driven by wishful thinking, that the same people would embrace the lame message of The Secret. Perhaps we can all have a mind-meld and wish Bush out of the White House.

[corebe1]

Most see abundance/ health, prosperity and bliss, like an ocean which they are standing near and they dip out of it according to their capacity to imagine. Some with little spoons and some with teacups and others with buckets and so on.

The truth is that the ocean of abundance is available to any and all of us according to our capacity to believe and imagine and there are those who know this and pour buckets upon themselves and even some who go swimming in it.

Further there are those few who have the insight and courage to drown in it and those very few are the ones who discover that in It we live and move and have our being and this Ocean was and is and was always all around us and we are already drowned in it and we only know this when we adjust the angle of our perception to this realization.

Humble Gratefulness is a wonderful container for scooping abundance.

[chandabhoo1]

One more comment- On the Pawling story, I would have like the story to cover or uncover the effects postive thinking. Are people more succesful, do they stop to smell the roses, do they volunteer more, are the kids less preassured, do they care for their elderly, are they free from materialism, do they handle stresses of living in todays society better, do they have a better plan of how to raise children post 9/11 and lastly are their teens easier to handle because of postive thinbking? ????????

[chandabhoo1]

Pawlings may have a claim to postive thinking since the 30's. But some religions can take claim to it 2500 years ago. The secret simply simplifies the basics of most religions. Do good and good will happen you. Envision your future and you will get there. This is also the philosophy of other great motivators, Tony Robbins, Zig Zigler ect....Its nice that a book can come along every so often and remind us. For all those negative comments earlier - have you tried it?

[cavaliers31]

I'm guessing that it is much easier to have a positive outlook on life if you have the economic foundation to live in an upscale place like Pawling NY. The true measure is in the middle class.

[cavaliers31]

I'm guessing that it is much easier to have a positive outlook on life if you have the economic foundation to live in an upscale place like Pawling NY. The true measure is in the middle class.

[truthteller4]

"The Secret" is a rip-off of other books which has been turned into a get-rich quick scheme (for the "Secret Teachers").