The Secret and Rationalist Philosophy

My roommate gave me a book to read a few weeks ago. It is called "The Secret". The Secret is a way of life, a philosophy, a way to take control and make things happen for yourself. It draws off of the principle of magnetism. The main principle is that the universe works like one big magnet and if you think and want and wish for what you desire then the universe will bend to your will and give you what you want. Sounds impossible, right? When I began reading this book I was quite skeptical, in fact, I still am skeptical of its worth and credibility. To believe that the world works as a magnet and that you can control what you get simply by believing and thinking what you want to happen will happen is absurd. This is a way of life for many people. The Secret has a myriad of followers, some of whom are quite famous people. There are books, a dvd and even a website devoted to learning The Secret and living life the way The Secret outlines. But doesn't this seem like a religion? Religion is just a way of life. There are certain components that make up religion. Take for example the idea of a God or a divine power and force. For many Western religions it is one God. For some religions it is many gods. For others it is Nature. The Rationalist philosopher Spinzoa believed that God referred not to a single entity possessing absolute power, but considered the word "God" to be comparable to Nature. According to Spinoza, everything was "God". The fact that I am writing this blog right now is a force of God. What I will do when I wake up tomorrow morning I do because it is part of God and because God wills it. Every religion, every religious person, everyone who has a belief in something higher than themselves relates that belief to their way of life. Because Spinoza believes that God is everything, God is nature and God wills everything, he acts accordingly. This belief forms his way of life. It forms the way of life of many Rationalists who believe in Spinoza's philosophy. So isn't the Secret in turn also a religion? It tells you how to live your life in accordance with a guiding force, in this case, the universe. It is actually quite similar to Spinoza and his belief that God is Nature and Nature makes up everything.