"We weren't able to get it for a long time," said Craig Oare at Orca Books in downtown Olympia. "We think the big chains bought up all the books."
Orca Books finally got a big shipment of "The Secret" at the end of March, Oare said. Other bookstores in the area also have reported brisk sales of "The Secret."
What gives?
South Sound health practitioners say the public is responding to the book's modernized take on a piece of old wisdom called the "law of attraction."
The law, in brief, is that your internal visions, thoughts, feelings and energies are the juice that creates your own external reality. If you hold a vision of wealth and see and feel yourself enjoying abundance, y ou will attract riches, the philosophy states. If you affirm and believe that you are feeling more love every day, loving people will flock to you.
It's the power of positive thinking, jazzed up for the 21st century.
"The 'law of attraction' has been around forever," said Deena Douglas, an energy healer in Olympia and an organizer of Sat urday's Puget Sound Wellness Association Healing Arts Expo at the Worthington Cen ter at Saint Martin's University in Lacey.
"I just think ("The Secret") is a clever marketing technique - but it's good because it's bringing it to the masses," Douglas said.
Jana Wiley, an Olympia acupuncturist who is part of South Sound Acupuncture Association's free acupuncture program at Saturday's healing arts expo, says she wishes "The Secret" focused more on humanitarian qualities and less on receiving $1 million or buying the dream home.
"It's a little devoid of spirituality - that's a big missing ingredient," Wiley said. "There's more to life than new cars and fancy bicycles."
However, "The Secret" might be helpful for those opening up to inner processes for the first time - or for those who need a refresher, Wiley said.
"The pace of our culture is so fast that people can get swept up in a torrential current of fear and materialism," she said. "People don't have time to stop and vi sualize - so this can be a timely reminder."
Olympia chiropractor Daniel Greenlee said he has a copy of "The Secret" DVD playing in his office where clients are warming up to prepare for a treatment.
"I got turned on to it about eight months ago," Greenlee said.
Like the mania over the "The Da Vinci Code," the popularity of "The Secret" is launching a cot tage industry.
In a "Secret"-like coup, tiny Hillsboro, Ore.-based independent publishing house Beyond Words Publishing nabbed the book contract for "The Secret," scooping the larger New York industry players. Since its publication last year, people have bought more than 3.75 million copies of the book - a top seller on Amazon.com and The New York Times self-help list, according to a March 11 story in The Oregonian.
Beyond Words used a partnership with publishing giant Simon the Biology you can manifest your heart's most treasured desires," she writes. "The key is to first change your thoughts."
Keri Brenner covers Thurston County and Tumwater for The Olympian. She also is a licensed acupuncturist in Oregon and holds a master's degree in Oriental medicine and acupuncture from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland. Brenner is the author of "Sleep Disorders: An Alternative Guide" and a contributing editor to "Alternative Guide to Women's Health, Vols. I and II." She can be reached at 360-754-5435 or kbrenner@theolympian.com.
Free acupuncture at expo Saturday
Members of the South Sound Acupuncture Association will offer free acupuncture treatments on a first-come, first-served basis at their booth at Saturday's Puget Sound Wellness Association Healing Arts Expo.
More than 50 vendors have signed up for the third annual expo, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Martin's University's Worthington Center, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey.
The event's keynote speaker is Dr. Jonathan Wright, who will talk about anti-aging strategies from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Admission is $5 or free with online coupon at www.pswaexpo. com.
For information, call 360-704-9051.
Three steps
Here are the three steps to using the "Law of Attraction," as described in "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (2006, Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Ore., 198 pages, $23.95).
Step 1: Ask (Be specific on the exact item, result, opportunity, experience or feeling you want to manifest.)
Step 2: Believe (Act as if what you want has already arrived.)
Step 3: Receive (Feel good, send praise and give thanks.)
For more information, go to www.thesecret.tv.
