1037 Master The Law of Attraction & Create Abundance Using Your Mind w/“The Secret” Creator Rhonda Byrne

This is episode number 1037 with the creator of the worldwide phenomenon, the Secret Rhonda Byrne.

The more effortless you are, the greater you manifest everything that you ever dreamt of.

Welcome to the school of greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for If you're spending some time with me today, now let the class begin. Patricia Lynn once said, if we open ourselves up to our feelings, our intuition, and our spiritual centers, we become much closer to the mystery of the universe. And Neville Goddard said, Man moves in a world that is nothing more or less than his consciousness objectified. I am so excited about our guest today. Her name is Rhonda Byrne, and you might know her as the creator behind the Secret, a documentary film that swept the world in 2006, changing millions of lives and revolutionizing the way we understand the world and created a global movement of people who believe in and use the power of the mind to live their dream life. In 2007, Rhonda's book, the Secret, was released and translated into 50 languages and remains one of the longest running bestsellers of the century. selling over 35 million copies. That's incredible. She is also the best selling author of the Power, the Magic, Hero, and her latest book, which you must get, the Greatest Secret. I was so excited to have her on this podcast because she doesn't really do many interviews. There's not much content about her online. So it was fascinating to pick her brain about life, the universe, and the power of thought. I think you are going to love this and you're going to get a ton out of this interview. and I cannot wait for you to listen to it. In this episode, we discuss how Rhonda's life changed after the Secret became a global phenomenon. What the Law of Attraction is and how you can use it in your daily life. How to break out of negative thought loops and why they're so persistent for us. Why Rhonda never gets mad at anything anymore. How she changed her mindset to manifest abundance in her life at one of her darkest moments. Why it's so hard to seek and find the truth without suffering. The importance of leaving ego behind why we are ageless and timeless, the most influential person in Rhonda's life, the biggest lessons she's learned from the Secret and what she still struggles with to this day, and so much more. I'm telling you, this is so powerful. I hope you get a lot of value out of this. Please let me know what you're thinking about this as you're listening over on social media at Lewis Howes and make sure to connect with Rhonda Byrne and the Secret over on social media as well. And let her know that you're listening and share this with someone who you think would be inspired by this. LewisHowes.com/103 or just copy and paste the link wherever you're listening to this podcast and share it with a friend, text them, this will truly transform lives. So get this out far and wide to the people that you know. And if this is your first time here, please click that subscribe button over on Apple Podcast or Spotify right now, as well as give us a rating and review if you're enjoying this content. Okay, in just a moment, the one and only Rhonda Byrne. Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness. I am very excited about our guest. Rhonda Byrne is here. And you are one of the most probably influential people in the last 15 years, at least in the USA and around the world, because the work you've done, the secret, I believe the numbers that I saw is done 30 million copies sold. You've created a movement. You've written many other books since then. And you've got a new book that we were just talking about that came through you within five weeks. The greatest secret. which as I was reading this book, Rhonda, it's interesting. I grew up in a religion called Christian Science.

I'm not sure. Oh, yes.

Oh, yes, I know very well.

You know this religion?

Yes. And it was founded by a woman.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with this.

Yes.

Who was the woman? Mary Baker Eddy.

Yes, absolutely.

I've read so many of her books.

Her book is called Science and Health. Yes. And as I was reading this book, it felt like I was reading A lot of the teaching that she had back in the 1800s.

Oh, wow.

And you reminded me in a sense of being able to find this information, share it from a religion I grew up in. So you really have powerful wisdom in here. I grew up learning about the power of the mind, about the power of understanding that we are not our bodies, that we are infinite. All this stuff that I was taught as a kid.

Oh, it's great, Louis. Oh, my gosh. To learn that as a child, that's absolutely incredible.

I wish I learned other things as a kid that I didn't learn, but. Right. But I'm curious. I want to start with. I want to go into this book here in a second. But I have to be honest with you, Rhonda, as I was doing research about this interview, I could not find any interviews of you except from, like, 10 years ago with Oprah or something online. That's right. And I was like, am I just missing something? Am I typing your name in wrong? Is there just no content about Rhonda in the world? what is happening? Like, you became the biggest sensation in the last 15 years with the movement you created, and then I don't see any interviews. I'm like, does anyone know anything about this woman?

Where is she?

So, number one, I'm just curious, how has your life been? Because I don't think anyone knows this. How has your life been post secret?

Oh, amazing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely amazing. And, I mean, it was, it was. deliberate like I did Oprah because I knew that Oprah lived by these principles. So I knew that the show would be very constructive. And because I mean, I just shared something that I discovered and I absolutely knew was the truth. You know, I looked back on my life and I could just see my whole life just lined up in front of me. And I was just like, oh, this is the absolute truth. And I was so amazed that I was still on earth because, you know, some of the negativity that I got into in my life, I'm like, the universe definitely loves us because. Yeah, because that. The fact that I was still standing. So, yeah, I just, I I really wanted the. The secret message to be the hero, and we can have a tendency to idolize, you know, people, and. And I did not want that to happen. I didn't. I wanted people to know a little bit about me and how I discovered it and. And the year that I'd had, but I didn't want any of that to. extract from the message. And so I wanted the message to be King. So I did a few things that were very specific, and I had everyone in the world, like, wanting me to do, do things, but I just didn't want to get into sort of arguments with anybody because anybody that. That doesn't want this is so fine by me. You know, I'm not out to convince anybody of anything. I'm just like, I discovered this, and my life is unrecognizable. unrecognizable. And it is so easy. And you can have everything you do. You can have everything you want. You can have everything. You deserve everything. And so. And then if there are people that. That don't want that, that's totally fine. And so. And so that's why I was very kind of selective. And I had worked in media as well, and I knew that sometimes media can really build you up and then take you down.

Yeah, of course.

So I didn't want to be turned into some kind of Guru because I wasn't. I'm not that. I'm just like everybody else there. I'm just normal every day, every day, something sort of looking like a person. But, yeah, so it was, it was kind of very particular on my part. However, within those years, I spent a lot of time answering emails from people who wrote in and asking for advice on various things. So also writing other books as well and working on a lot of projects. So I just dedicated to adding more material to make things easier for people, make life better for people, rather than so much doing media. But then with this book, I don't know, there's just something inside of me said, now you have to do this. It's very important you do this.

So, wow, I'm so grateful that you decided to come on the School of Greatness. I think it's a great marriage. I'm curious for those who my audience is pretty in tune on the law of attraction and on mindset and understanding thoughts and feelings. This is something we talk about all the time. And people are truly seeking information to improve their life every day when they listen here. I'm curious for those that maybe came here for the first time. Can you share what is the law of attraction and is it possible that anyone can truly achieve what they want if they use it? effectively. And also part two of this question, what's the quickest way to hold you back from the law of attraction?

So one of the ways that I talk about the law of attraction or the secret is sort of in a different way from the way I used to speak about it because I'm always looking how can I make it even simpler? And I mean, basically that work talks about the power of the mind, and the power of thought to create our physical world and material world. And then the greatest secret takes that to a whole new level, actually. And so then you really get to see that, oh, my gosh, it's super easy to create anything I want. Like, really? So easy. Because if we have a belief it's hard, then it's going to be hard, you know? And so. And so it has everything to do with our mind and what we believe. and so if we believe a thought, it will manifest. End of Story.

Manifest. So if we believe we are deserving of great love, then we will manifest. If we believe we are going to be poor, we're going to stay poor. If we believe we don't deserve something, then it's not going to come to us.

And, you know, it's interesting because, because for all of us, you know, and we've been conditioned, you know, I mean, you were very fortunate because you, you had a a childhood where you were mind was opened and you were opened and your heart was opened. And that's the biggest, biggest thing is to open yourself to the possibility that everything isn't the way it appears to be. And so even if you can just open yourself to that possibility just for a moment, you can pick up it all the next day, you can take it all with you the next day that it's all real and everything that you're seeing. But if you just for a moment open to the possibility that things might not be the way that you think they are, then you have the greatest opportunity to really discover something incredible, how incredible you are.

So.

So with the secret. Yeah, I describe it really. And so I really simplify it. And the law of attraction, because I would say to anybody, if you would just think about what you want, that's all you'd ever get in your life.

It's as simple as that. But a lot of people think a lot of negative things. Consistently, it's on a loop that just holds them into this negative pattern. So how do we break that negative thought pattern?

Right. So, I mean, the mind is like a computer program. And the fact that it's on a negative loop is because we programmed it on a negative loop. But, you know, we could have been influenced when we were children and things like that. so. So one of the things that the mind loves is loves repetition. I mean, loves it. You know, if you really watch your thoughts, this is the same old thoughts over and over again, you know, it's just kind of dishing up the same old thing. So it loves repetition. So the way you can override a program is to put in the opposite, you know, and when you start out, you know, you feel like you're lying, you know, you'll say something like, you know, you might be really broke. Gee, I was when I was making the secret. so you might not have any money and you're trying to instill, you know, wealth and prosperity and riches. And every time you say it, you feel a contraction in your body because, you know, you don't have it. But, you know, truly, because I did it myself, after a while you change it, you really begin to change it, and you don't quite have that contraction anymore. And then you start to see money coming in, you know, in, in different ways and, and it, and and, or you can be given things that you were going to buy, and now you don't have to buy it. Or so you begin to see, you start to see signs of land, you know, is one of the great, one of the great new thought thought writers would say, talk about a sign of land. So you start to see sign of land. Now, that's what I did in the secret. You can do gratitude. That will turn everything around. That will make you feel good. That will get you off the negative rant. But those negative thoughts are coming from beliefs held in the subconscious mind. Right.

That's where the beliefs stem from. For most of us, they stem mostly.

From our childhood conditioning. Yeah. Somebody's. Our parents said something to us. We just swallowed it. Hook, line and Sinker. You know, we're like, right, that's a belief. And. And so we take it in, and. And then we have all these beliefs that. That. And you can hear, you know, if you. If you're talking to somebody, like, if. If. if, if somebody says, oh, I believe, or because we say that all the time, or somebody says, I think behind those two, behind those two statements are going to be a belief. And so the really interesting thing, they're hard to spot because you believe they're true.

They seem real.

Yeah. So you don't think. Yeah. You don't think they're a belief. You think they're real, you know, and so they can be hard to spot. But if you start to listen to yourself, you know, I believe or I think or especially look at the things that you have really strong opinion about. Because where you have a really strong opinion is a belief that's underneath that. So, so one of the things that in the latest book is that I show how to show how to dissolve those, those beliefs and just really by some of the things that I've just mentioned. and, and you can dissolve them and you just feel free. Every time a belief goes out, you feel completely free. You know, it's some, it's amazing, amazing feeling to, you just feel as light as a feather. And actually you feel invincible. Yeah. Because can you imagine, like, if we have the, for example, the, the feeling of doubt, right? Doubt and uncertainty. Now, doubt and uncertainty play a big part in most people's lives and that can be paralyzing those two things. So just imagine living a life zero doubt, zero uncertainty. I mean incredible.

How do we get to a place of not doubting ourselves?

You can because you need to know who you are. You need to know who you are so that you don't doubt yourself because the one that is doubting is the ego, the one that is doubting is the mind and it's not who we are. so then you've got to become very aware of your thoughts. That one that is doubting the one, the negative thoughts, they're all coming from the ego, right? All of them. Because who you are would never have a negative thought ever, ever. Who you are would never judge who you are. It doesn't have. Who you are is allowing and accepting. And so you. So all of those things are coming from the ego, and they are not who you are. And that voice in your head that you hear. that that voice that's, you know, so familiar to you and seems to know an awful lot about you and sounds like you. That voice is not you. That voice is just a program.

What was the voice that was in your head consistently pre-secret that you had to overcome that belief? And then, and then what's been the, the program? Because I feel like every new evolution of us is going to be some type of thing to overcome. So has there been something you've had to overcome in the last 15 years post secret to get to the next level?

Definitely negative thoughts. Definitely.

Before the secret, you had a lot of negative thoughts.

Oh, before this, oh, heaps. I was like everybody. I was like everybody. I was just like, oh, I was pointing out all the things that were wrong. And somehow I was kind of brought up. And I think a lot of us are that you're a good person. If you point out the things that are wrong, you know, you have to speak up and say, that's wrong. you know, that shouldn't be happening. And, and, and so I, I was kind of brought up with that, too. And so that's brought up with judgment. And that does not help us at all. Judgment. We need to put it in the trash because that does, that does not belong with us. And the one who is judging is the ego. That's, it's the ego. It's judging the one that has negative thoughts as the ego. So, so I had all of that going on. You know, I had doubt, I had uncertainty, I had feelings of unworthiness. I had heaps of stress. Oh my God, heaps of stress.

I was like, pre the book.

Pre-secret, yeah. Living on the edge, you know. I was like this with life, like white knuckles, you know. What's going to happen next? You know, something bad's going to happen and being really afraid, it's, you know, something's going to happen to somebody I love. So, I mean, I live my life like that and I think everybody does. and they just kind of keep it all squashed down, you know, and, but most people live their life that way. And, I mean, you know, in the last year, if you've been terrified, you know, in the last year and really fearful in the last year, you know, all of that fear has been given to you as this lovely gift, you know, when you're maybe a child, and it's like, here's a whole lot of things to be fearful about. And, and then we go through fear. And I mean, it's very easy to see that there's no pandemic that is fear, a fear-based pandemic. Why do we know that? Because there are many people who are not afraid. And so if the pandemic was, you know, in the world was actually a real fear manifestation, then every single person on the planet would be fearful. And while there are a lot of people fearful, there are still a lot who are not. So that just shows you that the fear was already here with us, you know, before the pandemic came along.

Right.

Yeah.

What was the, what was the belief that you still had to overcome post secret? Because you overcame a lot to be able to create something like that. There was this incredible movement. But then were there other negative beliefs that still held you back?

Oh, yeah. The biggest one, the biggest one was that I was abundant. that was the biggest one.

That was your limiting belief or.

Yeah, that was the one I. I had been brought up with. We can't afford it. We don't have enough, you know, and money would come into my hands. It would slip through my fingers. You know, things would break down. The universe would do all these things to get the money out of my hands. It was just like, take it away.

Yeah.

Because I had this belief that I did not have an abundant amount of money and that I was always in struggle, and that came from my parents. Bless them. So, you know, they are beautiful. But that came from them, you know, we can't afford it and all of those things. So I was brought up with that, as many of us are. So the one that I had the biggest thing to overcome, the belief, the biggest thing to overcome was the belief in lack of money. And I knew I needed to overcome that for the secret to sweep the world.

To be able to attract and bring you.

Yeah, because if I didn't overcome that, how Could it possibly?

Why would money come to you then? Exactly.

Yeah. So I had to overcome it.

How did you overcome that? I mean, how do you overcome the fear of lack, the not having enough? Never. I'm not worthy of money. How do we finally transition into abundance?

I did that by many, many things. I tried many things. All kinds of, I was experimenting with it. So, I mean, I would just walk down the street and say, there's prosperity, everyone breathing in prosperity. I do all these affirmations. You know, I'm breathing in prosperity with every breath I take. I am. My substance is prosperity. I am abundant. I am worthy, you know? And so I would say all these affirmations. I would have them all pinned up around the apartment that I was staying in, and so that I would see them and read them every day. So that was just one thing I did. Then what I would do, the biggest thing was because at the time I was in incredible debt. I was making the secret and I just didn't have the money to make it. And I started out $2 million in debt, mind you, because of a whole lot of shows that went really wrong.

And so- Because you were producing TV shows at the time.

Yeah, I was. And so, I mean, $2 million in debt makes it sound like I had a lot of money. I never had anything like that money. But these particular movies that we're making, they ran over budget. And so I started with $2 million in debt. I remember I discovered the secret and I went to my accountant and I said, you have to do whatever it takes to keep my company afloat. I'm going to make something that's going to change the world. I'm going to make it, you keep my company going. And so, and he was like, you know, and he just said, he just said, okay. And, and so I took out, oh my gosh, I maxed every credit card I had to the limit. I, I mortgage my home to the absolute limit. I took overdrafts out on my company. So I I could make the documentary. Wow. And so I had crushing debt coming in on me and I needed more money to keep making it. So it was a journey of absolute luck, you know, and the luck was just an expression of what I'd been brought up with. So I had to turn that around. So one of the things I did, like the, when I would go and get used to get, then you would get your bills or accounts in the mail, you know, it wasn't all online. and so I go to the Marble and, you know, and straight away, my stomach, my stomach would like. And if anybody's been in that situation where you just don't have enough money and you've got all these bills, it's a horrible feeling, you know, and my, my whole body would contract. And I would know that is attracting a lack of money, and that's not attracting abundance. So I used to do this thing whereby. I would do gratitude and I would listen to music and I would do all of as many things as I could until I felt really, really good. And I would just say to myself, I am abundant and nothing would object, no thought would object. And I'm like, right, now's the time to open the mail, right? I'm feeling really, really good. And so then I would open the bills and I would look at each one as though it was a I would imagine it's a check. Wow. Not a bill.

So you played a game in your mind and you're like, I put it in my mind. It's a hundred thousand dollars.

And I would go, wow, look at all the checks I got today. And so I would do that, you know, and then I'd open them up and I'd be like, wow, 160 check. And, you know, a 2, 300 check. And then I felt like it wasn't. I was, I would add them all up and that's how much I received today. And then I would think, you know what? I need to be receiving money than that. So I would add zeros to the, to the bills and I would pretend that they were, instead of 160 dollars, a 16, 000 check that was coming to me. And so it added all up and I've received all this money. So that was one of the other games that I played. And then I did something quite radical. I, it was an experiment and test. And all of these things I did. so that I could tell what worked and what would work for people. And so I thought, what's the way that I can feel really good about money? Because when you don't have enough, it's really hard to feel good about money.

Really hard.

Really hard. And so I thought, what's the one way that I can feel good about money? Okay, the way that I can feel good about money is if I give some away. And so what I do.

Well, what about if you have no money? to give away.

I took it out on my credit card. Wow. I took out these $20 bills on my credit card. I think I could access $100 or something. So I took out all of these $20 bills and I thought, right, I'm going to walk down the street and I said to the universe, show me who to give it to. And so I would walk down the street and I was looking at everybody's faces. And I don't know if you've ever done that in your life is just so silently walk down a street and look at people's faces, like, with a heart wide open. And I was just melting, looking at all these people's faces. And. And. And then it was just amazing because the universe would just show me who to give it to. Like, these kids walked out of a store, and they're, like, counting their money. I don't have enough to get that, you know, they're wanting to get something in the store, and so. just, you know, gave them twenty dollars and they're like, thanks, lady, and ran back in the store to get, you know, the ice creams or whatever they wanted. And it was an ice cream store I think they were out the front of. And so, yeah, I just went down the street giving away this money. And in fact, there were two, I think there was two or one $20 note that it just like stopped. It wasn't clear anymore who to give it to. And so I just stopped. Do you know that that was on a Friday and on the Monday, I received $25,000 in my account from a place that I never, ever, ever could have expected. Wow. Yeah.

It's so powerful.

Right?

It's crazy. Was there any of the other tests or games that you tried to, you know, change your thoughts and play with your mind to start seeing yourself as abundant?

I did. I did lists of all of the things that I was going to, all the things I was going to buy, you know, when the money came in. So I did all of these lists, and I imagined that I had those things already. And, yeah. And I wanted. I remember it was like, I want a house on the ocean. I really went all out. You know, that was just some list. One of the things I remember is that I'd always wanted a Range Rover all of my life, and that was just beyond anything I could afford. and especially in Australia, like, they were crazy prices.

So.

But still, I put it on the list and I put all these things on the list. But, you know, interestingly enough, like, I did that because that was a way to turn money around. But when the secret got released, I didn't care about any of it because. And I didn't even care. All that mattered was that I had got it out into the world, and now it was in the world. It could never be taken away. and that is what mattered to me more than anything is that that was going to get into people's hands. And so. But still, I have to tell you, got all the things on the list. You know, there's amazing views out here of the ocean. I ended up by getting a Range Rover. And so, yeah, but I did. I did a lot of practices, and I have shared those practices in a lot of the books. And also, we created an which was the secret to money. And so there are a lot of the practices in that I put in that app. And I was just dedicated.

Wow.

Because I knew this was a big thing for people and, and that if I can do it, anyone can do it. Yeah. And you just, all you have to do is you keep doing it until you do not feel any more lack anymore, until there are no more thoughts coming up saying, oh, no, you broke, you know, or. thoughts where you're even looking at the money going out with lighter contraction, you know, something else I did. I imagined that with those bills that I would open, I imagined that I was giving those people money and helping their families and helping. So I would imagine that as well. That was something else I did that. That I am. That when I paid a bill, I would really sit down and I would think about all of the people that worked in that company and all of their families, I would feel the feelings of all of that. Then I would think about all of the industries that service that company that I was paying the money to and that all of the money that I'm paying affects all of those people and helps their family and helps them get food. And so that was sort of another way that I felt really good about money. Wow.

Do you ever wish the secret came to you sooner in your life when you were starting your career or, you know, at a place where you're like, man, I could really use some money right now, you know, 10 or 15 years prior. Did you ever, or are you grateful that it came at the exact moment it came?

Hey, it would have been nice had it come earlier.

But do you think you would have been ready for it?

No. I think the timing of the universe is perfect on everything. and I don't think. I don't. I don't know that I would have heard it. I don't know. Like, I needed every single thing that took place in my life to happen. And I had a couple of really rough years before 2004, and then 2004 was a doozy. That's why it knocked me to my. Knocked me to the ground. And I've looked back on all of those things, and I'm so grateful for every one of them, because. I needed every one of those things to go wrong to get me to the place that I got to. And.

Wow.

And I'm. I'm just so grateful. I could have, like, lived my whole life without, you know, finding anything. And I just think so. I'm so blessed.

Isn't it interesting? A lot of people that I've interviewed have gone through some type of big breakdown in their life or at some stage. And isn't it interesting that it's hard for us to truly grow and find. find the wisdom we need to find without when things are going good or when they're going kind of bad. But it's almost like we need to have some type of breakdown in order. We need to have a near-death experience, a breakup in a relationship or divorce, an injury, a career loss. In order for us to wake up and say something's not working, I need to find the answers and the information to help me improve my life. Why do you think has to be so hard for us.

Yeah.

Seek and find the truth. Yeah.

I think it's because, and, you know, I would say to people, you do not have to suffer, you know? I mean, I write books so they don't have to suffer, you know? But it just does seem to happen that way. And I, and I think there are a few reasons why. I, I think when we, when we kind of collapse, there's a part of us that surrenders a little. you know, if I think back to that night when I discovered the secret, I've played that over and over in my mind. And, and definitely I was. I mean, there wasn't, there was not the ego that's got so many ideas and opinions. I, I have always said that night that the despair was so great inside me that my ego jumped on a horse and rode the heck out of there. Wow. That's sort of. Because I think, I think it just collapsed. collapsed, you know, and. And so there was this huge opening, and in that opening came everything. And. And so, yeah, I just. I. We just. We just need to. We just need to melt. Our heart needs. Our hearts need to open, and we need to get this, you know, out of the way, this Noah who thinks they know everything, you know, get this one out of the way, and our hearts open. and then, oh, my gosh, you know, it's amazing. And, and unfortunately, it can take very challenging circumstances for that to happen.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's interesting. I love a lot of Jim Carrey's work as a, as an actor, but he's also a beautiful artist. And I love his philosophies on life. He has a famous quote that's, I'm paraphrasing. It says, I, I wish everyone could become rich and famous and realize it's not the key to happiness or that it's not everything. It's something around that. He's like, I wish everyone could achieve this so you could see it's not the answer.

You.

You were like a. A rocket ship, right? That went into another universe with the secret in terms of the movement that you created and the. The success and the abundance that came into your life and the opportunities. I'm curious, did you still face any challenges? even with all the acknowledgement and success and 30 million copies or however many is it sold now, did you still face a lot of challenges personally in that last?

Yeah, I did. I did. They were kind of, they were situations that were sort of outside of what I was creating because I was creating all kinds of, you know, amazing things. But then there are people around me that I love and they're creating, you know, and so I have you know, a daughter who was really, really sick at one stage. And I was really afraid, fearful for her life. And so I had a whole bunch of negative thoughts that kind of took me down over that. And I went through really, really big wildfires in California. But they, by the time the wildfires came, they didn't affect me because I'd already had the second Awakening, so. I was just like cool with whatever happened. But between those two books, there were definitely things, you know, in particular my daughter who was really struggling. So yeah, there are things that happen that are outside of what you are creating for yourself but still affect you because others are creating that. Right.

So even though you had the best-selling book of the last couple decades and all these opportunities and the abundance and you don't have to worry about those things anymore. It still didn't mean you didn't have your own challenges to overcome.

That's right. And you know what? I think, you know, as I've traveled along, we're always going to have them. They, we're always going to have them because we, because everything in the universe is conspiring to send us home. and so, and the way to get us home is to have challenges so that we question things and so that we open up. And so I think we will always have challenges, but, but, big but. But you can get to a point where they don't seem like challenges at all, where they just seem like nothing. They don't bother you. You're not at all concerned. That's not a problem, you know? And, and when the wildfires came, for example, I evacuated and I had a house full of, you know, beautiful things. I didn't take anything with me, because if I took a whole lot of stuff with me, that would be saying to the universe, I think it's going to burn down. Right. So it wasn't going to take anything with me. And I didn't want to anyway. And I was just fine with whatever happened. It was. If it got engulfed, then that meant that. that the universe needed to move me in a different direction. And I was totally fine with that. And I, and I would know that it's for the better and for more amazing things. So I was really fine. And all the people around me were all panicked. They're like, I was so close, you know, it's burning houses in your street. And I was just like, honestly, I never felt a shred of fear or anything at all. I was just fine with it. And so, and so that's the way we can be. You can have challenges, and, and in our community, they're bad mudslides after those fires.

Yeah, I know. People's homes are being swept.

Yeah. And took out, you know, some of my dearest friends died in that and lost houses and everything.

Santa Barbara area, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so. But, I mean, I was able to be of enormous help to the people around me because I. I was not down in the suffering where they were. I was feeling incredible compassion. for everybody and everything that the community was going through. But I knew this community would rise up and be fine again, as they have, as they have done. But I just made sure that I made myself available to people to help them in their grief and, and things like that. And so. But, you know, even that, you know, I was evacuated again for, like, another three weeks or a month. I didn't know if my house was still standing or not. Right. But, you know, it it was just, it was again, it was just fine. And I know people would be like, but how, you know, how can you be like that? And there've been other things, you know, really tough things, like my daughter lost a baby. And so all sort of things outside of my creation kind of thing, but, but just didn't, didn't go into the suffering of those things, you know, how.

Do we, how have you learned to eliminate suffering in your personal life through the good and the bad that comes in. Have you feel like you've mastered that where you don't suffer anymore?

I don't feel like I suffer very much. No. And, and I can't say that I, I would never again. I can't imagine what there would be that I would. And really, the, the way that I did that was, was really on the journey, which is all in, in the book. And it is, and it is a journey. but one of the things, and it's in the secret, what you resist persists, right? And so I came to understand that if we resisted negative feelings, then. Then we just pushed them down inside of us and suppressed them, and then they would just be sparking off at every little thing. You know, if you've got anger suppressed inside of you, you can bet there's going to be a whole lot of things in the world that are going to trigger. that anger that is pushed down inside of you. And so I actually intuitively worked out that if I welcomed a negative feeling, like imagined, like putting my arms around it and bringing it in close to me, what was so amazing, it would intensify for like one second to two seconds, and then it would just evaporate. you know, something that we try and push them away. You know, we don't want to feel them, but we're not pushing them away. We're pushing them down here, which then plays Havoc on our body, you know? So. So one by one, as a negative feeling would arise, I would welcome it. It would dissolve. And then if it came back, it would just never be as strong like it was. It was, like, really weak. And so then I'd welcome it. again until I don't feel it anymore. I don't think it's possible for me to get angry anymore.

Wow. So say someone. Say, say someone you love or a friend of yours or someone you love.

Yeah.

In a relationship is getting angry at you and they get angry at you for little things, whether it's your fault or not your fault. How would you take on that situation?

Yeah, that wouldn't bother me.

So if someone's like, Rhonda, I don't like that you did this or you're bad in this area. what would you, would you get defensive or would you just say?

No, because I would just look at them and see that that is not them. That's the mind and the ego talking. And, and that's not them. And so powerful. Right. So just wouldn't take that personally because it's not personal, actually, at all. Even if somebody is coming to you with a whole lot of stuff, it's, it's just a recording, a computer Pro. It's just a program in the mind. And it seems like it's personal, but it's not personal. and so I just wouldn't engage and inflame that situation. And, and very often what, you know, what I would do is, what if.

Someone, what if someone's like, Rhonda, this book is horrible. You're, that's all right. I don't like the way you look. You know, they're just saying everything is a. Whatever. They're saying all these things. They're trying to attack you. They're trying to put all these negative comments online. None of that would affect you. No, you would just smile and say, let me hug this emotion.

Yeah, because, because, do you know, everybody's got different opinions and, and everybody's in a different place. And I just feel incredible compassion if I see somebody upset because I know that they have that emotion suppressed inside of them. I know they can't help it. It's like a pressure cooker and it's got to come out. That's why it's not personal. Because if the family member that's going at you and they're angry, they're angry because they've got a whole lot of anger suppressed inside of them.

Of them.

And so what happens is the subconscious mind is desperately looking for a trigger in the outside world to release some of the anger. And so it's just not personal. And so I just. And, you know, if somebody was, like, angry, I would just be like, you know what? Think you're right. You know, think you're right. Just to just be allowing of that. Now, I can't say that. I don't know if every single situation in my life was going to be like that. But I have not felt anger for a long time.

Wow. Now, what if someone's listening saying, well, I feel like someone's walking all over me every time. I feel like I'm a punching bag for their emotions. I feel like they just take everything out on me, whether it's a, you know, they're married or a couple. What advice would you have for someone in reinterpreting that as opposed to taking it personally if they feel that way?

Yeah. Well, of course, you don't want to let people walk all over you too, you know. But you don't want to stop them when you're all full of negative emotion because then that negative, they're going to feel the negative emotion. Oh. Then it's going to be fireworks, right? And so you can draw the line with somebody, but if you're drawing the line and you're neutral and you're not filled with emotion, it's so amazing to see that person will just comply. Yeah. They'll just be like, oh, okay, sorry, didn't realize. Because they don't feel any animosity or anything coming from you. so. So that would. That would be the first thing. But if you cannot be in that kind of place where you're not feeling a whole lot of things, the work is an inside job. It is. If. If. If all of those thoughts are coming up from you that, you know, they're beating up on me there. This. You've got feelings of unworthiness inside of you. This is why it's manifesting. None of those things are true. You know, people are way more magnificent than they realize that they are. they have all the power in the world, you know? And so, and, and, yeah, so I, I just think that you, you just have to, I don't know, you just, you.

Were you, were you an angry person ever, or did you have anger, angry emotions at any point in your life?

I did.

Do you remember the moment when you said, I, this no longer works for me. It doesn't serve me anymore. I'm going to stop being angry. Was there a moment that this happened?

Yeah, I think there was. I just. I. I wanted to be. I just didn't want to suffer anymore. That was really the moment for me.

Yes.

Like, I sought the truth. I was seeking the truth because I wanted a way out of suffering. And, you know, I've got an incredible life. But what I talk. When I. When I talk about suffering, what I mean is suffering from the mind, not suffering from what's happening in the world.

Yeah.

Suffering from the Mind, suffering from. this, you know, the constant, you know, mind, you know, getting stuck into us saying, you shouldn't have done that. That was dumb, you know? Or, I don't know how. How you're gonna go doing that podcast or. I mean, I don't have those thoughts anymore, but. But I would have all of those things. You know, I'd have to do a pitch, and the mind would just be, how are you going to do this without freezing up? You know, how are you gonna do this? And so it would just beat me up, and then you have all those thoughts. to feel really bad. And I just did not want to suffer from the mind anymore. And I was very clear, it's not the world, it's the mind.

I love this. You're speaking my language here, Ryan.

I love it.

What is, what would you say for someone who has a pretty good life, but they doubt themselves a lot still? Like they want to put this thing out in their world, their book, their artwork, they want to say how they truly feel or the person, their dreams, whatever it is. but they doubt themselves. They have a lot of self-doubt.

So there are two things that really, really work both brilliantly. One is gratitude. You can do so much gratitude, and then that will just wipe out those feelings. And the other thing is somebody who's feeling all of those things has a base of unworthiness. And so what will take that out is love. and, and so if you go about just looking through the day and looking for all of the things you love, I love that about that person. You know, I love this time of the year when this is happening. And, you know, I love this time of the year. I love holidays, you know, even though the pandemic's happening, I still love this time of the year. And I love, yeah, I love whatever it is. I love this car that I drive. I feel so blessed that I have this or I love the fact that I'm going to be getting a new car one day, you know? And, and so I love my bed and I love, I love my bed. And, and just look at all of the things that you love and really Rampage it every day, because as you send out all of that love, it gets multiplied and will come back into you and gone are the feelings of unworthiness.

I love that. I love that. I interviewed Liz Gilbert, who's someone I love her energy and I love her work and she's a sweet woman making an impact in the world. Obviously she wrote the book Eat, Pray, Love, which I think did 12 or 15 million copies. Was a similar type of experience for her where she wrote this book and it took off into a major movie and all these copies sold over the world. and her life changed forever. And when I interviewed her, one of the things she said is, I may never be able to recreate this type of magic. Like, I may never have read a book that sells 10 million copies again in a year, you know, hopefully. And I'm going to keep creating the work.

Yeah.

Is this something that ever you face with as you, as a artist, as a Creator who puts something out in the world that had such momentum and continues today? to like sell to younger generations now and take on a new life of its own, it seems like. It's like it's, did you ever feel like, man, will I ever be able to recreate this? Or should I even put this new book out there? Because maybe it won't do as well as this previous book. Have you ever thought that or had those thoughts?

I have had those thoughts way early on, not so much now because I'm just fine with, you know, with the journey, whichever way it goes. is. And the most important thing for me was to write this book and that it is in the world for generations to come and for everybody now who is ready for it. And then for. For future Generations. That was the same with the secret. I just knew the secret would change lives well after all of us were no longer on the planet. But I'm just so grateful with what happened with the secret and that, you know, I just think I'm so blessed to have had that experience. that I don't mind, you know? And, and, and this book that, that I've written for me, like, it's the most important book that I've written. The secret is just the best book for life on planet Earth. It's nothing better. You know, it's very simple. It's very straightforward. It's, it's got the creative process in it. You know, ask, believe, receive. You apply it to everything. But this book frees us forever. and so the very fact that it has manifested and is here in the world is all I ever need.

You're very grateful.

Yeah. Yeah. And then for the lives that change from it, everyone will be a blessing and. Yeah.

Why do you think we suffer so much? You know, I've. I've studied a lot of meditation with different teachers in India and.

And.

You know, I've got my own theories, but I'm curious. Why do you think we suffer as a human race so much?

Well, mostly we're ignorant of the truth, and that's causes us suffering. But, like, all. All suffering comes from the Mind. You know, it doesn't come from the world. It comes from the mind. And so we. We suffer more from the thoughts by believing our own thoughts than we do from anything in world. And, you know, the thoughts about 2020 way more terrifying, you know, than the thought, the Mind just conscious, like, the Mind loves a drama. It loves drama. Like, it, it will just, like, it will just give you so many scary thoughts around a drama and get you so worked up, you know, and, but, you know, the Mind, unfortunately, is, you know, is, is It is just our greatest tool to create the life that we want to have. But we're in a duality, so it is equally can be our torturer.

Oh, man. It's funny to say that because, again, growing up, I was studying this book called Science and Health by a woman named Mary Baker Eddy who wrote this book. And she said, Stan Porter at the door of thought, because those who Stan Porter at the door of thought, they're able to admit the good and reject evil. Those are the ones who are assured of a happier, healthier, more rewarding human experience. If you can truly be a guard to negative, evil thoughts, drama thoughts, stress thoughts, gossip thoughts, judgment thoughts. And one of the practices my dad did is when we were watching football and TV growing up, he would turn the commercials off. He wouldn't allow me and my siblings to watch the commercials because most of the commercials in the US, at least growing up and today, were around pharmaceutical drugs.

Lack of health. Lack of health.

You need this drug to help you with this thing and you're sick and you're sick and you're sick. And it's no wonder, you know, I think it's two-thirds of our country in America now is either obese or overweight and pre-diabetic or type 2 diabetes and the amount medicine that we need because we're constantly being fed, you are sick. And so when these thoughts enter our minds and consume our thoughts, start to manifest in the physical body, and it's something that I think we need to practice more of. It's out of read, I rarely watch the news because I don't want my brain to take over into this dramatic, you know, soap opera of life. Yeah, totally. And I think it's something we need to focus on more of is being a guard to negative thoughts.

Absolutely. Because one of the ways that this happened in 2020 is because of all of the focus on it. You know, you focus on something, it gets bigger. It's as simple as that. You know, you put your mind on it and it is just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And what we've got the whole world focused on this one thing. and what happens? Here we go again, you know? And so if everybody just took their mind off it, it would disappear off the planet, you know, it'd be. It'd be gone.

So you took your mind off of it. If you didn't consume it, talk about it, think about it, obsess over it.

Yep. Every time we talk about it, every time we obsess about it, we're energizing it. We're making them bigger.

It's just the way it works. It's. I mean, there's a lot of other problems in the world right now, and there have been. You know, there's a lot of challenges that we're not obsessing over and therefore we're not manifesting it more because we're not obsessing over. It's still there. I mean, coronavirus or whatever would still be there, but wouldn't be so magnified in our thoughts. Consuming us. Exactly. You talk about everlasting happiness in the book. How do we, I mean, it seems like you found a pretty, a pretty blissful place, but that might be, A lot of people watching or listening might say, well, it must be easy for Rhonda. She's, you know, a mega millionaire. She doesn't have to worry about money. She's got all this, everything going for her. But as the world has shown, there's been many suicides this year from a lot of wealthy people who were unhappy when they seemingly had it all. How do we start to find the journey of everlasting happiness?

Because I'm a bit like, Jim Carrey in that, you know, it's one of the really great benefits is when you do acquire all those things that, you know, I mean, I was born into really, really humble family. Like, they did not have much money. And many people would have considered us poor. And, but, you know, and then suddenly you get all of these things and they're, it's all wonderful, you know, that's great. It's horrible being worried about money. It really is. But that happiness that we think that those material things will bring is fleeting, you know? And so I agree with Jim Carrey in that those things are never going to bring you everlasting happiness. And what will bring you everlasting happiness is to know the truth about everything and to know the truth about who you are. And that will bring you everlasting happiness. because that will take away all of the things that everybody is worried about, like death, all of those things will be resolved. And then you just, everything falls into place, you know? You're just like, wow. And the world and the manifestation of the world becomes even more incredible than it was. And when you're not fearful, you love so deeply, you know, the love that you have is so deep. And so here you are in this state of I'm total allowing and, you know, and I don't mind what happens. And you just got this undercurrent of happiness. We'll just imagine what law of attraction does with that. No resistance, just allowing just, it's so amazing. I mean, it just, you just have to, you don't even have to think of something. it just comes into your life. Like it's so fast. And one thing that I will say for sure is I think, like I've always felt life works in the opposite way to the way we were brought up, potentially not you, Louis, because you were so fortunate. But for most of us, it works in the opposite way to what we thought. And one of the things is we've all been driven to achieve and, you know, struggle to get somewhere, and you've got to really hard, you know, to get money. There's a belief, you know? No, you don't. You know, it's. That's not the case all of the time at all. And so we. We, like, struggle and pushed and effort, effort, effort. And the most extraordinary thing is this, is that the more effortless you are, the greater you manifest everything that you ever dreamt of.

Yes, because.

Right. Because when you have effort, you are saying, I don't have this. You know, you're saying, I don't have it. And the university is, I don't have it, you know? And so. So when you're efforting, you're like, I don't have it. I'm not worthy enough. I need to work harder. I need to really struggle. But if you are just completely effortless, everything just comes because there's no resistance stopping any of it. What?

There's a lot. I'm a big fan of this, but I also understand the principle of working hard as an athlete. I would have to wake up early, train to grow, learn my craft and put in, you know, years of practice. That was hard work. You know, it's, yeah, I gotta grow my muscles. It's not growing, you know, effortlessly at that age. So for, and some business owners will say, you know, the key to building a successful business is you know, working hard, building a right team, but showing up consistently every day. What would you say to that thought around hard work? And for a lot of people, as.

An athlete, then you would definitely know those times when you perform brilliantly.

And it was ever.

Where you. Where you.

Yeah, right. It was ever. You're in the zone.

You're in the zone. You're in the flow. Yeah. It's just extraordinary. You know, it's like something is. moving your body. You're not. It's just like you. It's the most incredible thing. And actors, too, have the same experience. They will have this moment when they're on stage or acting, and suddenly the ego is not there, and they are just glowing like it is incredible. And I heard an actor talk about that and say, all actors crave for that moment, you know? And so when that. Because effort comes from the ego and from the mind. That's where it all comes from. So. So we can do and achieve and have all of those things without all of that effort. Yeah. Yeah.

What's the difference between, I guess, there's still a level of needing to master your craft, though. Right? Like, you became a great producer and a director and Creator. That doesn't come after two days of not working on your craft.

Right.

Because you worked on your craft. a decade or two until you had the skill set, the knowledge, the wisdom to then put out what you needed to.

You're still doing things and this is the thing because being effortless doesn't mean you're not doing things. What it means is there's no effort in what you're doing. So it's so you're still doing things but it's effortless like you were still working up but it was effortless and so, because the minute you feel like you're struggling, that's the mind and that's the ego stepped in and then it's not flowing, you know, and, and people will find when they're struggling, you know, there's that goes wrong and then that goes wrong and that goes wrong. And so you still do things. And I still did all of those things. Like before the secret, I did everything with effort. Full effort. 1000%.

Hard work. I was full effort. Yeah.

Total queen of effort.

And you were lacking and you were lacking abundance and you were lacking big results.

And yeah, yeah. And so now I do like, I sat down to do this book. This book was absolutely effortless.

Really?

Oh, oh my gosh. Absolutely. The most effortless book that I have written for sure. I mean, amazing, really amazing. And so when I was writing the Secret, I wrote the Secret in two and a half weeks. Two and a half weeks.

Two and a half weeks.

Because it just like, wow. Because I'd made the documentary, I'd done all these practices. I knew what I wanted to share, all of the things that I wanted to share in the secret. And so, I mean, we spent, you know, about six weeks in the editing process of it, but it just came like a rush. And that two and a half weeks was effortless. And when I did this book, it was effortless. And I, and there have been books that I've gone to write where there's been a lot of Effort.

Really?

You know, yeah, yeah. And I, and I just have to stop because I remember I wrote a book and I never published it and it was all effort. And it was, you were forcing it. You were forcing it. And so then what you're writing about is you're just writing a whole lot of recycled stuff that the mind is turning up and you are not receiving things from beyond the mind. And you want to have things beyond the mind, you know, that's why when you when you're an athlete and that flow and everything, that's because the mind has stopped. It's gone to the background. And now you're beyond the mind. And when you're beyond the mind, oh, anything's possible.

Yeah. You're tapping into a greater source than yourself.

Yeah.

What is the. What is the. Some truth that you have now about life, about the world and about manifesting. You've. You've gone through a journey from the secret to. the greatest secret. And you've had some, obviously, some other big books in between. But what are the, the main truths you've discovered in this journey?

The world is not what we think it is. The world is different from what it appears to be. And even science, quantum physics, will tell us that, you know, they with the Observer effect. And, you know, nothing comes into form unless there's a mind observing it. And so so the world is not what it appeared to be. And I always thought that it was separate. And this is a separate one here. And, you know, this one's born and dies and, you know, and. And everything. Everything's. Everything's separate. And time is real.

And.

And this, you know, from here to my toes is. Is who I am, and they're the things that. they're the things that are not true. And that, and that you have to work hard and struggle. And I had no idea of the power of the Mind. You know, I had no idea of the power of the Mind to manifest and the power of the Mind to sabotage us, you know, to help, to harm us. But I'm really clear about it now. And so, I mean, that's just, those things are the greatest things that I would say for anybody, because when you see the truth and you kind of got to see it. You know, it's not an intellectual thing. It's like, I I think in the greatest secret I talk about, you know, when you see those paintings where you just have to shift, you know, 3D.

Yeah.

Yeah. There's two paintings in the one.

Yes. Right.

And. And first of all, you can see the one. You can see the one really, really clearly. And somebody says to you, there's a woman on a horse in that painting. but you can only see, you know, the chipmunks in the corner. You can't see a woman on the horse. And they're like, you've just got to look, you've just got to change your perspective ever so slightly, and the woman on the horse will come into view. Well, that is exactly the same as it is to see the truth. Exactly. Ruben's vase. Exactly. And so what do people see? Do they see a vase or do.

They see Two women, right?

Yeah.

Two faces.

Right. Looking at each other. And you can see when you flip from one to the other, that is really what it's like. We see the world is solid and us is separate. But if we just shift our perspective ever so slightly, we see something entirely different that is completely freeing.

What was the perspective you still needed to shift in the last five years.

The mind.

The mind.

Working on the mind. Yeah. Just watching it come up, you know, watching beliefs come up and, and being the witness. You know, you said something so wonderful, Louis, before about, you know, what, you know, you were taught to watch those, watch those negative thoughts, but, but just watching the mind instead of, like, being hypnotized by it, you know, and getting lost. Yeah. Getting lost. Getting lost in it. it's, and sometimes it would just, and I'd be lost and then I'd come out of it be like, whoa, you just disappeared with the mind, you know, you just went thought after thought after thought after thought and, but even if you only realize it the next day, at least you realized it, you know, it's great, it's a win, it's a really big win and so, so it's just kind of watching the mind and then the mind gets very still, but certainly I would say for people who've, you know, have followed the secret and who've integrated the law of attraction into their life, that is a massive step. Yeah. Because you're right. Training your mind to positive. And I could tell how, you know, how joyful you are and positive you are person, just naturally that way. And so it's really easy. That's the first step, is to get the mind into positive programs. coming. And that is so easy to do. A day of gratitude, you will see the difference the next day. You know, it's easy. And so getting it to be positive, and then it's much easier because then you're dealing with positive thoughts and, and you've weakened the negative thoughts. And so then you have an opportunity. When a bit of drama happens and you see them come in, the Mind comes in. Whoa, watch out. You know, you better be careful. Then, then they stand out more to you and. just the biggest, biggest thing in our life for everybody is to become aware of your thoughts.

So true. What's the thought you have the most right now that you're aware of in your day-to-day life?

Who I am to remember who I am.

Who are you?

The thought.

Who are you?

Consciousness. Yeah. Yeah. So that's. That's. And that thought isn't even coming from the mind. mind because the mind can't recognize Consciousness. Oh, yeah. It has no hope of doing it. It can't ever do it. So when you have a thought like that is coming from. It's coming from Consciousness, coming from above the mind. You know, I. There was this. There's this wonderful teacher who's in the book, Muji, and he said. And he may not have even meant this quote in this way, but I always took it in this way because I absolutely love. it. He said, you have to be like the cow that jumped over the moon. And I'm like, that's it. You've got to be like the cow that jumps over the mind. That's what you've got to be. And I don't know if he ever meant it like that, but that image for me, that I would use that a lot. I've got to be like the cow that jumped over the mind. And. And that just helped me so much to stop identifying with the mind. you know, stop identifying with it and just to watch it. And it's glorious, you know, think about what you want. Think about it, think about it, and it'll come. It'll appear. But then just be aware of your thoughts. Wow.

What do you want the world again? There's no, I don't know any interviews I can find of you online. What do you want the world to know about who you are?

Who, who I am, Consciousness.

Who, who, what is, what is something that you want the world to know about? Who is Rhonda in the world today? What, and what is the thing that you think people might misinterpret about you? Because, again, there's not a lot of, there's not a lot of content of you doing interviews online.

Well, I think there's always going to be, because it's a Duality, there's always going to be the resistance. to anything. And we've seen through history that when somebody comes out with big ideas, new ideas, you know, let's just take Galileo, for example, you know, big new ideas. There is, there is pushback because it's a duality. Right. Yeah.

Yeah.

And so I just see that as part of it. You know, this is part of the world, and there is going to be that. And, and so I don't, I don't mind and I don't. I don't really see, you know, I don't really regard Ronda as something. Something tangible. So I really wouldn't even mind what anybody.

I love that.

I don't mind. You don't mind. You know, I guess if there was anything, she was dedicated to the truth. You know, she was. Consciousness was dedicated to delivering the truth. in the simplest way possible through that form. And because somehow or another this particular body mind has a real connection to simplicity, loves simplicity. And so I just want everything to be simple, you know, for people to understand it's also simple. And in actual fact, you know, the greatest secret is simple so simple. So simple. Three words will get you there. Actually, three words will get you to who you are. However, it's all of the beliefs and the opinions and the fixed ideas we have in our mind that then will make something very simple, complicated, you know?

Right.

Well, I can't do that. You know, I'm not border. I'm not Jesus Christ. You know, I can't. I can't do, you know, I'm just this. You know, and yeah.

What are those three words?

Are you aware?

Are you aware? Because if I'm not aware, I'm in suffering, I'm in lack, I'm in frustration, anger, resentment, judgment. But if I'm aware, I can get to a place of inner peace, abundance, love.

Yeah, because you can only be aware in the present moment. You know, you can't be aware in the past and the future. They don't exist anyway. So that that's, you know, they're just relative. And it's important, you know, we've got calendars, so you and I know to connect at this time and everything, so. But it's not real. And, I mean, even Einstein told us that. And. But that's a hard nut to crack, you know, time, because, you know, it's a hard one because the mind is born in time. The mind creates time. And so if you try and understand that there's no time with the mind, the mind just goes to, you know, you just go to marshmallow, you're like, oh, I can't.

You know, it's interesting. Another, another principle my dad taught me, he would always say that, you know, there is no time. It's infinite.

Yeah.

The time is infinite.

There.

And he would also never celebrate my birthday as a kid growing up. And I never unders, I never understood it. And I've told this story a few times to my audience, but I never understood it until later in life. I was like, yeah, you know, 12 or 13. Dad, why don't you celebrate my birthday? Do you not love me? And he sat me down and he's like, it's not that I don't love you. It's that I don't want to put a number on your age to limit you because so many people in this world say they're too old, they're too young, so they can't do this or their time has passed and I never want you to be limited by time.

Oh my gosh, Louis, that is so beautiful.

It was, I, at the time, I was like, yeah, but can't you just give me a cake and some presents? yeah.

I mean, you could get the cake and the presence, but then that would kind of condition you. Right. Condition you, too. I mean, that is absolutely beautiful. That's pure love. That is not to want to condition you to time, you know, because. Because it's not true. You know, that age, that number of your birthday. That's not true. That's not true. You're ageless. We're ageless. We don't have an age. We didn't have a beginning, and we don't have an end. you know, and so, and so I just think that was beautiful because, you know, so impressionable as children. And it just all goes into the subconscious mind. And then you've just got to get it out, you know?

Yes.

Like we have, we could, we go through life and all of this stuff goes in. And then, and then the way to freedom is, is not acquiring anything. It's taking it out. It's taking it out.

Simplifying our lives.

Simplifying, yeah.

It's like people want to get big houses and then stuff it with things. Then they realize, I've got to manage all this stuff now.

Yeah. Oh, I want that.

And I want a simple life. You know, it's, I'm all for having nice things and quality and, you know, great experiences and everything, but I find myself every few months being like, gosh, I just want to get rid of things in my closet and like clean the space so I can have a decluttered space for a decluttered mind.

Yeah. And because the, the, the, the more that you, the mind quietens and and the quieter that it gets, the more orderly you have to have your life, you know, the more order you want in your life. I've really noticed that about myself. Like, it's just the order. I want everything in order, you know, and no kind of chaos or anything. And chaos, of course, is the mind, you know? And so expressing itself, the chaos inside. yeah.

What do you feel like is missing in your life right now at this stage of your life?

Wow. Interesting question. Total, total full self-realization full, full, full. I'm certainly, you know, along the way a little bit. And the book is full of teachers that have been self-realized enlightened, whatever word you want to use for decades. And. And I can tell by the way that the mind is not. The mind is quiet. And I can tell the way things don't bother me anymore. Like people, you know, people that used to bother you and situations that used to bother you when they come up, I'm like, how was it that they ever bothered me? I don't even get. why did they ever bother me? I don't see anything wrong with them. And so I can tell just that. And the happiness that is with me each day. But just more of that. More of it. Yeah. Yeah.

That's beautiful.

Just more of it.

I've got a. I've got a few more minutes with you. A couple of final questions for you to respect our time together. This is a question I ask everyone at the end of our interviews. It's called the three truths. It's a hypothetical question.

Okay.

So I'd like you to imagine that you get to live as long as you want to live in this earth, in this body and in this physical mind, right?

And.

You'Ve achieved everything you want to create in the world from this point on till as old as you want to live physically. You've created it all. You've seen everything come true yourself. Realized, self-actualized, you've got more books and work. It's all happened. but for whatever reason, it's the last day. And for whatever reason, in this hypothetical scenario, you've got to take all of your body of work with you. So no one has access to the secret. No one has access to the greatest secret. No one has access to. Just imagine. It's a hypothetical. Yeah. Yeah. And you've got to take it all with you to the next place, wherever that is. But you get to leave behind three things that you know to be true from your entire life and your existence. and these are only three lessons that you could share with the world. That's all they would have to remember you by are these three things. What would you say are your three truths?

Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want. Who you really are is deathless, infinite being, pure love, beauty. Those things are fine. I think I was just going to think of all of other beautiful things that we are. Yeah.

That's number two.

And there is no death. You know, a mentor of mine said to me many years ago, he said, the greatest moment of life is the moment of death. Wow. I know.

It's crazy.

And I said, and I said, why is that? And he said, because all the negativity falls away. It's all gone.

All the suffering, the negative thoughts, all gone.

He said, it's the greatest moment. And he said, if everybody knew that, they wouldn't still be here. Wow.

That's crazy. Who would you say has been the most influential person in your life from birth to now? And what was the greatest lesson they've taught you?

Gosh, I've had so many angels at my table, I call them that have been incredible in my life all along the way. Pre-secret post-secret but hands down. Hands down is my teacher. Hands down. Because I. And when I first met her, she walked into a room and I understood that been told she was a student of two of my favorite teachers, Lester Levinson and Robert Adams. And I walked up to her to say, I can't believe that you're a student of these two incredible beings. And, you know, I walked up to her and went to speak to her. And in that moment, I was home. Everything, anything negative, any negative memory, everything was gone. and I was in so much bliss and happiness and just tears pouring down my face. And I was like, I thought she would think I was crazy. And she said to me, she just said, come with me. And she took me into this lovely sort of sitting area away from everybody where everybody was, because I was at a retreat, not her retreat, but I was at a retreat. And I sat down with her and yeah, that was just the most incredible. So it's definitely my teacher and my teacher showing me constantly who I really am and constantly showing me the tricks of the mind that she calls the Troublemaker. Yeah.

What's her name?

Definitely her. I. She wants to remain Anonymous.

Okay, so.

All of her teachings are through the book. I've shared, she's allowed me to share all of the words that I, that she shared with me and all of the practices, and they're in the book. And in fact, all of the teachers in the book, every single one of them changed my life. I have, they've all been my journey from the secret to now. And, and so every one of them has, some of them I followed for two years or three years or four years. Some of them, you know, one year or a month, but every single one of them has impacted my life in a really huge way. And so they are the journey from the secret to now. Yeah. Yeah.

You have a lot of quotes from your teacher.

I do.

And, your teacher says, don't believe the troublemaker. And it's got a, that's right.

Um.

This is a, this has been a, a pleasure. I've got a one final question for you. Rhonda, but I want to make sure before I ask it to let everyone know they can get this book, the Greatest Secret right now. You can get it online. Amazon, you can go to your website, rhondaburn.com as B-Y-R-N-E. You can go to thesecret.tv and I'm sure there'll be links everywhere where they could find this book and also get this for a friend or your whole family. This is going to be extremely powerful. especially going into 2021 for you to understand the wisdom in this book. So get a few copies for yourself. Make sure to share it online. And you're not, you're not very active yourself personally, I don't think, on social media, but you have Twitter, Instagram and Facebook that is active with the secret types.

Yes. And I do write a lot of things. Like during the pandemic, I was writing a lot of things to help people get through that. so I was really, and the team post those things, but I, yeah, I was really, really, really focused during that time. And, and I, and a lot of the things they posted, things that I've written, like, I'll write Scrolls, and then they'll use those pieces on social media. So the other thing is, too, the audiobook is being released, and I'll get the guys to send you a code. It's nearly, I think it's nearly I finished it has all of the teachers voices.

Wow, that's cool.

I always read my books and it's, and we produced it because I have a production company. So, and it's amazing. It's abs, it's like a whole new level of audiobooks. So, so if people don't read, you know, as I know a lot of people don't read, then the audiobook is absolutely amazing.

Is this on audible.com or is this just on your website?

Yeah, yeah, it is. Yeah, it's gonna be everywhere. yeah. But on audible as well. Yeah.

I'm very excited for this. I want to. Before I ask you the final question, I've got one final question. I want to acknowledge. I want to acknowledge you for a moment because you are an incredible gift and you have this joyful energy, this childlike energy that continually is curious to find answers for your life. And then you're so giving in what you learn that you create it and you package it in a way that is beautiful. that is easy to consume in a complex idea type of world. So I want to acknowledge you for constantly showing up, even when you don't have to do anything. You created the secret. You made it in a lot of people's mind, but you keep showing up to add value to the world. And for me, I'm really grateful that you are here and constantly showing up. So I acknowledge you for that.

Thank you so much, Lou.

And I hope this is the sweetest thing.

Thank you.

Of course. And I hope we can connect in the future sometime.

I do too.

California. So hopefully we'll get to say hi and give you a hug sometime when I can. My final question for you. And again, I want to make sure people get the book. They follow you on social media. We'll have all this linked up. My final question is, what's your definition of greatness?

Wow. Who we really are. That's my definition of great. Actually, that's the only greatness there is. Wow. So I would say any greatness that we see in the world is the greatness of the infinite being that we I would say that absolutely categorically, there can be no other greatness than the greatness of the infinite being manifesting through all people. Yeah. I actually think everybody is filled with greatness. They just need to realize that. Yeah.

Rhonda Byrne, the greatest secret. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it.

I loved it. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed it, please let me know over on social media @lewis howse and let Rhonda Byrne know on social media as well and tag her and the Secret. Share this with someone that you think would be inspired by this message. Lewis howse.com 1037 you have the power to transform people's lives just by sending them a text message, posting this on social media or sharing it in group chat that you have as well with some of your friends and ask them what do they think about this episode? Start a dialogue, create a conversation about how you guys can hold each other accountable and continue to grow and improve your lives together. And if this is your first time here, please click that subscribe button over on Apple podcast right now and leave us a rating and review. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how this impacted and improved your life today during this session. And if you want inspirational messages from me every every single week, then text the word podcast right now to 614-350-3960 to get on my behind the scenes secret text list. Check it out right now. And I want to close with a quote from Stephen Richards who said, no matter how small you start, always dream big. Oh, gosh, I'm so excited about this episode and this interview and I hope you enjoyed it. Hope you share with your friends and spread this message far and wide. And I want to remind you, if no one has told you lately, you are loved, my friend. You are worthy and you matter. And you know what time it is? It's time to go out there and do something great.