The Secret - Interview With John Harricharan (Q1)
If you've ever felt that something was missing from your life, or that there was a void you couldn't fill, this is the most shocking and life-changing message you will ever hear. Imagine what your family, friends and colleagues would say if they knew that the secret to aliveness is so close to home.
The Secret reveals an ancient knowledge of mind power - how human beings can create their lives so easily and effortlessly. You might find it hard to imagine how anyone could reveal such an incredibly precious secret. But in this revealing interview with the editor of The Secret, you'll learn about a man who did just that.
Perhaps you've seen The Secret on television, or have already heard about the book and DVD that have been climbing up best-seller lists everywhere in the United States and around the world. The film was shown for the first time at the New York Film Festival in September 2005 and has since been translated into more than 30 languages. But until now, few people have known about its very special creator – a man who lived an inspiring and extraordinary life.
Q. How did you come to make The Secret?
A. I had been working on my book and DVD, Discover the Power of the Force Within You , for more than three years, and I was struggling to find the right form. I wrote a draft of the book, then rewrote it, then rewrote it again. In early 2004, I met Bob Proctor in Dallas Texas and asked him if he'd like to be in my documentary. He agreed immediately. In late March or early April 2004 I flew back from Australia where I was working on my book to Los Angeles where Bob lives, for the first time since we had met in Dallas some seven months earlier. He came over to watch the editing of the manuscript and we had a wonderful first-time reunion.
I can't imagine how many things had happened between our meeting in Dallas and our second meeting in Los Angeles, but as I looked through my emails at my computer on that second day that Bob was in town, I noticed several from Bob saying he was going to be interviewed on TV that night. That's when it hit me. I realised he must have had this information about mind power for a very long time – just like me – and he might have decided to finally make it public. I felt both excited and nervous at the same time.
Q. How did you become aware of The Secret?
A. I was just about to get on a plane to go up to Santa Monica for a meeting with Bob, when my cell phone rang. It was Bob calling from the car and he said he wasn't sure whether I had heard about the interview. I told him I'd only just found out he was going to be on TV and so we talked about it for a minute or two. He said something like, "Well, James has been doing this thing called The Secret and it's really got me excited! You need to see this."
I said that we were going to be doing an interview together at his place the very next day, so what did he want me to ask him? He said, "Ask him how this works. Ask him what this stuff is." I asked him if he was sure and he said, "Yes!"
It was the only time I've ever heard him say something like that. He said some very strange things and it sounded almost like he was gibbering. I just thought he had been drinking a little too much wine or something. But when Bob got off the phone, I knew something wasn't right. He seemed very agitated and had a strange expression on his face. When I got to his house, we sat down in the studio next to an open window so you could look out into the mountains from Bob's living room, and as soon as I sat down in my chair we started recording the interview.
Q. What happened next?
A. I started off by asking him to tell me about The Secret and he launched into an incredible story about his life that was as breathtaking as it was unexpected. For a moment I thought, "Was everything OK here?" and then Bob said something like, "I've always believed in this stuff, but when I read the words on that DVD the words connected in my mind." Moments later he told me he had been asleep on his sofa and heard a voice. He said it was the voice of a child saying, "You are doing right - you're on the right track." He woke up with a jolt – an amazing feeling.
Q. What happened after that?
A. Bob told me that The Secret was a personal message to him, and that he had been making films all his life and they were his secret. He said he had never shared that secret before, not even with me. Then he said something like, "This is way bigger than the films; this is real." I remember looking over at his face and noticing the strange expression again on his face. The room seemed to go silent for a few moments. You could almost hear the stillness. Bob turned to me and said, "What do you think I should do?" I told him that I thought it was such an incredible story – one of the most exciting stories of my life – that we should make a film about it. That was the beginning of The Secret.
Q. Do you think The Secret is really a gift to humanity?
A. I think it's a gift to me; I mean, it's the most precious secret I've ever heard in my life. It's what this whole process has been about from the very beginning. The Secret is a reminder that there is a force within us all and it is our natural state to be happy, loving and free. And if we can access that force, we can create whatever reality we want for ourselves and for all humanity. That, to me, is the true power of The Secret .
Q. You've said that The Secret was originally meant for you, but now it has been given to us all? How did your personal connection to the book begin?
A. In the beginning, The Secret was a very simple message: there is an unlimited supply of energy available to any human being who wants it and it is absolutely free. When Bob told me that he had already known about this energy for a long time, I was overwhelmed with excitement and became determined to do everything I could to spread this message around the world – not so much because I wanted money or anything like that but because I felt absolutely touched by what Bob had said. It seemed like something special and magical on a very deep level.
I started to screen The Secret in the USA and Europe in the first few days of March 2008, and it was a huge success. We sold out almost every night, with tickets scalped for more than $100 a pop on eBay. The audience reacted emotionally to the film, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. At one screening I remember this man who had come all the way from Australia - he just sat there crying for 30 minutes. People were so moved by this film that they just couldn't hold their emotions in any longer.
Q. What was your reaction to Bob's reaction? What did he say about the impact The Secret has been having on people?
A.
Conclusion: The Secret is a gift for humanity, not just a gift for me or for Bob. He was very emotional about it; he had tears in his eyes when he first saw it and I have never seen him like that before. It made him realise that he could use the power of this energy to create any reality he wanted and now, more than ever before, I feel like there is no limit to where we can take this story.
Q. There are lots of media channels looking to interview you over The Secret right now. Which ones have you chosen?
A.