The Magic by Rhonda Bryne Book Review Group

The Magic by Rhonda Bryne Book Review Group – IX London, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, pp. i-x, 254, Rs. 399.

GROUP MEMBERS • • • Ajit Kumar Nirala (Coordinator) Richa Gulati Manoj Kumar Madholia Sanath Kumar N Santosh Kumar Tiwari Kanchan Garg Anita Sirohiwal Supriya Sarkar Suneel Pamidi Virendra Kumar Singh

AUTHOR: Rhonda Byrne § Rhonda Byrne, an Australian television writer and producer. § Famous for The Secret(2006) a worldwide best seller, available in 47 languages and sold over 20 million copies in print. § Continued her breathtaking work with The Power (2010). § Recognized by TIME magazine’s as one of the world’s most influential people who Shape the World in 2007

THE MAGIC

UNIVERSAL LAW Whoever has will be given more, and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him". -Gospel of Matthew Whoever has gratitude will be given more, and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have gratitude, even what he has will be taken from him". -Rhonda Byrne

INTRODUCTION • The Magic is knitted around the word, “Gratitude” • Built on universal law of attraction • Derived from ancient religious teachings – Buddha: “You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy” – Jesus said Thank you before he performed each miracle – Lao Tzu: “If you rejoice in the way things are, the whole world will belong to you” • The central idea of the book expounds that gratitude is the key to getting what you want by attracting the positive enforcement of emotions towards yourself. • Extending the Newton’s Third law of motion to law of gratitude, Rhonda says that “For every action of giving thanks causes an opposite reaction of receiving”.

IMPACT OF GRATITUDE • Magically transforms Life • Eliminates fear, worry, grief and depression, and brings happiness, clarity, patience, kindness, compassion, understanding and peace of mind. • Gratitude is the cure – for broken or difficult relationships, – for lack of health or money, and – for unhappiness.

MAGIC FORMULA “Thank You” • Deliberately think and say the Magic words, • The more you think and say the Magic words, the more gratitude you feel • The more gratitude you think and feel, the more abundance you receive.

MAGICAL PRACTICES • Practices designed to internalize the art of gratitude • 28 -day Action Plan • Works on different aspects of life like health, relationships, money etc. • Concentrates on one’s past onto one’s dreams and aspirations

MAGICAL PRACTICES. . Count Your Blessings The Magic Rock Magical Relationships Magical Health Magic Money Works like Magical way out of negativity The Magic Ingredient The Money Magnet Magic Dust Magic Morning Magical People who made a difference • Make all your wishes come true • • • • • • • Have a Magical Day Magically heal your relationships Magic and Miracles in health The Magic Check The Magical to-do list Magic Foot steps Heart Magic Magnificent Outcomes Before your very eyes The Magical air that you breathe The magic wand Cue the Magic Transform mistakes into blessings The Magic Mirror Remember the Magic.

MAGIC PRACTICE NUMBER 3 Magical Relationships • Practice: – Choose three of your closest relationships to be grateful for. – Collect their photographs – Write five things you are grateful for to each of these persons – Thank the person’s face in the photo by saying the magical words “Thank you” • Outcome: – Magically transform your relationships

MAGICAL PRACTICE NUMBER : 17 The Magical Check • Practice: – Issue a Magic Check to yourself with amount of money you want to receive. – Take the check in you hand , picture yourself using the money and feel as grateful as if you were really doing it. – Follow the practice daily. • Outcome: – One day definitely you will get the money

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK. . • • The underlying concept of Practicing gratitude Simple language/Organised style Tries to cover all important aspects of life like Health, Relationship etc. Triggers a thought process towards achieving goals Provides option of partial gratitude practice. Assists in getting rid of negative attitude and ego Useful for people in distress

WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK • Ludicrous claims about the novelty of her idea and it’s ability to solve all the problems of human civilization. • Concerned with material world only • Chaotic mix of scientific rationale and spirituality § While justifying the emphasis on saying “thank you” three times, the author says that three is the mathematical number for all new creation in the universe as it takes a male, female and a baby to complete a new creation. • References to fictitious scientific studies § Author claimed that studies have proved that practicing gratitude increases the lifespan of an individual by exactly seven years though she couldn’t corroborate the same with any references or any study ever conducted.

WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK. . • Illogical recommendations of practicing gratitude like use of ‘Magic Stone’, ‘Magic Cheque’ etc. § Example: sprinkle Magical dust on anything/anyone you want to shower with gratitude. • Practices are time consuming • Repetitive • Limited Applicability § While asking readers to prepare a list of their dreams, she lists down things like a trip to Europe, owning a big house etc. The list looked more relavant to someone who is already well places in life and just need to feel good about it. • Doesn’t tell what to do if a particular gratitude practice fails to meet intended outcomes.

CRITICS RATING • • • CONCEPT ACCURACY & RELIABILITY IMPACT ON THE READER APPLICABILITY FORMAT LANGUAGE 4/5 2/5 2/5 3/5

THANK YOU