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New Thought & Old School Internet:

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Two Secret Teacher’s Websites

By Philip Johncock

Introduction

In 2006, the hit movie The Secret brought to the forefront of American pop culture the Law of Attraction.  The Law of Attraction is one of the tenets inherent in the uniquely American phenomenon known as the New Thought Movement. “New” signifies innovation and progress; it refers to the central teaching that one’s thoughts evolve and unfold continually.  “Thought” implies the mind and thinking; a key belief of the movement is that each person creates her reality in the world based on her thoughts.  The Law of Attraction argues that she attracts to her based on her thoughts; by changing her thoughts she can attract more of what she wants in her lives, like wealth, health, relationships and success.

With Oprah Winfrey’s influence and the ensuing popularity of The Secret and its teachers, New Thought ideas are becoming more common place.  “The Internet has made New Thought more widely available to the public.  Many of the older New Thought books, as well as many magazine articles and sermons, are now in the public domain and can be found online for free downloading” (Wikepedia).  Wikepedia is important in this discussion because it is not just the source of the aforementioned quote.  It reflects Old School Internet (i.e., how the World Wide Web was originally intended to work).  The Internet is a worldwide, interconnected network of computers that intended to be publicly accessible. Wikepedia is a superb example of the original intent of Old School Internet.  It is a free online encyclopedia, a “collaborative innovative network” that is the “ongoing result of the creative output of more than 100,000 volunteer authors and editors” (Gloor 24).   Gloor claims that “Wikipedia has worked remarkably well, based on a policy of nearly complete freedom to edit” (25) by both authors and readers alike.

This study examines New Thought and Old School Internet ideas.  It brings together two New Thought teachers featured in The Secret – Jack Canfield and Lee Brower – and reviews their Internet websites.  Specifically, this essay is a critical discourse analysis of their websites.  It is concerned with ways in which the two websites represent and misrepresent New Thought and Old School Internet. 

Methodological Approach

            This study will provide a critical discourse analysis of Canfield’s and Brower’s websites.  To frame the analysis, Huckin’s framing methodology and Mathieu’s conceptualization of scotosis will be used.  These two methods were chosen for their unique frameworks of analysis.  Huckin’s framing methodology focuses on foreground images that are maximized and background images that are minimized, as well as specific tools producers use to manipulate consumers and enhance or interfere with his or her overall experience.  Mathieu’s scotosis addresses a phenomenon that occurs when websites include certain information while discounting other information. Both shed light on use of New Thought rhetoric and application (or lack thereof) of Old School Internet philosophy of public access and collaborative innovation.

            First, Huckin’s framing methodology will be used.  McGregor claims that Hickin “recommends that one first approach a text in an uncritical manner, like an ordinary, undiscerning reader, and then come at it again in a critical manner” (4).  This will be done initially by describing Canfield’s and Brower’s websites.  Next, McGregor suggests “coming at it a second time with a critical eye;” this “involves revisiting the text at different levels, raising questions about it” (4).  Specifically, what will be looked at is the perspective being presented.  This is what Hickin calls the “angle, slant, and point of view” (4).  Hickin’s framing methodology considers questions like: What methods are used to get the customer’s attention?  How do audio and video segments enhance or interfere with the customer’s overall experience?  What foregrounding is emphasized?  What backgrounding is de-emphasized or minimized?  What is left out completely?  What could have been said that wasn’t and why not?  What tools do the teachers use to manipulate the consumer?  This essay will provide uncritical and critical analyses.  It will also answer the above framing questions in relation to New Thought ideology and Old School Internet philosophy.

Second, Mathieu’s scotosis methodology will be used. The concept of scotosis describes “rationalized acts of selective blindness that occur by allowing certain information to be discounted or unexamined.  According to the OED, the etymology of its root word, scotoma, means ‘dizziness’ and ‘to darken, to make dimsighted’” (114-115).  In her analysis of the rhetoric of Starbucks, Mathieu argues that producers of Starbucks texts intentionally ask consumers not to consider “those who pick the coffee in countries such as Brazil, where almost two-thirds of the people are undernourished, and where workers make a day wage sufficient to buy only a moderate portion of beans” (122).  In this way, producers in essence practice intentional scotosis.  Mathieu claims that rhetorical analysis like this can be an “effort to disrupt scotosis” (115).  It does so by asking questions like: “How do narratives frame people as consumers?  What needs do they promise to satisfy?  What other needs do they deny?  Where and how are the producers in these narratives portrayed?  What material contradictions get ignored?  What are consumers asked not to see, not to consider?  What lies unspoken outside of these discourses?” (115)  Once an uncritical and critical analysis is performed on both teachers’ websites using Huckin’s framing methodology, this study will move on to a discussion concerning application of Mathieu’s scotosis methodology.

Jack Canfield – America’s Success Coach

            Jack Canfield’s claim to fame is being the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series of books and products.  His website (http://Canfieldcanfield.com) provides a variety of audio and video segments.  The website, audio and video usage, and marketing propaganda reveal insights into the self-help segment of the New Thought community, a multi-billion dollar industry.  These narratives provide us with unique glimpses into the how the positive thinking branch of the New Thought community works. 

Taking a first look at Canfield’s home page, there are no audio or video clips per say.  According to Huckin’s framing methodology, the perspective presented is spacious, colorful and professional.  The top banner draws the consumer’s attention to four things: 1) Canfield’s name in a big font with drop shadow for emphases, 2) self-proclaimed title: “America’s Success Coach” (a term Canfield claims he is “affectionately referred to” as), 3) marketing propaganda byline: “Taking you from where you are to where you want to be,” and 4) a shadow of an eagle (viewed from below) moving its wings in long, graceful, flowing gestures.  Aligning Canfield with “America” is established by the color scheme (red, white and blue) as well as including America’s national symbol the eagle, in motion at the top upper right corner of his web pages. 

The initial, attention-grabbing language (name, title and byline) are strategically reinforced and repeated frequently within and throughout several audio clips and video flash clips: “Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach, taking you from where you are to where you want to be.”  In a video flash clip on the Canfield Speaks page, the American flag floats lightly in the background behind the logo “Jack Canfield, America’s Success Coach.” 

Below the banner, the remainder of the page has an attractive royal blue background except for the softened halo around a photo of a smiling, tan Canfield.  The foreground affect implies that Canfield is indeed successful (successful people have tans) and even enlightened (enlightened people have visual auras around them).  Canfield is dressed for success in an expensive suit coat and tie.  His left arm rests on his right, prominently portraying a gold watch, bracelet and wedding ring.  Success and enlightenment are revered qualities in the self-help community.  Using foreground/background images in this way establishes his authority.

Canfield’s authority is further legitimized through popular, credible sources.  On the right of the webpage in the foreground is the phrase “As seen on Oprah and …” followed by easily recognizable logos from popular shows like Montel, Larry King Live, Today Show, as well as the popular new age movie The Secret.  The angle here is that if he is featured on these popular shows, Canfield must be an important, credible person, an authority in his field.  His appeal to these authorities constitutes a logical fallacy like this:

1. Oprah, Montel, Larry King Live, Today Show and The Secret all feature important, credible experts.

2. All these shows featured Canfield.

3. Canfield must be an important, credible expert.

Sandwiched between tan Canfield and logos of popular shows that legitimize his authority is the phrase “It’s Your Time” set apart in gold letters followed by “Like the Secret Teachers, Create the Life YOU Want ...”  Under this is a pitch for the consumer to sign up for Canfield’s free mentorship program.  This implies that the consumer, too, can have the success of Canfield and the other “teachers” featured in the movie The Secret.  Here, Canfield builds on the popularity of The Secret and authority granted its teachers.

Canfield adds to his pitch with additional bonuses: “FREE One-Year Planning Guide..., FREE Victory Log..., FREE Getting Started Audio Class..., and Inspiring Daily Messages...”  It is not clear whether these are separated freebies or part of the free mentorship offer.  The ellipsis at the end of each bulleted (for emphasis) bonus implies that each gift continues and keeps giving. 

            On the second webpage, Canfield includes a video flash clip from the Larry King Live show to further legitimize his authority within the self-help community.  The clip has been edited to include only King’s introduction of Canfield and Canfield’s comments related to the show’s theme.  King’s comments, short as they are, focus on a key tenet of the New Thought tradition: positive thinking.  King takes this a step further by calling his particular show: “Beyond Positive Thinking.”  This clip automatically plays when you click on the link to take you beyond the enrollment page.  This was impressive the first time, then annoying in future visits to the site.  King’s presence adds a no nonsense credibility to Canfield’s message.  In other words, King has a reputation for getting to the core of timely issues in a classy way and inviting celebrity guests on his show.  By having Canfield on his show, by association Canfield is classy and a celebrity with timely, no nonsense information for the audience.

            On another somewhat longer video clip on the Canfield Speaks page, upbeat music kicks off and plays in the background while testimonials and clips of Canfield telling stories and speaking in the foreground to large stadium-sized audiences is seen with Power Point images on a big screen in the background.  Canfield’s name, title and slogan are repeated often throughout the video segment.  The visual and audio repetition is an example of “branding” at its best.  Video clips show Canfield telling short stories or highlighting his “success” principles in the foreground while written words appear to one side in the background, reinforcing what he says.

            On the product pages, there are audio samples of audio products for sale.  Here, written testimonials of people who have used products appear below the audio samples.  There is no music, and Canfield speaks in a matter-of-fact voice.  Most of the prices for audio products (CD’s and audio cassettes) for sale have been literally slashed (with a line through the original price) and followed by reduced prices and the phrase “for a limited time!”  This is a ploy to manipulate consumers into believing that they are getting a “great deal” and that they should act right away.  What is missing is the fact that the technology of audio recordings is changing rapidly, and audio cassettes are becoming obsolete.  The company likely wants to liquidate these.  However, it is not clear how long this “limited time” lasts. 

One item of significance on the home page that is literally minimized is the link in a smaller font situated at the far right, bottom of the screen on the home page: “No thank you. Go to site.”  This gives the impression that the consumer indeed has choice and is not being forced to opt in to the free mentorship program, which is the primary enrollment intention of the home page.  However, the banner, photo and logos of shows in the foreground highlight what Canfield wants the consumer to see: his past success and his pitch.  His rhetorical slant is direct, using commands: register, determine, report and sign up.  Then, once you “determine” what you want, “let” Canfield help you.  Once you “report” your progress, “you'll be invited to meet personally with Canfield and other top achievers from around the world!”  This manipulates the consumer into taking action (a key behavioral objective in New Thought) which will be rewarded with Canfield’s help and invitations to spend time with high achievers, both which you ultimately pay for but don’t know up front. 

What is left out completely is the costs of letting Canfield help you.  Also left out are the costs of meeting with “Canfield and other top achievers from around the world.”  Once you click on “No thank you. Go to site.” (in a tiny font) and go beyond the first enrolling page, costs are still not displayed until you get to a product pages, the only places with prices at all.  In other words, the goal is not to sell you something right away, but enroll you into a free system that tries to sell you something later on.  Your initial enrollment cost is not financial but behavioral.  You provide name, email and zip code.   Zip codes are often included for marketing research.

What Canfield also leaves out (at least in the web pages that were reviewed) is an operational definition of success.  Instead, Canfield often uses real-life stories as metaphors for his presentations.  In fact, he converts the moral of stories into his key points.  For example, he uses the story of Aunt Hattie to symbolize the point that “the best is still yet to come.”   

In the Aunt Hattie story, the 83-year-old woman tells her minister she just found out she has terminal cancer.  “Don’t worry, though,” she says.  She begins to share how she wants the funeral service to go and how she wants to be buried: with a bible in one hand and a fork in the other.  “I understand the bible, because you’re a very spiritual person,” replies the minister.  “But, what about the fork?” 

She goes on to explain that she likes the church socials in the basement when at the end of the meal everything but the fork is picked up.  When the fork is left, she knows that there is a great dessert coming (like pie or fruit cobbler).  When she sees the fork, she knows that the “best is still yet to come.”  This is what the minister can tell people who see Hattie in the casket with a bible in one hand and a fork in the other.

With a fork displayed on the screen behind him, Canfield concludes his story to a rousing ovation from the audience.  Canfield builds on this.  “And, for (Name of business),” he emphasizes loudly, “the best is still yet to come.”  An even louder applause erupts.  The impression is that if you hire Canfield to speak with your group, your group will also be energized and react like this.

By using real stories that touch people’s hearts, such as Aunt Hattie’s and those featured in the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Canfield employs pathos (emotional) hooks and metaphors that feed people home remedies (like chicken soup in the American culture) to nurture Americans’ ailing souls while providing a scaffolding for them to remember their feel good experience.  People will undoubtedly remember his “best is still yet to come” story and the fork image as the culmination of their experience with him.  As Canfield’s partner in his so-called “billion dollar empire,” (Chicken Soup for the Soul®), Mark Victor Hansen, once told me, “We are in the business of selling goose bumps.”  That is what success means to Canfield and Mark: the sensory reaction of positive goose bumps. 

Nothing is mentioned, however, of sustained learning over time by people who use products or hire Canfield.  The affect of his training on bottom-line profits is not clear.  Nothing is mentioned of the return on investment, except for occasional selective testimonials that Canfield himself claims he gets from clients: “I wish Canfield had more time,” “This guy is amazing,” and “Where have you been hiding him?”  He does claim to have received many scores “over 10” on his evaluations and is quick to point out that he did receive one “9” from a guy who reserves “10” for God and “9” for top humans.

Canfield further establishes his external authority by touting the phenomenal success of the Chicken Soup series.  He includes endorsements from “leaders” in the self-help arenas such as Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy and T. Harv Eker.   He establishes internal authority when he claims that he is in alignment with his life purpose. “My core genius,” he says, “lies in the area of teaching, training, coaching, and motivating” as well as “writing and compiling books.”  Here Canfield’s claims support another New Thought tenet: find your life purpose and then live it. 

There are several items missing from Canfield’s self-contained discourse.  First, missing are cross-cultural and social justice references.   It is not clear that his “success” approach works with people from other cultures, with different languages.   For example, most stories and New Thought ideology are uniquely American.  Photos are of white, Anglo-Saxon Americans.   The definition of “success” by Latin Americans in a country like Venezuela, where few have access to the Internet and when they do, the connection is usually incredibly slow, is often family-based or community-based, rather than self-based.  Friendships and relationships would likely be part of a Venezuelan operational definition of “success.”  Canfield’s “success” would be a sign of selfishness. 

Canfield’s New Thought ideology does not translate directly into other cultures.  Much of the New Thought genre that speaks to Americans stresses individual goals and accomplishments while downplaying broader societal interests.  Issues of power, authority, prestige, status, wealth, and material possessions that are acceptable in American business are not uniformly accepted and shared equally in other parts of the world.  It stands to reason that these cultural specific appeals would work less well within Middle Eastern or Chinese contexts.

By claiming to be “America’s Success Coach,” Canfield intentionally focuses on customers within the borders of the United States of America.  He does, however, use the global perception of American business success to reach a wider world audience that is impressed with this fact.  Moreover, he claims to be an international speaker speaking to audiences in over 20 countries around the world.

Lee Brower – The Gratitude Rock Dude

            Lee Brower is the creator of the Gratitude Rock phenomenon.  Similar to Canfield’s, Brower’s website has a banner at the top (http://Brower.com).  However, Brower’s is more business-like with its color scheme (shades of green-blue, which is consistent throughout all the pages) rather than Canfield’s patriotic red, white and blue.   His banner features his website “brower.com” (“brower” highlighted in white to set it apart), a logo that resembles an infinity sign with an extra loop (that is however ambiguous in meaning at first glance), and Brower’s distinguished photo in business attire and a serious look on his face.  Contrast this with Canfield’s tan and smile, and you see that Brower means business.  His slogan “Live Life Deliberately” is somber in New Thought lingo.  Yet, it gets lost in a smaller font with white letters that blend in with the white cloud-like shapes in the background around Brower’s photo.  There appears to be some hesitation in highlighting this slogan and connecting it through the narratives.

            The three-looped, infinity-like symbol does eventually become clear when you go to the Brower Quadrant page.  There, you see the word “Core” in the innermost section of the image flanked by words that fit into the three loops: “Experience,” “Contribution,” and “Financial.”  Brower focuses on what he calls the “true wealth phenomenon” and “long-term family wealth.”   Brower argues that wealth comes from each family member’s ability to support the growth of what he calls the family’s Core Assets, Experience Assets, and Contribution Assets, not just from Financial Assets which is the focus of most New Thought wealth education.   “This knowledge (the four assets) should be captured, maintained and shared in some form of family knowledge repository” that can be passed on from generation to generation.  Here is where Brower’s extensive experience as a financial planner comes to light.  The depth of his practical, family-based financial and estate planning knowledge is a welcome contribution to the New Thought individualized, self-help fascination with manifestation and attracting wealth and abundance. 

On the Brower Quadrant page, the consumer is introduced to four types of assets:  Core Assets, Experience Assets, Contribution Assets, and Financial Assets.  His Brower Quadrant model will appear in his forthcoming book: The Brower Quadrant: The True Wealth Phenomenon.  Brower’s slant is for the consumer to understand the basic premises of his approach.  To aid in this process, Brower provides explanations and questions in each of the four quadrants (assets) for the consumer to get a feel for each area, such as “Were you particularly poor or wealthy growing up? How did that make you feel?” “What attributes allowed your parents to accumulate their wealth or lack of wealth?” and “Who or what has most shaped your ideas about financial wealth?”

            Brower’s informational pitch appears with a white background and black letters (sometimes grey to offset the questions).  Occasionally, a blue box with rounded edges is used to draw the consumer’s attention to certain key aspects of each quadrant.  A larger, cursive font in light green-blue is used for the title of each section, giving titles a touch of class.  The center section of content is flanked by two green-blue columns to the right and left.  These include graphic advertisements for Brower’s newsletter, upcoming book (where you can sign up to preorder or at least be notified when the book comes out), the movie The Secret, upcoming events, recent events, and links to other sites.  In the movie, Brower speaks about the Gratitude Rock phenomenon; however, a flash clip (or text) that includes this, which would add credibility, is missing from his presentation. 

The placement of these ads seems rather haphazard.  Moreover, the some links were cumbersome.  For example, it was not easy to find the direct link to the “NBC5 Today Show interview” that “aired in Chicago Saturday” without doing a lot of searching.

Nonetheless, the overall look is very professional and visual images enhance the consumer’s visual experience.  While the foreground of the center section is content-heavy, there are a few graphic images interspersed with interpersonal photos (i.e., a woman and child, before/after shot of a man with cancer, a multi-cultural woman) and a few gratitude rocks, too, sprinkled here and there.  The background (green-blue) is soothing, even with the business-like presentation.

Unlike Canfield’s strong enrollment ploys, Brower’s approach is considerably more low key and conceptual.  He deals primarily with facts and concepts.  Brower’s site offers you information up front.  You can sign up for his newsletter or to find out about the release of his new book.  There are few sales pitches and audio or video flash clips included for that purpose. 

In the one video flash clip that appears on Brower’s home page, he is interviewed by a business man in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  The setting for the interview is on the balcony of a posh hotel in a tropical climate.  The interviewer speaks as if he is speaking to “his clients” (the interviewer’s).  Brower provides a tip, explains how the Gratitude Rock generates confidence, and tells a story that happened in an airport in Chile when he ran into a young man who had seen Brower in the movie The Secret and had bought gratitude rocks for all of his family.  Here, the interviewer prompts Brower to tell one of his (the interviewer’s) favorites (the experience in Chilean airport).  He sets the context for the interview, though, with references to the popularity of The Secret.  Brower’s connection with the movie is how others establish Brower’s authority.

In the video, Brower is dressed in a Hawaiian shirt in an expensive hotel in Mexico, which enhances the image that he, like Canfield, is indeed wealthy.  Unlike Canfield’s sales pitches, Brower provides content information.  His primary focus is on the Brower Quadrant.  This is the concept he is branding with his name, even though his book on the subject has not come out, yet.

Whereas Canfield is often associated as a teacher within the New Thought movement with an established track record (i.e., success of Chicken Soup for the Soul® series), Brower is a newcomer.  He is a financial and estate planner by training.  It just so happened that he also had a novelty that media and The Secret producers liked: his Gratitude Rock.  He receives a lot of media coverage, largely because of his Gratitude Rock segment in the movie The Secret.  He is even dubbed the “Gratitude Rock Dude,” evidence of hippy-like simplicity and symbols of new age freedom. However, if consumers do go beyond rocks to read the content of his site, they will get the impression that he knows a lot more about wealth education and that he also genuinely wants to share what he knows with as many people as possible. 

What is missing from Brower’s site is a clear audience.  While the site appears to target business clients, it also appears that he wants to reach other groups, like mothers and teens.  For example, on the home page, one article is entitled “Are You a Manager or a Leader in Your Family?” and another is called “Teen Empowerment Workshop for Young Adults.”

What is included in Brower’s site is multi-cultural diversity.  For example, you find a photo of an African American woman on his home page, as well as a translation tab “español” at the top right of the web page.  In the area of social justice, he has two articles that target mothers and teens, respectively.  In his Contribution Assets section, he stresses the importance of “volunteerism, community involvement, and charitable giving” from a personal and family perspective. 

It is clear that Brower has fewer products to promote than Canfield.  Brower does sell his Gratitude Rocks for $22 to $31 (for three rocks of varying sizes), which includes shipping.  He includes a quote by Cicero, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others,” which adds credibility to his rock effort. 

Nonetheless, the ripple affect of the rocks’ popularity that is evident in the movie The Secret is not fully evident on the website.  There are only two testimonials.  On the Store page, there is a poster for sale that says “Gratitude Rocks Vision Bridge.”  While the “bridge” reference is unclear, the phrase “gratituderocks!” (“gratitude” in white and bold and “rocks!” in green-blue) grabs the consumer’s eyes right away.  What is missing is what Canfield’s site had in spades: documentation of past successes.

Mathieu’s Scotosis

Mathieu’s concept of scotosis (“selective blindness”) does not mean that one is “duped, nor are false needs created.  Rather, one is persuaded by the justifications offered within the narratives to remain, perhaps only momentarily or uncomfortably, within its parameters” (115).   For example, Canfield wants to keep you momentarily on his enrollment page hoping that the consumer will enroll in the free mentoring program before she realizes that she actually has a second choice that is hidden.  The line - “No thank you. Go to site.” - is very tiny.  In fact, the eight point font used for this line is the smallest of font sizes used by web designers.  It is placed strategically in the lower right hand corner, the last place someone looking left to right, top to bottom – which would be the majority of Americans and English speakers – would be looking, unless you are reading in Japanese. 

New Thought teachings focus on the primacy of free will and choice.  On his enrollment page, Canfield provides only two immediate choices, one small link that is difficult to find.  The other much larger – enroll - is centered between tan Canfield and logos of popular shows.  Phrases like “It’s Your Time” and “Like the Secret Teachers, Create the Life YOU Want ...” have a pathos “Keep up with the Jones’s” appeal.  Once consumers are on his enrollment page, Canfield wants to keep them within the confines of his images and choices/links.  The consumer is not only persuaded by the narrative but by images and marketing propaganda and a marketing campaign that screams “America” and “success.”

New Thought teachings are largely economic-based.  They frequently focus on financial and material success.  Since your thoughts create your reality, just change your thoughts and you, too, can have the type of success that Canfield and other Secret Teachers have.  This is Canfield’s message.  Other forms of success (i.e., virtues, families, altruism, friendships, Plato’s “a life well lived,” etc.) are left out completely.  Also left out (at least in the web pages that were reviewed) is an operational definition of success.  Instead, Canfield uses real-life stories like Aunt Hattie’s fork as metaphors to purport success (i.e., a life successfully lived) and wet consumer appetite with clichés like “the best is still yet to come.”

            Scotosis on Brower’s website is less obvious.  He clearly wants the consumer to purchase his gratitude rocks, sign up for his newsletter, and sign up to hear about his new book, when it comes out.  His is more Old School Internet-like by providing a few links and information other than about himself and his products.  His is not an enrollment, but rather an information-providing site.  As such, he attempts to build on the popularity of the rocks and his inclusion as a teacher in The Secret.  He manipulates his newly found fame (a novelty of sorts) into a sling shot to launch his new book.  He has a make-over that converts his image from “Hawaiian-shirt, gratitude rock dude” to “well-dressed, sophisticated financial planner” in one clean swoop of the brush. 

Both Canfield and Brower were chosen for this essay because of their tie with the New Thought movement and specifically, their role as teachers in The Secret.  The theme of the hit movie is entirely New Thought in its focus on the Law of Attraction and how thoughts create and attract to us what we want.  Both the title – The Secret – and the Law of Attraction are manipulative ploys.  The Secret entices the consumer into the world of the mysterious.  Adding “Law,” adds rule and decree (i.e., validity) to the New Thought teachings.  Movie producers keep hidden the “chop wood and carry water” day-to-day commitments and recommitments to one’s path to getting to where consumers want to go.  They hide the weaknesses of such thinking; they leave out non-individualist values of community, social justice and ethics.  Brower is closer to a more global perspective in his focus on the family core assets and working together to leave a greater legacy. 

            In one respect, both Canfield and Brower follow the Old School Internet philosophy of public accessibility.  Canfield provides his mentoring program for free (once you enroll); Brower offers questions to think about and free information about his quadrants that will assist the public.  However, neither includes information about the history of New Thought, the theories that they adhere to, or the teachers from whom they learned their ideas.  In academic terms, both lack a literature review to provide a historical context for their New Thought ideas. 

Many of the teachings of the New Thought movement from the 19^th century are repeated in The Secret.  However, through scotosis, the consumer is led to believe that this information is being revealed for the first time to the average person by the teachers through some sort of modern transmission of ancient teachings apparently kept secret from the public, which is not true.  What is implied is that consumers have to go back to the teachers to buy more products so that they, too, can be like the teachers.   

What are not included are references to the founders of the New Thought movement, like Quimby, Towne, Marden, Atkinson, Trine, Holmes and others.  To its credit, The Secret does open with a sequence that refers to a book called The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles, printed in 1910.  There is also a quick-cut image of the title page of one of Towne’s books, The Life Force and How to Use It.  Beyond this, it appears that the availability of New Thought teachings is a more recent phenomenon.  What is not included is that the same information that teachers of The Secret proclaim is revolutionary is available for free at Religious Science and Unity churches.  Consumers could pick up a copy of Holmes’s Science of Mind at a library and read much of what was featured in the movie and attributed to the “teachers.”

Conclusion

            Business websites typically do one of two things: sell products or provide information.  This study analyzed two New Thought teachers’ websites, one in each of these genres.  Jack Canfield’s site uses an enrollment page as his home page as an effort to get people to sign up for his free 21-day mentoring program.  Once enrolled in the program, Canfield tries to sell people various products, services and programs.  His site brands his name, title and slogan.  What is missing on his web pages are multi-cultural and social justice references.  His sites reflect established and legitimate authority within the self-help community.  There are very few links to other sites, which is one of the primary intentions of the Old School Internet.  Once you are on Canfield’s site, you stay there.  This is intentional.  He is the New Thought expert and self-ordained Secret teacher.  The message is that all you need is right there “to get from where you are to where you want to be.”  However, there is no information of other New Thought teachers, history or even theory that helped Canfield get from where he was to where he wanted to be.

Lee Brower’s site is more information-based and deliberate.  While not having a clear targeted audience, the blue-green colors are soothing and the images used are appealing to consumers.  Brower is a newcomer to New Thought.  The novelty of the Gratitude Rock and the relevance to the Law of Attraction popularized by the popular new age movie The Secret has launched Brower into the limelight.  He rides the wave of his newly found “Gratitude Rock Dude” fame by introducing a new model for wealth education that is grounded in his extensive experience as a financial and estate planner as he gears up for the release of his upcoming book.  His extensive experience, though, appears the background and is available only after some searching.  Instead, the novelty of his gratitude rock is in the foreground.

To his credit, Brower’s site contains a great deal of content for someone to be able to apply his concepts without ever buying his book.  The multi-cultural and social justice references on his site are exemplary.  There are a few links on Brower’s site to other sites, and these links are on the home page.  This is in more alignment with Old School Internet philosophy.  Also, more information is provided about the New Thought concepts that are woven nicely into his new Brower Quadrant, with lots of questions and ideas that consumers can access right away, even without buying his new book.

To analyze the New Thought discourse found on both sites, Huckin’s “framing” methodology was used.  The owner’s perspectives (i.e., angle, slant, and point of view) were introduced.  The analysis included methods used to get the listener’s and consumer’s attention, as well as show how authority was established and legitimized.  A discussion of foregrounding (that which is emphasized) and backgrounding (that is minimized) aspects was included.  What is left out completely or missing in their marketing propaganda was discussed, along with tools used to manipulate the listener.

The essay concluded with a brief discussion of Mathieu’s concept of scotosis and how it appears on both websites.  Canfield’s site uses scotosis to limit the consumer’s choices; Brower uses scotosis to ride the wave of his newly found fame.  His goal to change his image from beatnik to experienced asset manager may just work.  However, this will likely take time.  Both were chosen to be teachers featured in The Secret.  It is not clear how both were chosen as teachers other than the popularity of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® books (Canfield) and gratitude rocks (Brower). 

References

Brower, L. (2007). BrowerBrower.com: Retrieved November 10, 2007 from <http://Browerbrower.com>

Canfield, J. (2007).  Canfield: Retrieved November 9, 2007 from <http://Canfieldcanfield.com>

Gloor, P. (2006). Swarm creativity: Competitive advantage through collaborative innovation networks. London, England: Oxford University Press.

Mathieu, P. (1999).  Economic citizenship and the rhetoric of gourmet coffee.  Rhetoric Review, 18(1), 112-127.

McGregor, Sue.   “Critical Discourse Analysis:  A Primer.”

Wikepedia. (2007).  Retrieved December 9, 2007 from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought>

Copyright © 2007 Philip Johncock

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