Despair, Darkness, Hopelessness, Lost… Who am I? I had fallen into a deep pit whose walls seemed insurmountable. I clung to the walls, reaching for the light, only for the dirt to fall around me… the pit was filling up and I was sinking.

I forced myself to meet an old friend for lunch. I walked to the table and smiled…the smile was a mask hiding the empty soul within. We ate and talked, and suddenly my friend said, “I have a book I want you to read… it’s incredible. It’s called ‘The Secret’.”

I left that day not thinking much about the book, not thinking much about anything. The dirt continued to slowly fill in the pit…

Several weeks later I was in a store hastily pushing my cart towards the checkout; I glanced to my left and to my surprise saw a small book titled ‘The Secret’. For some reason I felt drawn to it. I picked it up and placed it in my cart.

I read the book, and I read, and I read it again. I created a journal with significant passages taken from the book. I used index cards and tied them together with a pretty ribbon to copy quotes and read the cards throughout the day. I carried the book with me wherever I went. I read my journal each night. I studied its concepts. I read ‘The Master Key’. I studied, I reflected, I began another journal of passages.

I felt something new within me; I wasn’t sure what it was or what was happening to me, but I was changing.

I would write a manuscript… yes, I was called to write. I wrote at 3 a.m. every day for weeks and weeks and weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I had to tell my story and in navigating through its plot I knew I would find something even greater; I found “myself”. I found what I call my ‘wooden rainbow branch’. The branch is part of a tree that I played on as a child; its shape looked much like a rainbow as it curved down from the main trunk towards the ground. On this branch I played and imagined many wonderful things; I was indeed the ‘master of my universe’. I applied the concepts found in ‘The Secret’ to this fictional tale to bring to life the meaning of ‘The Secret’, and in doing so, I brought myself back to life. I had, indeed, found ‘my wooden rainbow branch’.

It is my hope to have my book published so that I may help others ‘master’ their own lives… to find their ‘wooden rainbow branch’, and be all that they wish to be so that they, too, may lead the wonderful life they deserve.

‘The Secret’ is now a part of me and my daily existence. I have acquired the job of a lifetime where I counsel others in the area of education; I inspire families in educating their children. I am in peak physical condition through weight training, cardio routines, and a healthy diet; many women have said I have inspired them to become fit. Several friends have actually asked me to submit my picture to a magazine. I have completed my manuscript,’Finding YOUR Wooden Rainbow Branch’. I have accomplished all these things by internalizing the truths found in ‘The Secret’.

I have escaped the pit. I am on solid ground. I walk away from the deep, dark hole; I glance back, just for a moment, and the pit is filled with dirt, green grass covers the hole, and flowers have sprouted, waving their heads at me as a gentle breeze blows against my skin. I smile, I turn, and I walk away. I will remember the pit, but I won’t return… I AM THE MASTER OF MY UNIVERSE… I AM ONE WITH THE DIVINE SPIRIT, AND THEREFORE, UNDEFEATABLE…I AM MYSELF.