The Secret, by Mavis Karn

Last night I attended a talk by the internationally renowned teacher, author and transformative coach Michael Neill entitled Human Being: A User's Manual.

Held at the beautiful St James Church in London’s Piccadilly, the talk was infused with love, wisdom and simplicity, and left me feeling good about being human. 

Michael walked us through and elaborated on a letter called ‘The Secret’, which was written in 1998 by one of his mentors, Mavis Karn. Now in her 80’s, Mavis trained with, and worked alongside, the Scottish Mystic, Syd Banks.

The letter was composed as a leaving gift for a group of juvenile inmates Mavis had worked with over a two year period. In the talk, Michael explained that when Mavis first went to meet the boys, they didn’t treat her very well at all - calling various unpleasant names, some of which she had to look up in the dictionary.

Upon returning for a second visit however, the boys’ behaviour changed completely. When she asked why they were now treating her like royalty they replied “because you came back.”

In her work with the juvenile inmates, Mavis shared simple, life-affirming and transformative truths about who they essentially were and where their experiences came from, and when the project was coming to an end, she composed the letter to remind them of what they had learned during their time together. 

That letter made such an impression on the young boys that they turned it into a poster to display prominently on their cell walls, and soon, it made its way into adult prisons as well.

The simple message of hope and possibility has circulated widely through the entire American prison system ever since. 

In a hugely impactful comment, Michael pointed out that Mavis didn’t take any credit for the letter, but felt that it had written itself for the benefit of others.

So here it is now in full - for the benefit of you and me as well.

The Secret by Mavis Karn

Dear Kids (and former kids),

I have a secret to tell you, Nobody meant to keep it from you…It’s just that it’s been one of those things that’s so obvious that people couldn’t see it…like looking all over for the key that you have in your hand.

The secret is that you are already a completely whole, perfect person. You are not damaged goods, you are not incomplete, you are not flawed, you are not unfinished, you do not need remodelling, fixing, polishing or major rehabilitation. You already have within you everything you need to live a wonderful life. You have common sense, wisdom, genius, creativity, humour, self esteem…you are pure potential…you are missing nothing.

The only thing that can keep you from enjoying all that you already are is a thought. One thought, your thought. Not someone else’s thought. Your thought . . . Whatever thought you are thinking at the moment that feels more important to think than feeling grateful, alive, content, joyful, optimistic, loving and at peace. . . that’s the only thing that’s between you and happiness.

And guess who’s in charge of your thinking? Guess who gets to decide where your attention goes? Guess who gets to write, produce, direct and star in the moment you’re in the middle of? You! Just you. Not your past (stored thought), not the future (did you ever notice that it never, ever shows up?), not your parents (they all think their own thoughts), or your friends (ditto), or school or television or situations or circumstances or anything else. Just you.

Thinking is an awesome capability. Like any capability, it can be used whether as a tool or as a weapon against ourselves and others. And just like with any other tool, we can tell whether we’re using it for or against ourselves by how it feels. When we think against ourselves or others, we get in trouble. When we don’t, we usually stay out of trouble.

Feelings exist to warn us away from using our thinking to create trouble in our lives and to guide us back to our natural, healthy ability to live our lives to the fullest.

So, please remember that your thoughts are not always telling you the truth. When we’re in low moods, feeling down, our thoughts are not be trusted…our IQ drops. When our thoughts pass and we lighten up, our thinking is once again creative, positive…our IQ goes up. The only way you can feel badly about yourself and your life is if you think badly about them…it’s up to you, every single minute you’re alive. It’s always up to you!

This is the best, most liberating secret I ever learned, and I want you to know it too.

With love, Mavis.

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