The popularity of The Secret is no secret. And no surprise to a bookstore owner in East York, who says that everyone has the power within to achieve anything imaginable.

“The principle is that you create your reality through law of attraction,” said Natasha Dern, the owner of Awakenings, a store specializing in spirituality, located at 744 Danforth Avenue, east of Pape.

Awakenings also sells CDs, audio programs and gifts—other tools to help people achieve their desires, Dern says.

But it’s books about spirituality that seem to be capturing the most public attention these days, led by the runaway self-help bestseller, The Secret.

“That’s what’s been selling like crazy around here,” Dern said.

For her part, Dern says, experience teaches that our thoughts—conscious and unconscious—will manifest in reality:

“The law of attraction says whatever you focus on, whatever you believe, whatever you think, and whatever you may not admit to yourself, or if you’re in a little bit of an unconscious mind set, will mirror to you what you believe on the deepest level of your being.”

Her store carries a variety of products for personal development, spirituality, self-improvement and wellness.

“We don’t guide the person’s hand,” Dern said. “We just basically say we have the availability here. So, whatever you are drawn to reading, whatever you are drawn to exploring, is the best path for you.”

She believes that once someone has found their spiritual path, an epiphany comes along that takes them to the next level in their life.

Otherwise, she said, we “might as well just be dead, because stagnation doesn’t really create any growth. You’re just stuck, and nature and the universe is all about perpetual change.

“So, if you’re not changing, then something is stuck and that’s why you feel depressed, that’s why you feel overwhelmed or you feel frustrated.”