Contributor: Earl S. Wynn For thousands of years and across a significant number of major cultures, people of both medical and spiritual knowledge have noted a network of “lines” and “focuses” that traverse the body and, when interacted with in various ways (acupuncture, reiki, etc.) Can manifest observable effects in the physical body. These are the chakras, the five bends and capping points of the ancient Greek Caduceus, and the energy meridians of spiritual Christianity and eastern energy workers. These are the non-physical pathways for energy that are echoed in the physical body. Some claim that these are merely nerve junctions and pathways, but such people should not dismiss the nervous system so easily as a merely physical phenomena. After all, the brain is a part of the nervous system, and it carries within it the most easily observable portion of the non-physical self: The conscious projection of the universal energy referred to as the “soul” or “spirit.”
Physical bodies as a phenomena are the manifestations through which the greater, collective consciousness exerts itself upon the most dense layers of our greater world. They are the means through which the non-physical self explores the distances of physical reality. This does not mean they are created spontaneously– these biological machines, these vehicles of the self have most certainly evolved, and they have evolved toward becoming the fittest vehicles they can become. One of the problems, I think, with reconciling the differences between science and religion is that spirituality has a hard time accepting the rigid and rigorous natural mechanisms of the physical world (survival of the fittest, etc.) and science is so mired in the laws of nature and the physics of the physical world that it is reluctant to chase after anything beyond that rigid physical layer. We like to think that in our current state of scientific exploration, we know everything there is to know about the mind and the physical reality around us, but the truth is that while we know an incredible amount and have made impressive leaps and bounds in understanding, in the grander scheme of things, we really still have a lot to learn (and may always, as we open up new frontiers and vistas of understanding.) We design theoretical models to fill in the huge gulfs of our understanding, but most of these come and go (or are modified) as new and better theoretical models move in to replace them. This is nothing new– this is the path of progress.
But it doesn’t mean we should ignore any part of the non-physical world as witchery or the lunacy of crackpots– any more than we would look at the non-physical phenomena we might feel that we have mastered (radio waves, cell-phone signals, visible light, wireless internet and power transmission, etc.) as simple magic. Science as it stands has the potential to explain everything eventually, but first we must move past the projection of doubt and learn to accept new evidence, information and theories, no matter how radical they may be or how much they may disturb our knowledge of the order of the universe (physically and/or spiritually.) The energy is there, it is real. We just have to learn to accept that fact and teach ourselves how to utilize it. Once we reach that point, we will realize that there is nothing that can hold us back. We are human, we are non-physical energy exerting itself upon denser physical energy. We can do anything we believe we can do.
But, I can hear the skeptics asking: if we can do anything, then why do bad things happen? Why does the world still have so many problems? As with anything else, there are, I believe, a number of factors that would answer this question. First of all, we must keep in mind that the physical world, the world of dense, tangible energy that we can touch and taste and see is, by its very nature, a chaotic force. It is in constant movement, growing and shrinking, radiating out in endless entropy toward some dark and distant future. It is governed by observable laws and moves in patterns, but many of these patterns as we perceive them are beyond our reach. If you ask a random person on the street if they could make it rain, right now, almost universally you would get an answer in the negative. Rain, as a phenomena, is perceived as being just far too massive, especially if we are trying to move it beyond its perceived natural patterns using only this piece of meat that we think with (the brain.) Note the fact that this is all perceived.
Now, add into this the fact that our reality is being sculpted by almost eight billion such human minds, perceiving reality in a very linear and expected way (and who knows what kind of effect the minds of animals or other creatures in the greater universe have upon reality.) The unconscious projection of belief energy could have any number of seemingly random and chaotic effects upon reality, accentuating and cementing the perceived order of things.
If you look up at the sky and it is about to rain, but you decide to will it not to rain, how many more hundreds, thousands, etc. of people (and perhaps animals) are fully expecting it to rain? (Thereby adding their belief unconsciously to a grander consensus than you can muster by simply projecting an individual’s worth of energy at a cloud.) Or to address a more famous example: if we are creatures of ultimately unlimited potential who can affect reality with our minds, why don’t we simply cure cancer or AIDS with a thought? The fact is, in some cases, the power of belief has done exactly that. My own great grandmother beat cancer twice with the power of belief, and she is not alone. So why do these diseases still exist? Because we are all creatures of power, whether we are aware of it or not. When cancer strikes a typical family and everyone in that family believes that it is a death sentence,
it is. This is the key. Belief effects reality, and if, say, we bring in a faith healer who already doubts their ability to heal illness, much less something perceived as huge and serious (like cancer) into a room with doctors and observers (and even possibly the patient themself) who are all projecting massive amounts of doubt, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the little tiny sliver of belief projected from what the individual believes is the limit of the power of the self will drown in the massive sea of doubt that has already decided the cancer victim’s fate. With this “death by doubt” scenario happening all over the world in a massive number of different ways all the time, how can one person, one individual, expect to eradicate a disease simply by “willing” it away against the massively larger ocean of energy which is mixing chaotically all around them, pulling reality in a thousand different directions, but according to patterns of perceived reality (you get cancer, you die, etc.) ask yourself how many times have you had the thought: “I’m just one person, alone and small. What effect could I possibly have all by myself?” We’ve all been there. It’s natural and normal to perceive the individual as being powerless beyond what they can touch and manipulate with their hands. We’ve all been faced with that massive project, that moment where the activist within us looks at a social issue and feels compelled to do something but ultimately fails to do so simply because of the true enormity of the situation as we see it.
But the truth is, no matter how enormous that one element of our lives may seem, it is dwarfed by the greater enormity of social issues or projects, which are in turn ridiculously dwarfed by the size and history of our planet, which itself is ridiculously dwarfed by the enormity and history of our solar system, our galaxy, our local cluster of galaxies, our universe and so on. Your power lies in the ways that you allow yourself to perceive it. If you perceive yourself to be small and powerless, you will be. You are the product of what your thoughts create.
So, you might ask: if we can do anything, then why can’t I ask for a million dollars and get it?
Well, stop for a moment and think about this. Think about the motivations behind such a thought (other than the projected skepticism/doubt that says: prove it to me because I think this is all a crock) Ask yourself why you would want a million dollars– these reasons are brewing in your subconscious when you project the want for a million dollars, and they are the intent that you are putting forth as non-physical energy, along with the doubts, however buried, that you will actually receive that million dollars. In the end, the million dollars becomes merely a symbol for what you really want weighed down with the heavy additional doubts that come with knowing that the likelihood for a million dollars to just appear in your hands is very slim indeed. Maybe these self-undermining practices of the subconscious and the doubting mind are intentional and purposeful. Maybe they are a biproduct of evolution. Maybe they aren’t. Consider the fact that, if we all asked for a million dollars and got it, the inflation would put us all right back where we were, if not leave us worse off! If you know anything about money, that thought is lingering in your subconscious as well, and as a unified part of the greater non-physical singular consciousness, perhaps there are limiting factors (like a subconscious measuring of the fairness of you becoming a millionaire while everyone else around you who works harder squats in the ditch) which come from the whole as well in order to keep things in check or merely reinforce our perceptions of the way physical reality works.
So what is the best course of action if you want your million dollars? Focus on what you really want: financial security, a better job, a free lunch, things that you have few, if any doubts, about the chances of getting. Focus on good things happening to you (because it’s perfectly reasonable in a totally rational universe to have good things “randomly” happening to you.) Find the reasons why you would want a million dollars and focus on the solutions to those reasons that you find most plausible occurring within the framework of reality as you perceive it.
Now take this concept a step further: Imagine if we all asked for the things symbolized initially by “a million dollars” (like the security of never having to worry about money.) Imagine if the entire world really got together and concentrated on financial security for all. Really believed that it were possible and within our reach as a world. Where would that put us? Right where we want to be. With belief, anything is possible. We shape reality with our minds.
And herein lies the key.
Knowing that you are the universe, an individual only in the fact that you are a facet of the greater whole, inextricable from the continuum, you have the power to influence reality on what you perceive to be a massive scale if you simply believe and accept that you are able to. Most Spiritual practitioners “amplify” their perceived level of individual power through the use of specific rituals and “magical” objects, but these things, by their very nature, are limited and limiting. Physical tools and perceived limitations are crutches that we use to reinforce belief and dispel or override the projection of doubt to a greater degree. “Magical objects” only have power because we ourselves believe they have power, and by believing as such, we gather into them certain qualities or frequencies of non-physical energies, creating energetic constructs in the same space that the physical object occupies. Ritual words and tools assist us in performing energy work because we believe that they do, and by believing, we are able to more fully move past the doubts that everyone wrestles with when it comes to issues of working with non-physical aspects of reality. Priests and spiritual leaders are tools in this way as well– as individuals, they have the same impact potential as anyone else (as modified by their perceptions of reality and their projected belief versus projected doubt) and by believing in their power, we project that belief into them and augment their actions, their impact upon a mutually perceived consensus of reality with what we perceive to be the impact or level of power within ourselves as individuals. Essentially, what we perceive is within the realm of the possible through the spiritual actions of a tool (in this case, a spiritual leader) is projected energy which augments his or her actions within an agreed-upon consensus of perceived reality. We empower spiritual leaders in the same way that we empower objects– by believing that they will fulfill a specific purpose, augment an action/event, and/or impact physical and/or non-physical reality in a given way.
Another tool that a number of cultures and practitioners use as a crutch between themselves and their true power are hallucinogens. Like rituals, objects, leaders and other means of overriding doubt with a greater degree of focused belief-energy, hallucinogens allow the individual to loosen their grip on perceptions of the patterns and workings of physical reality. They allow the mind to accept what it normally would not and therefore open it to a wider perception of the workings of reality.
In the end, all these tools, these ways that we have collected as a species and as members of different faiths and cultures to override doubt and fear and focus intent and belief amount to a form of personal emulator through which we access traditionally spiritual frequencies of energy. As we journey through life, we construct these highly individualized emulators out of elements that we perceive as being more effective than others at allowing us access to the non-physical, but in reality these are merely constructions, crutches which serve as doubt inhibitors and perception amplifiers. This is why all rituals and practices of all faiths work observably when enough belief is put into them. It’s the reason why even practices like chaos and flash-in-the-pan or pop-culture oriented magic systems work. If you can put belief behind the words, anything becomes powerful. The strength is within you and within the universe simultaneously– you are the universe. You are that power. You are that energy. You and everything that you are, your self, your consciousness, your physical and non-physical elements are all completely inextricable from the whole on the most fundamental level. Differences and individualities are merely perceived.
Even pure constructs of energy viewed as such (non-physical tools, priests, guides etc.) are tools perceived by the mind and stand as crutches to true potential. I would argue that by creating objects of non-physical energy, we are making an important step in the right direction, but that we are still building walls between what we perceive as the possible and what we perceive as the impossible, even if it does put us closer to the source. It would seem that, ideally, a person would be able to master their conscious and subconscious perceptions to a point that they would be able to effect change on what others might perceive as a massive scale without the use of even any sort of energetically constructed augmentation whatsoever. That would be an impressive goal to strive for.
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