Gazing in the Mirror

February 3 - Superstitions

That man who sets himself the task
of singling out the thread of order
from the tapestry will by the decision
alone have taken charge of the world
and it is only by such taking charge
that he will effect a way to dictate
the terms of his own fate.
~ Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or
The Evening Redness in the West

All the good I can embody is now mine.
I have only to open the portals of
my soul and accept that which is ready
to express through me.
~ Ernest Holmes

There is nothing supernatural about the study of Life from the metaphysical viewpoint. What we don't understand we can make mean anything we choose. Once an effect is better understood it is seen to be spontaneous but entirely natural. The main source of superstition is fear and the energy of cruelty often uses fear to bring suffering to its victims. Some people only offer their assistance as a superstition, much like the act of throwing salt over their shoulder or not stepping on cracks, thinking that if they help someone in need . . . then maybe it won't happen to "me". I understand such beliefs in the reality of non-visible energetic. After all, when I give tips to waitresses - at that very same moment I intentionally think "someone will give a good tip to my sister" who is a waitress.

Where does interconnectivity end ? Even though the body is a necessary vehicle for consciousness while we are here on the planet Earth, the body is not our actual consciousness. Everything that we do has an effect on someone else or something else. Nothing happens in a vacuum. When we are able to conquer even a little fear it is the beginning of a newly understood wisdom within our own self. What the mind doesn't understand it often worships or fears. That is the core of a superstition. Our superstitions are strengthened when they seem to prove their validity but we rarely notice it when they don't prove true but have actually been a misunderstanding of reality. I have found a lot of correction when what I superstitiously thought might happen – didn't.

When one considers the stories of the Bible, there is much that I believe is purely superstitious in nature. Some examples include sticks that turn into snakes, food falling from the sky or people walking on water – yet many people do believe that the stories of the Bible are literal events. Confidence includes the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism as well as continuing to believe that problems can be solved or that differences can resolved. I do not regard this belief of a possible perspective as something rooted in flimsy superstition. Spiritual Mind Treatment provides the method to practice and a means for testing the results of that effort (whatever actually results occurs in physical reality) and provides deeper insights on the nature of reality in order to take superstition out of metaphysics and leave rational understanding in its place. It would seem as though man cannot live without a hope for miracles when one is in need of one. A person will do what he can to prove to himself that a miracle is possible and can save him. As to whether a miracle actually does that, or not, is in the final analysis a subjective interpretation of the actual facts. Hope is built on such probabilities as would seem only remotely possible to the most rational thinker. And yet I do believe that hope is always better than despair and may allow us to survive long enough to pass through whatever fire of misfortune we find our self within. Despair can lock us into an acceptance that involves no action at all, when some action is required to effect a good outcome.

There are many kinds of superstition and some are what one might not think of as such. Patriotism is artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods that can rob people of self-responsibility and personal ethics and which may increase the tendency to judge others based on arrogance and a conceit that believes itself superior. One can notice the moons and the seasons without being superstitious. We profit from the harvests that a harmony with nature may allow and so we do well to attune our selves to the natural cycles rather than fight or resist these larger effects. Thomas Troward said, "If man is to evolve further, it can now only be by his own conscious cooperation with the law which has brought him up to the standpoint where he is able to realize that such a law exists."

We can be superstitious about our health, finances or romantic relationships. We can believe that because mom or dad had heart disease or cancer we are at risk too. It does not necessarily follow as the night the day that it is that strong of a correlation. It is good to know our vulnerabilities as long as we do not imbue such things with certainty. We can superstitiously believe in luck, "if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all" and such becomes the "rule" that our life is defined by. It is only in the most obvious and basic truth that we should place our certainty. What is obviously true in this moment of now ? It is daytime and therefore the sun must be shining even if the clouds are hiding that truth from our view. We able to take an understanding that the sun IS shining on faith, rather than require some sensory data to prove it to our self and this belief – that in the daytime the sun is shining – a not a superstition.

Many people are confused by what is cause and what is actually effect. There is nothing wrong with wondering whether we have any ability to affect anything in our lives at all beyond making some choices over which outcomes we have no control. Each person must arrive at their own perspective regarding such things. I believe we influence outcomes some and are influenced as well by outcomes. I still prefer to attempt to influence what I seem able to. That perspective seems better to me than to simply believing that I am to be only buffeted about by the winds of change, even though there must be some truth in that as well. I would rather ride that energetic wave of Life expressing with whatever skill I am able to muster. And always I am seeking balance in having such perspectives. I will readily acknowledge that I am not personally in control of every thing that happens to me on this planet.

~ perspective

If I set intentions believing that
these will in effect "direct" my path
that is not superstition but flow.
It is important not to grant superstitions
the quality of truth but there is nothing
wrong with a mind that allows for possibility.
It is important for every person to truly
think things out - to not be ruled by
governmental edicts that do not serve
the common good.
It may be surprising to learn that
security based upon "protections"
offered by sources other than one's
own inner self are a dangerous
superstition that may disappoint.
Consider a belief in this perspective,
if there is no room for doubt, then
it is clearly no more than a superstition.

#beliefs #cause #despair #effect #fear #health #hope  #miracles #reality #truth