He touches on something that I've felt and struggled with forever, but never really been able to identify clearly. In his introduction of symbols that embody archetypal spiritual energies, he makes six statements about magical symbols in general.
It is his third statement that captures my energy and attention: "Magical symbols enable the translation of energies between levels of reality."
In his discussion of this statement, he says:
"Another thing we can say about magical symbols is that they always involve the translation of energies between one level of reality and another. Magical symbols are by nature the agencies of mediation. Among other things, magical technique involves interacting with symbols by using the inner senses: the inner vision, the inner sense of touch, taste, hearing, smell. These inner senses have a natural connection with the outer, physical senses (in fact, they are the same senses 'inturned') and hence with the physical body as a whole, the instrument of our outer experience."
I love this description of magical symbols. In truth, I have always been esoteric in my spirituality. My belief, though, is that we walk around in this world and encounter lots of different "pulls" to distract us from our individual spiritual natures. Some of those pulls come from Charlatans who would have us believe that their spiritual nature, their power of intuition, their ability to mark the direction of others' paths is superior to the inner voice of the individual. While it is true that sometimes an individual's inner path is overgrown because of neglect, these individuals are still not meant to be the fodder for charlatans who would take advantage of the lack of inner direction because of absence of acquaintance with one's inner path. Physical senses inturned. Why don't they teach that in churches and schools and next to the hearth?
Brown continues: "What this means is whenever the inner senses are used by a trained adept - every time one participates in a magical symbol on inner levels, every time one contacts energy inwardly - there inevitably occurs a translation of this energy in the outer world."
Some people my read the discussion here of magic and think I'm speaking of witchcraft or the occult. Before those of you who think that this is what I'm talking about, hold your horses! If you could let go of your anger that has held you back forever, wouldn't that feel like a magical transformation? If you could speak peace when others are screaming harsh words, wouldn't it be magical? Christian magic has been around for a long, long time. It calls to us to take personal responsibility for our direction, for the words we use, for the daily steps we take. Magical Christianity speaks of a kind of tangible spirituality that transforms the person. Imagine being a conduit of spiritual strength so that people hear God in your presence. Not from the things you say about God, but because of your ability to enact the Magic of Christianity in your life. This is what Brown speaks of in the above paragraph. This is what I aspire to.
Back to Brown's discussion: "It is a misunderstanding and misuse of this principle of meditation that has given rise to the spate of books and courses that teach one how to obtain personal and financial success through techniques of visualization, 'positive thinking,' and so on. And it is a dim intuition of this same process that has yielded the endless platitudes and semitechniques that revolve around the New Age maxim 'you create your own reality.'"
Ah-HAH! This is something that, again, I have felt intuitively, but been unable to clearly enunciate. I remember once standing in a room with nearly 1000 people. Our hearts were united in desire to do good for the world. We were listening to a message that implied that if we were spiritually correct, money and success would come to us. I remember being one in that room full of people who felt a nagging confusion. I could see the confusion in the honest faces of the others who were struggling with that message but couldn't articulate it. Now, I understand the confusion. It is the confusion that mixes spirituality with material success. I've heard it many times in many different venues.
I heard a minister speak of material success being linked to her spirituality. Then she went on to describe her one-bedroom apartment as she discussed her material wealth. I've seen people give their last dollars in hopes that their dollars would multiply in a similar way that Jesus multiplied two loaves and fishes enough to feed the multitude. I've seen trusting, loving people lose heart and lose hope. All because the message got mixed.
Spirituality is not synonymous with material success. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to teach a metaphor about the spiritual life. Of course, there are those who will confuse that message with the implication that if you follow them (i.e. a charlatan), your loaves and fishes will multiply into piles of gold. The crafty charlatan twists the spiritual message to draw a crowd - and line his pockets.
| Noun | 1. |  charlatan - a flamboyant deceiver; one who attracts customers with tricks or jokes |
Unfortunately, the tricks and jokes of today's charlatans is spirituality.
I've seen charlatans in many forms.
1. Spiritual revivalists (like one who began a spiritual movement in 1830) that gain followers by promising a trustworthy path to heaven.
2. Honest (but not-so-honest) men and women who would win friends and influence people by carefully crafting their words and their tears to draw sighs of admiration from others who wish they could be as spiritual. The same people whose personal lives belie their feigned spiritual sincerity.
3. Modern day crafters of the spiritual message promising wealth, happiness and success through metaphysical means. I would tell you specifically which people are doing this, but it's a big Secret.
4. Anyone who, by virtue of spiritual authority wherever they get it, states or implies that my intuitive path is wrong in favor of having me follow their way.
Not to say that some of those I'm pointing my fingers at aren't honest seekers of spiritual truth. They may well be. My point is that people like me need to remember that our spiritual path cannot be defined by promises made by others. The only way to recognize a charlatan is by having a personal, internal light that leads me on a personal path of safety, light and inspiration. Here - let's get back to Brown . . . .
"Rightly understood and applied, however, the principle of meditation transforms one's daily experience, sanctifies it with meaning. A great portion of one's life becomes a kind of spiritual exercise. This does not mean that one's experiences are necessarily any different outwardly than anybody else's. It is that they tend towards a holism, a totality, full-lived in spiritual significance."
Nuff said. Think on this while you enjoy the questions posed by another who once followed the same 1830 charlatan as me - but found her way out.
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