The world is full of hype isn’t it?
All around the internet you will find articles such as ’15 ways to be happy’, ’10 ways to lose weight’ or, ‘3 reasons to quit smoking’. Why do all these hyped articles involve numbers? What is it about listing a small number of things that appeals to readers? I’ll tell you. Time and efficiency. Why would I read an essay if I can get 12 short statements? ‘The seven habits of effective people’ – another example. Everything must be boiled down to the bare bones and presented quickly. It’s fast food for the soul!
The problem is surely that being eternal, why would the soul want fast food? In fact, its the body and maybe the ego that wants instant gratification. The soul probably doesn’t care as it wants nothing but to exist in love. The soul most likely is in no particular hurry to learn seven effective habits. It’s already engaged in assimilating the seven planets/metals in the Great Work.
What I am trying to say is that we have a tendency to want and want it now. That is what books like The Secret play on. want something? Get it now through the cosmic ordering system! Instant gratification with no effort.
Magic, true magic, on the other hand, takes effort. It takes a lot of effort. It takes years and years of practice, meditation, patience and understanding. Yes, change your self and change your reality but it’s not instantaneous. Food for the soul is good cuisine prepared with attention to detail, with love and with care.
A person I have been emailing recently from a Bardon forum told me after a first round of correspondence “why do you set goals for yourself?” He explained that you can fail to meet goals and become despondent and stop trying. Better to do the work with no particular expectations. The less you expect the more you achieve. For me, that was an alien concept…. Do something without goals or expectation? Yes…. I understand now, do it for the love of doing it and expect nothing.
Quite the opposite to the modern trend of I want it and now.