The Quest to Liberate, Illuminate & Empower the Soul
“MAGICAL THINKING” is a term with multiple meanings. For some, it is about giving one’s fantasies free expression, most notably in order to keep the spirit buoyant in the wake of the death of a loved one or after some form of tragedy in one’s life. It may also provide a way to relieve stress, for engaging in “magical thinking” for many is about slipping off into fantasyland in order to escape the pressures of the “real” world, which is generally a harmless activity, unless one takes one’s fantasies a step too far and does something violent or criminal based upon those fantasies.
For others, magical thinking is about the pursuit of salvation or enlightenment. It is about breaking from conventional thought and pondering the metaphysical or spiritual aspects of life, and the seeking of transcendental levels of experience. To believe in “magic” for such people is about taking action at a “higher” level, in the sphere of the “higher mind” or what Jung called “the collective unconscious”. Using deep states of meditation, a “magician” believes that he or she can influence events by bringing about synchronicities that will be beneficial in some way. Perhaps one can win someone’s love or bring a better job into his or her life, a position of power or a large sum of money to oneself. Magical thinking, in this case, spans the full spectrum of activity between the physical and the mental, or metaphysical, realms.
The question, of course, is this: Is “magical thinking” for real in any way, shape or form, or is it a totally delusory undertaking by people who are essentially living on a “hope and a prayer”, or people who are a bit desperate for better circumstances in their lives?
The answer is far more elusive and uncertain than most diehard, pragmatic materialists would like, not to mention generally unfailingly contend. After all, hardcore materialists do not even believe that we humans have a “soul”, let alone one that we can liberate, illuminate or empower.
It is a given, no doubt, that this topic is going to be of interest, almost exclusively, to those who already “believe” that a human being “has” or “is” a soul and that there is indeed a “spiritual” dimension to life as humanity knows it.
Despite the apparent divisions that we see in the world — the many religious traditions and sects, and differing beliefs, dogmas, doctrines and orthodoxies — most of those divisions stem from a purely cultural bias, not from any spiritual absolutes. For example, there is not a religion on Earth that doesn’t extoll the virtues of kindness, charity, love, compassion, humility, gratitude and so on. Which, of course, begs the question, Why do we see so much conflict, persecution, ill will and outright violence, murder and even genocide in the world if such is the case?
The answer, I think, is down to the lack of clarity on the part of the individual, for every group of people can only be as wise as those who happen to comprise the group.
This is why working at an individual level is the best way to go about improving human unity. As Gandhi famously advised: “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
That is not always easy, for life is often hard and unfair, and the vicissitudes of life can be extremely challenging. Sometimes those vicissitudes can even be life-threatening, but if we all work together to solve our problems, rather than working against each other and being greedy and cruel in the process, I think we really could all live together in peace and plenty.
After all, no one can claim to know anything absolutely.
What we do know is that what one believes to be true is not the same as something being absolutely and indisputably true.
Indeed, what we know in concrete terms is that we are a single species sharing a single planet in a universe so huge as to be unfathomable. We share the same biosphere, the same physicality and very similar sense impressions and desires.
At this juncture in history, humanity is deeply divided. To help turn the tide on that, I think, is a wonderful and positive thing to do. The hope here is that if as many people as possible will take the time to look for what we all have in common and appreciate the many aspects of unity share, then life on Planet Earth can get better. That starts with each of us, and if some form of magical thinking is what can kickstart the effort, then we should just go for it. We should dream the biggest dream of unity we can possibly conceive and fill ourselves with the golden radiance of that vision.
At the same time, we should free ourselves of all forms of pessimism and just go full out on positivity even if it seems to reach the point of paranormal absurdity. Why not? There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Above all, however, we must live from the heart and cultivate a transcendental sense of compassion for the plight of humanity as a whole. Hypercharging an inner intent to do everything in our power to help bring peace and love into the world is as noble a dream as one can possibly conjure.
If all of that seems to be too much and too over the top, then we might just let our magical thinking be as mundane as the daily grind and simply help others at every opportunity. According to those who have had a near-death experience and returned to tell the tale, it is the smallest of efforts that count in the end: being kind in traffic, not judging others harshly, letting gossip fall away into oblivion, putting other’s needs ahead of our own.
In any case, no matter how we wish to perceive it, an evolving and deepening viewpoint is precisely what can result in spiritual enrichment, whether that enrichment comes from magical or mundane thinking. Intent is the key and that key can unlock the proverbial doors of perception through which the soul will surely one day fly away free.
