Finding Truth—The Path of the Real Magician

One of the things Israel Regardie has written is that all students of magick should get into some form of psychotherapy. Of course, this is supposed to help the student not become ego-inflated. However, there was another reason for this. Regardie told me that working with a therapist would convince students of the reality of the unconscious mind.

Today, most people accept the concept that we have both conscious and unconscious minds (or at least conscious and unconscious aspects of our mind). But when Regardie started on his magickal career at the beginning of the last century, many did not believe this. It was only with Freud that the idea became accepted, and that acceptance did not occur immediately. So going through some form of psychotherapy (Regardie was a Reichian therapist) would help the student learn truths about the nature of the mind (generally) and the nature of their own mind (specifically). The path of the real magician is one that seeks truth.

Truth vs. Media

Here in the U.S., there is nothing we like more than a winner…unless it’s the chance to gloat at the winner being taken down. Many people who never met him really loved Apple’s Steve Jobs because he started from nothing and built a small empire. Then he was booted out of that empire, started again from the bottom and built himself up again. It’s a win-lose-win story.

Many of us are amazed at the histories of some televangelists who reach the pinnacle of popularity. Then we gloat when they fall due to their own personal failings. In German this is called Schadenfreude, taking pleasure at the discomfort of others. Entire websites and TV shows are dedicated to the paparazzi who seek to reveal the supposed personal flaws of those who have become our popular heroes.

Have you ever seen a photo in a tabloid journal, or online, of one of your favorite persons showing a shocked and ugly look on their face? One of the traditional techniques of the paparazzi is to yell something insulting at someone famous in order to get that shocked look, take a photo, and attach the photo to story unrelated to the photo and that doesn’t reveal the truth about the picture.

Taking photos out of context. Taking words out of context. This is the stock and trade of people trying to bring others down. It’s sad, but it happens all the time. Today, it’s even easier to do. For next to nothing you can get a bunch of websites and misrepresent politicians, movie stars, actors, musicians, authors, just about anyone you want.

I Wanna SLAPP You!

Have you heard of a SLAPP suit? It stands for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” The typical use of a SLAPP suit is by a large, well-funded organization or business against a small group protesting the policies or practices of that organization. The goal of the SLAPP suit is not to win its case in court, but to simply make the smaller group pay lots of money for lawyers and spend their time in court rather than protesting. The large organization typically has lawyers on their payroll so filing the SLAPP suit adds little to their costs.

The SLAPP suit does more than occupy the time and money of the small group. It’s also a form of intimidation: Warning to other small groups! If you dare to disagree with us we will sue you and take away all of your time and money!

Quoting out of context is like a SLAPP suit: If you say anything that even vaguely appears to us to counter our point of view, or if you merely talk positively about others we disagree with, we will take your words out of context and make you look bad! It doesn’t matter whether we win or lose. You will simply have lost a lot of time and energy and we will have intimidated you and others like you. Don’t disagree with us or even vaguely appear to disagree with us!

The Path of Real Magicians

Many people would respond to being taken out of context directly: “Those so-and-sos quoted me out of context. They’re bad!” But this is not the response of real magicians. Real magicians are interested in results. Respond to those who have taken you out of context and they’ll simply do more of the same. Their actual goal is to get attention for themselves. It really doesn’t make sense to make a big deal or even comment upon those who take things out of context. It’s a waste of time and effort for real magicians who are more interested in actually doing magickal work.

So I repeat that one of the functions of being a magician is to discover truth; the truth of how the universe functions, the truth of how people function. In the previous aeon, known as the Piscean Age, it was common for most people to simply listen to leaders and mindlessly obey what they ordered. As we move more and more into the Aquarian Age we discover things for ourselves. This means, as real magicians of the Aquarian Age, discovering the truth is up to you and me.

One of the things I have consistently said is that real magicians are skeptics. By that I mean magicians approach things with a point of view of not knowing. Somebody has made a claim about person X. Is that claim true? We have to find out for ourselves. For example, many of the bloggers making claims about politics and politicians have no journalistic training and publish rumors as if they are true. They do not make retractions when what they published turns out to be false. These days, we can’t depend upon the words of others—even those we may respect—for finding out what is true. Discovering truth depends upon you and me. In fact, when I begin workshops, I’ll often begin by saying, “Don’t take my word for any of this. Check it out for yourself.”

What to Do

Whenever someone claims that another person said or wrote something that doesn’t seem like that other person to you, check it out for yourself. Recently, one blog site reported that a movie actor was rushed to the hospital after being found non-responsive. That’s what was published. That’s what readers will remember. Later reports revealed that paramedics were called and gave treatment but didn’t take the actor to the hospital. Still later it turned out that the actor—who previously (and allegedly) had trouble with drugs and alcohol—had been working on a role on a set for two days without any sleep. Paramedics came, saw that she was just exhausted but okay, and left. The truth finally came out. But it wasn’t found in what the blogger originally posted.

So if someone makes a claim about another, check out the sources! Don’t rely on bloggers (including me!). Check things out for yourself. If someone is quoted by a blogger saying something that doesn’t sound right to you, check the original quote in context. Don’t just read the immediate words, read the paragraphs around it to see what the person actually wrote and meant.

Discover the truth, not what some blogger says. Even if you like the blogger, if you’re a magician, or claim to be a magician, check claims out for yourself. In books or workshops where you are told that some author claimed XYZ, go find the sources and check it out for yourself.

Can finding the truth be time consuming?
It can be.

Does finding the truth take effort?”
It can.

For real magicians, is finding the truth necessary?
Absolutely!

One More Thing…

Earlier, I mentioned Steve Jobs. His comment, “One more thing…” quickly became popular as a way of saying, “I’ve also got something else that’s very important to share,” and I do a concluding idea that is important.

The most difficult bit of checking we can do is on ourselves. Sometimes, when people spread information that’s false, it’s not because they think it’s false. They think it’s true. This isn’t because they’ve necessarily been misled or know what they’re saying is false. Rather, it’s because they believe in some concept so strongly that when something fits into their predetermined beliefs they simply assume that it is true. They can’t believe in anything else because it would damage their mind-set, the very way the interact with the world. It’s true because they want it to be true.

This is what comedian Stephen Colbert called truthiness, which Wikipedia describes as something that feels correct “without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.”

Sometimes, we desperately hold onto our beliefs and will do anything to support them. That’s why mystics honor the phrase, “Know Thyself.” Self-examination is always difficult. When we actually have feelings that something should be true, when it’s part of our very mode of thinking, it’s challenging to even consider that deepest thoughts—part of what makes each of us unique—might not be accurate. But that’s what real magicians do, even if it leads to the discovery that our long-held beliefs are anything from errors to a cover for a lust for power and money. What’s the solution?

Do the work.

Examine your own motivations.

Examine sources of the statements of others.

Do the work.