The Guiding Star Within

Nonfiction literary compositions

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The Guiding Star Within

Postby Hesperus » Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:06 pm

By Hesperus (c) 2013

As Above So Below
While much of what we take for granted here on Earth—such as all of the effects of a stable gravitational pull towards the ground and the consistent warming radiation of the star around which our world revolves—does not extend beyond our planet's atmosphere, there are underlying rules that determine how atmospheres come about just as they predict the movements of the planets, the burning of the stars and, locally, the sense of mounting pressure behind a lover's touch or the quickening of one's heart in response. An exploration of how the heavens organize themselves tells the story of how all things share a pattern no matter how remote their places within the cosmic design.
This truth—that there is immediate relevance in the laws of even the most alien of spheres—serves as the foundation of astrology and astrophysics alike but it offers more personal insight as well. Visible light, in its obedience to the laws of electromagnetism that similarly dictate the whole of chemistry throughout our physical universe, reveals to the sighted among us the glorious competition of colors that is a painting, the inviting smile of a lover, and the mounting and receding degrees of light that mark the shift from day to night. Similarly do all of our physical senses present information that we accept as our reality. What is, perhaps, far more interesting is that, while our senses are influenced by precisely the same forces throughout the universe, two people standing a breath apart may experience vastly different worlds. Whether we attribute these distinctions to physical variations in the physiologies of their brains, different perspectives borne of unique experiences, or a more ethereal diversity, their existence challenges any unquestioned belief that one's own experience of reality is absolute.
Some find such considerations unnerving and refuse to acknowledge them as credible while others with a scientific bent seek to establish standards by which experience can be made as objective as possible and still others resort to a pyrrhonistic resignation to inescapable uncertainty. Regardless of one's personal philosophical response to the recognition of differences between one's own perspective and those of others, their existence reveals that our experiences are not mass-produced by external forces or universally duplicated. Our realities are unique and that realization owes itself entirely to our honest explorations of others. In this sense, an understanding of one's self is at least partially the product of interactions with others and, again, we find that looking outward is a valid, if not essential, element in any pursuit of self-discovery.

As Below So Above
While it is perfectly valid to begin a search for one's self in the stars, one might also expand one's knowledge of external reality by way of an expedition into one's internal world. Philosophers with a scientific bent refer to this as the anthropic principle and its premise is simply that the fact that we exist in such a state as to experience reality as we do allows us to safely infer that reality must be such that our means of observation can exist. In other words, by virtue of existing we know, if nothing else, that the universe we occupy does not impose rules that would preclude our existence. Naturally, this means that the more we know about ourselves and our essential needs, the more we can conclude about the universe as a whole. Some tend to conclude that life is, thus, unremarkable, as it is the inescapable consequence of a series of laws and physical constants that we are only circumstantially present to observe precisely because they happen to exist. Others, contrariwise, see the conformity of the universe to this narrow margin that allows for life as evidence that the universe was consciously designed by life for life. Ultimately, the diverse interpretations of this truth are merely further examples of the endless variations from one personal reality to the next and have little bearing on the principle's applicability.
Not only might we learn about a larger reality by examining our inner worlds, but our individual perceptions also actively shape the world in which we live. When two particles are known to correlate such that the characteristics of one necessarily relate to the characteristics of the other, those particles are described as being entangled. Consider for example two particles created by physical means such that a trait of one must oppose the corresponding trait in the other. In the absence of direct observation of either particle's trait, those particles may then be separated and, no matter how great the distance between them, the measurement of one of those particles instantaneously informs the observer of the trait possessed by the particle's entangled counterpart. To put that in less formal, but no less correct, language, by adding to one's understanding of something in one's immediate environment, it is possible to learn about something on the other end of the universe. Shifting the perspective of this fact slightly, making an observation enforces upon the whole of reality, both local and inconceivably distant, that the universe must exist in precisely the way that allows for that observation to be valid.
It is not so strange, then, to conclude that it is possible, with sufficient self-control, to will reality to change. Given that the universe is determined, even in part, by our perceptions of it, all that would be required is the ability to control one's perception of reality and, should one successfully impose one's expectations upon one's own senses, one's reality as a whole would have to adjust accordingly. The extent of one's magick—the enforcement of one's Will on reality—thus depends largely upon the degree to which one might exert mastery over one's own mind.
While magick is often a noble and rewarding endeavor, shutting oneself off from alternative perspectives and refusing to acknowledge differing realities can limit growth (and, frankly, would become rather boring after awhile) so the development of one's skills mandates at least as much introspective self-discovery as assertive practice. Luckily, once one has sincerely and humbly begun the search for wisdom, the path can be made clear wherever one seeks it, as, in truth, it lies, as it always has, within.
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Re: The Guiding Star Within

Postby The Madame X » Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:44 pm

Indeed. Perception is reality and magic is about directed will and intent toward transformation.
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