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December 2010

The Science of Magic: Part VI: Defining Peace

By

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

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As usual for December, I’m not pointing out books because I don’t want to fuel the commercialization of this holiday season. So let’s look at what the Science of Magic means, overall, and how that applies to Defining Peace.

Science loves definitions. Magic (and most religious philosophy) shuns the kind of definitions science loves.

Science leverages definitions into new knowledge about the foundations of the Universe.

Magic seeks the oldest knowledge, knowledge built into the foundations of reality.

As I see it, Science is a branch of Magic.

Science could accept a definition of "Peace" as an absence of strife, or warfare, or explosions. Diplomacy, a kind of warfare in which you get what you negotiate, not what you deserve, would be an adequate mechanism for Peace in most scientific views of the universe. Just don’t yell so loud you disturb the neighbors, and that’s Peace.

Magic could never accept that definition of Peace.

In Magic, Peace is not the absence of something but the presence of an Emanation we often refer to as Love. Peace is seen as a powerful, positive force enriching life and enhancing its meaning.

In science, the results of what you do depend on – what you DO! Any two people, at different places and in different times can perform the same actions and get the same results. If independent results don’t match, then the theory is wrong, or there’s an unknown variable.

In magic, the results of what you do depend entirely on who you ARE. No two people can get the same results by copying each other’s actions. To get identical results, two different people must each do something different.

Success is one of those kinds of things.

You can Dress For Success and copy every successful person’s habit found in self-help books, and still not achieve success. There have been dozens if not hundreds of scientific studies of "successful people" – and still there is no school that can teach you to succeed.

Now how can this be? Science works. It produces treatments and cures, bridges that stand up to earthquakes, and cell phones that actually work (sometimes).

Why can’t science tell us what to do to avoid pain, misery, traffic jams, depression, spikes of fury that ruin the day and uncooperative spouses that ruin the night?

Why can’t science tell us what to do to achieve happiness, wealth, fulfillment and a life safe from threats?

Religion is rarely very helpful when our goal is wealth and safety, two conditions most people would consider prerequisites to a peaceful life. Religion teaches us to behave morally, ethically, and according to a set of rules exemplified by great sages or avatars of the Divinity.

Yet the annals of religious literature are filled with stories of "a poor man who" has achieved great wisdom and is happy with a "simple" life, much happier than Kings who are wealthy and hold the power of life and death over others.

Kings, the parables tell us, are miserable because of their power – the poor have a shot at happiness.

That concept defies logic (the touchstone of science) and at the same time makes little sense in magical terms. An accomplished magician lives on the Law of Abundance, and may not own much, but has "just in time" inventory.

In magical terms, the results of your actions are a product of "who" you are, not what you do. So if you’re "poor" (not living on the Law of Abundance), then there probably isn’t anything wrong with what you do, but who you are needs work.

In scientific terms, anybody can do anything successfully – get the right degree, get a job, do the work well, and you have it made. Just do the right things and you’ll have power and wealth, safety and happiness.

Each of these models of "life" has proven true for some people – not for others. So which should you choose?

How can you achieve Peace in your life and among Nations? By doing the "right" things or by rearranging your inner emotional life to a higher spiritual plane?

Is there any course you can choose that will surely lead you to "have it all" in the end? Or do you have to choose between wealth and happiness, between security and Peace? Is there one solution that works for everyone?

So far, our society and our culture – our Group Mind – has not found that one solution to all problems. But does that mean the solution does not exist?

If it doesn’t exist, can we create it?

So far, history has shown that humans can do anything they can imagine. Just look at the far flung effect the TV show Star Trek has had on everything from women’s liberation (a woman on a starship bridge; a woman in command of the Starship Voyager), to the internet and the design of cell phones.

If it can be imagined, it can be done.

That’s a principle of magic applied to science. Star Trek flung the imagined vision into college dorms everywhere, and BANG the world changed. It may not have "caused" the change in the scientific sense, but it was a magical catalyst inspiring geniuses to strive and do.

So if we can imagine Peace, then we can create it.

I submit that the world has failed to achieve international peace, and very few individuals have achieved inner peace, because the Group Mind has not (yet) imagined Peace. Look at the novels reviewed here over the last five months. Is there one that depicts true Peace?

We need a good, solid, working definition of Peace in magical terms, not scientific terms. We need a picture of peace, an artistic work, an icon, a song of peace.

A scattering of individuals have achieved this level of spiritual integration, but as far as I know, no Group Mind has found it and maintained it long enough to make a historical difference as Star Trek fans did with technology.

How can you recognize an individual who has Inner Peace? Is it the face? The posture? The Voice?

I think not. Remember the difference between science and magic is in the results of actions. I think the only way to tell if a person has achieved inner peace is by the concrete results of their actions.

A person who is inwardly at peace acts and reacts smoothly, without jagged emotional peaks or valleys. And the results of actions and reactions are again smooth, materializing without violent rebound or collateral damage.

A Group Mind composed of individuals who are at peace will be at peace – and not have enemies, cronies or subjects. If an angry Group Mind strikes at a Group Mind that is at Peace, the force of the blow is absorbed and dissipated, leaving not a ripple.

Peace is a positive force. Once unleashed, once pervading an entire Group Mind, Peace will propagate, infecting other Group Minds – until the world is at Peace. Remember, the only proper subject for a White Magician’s Work is him/herself. This Force of Peace explains why.

So what is Peace? How can you define such a thing?

If you’re curious about why we all yearn for peace yet do not achieve it, you may want to acquire a new model of the universe in which it is possible to define things that can not be defined scientifically.

Some of you are very familiar with this model of the Universe, the Kabbalistic model called the Tree of Life.

In this model, Divine energy flows into manifestation via four "Worlds" or levels of manifestation: Thought, Emotion, Action, Materialization.

Each level is composed of 10 Sepheroth and each of the ten contains another set of ten within.

If you’ve seen the Tree of Life diagram, you know it’s complicated. When that diagram is repeated four times, overlapping and interwoven, you have "Jacob’s Ladder" which connects the highest level of the Divine to Earth.

This diagram represents our external reality – all of creation. But it also is a circuit diagram of the mind and soul of human beings. We are a microcosm shaped like the macrocosm. We are like a microchip in a computerized device. Energy flows through our souls, spirits, minds and bodies into the Display which is the World.

When energy flows smoothly through us, our actions create results that manifest smoothly, calmly, quietly, efficiently and effectively – i.e. Peacefully.

When energy tangles, spins, eddies, and burns through us into manifestation, the results are wild, violent, explosive, and unpredictable – i.e. not Peaceful.

So in this spiritual model of the universe, Peace does not mean stillness or the absence of forceful achievement. Peace means laminar flow of Divine energy through us into manifestation Receiving Abundance therefore not needing to "win" or "conquer" or resent and take the wealth of others.

You can learn to line up the components of your Soul, Spirit, Mind and Body to allow Divine energy to flow through you smoothly changing "who" you are, living Peace.