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| Introduction -"The Moving Finger Writes,42" | Chapt-6 -- "Proof of the Pudding" | ||
| Chapt-1 -- "Change Here for the Future" | Chapt-7 -- "Heads, You Win" | ||
| Chapt-2 -- "Tripping Through Time" | Chapt-8 -- "Let's Get Emotional" | ||
| Chapt-3 -- "Altered States, #1" | Chapt-9 -- "Illustrated Wonders" | ||
| Chapt-4 -- "The Magic Loom" | |||
| Chapt-5 -- "Myths Rule, OK" | |||
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Q. Is it true that a hypnotised person cannot be made to do things against their beliefs?.
No, that is not true. Anyone who says otherwise is not being truthful. They are either speaking without knowledge, or have a hidden agenda.
Q. I'd really like to know what you mean when you say you have "faith in faith itself". [Chapt. 4, Page 4]
This question opens a whole area of philosophy regarding the nature of faith, but, as the question asks me about a personal experience, I will tailor the reply to be as concise as possible.
Clarification of that statement requires that I define my understanding of faith. Without that definition of terms, you and I could be using the same label to define quite separate meanings. It is analogous to two people trying to discover if they both see the same thing when using the description, ‘red’. They need to find an object that has the properties that they agree as defining its ‘redness’. One can often convey a clearer picture of something by describing its effect.
Any attempt to consider the nature of faith, takes one into that region where emotion and intellect merge. Faith is an expression of the emotion that motivates. It does not require intellect, but defining it, does.
Faith is an emotionally held conviction. Like other emotions, it does not stand in isolation. Emotions come with a qualifier. E.g. Anger-at, Sad-about, Delighted-with, etc.
The qualifier for Faith = in. Faith in a concept, in a person, in a thing, or in a belief system, implies complete trust and confidence in the focus of one's faith.
Faith may be a conditioned response to received wisdom or come as the result of reasoned examination of the facts. After years of study of a number of belief systems, and the adherents to those systems, I found no system worthy of faith. Yet, I did meet a small number of people who, irrespective of belief systems, always acted in an impeccable manner, constantly achieving results far above the norm. The only thing that these people had in common, was faith.
Faith is a state of mind; an adopted attitude. Faith comes from within, and cannot be imposed from without. Systems are hit or miss affairs, seldom tailored to the individual. Faith in oneself, works. The more I saw, the more I came to believe in what I was seeing. I had come to believe, without a doubt, in the empowering capability of faith. I had faith in faith. Out of my observations, and own experiences, this had become unquestionably true for me. I have complete faith in the power of faith. It is a judgement that I have made, and I trust my own judgement in this matter.
As is the way of things, the direct answer to the question, begets further questions. These are things that I will write of in the near future.
Q. Do you need special talent to read Tarot cards?.
No more than one needs a special talent to be an interior decorator or to develop other skills. It is as much art form as science, and some people are better at it than others. The very best in the field have made a close study of the tools with which they work; and they practise, practise, practise.
Q. What is faith?
Here I am attempting to put into words, to intellectualise, an emotion. Crossing backwards and forwards over the bridge between the world in which we earn our daily crusts, and the realm of mysticism. The task is tantamount to attempting to convey a verbal picture of a Dali painting. Words and emotions being quite different languages.
The standard reply to the question is, "Faith is an emotionally held belief." Although correct, that really tells me nothing. Maybe the answer is irrelevant, a more pertinent question being, "How does the act of having faith benefit a person?" And, "How does one generate faith?" This leads to, "Generate faith in what?" And,"Are there such things as good and bad faith?"
In Chapter 5, page 7, I spoke of a hypothetical, primitive being whom, upon finding a magnifying glass and subsequently discovering its varied uses, comes to venerate it, seeing it as a gift from an omnipotent god. He accepts its divine powers as an act of faith. When the lens becomes broken or lost, he loses his article of faith, and the belief system requires him to see himself as being at fault. It is a dangerous mistake to place one's faith in that which is external to oneself. We have only temporary control over that which is external to us.
That is not to say that faith in an outside property cannot work. If, for whatever reason, one has complete faith in the powers of a brass doorknob [and this could be engendered by means of hypnosis or other forms of conditioning] then that faith can inspire one, lifting one's capabilities to carry on one's life in a greatly enhanced state. But it is a precarious condition. If we place our faith in something external to us, then our faith is only on loan.
It is not something to be put on and taken off like a bullet proof jacket. It must become an integral part of oneself, as much a part of you as your basic personality or the blood that flows through your veins. It is totally internalised, within yourself, of yourself.
All life is chaos. At its core is Heisenberg's, "Uncertainty Principle. With our rules and habits we constantly try to establish patterns, but the best laid plans of mice and men ...! As someone has said, "Reality is what happens when you are busy making plans."
Each of us fares better in the chaos when we have a secure haven. A favoured place in the woods, a quiet room in the house, remembering the words of Kipling's "If", et al. Best of all is that place that is centred within ourselves, that anchor to which we can hold fast when the tide of life swirls about us, threatening to sweep us away like a leaf in a rain filled gutter. The ultimate haven is faith within, in oneself. How one acquires that faith will take longer to write of than is appropriate at this point. Suffice to say, it needs to be planted and nourished like a seed. It only becomes possible when we decide to stop deluding ourself. If your mind is fed a regular diet of half truths, attempts to convince oneself that things are different from what they are, then one is acting out the meaning of the old computer term - GIGO - Garbage in, garbage out. Faith is there for the asking. Have faith in it.
'Oh, man, sole root of fault in thee, is not to know thine own divinity.' Byron.