Casting spells all day long without realising it.
In the late 70s, there was a British sitcom called, “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.” It was about a mild-mannered advertising executive who went through a midlife crisis / spiritual awakening. Reggie’s world was populated by larger-than-life characters including his overbearing boss, CJ, who began every other sentence with the phrase, “I didn’t get where I am today . . . ,“ including, “I didn’t get where I am today without knowing a real winner when I see one,” or, “I didn’t get where I am today without knowing a favourable report when I read one,” or, “I didn’t get where I am today wondering what life’s all about,” or, “I didn’t get where you are today without knowing the night is darkest before the storm.”
CJ thought of himself in finite terms of having arrived somewhere and because of that, it was funny and over the top and not the sort of thing we think of ourselves as doing at all.
Unfortunately we do, a version of it at least. It is in fact so easy to do that we can’t even hear ourselves doing it. We can very easily develop blanket statements about ourselves. We don’t say, “I didn’t get where I am today,” instead we say things like: –
“I am no good with technology.”
“I am no good with my hands.”
“I am terrible when it comes to relationships.”
“I am no good in crowds.”
“I am terrible at cooking.”
“People don’t like me.”
“I don’t have a sweet tooth.”
“I am terrible with money.”
“I am not a great traveler.”
“I am no good with plants.”
“I am not a great sleeper.”
“I am not really a people person.”
“I have a sweet tooth.”
“Cats don’t like me.”
Any of the above sound familiar? Do you have your own version of the same way of thinking?
I think we all do to one degree or another and it is a shame because it blocks us off from the possibility of being new.
Experience Matters
Now I am not suggesting we disregard our hard-won experience. If you know you don’t like spicy food, for example, or that you react strongly to it, I don’t recommend ordering the extra hot hot sauce because you don’t want to limit yourself.
There is a difference between benefiting from our experience and straight-jacketing ourselves with our thinking. What we learn about ourselves is part of our lived experience and doesn’t need the voice of thinking. Our experience naturally informs us as we move about in the world without the need to think about it. So on the one hand we are not chugging down the hot sauce, but on the other, we can stay open to checking if things have changed with a mildly spicy bit of food every now and then if we are so moved.
It is more a case of not thinking of ourselves in a finite way because every time we issue one of these statements of apparent fact about ourselves our body hears it, our whole being hears it, and that solidifies it.
Abracadabra
All through history, the power of the spoken word has been recognised. In ancient Egyptian culture, “Heka” was the concept of magic. Egyptian priests and magicians would recite specific spells or incantations and their words were considered powerful enough to affect reality.
In ancient Rome and Greece, curse tablets, known as defixiones, were used to cast spells on others. These tablets were inscribed with curses and invocations of deities, often accompanied by spoken rituals.
In Norse mythology, galdr was a type of spoken or sung magic used by seers and shamans.
In various African traditional religions, as well as in Voodoo practices that emerged in the Caribbean and the Americas, the spoken word was integral to spell casting.
Grimoires, or magical textbooks, were widely used in medieval and Renaissance Europe. These books often contained spells that required the precise pronunciation of words and incantations to summon spirits, perform alchemy, or cast protective charms.
In Jewish mysticism, particularly Kabbalah, the spoken names of God were believed to have immense power. Reciting these names in prayers, incantations, or meditations could bring about divine intervention, protection, or enlightenment.
The Christian gospel of John starts with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In Hinduism, the Gayatri Mantra is considered to be one of the most powerful mantras and is recited to invoke spiritual awakening and enlightenment.
In more recent times the Gettysburg Address, or Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, are great examples of the power of the spoken word.
But we think all that is in the past or for other people, for Hogwarts and Harry Potter. We have an unlimited supply of words so think our words don’t count so much. We certainly don’t think of ourselves as magicians casting spells.
Maybe we are not but what we say is very powerful, particularly what we say about ourselves. Each pronouncement about ourselves calls it into being and solidifies it even further. This is fine if what we are pronouncing is what we want. “I am great with technology,” or, “I am very good with my hands,” or, “I am good at relationships,” and the like. Then we are using that power for our own benefit which is great.
When we make statements about ourselves that limit us we use that power against ourselves.
The Mystery In Your Life
There is a limit to a lifetime, but there is no limit to the mystery in a lifetime. Remembering that and being open to it allows the mystery in our lifetime to have a place and show us its unfoldment in the living of our life.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Photo by Venti Views on Unsplash
Leave a Reply