The
Further Education of Oversoul Seven – Oversoul Seven’s Little Book
The
Charmed Life
Each life
is charmed (Seven said), yours and everyone else’s, and you must never forget
it. The instant you’re born, you’re
charmed, because life itself is a charm.
Each being is charmed into existence in whatever reality it finds
itself, and given everything it needs to operate in the environment. Your body is charmed, too: It’s a magic part
of everything else; springing up from all the things you see about you. Atoms and molecules go singing through the
miraculous air, forming themselves into rocks and trees and dogs and cats and
people, too. You are magic. You charm the air
so that it thickens into your body wherever you are.
When you
want to move, you think the air ahead of you into becoming your body, and the
air behind you then stops being your body … all very magical indeed. You move your arm just one inch to the right,
and the air to the left one inch stops being part of your arm. But it all happens so quickly, your snatching
of the air and making it turn into your body, that you never notice it at all,
and take it quite for granted. Which is
why it works so well, you see.
But your
life is charmed. And there is a secret, a very simple
one. Really, it’s not a secret. But you have to remember that your life is
charmed. People who forget can’t use
their magic nearly as well as they did before, and they have a tendency to get
angry at those who can. So, often, they
pretend that no magic exists at all.
Then they evolve great philosophies to prove it, which is itself
magical, of course. But they can’t see
that, because they’re so convinced that magic doesn’t exist.
And many
people forget how simple and natural magic is, so they evolve long theories,
and methods that are supposed to make it work, when you and I know, and
everyone else really knows, that
magic itself happens by itself, because that’s what magic is.
But people
are also very creative … magic again! … so they make up gods of this and that,
and realms and spheres, and maps to chart out in advance where magic might be
taking them so they don’t get surprised, which is silly because magic goes
where it wants to, which is everywhere.
And when you try to map it out in advance, you really cut yourself
short.
Because a
characteristic of magic is that it automatically turns into whatever you want
it to be. You create your own reality
with it, so whatever maps you make are real.
And if you forget what magic is, then you’re liable to think that your
map is the only real one, and all others are false. You get in a terrible bind, fighting over which
way is right, which road or map, while all the time magic is what makes the
maps. And a great variety of maps can
appear in the twinkling of an eye!
Particularly
when you grow up, many people will tell you that there is no magic. If you believe them, then you’ll forget too,
and you’ll act as if you aren’t charmed and bring unmagic into your life …
which is magic too, you see, but magic that doesn’t know itself. Then you’ll create things that go with
unmagic, like sorrow or sickness, and you’ll have to deal with them at that
level until you remember that your life is charmed again.
So in the
meantime you’ll feel nasty and unloved and angry, way beyond what is natural,
and have to worry about sad or fearful emotions and what to do with them, when
magically, you’d know: They’d just come
and go exuberantly like summer storms.
But anger and hate and sorrow are all magic too, and left alone, they’d
lead you back to the knowledge that your life is charmed. Because hate is love looking for itself every
place but where love is; and love is what you feel for yourself when you know
that you are where you’re supposed to be in the universe, and that you’re
lovely just because you are, and, of course, charmed.
Not only
that, but you’re also the magic maker; the inner living part of you that forms
your life. But consciously you have to
know this, accept and acknowledge it, and let the magic of yourself
happen. That way, you’re directing the
magic of yourself.
But it’s
even more fun just to let the magic happen as it wants to, because it’s your
magic, and that way it keeps telling you more and more about your magical
self. Then the magic flows through you
with unimpeded delight. If you keep
saying, “I want it this way and no other”, then you may be limiting your
physical experience, because there’s no doubt that your inner magical self
knows more about your potentials than you do.
And it will tell you quite clearly, if you only listen.
To many
adults, all of this sounds too simple and unintellectual, because unfortunately
many of them think that the mind is just something to say “no” with, and to
keep out magic. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
But if you
use your mind to say no to magic, then it’s like closing doors to your own
charmed existence, and refusing to use the full power of your life.
Everyone
works with magic, whether they realize it or not. Beliefs are magic, too, you see. Many people think that one particular belief
makes everything right; or makes magic happen.
And as long as they believe that, they’re all right for a while. But if they start doubting that belief, and
don’t find another one to replace it, then they think that they’ve lost their
Magic, or that life has. Instead, of
course, the magic is there all along.
But people
love systems, so they use all kinds of beliefs … some of them quite handy … as
aids. And they travel through belief
systems, sometimes going to considerable trouble to do so, when all they really
have to remember is that they are magic themselves, and their lives are charmed
without their having to do anything about it at all.
And your
conscious mind is magic, too. Its
workings are mysterious and complicated, and simple and clear at once, like air
is. Your conscious mind looks out
through your eyes, and knows parcels of air as its body, and smiles through
cheeks and skin the same way that the moon shines through the wide skin of the
heavens. See how clear and mysterious it
all is? So, in a way, it’s silly for the
conscious mind to question magic, because – well, it’s so magical itself.
But systems
of magic are silly, too, and all of them are really based upon doubt. Magic is considered so tenuous that someone
has to be at it all the time, making spells or paying someone else to do it. And the spells all have to be done just
right, so people concentrate on how to do this spell or another. This gets very complicated, and many adult
books deal with the subject.
But
everything is a spell. Your words and
thoughts are spells. Science is just
another system that tries to discover what certain spells cause certain
effects. Usually, of course, scientists
don’t understand magic any more than priests do; and they all get caught up in
their own complicated methods.
There isn’t
much basic difference between muttering a lot of different phrases or drawing
magic circles to protect yourself against illness, and taking handfuls of pills
given to you by doctors. Both methods
work if you believe in them, though the practitioners of one method will never
agree that the other way works at all, of course. And unfortunately, neither side really understands magic, which is
behind all of the spells and methods and formulas.
Spells work
if you believe in them; only you don’t need spells at all. Everything happens by itself. You happen by yourself, so does the
world. And the principle behind it all
is magic. And magic is the Beingness
within and behind all things.
The
Body and Creaturehood
Within your
creaturehood, you have all kinds of freedom.
And all of the freedom you can ever enjoy in your lifetime must come
through your creaturehood. Some people
spend a good deal of time trying to pretend that they only have minds, or that
minds alone are important. Some people
even try to ignore their bodies almost entirely in an effort to be more
spiritual, or to be “better” people, which is like a bird trying to fly better
than any other bird alive … all the time refusing to use its wings, or
pretending that they weren’t there. He’d
never get off the ground. A bird would
never think of such foolishness, of course, and often other creatures are
smarter than people.
In fact,
whenever you’re in trouble, it’s a good idea to watch the animals, for they
bask in their freedom and don’t worry about their limitations. A cat or dog can teach you a lot. A cat really enjoys its catness, just as you
should enjoy your creaturehood. Even a
fly buzzing around the ceiling loves its own reality and is free in it. If it stopped to wonder whether or not it
could really fly – well, it would fall down in a minute or never go fast enough
to outwit your mother’s flyswatter.
So, trying
to be religious or “good” or “better” by ignoring your body doesn’t make much
sense either.
Actually,
each person has a private kingdom for his or her very own, because your body is
the one part of earth that is really yours, that no one can take away during
your lifetime. It’s the part of earth,
moving and alive, that belongs to you and nobody else. In a way, it’s your portion of the planet,
sprung up in a living, moving statue of earth-stuff, for you and no one
else. So how you treat your body is
important.
You just
don’t live in it, either. You live through
it; there’s a difference. You flow
through it, moving in all of its parts.
The body is your own magic country.
Your conscious mind is like a monarch.
Now, a good king or queen is loving and gives the people freedom to move
about the country. In this case, your
own feelings and thoughts and desires are like the people in your kingdom. So you should treat your own feelings
graciously, and you and your kingdom will flourish. Some monarchs are dictators, setting up all
kinds of impossible laws and taboos, because they’re really afraid of the
people who make up their own kingdom.
If you’re a
good king or queen, you’ll realize that your kingdom is a good one, and you
won’t be afraid of your own people … your thoughts and feelings and desires …
but will encourage them. And you and
your body will have all the freedom necessary to flourish and grow.
The
Power and a Special Sumari Song
Now, here’s
a Sumari song, to help you remember that your existence is a charmed one. A Sumari song is one that speaks to your
ordinary self and to your magical self at once.
It’s a charmed song, of course.
But it isn’t a spell or a sign or even a symbol, because all those things can be very tricky
indeed. For example, if you believe that
your magic comes from a medal or a cross or a necklace, and you lose your
luckpiece, then you’re in trouble, and you think that your magic is gone. Then you can
spend a lifetime trying to find it.
And if you
think that spells make magic, then you aren’t secure either, because you might
forget the words to the spell, since no one is infallible. Besides, people who believe in spells guard
them very jealously, and often think that they alone have “the power”, and if
you want to learn their methods, then you must endure trials to prove your
courage. And, of course, you must
promise to follow the rules, and prove that you are worthy of “the power”. Again, all of this is very silly because
flowers and birds and frogs have the power too, and without having to prove
themselves to anyone, or pass any tests.
So the
Sumari song is just a reminder. It’s
been translated from an inner language into one that you can understand, but
the magic is still in it. It will jog
your memory when you’re in danger of forgetting that your life is charmed. Of course, you might forget the song. But even then, you’d only lose a valuable
reminder – which would be a pity – but you wouldn’t believe that your magic had
gone with your memory. Still, I hope
that you’ll always remember that your life is charmed, and that your magic is
you; and you don’t have to prove anything to yourself or anyone else to get it!
Here is the
Sumari song:
My mind is like a frog
On a lily pad,
Knowing, alone,
But never lonely.
My mind is green
And glowing,
Leaping without slipping
From lily-pad-thought
To thought.
My mind sits smiling
On the pond of my being,
In morning and evening,
Always knowing the time,
Yet not needing
A Clock.
Sumari
Time
There are
special moments that are open channels in which a different kind of time
energies; an inside-Sumari kind of non-time.
And in that time, everything is miraculous. One hour of it is worth – well, days of
ordinary minutes. In Sumari time, you
can learn something in a twinkling that might otherwise take years, and
insights spring up, brilliant as fresh fruit, for the picking.
This Sumari
time is the special heart of time, and contains its real meaning. Again, it’s really a non-time, always new and
shiny, and it contains secrets that are secrets only because so few people
realize that this glittering time exists, and right in the middle of the
regular time that you know.
Now, in
earth time, so many minutes add up to so many hours, and when you’re living in
that framework alone, then so much time is needed to get things done. But inspiration is quite different. It seeks out those special moments when magic
leaps from one world to the other with such ease.
And each
person has his or her own key to Sumari time.
All you have to do is use it. You
can write or paint or learn things or solve problems or just be supremely happy
ten times as well in one hour of Sumari time as you can in ten regular hours.
Of course,
Sumari and earth time coincide, which is tricky, I admit. And earth time springs out of Sumari time,
but people divide up usual time so much that they never realize that time is
really whole.
So, Sumari
time is whole time, since we’re using the term “time” at all. Later we’ll dispense with it entirely. But right now the trick is to recognize
Sumari time and use it.
If time
were a fruit, then Sumari time would be its nectar and essence, and if time
were a holiday, then Sumari time would be Christmas.
When most
people bump into a corner of Sumari time, they’re delighted, but they don’t
know how to find it again, when it’s there all the while.
Stacks and
stacks of the wrong kind of hours won’t give you even one minute of good Sumari
time, though. Because in a strange way,
a Sumari hour is the other side of an earth hour. I mean, all of a sudden, for example, 11
o’clock becomes transparent; it is what it is, on top, but it’s something else
too, underneath. And you can peer
through – well, time itself.
The
Beginning
It’s
deceptive to say thus and so “happened in the beginning”, or that “in the
beginning was the word”, or whatever, because there was no official Beginning
when God suddenly came parading out of nothingness, bearing the ingredients of
mountains, oceans, and land, and trailing sky banners proclaiming the opening
of the universe, or the creation of life from a sea of gasses.
There are
multitudinous beginnings. “The
Beginning” is only the one you came in on, so to speak, which is rather like
coming into a dream in the middle and wondering what happened earlier. In dreams, everything really happens at once,
even though there seems to be a beginning and ending … the past and present and
future merge … and the universe is like that in a way. You’re bound to wonder what went on or how
long it’s all been going on, not realizing that in a manner of speaking, it
just started when you got there. And in
another way, it really isn’t there at all.
If you
dream that you’re in a jungle, for instance, no vines or tangled undergrowth
climb up the bedpost, and no exotic animals prowl between the window and the
door. Yet the jungle certainly seems
real. Where did it come from, or when
did it begin? The universe is like the
dream jungle. It exists quite properly,
yet in the most profound way it makes no sense to ask when it began. It begins each day, each moment, at each
point of your contact with it. The gods
exist in the same manner, like a giant species of consciousness, striding
psychological paths of vast proportions that never really physically appear in
the world at all.
The gods
and the universe really begin everyplace and everywhere at once, at every point.
Our psychological reality rises from an inner inconceivable divine mind
that’s invisible to us, since we are It, earthized, individualized. We’re the gods in camouflage.
On
Methods
The whole
thing about techniques is the idea that you need certain methods to make things
work for you, when all you have to do
is let things alone: Then they “work” for you automatically. If you forget that fact, then you’ll always
be looking for better and better methods … which will never really work …
because Nature and your own nature work best when left alone.
If you’re
going to study such issues at all, then look for what you do right, and you’ll
always find that in those areas you let yourself alone and do what comes
naturally, because you are inclined in that direction.
When you
concentrate on what’s wrong, you almost always try too hard, look for methods
that will work better than the ones you’re using now … when the truth is that
the methods themselves stand in the way, whatever they are. Because Nature doesn’t use methods. It “works” because it is what it is.
Methods
presuppose the opposite, in whatever area of your concern. They show your belief that nature doesn’t
work right on its own.