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Myth, Magic and Metaphor

The Temptations of Reality
By Randy Gonzalez

Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or
idealism. Carl Jung

Adventures in the Pseudosciences

Randolph A. Gonzalez – All Rights Reserved

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Chapter Topics

Chapter 1 – Advent of the Beginning - the Hero’s Quest Page 3

Chapter 2: Bravery of Sacrifice: Page 10
Chapter 3: Crimson Crusade of Psychic Alteration: Page 17
Chapter 4: Developing the Tactical Mindset: Page 24
Chapter 5: Evil Lusts for the Temptation of Adoption: Page 31
Chapter 6: Foolproof isn’t Bulletproof: Page 38
Chapter 7: Gain versus Risk – Finding Pleasure in Freedom: Page 45

Chapter 8: Healing the Hatred of Hardened Hands: Page 52

Chapter 9: Injustice Inhabits the Illusion of the Ignorant: Page 59
Chapter 10: Justice enjoins the Just: Page 67
Chapter 11: Knightly virtues claim the Kingdom: Page 74

Chapter 12: Life longs for the fright of the Strife: Page 81
Chapter 13: Moral Compasses find Magnetic Misadventures: Page 88
Chapter 14: Nobility in the Knighthood of Knowledge: Page 95
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Chapter 1 – Advent of the Beginning - the Hero’s Quest

Life is a journey into contradictions. It is the initiation of the advent of that which is to come. Illusions
characterize what we often see as reality. Legerdemain of smoke and mirrors permeates the senses. Sleight
of hand deceptions cloud the thinking processes. The earthy realm we’re born into confronts our intuitive
capabilities with a wild range of myth, magic and metaphor. Myth helps paint the picture thinking of our
perceptions. The fiction of allegory and parables set no boundaries for the direction of our thoughts. We are
free to go anywhere we wish and think whatever we desire. Fantasies stem from the mythology of our
thinking. This saga of legends, fables and fairy tales provide the luring basis for the quest we seek. Some
answer the calling to a more profound nature of character. Dawn brings departure.
Delightful, thrilling and enchanting, the supernatural dimensions that surround us hold the magic of
mental projections. We can create, build or construct whatever the mind can conceive. The psychic
phenomenon we know and don’t know abounds in endless mystery. A tale within a tale, the travels we
experience portend threatening and exciting experiences. Each encounter holds a “through the looking
glass” reflection of possibilities. As the brain transforms, the magic of each exposure encodes the memories
of our reactivity. Trails of archival data become engraved for eventual retrieval. The circuitries of the
cerebral processes grow, mature and evolve. What do we will ourselves to become? The magic of life rests
in the willingness to experience the unpredictable aberrations that occur. One dream is traded for another
each day we visit the magic of ourselves. Altered states of consciousness trade back and forth in the
marketplace of ideation. From sleep we awake to face another form of reality, another day in paradise.
Figures of speech are essential to the illustration of the modes of communicative capacities. Yet, some
would abuse the ability. Imagery comes in all kinds of allegorical formats. As the brain experiences the
worlds, the human transforms. Metaphor offers comparisons for non-literal interpretations that guide
understanding and the approach to wisdom. Literal interpretations are not within this realm. Symbols
construct a framework for thinking. However, sinister people will sue such things to their advantage.
Caution is always warranted. The concepts are necessary to the travel on the landscape of human
adventures. The will of each of us is free to go wherever the trek may lead.
Our quest becomes one of making sense out it all within the scheme of a senseless realm. In spire of
that, some things can be known before it’s too late. When given the choice, which fruit do we eat? The tree
of the knowledge of good and evil? Or, the tree of life? Eventually both will be eaten. This is our search for
the Holy Grail, the ark of covenant or the pearl of great price. It is our journey and is unique to our own
psychic understanding. To find our way, we must make the effort to be heroic. That means becoming a
hero. So, what makes a hero? And, what is the quest he or she seeks? Heroes come in many forms, sizes
and shapes. They emanate from all walks of life. The hero’s trek is one of death. With a sense of daring, the
heroic types defy the conforming press of social constraints. They are warriors in the psyche. Dying to the
material, they pursue the spiritual. They are people who die to the old way of life, dying to the psychic
bondage of misguided notions. As a warrior, the hero fights many battles. He or she knows the adventure is
never ending, from one life to the next. They travel, fight, get wounded, recover and regenerate.
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A hero, by virtue of inner motives, endeavors to do something beyond the normal ranges of the ordinary
senses. The warrior within knows the dimensional constraints must fade. Looking behind the veil of
deception, he or she is inclined to offer up their life as a sacrifice for others. This is a selfless act of
compassion. Always, the goal is something bigger, something all encompassing. The hero performs
physical deeds as well as a spiritual transformation. Although tired, weary and worn, the hero keeps going.
As a warrior, the hero transcends the metaphysical realm of consciousness. They want to go beyond the
normal, the commonplace and the safe places. He or she goes through a death, a resurrection and eventual
salvation. The journey is characterized by a departure, a fulfillment and return to the normal realm.
Economic, political and spiritual temptations attack from various angles. The hero wins and loses. But, the
risks are worth the loss. Gain comes in many forms and variations. A hero knows.
Heroes break conventional rules and refuse to conform. While there may be no definitive rites of
passages, or ritual initiations into the quest, the hero will define them. They have a radical daring sense of
themselves, with a unique mental swagger. Warriors are neither contained nor controlled by oppressive
organizational constraints. Rules and regulations may be obeyed so long as they don’t jeopardize the
mission. Nor are they intimidated by the pressure of peers to fit a prescribed mold. Heroes are anomalies,
wild cards, and unconventional. They are warriors of the mind and don’t’ particularly fit in with any special
group except their own. Their passion is freedom. The quest is for the treasure. Not to possess it. But, just
to find it, hold and keep it.
A hero wants to know the truth. Yet, the truth may never be fully known. Truth is hard to define in a
world of illusions and temptations. In the far reaches of the mind, whether conscious or subconscious, the
question is asked over and over again, what is the truth? How do we know it when we find it? In this world,
what can be trusted? Sometimes, nothing and no one can be trusted. Such thoughts are good things. These
manifestations of mind take us to great places. Help us learn about the world. Give us peace, take us to war,
and give finality to the last breath. Courage is essential. Although fear takes root in the mind’s vegetative
growth, the opposite of the dread hides the bravery we seek. To live in fear of a so called vengeful god, is
to shirk the responsibility of the original creation. It takes guts to persistent against conventional
conforming notions of societal constraints. Fear fosters the folly of foolish rules, regulations and
requirements that constrain creativity, innovation and wisdom.
Thoughts wake us up, turn us on, and motivate us to do great feats of mind and body. Our travels here,
and into the next one, are all about who we are. The trudging trail is not so much about where but about
what. So, what did we do along the way? What was our motive? What choices did we make? What did we
learn? What did we contribute? Such emanations challenge us to temptations. Thoughts are at the heart of
the hero. Where do we go or what to we do next? The hero’s trek is one of challenge, temptation and
testing. A hero must prevail against the odds. Life is strife, the learning process, so that we can get back to
the beginning. Like a dream from which you’d like to awake, the stream of consciousness permeates all the
dimensions of time and space. That of course, is what makes the journey so interesting. All the twists and
turns that confront the mind are multifaceted experiences.
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In the pathway of the journey, obstacles confront, challenge and overwhelm the quest. The mind is
subjected to a web of intrigue in battles for psychic bondage. Time is an element of the crusade in which
perception is stifled in seeing the eternal truths. Within this energy expression, life evolves as a dream from
which we must some day awaken. As a hero, rules require adherence to the notice of such things. But, rules
do not always necessitate strict obedience to such constraints.
Good and evil fight with each other. We get caught up in the fray. Unfortunately for us, the warfare is
spiritual and good and evil struggle within our very nature. We are all good and evil at the same time. Most
of us don’t have a clue. Some say, commons sense should be the guide. In reality, if common sense were
so common everyone would have some. That’s not always true. Some people have no idea what they are
doing or where they’re going. Critical thinking skills, abstract reasoning and intuitive decision making
have long been lost the dusty shelves of antiquity. Most people just exist and are content with getting by on
little or no effort. They strive for success at mediocre levels of interpersonal interaction, productivity and
intellectual curiosity. For many, life is an eight to five job experience. After which, there is little else to
pursue other than the mundane, the commonplace and roads frequently traveled.
While public education fails us, our political systems are not much better either. Too many agendas,
most of which are hidden. We seem to relish in the glory of symbolism over substance. Not to mention, our
preoccupation with pious platitudes of indifference that actually mean getting anything done. At the same
time, organized religion works hard at numbing the mind to serious spiritual introspection. Economic,
political and physical distractions overwhelm the senses. Distractions are temptations that take us off the
straight and narrow path toward enlightenment. Yet, as in the Parable of the Sower there a few among us
who will fight the good fight.
For the few, the heroes and heroines among us, the fight is never over. Our transformation of our
consciousness remains central to the experience of the expedition. They struggle against great odds day in
and day out. In the end, their rewards are limited. But, the limited prize of their pearl of great price, Holy
Grail or lost Ark of the Covenant, becomes a quest worth pursuing. The pay off is not the purpose of the
journey. The trek is worth it because you were the one who traveled the distance. You were the one who
took the risks. The trip is not about the tour, the sights seen, or the treasures collected. Your journey is
about you and the tests you took. Long after you’re gone, who’ll remember anyway?
Along the way, we are privy to the disguises that cloak the mysteries of life. Passage from here to there
is filled with sleight of hand tactics of one sort or another. Myth, magic and metaphor fuel the imagination
and the illusion of where we are. The brain does that for us. Our mind appears by virtue of cerebral
calculations which we self-generate to live out our fantasies. Forming templates for thoughts, the mind
serves as a reference point. A daydream from night dreams, figments of imaginative conjurations unfold the
multidimensional possibilities. As a result, we weave webs that overlap, pulling in people, places and
things. The web is a dream catcher of assorted sticky strands of original intentions, motives and desires. We
get caught in this interpersonal connectivity. Tangled, recoiling and distracted, we get lost in the noise of
our helpless struggles. Fantasies allow for the fruition of ideas into a working reality.
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The once proud looks we share with lingering stares fade away in time. Proud haughty looks of
pretended superiority soon vanish. Cowardice fights with bravery only to tease and taught the reality of
who we are. The web of deception waits patiently until we’re ensnared. Our fat, overfed self-indulgence
helps us avoid the essential truths we seek. A paradox lurks deep within. Shadows cloak our inner reaches.
Our fantasies are seductive temptations waiting to become real. Crushed ambitions foil our plans as we
fumble through the failure.
We age too fast and don’t have enough time to figure it all out. The rule, reason and rectitude of what
we seek elude our best intentions. Amazing how rules of survival transcend the places we go. What passes
as survival here is not the same out there. Fat, bloated and bigoted motives are fed by a time-line of
shortened duration. Such inclinations are tempered by the decay of impermanent boundaries. Often, we
miss the clues and fail to solve the case. The answers to the questions we pose are many. They are both yes
and no. None the less, they’re right there under our senses.
Chewing the cud of our misguided notions, mindless persuasions and guilty intentions, we make
choices. Temptations never yield to us. Motives are real and stem from inner yearnings. But, all is based on
the illusion of this world. Each forkful of savored indulgence portends the chew of lustful satisfaction.
From this, we find the superficial surface of our musings in wild seductions of slippery foolishness. All is
vanity and just the tip of the iceberg. Most is not seen, for most hides below the surface. Waiting to strike,
flashes of sinful illumination glories in the distractions of the landscape.
We’ll never have the time fully allotted to apprehend the necessity of self-actualization. The sinewy
constitution of life fights with death. The odds are pitted against us. Blow flies wait. Maggots yearn to be
egg-like creatures of retribution. In time, they win. The fight to the finish is a race of decomposition. Flesh
waits to fester in decay. As the flies descend, lay their eggs, the maggots hatch. They consume the tissues
of life and release the spirit. While the worms feast, corruption fades. You’re dead. Spirit gone. Soon, no
one remembers, no one cares, all forget. Time, space and energy merge into their eternal cycle once again.
And, then again, the process goes on. Repetitive redundancy is a paradox of creative processes. Yet, the
unified field energy convergence in the web of the multiverse continues. Some one needs to ask the
question, why? But, with our paunchy bellies of conceit, we don’t want to know the answer. We want to
think none of this happens to us. We live forever is the life-long hope. Approaching the end, some
surrender. Give up, stop resisting. The depression of eventual separation strains the mind’s acceptance of
the inevitable consequences. Yet, for some of us, we will not go easily without a fight.
The hero, or the warrior of life, is a believer in something. Belief is an aspect of the mind that develops
over time. Some beliefs are good, and some are bad. A warrior must select wisely. His or her thoughts are
the conjurations of a belief built on the experiences of life. He or she believes certain things to be
important. Strength of belief is essential to arsenal of a warrior. Revolutionary in thinking, the hero pursues
what he or she thinks is the right course of action. A warrior chooses freely among the range of human
alternatives. To him or her, myth, magic and metaphor are the music of life. Beliefs reflect such notions of
cause and effect. They are the poetic musings of an imagination filled with adventure.
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Sacrifice, death and resurrection of the mental matrix are crucial to the quest. This is not a new concept.
Coming up out of the “belly of the beast” is an old story of life and death and then life again. There is
nothing new, just rediscovery. The manifestations of mental images are signposts of intuitive creativity.
These are built upon our beliefs. Open mindedness in believing is necessary to the journey. Closed minded
thinking restricts, stifles and cripples the journey. At the final moment of truth, a belief system cannot fail.
It must hold true in all situations, trials and tribulations. Beliefs must be reliable, trustworthy and
unfaltering. At the same, beliefs must transform and grew into maturity. To slay the dragons of the quest,
the hero must trust in his or her ideas. Conviction in thought and action reinforce the faithful commitment
to the experience of life’s battles. To this end, mind, body and spirit must work in a harmonious continuum
of effort.
Warriors know the need for thinking. Crucial skills of thinking, tempered by common sense and
personal decisiveness have long been lost to history. But, not to the warrior. His or her journey is a hero’s
trek. The hero labors to encode his or her soul with imprints and overlays of mental strength. One must be
aware of the necessity to think beyond the normal realm. Most people don’t. They simply believe thoughts
are automatic ideations that guide every situation. Kindergarten cosmology becomes the order of each day
for many. Platitudes of pious recitation replace serious introspection, psychic searching and soulful
meditation. Simplistic rituals that cling to easy religious notions help most deal with life. Literal
interpretations replace mysterious truths with fictitious plots, schemes and hidden agendas.
Beyond the normal realm, on the beaches of the subconscious, the warrior searches for the relics of
truth. In the belly of the beast, he or she finds the triplicate aspects of the journey. A going, a finding and
returning meld into one process. Giving of himself, or herself, is at once, both physical and spiritual. These
are acts of transformation. Human sexuality is at the heart and soul of the experience. Such is representative
of the essential nature of freedom in the physical realm. Yet, ages of oppression, persecution and
degradation have stifled the fruition of our basic human desires. Human sexuality has been demonized by
centuries of misguided, ill-informed and perverted thinking. Inhibitions abound at every turn of our short-
lived experiences. We have come to fear our sexual inclinations. As a result, dangers surfaced in the form
of deviant behaviors.
The death of infantile shame, guilt and fear must give way to mature pursuits of courageous endeavors.
A hero must overcome the discouragement others perpetuate. Human evil abounds in all kinds of
configurations. Doubt, deception and distractions are tools to discourage you. The warrior has to make
choices for better of for worse, regardless of the consequences. One must descend into the depths in order
to rise to the heights. In the hunt for ourselves, everyone has the potential to be a hero, a warrior on a
mission. Yet, few will choose the path to that end. They will get distracted and tempted by falsehoods.
Buried in oppressive thoughts and actions of others, some of us acquiesce to the loss of our senses. Losing
our way, we give up and fail to fight on. We give in to those we think have the answers. Or, we might think
they know better than we do. But, they really don’t. Most people are guessing, making things up as they go
along. So often, we look for quick self-help remedies, checklists and formulas to find the answers.
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Be careful who you trust, lest you invite deception, deflection and distraction. Many will try to side
track your journey. For those who fall by the wayside, they desire others to join them. Pursuing one’s bliss,
or ecstasy of discovery, makes up much of the game at hand. Finding paradise is within reach of us. We
encode the soul of our being with the intentions of the heart, or the minds evolving process. The code
defines the progress. Distractions come in wrongful pride, envy, too much anger, dejection, excessive
material longings, greed and coveting what others have. These commotions to the mind confound the
progress of the trek into the unknown. And, the unknown is where we want to go. Other people will seek
to entice our preoccupation with such diversions. Yet, given our bewilderment, anxiety and agitation, we
must resist. Myth, magic and metaphor guide the desperation for the journey’s end. We are free agents in a
cosmic marketplace. Sometimes, the shopping takes us into spheres of deviant opportunities. Getting off
the path, we may get lost. Finding our way back is always educational and uniquely beneficial. Don’t fail to
do what you want to do. Or, go where you want to go. And, be what you want to be. The main warning
holds true always.
As you approach the signpost, it reads: beware of your actions. For action produce consequences. The
admonition is plain. That is, you must be willing to accept the consequences of what you do. And, you must
embrace your accountability, regardless of what you must face. Otherwise, you’re not truly human in the
fullest feature of the celestial nature. Then again, think about the adventure. The temptations are exquisite.
Tantalizing forests of mental apprehension waits. The darkness is seductive. So is the light that filters
through the heavenly portals. Visualize, rising up the wings of great eagles. Soaring to your heart’s content.
Knowing though, you must land at some point. Nonetheless, the spiritual aspect of human nature is the
fundamental driving force of motives, desires and intentions. Scandals may come and go. Virtues pave the
way. Nevertheless, humans are bound to cross boundaries in exploration of the senses.
High merit measures against the clouds of inappropriate actions. Dishonor chases the eagle. However,
what do you lean if you don’t try to be scandalous. Virtuous adherence, without a basis of comparison, dies
a mortal death. The hike upon the trail is a slogging motion of investigation. You are not on the trip to
simply do a sightseeing excursion. You’re there for the whole experience. To slay a dragon, live out an
adventure and rescue the captives, all become part of the mission. In the end, the hero must kill the beast
and emerge in newness of virtual discovery. Around dangerous curves, within caves, cracks and crevices,
one finds the demons, dragons and ghostly apparitions. Each hero, in his or her own peculiar way must
confront them. To do so, one must be in harmony with his or her mind, body and spiritual complexity. No
matter what powers, dangers or demons one confronts, he or she is in command. They aren’t, but you are.
In this process of multidimensional travel, you have to be in control of your progress. For the process is an
interface between what can be known, what isn’t known and what eventually will be known. Not
everything, of course, can be known in one lifetime. Contradictions are everywhere. Life is a paradox and it
is also inevitable. So, you might as well enjoy the journey for what it brings. What life brings is an
education, not necessarily happiness. Compassion unfolds and time passes. Becoming harmonious in the
passage yields an “at oneness” to the reality of the journey.
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The sufferings of life pull together the grand illustration of the spiritual at the sacrifice of the physical. A
crucifixion of the oldness, gives way to the newness. Death must have its way with life. And, life must face
death. Evil allows for the horrid scales of balance to adjust the essence of the experience. Good versus evil
remains the internal struggle within each human being. Wicked we are, with malicious intentions, we fight
with our conscience to overcome the shame of our choices. Religious aspects of philosophy would have us
believe all sorts of things. Misinterpreted, fictional and misguided twists of faith have led to vicious creeds
of arrogant ideologies. What are the unique metaphors of religion? Test them, prove them and demand
demonstration. All such notions require delving into the mysteries of myth, magic metaphor in every
variation of belief. Caution is warranted in matters of religious experience. What is the mind trying to
convey? For as perception evolve and observations lead to decision, careful introspection is vital.
Thousands of years of religious persecution, oppression and sinister motives have subjugated whole
populations. Lives have been wasted in neutered adherence to rules, regulations and rituals. Creative,
formative and innovative thinking has been stifled by a power elite of pious pretentiousness. Religion can
be found at the core of societal conflict. Not because the basic philosophy is wrong. But, because men
make interpretations to justify their ends. Freedom is infringed by fictitious counterfeits of truth and
understanding.
Faith trusts upon the assurance of psyche survival. Energies of life’s learning, skill and practice yearn to
know the feelings of all the senses. The creative incubation of human creativity mimics the cosmic
handiwork of invention. Human destiny is bonded to the process of life’s journey of understanding. For
those seeking their true nature, the journey is a quest for enhanced development of the original design. Yet,
design flaws are inherent. Perfection is not to be obtained in this life.
As the hero in your own story, you will fall, rise up and fall again. Life is a paradox of distractions,
meanings and influences. Myths abound in every country on the planet. Part of the travel invites an
exploration of those fables generic to the specific landscape. Picture thinking fills walls of caves, tapestries
and ancient manuscripts. They are the music providing the resonance by which we think, feel and know.
Allegory, fairy tales and parables provoke us to think in profound and critical ways. Such fabrications are
not for the purpose of serious literal adherence. As sign posts, they point a way in a certain direction.
Following a specific story line is up to you. Except, you must be careful. Frauds, schemes and scams
abound everywhere there are people. You will be fooled from time to time. Be alert to magic tricks, sleight
of hand and intellectual deception.
Some teachers, preachers and sages of all kinds will try to impose their thinking on you. Questions must
always be asked, even if the answers will never be known. So called experts will purvey anything,
anywhere on anyone. Don’t buy what they’re selling without analyzing the ingredients. The human psyche
is universal, influenced by myth, magic and metaphor. Different cultures have different magic. Some good
and some no so good. As such, the nature of life harkens us to exploration, using every aspect of our
sensory awareness. Intuitive abilities must be maximized to every extent possible. Our walk though the
brief fields of time, in this realm, must be realized in the sacrifices we make.
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Chapter 2: Bravery of Sacrifice:

Everyday, we sacrifice something in one way or another. Give and take, win and lose, gain versus risk,
it’s about giving up a few things to get more things. Expending energy, emotions, time and as much of
ourselves as possible to win a game not completely winnable. For if the victory is to come, it comes at great
cost. God play for keeps. Yet, who is God? A worthy opponent? Or, perhaps a skilled tormentor? After all,
isn’t God the author of both good and evil? So, why play at all, when the deck is stocked against the
gambler? And, why try, if the dealer knows the outcome? If the Puppet Master created the puppets in
his/her own image, then why do anything? Won’t the Puppet Master protect the puppet?
No way. The Creator is busy elsewhere in the universe of multiverses. In fact, the since you’re the
image of the Creator. You are Him/Her. Filled with magic, myth and metaphor, the concept of God is a
global theme found in all cultures. Bottom-line, you’re basically on your own. So, buck up and get tough,
mentally, spiritually and physically. Get with the program. Our assignment is to learn, grow, think and go
forward. Although, going forward means delving down into the mystery of one’s life. Yet, we’re misled by
so called “men of faith”. Their literal admonitions of mythological manuscripts oppress our thinking,
freedom and way of learning. Never trust politicians, preachers or the press. None deal in the truth. They
only deal in a superficial version of an aberration akin to the truth. You could even assert that the word
truth stands for Temporary Reality Under Theoretical Hypothesis. As such, we need to be alert to anyone
who thinks he or she has found the truth. For if someone says they know something to be true. In reality,
they probably don’t. Don’t forget, the cleric assumes a responsibility for preserving literal traditions, not
philosophical understanding. Or, for that matter, anything that comes near a notion of illumination. Smoke
and mirrors, with a little noise of thunder, are crucial to protecting the wizard behind the curtain. A magic
act is more impressive to ensure the illogical assertions falsehoods. Hidden agendas and over-zealous
egoistic personalities cling to closed minded notions. Ministers of the so called faith are not protectors of
veracity. They are defenders of ritual, tradition and conformity. Of what is true and what is not true, you are
the only one who can find that mystery of the lost ark of covenant.
Our individual search for the pearl of great price or the Holy Grail is once again a heroic journey. The
quest transcends time, space and energy. Sacrifice of ourselves clings to the very core of our existence.
Surrender to the spiritual travel, the tests of time, the bloodshed of our feelings, and all the rest, comes with
great sacrifice. To wash up on the shores of our cause and effect existence, we know there are basic
foundations of allusions to the truth. Such things come in the form of moral teachings of humble teachers,
philosophical insights of self-effacing sages and profound bursts form within us.
We’re told by great thinkers that the Creator gave us free will. This is the basis for excusing all the times
God fails to help us, give us a sign, or otherwise protect us. Naturally, this does not suggest we are not
accountable or responsible for our actions. But, our freedom of will has more to do with us than it does
with God. We’re Him/Her, and He/She is us. One in the same, a duality of spiritual powers. Also, a trinity,
a quadrangle and manifestations of more. And, therefore, we must find our way, make our mistakes and die
in the process.
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Sacrifice follows the footsteps of our mission. By sword of thought, we seek to slay the dragons of
obstacle, conflict and deception. We want to see behind the veil of magic. Those who would assert a certain
mode of western oriented apologetics accuse us for our rebellious nature. They would demand we not go
forward and jerk the curtain open. In spite of their treachery, rebellion is what life is all about. We must
take a bite of the fruit of knowledge. Otherwise, life is a pale horse that gallops without joy. Plants, animals
and humans, all rebel against the essence of their creative processes. That’s how we grow, by the virtue of
revolution in contrast to evolution. Our thoughts about God should serve only to intensify the processes by
which we intuitive assert our independence. In this effort, our thinking must run deep, be critical and
pursue the imagination as far as possible. But, we must protect against the harm of others. There are those
whose imagination will be played in the horror stories of human suffering. Although suffering is sacrifice,
perhaps it could be argued that the game involves those who do bad things to others. This, in turn, means,
we must be on guard against those who do evil.
Our sacrifice is personal and unique to our terrestrial expressions. We cannot afford to allow others to
interpret the world for us. A “priest hood” does not stand for us or our actions. They do not define our
thinking, ideation or motives of personal inclinations. If you want them to tell you who you are, what to
think and how to think you think, they that’s up to you. On the other hand, freedom means taking command
of your own course of action. No one should be allowed to interpret for us the meanings of the ancient
writings and so forth. In short, the whole of the biblical saga is about us experiencing the richness of life.
We are the extension of the cosmic forces that came into being. To literalize the picture thinking of ancient
scribes is to commit intellectual treason in the face of reality.
Naïve, primitive and child-like views of a divine authority running the universe serve to subvert the
nature of humankind. Santa Claus, a kindly old grandfather, or a nice daddy, do not manage, supervise or
otherwise configure the grand scheme of life. We do, through the divinity of our spiritual essence. And,
when we commit to action, follow the character of our calling, we set into motion creative processes. In the
quest for understanding all this, we make sacrifices.
The journey becomes confusing. Misconceptions, faulty beliefs and bogus impression attack without
mercy. This is due in part to our misunderstanding of our belief system. We are thwarted at times because
of miscalculations. Mistakes in ideation, based on the foggy notions of religious pretensions, bear upon our
inability to distinguish fact from fiction. For some of us, we’ll believe anything. Many of us cling to
nebulous opinions of others as the foundations of our thinking. That is because thinking is a challenging
effort. For many people, they believe they are thinking simply because they are awake. Being awake and
breathing air does not guarantee competent thoughts and actions. We do stupid things when we’re awake.
Nonetheless, we remain in search of answers to the riddle inside the enigma. Within the enigma the
boundaries are surrounded by the myths of our pursuits. Rabbit trails lead in many directions. The hike is
an arduous slog through the thickness of extraordinary mental vegetation. Vines of surprising perplexity
grow in a multitude of directions. We can’t pursue if we don’t go. Dangers lurk along the way. To give up
is a betrayal of humanity.
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Psychic robberies occur in our dreams. Thievery by self-deceit spreads the larceny of our soul. Within
the supernatural framework of our core, we allow the stealing of the sensory array. Underlings of murky
mischief make every effort to subvert our fantasies. From an intuitive assertion, we should know who they
are. They and them are us. We must take back the loss we experience. Chase down the thief and disturb the
complacency of the status quo by getting involved in the psychic quest.
Aside from our mischief allowing the theft of true thoughts, we invite contamination. The contagion of
deception must be healed at every outbreak. Cure the plague of mental infirmity by finding the right
treatment. We’re the answer to the antidote. The solution is found in slaying the mental minions of
infectious doubt, deception and distraction. Age old testing our tenacity concerns the sacrificial devotion of
ourselves. Fidelity in the commitment to the personal exploration keeps us on the straight and narrow way.
But, this doesn’t mean we can’t stray in order to learn the inherent proclivities of our inner being. To the
goals and objectives or our life plan, we no doubt must ensure loyal dedication. Our inner being has a
template which we build on. We remodel, redesign and redeploy our efforts and resources as necessary to
the construction project. Often, we see those who subvert their own intentions. By bad choices and poor
decision they commit all manner of debauchery.
Our perceptions, based on inner and outer observations, may be touched all at once. Or, perhaps not at
all. Slogging through the ramble of human conflict invites challenges of one form or another. We should
endeavor to develop a tactical and strategic mindset. Quick thinking and rapid response are sometimes
critical. Perceptions must be swiftly analyzed to gain the advantage of time and energy. Then again, such
inclinations may be apprehended over time in a slow plodding manner. While the same myths permeate,
transcend and transform every culture on earth, we often think we invented them. Such arrogance leads to
crimes of intellectual dishonesty. Untruthful assertions of reality, based on literal invitations of mythic
symbolism, have the tendency to provoke human injury. History is a testament that essential fact. Wars and
rumors of wars abound. Religion, of one extreme or another, sets the snares of insincere motives and
intentions.
Sacrifice is essential to the growth and maturity of the necessary need to know. Something must be
given for something. However, one must be careful in the sacrifice of ideas, ideals and ideology. Someone
is always lurking with desire to subvert good intentions. Every good effort is stalked by an assassin of free
thinking. Freedom scares people. Attacks are inevitable. From the simple minded to the elite snobs of
intellectual dishonesty, haughty persons assault the freedom of thought. We must be alert to the absurdity
of religious conviction on the grounds of ancient prescriptions. All is allegory, and allegory is myth.
Whether by faith or by works is not the point. The point is what do we know, how do we know and where
to we go. We come to know things by virtue of our pursuit of reality. Discerning the truth without the
deception of myth, magic or metaphor part of the point. The quest, the journey or the trek is another part of
the point. Understanding our role in what we do begins at the tip of the iceberg of consciousness. Beware of
absurd allusions to the truth of life’s trudging trail. Incongruities abound in amazing forms, fashions and
formats. Unrealistic beliefs and practices foster oppression on the young, the unaware and the naïve.
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Vigilance in thinking, breathing and experiencing the realm of life requires involvement. Day and night,
we must be actively engaged in gathering information. Streams of data come at us from all directions. A
form of natural personal “intelligence” assemblage, you have to make the effort to stay ahead of the
mission. Thoughts come from various sources. Proactive thinking assesses each day’s information, whether
conscious or unconscious. The mind is a multi-dimensional process of the brain’s vast capabilities.
Operational control transcends being awake and being asleep. One way we gain insight into ourselves is by
watching our dreams. In addition, by taking part in the action that unfolds we learn essential aspects of the
living experience. Dreams offer a bridge to our altered state of consciousness. They provide information to
be analyzed, explored and understood in terms of personal revelation. Dreams touch on the boundaries of
personal sacrifice. Surrendering to the transformation we must face, we come into contact will all kinds of
mental projections. Dreams reflect the myth, magic and metaphor of life’s natural processes. Visions,
daydreams, even night mares, provide a basis by which we search out our fantasies. These travels through
the tunnels of the mind are unique to each of us. Dreams open the conduit to understanding a portion of our
existence. We’re the only ones who can ultimately understand and appreciate what we see, hear and
encounter in such places. The mind, body and spirit continuum reveals the distinctive connectivity between
ourselves and what we experience. We’ll hear voice, see faces, and meet people, animals and monsters. The
hunger for the hunt is in the dream state. Those dark murky corners of perception in fantasy to reality reside
in the caves of our thoughts.
Castles in the mind’s landscape beckon the journey into the psychic dominion of existence. Our
incarnate selves pass through several realities of time and space. To cross over and gain the knowledge of
the experience, we transform in sacrificial actions for the atonement of the eternal cosmic covenant. The
veil of the dimensional constraints conceals the hidden doors of spiritual insight. Behind the portals, the
answers are not easily understood. Self-awareness is often elusive, distracting and selfish. Yet, the mission
demands our hunt for the personal solutions. The hunt goes on. Learning to understand and to apprehend
the solutions is not always found in clear perceptions. But, nonetheless, we shed the blood of the sacrificial
quest within ourselves.
Our own suffering is the essential components of revelation of the mind, body and spiritual aspects of
being. We are martyrs for our own quest and on one else. Archetypal templates have provided the basis for
such example in ancient writings. They mythically show the magic by which the metaphor explains the
cause and effect possibilities. The warrior’s walk over the trails of wonder entail the voluntary offering up
of personal sacrifice. Through mental exertions, physical stress and soulful discomfort, the mind gains
bloodied valued insight. The things to be learned unfold in the psychic embrace of submission to the
mission. Emancipation is to be found in the suffering of the soul. Redemption is the release of the clinging
madness that torments the attachment to the past afflictions. Each of us share in our own personalized hunt
for liberation. The expedition is personal and can’t be fully exchanged with someone else. We define
ourselves through our own transition, which means change to another form. In the process, we become
acquainted with the necessity of our freedom of belief.
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With confidence, trust and assurance, we hope to rely upon our own belief system. We all want to
believe in something. That’s what holds our attention to the present state of affairs. Within us all,
conviction resides at the core of the warrior spirit. Essential credence in the foundations of our mental trust
bears witness to our ongoing transformation. Finding out what that is relates to the journey. From advent to
ascension, overcoming the strife is core to the victory at hand. For love or money, sacrifices are made for
what we believe. Some things we give, such as the childish pursuits of the foolish fables to simplistic for
the truth. Moving on, we give up one thing for another. In love, we labor to comprehend what it means to
us. Some define it better than others. Others know it when they see it. All in all, love comes and goes.
Money, or the material temptations of the terrestrial, forms the basis for other sacrifices. Which is more
relevant? Love or money? Can you ever have both? And, if so, can you ever have enough of both? Perhaps,
there is a unity. There seems to be a bonding of our conceptual framework that connects us to the real and
the unreal.
The end of sacrifice may rest upon the weighty notion that all things come to an end. In this process of
dieing, events come to a final collision. But, each culmination is unique to each one of us. As each mind
can conceive, so is the nature of that unique reality. Mine is not yours and yours is not mine. In spite of
that, we share a kinship. We try to tame the beast that runs wild within the human psyche. The creature
inside reflects the duality of what we are. Our personality holds unique factors by which we have defined
ourselves. The inherent secret of our individual nature is what we seek to preserve. Whether by public face,
or private countenance, we hold up a mask of rationality. The facial expression on the outside is not what
goes on inside. Pretense to the allusion of our own reality hides behind the mask.
Our yearning to excel in the trek of time and space yields to distractions of delightful enticements. On
occasion, the pull of earthy inducements fosters the strife we cannot avoid. A need to experience the full
range of variable excitations is crucial to the learning process. We teach ourselves. Some teach themselves
at a very basic and ignorant level. Others reach as high as they can. Everyone evolves as they choose. We
win or lose, depending on how we play the game. However, revolution is in our spirit. Many would deny
that. A few would embrace the covenant of spiritual baptism. Young or old, neither age nor conditions are
essential. What matters, is that one accepts his or her calling and goes where he or she must go. A warrior
is called to accept the extraordinary conditions of his or her life. He or she must come to grips with the
multisensory opportunities that exist.
In the strife of life, we are called to the heroism of becoming an activist. Our calling is that of a militant
in the revolutionary cause of ourselves. Summoned to the quest to be a fanatic in our own change process,
we must not avoid the challenge. The tidal action of our thoughts must ebb and flow with the waves of
psychic alteration. Failing to modify and control our inner being leads to self-destruction, self-denial and
self-negation. Swimming against the current in our thoughts and deeds is no doubt a vexing valiant effort.
Some will not jump in, preferring to stay ashore, safe and secure from the deep waters. To accept the
challenges, obstacles and confrontations means risking the forbidding consequences. With mind, body and
spirit in motion, the warrior confronts the objectives.
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Confrontation brings about the process by which we make offerings. No so much for the physical, but
far more for the sake of the spiritual. Each of us, gives up, forgoes or forfeits something that comes from
within. The objective of the endeavor is surrenders for that which is to be gained. In order to slay the
dragon, acquire the affections of the princess, and win the battle, we will relinquish a portion of our being.
We sacrifice parts of ourselves in everything that we do. This is done so that we come into a closer
connection or communion with the invisible realm of cosmic consciousness. When we consume, there
exists a giving up or surrender with the intention to make a change. A transformation has occurred of one
thing to another, a sacrifice. The bondage of the submission of the sacrificial exercise releases the potency
of a form of life. As we shed the blood of our thoughts, ideas and fantasies, the change capitulates to
another level.
The point of the journey is not the end. Instead, the point of it all is the going on the journey. Along the
way, we part with something inside. Yet, we gain as we hand over certain aspects of our psychic
configurations. Sacrifice wipes away what existed before. Next, another phase begins. Whether in public
view, or by private hermitage, we explore the nature of our personal atonement in expiation for the value
obtained. For the sake of the surrender, our motivational intention is the nourishment of the godly essence
within us. From that cultivation, comes the growth and maturity of ourselves. Without such, how can we
expect to evolve to a higher level? By such pruning to the end of the harvest, the knowledge we gain feeds
the spiritual necessity. Such is the gnosis of what we seek.
By thankfulness in the votive offering of our innate vow of calling, we persist in fulfilling the ancient
quest. Time honored traditions are but a metaphor for the inner world we explore. Ancient picture thinking,
through colorful and frightening contexts, painted the superficial depiction of the realm most hidden.
Horrors abound on the surface in the physical plane. Yet, the realty is concealed behind a mirror of time
and space constraints. Breaking the bondage of the constraints opens the portals to a complex of
multidimensional dominions. Dreams provide the conduit by passage is possible. Spiritual spheres beyond
the comprehension of this present nature revolve without contradictions.
There is sanctity in the desire to be free and to exercise the fullness of freewill. Freedom comes by
exercise into experience of the nature of the world we behold. Whether by abstract inference or causative
conclusion, we exist to explore, travel and know the realms of the incorporeal worlds. Terrestrial and
extraterrestrial converge into a unity of one. Our challenge is to find the point of the union. The union of a
man and woman become the symbolic notion of the convergence. This is the highest form of natural unity
and significant sacrifice. By armchair command, or actual instigation of a voyage, we take leave to go to
those distant places of the mind. To do so, we make sacrifices in the holy place of our mental matrix. This
holy of holies rests behind the veil in the multiverse of our consciousness. In here, we can find the ark of
the covenant of the nature of being. We are the altar of sacrifice, inside our psychic structure. The temple
and tabernacle of our existence is within our mental complexity. As in our dreams, little or no light filters
the essence of discovery and belief. The darkness is illuminated by virtue of our intentions. The magic,
myth and metaphor lies within all of us.
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Sacrifice leads the way. Our thoughts, deep inside, know this principle. Generating amazing processes
of electrical currents, our brain labors night and day. To bring our thoughts and actions to fruition, the
patterns of thinking imprint themselves on our dimensional space. Time and space hold us to this place.
The mind’s mental mace fosters the guide by which we make our selections. Ghosts of our behavior give
chase, reminding us of where we’ve been and where we’re going. We see them in the mind’s mirror as the
brain conceives, transmits and receives feedback. Our behavior leaves traces. Fingerprints, footprints, the
DNA of our existence. The brain produces, builds and generates our motion of choices. We perceive, react
and move in directions of willful desire, need, and want. What is the want? And, where does it take us?
Yet, as the brain constructs a reality of the world, what illusions do we see or even know? Because we’re
capable of doing what we “want to do”, how do we know for sure what the “want” is?
We “want” to sacrifice a part of ourselves to gain a part of something we don’t have. Windows of
opportunity open. Some of us dare to climb through the portal. To touch the other side and see what’s
missing is part of the exercise in thought and action. Constant vigilance is required to know how to deal
with the wants of our desires. Tiring, tedious and tenuous, our alertness underscores the stress of mind and
body. Pulling us to slumber, we yet engage another process. Sleep brings dreams. More puzzles surface
from the murky façade of the trance. Nightmares underscore the threats to actual thinking in so many
different directions. Some people prefer not to do active intentional thinking. They allow themselves to go
on an autopilot of life. Their circle of motion never changes.
Myth, magic and metaphor could be what the paradox of human nature is all about. Life is gain and loss,
win and lose, balance and unbalance, function and dysfunction. So, why go on the journey if sacrifice is
required? Because you can. And, no one can stop you, if really want to go. Along the way, you will lose,
you will suffer and you will be afraid. Then again, if sacrifice is necessary to learn a universe of lessons,
then why have illusions to cover the doubt? Such things help define, explain and make rational the process
of understanding. Things aren’t supposed to be easy. Only uncovered and revealed of light of what is to be
known. The brain performs mystical functions so that we can deal with a reality that is illusive.
You don’t have to go on a quest. A hero’s journey is not for the weak, the timid or the pure. On life’s
quest no one escapes in pure, chaste and virginal form. You have to be willing to lose your faith, virtuous
notions and unsullied reputation. You can quit, check out, and punch the time clock and leave. Some do
and some don’t. Look around. How many are running in no direction, but think they are? We are the
rebellious child of creation, kicked out of the garden of the beginning. Finding the truth through a maze of
illusions, trickery and deceptions, remains inherent in the strands of our wants. Clouds of con, sham and
ruse, hang over the passage of our trek. There is power in ourselves along the way. As we plow through the
thickness of resistance we feel the strength growing within. None can dissuade us. Only we can do that. We
can listen to those who think they know. In the process of not thinking for ourselves, we can be misled.
But, if we observe and pay attention to those who don’t know. Then there’s an opportunity to start to know.
Ideations behold perceptions and merge with observations to flow together. One gives way to the other in
sacrifice for the transformation to unfold. Such is the heroism and bravery of sacrifice.