Magic, magic, and more magic…
by Bill HarrisNovember 14th, 2007
A response to all your comments about my last post about The Secret…
First of all, I do thank you for all your posted comments. I read them all, and I wish I had time to answer all the questions and respond to all the comments you made, but I just don’t. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to get all my other work done (and that work is designed to create more ways to help you grow). Hopefully, as I discuss development more deeply–we’ve just scratched the surface–all of this will become more clear and most of your questions will be answered.
I do answer a few of your comments below, though, so keep reading.
First, let me say that pretty much every negative or critical comment I read assumed something I didn’t say or mean, and then shot it down. There’s really no reason to defend against a criticism of something I didn’t say in the first place. I guess I have to get better at saying what I mean in a way that cannot be misunderstood. Before you rant about what I’ve posted, you might take a step back and ask yourself if I actually said what you are arguing against.
What I’m trying to say about the developmental process is really quite simple. Many, many researchers have found that people (and societies) move through developmental stages–cognitively, morally, spiritually, in terms of ego development, in terms of their values, and in many other ways. In each new stage, a person has a wider and more all-inclusive perspective, in which they see (and have conscious choice over) more than they could see or consciously choose at the previous stage. What they were immersed in before, they can see and exercise choice about from the new perspective.
In this sense, higher developmental stages are more resourceful, and they involve a greater ability to see other points of view, other perspectives. People move to a new and broader perspective, however, only when the old perspective doesn’t work. The environment changes, and to deal with it, they have to grow into a new way of thinking, acting, and seeing.
For those of you who cling to magical explanations of the world, life, and so forth, and who argue so strongly for your view–I wish you well. I don’t know what else to say. I’m not trying to get you to give up your point of view–UNLESS, of course, you’re having a hard time functioning well in the world. In that case, you might want to examine whether or not believing in magic is holding you back.
For those who assumed that by “not believing in magic” I was somehow offering a dry and lifeless view of things, where all the joy is gone from life (indicating that I’m a desperate and sour human being living in a tortured hell), all I can say is…WHAT? Are you kidding? Existence, being human, being in this universe, and all that goes with it is 1000% awe-inspiring, amazing, overwhelmingly incredible. The universe, once you get your IDEA of it–and your IDEA of who you are–out of the way, is entirely, infinitely love. And I don’t mean this metaphorically, I mean it literally, because that’s they way I experience it. I didn’t always experience it this way, but I certainly do now.
My world is one of bliss, and I invite all of you to jump in, because the water’s FINE.
And you can jump in. Keep using Holosync, and keep doing whatever else you’re doing to grow and expand your perspective. As you do, infinite love as the ground of reality will become more than just a lovely idea, I promise. You ARE infinite love, and you deserve to experience yourself as such.
Only your mind, and your ideas of who you are and what the world is, stands in the way. Stop confusing your ideas of who you are with the reality of who you are, and it happens.
In a metaphorical sense, you could say that the feeling of awe and love about being human in this universe is “magical”–if by magical you mean, ”delightful, awesome, joy-inspiring.” What I’ve been referring to, though, is something entirely different.
The kind of magic I’m down on involves thinking (or hoping) that the laws of nature can be suspended so you can have something you want but can’t figure out how to get, but without actually doing anything to generate it or deserve it. (Magical thinking with children is a bit different–it’s just a matter of not yet seeing how things work, such as thinking that the moon is following you as you ride along in a car, because that’s what it looks like to a child. They don’t know enough to realize this isn’t possible.) As someone said in their comment to me, magical thinking is all about “me” whereas post-conventional thinking (and beyond) is about “us”.
The idea that there is no such thing as something for nothing is the real meaning of the Law of Attraction–things are always balanced. You get back in equal measure, in one way or another, what you put out. Hoping to get something for nothing is a sign of magical, pre-conventional thinking.
A few of you referred to using “magic” to get parking spaces. I’ve parked my car thousands of times over the 41 years I’ve been driving. Somehow I always seem to get a parking spot. As I drive by all the other parked cars, I notice that those people also ended up with parking spots (there they are: parked). Amazing! (I think I can remember one time when I literally could not find a place to park–not because my mojo left me, but because all the spaces were full.)
So, when you’re looking for a paking spot, did all those people who already have one use magic to get it? Or were there just fewer spots than cars at that moment? And if you’re looking for a place to park (while you “put it out to the universe” that you’ll get one), do you finally find one because you used your mind to make someone’s car disappear from their spot, so you could have it? Does this seem a little bit me-oriented? Or maybe your call to the universe made someone leave their spot before they really wanted to, just so you could have it?
If this is what you think, this IS magical thinking (it’s also very self-centered thinking–should you have someone else’s spot just because you used the right magic charm?). Look, people, either there’s a spot available, or there isn’t. And, as anyone who drives can tell you, there nearly always there IS a spot, so finding one isn’t proof of magic. It’s the result of driving around until you find it.
Big sigh…
I could say something similar about “synchronicity,” the idea that it’s magic if you meet just the person you need at just the right time, or it’s magic if someone calls you just when you were thinking about them. There’s a very logical explanation for why you often meet the person you needed to meet, or why you find the resource you need, just when you need it. This happens because you had your attention focused on the need, or on finding such a person.
So, when you came across him (or her), he or she stood out like a sore thumb. If you hadn’t been looking, you’d have met the same person, but the meeting would have been unremarkable. As I said, focusing your attention on what you want alerts you to people and resources that might help you get it. This is just one example of how focusing your mind works to generate actions that lead to the result you want. Trust me, you would have run across the same people or things–you just would have overlooked them.
And when someone calls when you were thinking about them, this is a coincidence. Think of all the times you’re thinking about someone and they don’t call. You probably think of other people during the day hundreds of times, without receiving a call. Yet some of you jump on the times when someone coincidentally does call as “proof” of some sort of magical Vulcan mind-meld.
Another sigh…
If you’re counting on this type of magic to functionally get through your life, you’re not going to do too well. Look, the only reason I bring any of this up in the first place is that I get many letters from people who are madly “putting it out to the universe” and (of course) getting no results. They write to ask me why it isn’t working. These people are having trouble making money, getting a decent job, attracting friends, having a relationship that works, and so forth. It’s sad–and unnecessary–to live this way. Life does not need to be a struggle.
The real problem is that such people (for various reasons) haven’t learned the basics skills of the conventional level of development–the functional ways people use to get along in the world in the areas of job, money, social interaction, and so forth. Because they don’t know how to do these things very well, they are easy prey for the idea that magic will somehow get them what they want. But magic isn’t going to help, my friends, unless you want an occassional coincidence. What does work? Learning how to focus your mind on what you want, and then taking appropriate actions to get it–actions that create value.
Since I care about people who are stuck in this way, I just have to tell them that magic isn’t the solution.
But, as I’ve said, if you really want to give magical thinking a try, go for it.
This might be a good time to bring up another nuance on this whole subject of developmental levels and magic. Many of us see the limitations of rational thinking. This actually started with what is called The Enlightenment, which began in the 15th century. This “Age of Reason” supplanted the previous church-centered reasoning (which was, quite frankly, magical, or pre-rational, in most ways).
Here’s a good example of this type of pre-rational thinking. When it was discovered that Jupiter had seven moons (we now know that there are more than seven, but at this point only seven had been discovered), the pre-rational thought-leaders of that time responded with statements such as, “Well, of course there are seven moons. There are seven orifices in the human body, so it makes sense that Jupiter would also have seven moons.” This numerological view is a type of magical thinking, the idea being that the there is some magical reason for things to come in sevens.
This new Age of Reason began to find out many things about the world that had previously been explained by some sort of magic or otherwise assigned a pre-rational source or reason. This new rationalism was the beginning of the age of science, and this shift from pre-rational to rational was in many ways a very good thing for humanity. It brought modern technology, modern medicine, longer life-spans, better food production, and many other positive changes. The reason you have the time to read this (and that we can communicate at a distance like this), instead of having to till your fields from dawn until dark just to survive is one result of the Age of Reason.
But the Age of Reason wasn’t all moonbeams and rainbows. In suppressing pre-conventional views it also threw out the baby with the bath water. It decided that unless something could be empirically proven or seen, it didn’t exist.
Some of what couldn’t be seen was, indeed, magical nonsense, but not all. But, unless it could be backed up empirically, out it went. This meant, among other things, that the huge discoveries of Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist, Sufi, Christian, and Jewish mystics (to name just a few traditions) regarding internal states of awareness were seen as irrational fluff. This led to what some have called “Scientism”–an over-reliance on reason and empiricism.
So, today, we have a fairly large number of people who see themselves as post-rational, or post-conventional (”rational” and “conventional” are really names that refer to the same developmental level). These people see the limitations of rationality (some of these people also throw the rational baby out with the bathwater, though, just as the rational advocates threw the pre-conventional baby out with the bathwater earlier in history). Some of the limitations of rationality include, for instance, the post-rational observation that everything is situated in a cultural context, and that this context must be taken into account when looking at what seems to be empirically “real”–in other words, that all meaning is context-dependent.
Another is the realization that the internal dimension (thrown out for the most part by the rationalists), even though it cannot be seen in the same way as “the stuff out there” is still real–and valuable.
So, we have this group of people who see the limitations of rationality–they have moved to at least a post-conventional perspective (this, by the way, doesn’t mean that rationality is wrong–it means that it is partial, that it isn’t the whole story). At the same time we have a lot of people who are still at the pre-conventional stage. These people definitely don’t like rationality because it deconstructs their magical ways of looking at things. (These are the people, by the way, who are angry at me for telling you to give up believing in magic as a method of navigating the world. They love their magical perspective.)
Anyway, because both groups are anti-rational, they look similar, superficially, and are often confused with each other. This is called the pre-post fallacy, or sometimes the pre-trans fallacy. Seeing the limitations of rationality is not the same as being pre-rational, though the two at first glance look the same. When pre- and post- are confused, one of two things can happen. One possibility is that pre-rational magical thinking is elevated to some sort of “trans-rational glory” (as Ken Wilber puts it). Magic is seen as being more advanced that rationality, when it actually is not. Such people want to elevate “the ancient ways” as a solution to the problems of the world.
The other confusion is a reductionism, an explanation of actual, higher, trans-rational ways of seeing the universe as if they were all primitive magical baloney. This is the way most of science sees meditation and other trans-rational points of view. They don’t make the distinction between magical ways of seeing reality and POST-rational ways of seeing reality. One is a NO-rationality stance, while the other is a reality-PLUS stance (it sees the truths in rationality, but realizes that rationality is also limited in some ways).
The pre-/post- fallacy can be seen in social issues, too. During the Vietnam war, for instance, the rationalists (those at the conventional stage, with clear black and white thinking) were for the war. Of those who were against the war, some were looking at it from a post-conventional point of view, where certain principles about life and how countries should interact were more important than “killing those commies.” Others, though, were against the war because “nobody is going to tell me what to do” or “I’m not going to sacrifice my life to save Vietnam from Communism”–a me-centered, pre-conventional point of view (believe me, I know about this–I was one of them). Both groups were against the war, and from the outside it was difficult to tell them apart. These two groups were, though, against the war for very different reasons.
The same sort of confusion comes up with the abortion question. A pre-conventional person is okay with abortion because the only thing that’s important is their own needs. They’re interested in what they want, and the hell with anyone else (including an unborn baby)–a typical narcissistic view. The conventional person is against abortion because it takes a life, and their Truth says taking a life is wrong, and they see this as a purely black and white distinction, with no shades of gray (yes, I know that in other areas such people are fine with taking a life). The post-c0nventional person is, like the pre-conventional person, okay with abortion, but for a totally different reason: they believe that there are principles that transcend those cited by the conventional people. They aren’t, however, pro-abortion for selfish “me” reasons. Yet the two pro-abortion groups look, superficially, the same.
This pre-post fallacy will come up again as we delve more deeply into this treasure-trove of information about development and what it means to each of us.
Okay, on to something else:
A few people critcized me for “benefiting from” The Secret, yet being critical of it, as if this was a moral lapse on my part. In this way of thinking, if I was an actor in a bad movie, I should not give my honest opinion about it because I was paid to act in it. Of course, in this case, I wasn’t paid. We also aren’t selling copies of The Secret, so we aren’t benefiting in that way, either. And The Masters of the Secret course I created is FREE–and was designed to clarify and correct what I see as the deficiencies in the point of view expressed in The Secret, so you can benefit more.
My obligation is to you–to tell you the truth as I see it, and to teach you what I know about growing–emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I’m coming from an integral view, not a pre-conventional (selfish) view. Yes, more people came to Centerpointe because they heard about me in The Secret. We did “benefit” from that, though the real point is that the people who came to us benefited, as many of you have said in your posted comments.
Quite frankly (and some of you won’t believe this, because you don’t know what it’s like to be in my position), I really don’t care if I benefited. I have far, far more of everything than I’ll ever need and I don’t do things any more for whatever I might get–any more than you think all of the time about whether you’ll eat today or have a warm place to sleep tonight. Abraham Maslow (another developmental theorist) showed that once a need is met (his developmental work was about needs, hence the name “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”) you don’t really think about it anymore. I don’t need money, or anything else, so I think about serving. I serve as best I can, and what comes back to me, personally, takes care of itself.
And whether or not I benefited, I can’t help anyone if I’m not going to tell the truth, so I do.
If I were to do things that weren’t good for you in order to benefit myself, that would be an example of preconventional narcissism, an egocentric level of development. I’m not at such a level, and therefore don’t operate that way. Second, operating that way doesn’t create success. As I’ve been saying, pre-conventional methods don’t work very well in the world, so it would be stupid to operate that way, though many people do.
One of the main reasons for the success Centerpointe has enjoyed is that, first and foremost, I’m interested in how I can serve your needs. I learned long ago that my needs are automatically taken care of if I meet yours, so there’s no need for me to worry about that, or to operate without integrity, or to act in any sort of win-lose way.
So, yes, I was in The Secret. I don’t agree with some of what was said in it and some of what was omitted. So, whether or not I benefited in some way, I still have to be honest about what I think–which I do mainly for YOU. If I lied and said that everything in The Secret was great, then those who are struggling, and who need to know that you can’t just wait for the Wish Fairy to give you what you want, are harmed. If I remained silent and allowed that to happen, would that be a good thing?
Enough of that. Hopefully I’m not just wasting my breath (or the tips of my fingers, I guess). The point is that I care about all of you, and hope that in some small way what I share is helpful in making your life better.
Within the next several days, I hope to write something about cognitive development, based on the work of the great developmental theorist Jean Piaget. I think you’ll find it to be very interesting. Then perhaps we’ll go into moral development (based on the work of Lawrence Kohlberg), and then ego development (based on the work of Robert Kegan, Jane Lovinger, and Susanne Cook-Greuter), and then, who knows? As we look into these different lines of development, many things will become clear. This is a fascinating topic, so stay tuned.
Be well.
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November 14th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I did get an eyebrow raise out of the many different comments from the last post. This one made me smile. Well done.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I just attended the retreat in Austin. Bill discussed The Secret so well there, and the post he made on 11/14 is so dead right it’s scary.
I continue to take any parking place I can, grateful to park. I do not waste my mind or “find magic” in selfish behavior, or believing that I can “magically” attract.
My business success has been from “being smart and doing it right”. My emotional well being comes with what Holosync has helped me break through with.
The Secret is slick marketing of age old principles. You must deserve a law of attraction
November 14th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Bill
I saw the Secret and it was nice … like sugar but without substance.
I had two failed suicide attempts and was looking for substance … something that would convince me in my very down state, that there was more to life than the type of life I was living at the time.
Through the Secret, I came across your website and “The Masters of the Secret” then Holosync then your LPIP course and then Integral Life Practice Kit.
I am finding substance, I am finding understanding and I am gradually taking baby steps into life … not as I was before but as someone who is becoming more and more aware of the ‘me’ of my past and the ‘why’ I was like that and hen consciously deciding to choose a way of living my life that will get me the results I want.
This has definitely not been magically stuff for me. It has been long, hard and painful wading through all the sh*t and abuse of my life and coming to terms with it and how it has affected my life and my life choices. It is a process that I am still going through but have none the less benefited from … there was no magic here, or at least that I was aware of anyway.
I think you are an alright bloke Bill.
Thank you for sharing your wealth of experience and research with such enthusiasm, dedication and passion. I love reading all your articles and always get something of value from them. I look forward reading to all the articles to come.
Kind regards.
November 14th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Hi Bill
A soul-directed life - thy will be done…
Long-time user, first-time correspondent. I REALLY appreciate holosync and your writings, great food for thought and for the soul.
I first began holosync about 6 years ago and it has genuinely helped me out of a period of depression and an extended period of anger, blame, self-pity, and the seemingly endless cycle of repetitive thoughts and scenarios etc, etc. Thank you, you have really helped.
Accordingly, having made breakthroughs in forgiveness and the creation of new thought patterns over the last 5 or so years my life has changed dramatically. My consciouness has been raised, my mind and progressively my heart has openned. Consequently there came a crisis point (or points) where I had to let go of my will (my plans, visions, dreams, my SMART goals, and even my identity, etc) and allow myself to fall into the hands of god.
From your writings and material I gather you have been through similar stages yourself. Of course it’s traumatic as we resist, but then we move to acceptance and knowing that we are loved and safe.
As a result, my life has changed completely. I felt very clearly that I have a purpose and a path that is prepared for me. I know I am being guided and directed in my life. I know that I am being protected as well. It is not of my will though, it is THY will.
I don’t know how you explain this in developmental theory, I just know it is happening. Life is wonder full. The world is changing. We are loved. The more we can become this and reflect it in the world, the better for all of us.
With love and appreciation for your part in my awakening,
your brother
Raynard Harris
Melbourne
Australia
November 14th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Bill,
I like what you have done with your “The Masters of the Secret” series. I saw the movie and liked it, but I could not believe what they were saying completely. I was looking for more information about it when I found your “The Masters of the Secret” series. Hearing what you and your guests said about focusing your mind and taking action made a lot more sense to me.
I am one of the people who found Holosync because of “The Secret”. Finding Holosync was serendipity.
Thanks
November 14th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Bill,
I realize this is after I’ve released resistance to moving beyond some non resourceful belief my mind was anchored in.
Your comment “In each new stage, a person has a wider and more all-inclusive perspective, in which they see (and have conscious choice over) more than they could see or consciously choose at the previous stage,” is becoming my experience with Holosync meditation. It feels like magic
Reading the comments people post in your blog gives me an opportunity to explore empirical evidence (for myself) that I’ve moved beyond some belief (or not). I feel compassion and recognize the wisdom in letting go of the game of black vs. white. Your courage is deeply appreciated. Blog on!
November 14th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Hi Bill,
Thank you for another great post. I am glad that you are willing to take the time to read and respond to your comments. I remember the founders of NLP talking about ‘psychic’, or extrasensory development and how it was meaningless to them because they had not yet explored the range of the senses they had. Perhaps some of what appears magical is just the result of hard work cleaning up our existing equipment and refining the distinctions that we have available to us.
I also remember another comment, from a martial arts teacher when asked if this, ‘kung fu stuff’ really works. His answer was that, ‘none of it works but some of it may happen’. I took this to mean that if you put in enough practice, and then in your moment of need, if you are fortunate (or trained) enough to put your conscious mind out of the way, the unconscious mind will do what it knows how to do. I have certainly experienced this and it feels magical but is only magical in the same sense as Gary Player’s luck, (the more he practised, the luckier he got).
Thanks again, Bill
Richard
November 14th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Dear Bill,
thank you so much for this very clear explanation of all that has been the subject of your blogs so far.
Having read some of your previous comments, I, for one, and there are probably many others, misunderstood them in a negative way. Therefore I have actually spent several days questioning whether or not I have actually done the right thing by myself in using the Holosync program. I did start to question your integrity, for which I humbly apologize.
I have decided that whenever I start to feel this way,I have to remember why I started using Holosync in the first place. I must accept that there are still going to be times when other peoples negative comments are going to impact me in such a way that I might start to question everything I am doing.
Hopefully as I travel further into the program, other people’s comments will no longer have any effect on me at all. The LPIP course is certainly helping with clarity also.
So, having said my piece, I thank you for being patient with us all!!!
I am sure there are many other Holosync users who feel the same way, at least those who, like myself, are still in the early part of the program.
Thank you Bill……………………….Jan Guscott.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Hey Bill thanks for clearing up some magical thinking stuff. Better but still a bit dry. (I do wish for a parking spot..lol)
I love the idea of serving and your needs will be served, thanks I forgot! but you know you could be accused of magical thinking around the edges here.. thanks, you ARE helpful! Anne
November 14th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Hello Bill,
I am new to Centerpointe and Holosync (1 month) and have just started reading your blog and find your statements and information about human developement very refreshing and stimulating. I look forward to further episodes! I also find it very interesting how quickly people are willing to pass judgement on someone else’s persepctive and what that says about them! Keep up the great work.
John Buchanan
November 14th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
What’s all the commotion? It’s all so clear and easy and all this discussion makes it so complicated :-))
Great stuff Bill, thank you again.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Bill,
And the antics of the mind are slightly amusing, as it jumps up and down and twists this way and that, trying to get your attention and seduce you into the game. (OSHO)
~Chad
November 15th, 2007 at 12:52 am
Bravo! This is what I love about this Blog, you cannot see one post as the ANSWER (or secret), but you learn by continually learning as each post is written. Cannot wait for the future posts. Will always learn. Job well done Bill. Greetings from South Africa
November 15th, 2007 at 1:01 am
There is another side to your participation with the Secret. When I read the book and saw the video, I contemplated what it was telling me. I was surprised to see you participated in this project.
The reason for my surprise is because the Secret is merely a rehash of 20th century new age thought with a “kewl” marketing spin. In other words, it is filled with pre-conventional ideas.
But then, since I actively practice confirmation bias I decided not to hold the Secret against you … But, that is only because Holosync has proven a useful tool … and besides everybody, including smart guys like us, make the occasional mis-step.
November 15th, 2007 at 1:11 am
Thank you Bill for your insiteful comments and teaching. I am certain that your blog certainly offers a lot and is a great service to many, certainly to me. The level of discussion at this blog is certainly very high. I eargerly await more of your sharing.
To comment about your views about The Secret, in which your part was certainly a great one, I feel that most people appear to see what they have issues about - within themselves, in The Secret. I do not see it in any way as being for example too much on the for-material side as Shirmof teaches about that very well. I do not see it as being really magical as Jack Canfield clearly teaches about the need for taking action immediately, as well as Vitale as well as Doyle as well as you, Bill (you say…and he started doing this thing…….). And it is true, sometimes the only action we may take may only be receiving - which many people may not be interpreting as taking action.
I looked at The Secret as mainly teaching much more than what many people are seeing. For me, its greatest teachings are towards the end - about our oneness with other humans and everything; our being source-energy; our having the natural capacity to prove once and for all - contrary to what we have been and are still being taught or imprinted or inundated with - that the power within us is greater than the power that is in the world. This is of course in addition to us being let know by Neale that we need not feel guilty - there is no big, old, angry old man in the sky with a blackboard, eagerly waiting to punish us (the way I got it).
For an African, these teachings are extremely powerful, if allowed to take root. To use your terms, there is a preponderance of pre-rationalism and pre- conventionalism and conventionalism here, and I suspect that many of our troubles in Africa, could be due to that. We, for example were taught are and still being taught through various media and forms that we are less as human beings than others. And that it is evolutionary - DNA-tic, there is nothing we can do about it, except accept it (Watson). The Secret, lets people know that this is not true.
It also lets us know that we cannot change our circumstances without changing our thinking first; and also that we are here in Africa, what we are thinking about most. We are responsible for everything.
The gratitude-rock scene for example brought to light the power that our so-called with doctors use (our power within which we did not know). Morris Goodman’s and the Breast camcer scenes expose our religious people who advertise miracles within their churches and shrines as evidence of God-approval. Many hated The Secret and ridiculed The Secret and ensured that their congregations (the sheep) did not watch it (it is Satanic, God and Jesus are not in the fore, etc.,) as the people would awake.
Why many do not see that The secret may actually be about our being players and actors is this game of life, I understand, because I tend to take myself too seriously as well. If there is not Really an out-there and an in-here, does it matter anyway, what we choose to have, and the way we choose to believe we shall have it, if we can feel we do not want it because we feel like we already have it?
November 15th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Excellent article, Bill! You have the extraordinary ability to cut through all the muck and make things clear. Thank you!
November 15th, 2007 at 3:07 am
Hi Bill –
I’m using Holosync Awakening Level One everyday — the benefits are enormous and I can’t thank you enough for devoting your life to advancing this wonderful technology.
I too have been reading Ken Wilber’s integral philosophy and I think it’s a wonderful way to think about personal and social development — or the development of everything and anything, really.
That being said, there’s a few things you may want to consider.
(1) Ken Wilber’s definition, and consequently yours, of “magical thinking” is rather vague and not backed up by concrete examples. “Putting it out there” is seen as magical thinking, whereas “focusing your attention on what you want” is not. What’s the difference here? Intentionality and positive thinking as a step towards achieving goals seem more like common sense to me than “magical thinking.”
(2) I believe you are on record as endorsing The Sedona Method, which says that by simply “releasing” wants, (i.e., by simply and truly doing nothing, not even desiring), the objects of your desires will manifest in your life. Can you please reconcile that with your stated beliefs against magical thinking?
(3) You lump those who want to revive “ancient ways” into the magical thinking category. Does this mean that you don’t think shamanism is a legitimate pathway to transcendental consciousness? The main problem with equating shamanism with mere magic is that shamans are always judged by their effectiveness — they either heal their clients or not, so their journeys into altered states are always validated by empirical evidence that prove their practices aren’t mere hocus pocus. Shamans that don’t deliver results get the boot real quick. Also, the mystic paths within Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism are also “ancient ways” — are these magical thinking, or are you talking only about pagan mysticism?
(4) Where do you fit ESP and other paranormal abilities in your schema? Many ancient traditions have various kinds of oracles – and again, oracles can be validated empirically – they either accurately mirror you or they don’t, so it’s hard to label effective oracles as mere “magic.”
(5) It’s a mistake to conflate developmental stages with political beliefs. Not all conservatives are at the conventional stage of development, and not all liberals are at the pre- or post-conventional stages. One can have any set of political beliefs at any of the stages – a developmental stage describes the form, not the content, of consciousness. We all know narcissistic, dogmatic and visionary types on both sides of the aisle.
(6) I rather doubt, Bill, that you no longer care about your financial situation. While I appreciate that being wealthy allows you to concentrate more fully on how to serve others, I am sure that you, your business associates and financial advisors still keep an active interest in your balance sheets. Transcendental awareness requires that we acknowledge both the mundane and the sacred aspects of our lives.
(7) There are generally two types of grand overviews of human development – one is called “The Great Chain of Being” and the other is “The Fall.” The former posits that man is always on the road to progress, each developmental stage better than the last, whereas the latter premises that man is on the road to apocalypse, with each developmental stage worse than the last. There’s a great deal of evidence for both points of view; Ken Wilber is very biased towards the former point of view, and it results in a tendency to devalue early stages of development, not-withstanding his claims of “transcending and including” each stage. This is one of his most irritating habits.
A more intellectually balanced view would hold both types of overview in mind without judging one better than the other. Ken would probably say that my view is mere post-conventional “can’t we all get along” pluralism, but he’s wrong. First, to reach transcendental consciousness, once must “transcend and include” impartial pluralism as a pre-requisite; second, a truly transcendental view accepts all that is as it is, recognizing that there are advantages and disadvantages to everything; third, given the previous two statements, it becomes impossible to claim that “The Great Chain of Being” is better than “The Fall,” a concept which becomes even more clear when one realizes that the highest form of transcendental consciousness is nondual – because it acknowledges the unity of all, it doesn’t separate out good from bad, or progress from the apocalypse, or even pre-rational thinking from post-rational thinking, (although it is aware of the differences between these things [unlike the preconventional stages of development which don’t differentiate good from bad] and it accepts them all [unlike the conventional stages of development which deny the bad and thus makes things worse when the bad returns in the form of the shadow]). The inevitable conclusion, then, is that the highest forms of consciousness accept rather than reject magical thinking although they are not limited to or by it.
Look at it this way: are adults “better” than babies, and if so, should we throw them out? Of course not! Because babies are integral to adult development; if there are no babies, then there will be no adults. You may argue that that real question is whether adults should think like babies; the obvious answer is no, they should not, but a more subtle answer is that adults think like babies whether they want to or not because infantile desires (for security, for stimulation, etc.) are at the root of all adults’ rational thoughts. That observation, of course, was one of Freud’s great contributions to psychology. That means that if you eliminate “magical thinking,” then you eliminate everything that’s built upon it, including both rational and post-rational modes of thought.
Some may argue that transcendental consciousness replaces magical thinking with superior wisdom, but they are wrong; transcendental consciousness does not reject or remove anything, rather it accepts and adds everything, because its main behavior is awareness. All lower stages of development, including post-rational thought, lack some level of awareness and therefore produce behaviors that are lacking in some way. One of the features of these “lacking” behaviors is that they are always rejecting and separating things, through either unconscious denial or active suppression. (This is also true of the so-called “inclusive” pluralists, who ironically often reject and separate out anyone who does not ascribe to their “inclusive” philosophies.) This leads us to a final distinction: Perhaps the main feature of transcendental consciousness is that it is always including and joining things as its awareness is ever-expanding; nondual consciousness in its strictest sense, however, has no need to include everything simply because it IS everything – at this level, there’s no distinction between observer and observed, so awareness becomes pure beingness.
So this whole debate over “magical thinking” is rather false. If it seems that I argue in defense of magical thinking, it is only because it is an integral part of the whole, and transcendental consciousness is always concerned with awareness of the whole – and it is also with the reminder that magical thinking is only partial thinking and is therefore limited and should not be relied upon solely. My last comment on this subject is that wounds can happen to individuals at any stage of development, and the gravest wounds are those that occur at the “magical thinking” stage – these are people whose earliest wishes for the most basic things (for example, a mother’s touch) were denied, setting a life-long pattern of self-destructive wish-denial. A great many people in our society are now attempting to heal these early wounds by recovering their ability to think magically. From a strictly transcendental point of view, this is not inherently good or bad; it is bad if people use their need for healing to indulge in infantile behaviors, but it is good if they recover faith in the possibility of achieving their dreams. Because we are all interconnected and interdependent on each other for our happiness and safety, it is paramount that everyone develop faith in themselves at this most basic level.
The key, of course, is awareness, which is why your work is so wonderful; Holosync improves one’s ability to be the witness to one’s existence – to expand awareness of your own life so that you can take greater responsibility for fulfilling your wishes – in other words, for creating magic!
Namaste,
Anthony
November 15th, 2007 at 3:14 am
Hi Bill, thank you so much for the blog, I really enjoy reading your posts.
I love reading interesting stuff!
I also like that they are long
My question is: what do you think about the Silva Method (if you know it)? I would really be interested in your opinion, especially from this “magical-non magical thinking” aspect.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:55 am
Thank you for your insights, I found them informative and useful, and agree that people so easily get lost in magical thinking that leads nowhere useful for yourself or the world. However, I thought from a Ken Wilber perspective, the
developmental theory states that one transcends and includes the lower levels of development? Surely then there is some ‘magic’, even if there is a rational explanation for it.
For example, sometimes you do end up hearing from someone just when you’re trying to contact them, and perhaps that can be in part because of some kind of telepathic communication that can’t be fully explained, but does occur. I’m with you on the parking space one though! Although perhaps there’s no harm in playing with such magical thinking as long as you don’t take it too seriously!? Or perhaps it does just encourage egoic thinking that won’t take you anywhere in your development, so you may as well not go there. What about healing practices, the power of prayer and intention? In some sense are they not also at the risk of seeming ‘magical’, yet I do belief in their power to influence and create positive change.
Also you say you don’t care about how you benefit, then why do you send out so much advertisement? To benefit us by encouraging us to buy the next levels and increase our growth and development? Is this really the ONLY reason? Maybe it really is.
Yet on a personal level, I am happy with where I am now in my development from 7 years meditation and yoga practice. With an expanded awareness and open heart. A couple of years ago when I was rather unintergrated with spiritual practice (after a kundalini awakening which was quite unbalanced for a while), I was desperate to be more fully integrated and bought the first level of the programme. In the longer term I’m sure it helped, in the shorter term it was all too much (too many emotions, too spiritually imbalanced). Then whenever I got your advertisement, it actually caused me to feel a bit doubtful and to wonder what was best for me- whether to continue. Yet as the process unfolded, integration was happening naturally with the changes I was making in my life and I feel content with where I am and that evolution is happening naturally, so personally find the advertising a little much.
Saying this though, I am certain it is a wonderful personal development programme you have created, and that many people and the world does benefit enormously from it, and that if advertisement is only from a place of service then continue spreading the word.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:29 am
Thanks Bill, I enjoyed this post. I found your tone to be a bit gentler than it often is, more welcoming and more inclusive. I really appreciate that, it makes your essay much more readable and less polemic.
Magical thinking is a powerful drug and to break free of it often requires the same degree of commitment and honesty as any other addiction. Ken Wilber does a good job of synthesizing the various models of development especially through the cognitive line. I believe that another important lens for viewing where people are in their development is through the addiction model, mostly by asking “What am I addicted to?”
I’ve also made much use of your understanding of beliefs, of how they are malleable and even discardable, and that the most important question to ask is “Is this belief resourceful for me?” Uncovering and discovering my unconscious beliefs, bringing them into the full light of awareness has been empowering and very, very humbling.
Missing completely from the Secret and from most of the New Age material is any mention or understanding of what Jung called the shadow. Learning to recognize the personal, familial and cultural shadow is the very core of personal growth work. That is, you can tell when you’re doing important shadow stuff because of the resistance it brings up. Pushing through resistance takes work, commitment and regular practice.
That is the final piece of the puzzle that is missing in most new age presentations_ personal daily practice.
I’m really enjoying your blog (much better than Mind Chatter imho). thanks for sharing
November 15th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Hi Bill,
Great article (and subsequent dialogue from readers) above! I like your rational way of thinking and your classification of stages of development shed light on schools of thought. I am all over taking action in accordance with your thoughts, feelings, and goals, but I would also like a bit of verification from you about what you term as magical. I read that another reader thinks you may be dismissing various forms of mysticism, and I just wanted your thoughts on that. Quite frankly, it seems to me that the magical/mystical is what many strive for or attain at higher levels of the development of consciousness, so I’m experiencing a bit of confusion on that point. Any comments or clarification you could make would be amazing. Please keep up the good work!!
All the best to you,
Andy
November 15th, 2007 at 4:55 am
I would be really interested in having research references for all the research positing the various developmental cultural stages.
I saw the Secret and to be honest, one of the things that I struggled with the most was that many of the things ‘affirmed for’ struck me as profoundly materialistic, and I felt that I was being addressed as a prospective practitioner of a kind of consumer ’spirituality’. This impression was perhaps made more forceful by the reactions of those I watched it with, who were all affirming for what can only be described as items of relatively extravagent consumer wealth. I found this ethically uncomfortable in an age of such discrepant access to wealth in global terms. I was also troubled by the rather strange use, in this context, of pictures of children from developing nations looking happy and content - romanticised even. I have no doubt that children in developing nations do smile and have great joy, but I also have no doubt that at a structural level there are vast discrepancies between the ‘rich’ consumer West and the developing world and to be fair, I found the visual reference at best paradoxical, at worst manipulative, especailly in the context of the over all film and what it seemed to be promoting in terms of aspiration. This is not to say that all viewers of the film, or all teachers featured on the film, necessarily endorse such a version of the law of attraction… it is simply an observation on my experience of viewing the film - and yes - I know my view is perspectival!
November 15th, 2007 at 5:31 am
As a Holosync “grad,” I been following Bill and Ken Wilber
around for years and years. They are definately the good
guys.
However, now I am a student of Gurdjieff and Russell A. Smith (author of Gurdjieff: Cosmic Serets), and there is another system of development there that you should know about, and it does include laws of seven.
I won’t attempt to describe this body of work. It is esoteric and worthy of study for its own sake.
Aline
November 15th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Bill…Bill…Bill…. Well…Well…Well… I loved this last post. I have to say that the one before confronted my pre conventional thinking in a rather traumatic way. One part of my thinking is saying…what a load of crock he has lost the magic. But, another part was really listening. I had a week of not to pleasant sessions with my daily Holosync meditations as the load of crock brain was being challenged. This morning however, in my meditation I became aware of the life in my breath, this awarness then spread to my thoughts, my sense of self and then to my sense of oneness with everything. In this moment I saw that my magical thinking was not being supported by this state of being. It felt good and very safe to consciously let the need for magical thinking go…. Then this afternoon I get this email blog which after this morning makes perfect sense…. Wow… Now that is a coincidence…. huh…. LOL…. or was it magic….LOL…. Whether it be coincidence or the universe’s magic, the Secret was the best thing that has happened to me as it has led me to Holosync and your online course… I now have the opportunity to live my life in a much more meaningful way…. Thanks Bill… ‘Onya Mate’
Kara
November 15th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Hello Bill:
Once again I am trying to reach you to get a point across…
All great Leaders always allow
direct access to them…
For Example: Conrad Hilton read
every single complaint and compliment and responded to each and every one WHY?
Because he knew keeping in touch
with his clients was key to his company’s success…
Now I know its impossible for you to respond to each and every person’s e-mail, because of the share volume of requests, (thanks
for THE exponential factor of the (internet). But “you should” have your staff maybe 5 people read
each and every submittal, respond
to those that are mere questions,
and give you a summary of those
questions most intrigueing and also give you access to those comments which have some possible (Great Ideas) !
By (doing this) you remain focused
and grounded with your most valuable customer (ME) and all the other (me’s) out there….
Otherwise you will appear aloof
and distant to your customers!
Another comment: The secret
is nothing more than a plagerism
of an old old book written in the
1800’s Called: The Science of Getting Rich Wallace D. Wattles
So in closing Bill yes you must choose your words wisely when writting about your time or talking
about your empathy for your clients, WHY? Because E-mail is
(very impersonal), and whatever you put in words, the person reading your comments
(does not know )
your intentions or attitude are
positive or acid-negative
when you imply what
your trying to say….
In conclusiion: Keep in touch with
all your clients, (if you do) you will have- - -
- - buy-in from all your customers,
you will also establish
repeat loyal customers and “word of mouth”
NEW business!
The kind of business NO amount of advertising money (can) buy….
So Bill PLEASE
Remember this: Multiply
thyself when it comes to answering all your
customers e-mails, in other words follow the suggestion,
I have made at the beginning of this blog….
BE WELL ! BE SMART !
BE CONNECTED !
BEST REGARDS,
AL
November 15th, 2007 at 6:11 am
To the point. Nice read. Made me smile!
November 15th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Your piece about “The Secret” was very well put and I enjoyed reading your writing o what I was actually thinking about the subject.
One comment, I don’t think any of us who are Pro-Choice consider themselves Pro-Abortion.
Diane Gomez
November 15th, 2007 at 6:25 am
Hi Bill,
I’ve been following this issue since your three part article a few years ago and I have two questions. I get that I have to create value in my culture to make money, but am I, or is the culture, the arbitor of what is valuable?
Two if my goal is not money, but better health or a relationship, is there still a need to provide value to my collective?
Keep up the good work!
Mark
November 15th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Bill,
Good answer Nicely done.
Blessings,
Ivey
November 15th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Hello Bill and everyone who is passionate about Holosync and self transformation (EVOLUTION) !!! This is the 1st blog I have ever written but I am passionate about this subject. First of all I want to thank Bill from the bottom of my heart and soul for being frank and saying it like it is … THE TRUTH …. I loved the movie The Secret but agree with Bill 100%…there is no magic!!! read the book THE POWER OF THE SUBCONCIOUS MIND and you will fully understand that one has to ACT. There is NO MAGIC in this world only understanding the problem, finding the solution, facing it square on and then acting on it. To get a bit more lofty and spiritual about the question of MAGIC please refer to my favourite book and a book that has defined my belief system…. http://www.urantia.org. Evolution is what everything is about including the evolution of self and mind and some people just remain STUCK and don’t get it …. refer to paper (chapter) 85,86,87,88 and 89,90 in the URANTIA BOOK and it will surely dispel any belief in magic… and I quote page 973 of the BOOK “gradually science is removing the gambling element from life. But if modern methods of education should fail, there would be an almost immediate reversion to the primitive beliefs in magic. These supertstitions still linger in the minds of many so-called civilized people.” Bill is educating us, he is a Master Teacher. Listen to him. He is credible and knows whereof he speaks.!! The Secret led me to Bill and Holosync and I am eternally GRATEFUL for that but I DO NOT BELIEVE in New Age hoaxas poxas ….. Bill PLEASE continue to give us the TRUTH. I love you from a distance and hope to meet you in the flesh on one of the retreats….my next goal …..and I am ACTING on that to happen. Holosync and The Urantia BOOK are the core of my life and the TRUTH!!!!!! I drink your health Sygun ” the mad juice doctor.”
November 15th, 2007 at 7:10 am
Bill, I am so glad I got exactly (I think) what you were trying to say. I agree. Not that you need my agreement and I know why you don’t.
Thanks for all you do and share. And thanks for the validation - not that I needed it.
Brenda
November 15th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Bill, keep going, look forward to reading your Blog. Why do they call it that anyway?
You are responding to those who see the negative in your approach or words. Keep writing. I get what you are saying. I’m comforted in knowing that we are not alone in all our thoughts. there are reasons why we think the way we do. And you have presented us with some of those reasons. Our mind is unchartered territory. We travel though this territory with so many questions. Good to know there are some answers. Finally!!
This forum ” the blog” units us in thought. How powerful is this? You sit where you are and I sit where I am and there is a conversation going. WOW!!
Thanks for doing all the reasearch and summarizing for us, we have so much to do, we don’t or can’t take the time.
keep up the good work…….
Rosa
November 15th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Hi Bill,
thank you so much for your great work. I really enjoy the blog and am always thrilled when I get the update alerts cos’ I know that you will have profound and illuminating insights to offer. I ‘ve been using holosync for several months with great results, and I think the blog is a wonderful companion to my daily meditative practice.
In a funny kind of way, Centerpointe feels like extended family.
I look forward to hearing more from you in future.
love
Terry
London, England
November 15th, 2007 at 7:55 am
[…] Update 11/15: Bill continues… […]
November 15th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Thanks, Bill, for your inspiring words, which have helped me to clear up many of my own misconceptions and confusions. The theory of developmental stages is phenomenal because it is so integral. It helps me to piece together different aspects of my own experience, inner and outer.
Bill, I also appreciate you and all your work. If it were not for the vigorous and tireless support you have given through writing etc, I would have given up on Holosync a long time ago. Just like I’d given up before on other personal growth approaches, that started to create change and upheaval in my life. My way was to resist by giving up and searching for something else that could fulfill my magical need (a kind of unmet need) for an imagined bliss far away from earthly pain and torment.
Holosync has taught me that the way to growth is actually to face life in the here and now and by doing this, you can become stronger and more resourceful.
In fact, Bill, the help you have given me through Holosync and your support materials are invaluable, as there is such a mish mash of misguided information out there. I find your ideas really logical and they work, simply because you have lived it, you haven’t just intellectually come up with your theories, you are living it. I see you as an inspiration, and I hope to continue on my Holosync journey, to evolve.
Thanks again for your work, I do believe that you really are a friend helping me on my personal growth journey
Dave
November 15th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Hi Bill, thank you for these last two posts. I have heard all of The Masters of the Secret and found them enlightening–especially the key point about taking action. You see, our daughter has a brain injury do to complications at birth. From the beginning we have wanted a good life for her even if we were given only grim outlooks. For a long time all we had was faith, visualization, prayer. But in our hearts we knew this was not enough. Traditional therapies done a few times a week were not making any progress. And I think I began to hope that divine intervention would make her well. Needless to say I was depressed. But then we found the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential ( I was receptive to it when someone mentioned it). They are all about action-all day therapy done at home.) Now I feel like I am doing something for my daughter. And all it took was from Glenn Doman and his staff to focus on making Brain Injured children well and to work hard to finding the therapies that work as opposed to conventional thinking that says its a lost cause so why bother (most kids are booted out of traditional therapy when they fail to progress!) So I believe there is the good kind of Secret at work here… My daughter will benefit more from my ACTION than anything else. And my mind is still open to any other approaches that might help her as well. Just wanted to share from a different perspective. Thank you again.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Ahhh…magic. My grandmother would have told you that magic was coincidence run amuck. She was psychic and it bothered her no end that she could not come up with a satisfactory explanation for her abilities.
Me, I read/interpret tarot cards which are not magic either. They are a tool that, when in the hands of a good reader, can help people clarify and hopefully solve problems. (This is a fascinating hobby, not something I do for money.) I want the person asking the question to shuffle, cut the deck and tell me what the cards mean to them. I’m there to help them work out what it is they want to understand about their situations. Each reading is a co-operative effort, in other words. I am careful to explain that reading tarot is a combination of intuition, logic, and knowledge of the human condition. It is not, repeat not, magic.
Unfortunately, the questioner frequently asks that one question for which I have no current rational answer. How did these particular cards show up in these particular positions within the layout?
I’ve given up trying to explain it because it always sounds lame when you try to explain something you don’t understand yourself. Besides which my friends have seen it happen so often they just won’t buy co-incidence as the explanation.
So… I’ve had to compromise. I say well maybe, just maybe there is a bit of magic in the world. It pops up to delight you as unexpectedly as a gemstone in a tray of costume jewelry It can be as capricious, as cruel, as a cat and even less reliable. Do not, I say, live your life expecting magic to solve your problems.
But about psychics, I’ve known 3 real ones. My grandmother, my friend of 35 years, and a new age shop keeper in a town I visited on vacation. I walked into her shop to purchase a charm for my dog’s collar and she apologized for perhaps distressing me but she said felt she had to tell me a story. The story she told me mirrored my life and helped me solve a problem that had been worrying me for months. Since she had never met me and I hadn’t actually said anything to her, until I handed her the charm I wanted to purchase, I can’t understand how she could know what she apparently knew.
Can you explain how this sort of thing works?
Thanks,
Gina
November 15th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Bill this is absolutely awesome. When you take the “magical thinking” away from any explanation, life becomes even more magical…. aren’t you in absolute awe that things are the way the are, and that such a complex system as the universe is works in such perfect harmony!!!! When Einstein was asked if he would like to know one thing what would he like to know - I want to know God’s thoughts, he wanted to learn the underlying beauty of the principles that govern this amazingly complex system called life.
Bill this blog is great because it comes direct from your heart and soul, no editing, no nothing, straight from you, it is a plain/simple point of view from someone that has great knowledge to share…. keep them coming.
Thanks,
Alfonso
November 15th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Thank YOU-> Bill
I LOVE this blog and all these posts are awesome. I agree with Kyagulanyi that the level of discusion is high and very refreshing and appreciated. I love you all. I would be very intrigued to here your response to Anthony’s post.
I have always been looking for ways to change, grow and move forward or get off!. Through holosync and all your great comments, lectures and interviews I have been able to bounce around ideas and consciously choose what would best support me to move forward. I am always open to learning more and changing ideas when they no longer serve, but each stage has served a purpose, as a stone to help me move forward. Even when I thought it was a “magical stone” I laugh now. it still moved me.
I am forever grateful for your help with pushing my mind to new heights.
Keep up the good work.
ALL LOVE
Jessica
November 15th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I find this a very insightful and informative article written, in my very humble opinion, from a masculine, logical perspective.
Is that a problem? NO! Is it a valuable perspective? Yes, without a doubt. Comprehensive? I don’t think, but that’s just my perspective.
Nevertheless, all of this stuff (The Secret, The Law of Attraction, The Masters of the Secret) and the varying opinions and perspectives that blossom from these ideas are intended to be fun (and yes maybe even magical for some folks!).
So let us live in unconditional love, cease the debate and get back to the fun and — dare I say — magic of LIVING!
Peace & Blessings,
Jill
November 15th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Thank you so much for clearing up the “pre-trans fallacy” for me. That totally explains what I’ve been struggling with for so long. I’ve only just begun reading some of Ken Wilber’s work, and haven’t really gotten that far yet. However, it all makes perfect sense put into this context, how pre- and post-conventional can look similar from an objective perspective, but in reality are totally different, particularly in their intention. I was just never really able to get behind the self-serving wishcraft I was being fed, yet I definitely have experienced something bigger than myself acting upon my life. More accurately, I have come to better understand my true nature and how we are all connected. It’s too difficult to write about because I haven’t really sorted it all out in my head and heart. But it’s making more sense.
Thanks again. I also really appreciate this blog, as it gives me a relatively “safe” place to explore these things with others. Right now there are very few people in my life with whom I could discuss such things — they just would not “get” it. I love them anyway, and accept our differences, but sometimes it’s nice to at least talk virtually with others who share a common language (or pursuit).
November 15th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Thanks you. Everything well said, as before too.
One thing that does puzzle me at times is the “coincidence” idea. I’ve had so many “coincidences” at times in my life that were extremely unusual and yet helpful and meaningful… that I found myself smiling and saying… it was a “miracle” (in other words, something beyond my level of understanding…). What you shared about parking spaces and someone telephoning when you’ve thought of them, makes complete sense as you’ve described it… it’s just a coincidence or reasonable/statistical chance, but I’ve had some other experiences that at times in my life… have really given me a positive life that “Something” was “listening” to the needs of my life.
November 15th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Hi Bill
I agree that too much magical thinking can cause us suffering, but let’s own it as part of our self. The up side is that I wouldn’t have tried Holosync without a good dose of magical thinking. Can magical thinking manifest as something close to hope? Holosync is way different than I thought it would be and way better.
Keep asking the questions Bill, who knows what we might discover. Great comments folks…beautiful thinking!
Regards,
Margaret
November 15th, 2007 at 9:31 am
I’ve skimmed through a number of the comments since the creation of this blog. Have been a Holosync user since July’07 (faithfully). I love the comments, get worked up, agree, disagree, gets me thinking…find myself reacting emotionally to your (and others’) comments usually with some level of passion … sometimes in a positive? (relative term) and other times in a negative? fashion. Bottom line is…I turned to Holosync because MY LIFE WAS NOT WORKING
November 15th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Dear Bill - you have a well of insights and wisdom to offer and you excel at it. Let’s move on until the next “The Secret” in the makings is coming out.
Louise
Made of Steel, Build to Last
November 15th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Great stuff! Focus on what you want and take action.
“Learning how to focus your mind on what you want, and then taking appropriate actions to get it–actions that create value.”
November 15th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Anthony–Good insight . . . thanks.
Re. Anna’s comments:
“one of the things that I struggled with the most was that many of the things ‘affirmed for’ struck me as profoundly materialistic, and I felt that I was being addressed as a prospective practitioner of a kind of consumer ’spirituality’. This impression was perhaps made more forceful by the reactions of those I watched it with, who were all affirming for what can only be described as items of relatively extravagent consumer wealth. I found this ethically uncomfortable in an age of such discrepant access to wealth in global terms.”
I think it’s important to recognize two things in this regard:
1. Prosperity of any kind is not zero-sum, i.e., that if I have mine it’s at someone else’s expense. Prosperity is abundant in all its forms.
2. You can’t help fulfill someone’s spiritual needs if they’re starving. Once they have food, clothing, and shelter, their demand for these declines and their other needs and wants increase. Therefore, if you want to help people who have basic needs deficits, increase your material abundance so you know how to guide them accordingly (you can’t teach effectively what you haven’t done).
Re. Rosa’s question: “Blog” is short for “web log,” i.e., interactive journal.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Hi Bill,
I always enjoy your thoughtful insights.
The thoughts that come to me when I think about the subject of “magic” are of some guy pulling a rabbit out of a hat, or with empty hands, pulling a coin from behind your ear or some such thing. The point of all this is, it isn’t really magic. It appears to be so, but once we understand and know how it is all done, the mystery is gone and we can see clearly there is no magic to it at all.
That is the same way with awakening into a greater awareness of life and our experience in it. Because, at some early stage, we didn’t understand and or know how it came to be, we thought of it as magic. When we finally came to realize what was really happening, the mystery and magic went away and was replaced with a realization of how it really is, and how it really is done.
The one thing that I found out about learning how to do tricks or magic, was it took the fun out of it, it took the mystery our of it. It was an, “Oh I know how that is done,” and with that the mystery I enjoyed was gone relative to that trick. It seems to me, this (the mystery,) might be something people who defend the “magical” perspective may enjoy and don’t want to loose. My answer to that is this, Yes, you grow, you learn, and you understand how things work as you go through your life journey, and the mystery associated with those things vanishes and is replaced with knowing and clarity. The thing is, there will always be something else for you to realize the joy of discovery, uncovering the mystery of, so as we continue to move through life, we can continually be delighted and find other things that are mysterious to us.
Part of the joy of life is the uncovering, the discovery of the unknown. I assure you, there will always be something to uncover, something to discover, IF that is what you want and enjoy because there is no end.
There is no end to it all, but this is the end of this post
Best regards,
Jerry
November 15th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Hi Bill and all,
I think we each have our own understanding of the word magic due to our experiences in this life and in past lives.
I also wanted to point out that you are presenting your own political points of view and calling them post-conventional. So you are telling me that if I continue to evolve, it will be OK to let the bad guys destroy the planet. I guess we are to serve but not protect.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hi Bill,
Thank you for clarifying the magical or coincidental approach of life. I apologyze for my short view of mind.
Could you could make some comments of the law of atracction and cause and effect. In my experience good atracts good and v.s.
Is that is coincidence too?
Regards,
Arun
November 15th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I agree that developmental theories are fascinating, although back in nursing school when we had to learn them for tests I was not too jazzed about it. But then I was at a lower developmental level than I an at age 62. Way more conventional. I find developmental theory especially fascinating because of my two children who are 4.5 years apart, the youngest (the girl) is and always has been way more developmentally advanced than the older (the boy). They are both adopted and not related to each other. I’m wondering if it is typical that women as a group tend to be more developmentally advanced than men, all else being equal? Would you care to comment on this idea/
November 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Hi Bill,
I am one of your client that came from The Secret. I am very intuitive and felt that I needed to check you out. It took me 3 weeks of listening to the demo before I decided to order the Prologue. I am now at the first level and paying the price on the physical and emotional level. I would not trade this for anything. It is not always pleasant but I know where I am going and I am very grateful that you are there even if you make tonnes of money. You payed the price and you are showing us the way.
Thank You very much.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Thank you so much for offering these in-depth discussions on development. I have just re-committed to using the Holosync CDs because it makes so much sense to me that they are helpful. The Blog is really helping me see whole new dimensions to my resistance to transforming my life for the better, and anything that might be magical! (I ordered Holosync and began using it in April and May. Then put it aside when serious health problems came up.) With that behind me I am truly looking forward to continuous Holosync practice. I was raised an atheist; however, my scientist Father taught me to be curious about the brain and its capacity. I have dwelled in the pre-rational life, slammed the door on it and anything else that smelled of “New Age” for years; then surrendered to my curiousity about The Secret which lead me to you and Centerpointe. I am hungry for an authentic and happy life; and for the knowledge you so generously share.
Much Gratitude,
Susan Gafvert
Rehoboth Beach, DE
November 15th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
A while back I wrote an article through my site, a “pre-blog” e-zine article about this topic. Here’s a quote:
~~~~
The Metaphor of the Spiral Staircase
The reason things seem stuck and challenging, by the bye, is contained in yet another metaphor - the spiral staircase.
If you can let go of the western idea of higher=better, what you see is that, on a ’spiral staircase,’ the path returns upon itself. You’ll quickly see that the path of meaning means “same issues, different perspective.” Add in Wilber’s “transcend / include,” and you see that, with each circuit, you bring along (include) what came before, while at the same time, you approach the issue from a more “enlightened” and therefore transcended perspective. (”both / and” vs. “either /or”)
In other words, your issues are your issues are your issues, until you die.
How you deal with them is entirely optional.
A New Way of Seeing
In order to begin conquering the stressors connected with personal development, you have to let go of the western idea that there is a “good, better, best” hierarchy when approaching your own growth. You must move past the notion that “up” is somehow better than “down.”
Please, tell me I don’t have to list all of the judgements and dichotomies within the language, (i.e. higher/lower, right/wrong, good/bad, etc. ) My point is that black/white, dichotomy thinking is deadly. If you can’t let go of judging yourself on the basis of whom you are “better” than, you are well and truly doomed.
I tell clients that they have only one or two issues – and that these issues re-occur with different “faces” – i.e. a relationship issue with parents will re-play with a lover/spouse, and will replay with teachers, and ultimately with our relationship with the Ground of our Being.
Thus, the wise person confronts their issue each time the issue arises, (no matter what the guise or “level,” as opposed to whining about it showing up again.
This is the point of the spiral staircase analogy. Stuff re-occurs. What may change is my perspective.
The whole article: http://www.phoenixcentre.com/features/conscious/spiral.htm
~~~~
Bill, as to your paragraph of trying to write more clearly, I suspect Scott Peck was correct, in “The Different Drum. He posited 4 developmental stages for all aspects of life: chaos, fundamentalism, doubt and mysticism. He said that is was difficult to talk “two categories down,” as it seemed to him that the usage (languaging) gap was to large to bridge. He used this example:
fundamentalists might say, “xxx saves me,” whereas mystics might say, “xxx is a good role model for my walk.” Not going to be much dialog there…
A personal note re. writing: My last book came out in 05, and a couple of friends commented that my next book should be easier to understand - “more for the person in the street.” I asked them: But did YOU understand it?” Both replied, “Yes! It’s the easiest read ever!”
Hmm….
November 15th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Hi Bill,
Keep up the good work! You can’t imagine how much I enjoy this blog and it’s so helpful to me making these things clear. Can’t wait to read your next post
November 15th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Bill,
Your discussion of Maslow/Wilber’s (et al) developmental stages theory is one of the clearest yet. Thanks.
Another way of viewing “magical” thinking has to do with the simplest definition I ever heard of the idea of “magic”; Anything that is beyond my understanding/level of comprehension seems ‘magical’. My (and maybe yours?) conscious and unconscious intentions/projections onto the Kosmos often seem to result in unexplainable effects. At each developmental stage, I seek to understand what my relationship is with the Kosmos. The cool thing is that the answers at each stage are right - until they don’t work for me anymore - and I either crash and burn, or experience a transformation of awareness.
Wilber’s Theory, for me anyway, have helped to increase my personal comprehension of the Kosmos’ inner workings. Curiously, the more I know, the more incredibly “magical” the universe becomes. The fun part is there doesn’t seem to be any end point; the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
With regard to the ‘Parking Spot’, I had a bit of discussion with a teacher from Cayce’s foundation, on the very subject, nearly 20 years ago. I’ve had a long time to ‘chew’ on it, so-to-speak.
Here is my opinion: Focusing on achieving a good parking spot is a practical use of one’s abilities. The trade-off, if there is one, is for me to be willing to accept changes in my time line in order to achieve my goal.
For example (I’ve had multiple personal experiences with this scenario), if I know that I am taking the kids to the mall, I begin a process of envisioning and safe, easy trip that includes a close parking spot. I have a practical reason; managing 5+ kids through a mall parking lot can be like herding cats. Therefore, I intend to park close. However, I also know that in order for that to occur, my timing has to be just such that I will arrive in that aisle at the time that another patron is leaving. It isn’t coincidence for me - it is timing. I *know* that there are people leaving close spots regularly. So I am willing to be sensitive to flexible actions during my trip to the mall - traffic changes, alternate route, etc. Sometimes I am even patient in waiting for the girls to _finally_ be ready to go. I know the priorities I have set; certain time of leaving, safe travel, close spot, etc. In my mind, they have priorities and I know the flexibilities I will allow. I *know* what I am doing. And I’ve done it. As have several of my friends. In fact, one friend isn’t allowed to drive to dinner because he never does it and rarely gets a good spot.
Now, I have to acknowledge your first point - you didn’t say ‘close’ parking spot or ‘good’ parking spot. I am - in effect - responding to an argument you didn’t make. I am knocking down a straw man, as it were. But if your response was truly about a ‘parking spot’, with no reference to it’s desirability, then I believe you were being disingenuous. That benefits no one. I hope you weren’t doing that. My hope that you were being short on your reply in order to lead into your further comments regarding pre and post conventional states of belief. In that context those are good comments.
But I believe you are wiser and broader than those comment indicate.
Thanks for creating, reading, and writing.
November 15th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Hi Bill,
As several others have noted (asked?): do you put psychic abilities and prayer into the realm of “magic”?
The power of prayer is a scientific, documented fact. As for psychic abilities, it is unfortunately a haven for charlatans and worse who prey on the fears of the unwitting. However, if you’ve ever been in the company of one who truly has “the gift” you don’t doubt its existence. I’ve been lucky enough to meet several in this lifetime.
I agree totally that “magic” won’t make your life better all by itself without any input/work on your (my) part. But hard work and a little bit of intuition and the occasional “angel moment” has led me to a very joyous – including prosperous – life.
Perhaps it all depends on your definition of “magic”? Perhaps you would care to clarify yours in light of these discussions…
Thanks for putting yourself and your beliefs out there for our thought, discussion and ultimately, enlightenment.
November 15th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
It occurs to me that pretty much anyone who can even CONSIDER — let alone understand — some of the developmentally advanced viewpoints expressed here must surely be at least in or moving rapidly toward the post-rational/post-conventional stage. Almost by defintion, would that not be the case for anyone attempting to do serious self-growth? I would think that those at the “lower” levels would not even consider such a thing until their current belief system ceased working for them. Then, as explained by chaos theory and the law of entropy (as expressed as the reason why Holosync works), once the old ways no longer work, the system must reorganize at a higher level or cease to exist.
So, it seems to me that anyone who is consciously on this journey is inherently already at or beyond a post-conventional stage (or at very least in the chaos that precedes the reorganization on the way to post-conventional) by the simple fact that they (we) are even able to entertain the possibilities of things discussed here, or that personal growth is anything other than “hogwash” (which I would think would be the belief of someone solidly in the conventional). The major differences, then, come down to how much of the previous stages we continue to try to hold onto and integrate into this higher level, and how much additional information we have begun to acquire so as to be able to put words to newer levels of belief and functioning. Moving forward, there is also of course the experiential component — it’s impossible to truly understand the concept of “enlightment”, for instance, without ever having the experience of it. Without the experience under one’s belt, it’s just an abstract idea that we will either choose to believe or not. But the fact that one can even MAKE the choice to believe it exists would, I should think, put them in the post-conventional stage, right? If so, doesn’t that broadly apply to most everyone here?
Does that make sense? The four basic stages are quite broad. If we think of it as an ascending linear process (which it isn’t, but it makes it easier to talk about), then there are an infinite number of points along the continuum at which we would choose to include or exclude an infinite number of beliefs that came before. The idea that there’s a neat little “box” for each stage that everyone must fit into is not really my idea of integration (nor is it what I think Bill is saying).
Is it that it really comes down to awarenes and conscious choice? If one’s default mechanism is to rely on magical thinking, that’s one thing, and is probably not going to be very resourceful in the long run. “Luck”, or coincidence, will only take a person so far. However, if someone consciously makes a CHOICE to say “what the hell — I guess it can’t hurt to wish” but still couples that with appropriate action and education, and is fully aware that they are making the choice to ALSO indulge in a “lower” level of magical thinking because it’s fun (or feels safe, or whatever), that’s something else entirely. Perhaps as one continues deeper into the realm of the post-conventional — and certainly when into the transcendant — the thought of even making such a choice would no longer occur to you. But it seems to me that as long as it’s a choice, it can still be part of the post-conventional, albeit with a (un)healthy helping of pre-rational thrown in!
Or am I conflating developmental levels with intelligence? This is where I get confused, I think. On one hand, I believe that experience of the Divine (for lack of a better word) can happen regardless of intellect. On the other, it seems like a lot of what it takes to understand the higher levels of consciousness also has to do with how much a person can learn and understand intellectually. Then, of course, to transcend it.
Wow…so much to absorb!
November 15th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Hey Bill,
You do good work. Service is pretty much all that is left. How can I make myself more resourceful to improve my ability to serve, is my daily question.
My hat is off to your efforts to give “advice” I think of my Granny’s words, ‘wise men don’t need it and fools won’t heed it’. Any yet you keep at it!
Thanks,
November 15th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
hooray for you Bill,
I told a friend about Centerpointe, and they researched it and came back and said that your marketing pitches were constant and that when you subscribed you got bombarded with marketing materials to get you to purchase more stuff. What a shame, I thought. I love your marketing materials, and admire that you have it down to a science. Your desire to help people has come throught loud and clear to me, I have have no problem with you making as much money as you possibly can. I think money comes when you help people. You have helped me. Thank you
November 15th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Geeze Bill, after reading your article and all the comments, my question seems so insignificant!
I was just wondering how your day was going!
But since we’re on the subject of magic, there are only two times in my life that I experience any type of magic:
1) The look of love I get from my grandchildren…
2) The look I get from my slightly dementia laden dad whenever I tell him:
“I didn’t invent the napkin but I do encourage their use”!
Love and laughter are the only true forms of magic in my world, all the rest are just parlor tricks, fun to watch but you know your being tricked… well unless your my slightly dementia laden dad and you tell him he’s drooling, he’ll wipe his chin for a good twenty minutes until you tell him your were just kidding then he laughs for a good twenty minutes!
Seeing him still able to laugh is magic both to him and to me.
So if some of your readers insist on believing in magic, then tell them to go out there and give someone enough love that you see it come back to you in THEIR eyes!
That’s magic!
November 15th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Bill,
I always enjoy your comments and insight. I always agree and see your frame and I often also consider what if we had different definitions of nominalizations like “magical thinking”? I sometimes wonder if the models and methods I use would be consider ‘magical thinking’ by you and others and yet I always comfort myself by reminding myself in the model I’m working with at present I’m not concerned with is it “magical or rational or logical thinking”, I see the model I use as results (solutions) thinking. I’m talking results now in the present not months or years down the road.
I just as easily understand the model that you and Ken Wilber present and yet some of the tools and techniques I use that actually help people have the experience of the stages/levels that are in your model may be considered “magical thinking”, as a flash light seems magical to any tribe of people in a remote area who are unfamiliar with electricity, batteries and light bulbs. The difference is what would it feel like to actually be able to experience instead of intellectualize the model you present. That is the value of Holosync and Wilber’s Kit as I see it.
Using something like Spiritual Technology to integrate/align one’s first set of charges/polarities may sound like magic and yet it follows a specific structure all the way through and the results speak more to it being magical thinking or not as they are noticeable now and they made the experience of Holosync or Integral Life System work faster and quicker.
When I or others take someone with a physical issue and in less than 30 minutes correct it, the explanation can seem like magical thinking just because it is using a Quantum Physics model vs a Newtonian Model and the expanded model allows for particular beliefs and expectations that get what most consider miracles.
Again, for me the results determine magical thinking or not. I realize that Quantum and Newtonian models can be placed in more than one of your developmental levels and yet I find it interesting that what a higher developmental level may consider rational (non-magical thinking) to a lower developmental level the non-magical thinking of a higher (or different) developmental level can be considered magical thinking.
Your assessment of “The Secret” has much validity and your explanation of what is missing is a solid one, not the only one and yet it is a solid one. Originally ‘The Secret’ was supposed to be a TV show about and based on the work of Jerry and Ester Hicks and their channeling of Abraham and what was being put forth in their work. A whole Art of Allowing cruise was filmed with lots of one on one interviews with Jerry, Ester, Abraham and others on the cruise.
However, Rhonda’s vision/desire went through some refining as she was putting the project together and now in the latest version, the one where you are still in. Ester Hicks and Abraham have been edited out and there is zero mention of them, their work or any of what started the whole ‘The Secret’ Project.
Also, the real Secret was edited out of ‘The Secret’ and that is one of the major reasons different folks have had to come out with further explanations such as your Masters of the Secret course, etc. Your Life course teaches ways to actually get the real secret that uses the Law that has been called a secret.
The real Secret as research has shown was edited out of Napoleon Hill’s classic “Think and Grow Rich”. (In the unabridged manuscript of Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” the hidden secret that he refers to 24 times in the book that isn’t in the book and the Secret and was written and the key words and phrases that were edited out of Napoleon Hill’s work and out of Abraham’s contribution to ‘The Secret” is “vibration and vibrational relativity”.
It lines up with Quantum Physics and I like to say it like this, It isn’t that Action is necessary, it is that action is inevitable when one’s thinking and feelings (VAK) are aligned going in the same dire