Hermetic Reality
At any given moment, you have the fundamental power to alter the universe, because you created it. Your reality is not based upon your senses, but on your perceptions – which are completely subjective. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is reality. This is apparent in the differing multitudes of world views. If one person says the basis of reality is spirit, and another person says matter – they are both right. Their universe will be entirely subjective to their perspective. If I pray for health and I receive it, I can choose to accept this as a miracle, or as good luck. In the reality of my own universe, I am always right. Unfortunately, most people do not create their universe on their own, but take orders and cues from the culture they grow up in. Even though society has shaped most of your reality, you have the free will to change your reality into something better. Through conscious use of the will, you can change your perceptions, and by changing the way you perceive the world, you can change the world itself. The universe is one accommodating creature, and seems to provide confirmation to any paradigm one may choose to live in.
This connection between man and the cosmos is illustrated through the great hermetic maxim “What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is like that which is below: to accomplish the miracle of one thing.” “Below” is the awareness of self – the microcosm. “Above” is the external universe – the macrocosm. These two are alike, because they are created by one mind which perceives both of them. They both exist within your mind – you are the bridge that connects them. This includes your perception of the divine. Man was created in God’s image. They were both created within one mind, one consciousness, and therefore must follow the same rules and patterns.
Everything we perceive is real.
Anything we cannot perceive does not exist (not for us anyways!) This doesn't mean that we percieve all that exists, but if someone does not believe in spirit, they will find another way to explain a "spiritual experience" that fits their world view - so for them spirit doesn't exist (though for others it does). The deciding factor on your experience is the filter you create.
Think upon this Power within you which you may draw from without limit. It obeys, without exception, all thought, and records anything and everything imposed upon it. There is no instant at which you are not giving this Power one quality or another, and it is only through the knowledge that you have conscious control and manipulation of it will you begin to understand the possibilities of your own Creative Powers, and the responsibilities in the use of thought and feeling. This can be a frighteningly colossal responsibility, but it is the single most empowering responsibility as well, not to mention your whole reason for living! For thousands of years, great minds have been cultivating the skill necessary to use this power consciously, to better their lives, as well as steer the evolution of the planet in alignment with the will of the cosmos. This skill is the science and art of magick.
Culture shapes perception, and perception shapes reality. Gaining control of your own will and perceptions can help you change your own life, and through communication, you can then change the culture that once shaped you. Communication has the power to create change and create meaning. Meaning itself is only the imprint of energy exchanged – the impression or substance you receive from that energy – whether that energy is in a symbol, a sound, a word, or anything else. Alone, you can create a personal heaven. Together, we can create heaven on Earth.
Once, in a dream, I was shown a vision of heaven and of hell. First I had to witness hell. Everyone in hell was gathered around a large table, where a giant feast was laid out. The most amazing exotic foods were ready to be eaten, and everyone gathered at the table had giant forks instead of arms and hands. This seemed great at first, until I realized no one was eating. The forks were just barely too short to reach their mouths, and no matter how hard they tried, no one could feed themselves.
I then was allowed a glimpse of heaven. At first, the scene in heaven looked exactly the same- a great feast, with giant forks for arms- but there was one difference in heaven. Everybody fed each other, and no one was hungry.
The power of working together is greater than the sum of the individual parts.
~Travis 9-11-10
an excerpt from my book Creating the Universe