Mentalism
Posted on | November 16, 2008 | No Comments
Mentalism
The principle of mentalism explains that all the phenomenal world or universe is simply a Mental Creation of “THE ALL, subject to the laws of Created Things,” and that “the universe, as a whole, and in its parts or units, has its existence in the Mind of THE ALL, in which Mind we ‘live and move and have our being.’” To any student of spirituality or comparative religion, this idea will be familiar.
The universe is the result of conscious creation, explained however you want to explain it. It really doesn’t matter whether you think the world was created in 7 literal days as documented in Genesis, or if you believe creation happened over a period of long years of adaptation and evolution toward specific results. Creation still happens. Creation still takes something called “thought” either conscious or subconscious, spiritual or physical. I’m not the first to equate this with the concepts of quantum physics that teach us to understand all possibilities exist at once and that it takes an observer (some mental action) to manifest one of the potential states of being. Whatever your religion or even in the lack of religion, all can agree that creation of something from nothing, or something from nothing-much, is a magical event, and is worthy of the label “spirit.”
Tags: attraction > Creativity > kybalion > mentalism
Secret #2: You have the power to Create.
Posted on | November 15, 2008 | No Comments
Secret #2: You have the power to Create.
First published for public audiences in 1912, The Kybalion is the most powerful (yet one of the shortest and most accessible – see my book recommendation widget at the right of this page) book of creative principles and esoteric knowledge I’ve ever read. And, I’ve read hundreds esoteric books. Citing an ancient, very secret book or oral tradition, The Kybalion is dedicated to Hermes Trismegistus, thought to be the greatest teacher of ancient Egypt and the founder of secret, “occult” (which simply means “secret”) teachings.
Why does this book stand out? First, because it is very short and doesn’t take long to digest. It’s kind of like the Tao Te Ching in that it takes only a little time to read, but will take a lifetime to master. Second, because it boils things down into only seven key principles. Our short-term memory can hold between 5 and 9 items. Seven seems to be my maximum. I can recall a principle from this short list in an instant when a situation comes up in my life, so having just seven items on the list makes the list very memorable and useable to me.
Two of my favorite sayings from the book are “When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them with wisdom.” And, “The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of the Understanding.”
These rules have certainly been true in my life. Whenever I’ve needed a teacher or a mentor, that person has shown up in my life, and I’m honest enough to realize that many times I would not have even liked the person, much less been in a place to learn from the person if she would have shown up a moment earlier. The same is true in my law practice. In the early stages of a lawyer-client relationship, I am usually in the role of the “teacher.” Often I have the pleasure of reversing, or at least balancing this relationship over time, but I can tell right away when a new client has the “ears of Understanding.” By the time most people come to a lawyer, except in the case of receiving notice of a lawsuit, they are in a place of actively seeking counsel and so I’m happy to give that counsel. Other times, people are obviously not in a place to listen to what I (or anyone else) will say, so in those cases, I just keep quiet and listen. When the time is right, and they are ready to hear and understand, I’ll communicate my thoughts on the matter.
The core of the book explains “The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the Magic Key before whose touch all Doors of the Temple fly open.” As a Freemason, I’m familiar with the concept of the “Doors of the Temple” being another way of saying “the path to wisdom.” We are all seeking “truth” and the “Doors of the Temple” are nothing less than a happy and successful life, consciously lived.
The Principles are:
1. The Principle of Mentalism
2. The Principle of Correspondence
3. The Principle of Vibration
4. The Principle of Polarity
5. The Principle of Rhythm
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect
7. The Principle of Gender
I’ll not reprint the book, but each of these principles deserves some attention now, so that you will have a foundation upon which to base the references made to these principles throughout the remainder of the book.
Secret #1: We are here to create.
Posted on | November 14, 2008 | No Comments
Secret #1: We are here to create.
Life is about allowing creation to flow from the field of spirit into physical existence. Some people call this the “quantum field,” or the “zero point field,” others call that field of spirit the “Tao,” “the Great Architect of the Universe,” or simply “God.” To do this one must understand certain metaphysical and spiritual principles that govern the world and the creative process. But understanding isn’t enough in our secular society. In addition to the spiritual and metaphysical principles, one must also master the rules of business and become familiar with the laws of intellectual property. It’s hard enough to come up with or recognize a great idea, but to make that idea manifest and successful in the physical world takes mastery of both sides on the spiritual and metaphysical divide.
This series of posts will help you become adept on both planes. We’ll discuss why we create, how we create, and what we do to balance the sharing and protection of our creative product.
Ask 100 people and I’ll bet you’ll hear 100 different answers to the question “why create?” Some will say they feel a calling. Some will say it gives them joy. Some will say they can’t avoid being creative. Still others will say it’s how they make a living. When you reduce all those answers to their essence, you will find a spiritual motivation. Humans create because it is our purpose on Earth, in this lifetime, now. There is a divine spark every human fueled ONLY through creativity. It’s the driving purpose in each human life to fan that spark into a roaring flame – to co-create with God the world in which we live. Hopefully, we’re filling the world with better things, experiences, products, services, and people.
We create. We co-create. But no creation happens in a purely human experience. There is always a touch, glimpse, or feeling of something greater coming into the world through our creativity. There’s a great story about a garden in an inner city that was a trash heap until one man sought to transform the area. This man turned ugliness into beauty. One day a priest walked by and said “Bless the work God has done here.” To which the gardener responded, “Yes, God had truly done miraculous things in this place, but you should have seen it when he had the whole thing to himself.”
Nothing happens in the lives of humans that has not been co-created by ourselves or Nature in connection with the almighty Maker.
This idea is not new. It’s at the core of every spiritual tradition. For example:
• Christ said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
– Matthew 5: 14-16
• Solomon wrote, “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.”
– Proverbs 16:9
• The Tao says in Chapter Forty Two:
“The Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.”
What does all this have to do with a book about creativity?
Everything.
Humans have always created. First we created more humans. We created small communities and the infrastructure to sustain those communities. When we had successfully mastered the arts of mere survival and needed more advanced creative challenges, we created tools, language, writing, methods of transportation and building, advanced rituals, and the arts of storytelling. We continue to challenge ourselves by creating and solving more advanced problems. Creativity is so engrained in our lives that it’s very easy to lose our consciousness of the process. In fact, this loss of awareness is at the core of many of the problems of today. We create “lack” when we create systems that operate on a model of scarcity or hyperactive competition.
We create paintings, songs, plays, performances, dances, comedy routines, poems, books, rituals, businesses, and babies. If we are consciously fueling our sparks of divinity, these creations can’t help but advance our culture. When we are unconscious of what we’re creating, there’s a good chance we’re creating entropy, or destructive outcomes.
How do we gain or regain the conscious awareness of our creative power? By simplifying our approach and engaging in each step of the process mindfully. It’s not easy. It takes work and stillness in equal measure, and stillness is an ability often lost in the “advanced” world. Stillness wasn’t appreciated during the enlightenment or ennobled by the Protestant Work Ethic. Stillness wasn’t encouraged as a value in my Iowa farm-boy childhood. Stillness wasn’t even offered as creative methodology in my fine art undergraduate degree programming. Perhaps this lack of conscious stillness can be attributed to its relatively short, but un-proportionate importance in the creative process.
Before Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich, before Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, before all the business gurus and self-help coaches, before What the Bleep Do We Know, and The Secret; there was a little book that summarized the great thinking of the ancient masters of the Western Hermetic tradition, and incorporated the foundation tenets of the Eastern traditions of Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism at the same time. Titled The Kybalion and authored anonymously by “The Three Initiates” the book introduces its readers to the powerful tools needed to master both the spiritual and physical planes.
Tags: create > Creativity > god > metaphysical > quantum > Tao
Questioning Faith
Posted on | November 12, 2008 | No Comments
Our cultural reluctance to question faith is deep. It’s a part of our Christian culture. It amazes me that we are still afraid of being labeled as heretics. Didn’t persecution of heresy end? Apparently not. I know of whole communities labeled as “Catholic” or “Lutheran” or “Dutch-reformed” towns where to not follow the party line leads to ostracism.
It was hard for me to question my faith because the doctrine of my up-bringing had made questioning the “meaning” equivalent to questioning “God” – and in my church “man” didn’t question “God.” Questioning the dogmas of the religion was like a refusal to bow my head during prayer – an in-your-face, I-dare-you-to-strike-me-down challenge to the almighty. I questioned. I wasn’t struck dead by lightening. In fact, the lightening that struck me was more powerful. I was struck by a deep feeling that God was smiling at my willingness to actively engage in my religion – making it personal and profound rather than rote and ignorant.
You know what? I think God smiles when we have the maturity to question the world around us. After all, if we believe God is all-powerful, then what does he (or she) have to hide? Doesn’t our willingness to question God and explore the answers and the results of his creation seem similar to asking a craftsman to share the inner workings of a masterpiece? I’ve never met a creator who was not excited and happy to be questioned about his creation. Why should it be different with God? I think one think that anyone should understand that questioning religion – especially Christianity – is not the same as disrespecting God. We’re not questioning God, but rather questioning the humans who have attempted to share their experiences with God. Some of these (mostly men) individuals may have been “divinely inspired” – but other motivations might have come into play. If political candidates claim “divine inspiration” for their policies we be right to question them. Aren’t we justified in questioning historical authors (maybe even multiple authors for the same biblical “book”) – especially in light of their internal contradictions.
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I think the honest answer may be that the early church leadership was motivated by un-Godlike goals – replacing their personal agendas and unsupportable positions for the real spiritual truths. Maybe it was easier for them to discourage questioning rather than answer the inevitable questions.
What happens when we start to question?
I think most people feel guilty the first time they affirmatively question their own religion. Questioning our religion is like questioning God, our Parents, our Culture, sometimes our spouse, and definitely our souls all at one time. That’s not a simple undertaking. Eventually our questioning can lead to a more real and profound spiritual experience. We can embrace the “Christ” within each of us and really understand the Bible and other scriptural literature available to us today.
Riding the faith curve
- Document the Ride: The Spiritual Manifesto
- Develop the core questions
- Be open to new questions
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Why Spiritcurve?
Posted on | November 10, 2008 | No Comments
Why Understand?
A lot of Christians are Christian “by default” or “by habit.” We were taken to church as children. Some of us fell away during young adulthood. Some returned to church after a while for various reasons. Many refused to participate again due to core questions of doctrine or lack of understanding. Many of us secretly practice our own spirituality in the context of the church community/tradition that has the fewest “turn-offs”, secretly hoping that one day our internal heresies will be embraced by like-minded believers. I hope this book will help.
I was raised in the “Gravity Christian Church” in Gravity, Iowa. Yes, “Gravity.” Yes, it’s a very down-to-earth place. I’ve come to realize that it was very “Baptist” My father was an “Elder.” We sang Amazing Grace, Old Rugged Cross, and occasionally we could actually support a round of Little Church in the Vale (with pride because that song is about a church in Iowa – at least that’s what I was told…).
We didn’t baptize babies. When there were baptisms, they were full-emersion in a special “baptistery” pool behind the pulpit – the floor actually a set of very heavy trap doors that opened to allow both the minister and the person “accepting the invitation” to wade into a pool of chest-deep water for the actual baptism.
We went to Sunday-school, then worship service on Sunday morning. Youth-group and “Bible-study” were on Sunday evenings. We had a Wednesday night service every week. Once a month there was a pot-luck lunch after Sunday Worship. There was a “special” service at least every couple of months with a “linger-longer” (pot-luck dinner) after the event. Week-long “revivals” were held every August before the kids went back to school (there is no air-conditioning in our church). And of course there was a week of daily “Vacation Bible School” for the children every summer.
We weren’t encouraged to question our faith, in fact, questioning anything in the Bible was the same as questioning God and that was very sinful of course. We were taught to take the bible as a literal historic document. I remember speakers at bible camp and high-school retreats trying their best to reconcile a literal creation story to the science of evolution. No drinking – but we were allowed to dance to a select, rather tame, selection of popular music.
Personally, I didn’t buy it – especially as a teen-ager and a President of my undergraduate fraternity chapter. Why couldn’t I have a beer when Jesus’ first miracle was making booze – like he didn’t have a glass of that wine at the wedding. I questioned. I questioned secretly for a decade before I decide to get to the bottom of questions like:
- Who decided these books would be in the bible?
- How did they make those decisions?
- Why are there so many different types of “Christians” when there was only one Jesus?
- How can I sincerely take my children to church and teach them about the real meanings of Christmas and Easter when I still have questions myself?
- Which church will I take them to in the first place?
To me, it was important to embrace the questions and find the answers – at least for me. Those questions and answers probably will be (maybe even should be) different for you. One of my core beliefs is whenever anyone stand up and says “I’m right – you should believe this” or “this is what happened” is the time you should be scared. That person is probably the one person who is wrong.
I’ve been in so many churches and seen too many people following blindly – being spoon-fed their spirit. I believe that faith can only be as deep as the understanding the faith rests upon. I don’t believe in a large number of “sins,” but I do believe it’s a sin to exploit a person’s longing for God by feeding dogma without understanding – discouraging questioning and true understanding of personal faith and the potential “Christ” within each of us.
The goal of the book is not to tell you WHAT to believe, but rather to help you explore and understand the beliefs you hold. Granted, some of those beliefs may change before you are done with the book, but how those beliefs change is up to YOU. My only goal is that whatever spirituality you embrace by the end of this journey is embraced KNOWINGLY rather than by default.
Why Creative Business?
Posted on | November 10, 2008 | No Comments
I just got back from a short hike with Tobin and Merrick (5 and 3). I took along Deepak Chopra’s little book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (you can find that in my Amazon widget at the right) and within a few minutes was inspired to write a few lines…
I’m calling this a “Creative Manifesto”
1. The purpose of life is to create – or at least co-create with God and our fellow humans.
2. In order to fulfill this purpose we need:
- Some freedom from worry about the hand-to-mouth burdons of living – some material weath. We can’t be expected to be creative and fulfill our full potential when we’re starving or homeless.
- Time to be creative (which is maybe part of the above discussion).
- Confidence and the Self-esteem/image to share our creations in the face of potential criticism.
- Knowledge (personal or through a team) to enable us to have the freedom and prosperity that provides that time and confidence to create and share our creations.
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This is what many lawyers do – provide the space, time, and confidence for people to find and fulfill their creative potential.
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Book Contract!
Posted on | October 17, 2008 | No Comments
I just signed the publishing contract for Fuel The Spark: 5 Guiding Values of Success in Law School and Beyond. It will be published on Joel Comm’s Made Easy Publishing imprint of Morgan James Publishing.
I’ll have a release date soon.
My new book: 5 Guiding Values – for Law Students.
Posted on | October 1, 2008 | No Comments
I’m getting ready to publish the first book in my 5 Guiding Values for Success series. The first is for law students (I know a little about what they’re going through). I just put up the new site for my books and speaking projects: KevinHouchin.com. The site is still under construction, and will be constantly, but you can take a look and read a sample chapter off the first book. If you’d like, you can also pre-order the book individually or in bulk by emailing me.
Fuel The Spark:
5 Guiding Values for Success in Law School and Beyond
Sample Chapter
Soulshaping – Now this is what we’re talking about!
Posted on | July 9, 2008 | 3 Comments
What is “Holistic Law” anyway?
Posted on | June 16, 2008 | No Comments
Here’s a great article discussing the “holistic” law movement.
http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article1374.pdf