Does it Matter?

Whether it is a non-magical person and a magical person, or two magical people coming from different understandings, there are some common arguments we see creep up. Perspectives around Deities/ Gods, reality vs imagination, psychology vs magical intervention – just naming a few.

I am a results based person. If you do something, and the desired result occurs, then my question to all that is – “Does it really matter?” Does the perspective of the force behind the result really matter? We have been so conditioned into one correct answer – one Truth – yet the older I get, the more I see that there is very little concrete absolute “truths.” Much of our “truths” are based upon perspectives and information we have on hand right now.

We see this often in science. The more we discover and learn, the deeper we go and understand, the more previous “truths” fall away and are replaced by new “truths.” The idea of concrete truth in the form of spiritualism and magic gets even more murky in this idea of absolute truths.

Truth, especially in the context of spirituality and magic, is personal in my opinion. We experience something, generally multiple times, and through that experience it shapes what we believe to be true. It is not truth for all, but does that change it from being true for you?

The Reality of Gods/Deities

I bet you read that and expected me to spout out some concrete “truths” about Deities and some of you already started to think about arguments for what I am about to say. I hate to disappoint, but you will not find any “truths” in this article – only perspectives and ideas.

Lets start with a common argument that spans all people/ religions: Gods were living people once that got elevated to Gods vs Gods are higher beings that were never human vs Gods are a reflection and really just our higher self taking on the forms we give it.

From a certain perspective, all of these can be true at once. Let’s go back to the original question though… Does it matter? Does it matter which is truth?

If you are talking to a Deity, learning, growing as a person, feeling that presence in your life and it is making a positive impact on your quality of life – Does it really matter what that energy is? As a results based person, for me it doesn’t. It does not matter if I am just talking to my own soul – or connecting with an ancient Being – or something beyond any scope of human comprehension. I only care about the results I am getting from that partnership and the interactions within it. I have my own theories and perspectives about Deities – but if they were wrong, it wouldn’t change the real experiences and results of those bonds.

Some may be having a hard time with this right now. I just ask that you keep reading with an open mind and give it some consideration.

How Deities are connected to each other – This is another argument worthy of debate, but there is no concrete truth here…

Some will see all Deities stemming from one source: breaking down into a masculine and feminine side (energy here, not gender) – then broken down more into different aspects like Dark Goddesses – then down to individual Dark Goddesses. Each level is just a mask or more specific version of that whole -do you get the idea here? It’s like going from a macro to micro form of one.

Other may see it this way: Every Deity stands all on their own, are individual beings, and may have similarities but not connected like the example above. They are not faces of each other or connected to each other beyond similar domains or archetypes.

Still others may take the view That Deities are purely a construct of their making in order to interact and gain knowledge/wisdom from certain aspects of life, nature, and the reality they are living in. Their belief alone is what makes the Deity real.

If the result is the same. If they are growing in positive ways as people, and it is enhancing their life – Does it matter which one is “real”? In my perspective they could all be real or all be false, and it doesn’t matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is the experience I have with my Deities, the impact it makes on my life and magic, and that it is real in every sense for me.

Is Magic the Placebo Effect?

I would venture to say we have all encountered this argument, and for many, even from within ourselves.

You work a spell to boost your finances. You stay focused on it and do real world work to open opportunities for that wealth to flow in, while taking chances on those opportunities. Then it works and the wealth is flowing in. Was this coincidence? Was it the magical boost you applied? Was it the effort you put in? Was it all psychological or did you Will the outcome into being?

Does it matter?

You achieved the intended result. What you needed to happen happened, so why does it really matter. It would be easy for some to dismiss the spell – but then again, even if it was psychological, the spell is what shifted your mindset to do all the other work in the first place. You can not easily dismiss one component just because there were others. You will never know the truth, because the truth here is subjective.

As a results based person, I do not care why magic works, whether by design or by the mind, I just care that it does work. If I can replicate the intended results over and over again by mixing up a specific set of herbs, or weaving together certain energies, you can bet I will keep repeating it. For me, the whole process has become my truth. If others can take my model, replicating the same types of results from it, that solidifies that truth for me. It does not mean it will work for everyone, or truth for everyone, but knowing it works for another gives it more credibility for myself.

What is Real and Just in Your Head?

The examples here are endless! The issue is, that everything is just in our head.

Our body receive messages from all of our senses, takes them into the mind, and the mind shapes the perspective of our environment. Past emotions can shape and alter the way we perceive a situation or event much differently than other people in that same situation or event. Thus our mind has created one reality, and it may not match the “reality” of the other people. No, it is generally not like complete opposite experiences or views – but enough for there to be a breakdown in communication or understanding what the truth is.

For this example, let’s look at spirit walking. Spirit Walking is the process of splitting or separating part of the soul, so it can travel beyond/ separate from the body – including into different realms. For those who have experienced it, it is a true event and ability. When they travel, they see and experience things that they never conceived of on their own. Talk to people they knew nothing about, yet may later find what they said to be spot on. They gain pieces of knowledge that start to fill in the bigger puzzle for them, giving them answers to questions they could not find.

Non-believers may say they were just accessing their subconscious. Information they saw or picked up somewhere but do not recall on a conscious level. Or perhaps by taking it to a place where the active brain is quiet, they were able to see how all the pieces of their puzzle fit together.

You got results, that were verifiable or useful, so… Does it matter?

Results

No matter how you view it – what names you choose to call it – how you choose to justify it – the results are what matter.

The debate is good. Considering all the possibilities is smart. Looking at everything with a critical mind is a must in my opinion. But – there comes a point where we have to give over to our belief – our truth. There is only so many times you can prove something before the act of proving that thing becomes redundant and pointless.

On many of things I see people in our community arguing over, like the ones above – there is no absolute truth, at least one that we will find in this life. There is what works. There is personal truth. There is personal experience. There is belief and faith from these. There is also many different perspectives.

I know my own beliefs on all of the topics. Each one based in my own personal experiences, my own knowledge and results. Shaped from experimenting, learning, dissecting all of it, putting it through tests to see if it holds, questioning it, questioning myself. They are not everyone’s beliefs, experiences, or truths and that is perfectly fine with me.

I get everyone wants “proof” but the reality is, many things can’t be proven beyond experience, especially when it concerns the worlds of the unseen, the inner self, and magic.

Perhaps if we shifted our mindset from “being able to prove to others” – to one of “proving to ourselves” – we could move past argument and into a space of healthy debate and sharing with each other. Knowing we may disagree and knowing there is a chance neither of us are right.

In the end I always come back to the same question when I see people fighting over a perspective “Does it Matter?”

If the results are there – does it matter which is the illusive absolute truth?

The answer to this is personal, and each of us has to decide for ourselves. I am just sharing some perspectives and personal thoughts on all of this.