The power of ritual. Lesson 170

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Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.
-- Pre-communion liturgy of the Tridentine Rite

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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
--Arthur C. Clark, science fiction writer and inventor

The longest running public ritual, with the largest number of participants, in modern recorded history is, arguably, the Roman Catholic Mass known as the Tridentine Rite. There are arguments for the Jewish Shabbat Temple service rivaling the Roman Catholic Mass in terms of length of time, however, we believe the mass has been more formulaic and had the participation of a larger population. The Tridentine Rite version of the ritual was practiced daily by millions of people worldwide, and on Sunday, as was mandatory at the time, by perhaps 5 to 10 times As many people as the daily service.

The Tridentine Rite, commonly called the Latin Mass, was made the standard by Pope Pius V in 1570 A.D. and was practiced millions of times around the world until Pope Paul VI in 1962, when the current version of the Mass in the vernacular (local language) was introduced and made mandatory. Later popes reintroduced approval to celebrate the Latin Mass with local approval.

We use the Latin Mass only has a very large example of a ritual practiced regularly around the world. There are many other examples of ritual, public, private and secretive which to a greater or lesser extent exhibit the same properties.

We call this property focused intention, or more commonly, just intention.

There are many organizations which have specific rituals for initiations, progression through the ranks of the organization and so forth. Most college fraternities and sororities (often called the Greek societies), The Masons, the Rosicrucians, the Knights of Columbus, the Lemurian Society, the Shriners, the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE), the Elk Lodges and Moose Lodges the YMCA, even organizations expressly for young people such as the Campfire Girls, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have initiations and advancement or progression rituals which have been practiced for years, sometimes even centuries. Certainly there is a social aspect to these rituals, a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood. But the idea of ritual has a rich history that extends 2000 years or more BC.

What is humanity's fascination, one could even say obsession with ritual practices? Is there a reason that the practice of ritual has been such a significant, compelling and enduring part of human society?





References:
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ1nweotz-8MZGNiNHB6YzhfNjlobTljNmhkOA&hl=en
http://www.dailycatholic.org/holymas5.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridentine_Mass#Recent_Popes_and_the_Tridentine_Mass

The power of symbols & talismans. Lesson 175

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... For words, thoughts and deeds, though they rankle and smart, May never delude us or hold us apart Who treasure this talisman deep in the heart...

-- Arthur Guiterman, poet

The old saying goes, "A picture is worth athousand words." Modern businesses are well aware of this. Many, if not most businesses have a logo, or a symbol or picture which connotes the company. We know immediately when we see a Ford motorcar symbol that it is, in fact, a Ford motorcar.We all recognize the four colored square icon that tell the sum product for software is from Microsoft. The Gerber baby and the Aunt Jemima smiling woman set our expectations at a glance. Symbols can also connote thoughts or ideas. We immediately recognize the RX symbol as representing a doctor's prescription or a pharmacy. That happens to be a universal symbol that is recognized worldwide -- at least where the Roman alphabet is used.

Like rituals, symbols and talismans have had a rich history with mankind. Symbols and talismans, being physical or drawn thingscan be traced to prehistoric times, many thousands of years before written language allowed us to record the words and actions performed in rituals. Talismans are far more enduring, like prehistoric cave paintings were Native American arrowheads. They have a permanence, the meaning of which is often obscure, lost to history.

One find symbols and talismans everywhere in modern day religion. The Jewish Star of David, the Christian cross, the Roman Catholic crucifix all paint a rich mental image for us, a complex tapestry of ideas that would take many words to describe. We also ascribe certain supernatural powers to certain symbols. A St. Christopher medallion is supposed to protect a traveler.

Do they work?

In short, yes. They can. It is possible. But, talismans and symbols do not work because the objects or pictures have any particular supernatural or magical powers.The objects are just objects. They are like most currency or coins issued by governments, or even gold bullion. They have no intrinsic value. You can't eat a coin, plow a field with it, or drive it to work. The dollar bill or the quarter is a symbol or representation of an idea. It represents the value to society of and amount of work you performed, and allows you to transfer that value to somebody else. The coin represents an idea. The coin is, in essence, a talisman. Giving the coin to somebody transfers ownership of that formalist thing (work) to someone else.

We don't generally think of money as a talisman. We generally think of a talisman as something, some physical object having supernatural power. In reality, Talismans are, when used properly, a physical reminder of stored intension! If a St. Christopher medallion protects us when we travel, it is because the lump of metal with an image stamped upon it reminds us to invoke our banked intension.

The parking rock.

In the late 1970s, we did an experimen, and called the parking rock. This is a brief description of the experiment. It is quite remarkable, and you are invited to give it a try.

Step 1, find a rock. Go out in the yard, beach, local park or on the street and find a nice rock that can fit in your hand. It should be like a stone that you would use for skipping at the beach, flat on both sides. This stone will become your parking rock.

Your new parking rock is like a new car battery bought at the store. Like the car battery, you must charge your parking rock before you can use it. Hopefully, however the charge on your parking rock lasts longer than the charge on an ever ready battery that you buy at the drugstore.

Charge your parking rock's battery. For a parking rock to work, you must first charge it. The power of the parking rock is directly proportional to its charge. Since you can't plug it into an electrical socket, we have to have another way.

Find a nice place in your home, and place your parking rock on a plate or tray in that place. Twice a day, at the same time every day, go to your parking rock, turned it over, and concentrate for just a couple of seconds, imagining yourself finding a parking space every time you look.

Do this for 30 days in a row. Don't miss a day. If you miss a day, you have to start from the beginning and do 30 consecutive days. After that, carrier parking rock in your pocket. When you go to the college campus, the mall, or market or wherever, think of your parking rock, drive to the nearest entrance, and watch the amazing result.

Try this amazing experiment for yourself, and let us know what happens.

Next: How the talisman is like a electricaln transformer or capacitor.





References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amulet
http://talismanicidols.org/video.html