In every moment throughout eternity, another new version is created out of life’s infinite possibilities. Each version is special in itself, and yet contains all of the components that make up the universe. Whether we identify ourselves with the external, or with internal truth, we have to acknowledge that life – in all of its articulations – is a rich experience.

We can ‘seek knowledge unto China’ – as the Sufis would say – or we can live out each day in a mundane predictable rhythm, and still eventually get to the point of it all: that life is truly amazing! It is life itself – rather than our circumstances – that delights, for those of us who have unlocked the secret. Each person, each day, each situation and each of our feelings is delightful.

As we change, we grow. And as we grow, we constantly discover new perceptions, which mostly are surprising and sparkling. Those sparkles of consciousness are as droplets of pure spirit, and they need to be contained and supported lest they scamper away leaving nothing but a wistful sense of barely fulfilled promises. The people around us will be our containers; we look to them for understanding.

Each person in our lives has a particular piece of the whole to reflect to us. We know of our personal evolution most authentically insofar as it is reflected in our involvements. So we see that a period of accelerated growth will require an intensity of interaction, probably not only in depth with one or more individuals, but also in a kaleidoscopic breadth of social intercourse.

Just as a child seeks more and more adventures, we are avid to try out new ways to discover who we are and how we respond to new experiences. This is done in innocence, for the sake of it – as Irish say – ‘for the craq!’ There is no need to predict the worth of an experimental outreach or defend its purpose to those who are less carefree. Let them suffer the paralysis of analysis without our complicity.

The danger of such lifestyle lies in its risk of irresponsible abandon. There’s a thin line between what is helpful and what is unhelpful. If we degenerate into ill-disciplined self-indulgence, then we can lose the wisdom and be blind to the very mystery that makes such a path meaningful. Detachment and spontaneity can so readily become shiftlessness and reckless incaution.

Nonetheless, appropriate renunciation is the greatest attribute of personal freedom. We learn that ‘freedom from’ is different from ‘freedom to’, and some will have a clear insight about which is more wholesome. At a certain level of attainment, joy is optimized with a life strategy which promotes a continual reiteration of the need to release any limitation we hold of our sense of self.

Before embarking on a new enterprise, one makes important adjustments of a practical nature in order to prepare appropriately for whatever experiences may come to pass. It's like packing a canoe properly so that the dangers of later instability are minimized.

Care is given to preparations even to the point where one's whole attention is on the immediate moment without a thought in mind for the long term goal. Lifting a heavy stone requires focus on the stone, not the cathedral of which it will become part.

One trusts in the real value of work currently in hand more fully because others are sharing it. This cooperative aspect of a task shared develops self-confidence, because one is acting in keeping with the needs of society.

All is well ordered, so effectiveness results. The ordering of practical things is also effective in ordering the mind, and from such clarity there arises a capacity to achieve results with minimal waste and disruption.

These qualities are rare and precious and so they attract attention and support from fellows. The tendency is therefore to become involved and influential with others, who are likely to lend a hand in the fulfilment of aims.

In this way one satisfies an inherent desire for recognition of one's leadership qualities. Responses received from society reflect its special approval of these qualities of clear-mindedness and efficiency. It is the anticipation of society's rewards that encourages the commitment needed to achieve results.

Even if in response to the needs of the community, the leadership role invariably makes it more difficult to achieve a fully equal social integration. Getting along with others is not always easy, so one watches carefully for any reluctance to form harmonious relationship.

For us to feel a sense of self-fulfilment, we need to achieve something in life. We need to demonstrate our skills and principles, and particularly our ability to overcome challenges.

Each personality approaches this very differently because of the myriad differences in experience and background. Yet, in each and every case, there is a vast potential of untapped inner resources to call upon.

We must be careful and learn how to distinguish true values from false. Since this ability is not intuitively obvious, and must be determined mostly by trial and error,  there is real danger of unhelpful alignments.

The strains and turmoil that life throws up are constant and often almost too much to bear, yet we must endeavour to persevere, and in so doing develop mastery. Without challenges, there is no grit to stimulate the need for it, yet mastery is a profoundly important quality and well worth the heavy price we have to pay for it.

An exceptional ability arises – the gift of being able to organise effort along any given line of accomplishment. Achievement is no longer a mystery; it is a series of well- understood steps in a given direction of focus, motivated by singular will.

On the other side, it becomes perfectly clear what is motivating others, and indeed the extent of their will to achieve. This veiled insight into the machinery of power has prophetic qualities; one can see what must be.

One can also learn to see with greater clarity that the essential nature of life itself is to respond fully and competently to all of the psychological and physical requirements of anyone with the passion and insight to expect resolution of their needs and desires.

There is no merit in following society’s herd instinct and being satisfied just by becoming no more than the others – whose plumage is in any case somewhat mediocre. It will not lead to self-actualization.

Neither will the repetitious habit of following one’s own well-trodden paths, as though such empty ritual could replace the struggle of learning through new experiences.

We need to be guided by the actuality of our own circumstances here and now. They speak to us of our history of preferences and values, and also create a convenient stage for acting out the deeper hidden issues.

From such guidance, there develops greater awareness of who we are. Out of this awareness comes a profound inner clarity that evolves as an increasing strength of faith.

In this way all of our personal goals are raised to the highest level of importance,relentlessly pursued with an absolute determination to attain self-awareness in any and all available forms.

So we learn to put aside our distaste for the shallowness of social rituals and to reinterpret such follies as useful clues to our own inner ambiguities. In fact, the refinement of our own personality requires us to accept such feedback, even if it is presented unconsciously.
There is no limit to the number of variations on a theme; each and every apparent re-duplication of an event can more wholesomely be seen as an expression of diversity of potential. Through this process all the angles of personality are unfolded and greater self-disclosure arises.

Although available to anyone who chooses to employ it, magick does not routinely appear as a realistic resource for any but the smallest minority of those who feel its power as a constant inner fire that awakens all the more with worship.

These people are constantly aware of their certain and inviolable connection to the creative power of the universe and its Source. There is a deep realization that the divine spark is there to be used daily as a practical tool to deal imaginatively with whatever comes along.

With such familiarity comes skill – a truly extraordinary skill – to enlist every worldly advantage and asset to bring exaltation to oneself, and the ready materialization of all aspects of one’s personal desires and ambitions.

A mystery is revealed – that by continually reaffirming the spiritual qualities of one’s aspirations, and the dedication of all one’s possessions and talents to the Spirit of Creativity, then all is accomplished with the mastery and ease that comes from the heart-felt certainty of true faith.

Thus worldly ambitions and aspirations are so completely spiritualized that life is a constant prayer, a continual outreach to the Divine.

It’s true that such an approach has dangers – those in particular associated with overestimation of one’s capacity, against which there needs to be practiced the observance of unimpeachable trust in one’s certainty of success and worthiness of motive.

Such vigilance can lead towards a surrender of all of one’s emotional attachments – one’s state eventually becoming completely independent of one’s circumstances. Otherwise there is a risk of losing all hope of realization of one’s highest potential. When this is achieved, then personal ideals can be brought to the level of miracle.

Our experience of ourselves is significantly modified by interaction with people and circumstances around us. As shown in competitive sports, through overcoming obstacles and observing others' efforts to rise up, animated to meet their own challenges, we are able to learn much of our greater potential.

Convention binds together a group of individuals and so helps the formation of society to rise to common challenges. Conventionality therefore is a measure of our willingness to abide by social constructs because we think we will gain personal advantage in doing so.

There is pressure to conform, and our adherence to terms may feel like a self-betrayal because of the loss of individuality. It is a question of balance: the urge to express a radiant self in harmony with our need to participate in society.

Conformity arising out of fear of authority is ill-founded and false. Self-perception of powerlessness requires us to look again in the depths of our being and awaken the confidence to overcome any pressure that attempts to deny us self-expression.

However, it is natural to gain experience and skill in the creative act of supervision. The calling upon like-minded associates, to a joint action that favors our required outcome, is evidence of self-competence on the level of practicality. It is supported.

Also natural is a disciplined sense of responsibility, which embraces the ethic of serving oneself in alignment with the common good. Community response is therefore felt to be useful, authentic feedback, whether presented as punishment or reward.

In adapting through this process of socialization, we learn acceptance and tolerance. Thus our own ideals are constantly revisited and upgraded. This is to reflect society's newly-discovered potential for dramatizing a set of principles higher than previous generations were able to demonstrate.
 

The potential for heroism exists inwardly in advance of its outer expression, and can be felt as a deep-seated need for recognition of one’s capacity for dedicated self-effacing service. Even though such behaviour often stimulates society’s need to raise up an individual to the rank of leader, strutting and proclaiming this potential is inelegant and avoided by the wiser individual.

Additionally, the time and energy spent in the process of gaining broader experience is an efficient method to stimulate personal growth, and this itself has the effect of gradually widening one’s social relevance to a certain level, which equates to one’s heroic station.

 Such experiences also stimulate an awakening of a genius for dramatizing life’s possibilities. This calls forth a cornucopia of fruits and riches that point to the abundance that any individual might access by following the leader’s example of effective, creative, courageous, life management.

 There unfolds in the individual a great resourcefulness to develop new areas of practical experience, which with continual effort, leads to social and political gains. However, we need to remember that an idealistic leader, who may well be completely integrated within normal humdrum society, will still always be measured and also challenged for position. It goes with the job, and helps to keep alive the very skills and wisdom that qualify the leader for the position.

Rising above the pack, one is exalted by one’s personal vision and character. Other concerns are subordinated, so that the compelling goal of living actually becomes nothing more than the demonstration and presentation of one’s values as a teaching to guide others.

Continual self-dedication is a life path that brings as its reward the burden of social stewardship. With it comes the opportunity to disclose a profound practical understanding of one’s fellows, their circumstances and challenges.

Recognition, which once was sought after by an immature youth yearning to find self-realization, is now understood to be a sword that cuts with two edges, the one self-serving, the other social; one cuts away external dross, the other cuts inwardly. And whereas the first award gave intoxicating unlooked-for joy, the second suggests that a third is to be expected in due course. The burden to meet expectations becomes a dimension heavier, the path a degree more serious.