Narrow is the Way
This post was originally published on my Substack page. Subscribe here to get regular emails of my writing.
Someone just texted and asked me in these exact words, “Ya got any tips for money magic?”
“Get a job?” is what I want to say but probably won't. I will probably say something much more diplomatic but maybe not as useful, pragmatic and wise as simply saying, “Get a job.” But I get it; so many new age influencers say that money falls from the sky, and maybe sometimes it does, but does that mean people who work are saps? I mean, someone had to make the iPhone you’re using to tell people how to live.
I think it depends on what you’re trying to achieve - an easy life or a life of service? Now, it’s not as simple as one or the other, and I’ll try to not rail too much against the New Age, but seriously, who’s gonna pick up the garbage? Who’s going to teach the children or stock the grocery store?
This elitist “You don’t have to work if you don’t want to because money is just an energy exchange, and it all comes down to mindset” is missing the point so much. I’m inclined to call it utter bullshit. This piece is dedicated to the workers; to those who toil and grind away.
When the New Agers say things like, “Open your hand, and the Universe will provide,” I want to vomit. Have these people never studied astrology? It is just a fact that some people will have an easier fate and easier life than others. And why is ease touted as the highest value anyway? Are you actually saying that Palestinians or the people who made your iPhone just have the wrong mindset? It’s actually so stupid.
As an aside, it is often the case that those with a stronger fate often face more adversity. How else is a stone polished but through friction?
The irony, of course, is that the metaphysics of an easy life was formulated in this entitled, consumerist society. It’s rare to hear a New Ager talk about the value of sweat on the brow. They all want to move to Costa Rica, not wear a bra and talk about the power of belief while people pay them money to say things like, “Money is easy.”
The idols are many.
That’s what I mean when I talk about hypocrisy and the unexamined life. That’s what I mean about moral grandstanding or virtue signaling. That’s what I mean about telling other people how to live their lives.
The arrogance and hypocrisy run so deep; it’s unfortunate. In a world and country with such riches, these are, indeed, unfortunate times. It’s really quite sickly to see so many unexamined lives.
Of course, I must regularly and unapologetically check my own motives. When I thought I could do whatever I wanted with my life, I just kept building up my own personal Tower of Babel, running towards every red flag as if I was running the show. Eventually, of course, the Tower of arrogance must fall sooner or later, so it did.
As a result of such self-inflicted, foolish misfortune, today my prayer is simple, “Please help me to not be stupid today.”
I once went to a group with some friends who were studying tarot. Imagine my surprise when everyone talked about how much they love the Fool card. “But it’s the fool,” I said. “Who wants to be a fool?” Well, it turns out many people want to be the fool. Many people find great comfort in their naivety and Amazon orders. This is why people want to be famous; this is why people who lie for a living in an industry of pedophiles are adored. This is what the Hindus call the Kali Yuga - where everything is backwards, and the saint walks alongside the thief.
Remember, narrow is the way.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14
There’s a reason there are so many temptations. There’s a reason Christ said in the book of Matthew to be “Wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” I wouldn’t frame it in a way to say “evil abounds,” but I will say, there are many traps laid, and only those with inner sight can see them for what they are, and even then it isn’t easy to discern. This is one of the benefits of divination - to know where the difficulties are coming from and how is best to work with them. This is where perception is key, not as a naive way of bypassing adversity but as a way of strapping up and saying, “Let’s go!”
Of course, not every adversity is necessary, and I don’t mean to say that life must be a constant struggle in order to mature. As always, it comes down to balance.
Each day is equipped with its own energy, each patch of land or inner tide, yet how do I move forward with consistency, wherever I am and whatever the tide?
It’s a moral quandary - do I give my friend some tips on money magic, or do I tell her to get a job? Is she my friend or my student? And what kind of teacher am I?
It’s raining, and the wind is blowing. I’m writing from my mom’s house in Deer Park. It feels so good to be close to the coast. When I was younger, days like this meant no swimming. As an adult, the rule stays the same. The weather and the Gods make the rules, not I. I’m not so sure there’s a difference between the weather and the Gods.
The same cool, humid breeze blowing, loving me since childhood; the same land from which I was born and so were my ancestors.
To think or pretend anything different would be an absurd proposition leaving me wandering and without a home. I had to come from somewhere. I come from this land; my family comes from this land and from many lands. I am a child of this land, too, however I got here or from wherever my ancestors come. I was born here.
We were born here. The rains fall and nourish us all. The squash and potatoes grow from the land. Our air is shared so is our history for all sides in the predicament we’re in. Blaming does nothing but give my power over to someone else; being a doormat does the same. Thinking the thunder is a disturbance or running to hide when someone speaks the truth?
But seriously, what’s the point of prophecy that nobody asked for? And why is it some who love to herald bad news?
Fame and attention do not mean better, nor is it the case that it’s necessarily worse, but it can certainly be problematic.
Is flailing problematic? Only if it goes on longer than necessary, which is actually not a bad caveat to live by: “Things are only problematic if they go on longer than necessary.”
Which, of course, brings us back to the question of necessity as a parameter for living. I have absolutely no problem with having fun, but I suppose it depends on one’s objective. After all, it is certainly the case that the majority of people (in the United States or the “West”) are not concerned with transcending reincarnation. In fact, it’s almost never even talked about.
People go through their lives, living and learning, fulfilling their own purposes and objectives. Not everyone is interested in making their heart light as a feather, and that’s not really my business anyway.
For someone who doesn’t judge, I sure do cast a lot of judgement. However, I prefer to call it “discernment.” I also prefer to just try and do better in my own life and focus on what’s in front of me to deal with like this pen and paper, the storm overhead, the water in the waterfall falling, the two dogs nearby, one playful, one clingy.
Really I just try to stay open to the possibility that there are things I do not know, like: Will Beyonce be reincarnated? Do our idols have their own human flaws, even in this backward time where wisdom is lacking and projecting the archetype of a goddess takes the place of actual Justification… Again, I call this observation. Josephine McCarthy instructs, “Observe, not judge.” Therefore, I keep on observing.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with being beautiful. In fact, it’s a gift bestowed from the Gods. No one ought to be hated just because they are beautiful, but one’s character shall be known by one’s fruits. I guess what I’m saying is, you can hate someone because of their fruits but not for their beauty…
It’s actually best to not hate anyone anyway. I mean, who really has the time to hate people?
I guess that’s like a wound. Wounded people hate people. That’s why it’s really important that we heal our wounds, so we don’t hurt others because we have been hurt, even unknowingly. Jealousy and fear come from scarcity, which, as with most things, has its roots from primary times and caregivers.
I was recently at an event where a woman yelled at the DJ and told him to “Turn the music down!” Her aggression, need for control and need to be heard changed the energy in the room. “Woah, like okay…” I said out loud as I held a mirror in her direction. Observe, not judge.
My mom’s old dog Daisy shit herself yesterday, and I told her, “That’s okay. Everyone does it” to make her feel better. Observe, not judge.
My mom’s neighbor once owned flying squirrels and kept them in a cage. What’s the purpose of flying squirrels if they can’t fly? Observe, not judge.
Sometimes I start feeling preachy, but it’s like Hey dude. Live and let live.
I know I’m not the only judgmental person, but it’s almost on an hourly basis for me to look in the mirror when I begin to consider casting stones.
Yes, being in the pool while it’s thundering is stupid. Or is it brave? If I died in a lightning strike, would they know that I died in a gamble with the Gods, even while the odds are clearly in my favor?
I asked a stone for a favor; if I could use it as a paperweight while my water color dried. It felt like receiving a gift to have the stone agree to service.
Now listen, I know people have all sorts of things to say about nature and reality, and they have all sorts of theories trying to convince us that what they know is best. That’s why it’s really important to not be stupid because other stupid people will try to get you to believe their own stupid thoughts as if we don’t have discernment for what resonates. I have all sorts of opinions on all sorts of people and what they’re doing, but at the end of the day, I’m the one in the pool while it’s thundering.
