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Magic – illusion or reality?
With Indian blood running through my veins, it doesn’t surprise me that I have always been intrigued by the magic of the snake charmer (not to mention that I think I secretly support the House of Slytherin on occasion when those in Gryffindor sometimes seem just too good to be true…..sorry, Harry!).
The cobra or serpent kept in the charmer’s bag or basket holds a deadly venom, a poison that can kill at any moment. Sad as it is for me to say, this venom is like the greed, envy, hatred and malice that exists within all people. With the snake, there is no way to control it, in terms of whether it will bite, yet as any snake charmer will tell you, there is indeed a way to avoid being bitten.
When the snake charmer holds the snake or plays a tune to make it dance, he knows exactly how to handle it, he knows and fully understands its nature. The snake will not bite, not unless it is threatened. In my work, strangely enough, I am beginning to see a similarity; that people behave in exactly the same way as the threatened snake – the only difference is that human beings are far less predictable.
We all have this deadly poison inside of us – we only have to see what is going on around the world right now to see its toxic effects – we bite when we are afraid and poison others with our malicious thoughts and actions. It is fear that generates this venom, and it is fear, together with the fear of fear itself that we must guard against. We can’t control the fear being experienced in others, but we can certainly avoid the toxic effects that this may have on us and work to control our own fearful thoughts. Stillness of the mind allows the heart to talk – when we are still, present and mindful, we are able to listen to what the heart is saying, to then be inspired to follow our true, inner wisdom.
A passionate love for life and a compassionate love for everyone and everything will eliminate all such fear – that’s how the snake charmer does it – magic, and reality it is, illusion it most certainly is not.