| A Word About Tools Randy Robertson, c. 2006 (a supplementary article for the Metaphysical Lexicon) In all cases, properly made tools can supplement your efforts but, as with all tools, some items are better suited for certain tasks than others. You would not use a screwdriver to drive nails, and you would not use a blowtorch to cut carpet. Certainly these things could be used for those tasks, but they're hardly suited for it and you run the risk of damaging the tool and ruining what you're working on. The same principle applies to metaphysics. Some tools are well suited for cleansing, while others are better suited for divination. A few are designed as general catch-alls that work well for most purposes. So before you try using a tuning fork to tell the future, make sure you've got the right tool for the right job. As a rule, I don't approve of using tools. Most people aren't properly trained in their use, they start to place the credit for their success (or blame for failure) on the tool instead of themselves, and they run the risk of becoming dependent. What good is it to read minds if you can't do it without your special sanctified leather headband that the dog ran off with last week? But a few tools and techniques deserve special mention because they are so misunderstood. Astrology There is absolutely nothing metaphysical about astrology. Astrological techniques have been refined over the millennia to a high art, but it is purely based on calculation, observation, and mathematical permutations. A skilled astrologer can give a surprisingly accurate short-term forecast (skilled astrologers have about the same degree of accuracy as a well-equipped weatherman). Remember the two great foils of precognition; free will and human tampering? Astrology is not affected nearly as much by them because it takes them into account. However, any astrologer who can give you a two-minute reading is bluffing you (unless you can see them working out the calculations at a PC/laptop). Astrology takes time and a lot of research, so instant results equal no results. Horoscopes Although they are designed to look like astrology, they are not. Good horoscopes make vague predictions based on the average of everyone in the world. Bad ones are just made up to get something in the newspaper. Either way, you'd get better results from reading fortune cookies. And no, I'm not going to discuss fortune cookies. Ouija Boards It seems to be human nature to blame a problem on the tool instead of the person using it. Ouija boards are simply tools and nothing more. It's the person using it that causes all the trouble. I fully agree that no one should be using it unless they have been well trained and take all the proper precautions, but... I'll put it this way; if you don't trust someone to use a "weejee board" properly, you shouldn't trust them to do anything without a board, either. Of Tools and Rituals It has been pointed out to me that many people believe that ritual is also a form of tool, while I have described them as distinct. I have also learned that the science of sociology (specifically in the sub-discipline of theological sociology) officially holds the view that ritual is form of intellectual tool. But I disagree. I maintain that there is a fundamental difference between a ritual and a tool in that a ritual is a process while a tool is not. And the American Heritage Dictionary says... Tool - A hand-held implement. A means or instrument. Ritual - The form for a ceremony. A system of ceremonies. A ceremonial act or series of such acts. A customary procedure. And just for giggles... Ceremony - A formal act or set of acts prescribed by ritual, custom, or etiquette. That part of about a tool being a "means or instrument" certainly lends credit to the view that a ritual can also be a tool, especially since a tool does not have to be a tangible object, but the weight of the other definitions suggest that this can only be the case in an abstract philosophical sense. More directly, it's the difference between the terms "means" and "method." Those of you who have heard the explained differences between "strategy" and "tactics" should be very familiar with this argument. It also works for the difference between ceremony and ritual. For example, many practitioners of group meditation use a form of ritual that involves arranging the participants in a circle and use incense and/or specifically themed music. However, the ritual can also be performed if they all sit in a square in total silence with only the room's natural smells. Even without the incense and music, the process itself remains intact and the same goal can be achieved. In the same way, incense and music can be used in an identical way for meditation by yourself, or without meditating at all. Another example; the wine and wafers used in Catholic communion are tools, while the communion ceremony itself is a ritual. In some cases, substitutions can be made (grape juice and crackers) without affecting the ritual itself. And certainly wine and wafers can be consumed without any ritual connotations. Therefore, tools and rituals can be seen as associated but exclusive things. I do hope that was clear enough. I admit, it got me going in circles a few times and I was forced to reconsider some of the absolutes I had been using, but I believe the core intent of my statements remains intact, so I will let them stand as-is. |