Earlier today I was chatting with my best friend via Yahoo Messenger. He has been working in the US for a little over a decade now although he still manages to come home regularly at least once a year. There are times we would end up chatting via instant messenger, and it helps him bear the hardship of being by himself in a foreign land.
We usually talk about our hobbies and interests, which range from sci-fi, military, airsoft and roleplaying games. But over the last two years, I've also started to introduce to him my growing interest in esoteric topics. While in no way a real enthusiast like me, at least he is open to discussing these things and even has a few questions that I attempt to answer in the best way I can. In fact, sometimes I order hard-fo-find books through him so that he can bring them via balikbayan box when he visits. I tell him to feel free to read the books since they'll just be sitting at his place anyway until his visit, but he frequently has a hard time getting through all the topics, and that's where all the explaining comes in.
Anyway, today the topic turned to the discussion of how much I've diverged from the range of interests of our particular circle of friends. On the one hand, my old group of friends want to see more of the old me, the one they are more familiar with. But as I get more active with esoteric subjects, there certainly comes a point when one needs to choose how one's time is to be spent, and which activities to prioritize over others especially when there is a conflict of schedule. For me, esoteric activities have lately taken priority and I suppose it must sound strange to some people, such as those in my airsoft team.
For my best friend though, he's not that surprised because although my level of activity in esoteric stuff has definitely increased, he says that I've been into these things as far back as he could remember (and we were already friends as early as Grade 2). That statement took me a bit by surprise, so I asked him to elaborate some more.
He says he can remember my interest with those pyramids that energized water. He was referring to the Ernie Baron pyramid. It had a lot of uses aside from energizing water. There was also a version you could wear on your head to make your memory better.
My friend also said he remembers one particular instance during 1st year high school, I told him about astral projection and he couldn't sleep for a while after that because I told him that whenever we dream of flying, that was actually us going off. I also told him about the silver cord, that if it got cut while we were out of the body, our physical bodies would die. It was that and the "what if I don't come back" thing that gave him a few sleepless nights.
I remember I once tried to do astral travel after reading it from a book, but I don't remember telling anyone about that experience. I was on the 2nd floor of our house and it was a weekend morning. I remember my dad was also in the living room and I decided to try it out and lay down on the couch. I could feel myself getting lighter, but I got scared and stopped. My friend told me how excited I was when I related it to them, how it was so cool but how it scared the shit out of me. He said it reminded him of a kid who thought it was cool to poke a bear to see if he could outrun it! Another friend of ours who happened to be there when I related the story also commented that I was crazy to try it out, but I was quite nonchalant about it. Apparently, I wasn't as nonchalant as I sounded, because I never repeated that experiment.
Interestingly, he also had an idea during that same time period in high school that if you vibrated yourself fast enough, you could disentangle yourself from this dimension and see other planes. It was in the context of alternate ways to travel. I was talking of astral projection and he was talking about his idea in a sci-fi sort of way. Knowing what I know now about energy and vibrations, it reinforces my belief that my friend and I were both doing this stuff before in a previous life.
As my friend related all these details, I could only sit back in wonder. I remember reading my brothers' books on ESP and the paranormal, and particularly Doctor From Llhasa by T. Lobsang Rampa, but I don't remember getting into these discussions with my friend.
I always saw pranic healing as heralding my foray into the esoteric. Everything else before that was just general info that anyone with a modicum of interest could read about. But apparently, that wasn't the case. I looked at those ESP books as a small phase of my life, a passing curiousity during that time, but I didn't realize it made such a big impact on me and also on my friend. As is consistent with the onrush of puberty, the thing I could remember most about that time was my fascination with girls. Luckily, my friend has a better memory for those times otherwise I wouldn't have recalled such an important part of my past.
Finally knowing all this, I started to reflect why I had forgotten such important events, at least in the context of my stronger esoteric participation nowadays. I suppose it was part of the social programming of that time. We were studying in a Catholic school, and after a while even Dungeons and Dragons (all the rage that time) was frowned upon for being "satanic." For some reason, "satanic" groupings were quite in vogue in our school that time.
There were also the pressures of ensuring one's academic achievement. All the way until I graduated from college, a lot of my time was preoccupied with doing well academically. There was of course recreation, but studies were the main priority, under the stern watch of my parents. Beneath the bustle of all this activity, all memory of the esoteric got lost in the scatter, and it didn't help that I hadn't managed to encounter a group that would nurture this interest, not until I discovered pranic healing in 2008. Prior to that, D&D and The Lord of the Rings pretty much defined the extent of my esoteric knowledge (at least, that's what I thought, until I chatted with my friend today).
Despite a certain wistfulness at remembering all of this and the apparent loss of time (i.e., what if I had gotten into it much earlier?), I do realize that everything happened in its own time. One particular incident underlines this premise. Back in 1994, we had this summer job practicum in college. Those enrolled in the subject would be assigned at random to work at certain Top 100 companies, then the class would meet once a week on Saturdays to discuss each week's experience.
I was assigned to a company that had its main office in Makati. Since the first day was just an orientation, I was given the rest of the day off. But before I continue, let me put in a side story. My best friend, who wasn't enrolled in the summer job practicum subject, was also working in the company I was assigned to. It was also just for that summer, for experience. His dad happened to be working in that company and got him in. We hadn't discussed our plans for the summer so I was understandably surprised to see him there. Just goes to show you how much our lives were intertwined during that time period.
To continue, I was supposed to meet my dad at Greenbelt 1, but since he wasn't there yet, I passed the time at National Bookstore. I saw this book that I now know was Initiation Into Hermetics by Franz Bardon. Since it was about the practice of magic, I bought the book and started reading it when I got home.
I hadn't gotten far with the book when my mom noticed it. During that time her attitude about magic and the esoteric was a bit more negative than it is now, so she said that she didn't agree with my reading about magic, about how such stuff was dangerous and all. So I stopped reading the book and set it aside on my table, intending to read it later on (when my mom wasn't looking). However, I never saw the book after that, even after searching all the places where the book could be stored, so I assumed my mom threw the book away when I was out. Looking back on it, I should have hidden the book instead of having just left it on top of the table like that, but I digress.
Fast forward to 2008, the time I got into pranic healing, and I buy the complete set of Franz Bardon books. I didn't realize then that Initiation Into Hermetics was the same book I bought back in 1994 because the cover was already different, but the picture of Franz Bardon was tantalizingly familiar and I remember getting to the description of the white and black soul mirrors. I still thought I had a different book in 1994 that had a similar methodology as the one I was reading.
Everything came together after Typhoon Ondoy when I lost all my books. One of my friends from my esoteric study group kindly gave me another complete set of Franz Bardon books, but these were the old edition books, and when I saw IIH with the old cover that's when it all clicked that it was the same book I had encountered back in college. It obviously wasn't the right time back in college, so the information was taken out of my hands, although I can't help but wonder how my life would have been influenced if I had continued reading it back then.
To those reading this, it would be a good time to reflect on things that might have unintentionally been suppressed when you were younger. It might give insight into the things you are doing now, or they might lead you to an alternate path from the one you are taking now. Either way, everything in its own time.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
All About Soul and Infinite Possibilities
When it comes to the discussion of the soul, the topic of soulmates eventually comes up. A lot of romantic people dream of finding their "soulmate." And I think most people would append the title of soulmate to any friend or partner that they can closely identify with on almost all levels.
Locally, Jaime Licauco tackles the subject through his book Soulmates, Karma & Reincarnation (he even conducts a regular seminar going by the same title). From here we can see that although most people are not aware of the philosophy behind the concept, the idea of a soulmate is engaging enough that it still captures the attention and imagination of a lot of people.
According to most esoteric philosophies, we are all sparks from the One Infinite Source, identified by different religions and peoples as the Supreme God, the Universal Mind, Parabrahman or whatever appellation that most closely fits the mental understanding of the culture or religion. These sparks are our souls, and just before incarnating, the soul is separated into two halves, one male and the other female. It's interesting that a part of this concept is seen in Genesis, where Eve is formed out of the rib of Adam.
Supposedly, once a person encounters his or her soulmate, both parties will experience a practically irresistible attraction towards each other. There will also be a feeling of intense joy whenever the two are together. It is these signs that make the idea of meeting a soulmate so attractive for most people. The Kabbalistic view extends this further, stating that as the two halves grow spiritually, they are increasingly drawn together no matter where in the world they may be, finally uniting when the time is right.
Although encounters with soulmates are supposed to be events of great joy, Kabbalistic belief also states that it is possible for one to encounter one's soulmate, albeit briefly, as a nemesis! This occurs if one needs to learn certain lessons important for one's soul development. Although this view runs counter to the romantic view of soulmates, it makes sense when looked at from the esoteric perspective. The more one needs to learn a lesson, the more one encounters situations that bring those lessons to the fore. Since encounters with soulmates are supposed to be intense, it is a definite way to impart the intensity of a particular life lesson.
And then I encountered The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. In case the name of the author sounds familiar, it may be because he has made a few guest appearances in Oprah, though I wasn't aware of that fact before I bought the book. In any case, he states that the soul experiences physical reality through the personality. He further emphasizes that the soul is quite distinct from the personality, because the soul is eternal and pure, while the personality is transient and has a lot of imperfections. This is similar to other esoteric philosophies, but Gary Zukav goes further in saying that the soul can have several personalities existing and experiencing life at the same time. This certainly goes beyond the normal concept of soulmates, because there could be several aspects of your soul, in different personalities, existing in the world. I guess you could call this a group soulmate.
According to Gary Zukav, what happens to one personality impacts the lives and development of the other personalities. For example, if one personality lives a life of wanton slaughter and rapine, the consequences of this negative lifestyle will spill over to a certain extent to the other personalities. Conversely, a personality that takes on the spiritual path will also influence the other personalities into that positive direction.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out what path of spirituality Gary Zukav follows, so it's hard to cross check some of his statements. But curiously, the only other work where I encountered a similar concept is the Thiaoouba Prophecy, where it is mentioned that the Higher Soul divides itself into nine souls in order to experience incarnated life.
Despite the uncertainty of the statements above, theoretically it should be possible. After all, we are all from One Infinite Source despite apparent differences in form. And since the Hermetic principle states that "As above, so below" then if the One Infinite Source was able to emanate different sparks (human souls) from Itself, then these individual sparks should be able to emanate subdivisions of themselves.
If we take into account the different theories about parallel universes, then the concept of the existence of different personalities makes more sense. Perhaps those who suffer from multiple personality disorders had the veils between the different personalities torn asunder, either through a defect of birth or trauma, hence all personalities surface at one time or another in the same body. It's an intriguing thought.
Nevertheless, the concept of "one soul, several personalities" may give light to some of the questions I have regarding a past life reading I heard. Without divulging the details, different lives and events were described, but based on some of the descriptions of the events, some of the timelines should have intersected for all of it to have made any sense. If we look at reincarnation as purely linear where one personality life ends before another one can begin, then questions arise about the seeming inconsistencies of described events and places. But if the soul incarnates several personalities, or at least incarnates one personality before the death of the other, then one can see how it is possible for several timelines to intersect.
While the concept of somehow having lunch with oneself is intriguing, the important thing is that we should simply focus on spiritually developing ourselves. We may not know everything that happens in the inner world, but for sure we are always being guided by a higher power and everything happens for a reason. Perhaps one is meant to meet one's soulmate in this lifetime, or perhaps not, but either way, everything is happening as it should be.
Locally, Jaime Licauco tackles the subject through his book Soulmates, Karma & Reincarnation (he even conducts a regular seminar going by the same title). From here we can see that although most people are not aware of the philosophy behind the concept, the idea of a soulmate is engaging enough that it still captures the attention and imagination of a lot of people.
According to most esoteric philosophies, we are all sparks from the One Infinite Source, identified by different religions and peoples as the Supreme God, the Universal Mind, Parabrahman or whatever appellation that most closely fits the mental understanding of the culture or religion. These sparks are our souls, and just before incarnating, the soul is separated into two halves, one male and the other female. It's interesting that a part of this concept is seen in Genesis, where Eve is formed out of the rib of Adam.
Supposedly, once a person encounters his or her soulmate, both parties will experience a practically irresistible attraction towards each other. There will also be a feeling of intense joy whenever the two are together. It is these signs that make the idea of meeting a soulmate so attractive for most people. The Kabbalistic view extends this further, stating that as the two halves grow spiritually, they are increasingly drawn together no matter where in the world they may be, finally uniting when the time is right.
Although encounters with soulmates are supposed to be events of great joy, Kabbalistic belief also states that it is possible for one to encounter one's soulmate, albeit briefly, as a nemesis! This occurs if one needs to learn certain lessons important for one's soul development. Although this view runs counter to the romantic view of soulmates, it makes sense when looked at from the esoteric perspective. The more one needs to learn a lesson, the more one encounters situations that bring those lessons to the fore. Since encounters with soulmates are supposed to be intense, it is a definite way to impart the intensity of a particular life lesson.
And then I encountered The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. In case the name of the author sounds familiar, it may be because he has made a few guest appearances in Oprah, though I wasn't aware of that fact before I bought the book. In any case, he states that the soul experiences physical reality through the personality. He further emphasizes that the soul is quite distinct from the personality, because the soul is eternal and pure, while the personality is transient and has a lot of imperfections. This is similar to other esoteric philosophies, but Gary Zukav goes further in saying that the soul can have several personalities existing and experiencing life at the same time. This certainly goes beyond the normal concept of soulmates, because there could be several aspects of your soul, in different personalities, existing in the world. I guess you could call this a group soulmate.
According to Gary Zukav, what happens to one personality impacts the lives and development of the other personalities. For example, if one personality lives a life of wanton slaughter and rapine, the consequences of this negative lifestyle will spill over to a certain extent to the other personalities. Conversely, a personality that takes on the spiritual path will also influence the other personalities into that positive direction.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out what path of spirituality Gary Zukav follows, so it's hard to cross check some of his statements. But curiously, the only other work where I encountered a similar concept is the Thiaoouba Prophecy, where it is mentioned that the Higher Soul divides itself into nine souls in order to experience incarnated life.
Despite the uncertainty of the statements above, theoretically it should be possible. After all, we are all from One Infinite Source despite apparent differences in form. And since the Hermetic principle states that "As above, so below" then if the One Infinite Source was able to emanate different sparks (human souls) from Itself, then these individual sparks should be able to emanate subdivisions of themselves.
If we take into account the different theories about parallel universes, then the concept of the existence of different personalities makes more sense. Perhaps those who suffer from multiple personality disorders had the veils between the different personalities torn asunder, either through a defect of birth or trauma, hence all personalities surface at one time or another in the same body. It's an intriguing thought.
Nevertheless, the concept of "one soul, several personalities" may give light to some of the questions I have regarding a past life reading I heard. Without divulging the details, different lives and events were described, but based on some of the descriptions of the events, some of the timelines should have intersected for all of it to have made any sense. If we look at reincarnation as purely linear where one personality life ends before another one can begin, then questions arise about the seeming inconsistencies of described events and places. But if the soul incarnates several personalities, or at least incarnates one personality before the death of the other, then one can see how it is possible for several timelines to intersect.
While the concept of somehow having lunch with oneself is intriguing, the important thing is that we should simply focus on spiritually developing ourselves. We may not know everything that happens in the inner world, but for sure we are always being guided by a higher power and everything happens for a reason. Perhaps one is meant to meet one's soulmate in this lifetime, or perhaps not, but either way, everything is happening as it should be.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Some Notes on The Master Key System
Just recently, I finally finished reading The Master Key System. For those of you not familiar with the book, it was written by a man named Charles F. Haanel. It first came out as a mail order course in 1912 and was published in book form by 1916. Despite its being written just after the turn of the 20th century, the timelessness of the concepts found in The Master Key System is evidenced by the fact that even today, almost a hundred years later, it continues to inspire countless people throughout the world. The book heavily influenced Rhonda Byrne, who eventually wrote The Secret.
There is also a popular rumor that while still studying at Harvard, Bill Gates found a copy of the Master Key System in the library and it so inspired him that he opted to drop out in order to found Microsoft. Although it seems there is no factual basis for the rumor (Bill Gates himself hasn't mentioned anything about it), the rumor has helped the recent popularity of the book.
So who was Charles Haanel? Regarded by many as the Father of Personal Development, he was definitely a testament to his own teachings. He was a successful businessman who owned several companies and was active in the Louisiana business community in addition to being affiliated with many groups. Incidentally, Charles Haanel was also a Freemason and had links with the Society of Rosicrucians, which explains the heavy metaphysical content of the Master Key System. Even then, the beauty of the book is that it has something for everyone, whatever background one may be coming from.
When The Secret broke into the market several years ago, life coaching programs and self-empowerment seminars were catapulted into the forefront of mainstream consciousness, and it popularized the Law of Attraction (also called the Law of Love by Charles Haanel) as well. Although most of the focus has been geared towards prosperity, a lot of attention has also been given to building up the confidence of people and getting them into the mindset that leads to positive changes in their lives. If you are familiar with this trend and concept, then you have a basic idea of what The Master Key System has to offer.
But for serious esoteric students, the book is so much more. While reading The Master Key System, some of the discussions, particularly those of the different esoteric laws, reminded me of The Kybalion (a work about various Hermetic principles; it came out in 1908). Incidentally, a friend mentioned to me that The Kybalion also appears in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Unfortunately, I haven't read The Lost Symbol yet (couldn't find any hardcopies), but I do hope to get a copy soon.
Since The Kybalion came out a few years earlier, it is plausible that Charles Haanel could have read it, given his links to the Freemasons and Rosicrucians. What esoteric laws does Charles Haanel discuss? Here is a basic listing:
1. Law of Attraction - like matter will attract like matter; negative thoughts attract negative circumstances, while positive thoughts attract positive circumstances.
2. Law of Cause and Effect - whereby you reap exactly what you sow.
3. Law of Compensation - which is why you must first give in order to receive, because anything not merited is eventually taken away since Nature seeks to find equilibrium.
4. Law of Periodicity (may also be called Law of Cycles or Law of Rhythm) - Charles Haanel says that this law is governed by the Septimal Law (Law of Sevens), whereby everything happens in cycles of sevens (seven days, seven weeks, seven months, seven years, etc.). For those familiar with Master Choa's Management Through Kabbalistic Cycle, which involves 7 cycles as well, you will appreciate this section. In fact, given Master Choa's prolific reading, I wouldn't be surprised if he had read The Master Key System.
5. Law of Growth - anything given thought is given life, therefore it must build upon itself.
While the average reader may be left scratching his head at all these metaphysical discussions, if you have managed to benefit from The Secret or The Master Key System itself, then you know that there is something in operation that makes things happen the way they do. What Charles Haanel does is explain why they do happen, so that one may consistently take advantage of them.
Mr. Haanel is quite insightful and poignant in his writing. For instance, at the end of the book is a question and answer section, and one of the questions posed is that if the "I" is spiritual and therefore perfect, why is it that we always see such imperfect results? Mr. Haanel's answer is that we see no imperfect results, and that all around us is perfection. He says that spiritual laws operate with immutable precision and perfection. If an individual thinks constructively, then the results are positive and harmonious; if the individual thinks destructively, then the results are negative and disastrous. You sow what you reap, and since we are free to think as we wish, then we perfectly and exactly get what we give out. This is what is meant by the Law working perfectly.
This is really interesting, because anyone familiar with the publications of The Kabbalah Centre will find this same theme (not in the exact same words, of course) in their different books. Try to grab a copy of The 72 Names of God, and turn to the page that discusses the 51st Name, titled "No Guilt."
Which brings me to the next point. As a practitioner of Arhatic Yoga, I could recognize the very spiritual concepts found in the book, such as the discussion of the "I" and connecting with the spirit. While I am not familiar with other systems of yoga or other spiritual disciplines, I am sure that they would recognize the concepts I am referring to should they have the chance to read the book.
For pranic healers, it's also interesting to note that Charles Haanel mentions that everytime we breathe, we vitalize our body with pranic ether, which is life itself. According to him, we could not exist a moment without this pranic energy or pranic ether. Interesting, isn't it? He has some very interesting discussions about personal health that will benefit anyone.
Lastly, as is typical with many esoteric works of that time, Charles Haanel also hints at the coming changes, whereby the old structures will be replaced by the new. It's a very Aquarian concept, and those familiar with this theme will recognize this. Otherwise, just read the book in its entirety to appreciate its content.
As I previously said, the book has everything for everyone, no matter what background. For those just discovering these wonderful concepts, the benefits of reading The Master Key System are obvious. How about for those who are already versed in esoteric studies? The benefits are bigger still, because although the book discusses concepts that may already be familiar, they are in no way redundant. We always benefit from looking at the same thing from different perspectives, because as Charles Haanel says, although there is one Truth, there are many conceptions of the Truth and many ways of interpreting this Truth.
In case you're getting ready to jump up and head straight for the bookstore, hold your horses for a moment. The Master Key System has been out of print for a long time, and although some independent publishers have decided to print it again, it's still not widely available.
But luckily for us, since the book was published before 1923, it's now in the public domain and you can easily download an ebook for free. I would recommend the one given by Kallisti Publishing. According to the publisher, he transcribed the ebook directly from an old copy of The Master Key System that his friend had, so it would contain all the original words of Charles Haanel. Other versions have supposedly changed some phrases or removed "disagreeable" content, and I have identified some of this when I compared one version to the ebook given out by Kallisti Publishing.
You will need to register your name and email to download a free copy of the ebook, but I haven't noticed anything bad that came out of that, so it should be okay. Try to read the other sections of the site, such as the FAQ, because it gives some additional info. Anyway, enough of the preliminaries, you can get your copy here.
Did Charles Haanel write any other books? Yes he did. These were Mental Chemistry, The New Psychology, A Book About You and (with Victor Simon Perera) The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi. While it may be difficult to get copies of these books, I'm sure the treasurehouse of information is well worth the effort of finding them.
Happy reading!
There is also a popular rumor that while still studying at Harvard, Bill Gates found a copy of the Master Key System in the library and it so inspired him that he opted to drop out in order to found Microsoft. Although it seems there is no factual basis for the rumor (Bill Gates himself hasn't mentioned anything about it), the rumor has helped the recent popularity of the book.
So who was Charles Haanel? Regarded by many as the Father of Personal Development, he was definitely a testament to his own teachings. He was a successful businessman who owned several companies and was active in the Louisiana business community in addition to being affiliated with many groups. Incidentally, Charles Haanel was also a Freemason and had links with the Society of Rosicrucians, which explains the heavy metaphysical content of the Master Key System. Even then, the beauty of the book is that it has something for everyone, whatever background one may be coming from.
When The Secret broke into the market several years ago, life coaching programs and self-empowerment seminars were catapulted into the forefront of mainstream consciousness, and it popularized the Law of Attraction (also called the Law of Love by Charles Haanel) as well. Although most of the focus has been geared towards prosperity, a lot of attention has also been given to building up the confidence of people and getting them into the mindset that leads to positive changes in their lives. If you are familiar with this trend and concept, then you have a basic idea of what The Master Key System has to offer.
But for serious esoteric students, the book is so much more. While reading The Master Key System, some of the discussions, particularly those of the different esoteric laws, reminded me of The Kybalion (a work about various Hermetic principles; it came out in 1908). Incidentally, a friend mentioned to me that The Kybalion also appears in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Unfortunately, I haven't read The Lost Symbol yet (couldn't find any hardcopies), but I do hope to get a copy soon.
Since The Kybalion came out a few years earlier, it is plausible that Charles Haanel could have read it, given his links to the Freemasons and Rosicrucians. What esoteric laws does Charles Haanel discuss? Here is a basic listing:
1. Law of Attraction - like matter will attract like matter; negative thoughts attract negative circumstances, while positive thoughts attract positive circumstances.
2. Law of Cause and Effect - whereby you reap exactly what you sow.
3. Law of Compensation - which is why you must first give in order to receive, because anything not merited is eventually taken away since Nature seeks to find equilibrium.
4. Law of Periodicity (may also be called Law of Cycles or Law of Rhythm) - Charles Haanel says that this law is governed by the Septimal Law (Law of Sevens), whereby everything happens in cycles of sevens (seven days, seven weeks, seven months, seven years, etc.). For those familiar with Master Choa's Management Through Kabbalistic Cycle, which involves 7 cycles as well, you will appreciate this section. In fact, given Master Choa's prolific reading, I wouldn't be surprised if he had read The Master Key System.
5. Law of Growth - anything given thought is given life, therefore it must build upon itself.
While the average reader may be left scratching his head at all these metaphysical discussions, if you have managed to benefit from The Secret or The Master Key System itself, then you know that there is something in operation that makes things happen the way they do. What Charles Haanel does is explain why they do happen, so that one may consistently take advantage of them.
Mr. Haanel is quite insightful and poignant in his writing. For instance, at the end of the book is a question and answer section, and one of the questions posed is that if the "I" is spiritual and therefore perfect, why is it that we always see such imperfect results? Mr. Haanel's answer is that we see no imperfect results, and that all around us is perfection. He says that spiritual laws operate with immutable precision and perfection. If an individual thinks constructively, then the results are positive and harmonious; if the individual thinks destructively, then the results are negative and disastrous. You sow what you reap, and since we are free to think as we wish, then we perfectly and exactly get what we give out. This is what is meant by the Law working perfectly.
This is really interesting, because anyone familiar with the publications of The Kabbalah Centre will find this same theme (not in the exact same words, of course) in their different books. Try to grab a copy of The 72 Names of God, and turn to the page that discusses the 51st Name, titled "No Guilt."
Which brings me to the next point. As a practitioner of Arhatic Yoga, I could recognize the very spiritual concepts found in the book, such as the discussion of the "I" and connecting with the spirit. While I am not familiar with other systems of yoga or other spiritual disciplines, I am sure that they would recognize the concepts I am referring to should they have the chance to read the book.
For pranic healers, it's also interesting to note that Charles Haanel mentions that everytime we breathe, we vitalize our body with pranic ether, which is life itself. According to him, we could not exist a moment without this pranic energy or pranic ether. Interesting, isn't it? He has some very interesting discussions about personal health that will benefit anyone.
Lastly, as is typical with many esoteric works of that time, Charles Haanel also hints at the coming changes, whereby the old structures will be replaced by the new. It's a very Aquarian concept, and those familiar with this theme will recognize this. Otherwise, just read the book in its entirety to appreciate its content.
As I previously said, the book has everything for everyone, no matter what background. For those just discovering these wonderful concepts, the benefits of reading The Master Key System are obvious. How about for those who are already versed in esoteric studies? The benefits are bigger still, because although the book discusses concepts that may already be familiar, they are in no way redundant. We always benefit from looking at the same thing from different perspectives, because as Charles Haanel says, although there is one Truth, there are many conceptions of the Truth and many ways of interpreting this Truth.
In case you're getting ready to jump up and head straight for the bookstore, hold your horses for a moment. The Master Key System has been out of print for a long time, and although some independent publishers have decided to print it again, it's still not widely available.
But luckily for us, since the book was published before 1923, it's now in the public domain and you can easily download an ebook for free. I would recommend the one given by Kallisti Publishing. According to the publisher, he transcribed the ebook directly from an old copy of The Master Key System that his friend had, so it would contain all the original words of Charles Haanel. Other versions have supposedly changed some phrases or removed "disagreeable" content, and I have identified some of this when I compared one version to the ebook given out by Kallisti Publishing.
You will need to register your name and email to download a free copy of the ebook, but I haven't noticed anything bad that came out of that, so it should be okay. Try to read the other sections of the site, such as the FAQ, because it gives some additional info. Anyway, enough of the preliminaries, you can get your copy here.
Did Charles Haanel write any other books? Yes he did. These were Mental Chemistry, The New Psychology, A Book About You and (with Victor Simon Perera) The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi. While it may be difficult to get copies of these books, I'm sure the treasurehouse of information is well worth the effort of finding them.
Happy reading!
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