Nothing is created until it manifests in the physical world. Until then, what we conjure in our minds is little more than a vain image. The comedian Louis CK has this wonderful routine where he describes what goes through his mind whenever he sees a soldier get on a plane and has to sit in coach, while he, a mere entertainer, sits in first class. He thinks to himself how he should offer his seat to the soldier who, after all, is willing to die in service to his (or her) country. Of course, he never actually does offer his seat, and, according to him, never comes remotely close to offering his seat. But he nonetheless feels good about having thought of it. In fact, he not only feels good about it but goes on to congratulate himself for having thought of it – “Wow, I’m really a nice guy for having had such a good thought!” The great thing about comedians is that they are willing to expose themselves in ways that most people will not.

It is not enough to merely have spiritual thoughts, to read spiritual books, to attend spiritual talks. These things when overdone can only hurt us in our spiritual growth. How can they hurt us? By leading us to believe that we have arrived, when in fact we are only reading the brochure.

You will hear some people say that praying for “stuff” is wrong, that you should never pray for a specific outcome, that only God knows what is good for you, and that that is what you should pray for. But in reality, which is to say energetically, unless you can manifest what you want in your life, to whatever degree you are capable, you haven’t created anything. And learning how to create is key to spiritual growth. We were created in God’s image, says the Bible. Does that mean in appearance only? Does God have a human body that looks just like ours? No. But God is a creator, and God created us to be creators – just like God. And God created us by imaging us. This is the key.

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say that life in a physical body is a good thing, that disincarnate beings are waiting in line to be born, because only here on earth can one make spiritual progress. Let’s suppose that this is true. Why would it be? If you look, you can see a pattern – creation is a process of taking a thought from mind into the physical world, that somehow doing that, completing that, is the purpose of physical life. And since we are already bringing things into manifestation anyway, why not do it consciously and in a way that works for us instead of against us?

We are accustomed to seeing ourselves, identifying ourselves, with our physical body. This is a grave mistake, not only because the body is constantly changing (usually for the worse) but because the Self does not. So, if we identify with the body, we place ourselves out of sync with the Self. Rather, the body is something we do, whereas the Self is what we are.

We create our own devil. It’s not something we do on purpose, normally. It just happens. The more enthralled we get with the world “out there,” the more dysfunctional it looks. People look broken, spiritually speaking. And the more we see them that way, the more broken they become. We don’t create broken people; we create our perception. And since people have a tendency to play into the way we see them, they can unwittingly take on the evil we project.

This is an example of “build it and they will come.” When we build an image in the mind, the world will naturally try to conform to it. Such is the power of the mind. If enough people hold the same image, the power becomes irresistible. It becomes what “everyone knows.” We have created an evil world, created it in the mind. And an evil world requires lots of laws. The more laws, the more prisons. The more prisons, the more prisoners. Create a law, and you automatically create a criminal. Lao Tzu saw this. So did Saint Paul. But both had a hard time convincing people of it.

Here’s the technical part:

The square is by definition width and breadth. Within it we can plot out any image to any degree of resolution. In order to bring that image into manifestation, we have to consider how we turn the square into a cube. This involves time. Time exists for the purpose of creation. Genesis alludes to this by dividing the creative process into “days.” They are not literal days, of course, but cycles of any duration. The technical term is periodicity. Time can only be understood within the context of eternity, which ironically has nothing to do with time. Time is merely a way to divide up that which is indivisible, an imposition of pattern into a seamless whole. Periodicity – In the beginning was the Word.

Time involves sequence and repetition. These two aspects can be applied in whatever cycle you choose, whether a day, a year, a breath, or a heartbeat. The duration is unimportant, but the pattern is everything. Applying time, which includes sequence and repetition, to an image that is essentially two-dimensional – an image in the mind – is the basis of prayer and ritual. This is how it works. Add to this suitable preparation in the physical world and you have the bridge you need to bring your idea into reality.

Once the physical foundation has been laid, the creative fires start to burn, and the draft of that flame will draw the needed materials into the form. But there must be alignment between the form and the image. This is represented symbolically by the figure-eight (8 = 2 x 4 or 2 cubed). In Key 8 of the Tarot, we see a garland of flowers used to harness the forces of nature. A garland is an orderly sequence, the repetition of a pattern woven over time. Such a pattern, when completed, is indestructible, which is another way of saying eternal. The gates of hell (chaos) shall not prevail against it.

Once a pattern such as this is established, it becomes a nexus in the mind, a living thing. It begins to breathe and grow, and as it does, it draws to itself all of the substance it requires to manifest. It has to manifest, otherwise there would be an imbalance between the mind and the physical. Whatever exists in the mind MUST exist in the physical, and whatever exists in the physical MUST exist in the mind. This is the Law.

also see: Authority and the Square