The laws under which we live
Here’s an interesting quote by Charles Haanel:
“The laws under which we live are designed solely for our advantage. These laws are immutable and we cannot escape from their operation.
All the great eternal forces act in solemn silence, but it is in our power to place ourselves in harmony with them and thus express a life of comparative peace and happiness.
Difficulties, inharmonies, and obstacles, indicate that we are either refusing to give out what we no longer need, or refusing to accept what we require.
Growth is attained through an exchange of the old for the new, of the good for the better; it is a conditional or reciprocal action, for each of us is a complete thought entity and this completeness makes it possible for us to receive only as we give.
We cannot obtain what we lack if we tenaciously cling to what we have. We are able to consciously control our conditions as we come to sense the purpose of what we attract, and are able to extract from each experience only what we require for our further growth. Our ability to do this determines the degree of harmony or happiness we attain.
The ability to appropriate what we require for our growth, continually increases as we reach higher planes and broader visions, and the greater our abilities to know what we require, the more certain we shall be to discern its presence, to attract it and to absorb it. Nothing may reach us except what is necessary for our growth.
That we reap what we sow is mathematically exact. We gain permanent strength exactly to the extent of the effort required to overcome difficulties.”
Explore the exercises
Often, students engaging in the Charisma School exercises, whether in the free or the bigger courses, tend to approach them merely for the sake of completing them. It’s as if the exercises themselves were something like magic rituals, believed to automatically bring about changes, or like brushing your teeth, where they could be done mindlessly yet still yield benefits.
However, reality paints a different picture.
As much as I’d like to portray these exercises as simple and effortless, like brushing your teeth, the truth is quite different.
If you do them mindlessly or merely out of “obligation”, the benefits will likely be minimal.
It’s necessary to explore what you are doing. For example, the seemingly straightforward exercise of the magnetic gaze — staring at a point on the wall — can lead to profound revelations when approached correctly.
What happens as you are doing it? How do your eyes respond? How is your energy moving internally? What about your thoughts? Are they drifting or can you be focused? If not, why? What happens? What sensations do you experience in your eyes during the exercise? Do you perceive any changes? Do you feel the energy projecting? Or is it contracting? What stands out in your energy? How is it being projected? What kind of energy is it? Where and how precisely in your eyes do you detect this?
The insights you can get over this simple exercise are endless. The same can be said about pretty much every other exercise.
However, these insights are only attainable when approached with full awareness and a mindset of curiosity and exploration.
Naturally, the more awareness you cultivate regarding different aspects of yourself, the more you’ll gain from these exercises.
If you think you don’t feel anything or feel very little, your awareness is not yet well-developed. Energy movements unfold continuously throughout your day, even when you perceive nothing happening.
That’s why we created the course Advanced Energy Science – to equip you with the vocabulary and sensitivity needed to feel and comprehend more about your true self.
Thoughts are shadows of our feelings
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote:
“Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings — always darker, emptier, and simpler.”
It’s a very thought-provoking quote, especially when we consider how much emphasis is placed on thinking and intellect everywhere we look.
It’s also interesting to see an intellectual giant like Nietzsche ditching on thoughts.
But let’s go further and – most importantly – understand the implications for our own lives.
Thoughts often serve as shadows of our feelings, meaning we feel first and think later. Initially, we experience a feeling, then we rationalize it.
If our body is craving candy, we find rational reasons to justify buying it: “I need it for studying,” “It’s my reward,” “I’m feeling down, so I need a pick-me-up,” and so on.
But the true reason was the body craving – an energy that surged within us and drove us toward sugar. Therefore, we should examine that energy to uncover the genuine motive, rather than relying solely on intellectual justifications. Notice how we’ve crafted a “shadow” of the feeling with our intellect.
Similarly, when we dislike someone, our body and energy revolt against them, leading us to seek intellectual reasons to distance ourselves from them.
You might ask: “What’s the harm in that? What’s wrong with rationalizing something?”
Well, the harm lies mainly in our tendency to identify with those thoughts and construct elaborate narratives in our minds based on them.
Yet, this narrative is merely a “shadow” of the real reason, leaving us in the dark about what truly influences us. Thoughts don’t faithfully reflect our feelings and energy; in fact, they often constrain them. By probing deeply within ourselves—not just into our thoughts but, crucially, into our bodies and energy, which lie at the essence of our being—we can access far greater wisdom.
That’s what we work on in the course:
>>> Advanced Energy Science
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