Many Mistakes Mages Make: Real Life Challenges

Hey Family!

This time we've been reflecting on how our training went the first time we found someone willing to talk to us about this stuff. There's been a lot going on. Here is where the juju disclaimer really makes a difference though. We do not know if this is real, or if it's imaginary. The consequences are the same either way, and this is where the practical application takes a darker turn.

One of the side effects of being a "Hero" or basically magic(k)al juju person is that there really isn't any room in today's world for people who want to live like that. If we're being nice to folks, our system is set up to regulate or discourage that. Homeless folks get ushered on and shuffled around the board like pawns. People with autism and mental illness get treated like prisoners and violent criminals. We have been witnessing all of this first hand, and we're still really not sure what to make of it. The most "effective" forms of Hero Training that we've been told about is to experience the world ourself. Thusly, training has ushered us into a world where we explore these things.

Looking at the Juju points us at an external entity controlling aspects of our life. It could be god, fate, reality... It can look like we don't have any control over our own lives; events just happen to us and around us. Thinking like this actually puts a lot of stress on the mind itself, which in turn makes it easier to control it. It is a self-feeding cycle that is very difficult to get out of on our own.

Looking at the practical points us at our internal reality and how it warps and shapes to match our external reality. We do have a say in how we react to things we observe, but any reasonable person is going to break eventually. When the training is intended to find that point from the start, most people won't make it. Not everyone has the strength or endurance to survive that kind of trial.

There are perks to the flexible thinking and survival skills that come from this sort of thing; it just comes with a very high price.