Hans Lovejoy, editor
Messiahs! They are everywhere, especially in Byron Shire.
You know the messianic type – they yearn to be followed and admired for their wise words and good deeds.
Some are religious or political, while others have built up a cult following based around spirituality (for example).
And then there are many who are just small fry with only a few followers.
Fun fact – the name messiah comes from the Hebrew word Mashiach, which means anointed one, which could be a priest or king or both.
It’s always impressive to see how one person can manipulate others with their Jedi-like hypnotism and charm.
The yearning to follow is perhaps a natural state of being for most humans, given that society appears to be made up of around 15 per cent of critical independent thinkers and 85 per cent who aren’t (you are a critical independent thinker btw, that’s why you live here).
Yet it’s easy to be misguided and misled by messiahs – not all have a desire to impart wisdom to raise the collective frequency. A good example is that some curanderos, or native traditional native healers, are compromised. Or just plain fake.
It’s a big, wide world out there, and it’s important to know where to get quality psychic protection from.
As critical independent thinkers know, the messiahs who need an audience should be treated with suspicion or ignored.
Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) reputedly hated the attention. A gem of his wisdom was, ‘It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society’.
Another philosopher of high repute who didn’t appear interested in fame was Alan Watts (1915–1973).
He is widely credited as the first to bring the knowledge of Eastern religious and philosophy (Chinese, Indian, and Japanese) to a Western audience in the 1960s.
Having dabbled in psychedelics, Watts was malleable and didn’t take life too seriously, which are perhaps two of life’s greatest lessons.
Watts once said, ‘I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.’
So let’s not waste time with the second-rate messiahs – there are enough of the good ones about. Swapping Jordan Peterson for Terrence McKenna would be a good start.
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