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"We are... affected by... symbols. Even if we do not understand their meaning on a conscious level. I believe that originally magick began as a sort of survival method. An attempt to exercise some form of control over the helpless situations humans experienced in our early evolution. But eventually magick evolved into a form of primitive psychoanalysis, and whether that is [ultimately] true or not it is irrelevant. What IS relevant is that magick today is a way of understanding the True Self. ... Everyone’s spiritual experience will... differ from anyone else’s. But... some of those experiences can be duplicated by other[s]... using the same method. ... Unfortunately, *this* Scientific Illuminism is forcing peer pressure, as opposed to peer review...: A codified method expected to yield the same results as everyone else. Those that don’t fit into these predefined expectations are... devalued. And[,] if we put our guard down, we could eventually allow [that]... which prioritizes being liked over being spiritual. Do you see the problem...? Painted by such a wide brush... Magick often confuses... . ... The word “magick”[,] as we are describing it, above, does not refer to any sort of supernatural practice because it treats the full human experience as natural. Even the parts we don’t yet understand. [...] So, does it really matter much what one believes, so long as it is life-enhancing? Does it matter[, for example,] whether or not Jesus existed? Only academically. Does it matter *spiritually*? Only insomuch as those thoughts can be compared to every other myth which has to do with... the sun. Birth, life, death... . As I see it, “God” is both matter and spirit. It is a source of infinite... light, which has been divided and distributed to every living thing. Our goal should be to come closer to this... source. ... where do I stand on the argument of religion vs[.] atheism? I don’t. They are different sides of the same coin; different cheeks of the same ass. It is a stupid argument… one that doesn’t influence Scientific Illuminism one way or the other. But I will leave you with this last thing: *People who do not believe in miracles will never experience one.* Pax Profunda." — Gerald (Gerard) Enrique Del Campo (from reply letter in 'Abbot Speaks' series: "What if I am an atheist?")