What I don’t like about this sort of thing (well, perhaps I should say that what I don’t like about this sort of thing aside from the general feeling of ennui that it gives me) is that it makes it sound...not merely mystical and magical, but instantly mystical and magical. Instant contemplation—just like Instant Breakfast or instant weight loss?
I’m sure there are things that can help with meditation—I don’t know that this is one of them, but, heck, why not?—just as there are things that help with prayer, but the key word is “help.” If the rosary or the cross helps you to concentrate on God, if the ancient flower of life helps you focus on the Infinite, by all means, use them. But when it comes down to it, those things are only teaching aids. I mean, you still gotta pray the prayer or focus on the Infinite, right? If focusing on the cross merely makes you wonder what kind of wood your particular cross is made of or if focusing on the ancient flower makes you think of that Spirograph you had when you were 8...well, I wouldn’t say they’ve been all that helpful.
