Now, this is a curious thought I'm having while reading "The Master Key". So many of these books, they all tell you the same thing, self-help, mind is key, as above, so below, etc, etc. And yet few people really believe it.
This, despite the abundant and unending substantiations and proofs.
Yet most people subscribe to some religious philosophy or another. Religion is still a far more popular means of teaching spiritual truths than any number of self-help books.
Why is this?
I think I have it. We are hard wired for narrative. We need a story. And all the spiritual teaching books the world religions are based upon are based upon stories. The commandments and strictures - whether they be to abstain from pork, alcohol, etc, these are community guidelines. But the "histories" and narratives, stories, tales and parables they tell, these are the encoding of the beliefs.
And the Truth.
Now - using the Bible for example, is encoded on a variety of levels.
For the unthinking idiot it's a marvelous trove of historical facts, people and truths that should be taken entirely at face value.
This, while contributing greatly to it's popularity is also it's downfall, as we live in more pragmatic times and people of thought and discernment are prejudiced against the book by it's devotees and audience.
But - like any good fairy tale or fable, it has within it germs of truth, has in fact codified the truth so that anyone at a certain level of thought or schooling can have an epiphany or revelation - or several - and suddenly understand what it's telling you.
It is filled with such examples, few of which are ever realized by it's readers.
Some more obvious ones: Jesus is the son of God. We are all Jesus's brothers. Therefore we are all the sons of God.
From this you could go even further: Dogs beget dogs. Donkeys beget Donkeys. Gods beget Gods. Therefore we are all Gods.
In this you see then that all the vile actions, rapes, murders and wars sanctioned by "God" were in fact sanctioned by ourselves, and deemed good. We judged ourselves and were comfortable with the assessment.
In this vein one could go on and on. But - what matters is, the fact that a series of inane or implausible stories, some of which contain germs of historical truth, have been codified or written in such a way to allow interpretations on a variety of levels. Most people won't go to the work of thinking, thinking is tough, hard, or they simply have no qualifications, and hence the Bible - and Religion - become a means for social control.
And - power corrupts, and if you have not slain the Buddha on the Road then he will surely slay you.
Back to my Master Key...