Some time ago I worked with a very famous French movie star. When my book was going into publication, I asked her to write a foreword for me. She declined by saying that if she wrote a foreword for me, her association with spirituality would become public and this would be very detrimental for her partner, who was also a public figure. So, she could not do it because public opinion was against spirituality.
In the 15th century people just had to say that you are a witch. That was enough and you were dead. No trial, no due process. You were dead. In today’s France this habit has changed into “You are a sect!” You are vegetarian, you meditate or do Chi Gung – You are a sect! And you are dead, no trial, no due process. No other country in Europe operates in the 15th century like this still.
This has created some very amazing situations in the sense that spiritual teachings take place in the closet. The rich, famous and powerful all entertain connections with spiritual teachers or healers because they know the powerful benefits for them. For example, one of the French presidents called in a spiritual healer to help him. But this was kept secret. It was not shared with the French public, because the president did not want to be considered weird by the “public.”
This is no issue whatsoever in the USA or most other European countries, but here in France the old tradition of witch hunt remains alive.
It reminds me of the past were gay people were hiding because of fear of public opinion. In France “spiritual” is the new gay and it happens in the closet, especially for the rich and famous, unless you are Gerard Depardieu, who couldn’t care less about public opinion.
When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, you do not see public opinion. You look yourself in the eyes and you see yourself. And perhaps you see Mr. Shakespeare looking over your shoulder, saying, “To thine own self be true.”
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