Energy Quote by Robert L. Moore
““All knowledge that takes special training to acquire is the province of the Magician energy. Whether you are an apprentice training to become a master electrician and unraveling the mysteries of high voltage; or a medical student, grinding away night and day, studying the secrets of the human body and using available technologies to help your patients; or a would-be stockbroker or a student of high finance; or a trainee in one of the psychoanalytic schools, you are in exactly the same position as the apprentice shaman or witch doctor in tribal societies. You are spending large amounts of time, energy, and money in order to be initiated into rarefied realms of secret power. You are undergoing an ordeal testing your capacities to become a master of this power. And, as is true in all initiations, there is no guarantee of success. [Magician energy]””
About This Quote
Source Book: Integral Psychology by Robert L. Moore, 1975
Specialized knowledge requires intense training, investment, and an initiation-like process, yet success is uncertain.
In simple terms: Learning specialized skills is costly and uncertain.
Key Takeaway
Commit to disciplined practice despite uncertainty.
Themes
learning
skill acquisition
uncertainty
Mood
determined
reflective
Type
motivational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- medical school
- electrical apprenticeship
- finance training
- psychoanalysis
- stockbroker training
Key Concepts
initiation
magician energy
expertise
Questions to Reflect On
- What motivates you to endure costly training?
- How do you handle setbacks in mastery?
A Different Perspective
No guarantee of mastery despite effort.
![“Nancy [Kassebaum] and I worked on a women's health agenda when I first came. Women were not included in the protocols at NIH, the famous study, 'take an aspirin a day, keep the doctor, you know, a heart attack away.' It was done on ten thousand male medical students.” quote by Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/200/barbara-mikulski-8601_agendas_nancy-kassebaum-and-i-worked-on-a-women_275749.jpg)
![“The good king delighted in noticing and promoting good men to positions of responsibility in his kingdom. He held audience, primarily, not to be seen, but to see, admire, and delight in his subjects, to reward them and to bestow honors upon them. [the King]” quote by Robert L. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/485/robert-l-moore-44878_good-men_the-good-king-delighted-in-noticing-and_2762938.jpg)
