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Banishing and Transcedental Meditation

Aha! I am Klarion

16:40 / 19.12.06

I very recently started a meditation regiment that included twice a day Natural Stress Relief Meditation (which is really just an affordable version of TM) and have had positive results (most of my anger is gone and I feel a lot less anxious).

The technique involves sitting for twenty minutes twice a day and repeating syllable (or mantra) silently in your mind. It is supposed to greatly reduce stress.

I was wondering is if this technique might constitute a form of banishing or is it simply a ritual in and of itself.

Should I use this technique as a form of banishing or should I use other methods?

Would anyone care to recommend me a simple banishing ritual if the Meditation is a ritual itself?

16:44 / 19.12.06

What do you mean by banishing? What are you trying to do?

Aha! I am Klarion

18:40 / 19.12.06

Well, I have been casting some sigils and being a complete newb, I wasn't banishing afterwards (bad or sloppy). Then somebody turned me on to the meditation and after experiencing how relaxing it was I thought that it might be an effective way to banish since it just calms me down and centers me.

I was wondering since it washes out a lot of negativity and anxiety is it a good way of cleaning up after I launch a sigil or try something else.

Since it puts me in a relaxed and centered state of mind, is it an effective way to close a sigil launch. Or since it is largely an internal process and not in any way ceremonial (overtly), Is it banishing at all? Or since it alters the way I feel, is it a ritual itself. Sorry if that doesn't clarify anything.

18:54 / 19.12.06

i may have a different dictionary in my head to you, but isnt ritual a pretty broad term? i think a banshing is a ritual, for example, as is focussed meditation.
crossing yourself is a ritual, y'know? it's also a bansishing act and a protection.

i'd suggest the best way to look at these things is to first decide the result or the outcome and then find the best tools for that task.
to help folks suggest a toolkit, perhaps you could explain what exactly is the result you are after?

19:19 / 19.12.06

yeah I hafta say two totally different kinds of ritual. Is your confusion stemming from people talking about banishing unpleasant thoughts or stress?

meditation is about achieving a desired internal level of focus using a variety of techniques. To banish is to send away. Banishing is about interacting with the environment and intentionally defining what is invited to remain and what is requested to leave. Though the environment in this case can include the aspects of the people/animals/things involved. You could banish stress or other thoughts but that would be more like bailing out a canoe in a storm rather than meditation to calm the waters.

does that help?

Aha! I am Klarion

01:27 / 20.12.06

Yes, the thing you mentioned about interacting with the environment does help. I apprieciate the clarification between the two different types of banishing.

Aha! I am Klarion

01:28 / 20.12.06

Edit: the clarification between banishing and meditation...sorry

Unconditional Love

03:00 / 20.12.06

When meditation is about focus on one precept or point a kind of banishing is going on, not in the ritualistic sense, but in a sense if thats how your meditating you are to an extent attempting to banish everything but your focus, through quiet and calm dismissal, but it ain't LBRP.

08:16 / 20.12.06

Why do you think you need to banish after sigils? Why do you think banishing is important at all?

Chaos is relative

22:26 / 22.12.06

Let me first assert that I am not qualified to speak for anyone else. I don't have enough experience to teach and do not pretend to know which models are the most efficient or effective for someone other than myself.

That said I think of my entire inner dialog as meditation. A formal meditation simply helps me to structure the daily working of my psyche in a way that corresponds with my will.

I personally see immense benefits from elaborate banishings before any work. It has a way of cleaning the slate and purifying my intent. This reduces inner conflict or ambiguous intent creating a more conducive work environment. Banish in whatever way suits you. In my work I find that with a scientifically skeptical approach I can ask the important questions getting to the meat of my intent. After scrutiny that which I believe to be solid usually works. In short, if I believe it will work it does.

So to answer the original question I am always banishing and meditating so I guess the two have a symbiotic relationship in my work. Thanks for the post.

00:41 / 23.12.06

I'm not a big formal LBRP banisher, as I don't usually have anything too banish-worthy hanging about afterwards, at least as far as I'm concerned, anyway.

On the occasion I need to clear my head or the air or both, a simple visualization will usually suffice. Or music. I banished after my Samhain ritual (which was a little intense) with the Starland Vocal Band.

Yes, "Afternoon Delight": possibly the cheesiest song on Earth. Pretty difficult to take yourself seriously while listening to it.

Maybe it depends on what you are doing (and I'm not exactly sure in your case), but for the most part, banishing is whatever gives you peace of mind that you're in a safe space. Find something that makes you feel that way and try it out. If sitting and meditating with a mantra works for you, then why not do that? If you feel there things outside of you that you need to get rid of, then take up the LBRP. It takes practice, but it's not hard to learn.

23:08 / 23.12.06

I have been doing the ceremonial magick Donald Kraig-style LBRP on and off for over 4 years now, and its simple practical power still blows my mind and makes me see it in ever new eyes. Perhaps its partly psychological thanks to its pretty universal "big ups" from the magical community, but whenever I sense negative feelings are about, my own or others, or I feel "off" for some reason, or pretty much any other negative state, the LBRP always helps. And as i sort myself out and ready myself to actually take responsibility for myself in the universe, and I learn and understand about what magic really is, it becomes ever more powerful. At the moment I don't try and alter my personal universe through magick that much, but when I have it always provides a very thorough beginning and end. It grows with you I suppose, at least in my case.

That said, banishing with laughter has to be one of the best ideas I have got out of Chaos magic, and I have naturally got a few ideas out of that. Whether its a particularly heavy self (or other!) healing session, or just being threatened by a few rudes in a bar, heartfelt laughter is a hugely powerful tool for dispelling negative engergies built up in yourself and hopefully others too.

To answer your question I believe banishing and meditation to be seperate tools. Whether/if each tool is required I'd let my intuition decide these days. But it never hurts to do a good LBRP, at least as a beginner as I am. Plus it helps the ol' magickal skills (visualisation, vibration, inflaming thyself with prayer!) no end.