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Useful Techniques for a Well Rounded Sorceror

  
  

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Seth
14:05 / 07.07.02
Simple exercise: describe your favourite concepts, methodologies and techniques in such a way that someone with practically no magickal experience can understand and give it a try. It'd be good to get a cross-section from as many different areas as possible, including sigils, invocation, journeying, meditation, divination techniques, etc.

Threads in the Magick forum often seem very inward looking, relying on a great deal of specialist knowledge in order for posters to participate. Many people here have openly praised the work and research of practitioners who have shared their knowledge with as wide a circle as possible: this could be seen as our chance to do the same. It'd even be fun to put the results together in a decent format for easy distribution, either on or off the internet. Oh, and if anyone would like more information on a subject, please butt in and ask, and someone will explain.

We'll use the motto, "The meaning of your communication is the response that you get" for this thread. If people don't understand your post, that's your problem as a communicator, not theirs. Find new ways to talk about it until they get it.
 
 
Boy in a Suitcase
19:44 / 07.07.02
Obsession-conquering techniques developed by myself:

1. Every time you get too far into the internal monologue or out of touch with reality, take a few minutes to do nothing but name, in your head, as much of the stuff you see around you as possible.

2. Every time your mind "sticks" on some problem or incident in your past that it keeps going back to and chewing over, imagine a Chaostar or similar pokey-thing growing from the center of this obsessional energy-sapper and bursting it from the inside out like a cell.
 
 
invisible_al
20:00 / 07.07.02
*Putting my obtuse hat on*
Chaostar or similar pokey-thing whats that then?
Some kind of cellular 'thingy' taking energy from said obsessional stuff and leaching the bad stuff away?

First suggestion sounds good though and even I can understand it .
 
 
Sebastian
20:54 / 07.07.02
Magick for Human Beings - Or: How I Realised I Am A Dummy After Writing the Steps Below.

Opus Summary: cast a spell, then follow the synch.

1. Use magick for those things you can't experience or make happen by simply pushing a button or buying a ticket (I wanna find X, I wanna meet Y, I want Z to happen). Even if you can buy a ticket, or push a button, or make a phone call, the random aspects of the deed, those you do not control directly, are under the domain of magick.

2. Cast the spell (the magickal intention) through the mean that seems more suitable, forbidden, and powerful to you. It can be simply writing 100 times the desire on a special kind of paper. It can be something you read in a novel or saw in a movie, in a cartoon, or in a comic book, something that has striken you as being "powerful" magick. If you have hundred of options, even the ones you make up, choose the one to which you are most nauseated and fascinated, the one that makes your body tremble from just imagining yourself doing it, and that leaves no place of doubt that will put Magick in motion. It might be something neatly deranged you thought about in childhood and worked to get a toy or a grandma's visit you were yearning to. Do it.

3. Magick is always at work. If you have a magickal intention, the universe will start throwing you bits of it. SO, once the spell is casted, everything you perceive in relation to your desire fulfillment must be acknowledge as such, and enacted upon. Anything from internal to external: thoughts, suggestions, pieces of conversations, silent stares, mistakes, the titles of newspapers, magazine covers that you pass by, etc, etc. If a given perception appears to command you to do something, do it, but as if you don't give a shit about the whole thing. Always remember that enacting upon synchronicities with all your might and obsessive emotional load is precisely what sends people to assylums. The Magickian is out of the assylum only because nobody notices he is following a nutty synchronicity, and because he doesn't have a fit if it fails. So act upon it, but be prepared in advance to withdraw and to be fooled many times, so you will not loose your temper. Be polite, kind, gentle, and respectful while acting, leave always a door open to turn back with a cheerful smile ("Ooops, sorry, the pleasure is mine."). Cover all the possiilites, move towards your desire. If you have a fit, then have it under control, so you can switch on and off. If you can't, then have it privately.

4. If any perception is contrary to your fulfillmet, say thanks, and simply put it out of your mind.

5. Assume that the more consensually your desire is fulfilled, the more magickal power was mobilised towards its fulfillment. Example: You want to meet X (you are dying to meet X actually). You cast the spell. If you go out to the street and bump into X, then there was much more magick at work than if you read X's forename written on the obituary newspaper page. In a magickal sense, seeing X's name on a magazine, or in a movie credits, or meeting X in a dream, is part of "meeting X" fulfillment, but not as consensual as actually bumping into X on the street, or having X calling you at home to arrange a meeting. Of course, if you do see X's nape on the street waiting for the traffic light to change, go back to step 3 (act upon it). That is your magick working, but X may not want to see you or may be in a rush, so say hi to X, but be prepared to have X say he is in a hurry.

6. Depending on the magickal power mobilised (see step 5) and your acknowledgment of fulfillment, repeat step 3, or revise step 3, in order to accrue magickal power for your intention. If reenacting step 3 makes the whole thing a crippling obsession and you can't operate to get your basic needs (food, dressing, and lodge -social withdrawal is accepted and somewhat distinctive) then: take a really cold shower, be happy if you are able to go back to your life as it was, and forget about it. Congratulate yourself if this was the case.

7. Be alert. The most striking magickal fulfillments reportedly occur when you finally got the whole thing outta your mind.

Please send complains and curses to:
Myself while I am in this lifetime.

Enjoy the ride.
 
 
FinderWolf
07:40 / 08.07.02
Great post, Sebastian. Just what I needed to hear/read at this point in my magickal evolution -- thanks!
 
 
pacha perplexa
14:39 / 08.07.02
Really good, man.
Can I try?

This much I know about divination.

Summary: It's all in your head. Bring it out.

1. All the information on:

a)what's going to happen;
b)what's really happening;
c)what's really happened;
d)the roles of other people and yourself in the situation (depends on to whom you're making the divination);
e)things about the situation that the person simply cannot control;
and
f)usually wise advice

is in your mind.

I don't know why. Explanations on this vary a lot, I'd rather remain doubtful or invent a personal one. You might pick yours, if you wish, here's some examples: "It's the Holy Guardian Angel's knowledge inside me", "It's the Tao", "It's the archetipical inheritance that's been thru all situations before", "It's the highly aware unconscious mind that perceives even the future, etc" etc..

Anyways, the thing is: whichever method of divination you choose, be aware that it doesn't have power on its own - it reflects what is inside you, what you already know unconsciously (even if it's about other people). So all you have to do is bring out the answers through the divination so you can analyse them.

2. The consequence of having the answers inside you already is that you can choose any divination method, even invent your own, as long as it works and you feel confortable practicing it.

3. Unless you have already discovered you best method(s), try some different techniques before diciding. Advantages of this include increased knowledge about:

a)different cultures;
b)diff. religions;
c)diff. magical practices

and their related symbols and myths.
Tarot, I-Ching, Runes, Buzios (forgot the translation for that - it's the one with the seashells.), Dream divination, etc, etc, etc (and many etcs).

4. Since there's dozens of varied techniques, you can have many insights on the same situation. In other words: while you'll see elaborate (even enigmatic) answers with methods like the I-Ching, which will reflect you life and the present situation with metaphors and confront them with phylosophical questions , other methods will only say "yes", "maybe" or "no", like the Pendulum. The later demands that you ask clearer/simpler questions, obviously.

Example: I've been offered a job, but am not sure... Should I get it? Or should I wait/look for a better opportunity? What's going to happen if I don't go for it? What if I do and see myself trapped in a contract for a whole year of stress and underpayment?

I choose two methods: the Tarot and the Bus Oracle.

There are gazillions of different tarot decks, but don't feel lost: it depends on your personal taste. The important thing is to get familiarized with the cards, their meanings and drawnings (I've found that actually liking the pictures is quite important), since all can be equally effective.

The answers I get from the tarot vary according to the spread (you can find lots of spread examples on the web). Basically, and hipotetically, what I get is: (present situation) I need money, my savings are running low, so I can't be too selective. (possibilities) Despite it seeming like a dungeon hole, the job can actually be pleasant provided I don't expect much from it in terms of professional growth. If I get organized, not leaving important things for the last minute, there'll probably be no stress. The only real problems could be the co-workers, who will demand tact and patience. The money will come in handy.

That's a very simplistic reading, just an example.

The Bus Oracle will be very different, though. It's not a traditional one, but very effective - I learnt on Barbelith last year and it really works in big cities with lots of ads, plaques and outdoors in the streets. It consists on entering a bus and, while it goes aroud the city, asking a question and looking for an answer outside the window, one that makes sense.

Question: "Should I get his job?". Answer on outdoor, after 5 minutes: "Earn money NOW!", or, less obvious, "This is it". Or whatever.

Erm... I think you get the idea.


5. How am I supposed to look at whatever divinatory tool I choose and see the answers?

Indeed, in many cases (not the pendulum, lazy!)it's not obvious because of the simbolic images, metaphors (what the fuck's that supposed to mean??), double meanings. So it's important learning how to use your intuition, thus recognizing the things that feel right when you use the technique.

The best way is trying. Ask simple questions about situations likely to be solved on the same week (try not to choose the ones you can guess the answers), like: "Is my trip on the weekend going to be pleasant?", "Will there be a terrorist attack on USA on the 4th july?", "Who's going to be evicted from the Big Brother?" (ok, kill me). And so on.

Gawd, I've ranted too much. Out, now.
 
 
Sebastian
16:40 / 08.07.02
Pacha, for someone like me who doesn't give a bit for divination you have definitely touched some interesting chords with the piece above. I am taking a print of it. I was going to add that I'll be back with questions but so far they are all answered there as I keep re-reading it.
 
 
Sebastian
17:02 / 08.07.02
it's important learning how to use your intuition, thus recognizing the things that feel right when you use the technique.

Then talent is critical according to the above, and it can be learnt with patience, trial, and error. I never paid attention to whether talent had much to do with divination. Now it does make a place in my mind for all the things I've heard about. Thanks again Pacha.

My own experiences are regrettable. I once went to a woman precisely to ask about a job. I asked her informally how did she knew things. "Since my 7th birthday (or so) I have this voice that tells me everything about the person I am looking at. I have inherited it from my mother's family". Okay, then its "the voice", I concluded. She went ahead with Spanish cards, put them on the table and looked at them carefully -I thought this was ridiculous since Frankie Sinatra there in her skull should be telling her the answers. She said I was not getting the job, that I would get one four months later. I went back home with a rather poor impression, because she wanted to tell me about other things I didn't give a crap. There I found a voice message from the job guys asking me to contact back because next Monday they wanted me working with them. I worked there for four months and then got the other job she had mentioned.
 
 
pacha perplexa
18:43 / 08.07.02
An almost perfect prediction, heheh. Glad it was useful, Sebastian!

The only time I let a stranger predict my future was on the streets of Sao Paulo. I was taking some pictures when this old gipsy (sp?) woman grabbed my hand and started talking frantically. "Pay me what you think it's worth, lemme read your hand, you won't regret it, lemme read it", etc. Just for the sake of the experience I allowed, and on she went about my emotional life, saying that the black-haired guy I thought I'd end up with was going to follow another path (he was gay, as I found out three months later). But, she said, "theres' a blond one which will be your partner next year"(well, actually Meme Buggerer, my boyfriend, is "golden", not blond). I payed some coins, in disbelief (I was sure the black-haired guy would end up with me!), and she wanted to tell me more, and more, but I ran away.

It was scary, but quite amazing.

The other weird experience was when me and this friend Tiago were waiting for a bus and this old lady that looked a lot like Mad Hettie (y'know, the one from Sandman) popped up from nowhere, pointed her finger at him and squeaked: "You are NOT Tiago!", and wandered away, laughing. All I know is that this friend was having a complicated personality disorder at the time, and this made all the sense in the world for him.

So. How's that? No idea, but it is. Methinks everybody has this thing of "knowing", more or less developed.

The talent? Here's something that might help:

I read a theory last year, in this book I forgot the name, about the four different habilities of extra-perception that allow us to have the "sixth sense" thang. One can have two or three of them, and usually one is more developed than the others. Seemed too "self-help", so I didn't give it a try. But this friend tried some of the exercises, with results, aparently. This is what he explained to me:

The four kinds of extra-perception (can't remember the names properly, so I'll invent) are:

- the "hearing" one - you hear a voice in you head telling you about the future, about people you're talking to. Appears usually in very rational people, those that "want everything explained with all the words to grasp a meaning" and who can analyse speeches with ease. Their "power center" is on the sides of the head.

- the "seeing" one - has visions about the future and the past, usually in the form of prophetic dreams and flashes. Can see "auras" and find out the moods/intentions of people. They like to see/watch things rather than read or listen to them, and anjoy open places with scenery and details. Are particularly affected by the beauty or uglyness of a place. Center: the place of the third eye, about two inches above the eyes.

- the "touching" one - "feels" when something is wrong, has "impressions" of places and people just by approaching them and is very emphatic (this means feeling the physical pain/pleasure of someone else). Usually wear very confortable, cotton clothes. There was this crazy thing of extending your feeling perception to your surroundings, but I never understood it properly (lets see what I can find). The "feeling" of right or wrong is reflected in the solar plexus, their Center.

- the "knowing" one - this one is the closest to intuition, in my opinion, although I'm almost sure all of the four habilities can be used to enhance divination. The knowing one is the person who finishes sentences of others, knows the end of a paragraph before reaching it and tries to speak lots of different things at the same time, as if his thoughts were too quick and many for his mouth. Gets bored very easily, especially when listening to long explanations. He doesn't "see" in his head, doesn't "listen" to voices or "feels" anything: he just "knows", his thoughts popping up in his head like my Mad Hettie, from nowhere. The center is the top of the head, where the "crown chakra" is supposed to be (hey, could someone talk about chakras?).

And the exercises on the book helped to find your main hability and train it, focusing on the correspondent centre.
It was actually quite useful for me, despite the "Paulo Coelho" tone of the book.

I'm going to look for it, and then link here.
 
 
Sebastian
11:40 / 10.07.02
Hey Magi of Yore! As much as the thread on Shamanism help is rolling we haven't seen on this thread any basics for Barbelith-ers on shamanism, no matter the informational links that are being posted in that thread, the topic abstract for this one is really interesting for a tell-me-how-to-without-the-authorship-rigmarole setting.
 
 
cusm
18:59 / 10.07.02
Someone mention Chackras? *g* I'll give that one a whack.

Chackras For Dummies

Chinese Medicine makes use of abstract understanding of human physiology as opposed to western medicine which is discrete and exacting. An example is that while a western doctor may tell you that you are having liver problems, a Chinese doctor may disgnose you with "poor liver wind". This perspective of eastern medicine studies the ways in which energy (chi) flows through the body and collects in nodes or energy centers all around the body. Some may be familiar with the idea of pressure points or nerve bundles, where you can do tricks like poke someone in the right place and have their arm go numb. These are the same as chackras. Only, Chackras are large internal energy centers running along the center of the body.

Different schools of thought in eastern philosophy have differing yet similar views on these, as many developing philosophies borrowed from each other. Taoism and Yoga are the primary studies concerned with chackras and energy centers. Yet even these differ slightly. To the Taoist, there are 8 chackras, To the Yogi, 7, and to the Tibeten, 9 "psychic centers". The base concept is still the same, however, as is their use. As the Yogi system of 7 is the most commonly understood in the west, that is the one I will use below.

Chackras are not just used for medicine, they are used for meditation and spiritual development. In eastern philosophy, the mind is not seperate from the body. By contemplation and meditation on the chackras, one can develop spiritually by enhancing or "opening" those centers for use. Much of chackra work involves this sort of meditation and visualizations of "raising energy" through each center. Chackras are also a means to understand escotericly the different aspects of existance, much like the tree of life, tarot, or similar escoteric systems. They are thus also a foci for magick, as one comes to understand the forces each relates to and makes use of these relations to make contact with or use these forces.

In Yoga, each chackra contains numerous references. Each has color, meaning, component of the psyche, dieties, symbols, sounds, numbers of lotus petals, and specific uncomfortable positions one can put one's self in for meditation. By study of these relations, deeper understanding of the spiritual forces of each chackra are attained. I'll just give the basic meaning of each below.

Root Chackra
Location: Base of the spine
Meaning: Physical existance, the source of your physical energy and power, manifestation, health, earth element. This is the physical center.

Sex Chackra
Location: Genitals
Meaning: Sex, feeling, empathy, poetic expression, water element. This is the emotional center.

Navel Chackra
Location: Solar Plexus
Meaning: Energy, ability, capacity, power, modivation, chi, fire element. This is the energy center.

Heart Chackra
Location: Heart
Meaning: Unconditional love, openness, rationality, air element. This is the spiritual center.

Throat Chackra
Location: Throat, Thyroid gland
Meaning: Communication, speech, knowledge, ether element. This is the communication center.

Third Eye Chackra
Locaton: Center of forehead, Pituitary gland
Meaning: Sight, perception, understanding, mental clairity. This is the psychic center.

Crown Chackra
Location: Top of head, Pineal gland
Meaning: Control of self, freedom, transcendental experience. This is the divine center.

For more information on chackras, look for topics on kundalini.
 
 
Ma'at
14:13 / 11.07.02
Meditation

Go somewhere where you feel comfortable and where you will undisturbed for at least half an hour.

Make your self comfortable

Focus on something to the exclusion of everything else. This can be anything, an object, a picture, an image (whether real or in your mind), a lit candle etc.

Take deep breaths and continue to focus on whatever it is you are doing so.

Clear your mind while still taking deep breaths. Fill it with what you are focusing on and nothing else. Examine it in great detail with your mind.

Feel yourself breathing and relax.

If necessary and you are meditating for a reason or to prior to preparing for a particular working/spell/ritual then gradually introduce the ideas or reasons into your focus and let your thoughts run freely over this. If you find yourself thinking too much and becoming distracted then focus on your object again until you settle.

Continue for as long as you feel is necessary.

Close eyes/banish image/object of focus from your mind.

Take 3 deep breaths and shake yourself.

Voila...

The easiest way I can think of to explain basic meditation or preparatory ritual work. If you want to add incense, music etc to this scenario then so be it. It should be personal to each person and depending on what path they follow or what works for them. I tend to try and meditate/prepare outside.

The most important aspect is to feel you are centred and calm by the end of the session with a clear idea of what your are trying to achieve if its pre-ritual work or a sense of completion and calm if its purely to sort your mind out.

I find this an absolute essential before tackling anything complex in working or ritualwise in order that I am sure that I clear on what I want and what the effects will be. I've also found it useful when I'm on the verge of losing my temper completely
 
 
cusm
14:49 / 11.07.02
I should note, the above is technically a concentration (when you meditate on one specific thing). Meditation is meditation upon nothing, clearing of the mind. One allows thoughts to pass gently from the mind until there is stillness. A common technique however is to start with a concentration on something like breath, where all you think of is the movement of your breath. With each exhale, banish the chatter of the mind. Then, allow awareness of that to pass as well.

The effect is something between unawareness of anything and hyperawareness of everything as you continue to take in with the senses, but do not react or process "verbally". If you manage to disable the parts of your brain that handle perception of space and time, you can experience transcendental awareness of eternity, which is the goal of much eastern mysticism. While cool, a magickian is likely more after the hyperawareness effect, or the concentration exercise. Though this is a path to gnosis as well and can be used the same way for casting.

I'll note, void meditation like this is very hard. It is however a good way to develop your focus, your "mental muscles" as it were. A good start is the concentration style described above, which is easier to grasp than quieting without a focus. They are different disciplines (relaxing and focusing), though closely related. Often, you'll need both for magickal work. If you can master the meditation, it makes for a handy means to banish without need of foci, and any action taken in such a state will be at a near gnosis level of focus.
 
 
Ma'at
15:35 / 11.07.02
Cusm - Thanks for the clarity

I should add that I was trying to cover all bases with my post i.e meditation for clearing mind or meditation as a focus. It obviously didn't come across very exactly. I would challange meditation always being on nothing however..meditation can be nothing or meditating on a particular aspect or problem. But I think we're splitting hairs now possibly

In essence I use similar techniques for both as I find focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else as a useful way of clearing my mind as well as also getting myself into a receptive state to think 'about' a certain aspect.

As you say I am rarely of a mind or need to go for the transcendental aspect as I am more usually wanting to focus on something. I think it also depends on what tradition/path you following as to how much emphasis is placed on this type of exercise. Certainly more 'spiritual' paths tend to be more focused on reaching a different/higher level of perception whereas certainly those more focused on occult routes are looking for more intensity of focus and concentration of thought.

Certainly as part of the brit-trad system great emphasis was put on the 'ritual' of mental preparation prior to a working and I guess that is where I picked up a lot of my training. It was also the basis for creating/working with mental imagery and also the structuring of my thought processes which are the next steps to take in any craft or working.

Anyways hopefully between my fumblings and cusm's more elegant recital I have expressed what expressionless was looking for
 
 
Stone Mirror
16:09 / 11.07.02
Here's something I put together a little while back on basic meditation techniques. Please note that these are my own views, and may not reflect the ignorant and erroneous opinions of The Management or Their Sponsors...

Stone Mirror's Five Minute Meditation Course

Meditation is one of those subjects that, at heart, is very simple, but which has gotten layers of complication (some useful, some not) in its movement through time and varous traditions. There are basic, very useful, practices which are both easy to learn and to do.

The goal of meditation (to the small extent that it's reasonable to speak about "goals" in this context) is, likewise, quite simple: to allow us to "take a step back", as it were, from the constant chatter that is our minds, the "background noise" with which we "identify ourselves". The intention is not to "stop thought", but rather to acheive a bit a separation of awareness from it, a space in which one can realize that the thoughts which fill our heads all day long are not necessarily "us".

A note on posture: do not get anal about how you sit. Lotus position is not a requirement, and I'd actually discourage most from trying it--bad for the knees.
You can meditate sitting on a cushion, or in a chair. Your back should be reasonably straight and upright. If you sit cross-legged on the floor, see that your hips are higher than your knees, you'll be more comfortable. If you sit in a chair, sit a bit forward and don't lean agains the back; make sure the seat height is such that your knees and hips are at roughly the same level. The main things to consider is that you should be comfortable so you won't fidget, but not so comfortable that you'll be inclined to doze off (although if that happens, it's OK).

So with no further ado, here are two variations on simple (but not trivial) meditation.

Variation 1

Before you begin choose a word which represents for you a conception of connection with the Divine, a resonance with the Universe, something along those lines. Your choice will depend on your predilections and prejudices. Some samples might be "Peace", "Calm", "Om", "God", etc. Your call, but try to pick something you can work with for a while, rather than changing it frequently.

Sit down, close your eyes, and begin to repeat your word, silently, to yourself, over and over, fairly slowly, very gently, like "Calm................calm................calm..." If thoughts arise (and they will) don't get caught up in them. Observe them arising and passing away, without pursuing them. Imagine that the thoughts are boats on a river, but that you are the river.

If you find that you've been getting caught up in a train of thought (and you will), simply return to repeating your word, kindly, gently, "like a feather falling on a ball of cotton". Don't beat up on yourself for "getting it wrong", don't get discouraged. There really is no way to "do it wrong", and no goal to achieve here. Just sitting is the goal.

If emotions arise (and they will), treat them the same way as other thoughts: observe them, but don't get caught up. If you find that you have, just return, gently, simply, to repeating your word.

Fifteen to twenty minutes, once or twice a day, is plenty for beginners.

Variation 2

This is a version of the classic shikantaza ("just sitting") meditation associated with the Soto school of Zen. This is similar to the first variation, but instead of repeating a word, as described above, simply count your breaths, specifically your exhalations. On the first exhalation, count silently to your self, "One...", on the next, "Two...", and so on, up to "Ten...", and which point you begin again at "One...". If you find that you've forgotten where you are, simply begin at "One..." again. If you find yourself counting "Three hundred eighty-nine...", simply begin at "One..." again.

Whichever of these you try, do not get caught up in expectations, goal-setting or worrying about specific results. Meditation is, ultimately, an end in itself. DO it because it's the right thing to do. Dogen Zenji, founder of Soto Zen, held that simply in the act of sitting and meditating we are the Buddha, this is the Pure Land.

In the words of Cheri Huber, zen mistress (heh...) of Kannon-Do Zendo, "Nothing happens next."
 
 
6opow
19:16 / 11.07.02
Well rounded, eh?

Go on a walking maditation. This can be done anywhere, but it in the context that I will shortly describe, go where you will encounter people.

As you walk, picture a bright ball of energy within yourself: this is your inner star/sun. Fill this ball with "positive" energy; that is, make sure it is burning with love for yourself, others, and life in general.

As you walk with this burning ball within you, try to picture this same ball of energy in others; that is, when you encounter other people, don't use your typical categories and stereotypes to see them; rather, see them as human and as a manifestation of the same bright ball of love that you are a manifestation of. Strive to see the "inner sun" that burns inside them.

I feel that by doing this exercise, you not only promote love and compassion within yourself, but you subtley encourage it in these apparent "others." Even the most closed off and walled up people will benefit, if only slightly, if you try to see how love burns within them too.

Smile at strangers.
Share love with others.
 
 
Nietzsch E. Coyote
18:46 / 13.07.02
These are good so far, I've printed this off to give to a beginner friend of mine. Could you smart people make anymore?

*bump*
 
 
illmatic
14:40 / 14.07.02
Hiya
To follow on from the meditation notes, I find it useful to use perceptual exercises as well. If one of the effects of meditation is to make you more aware of your internal dialogue, and get it to shut up a bit, different perceptual exercises help "ground" this in your day-to-day life and show us how unaware we are, at times.
Some examples might be: listening to your subvocalisation/internal voices. Do you note any specific tones ie. whining, angry, morose?

Pay attention to any instances of a specific colour as you go about your day and use it as a trigger to bring you back to the moment. What were you thinking about? Why?

Pay attention tho the expression on your face, feel your jaw, eyes, mouth, brow. What is the expression on your face? Do not interfere, just observe. See if the expression cnahges

Some more exercises here: http://www.phhine.ndirect.co.uk/archives/rit_sensoryex.htm
and why not make up your own?
I find all these exercises useful in finding out subtle influences on my thoughts and behaviour as well as keeping me in the present and disrupting some of my more obsessive thoughts.
i suggest trying any of 'em for a week or so and keeping a written record to help you remember. (Incidentally keeping a diary of your life, thoughts and feelings is an excellent exercise in iteself).
 
 
cusm
18:35 / 15.07.02
Chaos Divination

Divination is a process of gainig information through magickal means. This may be of future events, past, current, or internal clues. The principle is in creating a means through which supernatural forces (or the divine, as per the word DIVINation) can speak. This is often done through tools such as cards, dice, rune stones, nuts, sticks, coins, or any number of methods. Here's how it works:

A system of divination consists of a set of symbols which contain signifigant meaning to the caster. This system should be as complete as possible, so as to cover as many possibilites as possible. For this reason, more abstract symbols such as pictures are preferred over say, a word written on a card (a picture is worth a thousand words), though this will work as well. The important things is that you have a set of symbols you can work with whose meaning you understand. The more complete the system of symbols, the better your divination. Thus, sets based on escoteric systems (which attempt to describe all aspects of reality within one system) are best. Some common examples are the Tarot, Runes, I-Ching, Ifa. However, you can as easily make your own by creating symbols (cards, runestones, whatever) of things that you feel are important aspects of reality until you have enough to describe any given situation with.

The other half of divination is the element of chaos. By randomizing the symbols somehow, you relinquish control over how they will be drawn. As well, we know from Quantum physics that if you can not determine the state of something, it is all states until observed. By this, drawing a card from a shuffled deck means that that card is ALL CARDS in that deck until you look at it, at which point it becomes one specific card. The choice of which card it becomes is left to the Divine, the universe, or whatever specific supernatural powers you wish to speak through this system.

So the process is then to randomize your symbols, and draw one or several to see what message is awaiting you. For best results, combine with an invocation, ritual, statement of intent, or other magickal working to call the forces you wish to speak through the medium you have chosen. Typically, it'll still work without this step, but the more advanced worker can use this to tune a more specific type of message.

To take this a step further, consider that we live in a world full of symbols. Signs, songs, t-shirts, advertisments etc. As well, if we study escoteric systems, we may attach meaning to things like colors, animals, numbers, body parts, even the time of day. Indeed, anything can be a symbol. As well, the world is a chaotic place. We never know what we will encounter walking down the street, what may be plastered on the side of a bus or overheard in a passng conversation. If the world is our symbol set and the natural chaos of existance used for randomization, one can preform divination without any tools.

To do it this way, one thinks about the problem they have, and experiences some randomization of surroundings. For example, taking a walk or a drive, flipping through random channels on the radio, cracking a book to a random page and reading. When one stumbles upon some piece of information that seems very appropriate as an answer to their question, the divination has been cast and the message given to you. This is often known as a syncronicity, when things just seem to line up the right way and suddenly make sense to you. Its a bit like omen interpretation. Spirit is speaking to us all the time, we need only learn to pay attention.
 
 
bastl b
18:38 / 15.07.02
hey good people

want to take this moment of time before i start exercisin and thank you for sharing all this stuff with one another. this board keeps me going. peace
 
 
pacha perplexa
11:43 / 21.07.02
*Bump*

Cause it's useful.
 
 
Devil's Avocado
15:35 / 22.07.02
One simple technique I would add to Stone Mirror's 'Five Minute Meditation Course' is 'fourfold breath'.

Rather than just observing the breath as in Variation 2 , control the breath as follows;

Breath in gently to a count of four;
Hold your breath on full lungs for a count of four;
Breathe out gently to a count of four;
Hold your breath on empty lungs to a count of four;

Though seemingly rigid in structure, the important thing is to relax into it and find a rhythm that suits you.

I can't stress the importance of breath control in shifting your consciousness during practice.
It's invaluable when your 'trigger-word' or breath-counting just aren't calming the mind!

Asa
 
 
Nietzsch E. Coyote
02:46 / 23.07.02
ASA thanks for adding that to the list

what I like to do is to use a four syllable mantra as my breath count.
Personal favorites:
yod heh vau heh - the hebrew letters in the fourfold name of god.
aum tat sat aum - I think its buddhist.
what do you want?why am I here?

and so on.
I think I stole that from Robert Anton Wilson.
 
 
Naked Flame
17:52 / 23.07.02
Journeying.

Being the process of leaving here and going there and coming back again having achieved the impossible.

Preliminaries, explanations and arguments: If you don't want a reason/rationale why it works, skip ahead. There are- at least, there appear to be- two worlds. One is the world in which I am typing this post, tapping away on the PC here: the other is the world in which my mind is forming a construct out of language which you are now unfolding in your own mind. As I type and you read, we momentarily exist in the same place at the same time. If you need convincing, then: Right Now, This Moment!

Try not to think of an elephant. Heh. Gotcha. Now- See those feet? Hear that awesome trumpeting noise? Wow! See the guy holding his trunk? That's me. Hi!

One could argue that as we both percieve that elephant in our minds
that there is a nonphysical connection going on between us. In fact, it's more amazing than that because if there is a connection, it's happening across time as well as space. Which is neat. But wait: there's bound to be a bit of a difference between the elephant I saw and the elephant you saw. There's also a bit of a difference between the me you saw and the me I am (did you visualise me wearing a turban and silk pants? Thought not.) If we are perceiving the same elephant, we have to accept that we are percieving it in different ways.

What use is this concept? And when will I get to talking about journeying? Well: it's like this.

The 'spirit world' is that aspect of the world your mind percieves. The mind is not limited by time, distance, or static form. Because of this, and because the worlds of matter and mind are, in truth, the same world, it's possible to change one by changing the other.

In order to do this you've got to be able to do two things. You've got to be able to attain a state where you can leave behind your physical body and walk in the world of the mind. And you've got to anchor your experience in the world of the body.

These criteria are actually remarkably easy to fulfil. A little deep breathing, somewhere comfortable, perhaps some incense, and a strong intent is all you need for the first. And the second is usually self-explanatory if you've got the first right. 'Walking in the world of the mind' sounds a bit tricky, though, doesn't it? Or merely bad prose.

Here's what I did when I did this for the first time: decide that you're going to give it a go and see if this other world exists and if you can go play. Lie down, or find a comfortable chair: find somewhere where your body can be completely relaxed. Breathe deeply and relax. Empty your mind of stray thoughts and wait til everything is still.

Now, when your mind is clear, visualise.

You're in the place where the journey begins. It could be a room in a house. It could be a garden: it could be anywhere. Look around you. Look down at your clothes. Look at your surroundings: see detail, veins on leaves, grain of woodwork, texture of brick: you're taking it all in. Walk around in this environment, interact with it. Listen. What are you hearing? Is there a scent of rain in the air? Feel your toes in the earth or sunlight on your skin.

When you're ready, leave the place behind. Walk out of there and start exploring. If you know where you want to go, go there: if you're looking for something, go find it: if you're a tourist, stop and ask directions: you get the gist. All this is the first aspect of journeying. You'll know you're getting it when things start to flow and jump and happen of their own accord. You'll start to see things without having to think of seeing them first. Your visualisation will start growing other actors with minds of their own: flow with it.

Tradition (well, some tradition) suggests that you begin your magical experience of this world with a journey to a place above the sky or below the earth, where you seek to meet beings of power and interact with them. I did this when I first journeyed, and I'd have to say it works for me. What I did was go into a deep cave beneath the roots of a tree, where beings of light and smoke flitted in the gloom, and clothed themselves with shape and form as I took interest in them. YMMV, but I'd advise you seek a teacher- call hir to you with the inner voice of your mind's eye, ask hir to share the knowledge ze has of this place: after you do that a lot of things will make a lot more sense and you'll be able to access the state more easily.

When you are familiar with the state, the next step is to journey with a magical intention in mind. You relax, as before, reach the state by visualising yourself at your start point, and get going, except this time you're going with a purpose. Be patient and persistent in achieving your purpose. Being sociable will help. Talk to the beings you encounter. Don't be afraid to look for help, and don't allow yourself to feel or show any fear (they come to the same thing, here) if anything threatens you. You should be aware that many paths will involve overcoming obstacles. Invent your way around them. Grow wings to escape the towering cliffs: become flame to light the darkness: ride beyond heaven on a motorcycle made of light. Special effects are cheap in this territory. And it's these moments of transformation, these encounters and ecstasies, which constitute the magical juice of the working.

You will know when it's time to come round, and you should allow yourself to do so fully and completely before doing anything else. No sudden moves. You haven't finished yet. You need to ground the experience: write the whole thing down, or narrate it into a .wav file, or tell someone about it. Seek out ways to keep a grip of what you just did: tattoo the experience onto your life. Then wait for it to unfold through synchronicity.

This is not something that should be undertaken lightly, but the results can be awesome: one journey took six months of real time to work through but cured me of my chronic (10 year) depression. Another nearly drove me insane- for a time I thought I was the reincarnation of a 1960's rock god, returned to earth to spread the groove oncemore (when in fact our collective musical energy was being hoovered up like so much coke by this astral con artist.) So- exercise a little caution.

Incidentally, the punchline on that one was finding myself at a pub table one day with four other guys who'd had the same experience- this rock god turns up, offers assistance, band suddenly starts makes amazing music but breaks up the moment things start looking up, career-wise. But I digress.

A postscript about scripts

Sometimes, you may want to journey completely spontaneously with nothing more than an intent, and that's fine. Sometimes, however, you need a map. It is important that when you enter this state you know where to go and what to do- even if it's only a first step. Divination tools come in really handy here. Consider making a Tarot spread as a roadmap- or simply pull, at random, the card that tells you exactly where to look for help. Visual aids like this can also help in terms of planting seed images in your mind, but beware of overdoing it- too much set-up will make that free flow of adaptive visualisation much harder to achieve.

Hope this all comes in handy. Love & Light to all.
 
 
Stone Mirror
22:22 / 23.07.02
fenris wrote aum tat sat aum - I think its buddhist

THat one's Hindu, actually. Not that it matters. If you want a Buddhist one, "Om ah hum" is a good one; you can lengthen out the "hum" to two counts...
 
 
Stone Mirror
14:41 / 24.07.02
...As you walk with this burning ball within you, try to picture this same ball of energy in others...

I was just reminded of a similar practice which Jack Kerouac mentions in The Dharma Bums: the character Japhy Ryder (Zen poet Gary Snyder's fictionsuit) relates that whenever he encounters someone, he looks into their eyes and says to himself, "Equally empty, equally to be loved, equally a coming Buddha..."
 
 
Naked Flame
15:38 / 24.07.02
SM- damn, yeah, that's good.
 
 
Panda
01:16 / 25.07.02
Hey! I'm a beginner and nice one, 'cause this thread is awsome.

It's crazy how much of this stuff I've done - some of it without consciously realising I was doing it!

SOME QUESTIONS FOR YA!

Chaotic divination via bus journey - I've done this! Get up, get stoned, catch a bus into town. Read the street/shop signs and the big placards and look for directions.

Pacha posted:

"- the "knowing" one - this one is the closest to intuition, in my opinion, although I'm almost sure all of the four habilities can be used to enhance divination. The knowing one is the person who finishes sentences of others, knows the end of a paragraph before reaching it and tries to speak lots of different things at the same time, as if his thoughts were too quick and many for his mouth. Gets bored very easily, especially when listening to long explanations. He doesn't "see" in his head, doesn't "listen" to voices or "feels" anything: he just "knows", his thoughts popping up in his head like my Mad Hettie, from nowhere. The center is the top of the head, where the "crown chakra" is supposed to be (hey, could someone talk about chakras?)."

I'm sure this sounds like me, but I'm an Air sign, so wouldn't the heart Chakra apply to me? And not the Crown chakra?

Breathing exercises - I've done this too! (This is creepy - At this rate Im gonna be half-way to becoming a sorcerer without even trying).

Meditation - tried this too. I remember feeling like my head was floating a thousand miles above my feet. Is this usual? Was a 'meditating' full on or was I only half-way there?

Synchronicities - I used to experience these very frequently a few years ago, at what was a very magical time in my life, but not so much these days. Is that the norm? can you be more in synch with things in year, and less in synch the next?

Shamanism - I think I've already cracked the conquering death/fear part of the four-step path to becoming a shaman. Does this step come before or after the 'holding time' bit? The way I think I managed to conquer death was that I wrote this book which is very much about a character conquering his fear of death and loving/living with it. But then again, I also tried to make the book a subconscious thing where people reading it would be directly effected by it, and take their own first step to becoming a shaman, i.e. learn from the characters ennlightenment/you are the characters. Taking this one step further, one of the characters in the book actually changes his fate, by tweaking with the 'rules' of the books creation in a very 'as above, so below' way, and, as a condition, basically accepting that he won't actually be changing anything in the grand scheme of things anyway. So, stopping time - was this the step I personally took in writing this book? Because the book was pure metaphor, and the character was meant to be me, in a way, or at least represent part of my personality. Did I teach myself how to hold time by writing this book? What's the order of the steps for a shaman? Can you become a shaman by creating art?

Tarot - I do this about once every two months, using a £2 pack of cards I got from cornwall.

The Tao - I know it means 'the flow' but can someone give me a beginner's guide to it? It's meanings, how it can be applied to my life, physical and mental practices associated with it, etc.

Look, despite all this, I'm still skeptical about magic. But, I am willing to try anything. At the moment I really want to approach magic as a sort-of self-help thing - tweaking reality behind the scenes, subconscious style.

Mode - Please feel free to move this post if it interferes with the thread!
 
 
Stone Mirror
01:59 / 25.07.02
Panda wonders I remember feeling like my head was floating a thousand miles above my feet. Is this usual? Was a 'meditating' full on or was I only half-way there?

That's not an unusual sensation. The way to deal with it is the same: go back to counting your breaths, or repeating your mantra, or whatever. Try to avoid getting caught up in the thought, "Look, Ma! I'm meditating!"

As far as "full on" or "half way", that's not really a meaningful question. Meditating is a good thing to do; there's no way to do it "half way".

Oh, on the subject of "chaotic divination", I've been in the habit of carrying a pair of "percentile dice" around with me: these are ten-sided dice, one of which has the faces numbered from 0 to 9 and the other from 00 to 90. Roll 'em together, and you get a number from 0 to 99. I use 'em to check probabilities of events, and I've been surprised at how often they seem to work out.

I used to be concerned about the fact that the statistical distribution of the various sorts of lines you could get in an I Ching hexagram differed depending on whether you used yarrow roots or coins. Eventually I realized that it was all just a synchronistic reflection of the "state" of the universe, including my wondering about the outcome of a particular situation. I stopped worrying about it at that point.
 
 
cusm
02:03 / 25.07.02
Actually, the Tao means "the Way". If you want to know more about that, read it The Tao Te Ching isn't all that long of a work, and its very crunchy. Lots of good stuff in there. Its largely about being "natural", going with the flow, being great by being support, that sort of thing. Its a lot of bits of wisdom. Be like the water. Flow to the low places. The subgenius concept of Slack is another take on an application of Taoism, in a discordian sort of way. I think ultimately, Taoist magick is syncronicity magick, doing magick by not doing magick at all. The best sorcerer is simply lucky.
 
 
Panda
09:34 / 25.07.02
Fuck me! I was just going through a bunch of books in the attic and shagg me with a bollard sideways if I didn't actually own a copy of the Tao Te Ching! I even remember purchasing it from a new-age shop a few years back.

Weird, but wonderful.

Posted by Cusm:

"The best sorcerer is simply lucky"

Heh. I like that.
 
 
ShadowRain
12:54 / 26.07.02
A chakra energizing exercise I find extremely helpful when I'm stressed, tired and feeling drained.

Retaining your energy - visualise lilac light coming in
at your crown chakra and drop it down through each of your
chakras and circulate it up and down your spine in a circular movement.
This will both energise you and protect you from energy loss (be it people or circumstances draining your energy). Do as often as needed. Believe me it works!!

Also applicable to chakras - often you will find that some of your chakras are not fully "open" or energised. The technique I use to determine how open my chakras are, is simple and effective. Using a pendulum, which can be practically anything attached to the end of a string or leather or whatever and able to move freely, lying down and suspend the pendulum a couple of centimetres above the chakra (within the energy field surrounding your body). The pendulum should start moving in a circular motion. The bigger the circular movement, the more open your chakra is. If there is little movement, or no movement at all, there is an energy blockage.

An interesting experiment I've tried a couple of times is to 'read' my chakras, noting the movements at each, doing the energising exercise and then reading them again. Without fail, I've found that my chakras are more open after the exercise.
 
 
cusm
15:16 / 26.07.02
Here's a goodie: The Spiral Meditation:

Stand, sit, lay on your back, or do whatever you do for energy/chackra meditation work.

Imagine a ribbon of light wrapping around your body, starting at your toes ans slowly spirling upwards in a clockwise motion, wrapping you from toes to head like a mummy. The smaller the band, the better, though concentration is appropriately more difficult the smaller you go. I like to use about a 2 inch wide band when I do it.

Once you've reached the top of your head, proceed in a counter clockwise direction back down again to your toes.

At the top and bottom, you can do several things. You can close the wrap with a ball of light that you absorb, open into a channel of energy up and down, or just wrap over and close. I like to combine this with a channel upwards from my crown and downwards from my root, balancing energies together at the heart center.

It sounds pretty simple, but maintaining concentration to do it correctly is a lot harder than it sounds, and is most definitely a consciousness altering experience.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
16:59 / 26.07.02
For some reason, I get much more out of a tarot divination if I'm stoned. I think I'm just open to a lot more interpretations in that state of mind. I've already started threads on my ideas for working magick while high, so I won't waste anymore space on them.

Other than that...I dunno. I guess the thing that jumped up my education the most was the realization that you will get much better results when you use both right and left hand stuff, and that despite them being different paths, they're on the same damn mountain. It's not just having assloads of willpower and being able to do all sorts of neat slight-of-mind tricks, it's knowing when and what kind of spells or rituals to use. Currently, I work a good bit less magick than I did, but it's ten times as effective because I know where and when and how to go about it better. Know Thyself! And, just as important, know your enviroment. Once you start, you'll notice that the space inside your head and the space outside your head are coming closer in size. You'll have a much more direct influence on your perception of reality.

Don't just read a recipe book, read as many books as you can get your grubby paws on. Magick is everywhere, it's infinite, and so are it's manifestations. You can learn about it from anything. Nothing is a bad source of info. "One can't help but move towards the Tao". There are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned the hard way or the easy way.

For instance: the similarities and outright parallels between music and magick are startling. You can learn some very important skills for magick by studying music, partly because music requires a fusion of the so-called left and right brain functions. The more you use your mind in this manner, the better you get at it, and I can't even begin to go into the benefits this will have on your magickal education. You'll be able to look at everything from various angles. You'll be able to not only grasp all those ideas you're reading about, but you'll be able to turn them this way and that until you know them inside out. You'll be able to think in four dimensions, and begin to toy with four dimensional ideas.

Meditation. You need to be able to quiet your mind at will; at times it'll be the only thing keeping you sane. And Zen Buddhism, just to keep things in perspective. And a healthy diet of modern science won't hurt. I recommend Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics: Exploring the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, because it gives a good crash course in relativistic and quantum physics as well as Zen and Hinduism and Taoism.

Don't be scared. Always exercise caution, but don't be frightened. If you've fucked something up, you can also fix it.

And finally: just a bit of advice, really. Magick can help you become the person you've always wanted to be. But make sure that's a good thing.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
17:50 / 26.07.02
Look, despite all this, I'm still skeptical about magic.

That's healthy, and really, I think that to an extent we all are. Equating "sitting naked in front of an altar to Hermes chanting nonsense and burning myself with a candle" and "shit getting done" isn't really natural.

But, I am willing to try anything. At the moment I really want to approach magic as a sort-of self-help thing - tweaking reality behind the scenes, subconscious style.

One of the better/healthier reasons to start practicing, in my opinion. Self improvement is a noble goal, and magick is very useful in this regard. As I said above, magick can help you become the person you've always wanted to be, which is a great feeling. C'mon--always having great self-esteem, being able to trust yourself...these are good feelings. But you have to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that the person you want to be lives the life you want to live. You may one day discover that while you've become the person you always wanted to be, that particular person is a real asshole and unhappy most of the time. Choose wisely, buddy.
 
  

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