Студопедия

Главная страница Случайная страница

КАТЕГОРИИ:

АвтомобилиАстрономияБиологияГеографияДом и садДругие языкиДругоеИнформатикаИсторияКультураЛитератураЛогикаМатематикаМедицинаМеталлургияМеханикаОбразованиеОхрана трудаПедагогикаПолитикаПравоПсихологияРелигияРиторикаСоциологияСпортСтроительствоТехнологияТуризмФизикаФилософияФинансыХимияЧерчениеЭкологияЭкономикаЭлектроника






Pitfalls






 

There are no real pitfalls for the magickian, but we will discuss some of them anyway. Earlier in this book, we gave a definition of white magick as the ability to turn what appears to be a problem into an advantage. Whenever we approach something that seems to present a difficulty, a danger or other form of unpleasantness, it is an indication that we are approaching a limit in our understanding. The task, then, is to learn how to more fully understand the situation.

 

Several years ago, when the New Age (As distinguished from the New Aeon.) was riding high, there appeared in many newspapers articles about the " dangers" of meditation. Apparently some folks who were beginning a meditation practice, for whatever reason, were entering states where they were experiencing fear, anxiety, physical and mental discomfort. For this reason, some of them were suing their various gurus and teachers. Now, there were probably a number of reasons for their troubles, sleazy and opportunistic gurus being only an outward and obvious scapegoat to pin the problem on.

 

What these would-be New Agers were finding, it seems to me, were some aspects of their own minds, rising from the dark recesses of the unconscious where they had been nervously hidden away and forgotten. The jungians call this " confronting the Shadow." Some of the readers of this book may already have had a taste of this experience, while doing the exercises and meditation in the Intent chapter. When examining whatever little bits of cultural conditioning that came to light, any number of things may have happened. It may have become, however briefly, uncomfortable, and you may have swept the dirt right back under the rug. It may have been more or less obsessing. Or, with some persistance, it may have yielded up some rewarding insights and transcended whatever limitation it implied. Whatever your experience, it is one that can be learned from.

 

We all have some pretty weird stuff hidden back in that old Shadow. There are a lot of things that may be very natural to us as human beings which society, cultural conditioning, has influenced us to repress. Sexual things, things about death, things about our freedom of expression. Many of us, for instance, tend to hold in our farts, or let them sneak out in a controlled manner. Did I gross anybody out with that statement? This is no joke. It is one of many types of limits that people allow society to set for them (How did it happen for you?). And it certainly has its consequences. Holding in flatulence requires clenching the anal sphincter very tightly. Muscular tension of this type produces toxins of fatigue (let alone the fart-toxins that the body is trying to expel), which in turn affect the whole system. Although tonus reflex allows this type of exertion to pass into unconsciousness, it still continues to affect consciousness in many, very subtle ways. The very act becomes a metaphor for all kinds of things, and the release may be sublimated into many kinds of other behavior, including obnoxiousness, " anal retentive behavior", defensiveness, etc. All this in spite of the fact that farting is, on an obvious and biological level, something that we all must do, at least occasionally. Okay, okay, enough of this. You can let it out now. Whew.

 

Those who have studied or participated in an effective form of psychotherapy, particularly one that involves breath or bodywork, may have witnessed or experienced some of the extreme forms of this process. When one of these limiting factors, often symbolized as " blocked energy", muscular rigidity or a spinal kink, is transcended in therapy, the participant may experience brief but intense pain, with attendant fear and anxiety, and may consciously confront some powerful imprint or bit of conditioning. If this limiting factor becomes revealed to consciousness (it doesn't necessarily have to, for the purposes of therapy), it may take the form of a story or metaphor drawn from dream imagery or from the " real life" experiences of the participant.

 

One of the most powerful types of therapy I've ever seen is the " PastLife" therapy pioneered by Dr. Roger Woolger. Using techniques of hypnosis, breathwork and bodywork, Dr. Woolger is able to access " stories" which serve as powerful metaphors for the limiting beliefs and complexes of his client. These stories, which seem to arise from the participant's unconscious, often take the form of " past-life memories", but it is irrelevant to the therapy whether that is really what they are. I have observed people in this kind of therapy who experienced quite painful things. They may writhe, scream, or exhibit stigmata of various sorts. But ultimately, with the guidance of a skilled therapist like Dr. Woolger, they are able to confront that limit, learn how to deal with it, transcend it, and to use the experience to increase their freedom and repertoire of choices. Participants at this stage experience a rush of " energy" moving through their bodies, deeper breathing, release of muscular tension, and a feeling of strength or empowerment. (See Dr. Woolger's book Other Lives, Other Selves.)

 

If you confront a limiting factor that is that powerful, you may choose to enlist the help of a good therapist to get you past it, particularly if it is interfering with your progress in further exploring and accomplishing your True Will. Magick, however, is more often a generative process rather than a therapeutic one. That is, by expanding consciousness systematically and microcosmically, we can sometimes remove some of these limits rather painlessly. For instance, by experiencing new, unusual and ecstatic states, we have the opportunity to learn what it is like to live, if only for a little while at first, without a few of our more common limits. Although this state may end when the ritual does, it can provide a resource state for future use. And repetition of the ritual can reinforce that condition. If you already have an alternative behavior to fit the situation, it can make the limit much easier to transcend.

 

A less dramatic, but more persistent potential pitfall are breaks. These are breaks of concentration, experienced during meditation, ritual or creative work. Breaks are important. Pay attention to them. They are, again, little bits of stuff that can rise up from the recesses of your mind. If you have been thorough in keeping records, you will already have a description of some of these. If you have not experienced any breaks, you are probably not doing it right. These come in many forms and in any sensory mode. They may include physical sensations (comfort or discomfort), they may concern the events of the day, they may be daydreams or reverie, they may be meta-comments about the practice itself (" I'm doing good, " for example), or they may be random images, sounds, feelings or words that come from the unconscious.

 

Whatever form your breaks take, you can learn a lot from them. An effective technique is to note them as they arise, acknowledge them, accept them and examine them thoroughly, then return to your meditation. If you attempt to force them back to the darkness from which they came, they will just return in a slightly more twisted and insidious form. Accept them, then let them go. Afterward, write them down in as much detail as possible. This can give you some indication of what kinds of things your mind tends to dwell on, what kinds of things your early conditioning has relegated to the shadow. As you examine each in turn, you can liberate it to your conscious mind and include it in the increased scope of your microcosm.

 

A less common, but potentially more distracting " pitfall" that a magickian might encounter are siddhis. Siddhis are " miracles" of a sort. They may occur at any time, to beginners as well as advanced adepts. They are often spectacular incidences of " psychic phenomena", and include such paranormalities as telepathy, psychokinesis, bilocation, dramatically increased physical strength or endurance, etc. The tendency is to cherish these things when they happen, to nurture them and try to recreate them. They boost the ego, make one feel incredibly powerful, or as if you have accomplished a lot. Siddhis, however, are not signs of accomplishment, and however entertaining they might be, they are ultimately only distractions. Unless it is actually your True Will to study the nature of these things (not a very common type of career, certainly), you can treat them as breaks. Acknowledge them, record them, enjoy them as indications of what the human mind can do, and then return to your practice. Becoming obsessed by a siddhi is like climbing a mountain in order to find a wise man at the top, but finding a beautiful view along the way and quitting there, content with mere spectacle. You can enjoy the view, yes, but then continue on to complete your intent.

 

The best course, as I've said, is to develop your banishings and consecration, and to constantly appeal to your True Will for direction. Remain flexible! Your True Will, when you finally understand it, may be a surprise to your conscious mind. It may seem like the end of a lot things that you have cherished (for reasons that probably went unexamined); it may seem like death itself until you break through to the new way of life that is, in actuality, the fulfillment of your genetic script, your potential as a human being.

 

14. FUTURERITUAL

 

Magick can permeate every aspect of our lives. What begins as an isolated activity, in a small protected circle, can have its influence on, and reflections in, everything that we do. I am talking about a process of growth, of personal evolution. The more that we can learn about ourselves, and particularly about our True Will, the more able we can become to order our lives on that basis.

 

A magickian who has thoroughly practiced hir banishings and consccrations eventually can enter that clear, banished state at will, quickly and easily. A magickian who has accessed the congruence and natural strength that come with knowledge of True Will can apply magickal intent to almost every action or decision. This can come, like most skills, with time, whether it requires a lifetime, a matter of years, of months, or of days.

 

Learning about True Will always remains, I believe, an ongoing process. The general road markers can become mapped out, or sometimes detailed knowledge of a work may come in one great flash. But in any event, there is always the constant vigilance necessary to maintain congruence at every turn, every decision. Whether that work (sometimes it is more like play) involves remembering that great flash, or if it requires constantly renewed invocation and meditation, it is always magick and it is always True Will that can be the guiding force.

 

Everyone, I believe, has had a flash of this congruence, even if only in dreams. Those who have had the fortune and/or perseverance to be able to learn and work close to their True Will are probably more familiar with this state. Athletes call it being " in the zone", cyberneticists call it being " uptime", practitioners of Zen call it " satori", some call it the " tao"; whatever, the experience is unmistakable. It may come to you while you are doing ritual, or it may come while you are working on something that resulted from doing ritual (you'll know...).. (A ritual like Liber Samekh, presented in Appendix E, when you are ready for it, can help to stimulate, prolong and explore this state.)

 

 

As your practice continues, it can become more personalized. When you have gone through a system of rituals like those presented here, you will have a better idea of what kinds of things work for you, what skills you need to develop, what success at invocation is like. Then you can begin to design your own system. You may find that your own rituals, which may be more or less complex than those 1 have described, are much more effective. People who have experimented with making audio tapes for self hypnosis often report something very similar; tapes utilizing their own voice, however crude the technique, seem to be much more effective than hearing someone else's hypnotic instructions.

 

As a result of this process of meta-programming, we can reach a level where our art (our Will) becomes indistinguishable from our life. That is, we may find that our first consideration for any given project, job or whatever, is to make ourselves into instruments fit for the task. The way that we think of ideas to work on, the tools and abilities that we use for those tasks, the techniques that we use, can become a matter of choice for us. They become inseparable from the work, it becomes difficult to tell " the dancer from the dance." And as this kind of work brings us into even further knowledge of True Will, we can turn more and more of the details of our lives towards our particular purposes. Eating becomes merely a way of gaining strength to continue our Will, sleeping becomes a means of repairing ourselves that we might continue, our clothes are chosen to be suitable to our purpose, the place that we might choose to live can be one that encourages our work, and the way that we find recreation becomes a means of resting our minds and bodies just so that we may return to our True Will. As this kind of congruence increases, it eventually can become One Big Ritual. We are creating our lives as personal mythology.

 

The ramifications of this, on every level, are astounding. An extraordinary number of social considerations are resolved by this thought. People can become, in general, less concerned with interfering with the lives of others and more concerned with the creative work that they are capable of doing. It provides a single and absolute standard by which every decision, on a personal or global scale, can be made. In my experience, people who have gained some success in this kind of work become happier, more relaxed, more efficient, creative and successful in their endeavors. To achieve the full potential of our species, I believe it is necessary for each individual to realize their own potential.

 

" Evolution is infinity the process never ends, and we can continue

 

through time to greater and greater things. The process feeds itself; each time we learn something new, gain a new mode to add to our behavior, it increases our effectiveness in continuing the process. It is my Will, for instance, to experiment with and design new rituals to learn about my Will. As I learn more about my Will, the better able I become to design more rituals. As I practice the new rituals, the more I learn about my Will...

 

Thus, the future holds many wonderful surprises for us. In our lifetimes we have seen the development of new technology in space travel, computers, communications and brainwave research. What are the evolutionary potentials when we begin to develop ritual technology that makes use of and adapts to the elements of this new and changing world? I don't know about you, but I'm excited.

 

 


Поделиться с друзьями:

mylektsii.su - Мои Лекции - 2015-2024 год. (0.01 сек.)Все материалы представленные на сайте исключительно с целью ознакомления читателями и не преследуют коммерческих целей или нарушение авторских прав Пожаловаться на материал