I've been sick recently, which has provided an interesting opportunity to recognize how sickness can be a purifying process for the body. When I think about that and then purification as a magical process, I come up with the following video:
Mind mapping and magic
One of the creative techniques I've appropriated for magical work is mind mapping. If you're not familiar with mind mapping, it involves creating a central idea and then drawing lines to related bubbles with information. It's a useful technique for organizing information and also helping you see where the information fits into your process. One of the resources I've drawn on for mind-mapping is Unstuck Focused and Organized with Mind Mapping (Affiliate link), which is a book that shows you how to keep mind mapping uncomplicated, while also helping you organize it. There also some audio files included where the author interviews successful business people who've used it for their businesses. While mindmapping can be used for business, it can also be used for magical purposes. For example, if you're putting together a ritual, you can use mind mapping to outline the elements of the ritual, assign roles, and organize the process of the ritual. Likewise if you're developing a magical process or technique mind-mapping can be used to discover weak areas in the process you're developing, or it can be used to discover further areas for experimentation.
My spider web sigil technique is partially based off of mind mapping, and I've found it useful for mapping out my life and the people, places, etc., of influence that effect what I'm doing. Mind-mapping in general is just a useful technique for looking at the world, your profession, life, spirituality, etc., in a different way.
Pattern Recognition and magic in your life
For my birthday, my partner Kat got me this game called Attika. It's a game where you try to build a city from one temple to another temple or just try to build the entire city. You also have "neighbors" trying to build their cities. And what's most interesting is that to get extra turns you have to build the city in the right order. For that matter to get free buildings, building in order is encouraged. It's a fun and challenging game, because it involves looking at the environment you are building in, and recognizing the patterns, spatially, and resource wise that will allow you to successfully build a city. When I think about it, this game describes a lot of how I approach magic now. To me, successful magic is a process, and a form of pattern recognition. Where, why, when, how, what I will do the magic for all fits into the larger pattern of living my life. Just doing magic to get someone or get money or solve some temporary problem is thinking small, too small really, if you can't recognize where that activity fits into the larger pattern of your life, and into the habits you exhibit and/or want to change. What does it mean to put magic into getting a job in the greater pattern of your life. Don't get me wrong, getting a job can be important for survival needs, but when we do a magical act, if we focus only on the short term or basic needs, what else are we missing out on in the pattern of our lives?
When I talk about magic as a process, I'm also talking about how magic takes one's internal reality and translates into the external reality. But along with magic there is also all the demons and dysfunctions as well as virtues that a person has, which is also brought into external reality, and if we ignore all of that, we may find that our magical work proves less effective because we our working against ourselves and against the patterns of our lives. When, instead, we look at the patterns in our lives, and examine where magic can be applied to change those patterns proactively or help us achieve our overall goals, life becomes easier to live. Instead of getting that crappy job that covers the basics, but leaves us miserable and wanting to leave, we find that job that meets our higher needs as well as our basic needs and brings us fulfillment.
While life isn't quite like the board game I mentioned, recognizing the patterns of identity and how we express them and consequently how we manifest our choices is essential to knowing how and where to apply magic in a useful and truly meaningful manner. Instead of reacting, let's look at our environment, both internal and external, and consider carefully what we will do that will meaningfully improve our lives, instead of just going through the motions.
My work with Bune
I recently decided to work with the Goetic Demon Bune, who amongst other things, provides riches to a person. As you can probably guess my focus was on doing a wealth magic working with him. However riches is a very ambiguous term so I knew I needed to decide how I wanted to work with Bune and how that kind of working would relate to wealth magic. Just wanting him to get me money or wealth wasn't realistic because it'd leave plenty of loopholes. Instead I looked at the circumstances already available to me. In this case I run a business and have another business I'm about to start. I provide services to clients and I'm developing product lines. I realized that what I wanted was to work with an entity that would help me become more aware of business opportunities and ping my intuition to notify me of potential clients and business opportunities. I consulted Bune to see if he could provide me these services and he agreed that he could. In return he wanted a dedication at a meal and for a book on wealth magic, a painting, and a blog post about my work with him. These seemed like reasonable requests for me to fulfill, so I agreed to them.
I've since created a painting to Bune and hung it in my business office. I'm writing this blog post, and I'll likely write others to provide updates on the efficacy of the working and I did a dedication to him at a meal in his honor. By doing all these activities I am showing him my willingness to develop a partnership and relationship. That's my preference in working with entities in general. It's better to establish a relationship of mutual benefit instead of trying to command or control something.
I did this working last week, but I've already seen a couple opportunities arise. I'm excited to see what will happen. By taking the time to define the role and activities I wanted Bune to perform in, I've also created the path of least resistance for him to do what he does, while also providing a path for how it can occur.
Explore related entries in the Library
Call For Papers: Oops, Wrong Chat: A Survival Guide to World of Warcraft
Taylor's Note: I posted this because of my own interest in Pop culture and also to support my publisher. Most of the books you’ll find written about WoW attempt to come at the game from an academic viewpoint, thereby to give it some credibility and respectability among the uninitiated who look at it with a dubious eye. We already know that non-gamers regard us MMO fans as geeks and freaks, somehow sucked into this nerdiverse that is anathema to real life.
Well, we think it’s about time the balance was redressed. We don’t need to apologise for our passion to those who just don’t ‘get’ it because they simply haven’t tried it. Neither do we need to dress it up as academic study. ‘Oops, Wrong Chat’ will be an affectionate yet honest look at the world of Azeroth, informing those who are not informed and entertaining those who are already fellow travellers in that world.
We are looking for well-written witty and/or insightful articles that talk about the gamer’s experiences in World of Warcraft that will be helpful for new players but also of interest to veterans. Articles will typically be named after Achievements or Quests in the game, and any potential contributor should inform us what topic they wish to explore and what title they’d like to use, in order to prevent duplication of submissions.
Articles can be anecdotal, involving the writer’s experiences in WoW, or else can be informational, focusing upon particular aspects of the game, but with a light touch, accessible to non-aficionados. Or they can be more like social commentary, talking about the community within WoW itself.
Raiding, questing, role-playing, PvP, the lore of WoW, working on professions and achievements, being a pro trader in the Auction House, collecting pets and mounts, exploring the least trodden and secret corners of Azeroth, WoW as a sedentary sport – all these are potential topics. Or perhaps your idea is different. We are open to all submissions that are written well and entertain. Submissions can be between 3000-10000 words, and the deadline is 1st March 2011. All articles should be submitted in Word or RTF to editorial@immanion-press.com
Context and its place in magical activities
In a conversation I had the other night with one of my students, we discussed the value of establishing the context in which a magical act will occur, as well as how to establish that context. I find that without proper context, magic ends up being meaningless or reactionary, and consequently isn't as effective as it would be if the person took time to establish context properly. Proper context establishes why a person needs to utilize magic, as well as how it'll be utilized. One of the activities I have my students when they first start learning magic involves putting together a diagram or flowchart for something they want to do magic for. I have them map out what they are already doing on the mundane level to achieve their goal and then we look at where magic fits into that process, and how they will use magic to help them enhance what they are already doing. The value of having a person diagram their process is that it shows the person that magic never occurs in a vacuum, but instead always has a context it occurs in, and part of that context is framed in the activities the person is already doing to realize the possibility they are trying to bring into reality.
Of course context isn't just your mundane activities, but also your goals, the other people affected by the working and other environmental factors which need to be thought about, if we are to use magic strategically. Strategic use of magic allows for the different factors and environmental conditions and enables you to successfully enchant because you've accounted for them and prepped the conditions accordingly.
So, as an exercise map out what you want to accomplish and include what you are already doing, and then add magic as a supplementary activity that enhances what you are already doing. Your success rate will more than likely go up because you'll have considered all the factors involved.
Quality and magic
If we consider that quality is a tool of measurement and apply that to magical work, then the question arises as to how the quality of life is improved by magic. This video discusses that question:
Why I like to learn different subjects
I'm reading The Survival Guide: Home Remodeling by Diane Plesset (Amazon affiliate link). It has nothing remotely to do with magic, in terms of spells and rituals or correspondence charts. But it is an interesting book about home remodeling and how to work with interior designers. And most importantly its teaching me to be keep an open perspective and learn about the world from other angles other than what I'm comfortable with. That's one reason I like to learn different subjects outside of my fields of expertise. The chance to learn something new, consider a different perspective, and even adapt some of that to one's magical practice can be very useful...and in this case reading this book reinforces how important it is to pay attention to the details, ask the right questions and do the necessary groundwork in order to turn your imagination into reality.
So often with magic books the discussion focuses on the metaphysical, but doesn't necessarily emphasize awareness of the mundane details and how much they can make or break the success of a magical work. To me, paying attention to the details involves paying attention to the mundane details as well as the magical details. So you learn about those mundane details and apply them as well as doing the magic. This process makes it easier for magical work to manifest into measurable results, and at the same time teaches the value of doing the work on all levels. The benefit of doing the work on all levels is that not only do you improve as a person, but you also improve as a magician, because you can see all levels as opposed to just focusing on one and trying to put all your effort into that one level. Success of any sort is best achieved by working all the angles instead of just one.
The balance between tradition and experimentation
I've always been a big believer in experimentation when it comes to magic, but I've also always believed that you need to have a solid foundation in order to experiment. The person who experiments without a firm understanding of magical principles won't get very far, and I don't know even know if you could call the magical work experimental, if there isn't a firm foundation in work. The magician is someone who has made the effort to learn how other people have practiced magic, and incorporated those practices into his/her life, but has also decided that just relying on tradition alone isn't enough. S/he recognizes the value of experimentation and innovation as a way of advancing one's understanding of the world, and also one's spiritual practice and how it applies to the world.
In my own spiritual practices, I've always tried to find a balance between experimentation and tradition. While I definitely think experimentation is important, experimentation without foundation won't get you very far. This is why it's important to do the research, to learn the skills, and then look at how you can improve on them, or what new directions you can take them in.
I don't believe in mindlessly adhering to tradition for the sake of tradition. Such dogmatism leads to fanaticism, and also ends up causing a spiritual tradition to stagnate. This doesn't mean practices should be disregarded or tossed aside, but if a person never tries to innovate or experiment at some point s/he will stagnate. I see this occur a lot with people who try to emulate the life of someone else or only do magic the way the book tells you to.
The magician is someone who tests the magical practices s/he performs and looks for ways to improve on his/her practice. It's not about cutting corners, but about being methodical and revising your process in favor of improving on it.
Learn from tradition and what others did. Build a firm foundation, and then...challenge it, experiment and evolve. This is my approach to magic. It's not the stumbling of the fool, but rather the measured pace of the magician who recognizes that magic isn't about repeating what others have done, but learning what others have done and improving on it. But remember the fool has intuition and sometimes will find something the magician wouldn't...so take a risk sometimes and try something different...the experience will definitely teach you.
Dream Technique part 2
I'd mentioned a little while back that I'd begun experimenting with using physical sensations as a means to create a dream reality where I could do internal work. I've found since that original post that what seems to work best for me, if I want to do a night of internal work is a kinisthetic sensation. I've tried visualization, but visualization seems to work better as a secondary sensory tool used to create an environment around the kinisthetic sensation. I'm not sure that this "rule" would apply to everyone. It may only apply to me because I'm a kinisthetic learner first, and a visual learner second, and an audio learner last. For a visual learner, using some kind of visual stimuli may work better for creating an initial dream environment in which the internal work will be done. Likewise an audio learner may find that an audio signal is best.
I've found that using kinisthetic sensations has helped me create dream environments I can work with so that I'm doing some form of internal work while sleeping. It seems to be most helpful if I use a sensation I felt during the day before I do the dream work. Trying to draw on older memories of sensations is less helpful, especially as those memories get replaced by newer experiences. It does help if the sensation is unusual. I've found that focusing on sensations that my feet feel is particularly useful, partially because of how sensitive feet are and partially because I don't normally go out of my way to pay attention to what my feet feel. I now have that incentive, in order to create a dream environment I can work in, but it can also work with any other sensitive area of your body.
Dimethyltryptamine
This neurotransmitter has always appeared to me as a Young boy with a crystalline spear. The point of the spear goes into many different dimensions. When I worked with this neurotransmitter this time, it focused on showing me how it could be applied as a diagnostic tool by providing different perceptions of how the body felt or appeared to a person. It also did something else for me however, making me aware of certain feelings I had about my creative career and hadn't recognized, so it seems that it's a diagnostic tool that works not just with the body, but also with other dimensions of a person's life.
Why Mundane skills in magic matter
In thinking about what I read in Strategic Sorcery, something I really agree with Jason on is the importance of learning mundane skills that complement the magical practices you want to do. Doing magic to bring you money won't do much good if you don't have practical money skills to handle that money. The same is true with other situations that have require knowing mundane skills.
Dream technique
Yesterday I was at the Oregon coast and I walked barefoot in the sand. I retained a strong kinisthetic body memory of the sensation of walking in the sand, and on a whim, decided that when I went to sleep, I would use the sensation of walking on the beach to create a dream environment where I could do internal work. As I drifted to sleep, I allowed my body to recall in intimate detail the experience of walking on the sand. Using that sensation, I allowed myself to put together a dream environment of the beach I'd been walking on, with myself being the only person walking on it. Then as I walked in the dream, I began meditating on the particular issues I wanted to work through. Because I was using the physical sensation of walking in the sand as my baseline, it made it easier to build other physical sensations into the dream, such as touching my tongue to the palate of mouth, while doing Taoist breathing.
I remembered my dream in the morning and a fair amount of the details of the inner work I did. Doing this work helped me to feel more at peace about a couple issues I'm working through. It will certainly be useful to draw on this technique in further depth.
Experiment restart
About five or so years ago I invented a technique where a person could contact their neurotransmitters as entities and then work with them to make changes to the chemistry of the body. For a time I worked with a group of people and we tested out the technique and concept. We got some interesting results, took it some places, and then went our separate ways. Since that time I never really got back to those experiments. There were a variety of reasons for that, but five years later and I'm finally ready to dive back in and I've got some people I can work with on further developments. I'm starting out with the basic technique again, reacquainting myself with each neurotransmitter, so you may see some notes on the neurotransmitter work on here, as a result.
I'm also restarting some work I've done with my modified version of the Tibetan Tumo technique. I've decided to utilize the modified version to do some daily work with the elements of space and time.
So I'm going back to some of my roots, experimentally speaking and it should make for some interesting work and developments in those respective areas. What helps is I have a magical partner that will help keep me on track and focused. I've missed having someone to work with who gets my ideas and wants to explore them, but now I have such a person in my life and that helps immensely.
Identity
Last October, I switched the element I was working with from Emptiness to Time, or so I thought. And I have done some work with time and space and in fact would say the work I've done has been very integral to my life growth, but I realized recently that if I've really been working with an element this year, it's actually identity. Last October I felt like everything got cleared away, and it did...if not then, then in January with the divorce. And the last half year or so has involved rediscovering my identity, my space, and my time. And even though I have gotten involved with someone new and am happily exploring a relationship with her now, I still feel very focused on the discovery of my agreement with the universe, and what I really want my identity to embody in this life.
I'm also discovering what I don't want in my agreement with the universe, and so as a result I'm looking carefully at my life and who and what I include in that life, as well what behaviors I'll accept or won't accept (both from myself and others). So I've realized that in a lot of ways identity has been my element this year, at least on a subtle level, because this year has been more about planting seeds of who I will become and also embracing the new circumstances than anything else.
And I think its magical, because magic isn't something that happens at a prescribed time or in a prescribed way. Magic is about the mundane details as well as the spiritual, really about the integration of both...
What is practical magic?
I've been thinking about what practical magic since I've started reading a book about strategic sorcery. When I think about practical magic and what it is, I don't just think of magic used to solve a problem or crisis in the mundane world, but also as the magician taking a step further and examining what his/her participation was in the problem, and then making changes in his/her life past managing the problem that the magic solved. The video says the rest.
A definition of embodiment magic
Understanding the relationship of the body with the communication with the subconscious is important to realizing how the body can be worked with successfully. Learning how to embody an emotion or concept can be a useful way to understand the effect the emotion or concept has on your life.
The need for innovation in magic
When we adhere to other people's rules and definitions of magic without questioning them or testing them, we become dogmatic and lose out on innovation. For magic to be an effective practice, we need to question all definitions and practices, with an eye toward improving our magical practice and also toward improving magic as a whole.
A memoriam to Isaac Bonewits
I only met Isaac Bonewits a few times in my life, but each time I met him I was struck by his humor and intelligence, and a willingness to question his own beliefs and theories as well as others. What I count as one of my favorite moments was meeting him at Gathering of the Tribes and getting the opportunity to speak with him at some length. In fact, he even invited me back to his trailer and we chatted for a couple hours about magical theory and practice. Given that he was busy writing a book and preferred at least some alone time, I am and was very grateful. The discussion we had was one that allowed me to clarify a lot of my thoughts about my approach to magic. I also felt very honored when he wrote at some length about one of my experiments in one of his books. I have a lot of respect for Isaac. But what I also appreciated was the humor and humanity of him. While I can't say I knew him well, my interactions with him were ones that moved back and froth from seriousness to humor. I wish I'd had more opportunities to speak with and even work with him, but I'm grateful for those moments I did have, as I imagine many other people are. Isaac gave a lot to the community and now he's moving on. I wish him the safest journey and bow to him in respect for his works and ideas. I also wish condolences to his family.
Pan's Labyrinth and Rules of Magic
I recently saw Pan's Labyrinth and one scene in particular that stood out to me was where the girl was looking for a key and there were specific rules she had to follow and if she didn't follow those rules, she could die. She did, in fact, break the rules, and the monster almost got her, but she had chalk and she was able to use it to open another door and escape. The reason was because even though she broke a rule, she understood all the rules and so she could use another rule to get her out of the situation she'd put herself in. To truly be able to experiment in magic, you need to understand the rules so you know which ones you can break and which ones you can bend, and which ones should just be followed. And make no mistake, magic does have its own rules. In fact, you can find some common rules in studying even seemingly disparate practices. But the beauty of magic is that's it something you can also change, if you know the rules.
In fact, rules themselves get changed as people's understanding of what they are doing becomes more nuanced. It's fair to say that rules are ultimately interpretations of how actions should be done, and as such are always subject to revision. What makes a rule effective is the willingness of a person to subscribe to what the rule says. Watch the video below to learn more: