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.

Endorphin

Endorphin is a guy in a jogging suit. The symbol he gave me is a fleshknot that has a tripod base, with each part of the tripod rising to twist around the other two parts. He causes pleasure, notable in runner high, but also in meditation and experiencing something new, but he also opens doors of possibility. At the same time endorphin warns about being overused because it can cause addiction. The sensation of endorphin is a tingling feeling...and also a feeling of flow. Book Review: Taoist Yoga by Charles Luk

I found this book to be an insightful read into Taoist internal alchemy, however I'd also say that anyone reading it needs to have at least a couple years experience to even begin to get the concepts discussed. What I found was that the book provided greater clarity about some of the different exercises I'd already done, but I also realized that if I didn't already have experience with those exercises, I probably wouldn't get what the author was discussing. It's a useful book to have for an intermediate to advanced Taoist meditation practitioner. 5 out 5

Amazon link

Powells link

Some musings on retroactive time

I had some thoughts the other night, after I'd been playing Assassin's Creed 2 about retroactive time and what would happen if you didn't live the life of your ancestor the way s/he had lived it. The video below is some of my discussion about retroactive time and ancestor memory.

Dopamine and Norepinephrine

Dopamine: Appears as an old man/trickster figure. Dopamine causes pleasure, most notably in sex when a person orgasms. When I worked with him this time, as with when I first worked with him, he reminded me to use dopamine carefully...that it's not something to be abused. This makes senses to me, especially if you consider the possibility of addiction to the pleasure. Norepinephrine: Appears as a kabuki Actor. Norepinephrine causes numbness, so its basically a natural painkiller for the body. There's some definite applications when used in combination with other neurotransmitters.

Limitless freedom: are you really free?

I've been thinking about the concept of enlightenment, in terms of attaining a state of non-attachment to everything as well as what the result might look like and I think it might be something like experiencing limitless freedom.You become everything and nothing, but because there are no limitations you can never turn that possibility into something real. In fact, you the person don't even exist. A rather tenuous existence, and while a person might be one with everything and nothing, what in the end does that really mean, and what does it really do for the person. I'll admit I'm attached to my identity.

Need and desire can be spiritual

"When we think the solution to our unhappiness can be found in the external world, our desires can only be temporarily sated. Not understanding this, we are tossed this way and that by the winds of desire, ever restless and dissatisfied. We are governed by our karma and continually plant the seeds of future karmic harvest. Not only does this mode of action distract us from the spiritual path, but it also prevents us from finding satisfaction in our daily life" -- Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche I was thinking about what's written above the other day as I was walking around the Hawthorne district in Portland. I'd just come out of Powells (a bookstore) and I realized that while I'd enjoyed going into the store and looking at the books, I'd also felt a sense of dissatisfaction, a recognition that nothing I could purchase would be anything more than a distraction, an illusion. I might temporarily fulfill a desire and enjoy doing so, but I would still have to come face to face with the underlying reality that whatever I got was only a temporary distraction from that desire, and it would come back to remind me that it needed something more.

Since then I've also been thinking how much desire and attachment actually anchor a person into living life, providing the drive that people have to live, and I consequently wonder how much the valuing of the spirit over the material world is just another desire, another sign of dissatisfaction expressed in trying to find some spiritual answer that will take away any sense of need a person has.

Seems to me that need and desire are spiritual in and of themselves. Without the need or desire for something, would we strive so much for our goals, our projects, our ideals, etc.? When we determine that something is not spiritual, aren't we just creating the dualistic divisions that cause Karma? I find the subtle hierarchical beliefs about the spirit vs the material to be the most dangerous because in trying to divide everything up we also end up labeling it and using that labeling to create the dualistic tension described as karma.

If satisfaction is to be found, it must be found in our ability to make peace with our desires by accepting them as gateways to spiritual experiences that also allow us to perceive the material world as the manifestation of the spiritual. Instead of dividing, why not just experience it all?

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.

Melatonin and Tryptophan

Melatonin always appears as a dark skinned woman. she's the polar opposite of serotonin, but also  does similar activities in terms of balancing the neurochemistry of the body as well as a person's emotional moods. She's also helpful in cases of insomnia. She and serotonin can be worked with simultaneously in order to help with situations such as insomnia, where there might be too much serotonin and not enough melatonin or in cases of waking up, where serotonin can be upped while melatonin is decreased.

Tryptophan appears to me as a pregnant sleeping Empress. She aids in Digestion and is consequently a force for change in neurochemistry. People may wish to work with her to get help with digestion issues or sleep issues.

Book Review: The Sorcerer's Secrets by Jason Miller

In this book, the author presents practical ideas and strategies for people who are just starting out in their magical practice. This isn't a 101 book, but its safe to say it's a 102 book that also offers some insights to magicians with more experience. What I appreciate the most is that the author takes the time to focus on considerations such as finances and explains that while magic can help, it's also important to learn practical mundane skills.

I also appreciate the author's choice to draw on a wide variety of sources that fall outside the traditional bibliography usually found in books. The author illustrates the importance of developing a well-rounded strategy by exposing readers to alternative sources.

There are two reasons this book gets a four instead of a five, however. One reason is because the author doesn't address the value of doing internal work as a practical and strategic solution. while knowing how to do practical magic to solve a problem is important, being able to identify your participation in the problem and making changes is even more important, and more practical. The other reason is that while the author does draw on non-traditional sources, he doesn't address the topic of innovation and how it can be used to develop practical magic.

All that said, this is an excellent book to read, and one I'd recommend to someone just starting out.

Amazon link

Powells link

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.

Serotonin Report

For me, Serotonin is a 6 eyed red snake. When I experience Serotonin in my body, it feels like a fuzzy, warm light has encased my body. Serotonin is balance, the balance of the light with the dark, as well as the balance of the neurochemistry of the brain and the balance of the moods a person has. Serotonin teaches the magician how to balance the other neurotransmitters correctly, when doing inner alchemical work with the body.

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.