Part 2 of the principle of connection explores how connection works in further detail
The Advanced pop culture magic teleclass is happening tonight
Pop culture magic isn't just for geeks. It's magic anyone can practice, based on foundation principles of magic, and on the modern culture that is available to all of us. In this class, you'll learn how to apply pop culture to magical practices, as well as how to troubleshoot your pop culture magical workings so you get consistent results. You will also learn:
- What pop culture is and how to apply it to your magical process.
- How to contact and work with pop culture entities and deities.
- How social media can be applied to magical work.
- How video games and online games can be used to create magical rituals with virtual covens.
- What board games, comic books, and other pop culture can teach you about magic.
- and much, much more.
Pop culture magic isn't a fad or a reinvention of the wheel. It is a viable magical system, with room for lots of personalization based on the pop culture of your choice. By learning how to apply pop culture to your magical practice, you'll discover how you can take the pop culture you love and turn it into a viable magical working that produces results and changes your life.
When you take this class you'll achieve the following benefits:
- Workshop your pop culture magic workings with me, to discover how you can improve on them.
- Discover how to turn your favorite pop culture into a viable system of magic.
- Know you aren't alone in practicing pop culture magic and get connected to other people.
- Learn advanced pop culture magic techniques.
Who should attend this class?
This class is for Pagans and Magicians who want to integrate pop culture into their magical work, or already are and want to improve on their workings. If you're an armchair magician or don't like pop culture, this class isn't for you.
When does this class meet?
This is a teleclass that meets Wednesday June 24th from 7pm Pacific Standard time to 8:30pm Pacific Standard Time. When you RSVP, I'll send you the call-in information.
About the Teacher
Hi, I’m Taylor Ellwood, occult author, magical experiment, and Esoteric books publisher. I love to share my expertise, knowledge, and process with you! I’ve been teaching classes on magic since the late 1990's. What I love about magic is the endless possibilities for experimentation and process development.
When you take this teleclass, you'll also get the following Bonuses:
- A recording of the teleclass
- A Free E-book with Pop Culture Magic articles by me.
- A private online forum to share what you are working on with pop culture magic.
What's the Investment?
The investment for this class is $49. To sign up click on the paypal button below. Once you've signed up I'll send you the relevant call-in information.
The Sphere of Sensation and Vibrational changes
In Magical Imagination, Nick Farrell shares the concept of the sphere of sensation, which is apparently the aura of the person, as well as what influences that aura. He shares some techniques for working with the sphere of sensation that are based on visualization, but I thought it would be interesting to take a different approach with working with the sphere of sensation. I figured I'd would use a different approach to working with the sphere of sensation, via vibration. While I recognize the value of examining your behaviors, choices, allegiances, via visualization using symbols, I think it can also be useful to frame such work in the context of vibrations.
I recently did a walking meditation where I meditated on a behavior that I wanted to change. Instead of visualizing the behavior or a symbol for the behavior, I focused on the vibration of the behavior and how that vibration showed up in the sphere of sensation. I felt the vibration as a form of tension that also showed up in my body. As I walked I focused on changing that tension by changing the frequency of the vibration. By changing the frequency of the vibration I was able to dissolve the tension and as it dissolved I could work through the memories and sensations that came up in association with the behavior. Since doing this working the behavior hasn't had the same strength it had, and I've been following up with further vibratory work that continues to change the behavior.
You can approach this work in several ways. In the case above, I focused on the feeling of tension and used it to find the frequency that corresponded to it in the sphere of sensation. Then I worked with that frequency by vibrating it and using the vibration to dissolve the tension. Alternately, if you wanted to employ sound as a part of your work you could match a specific sound with a vibration you want to work with. You would vibrate the sound in order to work with the frequency and what you could do is experiment with the tone and pitch of the sound as a way to change the frequency or even change the type of sound.
Working with sound and vibration can be a useful alternative for people who struggle with visualization or don't find it to be helpful. By integrating sound into your meditation and internal work you open yourself up to a different way of experiencing and working through internal tensions. I'll be continuing to experiment with sound as a useful alternative to visualization and share what I discover here.
Magical Experiments Podcast: I interviewed Jason Miller about his books and his magical work. You can listen here.
The Elemental Balancing Ritual Stillness Month 8: Reaction
5-22-15 I've started reading Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. Just the introduction has me thinking about scarcity in a different way, especially as it shows up in my internal work. My relationship with emptiness is a perfect example of scarcity shaping that interaction, and when I see the needs exposed in that context it just helps examine the root causes in a way that makes even more sense than before. I was doing x because I was feeling scarcity in this way and I didn't recognize it as such but that feeling shaped my actions.
5-26-15 I've been doing some further processing around the scarcity mindset in my life. What I realize is that it has shown up in a number of different ways for me. It's shown up in in my relationship with love and related areas, but also in my relationship with food, and even buying things. I see how such fixation is really a symptom of scarcity, which is useful for identifying it as such...but I know there is more to it than just that.
5-28-15 I've been feeling restless the last few days and I think its related to the work around scarcity that I'm doing. No real surprise that when you take a look at something such as scarcity it stirs up feelings related to it. When I feel a sense of scarcity in my life, I feel like a hungry ghost, like I can never get enough of something. My skull feels tight and there is this deep sense of restlessness within me that leads to that place of emptiness. I've never really identified it in that way before, but doing so gives me something to work with as a way of identifying more fully when I'm feeling a lack of something.
6-1-15 I was reading an acquaintance's status update on Facebook and he was taking about how he'd spent the last year and a half saying goodbye to the places, people, etc, that he knows because he was making a cross country move. Reading his update made me appreciate what a conscious choice he had made and how much planning clearly went into it. I reflected on my own life and I'd have to say that most of my adult decisions have been reactive decisions because something else happened or because I didn't know what else to do. I got a Bachelor's in English and didn't know what else to do so I went and got a Master's and then still not knowing what else to do or what else I could, I pursued a Ph.D, only to leave that degree in part because it wasn't a good fit and because I didn't know what I really wanted to do and because the person I was dating at the time I left had decided to move to Seattle. The worst part of that was that I'd only really met her 6 months before she was going to move. She had made this conscious plan to move somewhere...but me...I just got involved with her after a breakup and just reactively went along with her plans without really considering what I wanted or if she even wanted me to come along (and just because I came along didn't necessarily mean she wanted me along). I didn't want to be alone and so I made a choice to move across the country because I didn't know what else to do. I reacted and let that reaction take me from friends and possibilities to a new place and to an unhealthy relationship, in no small part due to my reactivity. I lurched from decision to decision without any real plan and honestly I'm lucky I've landed on my feet each time. Fortunately I now live in a place I like, with someone I love and a number of communities I'm proud to be a part of...and I've actually figured out how to consciously plan my life and focus on achieving what I want, because I actually know what I want. It just took me a good portion of my adult life to actually figure it out. And I'm still making some choices from reaction, but reading that update made me realize how much reaction has governed my life and how much it no longer does.
6-7-15 I've been considering my reactivity further. I don't think it's really that unusual for most people to live fairly reactive lives. Some never grow out of it and some people do, but it usually takes time. And sometimes you need those reactions. My reactions have lead me to some interesting journeys and while I'm glad I'm more focused and conscious I don't know that I could've gotten to that without having the reactions I've had. They serve a purpose, actually as many purposes as I allow them to.
6-9-15 Today I meditated on a feeling of discomfort. I didn't think about it or try to categorize it or otherwise label it. I just felt it and was still with it. And by stilling myself with it, it became something I felt less and less. It just dissolved, acknowledged by me being still with it.
6-10-15 The hungry ghost is a being which can never get enough, has a distended belly and small mouth, basically an addict, when you think about it, but that addiction is motivated by scarcity of some sort at the root of what the ghost is trying satisfy. The ghost can never get enough because it isn't dealing with the scarcity or perceived scarcity. It's just focused on mindlessly trying to satisfy itself, with no clarity or conscious recognition of the source of its own misery.
6-11-15 Today I meditated on scarcity and reaction. I think the two go hand in hand. Reactions occur as a response to your environment, internal or external, and are partially derived from a feeling of scarcity, which in turn is fed by the reactions, because you are tunnel visioned into those reactions by your feeling of scarcity and not having enough. It blocks out everything else, and stops you from being in a place of conscious intention. I see this in my own life again and again. I've let my feelings of scarcity dictate my actions, really my reactions, and those same reactions have lead me back to scarcity in a cycle that repeats, each feeding each other and thus sustaining the cycle. Recognizing that cycle is hard. I feel depressed when I see how much my life has been a cycle of reaction and scarcity, but the fact that I can be aware of it, really aware of it, is and of itself some progress. I'm stepping back and seeing this cycle from a different place than I was able to before.
6-14-15 Today I walked along the Johnson Creek trail and meditated on a feeling of tension within me. I ended up exploring that tension as a form of vibration and worked to change the vibration frequency and as I did the tension dissolved. I saw how the tension was part of a cycle that was developed around the frequency the tension was part of and by changing the frequency, I released the tension.
6-16-15 I've been watching a new show called Damages, about a lawyer who is willing to do whatever it takes to win her cases. Makes for a fascinating pop culture entity to work with if it comes down to legal situations, but what I also find insightful about the show is the exploration of people's reactions. It's a show about reactions. Most of the people aren't consciously choosing so much as reacting to what is happening to them and those reactions work against them because the choice is already limited by the fact that its a reaction and someone has created specific limitations that affect what the person can or can't do.
6-19-15 The key to changing what you react to involves becoming still with your reaction. When it can no longer move you to act, it no longer has power over you. Then you can make choices from a place of awareness and that place allows you to knowingly make your choices and fully accept whatever consequences may come your way. It's harder and easier. Harder because you are knowingly making those choices and dealing with the consequences, but easier because you aren't letting life happen to you.
6-22-15 I feel like I'm developing a deeper relationship with stillness as a result of my work with it in context to reaction. Stillness provides a clarity of mind and being that purifies your awareness and allows you to recognize your reactions and how they are stopping you from seeing the bigger picture. In situations where I feel reactions arise, I use stillness to step back and see the blinders that the reactions are causing so that I can make conscious choices which are fully informed by all variables as opposed to what the reaction is focused on. And that in turn teaches me that what stillness can provide is an opportunity to be fully present with your environment, so that any movement that does occur happens on your schedule.
The role of connection in magical work
The role of connection in magical work
The Advanced Pop Culture Magic Teleclass is happening next week!
Pop culture magic isn't just for geeks. It's magic anyone can practice, based on foundation principles of magic, and on the modern culture that is available to all of us. In this class, you'll learn how to apply pop culture to magical practices, as well as how to troubleshoot your pop culture magical workings so you get consistent results. You will also learn:
- What pop culture is and how to apply it to your magical process.
- How to contact and work with pop culture entities and deities.
- How social media can be applied to magical work.
- How video games and online games can be used to create magical rituals with virtual covens.
- What board games, comic books, and other pop culture can teach you about magic.
- and much, much more.
Pop culture magic isn't a fad or a reinvention of the wheel. It is a viable magical system, with room for lots of personalization based on the pop culture of your choice. By learning how to apply pop culture to your magical practice, you'll discover how you can take the pop culture you love and turn it into a viable magical working that produces results and changes your life.
When you take this class you'll achieve the following benefits:
- Workshop your pop culture magic workings with me, to discover how you can improve on them.
- Discover how to turn your favorite pop culture into a viable system of magic.
- Know you aren't alone in practicing pop culture magic and get connected to other people.
- Learn advanced pop culture magic techniques.
Who should attend this class?
This class is for Pagans and Magicians who want to integrate pop culture into their magical work, or already are and want to improve on their workings. If you're an armchair magician or don't like pop culture, this class isn't for you.
When does this class meet?
This is a teleclass that meets Wednesday June 24th from 7pm Pacific Standard time to 8:30pm Pacific Standard Time. When you RSVP, I'll send you the call-in information.
About the Teacher
Hi, I’m Taylor Ellwood, occult author, magical experiment, and Esoteric books publisher. I love to share my expertise, knowledge, and process with you! I’ve been teaching classes on magic since the late 1990's. What I love about magic is the endless possibilities for experimentation and process development.
When you take this teleclass, you'll also get the following Bonuses:
- A recording of the teleclass
- A Free E-book with Pop Culture Magic articles by me.
- A private online forum to share what you are working on with pop culture magic.
What's the Investment?
The investment for this class is $49. To sign up click on the paypal button below. Once you've signed up I'll send you the relevant call-in information.
How to recognize when to challenge your own beliefs
On the Magick of Thought Blog, Mike recently shared a post about the Danger of Popular Memes and Ancient Wisdom and how the blind acceptance of ideas and practices can cause the practitioner to avoid ask questions and critically examining what they are doing in order to improve it. In my own approach to magic, one of my rules is that the magician should be willing to consistently challenge his/her own beliefs about how magic works, or for that matter how anything else works. I've applied this rule to my own work and it's always helped me to stay sharp and never accept any explanation as a given. Test what you are told or what you tell yourself and keep testing it to see what you can change and/or improve upon.
To recognize when you need to challenge your own beliefs, its important to consider that what you think you know can actually hold you back from discovery. What you know becomes a prison in a sense because it keeps you from asking questions. You know it, and yet that knowing is an illusion that necessarily must be challenged, in order to open yourself to possibilities. When we treat what we know as a given, we limit ourselves and close off possible perspectives. Limitation in that way isn't useful, because it keeps us from exploring and utilizing those perceptions.
The best time to recognize when you need to challenge your beliefs is when you start to become so sure of them that you take them for granted. Once something is taken for granted it becomes part of the background, and when this occurs with what you belief it means you are no longer challenging what you believe. Instead you've accepted it and the limitations that come with it. The key is to continually challenge yourself on what you believe and ask yourself if it really applies to the situation, or if there are possibilities that could be explored. By doing so you may discover solutions you would otherwise ignore.
Magical Experiments podcast
This week's Magical Experiments podcast is with Felix Warren and discusses his work with the Goetia and how that work was inspired by the anime series Slayer. Click here to listen.
Defining your process of magic
How to use your defined result to create your process of magic
Feeling the Writing, Feeling the Magic
In Ensouling Language, the author discusses how important it is for the author to feel the writing s/he is doing, and likewise how important it is for the reader to feel the words, to encounter the meanings that have been placed into the words by the author. The author also notes that every author (and I would add any creative type of person) inevitably encounters a truth which he states as the following: "You must not extend awareness further than society wants it to go." The responsibility of the writer is to extend awareness beyond where society wants it to go, because when this occurs what is shared is an encounter that goes beyond the word and enters the imagination of the audience. To do that the writer and reader needs to feel the words and experience the meaning imparted in them. It's an interesting perspective on writing that I agree with. Writing should move the writer and the reader.
While I write a lot about magical techniques and practices, I do think its important to also feel magic. What I mean by that is that when you practice magic it should change something in you, move you in some way. If it doesn't, then it becomes empty, something done for the sake of being done, but not truly experienced and consequently not likely to change reality either. When the practitioner feels magic, feels a change, that's when the magic becomes embodied and real. It has meaning and that meaning has shaped the practitioner as surely as the practitioner has shaped the meaning, and as a result also shapes reality, opening it to possibility.
Whether I'm doing my daily work or I'm doing a specific working for a result I want to feel the magic. It is sometimes easier to feel it when doing a specific working, because daily work can get monotonous, but the reason you do the daily work is to challenge that monotony and to recognize that the lack of engagement is coming from you. There may be times where its really hard to connect with what you are doing or why you are even doing it and yet if you stick with it, you come to a deeper appreciation of your practice and magic. That actually applies to writing as well.
I write a lot and inevitably I encounter writer's block, where I can't really feel the writing. Yet I know if I stick with it I will get through that block and feel the writing again. The words will become more than just blots of ink on paper or electronic signals in my computer. The key is persistence. If you feel a genuine connection and passion to magic or writing or whatever you stick with it and accept that there will be periods where you don't feel it as much. You do the work anyway and you do it because that feeling isn't the reward, but is actually part of the process and it can't be forced, but it also can't be let go of. It moves you and you move it and that's what keeps you practicing magic or writing or painting, or whatever else.
Interview: Motherboard vice interviewed me and several other people about pop culture magic. Read about it here.
Magical Experiments podcast: Interview with Author Tom Swiss about his book and the intersection of Eastern and Western practices of spirituality.
Defining Results for your process of magic
Why defining your results is the first step to creating your process of magic
A Poem for Ronove
Hail to Ronove
Monstrous in form
fair speaking
gifted in teaching others
how to present themselves
and how to be a better writer.
He helps you make friends
and network a crowd
with more leads and connections
than you ever had before.
Hail Ronove!
A Poem to Agares
Hail to Agares,
Rider of Crocodiles,
Tamer of Goshawks,
who understands
the elements of stillness and movement
and the secrets of language
He keeps you humble
when your pride
would cause you to fall
and can shake up your life
when you think
everything is stable.
Advanced pop culture magic teleclass on June 18th
Pop culture magic isn't just for geeks. It's magic anyone can practice, based on foundation principles of magic, and on the modern culture that is available to all of us. In this class, you'll learn how to apply pop culture to magical practices, as well as how to troubleshoot your pop culture magical workings so you get consistent results. You will also learn:
- What pop culture is and how to apply it to your magical process.
- How to contact and work with pop culture entities and deities.
- How social media can be applied to magical work.
- How video games and online games can be used to create magical rituals with virtual covens.
- What board games, comic books, and other pop culture can teach you about magic.
- and much, much more.
Pop culture magic isn't a fad or a reinvention of the wheel. It is a viable magical system, with room for lots of personalization based on the pop culture of your choice. By learning how to apply pop culture to your magical practice, you'll discover how you can take the pop culture you love and turn it into a viable magical working that produces results and changes your life.
When you take this class you'll achieve the following benefits:
- Workshop your pop culture magic workings with me, to discover how you can improve on them.
- Discover how to turn your favorite pop culture into a viable system of magic.
- Know you aren't alone in practicing pop culture magic and get connected to other people.
- Learn advanced pop culture magic techniques.
Who should attend this class?
This class is for Pagans and Magicians who want to integrate pop culture into their magical work, or already are and want to improve on their workings. If you're an armchair magician or don't like pop culture, this class isn't for you.
When does this class meet?
This is a teleclass that meets Thursday June 18th from 7pm Pacific Standard time to 8:30pm Pacific Standard Time. When you RSVP, I'll send you the call-in information.
About the Teacher
Hi, I’m Taylor Ellwood, occult author, magical experiment, and Esoteric books publisher. I love to share my expertise, knowledge, and process with you! I’ve been teaching classes on magic since the late 1990's. What I love about magic is the endless possibilities for experimentation and process development.
When you take this teleclass, you'll also get the following Bonuses:
- A recording of the teleclass
- A Free E-book with Pop Culture Magic articles by me.
- A private online forum to share what you are working on with pop culture magic.
What's the Investment?
The investment for this class is $49. To sign up click on the paypal button below. Once you've signed up I'll send you the relevant call-in information.
How to Develop a pop culture system of Magic
One of the appeals of pop culture magic is that you can develop your own magical system around pop culture you like. However developing such a system does require some understanding of how magic works. Also a pop culture system of magic is different from a pop culture magic working. It's much more involved than just doing a working. Understanding that is important, especially if you choose to develop a system of pop culture magic. When you develop a pop culture system of magic, you are developing a framework for working pop culture magic regularly with the pop culture you are drawing from. You aren't just doing a working to solve a problem, but instead are integrating it into your life as a regular practice, a part of your spiritual and/or magical identity. The following are considerations to keep in mind when developing a system of magic around pop culture.
1. What pop culture will you use? Not every pop culture lends itself easily to being used in a system of magic. You want to pick pop culture that resonates with you, but is also something you can graft onto magical principles in a way that makes sense and isn't forced. Additionally if your pop culture lends itself to fitting into correspondences this can be helpful in the development of your system. With that said, what can be interesting with a pop culture system of magic is your choice to buck convention and do something different that doesn't necessarily fit into conventional frameworks of magic.
2. What is the mythology of the pop culture? The mythology of a given pop culture can also be an important aspect of your magical work. The mythology provides a cosmos to work with that helps to flesh out the frame work. In fact, you may find that the mythology plays a central role in the development of the magical system. For example, when Storm and I were developing the Dehara system, part of the work we did involved putting together a mythology that could be integrated into the framework of the Sabbats and consequently set up a way to meaningfully work with that system of magic year round. Having the mythology in place enhanced the Dehara system of magic.
3. What are the rules of your pop culture? Some pop culture has specific rules, which may consequently effect the system of magic you develop. Remember that the development of a system isn't just what you want in the system, but also whatever else is relevant to the pop culture you are drawing on. For example, if you were to put together a system of pop culture magic based on Once Upon a Time, one rule you'd have to deal with is Magic always has a price. That's an integral rule of the mythology of the show (and in my opinion, makes it less useful as a system of pop culture magic).
4. What does this pop culture mean to you? This last consideration is very personal, but important because of how personal it is. While you could work with any pop culture you come across, in my experience working with what has meaning to you, especially on an emotional level is helpful for really connecting with the pop culture spirits you work with. Regardless of whether the magical work is purely practical or devotional, its something which ought to resonate with you, at least if you're going to make a system out of it.
What are some other considerations you would apply to developing a pop culture system of magic? Why?
The latest episode of magical experiments podcast features Tara Miller discussing health and magic.
A Poem to Glasya-Labolas
Hail to Glasya-Labolas
Winged Dog spirit
that faithfully retrieves
and shows memories
and the secrets of working with them.
He shows you instant recall with what you know
and is an excellent networker
who helps you discover the right people.
He'll have your back
if you honor him.
He'll make sure people like you
and cause you no harm.
He'll help you fade into the background
when you need to not be around
or just want to observe
Hail Glasya-Labolas!
Process and Magic
What a process approach to magic looks like and how it can help you in your magical practice.
A Poem to Vine
Hail to Vine,
Discoverer of things hidden
and people you want to know.
He draws people to you,
to help you turn potential into reality.
He gets rid of obstacles
and reveals possibilities.
He uncovers the future
unveils the past
and displays the present.
Hail to Vine.
Space/Time Foundations Round 3 starts on July 8th
Space/Time Magic is the expression of possibility upon reality, the shaping of linear space and time through non-linear means, if you know how to work with space and time as elements of magic.
In this 24 lesson class, we will explore the fundamentals of space/time magic, specifically how space and time can be integrated into your magical process as distinct principles and elements. If you are looking for a different approach to magical work that integrates the elements of space and time into magical practice, then this class is for you. You will learn the following:
- How to define space and time and why such definitions can be use for magical work.
- What the Foundational practices and processes unique to space/time magic work are.
- How to work with memory, imagination, movement, and stillness as principles of space/time magic work.
- How to create and work with multiple aspects of yourself.
- What deities and entities are associated with space/time magic
- And much, much more.
Here's a testimonial from one of the previous students who has taken the class:
Taylor Ellwood's Space Time Magic course has given me a new perspective on what Space-Time is beyond the fabric of our reality. One of the incredible ways I've been able to utilize this knowledge is in relation to healing while re-writing (in effect) a past circumstance from 7th grade in which I wasn't able to speak my voice and be heard. Through Taylor's practiced ideas of retroactive magic I journeyed back to that time and break the hold that time period had on that part of my life. I also took advantage of his knowledge and work with sigils and how it can transform, flowing from moment to moment. It gave me opportunities to work with my art skills in a new way. Beyond that one portion of the course, Taylor's frequent teleclass opportunities to talk with him provide another beneficial platform to share your experiences and get answers in real time from him. This class is more than worth what you would invest into it. I wholly recommend it! -- Erik Roth
To learn more about this class and sign up go here.
A Poem to Purson
Hail to Purson,
Goetic Daemon of Time
Revealer of secrets,
Finder of treasures,
With his horn
he shows
the relationship
between vibration
and time.
His wisdom reveals
the past, present, and future
and all the possibilities hidden within
Guardian of time
he guides those who wish to walk the web
to discover their potential
Give him his praise
what he is due
and he will show you
the mysteries of time.
How to choose the Spirits you work with
Recently I started working with Agares and Ronove, two Daemons from the Goetia. I've actually worked with Ronove in the past, but it had been some time back, whereas this is my first time working with Agares. They each have their specialties. Ronove provides help with rhetoric and writing, whereas Agares provides expertise on issues of communication. I decided to work with both of them because of some writer's block and a desire to continue improving my communication skills. That got me to thinking about why people choose to work with spirits and how to actually go about choosing the spirits you work with (unless they choose you, which I'll discuss further below).
I've generally chosen to work with specific spirits that bring with them specific skills that can be applied to situations I'm dealing with, but in a manner that I'm not able to do it. I've found this to be a good rule when working with spirits, in the sense that what they bring with them is a different way of handling a situation and that difference can be useful. However that's not the only reason to work with spirits. In some cases I'm working with spirits to develop a specific system of magical work and getting their insights on that system is useful for what it will allow me and other people to do as a result of applying those insights.
How I go about choosing a spirit to work with involves doing some research around the desired result. Once I've defined the desired result, then I can start looking at possible processes, and one of those processes can be working with a spirit. I'll look into the various types of spirits I could work with to determine which one (or more) seems to be the right fit. Then I'll do the invocation connection working to see if in fact it would be a good fit and from there the magical working proceeds.
Sometimes, though the spirit picks you. Thiede chose me way back when I started working with him. He made it very clear that he was going to work with me and that the work we needed to do together was important for him as well as for some of my own interests. And it seems he was right, as he has contributed to the development of pop culture and space/time magic currents. In such cases where a spirit makes itself known to you, you don't necessarily want to accept it on blind faith, but you also shouldn't reject it out of hand. When Thiede first made himself known to me as a spirit, I was already familiar with him and was able to test what presented itself accordingly. You can do the same, and its quite reasonable to do so in order to make sure that if you choose to work with the spirit it will actually be a beneficial relationship.
While not all of my magical work revolves around working with spirits, it is fair to say they play a significant role in my spiritual work and in my life in general. I think if you choose to work with spirits, it is a good practice to figure how you want to work with them and honor them, because you are forming a relationship that brings with it a necessary appreciation for the efforts on both sides of the equation. Pick who you work with, with care, and make sure you follow through on your end.
Magical Experiments radio show: Interview with Emily Carlin about shadow and pop culture magic.
Book Review: Awakening the Sacred Body by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
In this book, the author shares the Tsa Lung and 9 purification breaths techniques and explains how to work with them. The book also comes with a DVD, so that you can actually see how to do the exercises. I found the writing to be clear and explicit and it made it easy to learn the exercises. Doing these exercises in conjunction with other Dzogchen techniques can help you quite a bit with internal work you are doing around issues, as well as learning how to experience yourself and the world from a place of stillness. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about Dzogchen or learn some alternative approaches to meditation.