Today I'm going to discuss banishing. Though it may not be the most interesting practice in magic, it's one of the more important ones. It's also quite misunderstood to people not versed in magic. While it may be of some assistance if you encounter a bona fide haunting, it is useful in a great many more situations than in the presence of paranormal activity. An important part of the magical perspective is that in complement to the commonly realized fact that entities and spirits can be understood as facets of the mind, facets of the mind can be dealt with as if they were spirits. If you find that someone has evoked a demon for you, for instance by going on a tirade against a particular religion whose evils come to obsess you, a banishing is appropriate. If you have built for yourself a cage of coherency, a set of ideas which seem inescapable wherever you look, and you think you have found the secret to understanding the universe, I recommend banishing. Daily banishing is used by some to maintain clarity of mind, but it's important not to let banishing itself obsess you or there is no point to such an activity.
You can use banishing any time you wish to return to a more neutral state of mind. Certainly it can be abused for excessive suppression of certain thoughts, but that risk is less than the dangers of equating reality with your ideas about it. Like any technology it is best when used wisely.
Showing posts with label autohypnosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autohypnosis. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Dreams: awaken a sleeping facet of your life
Sorry about the horrible pun. Today's post is about dreams - keeping track of them and directing them. I'll mention lucid dreaming a bit, but mostly to emphasize that you can do a lot of neat things without it.
Dreaming is cool. It lets you become far more immersed in adventures you wouldn't want to have in your waking life than any material technology (such as a video game) does, it gives you insight into yourself and your relationships, and it takes place during time that you can't use for anything else. Personally I think that every parent should encourage children to keep track of their dreams from an early age, but it may be awhile before we get anywhere close to that in this society, because the importance of having an inner life is very downplayed. As a consequence of the outward emphasis of society, some of us don't even realize that an amazing world awaits them between their ears. Some people even think that they don't dream most nights.
This is not true unless you are a very bizarre mutant. You dream or go into some form of inner activity that we might as well call dreaming at least once during every sleep cycle. If you believe that you don't dream, consider that, since dreaming does not have consequences outside of your mind, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between not dreaming and forgetting that you have dreamt. So the first step is to get those dreams into your consciousness.
Dreaming is cool. It lets you become far more immersed in adventures you wouldn't want to have in your waking life than any material technology (such as a video game) does, it gives you insight into yourself and your relationships, and it takes place during time that you can't use for anything else. Personally I think that every parent should encourage children to keep track of their dreams from an early age, but it may be awhile before we get anywhere close to that in this society, because the importance of having an inner life is very downplayed. As a consequence of the outward emphasis of society, some of us don't even realize that an amazing world awaits them between their ears. Some people even think that they don't dream most nights.
This is not true unless you are a very bizarre mutant. You dream or go into some form of inner activity that we might as well call dreaming at least once during every sleep cycle. If you believe that you don't dream, consider that, since dreaming does not have consequences outside of your mind, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between not dreaming and forgetting that you have dreamt. So the first step is to get those dreams into your consciousness.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Imagination exercises, part two - heightening the senses
To balance out some of the abstract theological matters discussed in the last post, this evening I'll be introducing another practical exercise for use in cultivating the imagination. This is an old trick, but there are lots of ways it can be used.
The basic trick is that when you imagine things with more of your senses involved in the image, the experience becomes more intense and immersive. Here's a simple example: imagine the smell of buttered popcorn. It seems kinda vague if you try to do it with just that. But now add in the sound of it popping. The smell becomes a little easier to recall, right? Now recall how it looks, how it feels to lift a small handful out of the bowl and into your mouth, and take a bite. The imaginary smell becomes a lot more vivid as you do this.
This works for all of your senses. Try imagining the sound of raindrops. For some people this comes more easily than for others. But if you add to that image the feel of dampness in the air and the smell of rain, the sound gets stronger. Bring in the feel of raindrops falling on your head, and the image of them splashing on the ground, and perhaps the taste you remember from catching them in your mouth when you were a kid, and you can definitely hear the sound of rain in your mind.
So as you can see, the imaginary senses (that is, the faculties for perceiving imagined things) work in synergy with each other, just like the real senses do. And just like you can train your visual acuity, refine your palate, or develop an ear for music, you can improve the depth, richness, and fluidity of your imaginary senses. And fortunately, it's actually easier to do this than it is to fine-tune your senses for the physical, since you don't have to travel around to seek out diverse stimuli.
What follows is a simple exercise for the imaginary senses. First I'll present the skeleton of it, then I'll suggest possible elaborations. If you come up with some neat ways to enrich it in your own practice, I'm eager to hear them in the comments!
The basic trick is that when you imagine things with more of your senses involved in the image, the experience becomes more intense and immersive. Here's a simple example: imagine the smell of buttered popcorn. It seems kinda vague if you try to do it with just that. But now add in the sound of it popping. The smell becomes a little easier to recall, right? Now recall how it looks, how it feels to lift a small handful out of the bowl and into your mouth, and take a bite. The imaginary smell becomes a lot more vivid as you do this.
This works for all of your senses. Try imagining the sound of raindrops. For some people this comes more easily than for others. But if you add to that image the feel of dampness in the air and the smell of rain, the sound gets stronger. Bring in the feel of raindrops falling on your head, and the image of them splashing on the ground, and perhaps the taste you remember from catching them in your mouth when you were a kid, and you can definitely hear the sound of rain in your mind.
So as you can see, the imaginary senses (that is, the faculties for perceiving imagined things) work in synergy with each other, just like the real senses do. And just like you can train your visual acuity, refine your palate, or develop an ear for music, you can improve the depth, richness, and fluidity of your imaginary senses. And fortunately, it's actually easier to do this than it is to fine-tune your senses for the physical, since you don't have to travel around to seek out diverse stimuli.
What follows is a simple exercise for the imaginary senses. First I'll present the skeleton of it, then I'll suggest possible elaborations. If you come up with some neat ways to enrich it in your own practice, I'm eager to hear them in the comments!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Some basic exercises to stretch the muscles of your imagination
This is taken directly from the current draft of the book I'm writing. The book is an introduction to the basics of astrology, but it includes some imaginative exercises to help personalize the symbols of the astrological language. It also includes some basic new thought stuff. That last part is what I've posted here. While I do not claim that the methods are my intellectual property, the way they are presented here in the quoted content is. Please do not copy and distribute it; rather, link to this post. [begin quoted section:]
"If you think you don't know how to get into a meditative state, you're probably wrong. Just in case, though, here's the skeleton of a method used to teach autogenic training:
"If you think you don't know how to get into a meditative state, you're probably wrong. Just in case, though, here's the skeleton of a method used to teach autogenic training:
Inducing Relaxation
Sit or lie somewhere comfortable where your spine is straight and your breathing flows easily. If your head is supported and your neck can take a break, you can relax more easily, but you are also more likely to fall asleep. Try this with several different positions and see what works for you. Rest your hands on your lap.
If you're right-handed like most people, say to yourself, "My right arm is feeling heavier." If you're left-handed, tell youreslf your left arm is feeling heavier. Repeat this to yourself at least six times, then say, "I'm calm and relaxed" to yourself.
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