Regular Practice Options

Here we have representatives of different disciplines. I primarily practice Qigong, or at least I do Qigong exercises daily. Other members may have another form of practice, be it some form of meditation, making offerings, the Middle Pillar, LBRP, etc. It requires self discipline and motivation to begin or to maintain. There are armchair magicians of course, but this is considered somewhat insulting to be called an armchair magician. Practicing regularly and building up practical experience is a key part of developing as a master or adept. Yes, some people are naturally gifted but it only takes you so far, sorry. You still have to practice. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dumbells.gif)


What I was thinking is that we post some tips about what works for you. Tell us how you began a regular practice (if you do so), and how you manage to maintain it. You might want to post something that inspired you to continue or to start. I am hoping that there will be some constructive suggestions that will be useful to others. I will add my two cents, but I thought I would let someone start off; how do you do it? What works for you?

Right so re-reading the the question I think you wanted a more concise answer resembling a training schedule. Unfortunetly I don't have one, and in any case I feel like telling a story.

Im eclectic so my daily practice reflects it. I change ocationaly depending on my needs but generally it includes some form of internal alchemy, such as Taoist- not necessarily Qigong- or kundalini yoga. Though I find ample ways to practice non-attachment everyday –my computer crashed after finishing this the first time- I don’t think of that as daily practice. That’s more a view point, like learning to listen to my senses. The more structured practice is something else.For me that means setting aside time for just one thing that adds to your spiritual path.

Daily practice as such was not always on my mind and has more or less developed out of necessarily. I stumbled on internal alchemy some years ago. I had just left CM for chaos magick and found was looking for a system that allowed me to work with energy directly but was more structured than chaos magick. Unfortunately, it was lost on me for a time, and I moved on to sorcery, which at the time seemed to involve occult gnosis.

In sorcery I was taught meditation is key to controlling the mind, and by extension magickal prowess. The first thing I leaned was single point awareness and even now I can focus for hours. It started simply, just a few moments when ever I had a chance, in some months it was minutes, then latter hours. Much more difficult is letting all thoughts go allowing them to play out to the end. I still have trouble with this. The mind collects a lot of junk as you live and it takes maintenance to keep it under control. So part of my daily practice is to let a single thought play out until completion. This has the rather practical result of me worrying less.

My motivation for starting on my path has always been power, and I had read an analogy of enlightenment that liked it to an elevator. Most people are at the bottom and stay on the first few floors, some make it part way up, other make it to the top and cannot come down, and a very few make it to the top and can go to any floor in between. The benefits to enlightenment where many and great but they came at the price of leaving the lower levels. Problem is I like the lower levels. So my path acquaints me with many systems and when one offers something that can help me, I add it to my practice.

Such was the case with internal alchemy. Like I said, I had thought that sorcery required or at least dealt with occult gnosis. I had for some time been practicing esoteric Taoism for the gross manifestation it offered, but the writings where many and varied and written in the most unclear fashion. The Hindus on the other hand have a very well establish system of internal alchemy, so I read, and prepared to add kundalini yoga to my practice. That engaged me for two months, and during that time the similarities between the yogic and Taoist approaches enlightened me somewhat and I was able to add some more Taoist aspects.

Perhaps the understanding is what gets me to continue. Heading towards the longer term goal gives me many small epiphanies- one system fits nicely into another and some principle is highlighted.

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Aug 6 2010, 01:24 AM

My practise routine varies depending on what I'm doing, but the majority of the time I meditate at night either to contact a particular spirit or quiet my mind, as most of my magical working relies on me being in a trance state. Having said that, I also do divination before this once every week or so (no more than that as I find doing so too often can limit results).

Currently, my "practise routine" is actually just to read and then meditate, allowing me to take in and begin to work with what I've just read.

I'm soon to be getting back into Kemetic magic, so I shall be continuing the meditation and also working on assuming godforms, perfecting a ritual of opening the mouth, working with my ka etc and communicating with the Kemetic deities.

So, while I don't have a strict regular practise routine, my practise nearly always involves meditation and constantly shifts and changes with my interests at the time, even when that involves just taking a break and letting me take in what I've learnt recently and relax. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

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I had read an analogy of enlightenment that liked it to an elevator. Most people are at the bottom and stay on the first few floors, some make it part way up, other make it to the top and cannot come down, and a very few make it to the top and can go to any floor in between.

Do you happen to remember where you read that analogy? I have an interest in enlightenment and would like to read more from this source.


As for my regular practice.....

I like to meditate and try to control my mind, to learn the inner subtleties, to know thy self.

My interests take me all over the place with regards to subject matter.

Regular practice doesn't necessarily mean daily practice; it might be three times a week or every other day. Whatever works for you and your schedule. My teacher used to say that three times a week is fine, daily is better. Some of what I am going to say is specific to Qigong practice, but most could be applied to most magical practice.

I teach a Qigong class once a week so I can at least count on getting a couple hours worth of practice then. Also I take a kungfu class three times a week that contains a strong Qigong element to it. I have short practices by myself. I generally do regular ritual work or at least offerings or a meditation. I used to be very self-motivated and could practice by myself, but now I find it easier to have company to lean on their self discipline. All that I have to do it manage to get to class and the teacher provides the motivation, or I am the teacher and know that the students are depending on me. But it is nice to have playmates.

A lot of my practice has become incorporated into my daily activities so much that I'm just used to it. Generally this involves performing some repetitive task with my hands while maintaining a focus on the work at hand. Or it may simply be increasing awareness of something, or noticing certain things. I try to maintain a more aware, awake state of consciousness rather than doing things as much on autopilot. One of my teachers used to say that most of us spend most of our waking hours essentially sleepwalking.

Starting a new practice is often a hurdle initially. But as they say, do something regularly for a month and it will have become a habit. There seem to be stages in people's practice. There is the starting up phase, perhaps with a lot of enthusiasm (hopefully anyways). Then the enthusiasm wears off and you have to slog through the practice. It becomes a grind. But I would suggest that if you manage to push through this phase then you will go onto an easier phase. People often quit before this next stage, but after a time you look back and take stock, and see that you have made progress. You come to realize that you have skills that you didn't possess before. It provides you with additional motivation because you now realize that if you practice more you will develop even more skill with experience. Over time even small steps can travel great distances. It does become easier. Honestly I find that if I skip practice more than twice in a row I feel that there is something missing.

Another saying that I use a lot is that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. In other words don't get sloppy or you will learn the wrong way of doing things then you will have to re-learn it the right way --which will take up a lot of time. It is just easier to learn it right the first time than to have to fix it later. Yes it sounds a bit anal retentive, but it actually saves you time and effort in the long run, so it is a lazy man's way to learn.

Hmm what else? I don't practice meditation in bed because I'm likely to fall asleep, unless falling asleep is the goal of the meditation. I find it easier to practice at the same time of day or evening. With me I usually practice between 7 and 8 PM, then I can relax and watch TV or goof off. There isn't anything good on TV then anyhow. Traditionally Qigong is done either at sunrise or at sunset, but there is only so far I am willing to go to follow tradition. I figure that if I had to get up at 5 AM to practice I would have quit long ago. I'm not a morning person. I prefer to practice Qigong outside, generally in the park. People going by often stare at me, but while I used to get embarrassed now my attitude is 'f%*! 'em." Performing Qigong in a natural setting is traditional, but more importantly gets better results. Some practices require solitude, You may have to turn off your phone or go somewhere in which you won't be interrupted. Interruptions at the wrong time can throw you right off so that you have to start all over again. Rituals I normally schedule according to the moon phases so I look up the information and write in in my planner. Having it written down means that you are less likely to ignore it or skip it. Writing is a small magic in that way.

I also take breaks from regular practice every so often. You can get stale and taking a break will allow you to come back at it with renewed enthusiasm or a new perspective. Sometimes you may be forced to take time off, just to digest the lessons you have just learned.

Besides having practice partners to help you keep motivated, networking with locals who share your interest just perhaps meeting for coffee can keep you going. Sometimes books, workshops, videos and other media can inspire you or give you fresh ideas. I like to change my practice around a bit. I sometimes add background music, or practice a skill I haven't done in awhile. I have a core of about ten exercises that I do most often, but I often add something I used to do in the past or something new. It keeps things from becoming stale.

These are a mixture of general tips that work for most people and a few that are personal for me. We all have our own idiosyncrasies and quirks; maybe what works for you is different from what works for me. But I should emphasize that even a small amount of practice at a time done regularly builds up. A lot of what I do involves between ten and twenty minutes practice. Also keep in mind that you can practice too much. Physical exercises can be tiring and one author I have read suggests a 70% rule; you only work up to 70% of your maximum. Sometimes too much meditation can be harmful to one's health, for example. In countries in which these practices are common (Mostly Asian countries) healthcare professionals have had to learn to treat things such as Qigong related psychosis. Find out what is the optimal amount of time for you. Just as you can overdo it in the gym and develop wear-and-tear injuries so can you damage yourself overdoing meditation or performing yogic type/energy work exercises for too long at a time, too frequently (or improperly).

What really is starting to pay off for me is formal rituals. I used to have migraines daily until I began to seriously practice magic.

Do you happen to remember where you read that analogy? I have an interest in enlightenment and would like to read more from this source.

Afraid not, I tried to look it up for you, but the best I can remember is that it was an autobiography of a modern yogi. Swami KriyanandaSwami Kriyananda, or perhaps Paramahansa Yogananda. in any case both are works worth reading.

A lot of my practice has become incorporated into my daily activities so much that I'm just used to it. Generally this involves performing some repetitive task with my hands while maintaining a focus on the work at hand. Or it may simply be increasing awareness of something, or noticing certain things. I try to maintain a more aware, awake state of consciousness rather than doing things as much on autopilot. One of my teachers used to say that most of us spend most of our waking hours essentially sleepwalking.

Good point. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Little rituals are a effective way to start a practice more so it its a ritual you can do at any time. I find that giveing a significance to something and getting lost in the motions of it makes it easier to do.

In sorcery I was taught meditation is key to controlling the mind, and by extension magickal prowess. The first thing I leaned was single point awareness and even now I can focus for hours. It started simply, just a few moments when ever I had a chance, in some months it was minutes, then latter hours. Much more difficult is letting all thoughts go allowing them to play out to the end. I still have trouble with this. The mind collects a lot of junk as you live and it takes maintenance to keep it under control. So part of my daily practice is to let a single thought play out until completion. This has the rather practical result of me worrying less.

I'd like to learn more about what sort of meditation you do, and also:

I had for some time been practicing esoteric Taoism for the gross manifestation it offered

What sort of manifestation do you refer to here?

I used to set aside specific times for practice, for ritual, etc., but now I do this far less often. For me, most practice is entirely integrated into daily life in some way. I do japa usually three times a day - on the way to work, right before eating lunch, and on my way home - and I chant constantly in my mind while doing any kind of session. Each session is an energy work exercise of both awareness and directing energy. I do this while counting out repetitions to 108 using visualization of numbers. This amounts to around 6-8 hours of concentration practice five days a week.

Throughout the course of any day, I take time at least a dozen times a day to clear my mind and make conscious contact with the flow of energy on a more cosmic scale, recognize and honor the universal flow of energy as it manifests into our experience. Sometimes only for a few moments in my immediate surroundings, sometimes on a grander scale for several minutes. That is, I might recognize the combination of immediate factors in my experience and follow them one or two steps 'up' the causal chain, or I might sit down, breathe, and attempt to capture the breadth of existence as a causal fluctuation from the beginning of time and space to the end. For me, these moments keep my energy up and continually remind me to maintain a proper perspective on myself, my work, and the people I interact with.

Because of this ongoing process of attempting to maintain constant awareness and concentration on the flow of energy, I rarely ever do any kind of banishing or ritual work unless its for something specific, these days usually on behalf of someone else. I have abundance, health, love, respect, physical capability, relatively good looks, and basically everything I could practically want - I want very little, granted. I am always happy, although I do have a solemn moment now and again. It was not always this way, but gradually became this way since I began to try and retain my focus and awareness all of the time. Before then, with periodic practice and segmented ritual traditions, etc., even after several years I did not feel or have what I do now, and it is difficult to say if I would have gotten to the same place with that mode of practice.

I also notice that now more so than ever before, my instincts are more keen to guide me to the places I need to be, to the things I am looking for, and to the opportunities that I desire, usually without my having to do anything by wait and be aware, and act on my instincts when I feel them. I no longer really question that instinct, unless I am getting conflicting feelings - and there is usually a reason for that. As a result, I don't really have to 'do magic' for anything. I do still perform cleansing and protection magic for new homes, as I did for the house I just moved into, and I do intend to execute the lesser key experiment now that I have the space and all but two requisites, and there's no telling how that will change my practice. But, if I had to give up my current situation and practice for the promise of demons and powers, etc., I do not think I would.

Although we all work differently, I can say that in my opinion, once a practice, wether a daily specific regimen or a general practice that you carry with you in your daily life, becomes habitual and you have been doing it with ease for some month or two, one of the best ways to advance and grow is to increase that practice in some way. Originally I simply took out time every day as often as I could to open myself up to the flow of energy. Then I tried to maintain it for minutes and then hours. Then i incorporated japa - repetition of mantram, in my case done in conjunction with an active awareness of the flow - and then began to do these things while performing another activity, in my case massage and energy work sessions, and now I am working on do the same thing, but essentially on a constant basis throughout the day. Ultimately my own ideal is to be in a state of constant concentration and meditative awareness regardless of what I am engaged in. So, in my opinion, start simple and add on.

Peace

Interesting stuff, Vagrant. A few questions, if you have the time::

I do japa usually three times a day - on the way to work, right before eating lunch, and on my way home - and I chant constantly in my mind while doing any kind of session.

What mantra do you use in this japa and chanting? I'm interested in the practice of japa, but I'm having a difficult time finding in-depth - or instructional - material.

Because of this ongoing process of attempting to maintain constant awareness and concentration on the flow of energy [...] Originally I simply took out time every day as often as I could to open myself up to the flow of energy.

Can you expand on what you mean by "flow of energy"?

Interesting stuff, Vagrant. A few questions, if you have the time::
What mantra do you use in this japa and chanting? I'm interested in the practice of japa, but I'm having a difficult time finding in-depth - or instructional - material.

In the morning I chant Gayatri Mantram, at midday the Apadamapa, and in the evening Asatoma Sat Gamaya. During sessions I chant the Apadamapa mentally.

Gayatri because I am communicating to the universe, and to myself, "please allow me to become more enlightened this day" essentially. The apadamapa because I work in a healing profession, and I chant this as a way of asking "allow those that come to me today to recieve healing". Asatoma Sat Gamaya is a mantram of deliverance, at the end of the day to say "please allow me to be freed from the illusions I have created today."

I have been told two things about japa. The first is that mantram, like a hymnal, is not supposed to be spoken thoughtlessly, but willfully, as though you are saying something devotional to the Gods themselves, with love and joy. If your heart is sincere in this, I was instructed, then you will benefit from mantram even if you say it once - but it is better to do repetitions for several reasons, the least of which is that the sounds themselves are intended to affect the spiritual body.

The other bit I was told, was that there is no way to teach the use of mantram in depth at all - that you must make a mantra part of you before you can ever 'use' it at all. It changes you over time, and then becomes a tangible part of you that you can draw upon for the qualities it embodies.

I cannot say that I am to the point where my chosen mantra are a part of me, but saying them, or singing them, now, gives me joy and fills me with calm, compassion, and a sense of closeness to the universe, and that was not true for the first year or so of fairly dedicated practice.

So my suggestion is that you find a mantra, just one to start with, that resonates with you in a real way - don't stop searching until you KNOW you found it - and begin with that one. Play with the cadence, the intonation, and the melody if you want to sing it. Some schools of thought in vedic tradition make it clear there is a very precise way to recite a mantra - other schools of thought consider this a very personal thing as each of us has not so much a unique spirit, as a unique 'key' to that spirit.

Can you expand on what you mean by "flow of energy"?

This is used interchangeably with The Force, but what I specifically mean is the current of causality that connects everything (which is within 'the force' as manifestation of the work implied by the word 'force'). The current of energy that is animating your body and mind right now, is part of the same current that initiated the creation of the universe as we know it. It is a part of the current that will eventually include - or already does include - the end of the universe as we know it. It is on the one hand a literal kinetic current in the scientific sense, and on the other an overarching spiritual continuity as well. From one 'angle' this causal chain is a current flowing through the present moment, or perhaps we are moving along that chain, either way it is a unifying Force. Meditation on this current, for me, helps to initiate an altered state of consciousness. Really, meditation on anything eternal or intemporal is sufficient to trigger the expansion of awareness and consciousness - for me this is something that can be made really really vast or fairly localized and still capture a quality of transcendental existence.

Hopefully that clarifies rather than confuses.

peace

I'd like to learn more about what sort of meditation you do, and also:
What sort of manifestation do you refer to here?

My primary meditation is aimed at stopping mundane thoughts- the random crap floating around in your head. If it is not truly important, I let it go, and allow things to work themselves out. Another part of my practice closely related though it is, it's not meditation per se, but it is about listening and watching... mindfulness I guess. It is not only being mindful the world around you but also the inner world. All under heaven is available inside you and the trick is to feel it out. Therefore mindfulness for me is to associate the inner with the outer, watch as changes in the outer world happen and insuring that my inner world changes with them. In this way I can remain unaffected by the world.

More traditional forms of meditation follow the Zen or Deity branches. Zen meditation is well known, but Deity meditation is the practice of meditating on what it is like to be an aspect of Hindu / Buddhist gods, or avatars. Starting from some god one personalty identifies with and moving to others until one imagines the supreme God (Hindu) or Buddha at which time you're one with all things. I also do any number of internal alchemy excesses that require meditation.

Now that I list it out it must sound like I spend most of the time in a meditation on one form or another. To be fair, mindfulness is only sort of a meditation, so it is rely only a few hours a day.

The manifestation I was looking for were rather spectacular- a long 200 year life, glowing balls that held my organs so I could do internal message, transmuting various things, exceptional speed when running. The list of things Taoist wizards are said to do is quite long. My self I was only able to achieve a few of these as the dedication required was beyond me at the time. It has been some time sense I worked with this stuff, but I still cringe at it. If your interested, you might read Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Chen Kaiguo.

This post has been edited by fatherjhon: Aug 12 2010, 08:22 PM

Afraid not, I tried to look it up for you, but the best I can remember is that it was an autobiography of a modern yogi. Swami KriyanandaSwami Kriyananda, or perhaps Paramahansa Yogananda. in any case both are works worth reading.
Good point. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Little rituals are a effective way to start a practice more so it its a ritual you can do at any time. I find that giveing a significance to something and getting lost in the motions of it makes it easier to do.

Thanks, I will have to look and see what I can find.

Although that Taoist wizard one sounds more interesting!