Zen And The Art Of Sorcery., Mechanics of the energetic reality. Options

This thread is meant to deal specifically with two matters which must go hand in hand. 1. The mechanics of the energetic reality, including the structure of reality; and 2. Techniques for applying this knowledge towards the goal of becoming a competent initiate sorcerer. After that you're on your own.

As to the mechanics.

The universe at large, including all dimensions of existence, is an entity. It is composed of a mind, body, and spirit exactly like you and I are. it is infinitely more complex - and by using this word I want to impress that no mater how far you stretch your imagination, you haven't grapsed it yet; or even scratched the surface - than you or I are. The relationship between the universe and you is similar to the relationship of you to the atoms that compose your body. Obviously you're aware of them, at least collectively and in the effective house they compose for you, but they aren't aware of you. each atom simply does what it is made to do. It's too simple a pattern of dense energy to possess conciousness on the same level you do, but it also possesses a mind, body and spirit.

The Spirit is the Causal, energetic universe. It is the Purpose of the universe, and every division of the whole has it's own measure of purpose. It is the first dimension. The Body is the Phenomenal, physical universe. The material is a dimension of it's own. Length, width, and depth are measurements.The two aspects are parallel, and affect one another equally.

The mind is the Reactive nature of the universe. It is a result of the patterns that eventually accrued over time from the moment of the universe's initialization. Consciousness as we know it developed totally by random, but was none the less inevitable - patterns yield intelligence, which yields consciousness. Plain and simple. it's collective presence constitutes a third dimension. Hence our three dimensional existence.

each dimension is then divided into its own dimensions which are basically categorical measurements or aspects within the greater facet. At the top of things, the universe is unified - but we divide it here into these categories to understand how the machine works, what it's laws are based upon, and how we may use our temporary individuality to maintain the same when we no longer have a phenomenal home.

Also in the structure of what we generally percieve to be the universe is sometimes included Darkness, Evil, etc. it is easy to see the effects of 'evil' in the world and believe that destruction is simply part of the whole, but in reality it isn't. it is part of the system, but it is rather the natural resistance of the expansion of the universe into the vacuum. The vacuum is litterally non-existence. it's not part of a greater system, as we're addressing the hypothetical and frankly inconcievable entirety of existence across all dimensions. our perception of existence is an intersection of various frequencies of energy. We are at the center of the intersection, and are held there by our physical energy trap. The body just holds a charge. Energy is progression and purpose, the body modulates that energy along specific patterns, and the result is a standing energy loop which constitutes a soul in most people's book, or at least a spirit. A soul, or enduring entity without body, is a standing energy loop dense enough to hold itself together. Like a planet is held together by gravity, or atoms. Those physical things are energy so dense that they slowed down to the point of becoming to energy what solids are to gasses.

I digress... the degeneration of existence, commonly considered 'destruction', although that correlation is arguabley mistaken to some points of view, is caused by the pull of the vaccuum. Originally all energy was seperated into it's component parts, the tiniest most unimaginably minute slivers of existence - individual fermions all pulled by the vaccuum into a kind of infinitesimally fine dust that was uniformly spread throughout the void amidst an intense pressure. Enough pressure to pull the universe apart. inevitably, a spark struck, and the resulting cosmically cataclysmic pattern of cascading 'fermions' or whatever composes THEM perhaps, resulted in the universe as we know it - over a period of time that there's no point even referencing. However, that reaction drew the universe tegether from throughout the vaccuum of the void, and that pressure began to increase in opposition to the expansion of the universe. And, eventually, in the vast stretch of eternity, it will pull the universe apart again. Who knows what evolutionary change will occur within the universe then, or if, like our own fortified souls, the universe is progressively reborn better each time? No point in speculating stuff like that.

Like any evolving life form, the universe developes patterns which improve it and which weaken it in some way. Over time, hopefully the patterns which weaken it are eliminated through it's evolutionary process. This pattern of weakness creates an opposing pattern of explotation by the Void - not because it acts with a purpose, but because the universe is simply exposed at it's weak points, and those weak points are systematic patterns. Consciousness at the universal level is a scale model of human consciousness - the parts that make it up are simply vastly more cpmplex and larger than our own.

decay is the manifestation of the void's effect on the universe. The transmutation of decay into new existence is the Universe's response, it's process of healing.

Once these basic dynamics are accepted and then explored as though they were the solid truth of existence - which, IMHO they are, as they are a solid basis and universal explanation for every single magickal or spiritual mythos or system in human consciousness (and i'll defend that point gladly on request, rather than offer demonstrations presently) - the inherent exchanges of energy between the three dimensions and the Void begin to unfold naturally before the eyes of the wouldbe Sorcerer, and this is the beginning of evolving Sight.

Peace
Vagrant

Next Time: Resonance, Standing Waves, and Karma; Beginner's Meditation for Acquiring spiritual Density.

Next Time: Resonance, Standing Waves, and Karma; Beginner's Meditation for Acquiring spiritual Density.

Alright, this time we will discuss Resonance, Standing Waves, and Karma, followed by a beginner meditation which is an application of these principles that can become an effective foundation for even a newly interested sorcerer.

Resonance is probably a term you've heard before, and it applies the same way to energetic dynamics. The energetic universe as a whole is composed of lots and lots of varying wavelengths and intensities of energy. Light is one wavelength or rather a section of the spectrum. Another section of the spectrum is physical mass, another is radio frequencies, etc. Before, I divided the universe into the mind, body, and spirit macrocosmically. This is because energy is bound by the same rules as matter. When matter is heated up it approaches the 'gas' end of the spectrum of mass, as the atoms start to move around faster and faster. If you put ice in water, it may eventually melt, but for the time being the difference in movement prevents them from joining. Energy is the same way - high frequency energy and low frequency energy (relative to one another) don't mix, normally because the high frequency energy has too much movement for the low frequency energy to catch up.

It's this gradient that causes dimensions, and the basic principle that creates dimensional currents, which will be discussed later on.

Resonance is the key that unlocks the barrier between high and low frequencies. Being basically vibration, energy is like sound waves in that two wavelengths, when they collide with one another, will interact in different ways based on the difference or similarity to the geometric identity. So, you place a sine wave that sound like note A and a sine wave that sounds like Note B and if they have a scaled relationship, they will merge together to make one sound. If the relationship is off and doesn't reflect, then there is dissonance. The relative scale here is a gradient, from perfect resonance to perfect dissonance, or the directly opposite wavelength of the frequency in question.

We percieve resonance as a positive experience - when we deeply empathize with someone, when we easily master a new skill, when we listen to music that really moves us in some way. We feel connected to the things which have good resonance with our own frequency. By adjusting our energetic frequency, by storing a higher density of energy in our being, we gain access to energies far higher than our by modulating that frequency. In order to deter energy or disrupt it, we change our frequency to become dissonant with the offending energy. This principle is the key to attaining goals by systematically employing energies which are resonant with the outcome, and dissonant with the energies that may interfere, or which you do not wish to be present in the working.

Now, the natural progression of energy density with resonance is the Standing Wave - non-corporeal entities are examples of standing waves. As is the higher self and the enduring Soul. A standing wave is an amalgamation of concentrated energy which is dense enough to have energetic gravity which holds it together in the same way gravity holds together a star. Gravity is a peculiar energetic phenomenon that spans all three dimensions, and can even be considered the Will of the universe. Almost all chemical reactions begin with some sort of gravitic phenomenon, causally.

A standing wave isn't the same as an energy Loop - which composes the energy body of your average living body. You could say that any energy loop aspires to be a standing wave, to understand the relationship. This use of the term 'standing wave' is not the same as the scientific theory of the standing wave in it's complexity, but the basic essence is similar.

Standing waves have average frequencies - that is, they are normally made up of layers of frequencies which are all resonant with one another. When the lower frequencies are affected by dissonant energy from outside the standing wave, it's integrity can fail. In living Standing waves we call this disease.

We can create energy loops in magickal practice which can become standing waves. Servitors which evolve into egregores are an example of this.

A standing wave is generally created through a redundant pattern modultation - energy circulated constantly along the same route (which can be pan-dimensional, so let's not think of a literal loop here) again and again. More energy is added to the loop over time through whatever means the standing wave has access to, and as the density increases, the dependancy on the trap which preserves the loop is lessened. hence those with higher frequencies of energy in their being can do things like astral projection, bilocation, etc.

Lastly in this mechanics area, Karma is the perception of the principles of exchange between standing waves and between energetic currents. if you shine a light on a mirror, it will reflect off at an opposite angle which is predictable every time. When we put energy out into the universe to create a magickal effect, or even to communicate, the energy becomes part of a causal current based on the frequencies of the energies that compose it. A magickal energy for most people is actually composed of many different frequencies, just like a voice is. The developement of the focus and intensity of specific frequencies is part of how a sorcerer developes particular talents and specialities.

When the energy enters the current, the events that result - energetically or practically - will be a direct reflection of the energy - from the 'angle' of it's impact with the recieving standing wave. Like a ball bouncing, part of the energy will be absorbed by the standing wave in question, and part of it will reflect off - potentiall entering other currents and causing effects which involve other waves.

That is why the developement of a keen sensitivity to the energetic universe is necessary for the successful sorcerer. When you can understand what you're dealing with thoroughly, you can understand what energy to send out, and what the most beneficial angle to send it out will be.

All of this technical stuff sounds like psuedoscientific jargon. but, its the raw structure of how magickal process works and on what factors it depends. Perception is the flesh of that structure - In other words, I say 'high frequency energy' but what that means to the individual is probably going to be 'positive emotional energy' our emotions are chemical reactions in the brain. Those reactions are created according to what information is being 'percieved' either conciously or unconciously - an outright phobia of spiders because they're icky vs. depression from being in a place that unconsciously reminds you of the room you were, say, raped in at a young age. The subtle connection, or energetic connection may not be directly understood, but you will have an appropriate emotional reaction none the less. The trick of it is, you can control your own frequency, and therefore can have any sort of reaction you choose to, when you are aware of the energetic universe and your connection to it.

Here's a very basic, very easy meditation as well as a couple of possible additions which deal with the aforementioned mechanics. Only direct experience will fully explain the value and impact of these principles, but once the experience begins to come, having the intellectual understanding to draw on will allow you to make the best use of what you can percieve. Like playing pool after learning the principle of kinetic reflection.

Begin by closing your eyes and imagining that the air around you is buzzing with energy. In your minds eyes, see the world around you begin to glow - sometimes it helps to imagine yourself suspended in glowing liquid. You are connecting to the subtle energy that exists on the same level as your 'astral body' or energetic body.

When you have worked up a good image, focus on your breathing, and inhale slowly while focusing your mind on the tip of your nose. We are trying to pinpoint the sensation of wind coming in, not the breath going down into the body. We're concerned with the energetic breath, not the organic breath. It may help you to touch the end of your nose at first, focusing on the touch, or to wet it just slightly with saliva, which takes longer to evaporate than water.

When you have quieted your mind - this will happen naturally as you simply dillignetly focus on and return your attention to, your nose, and your breathing - place two fingers over the Dan Tien (the spot two inches below your navel more or less - also called the 'gap' by castaneda) and focus on the touch while breathing. You are breathing into this energy center spiritually. Energy follows thought, intention. Almost immeditately you will likely have a sensation of something swelling and receding in your lower abdomen beneath the spot. If not at first, certainly within a week of daily practice. This is the center where energy is stored. The more you work with it, the more energy it can store, and the faster you can center your focus there and draw in energy.

After about five minutes, or a number of breaths - you might, for instance, use a 108 bead mala to count slow breaths in and out - move your two fingers to the heart center, basically the center of your breastbone. Proceed as before but this time focus on the sensation of positive energy entering. It helps to smile as broad as you can until your face hurts, as this triggers the release of endorphins and allows you to build the sensation of positive emotional energy. The heart center is where the frequency of energy is adjusted. Ideally we train ourselves to adjust the frequency of all energy upwards, but with experience you'll be able to instantly shift energy to whichever frequency you choose.

After the set period, move your fingers to the third eye point, at the longitude of the center of the eyebrows and the latitude of the midpoint between the hairline and the brow ridge above the nose. Proceed as before, but now you are focused on the movement of the energy. The Third eye is where energy is manipulated by thought. Can you see where all of this leads?

Energy is stored
Energy is adjusted
energy is utilized.

You're most likely all familiar with these three energy points usually called Chakras. They are the three chakras involved with the conciousness of energy. That is, energetic consciousness. The others are concerned with the unconcious energetic processes. They can be fully realized and controlled consciously by connection to those chakras, but let's leave that for the more advanced practitioners for now - I'll explain why in a moment.

Two additions to this basic practice of aqcuiring and assimilating energy. The first involves the sub-navel point. When breathing in energy, on the in breath imagine a small point of light buried about two to three inches beneath the point on your skin. like a tiny white or gold star. As you inhale, and pull in energy, imagine that the the point expands - you might even include the perception of current of light flowing into the point from the point where the fingers touch the skin - peaking at the top of the inhale. As you exhale, create some resistance in your throat (like creating a quiet, extended 'hah' sound) and flex the abdomen, as though packing something down into your abdomen. As you do, visualize and feel the expanded energy begin to contract, but get brighter and denser as you do. Like a star being drawn in on itself. This practice improves the density and therefore the frequency of the energy you are storing, and is energetically similar to charging a battery. DO NOT PERFORM THIS PRACTICE MORE THAN EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS AT FIRST. Many of you don't believe in energetic capacities or physical consequences to energetic meditation, but I assure you there can be consequences. Your energetic body must be worked out and worked up, in order to store larger amounts of spiritual energy. If it is not prepared properly, the energetic body hemmorages spiritual energy like a water balloon with a leak until the excess pressure is relieved. This is because the energy loop that you basically are right now needs to be slowly increased in order to maintain stability. Again, example to follow.

The second addition deals with the third eye and perception of energy. Over time this energy point will become expanded to, and with it the ability to percieve the energetic universe expands. I suggest laying down visual connections to the emotional interpretations of energy. They can be visual, or any other phsyical sense as well. The Sixth sense is fluid, and whatever your 'vocabulary' is to begin with will color the future developements significantly. I use the audio, tactile, and visual senses more than taste or smell, and this will be the case for most people, but don't be afraid to experiment - I know a handful of sorcerers who describe energy in tastes and smells, and they are generally quite sensitive to subtle distinctions, although I believe their effectiveness in manipulating energy is hindered by that sensory focus. Ideally mastery of all five 'astral senses' is most beneficial.

When meditating on the third eye in the predescribed fashion, imagine that the intensity of your sensory perception of the energy you are breathing in sharpens. If you imagine white light radiating through and around you, see that light intensify or become more colored - like turning up the contrast on a television screen. Sense the vibration become more distinct and expand into a broad range of vibrations. Allow your concsiousness to 'sink' into the third eye deeper and deeper each time it expands in the same manner as the subnavel point in the above mentioned addition. Imagine the vibration of the third eye increasing, the energy around you seeming to slow down, relatively, as you 'match pace'. When you match the vibration of the world around you - and after you have grasped the awareness of your energetic body properly through repeated meditation and contemplation - you will understand naturally how to move through the third eye by slipping your own energy though the connection.

this meditation and these two additional practices will build a foundation of energetic intensity, capacity, and control which are the foundation of all sorcerous undertakings.

Peace

Next time: Practical Guide to the basics of achieving "Twilight" - that is, magickal Sight - and the meaning of the title of this thread.

Who here is not familiar with the term 'Zen'?

Zen is a curious philosophy in that is is a lack thereof. We here pop references to the Zen of this or that, and indeed Zen Koans are litterally poems which mean nothing. It is the Philosophy of the void which creates shape. We recognize what is by the emptiness in what is not.

Zen is synonymous with the concept of Controlled Folly. Controlled Folly: the applied understanding, to life, of the knowledge that our actions ultimately do not matter. You may react to any stimulus in any manner you Choose to, when you understand that no matter what you do, it's all just a show - just the play that the puppet of flesh you inhabit puts on in order to manifest new experiences in life. And no matter what that experience is, it's experience that you, as an energetic being, are consuming.

This is why Zen is the Philosophy of Nothing and of Everything, and it applies to any situation - because you have the freedom to choose any means of handling any situation, ultimately. Judgement may guide you to discard some possible means, but that is your own choice, conscious or not.

But what does this have to do with Sorcery? And why use this title?

Zen - the dynamic between what Is and what Is-Not. What is, Is. What is not, Is Not. It is deceptively simple, do you see it?

Meditate on this if you do not comprehend consciously, for it is a secret truth to attaining Sight. Not the only truth, but a potent one.

Now comes the question of Sight. The Coveted ability of a Sorcerer, regardless of their class or titles, to Observe, and Comprehend, not simply the obvious Gross Phenomenon before him, but it's Meaning, it's Spirit, and it's relation to the wider Spiritual World.

When we talk about this, we're talking about a lot of different things. People See in different ways, usually a matter of one's natural inclination towards Sensory Strength - those with a drastically Tactile focused sensory experience (consider for a moment your 'favorite' sense, the one you truly could not choose to lose, were you faced with the inescapable choice of losing one). The Novice will generally imagine Sight to be simply the ability to Look with the eyes and see spirits, ghosts, elementals, etc., or the currents of light that flow in places where magickal energy is strong. While these things are certainly within range, the essence of Sight is more subtle than this. it is the Subtlety which leads into these other manifestations.

We have spoken of the Physical world, and the Causal world. And the Consciousness which is essentially a results of the dynamic between them. The physical and Causal are inseperable, but the Physical is the plane of experience, and it is the part that we learn to pay the greatest attention to, through conditioning, and our circumstance as incarnate beings. Those reborn from previous incarnations, or shall we say those recurring incarnations (taking linear time out of the equation as it does not factor into the supernal, causal dimension where we are centered when not in this physical plane) may develope psychic abilities naturally, and later take for granted what Sight really is. I dare say those who awaken to these abilities through conscious effort will be the more adept, given that they have a contrasting frame of mind from which to observe the new sights, and may learn to recognize psychic phenomenon when it happens, for what it is. But this is largely irrelavent save to encourage those not naturally gifted with such talents - work with dedication and mindfulness, and your ability will inevitably rival that of those who are accustomed to taking it for granted.

When we develope Sight, the Physical world takes on new dimensions which we observe in paralell to the phenomenal. If we have creativity and ingenuity, then we See the causal nature of phenomenon upon observation. Until we acquire these things, we Meditate upon the observations we make, and that true nature is then illuminated.

What does it mean to see the colors of the Aura around a person, if you do not know what those colors mean? Likely, you do not. More often the meaning will precede the phenomenal manifestations of sight. Yes, you are fitting the world into your own interpretation of it. Reconsider the simple koan before - What is, IS; what is not, IS NOT.

Developement of Sight relies on, I believe, two essential skills. The Ability to Observe Objectively - these means, not to put yourself in the way of what you are seeing. Accept the obvious for what it is. Second, is the ability to Accept that the phenomenal is only representative of the Causal. It is a direct manifestation of the first Causal current to ever have been. The physical was no the beginning.

The developement of a nomenclature, in a matter of speaking, is a matter of personal nature and paradigm, a matter to explore and grow into, rather than a 'skill'. Nomenclature in this sense is simply the vocabulary of symbolism that you will come into naturally which amounts to the language which the universe communicates to you through. You will undoubtedly choose to seek a particular kind of vocabulary, but you cannot help but do so in accordance to your nature.

Understand this - what you and another observe, is objective. The manifestation is the same for both of you. What it means to you, and what it means to another, is the Subjective part - its impact on your life is individual, though that may be connected to or similar to its impact on another.

Grasping these philosophical basics should be a natural process. What we pile on top of it is only that - a pile of nomenclature and tradition which amounts to a language of symbolism in many forms to allow us a phenomenal aspect with which to interact with the causal. But the Consciousness that inhabits the Phenomenal is the Same Thing as the Consciousness that inhabits the Causal - the One, simply existing in both dimensions at once. Reality is complete and individual on both sides, while being at the same time inseperably interlaced and interdependant.

Practice Mindfullness and observe the phenomenal world around you. Observe also the inner world at the same time, when you can. Observe the reactions within to that which is observed without. Assume that every phenomenon is a message from the universe, with inherent meaning and purpose. With this mindset, Sight will blossom naturally within any who are willing to be patient, and Watch.

You may look at the intricate details of a painting many times, seeing each time something new, something which enhances the overall meaning of the Art. The longer you look, the more you will See. The Painting is constant, not really changing. So where does the change originate?

That was Rhetorical.

=peace-

In the second post from the top, I mentioned examples of the dangers of progressing too quickly through the process of storing excess energy. I meant to elaborate, and it was irresponsible not to, but I will remedy that here. I doubt there's been enough time for anyone to harm themselves.

First of all, I want to address the general belief that many people hold - I was among them until i learned better - that there is somehow a universal compassion and love that binds all things together, and that when absorbing the Prana of the universe this compassion is boundless, and you can consume as much as you want, basking in the light.

Energetic imbalance, specifically the excess retention of energy, will screw you up. That's not a technical term, but the varieties of damage that can be caused are all difficult to handle in their own way, because once you lose your balance, it's always hard to recover it unless you are a very adept, very smart sorcerer. Hopefully we will all eventually become that.

For now, let me tell you how I earned my humility and patience.

I had my first intense experience with taking in a LOT of energy at once when I was seventeen, just a few years ago. I had developed the beginnings of my ability to See energy, and was instantly craving the myriad experiences and 'powers' that being able to connect to and control that energy would surely endow. At this particular time I was fortunate enough to have my first stage of reiki attunements. In retrospect I believe that to have been the saving grace, and I reccomend that anyone wishing to develope a natural connection to positive energies study up on reiki and decide for themselves if they are drawn to the idea. It's benefits are endless, as far as I have experienced.

I got my attunements from a woman who had several other healer contemporaries, some of whom were also practicing magickians, and other various 'independant' types. Most of them were fairly adept at manipulating energy in some way, and I connected to some of the younger members who were brazen and disrespectful of magick, like I was. During our training, as most of us were in the same class, that is, initiates to reiki, we covered a lot of general theory of energetic medicine, and we covered kundalini rising, ascension, etc. Not to the depth that I've described here, but also learned from a teacher who rather disapproved of magick all together. Of course, learning the basics of HOW reiki was working, we all developed independant theories about the possible uses of Reiki.

I won't tell what we learned, as the joy of discovering something oneself is immeasurable, and if you ever do get attunements and figure it out, you'll turn out just fine, and a bit wiser.

The result of our combined experimentation was this, though: We learned to acquire other energies. for those that don't know, reiki comes in through the Crown Chakra.

As a side note on Chakras, their function is based on density. Chakras are a gradient of energetic density, a ladder of descent (or ascent) if you will, which collects energy rather like a solar panel and pours it down through each energy point in turn, each time passing on the energy at a little lower frequency each time, until you reach the lower chakras where the energy is adjusted and flows into the secondary channels, where they are kept in the aforementioned energy loop that passes for a soul. The Sahasrara, the crown, is the place where energy is absorbed initially from the higher self - only, I may note, the energy that your own energy body is capable of attracting based on it's gravity/frequency, etc. - like dew, at a frequency incompatible with your physical body, initially. As it 'cools' by means of the chakras, each chakra becomes more and more 'in phase' with the physical body. This is why, in vedic traditions, the lower chakras concern the physical being, starting at the muladhara at the most Gross, to the Manipura (3rd) which is the most subtle of the three; the the middle chakra, Anahata (the heart) is equally subtle/gross in it's functions; and the upper three become more and more subtle into the pure, non-physical function of the Crown, Sahasrara. All Chakras have both gross and subtle functions, but in different ratios and complexities.

By now your wondering why i only mentioned the third chakra (aka Dan Tien) as the chakra of 'acquisition'. In reality, it is the chakra which acquires a certain variety of Prana which almost everyone can handle. It is the most subtle of the lower chakras, and is best for beginners who will need to develope a basic experiential understanding of subtle energy - and acquire the natural changes that this journey results in - before dealing with energies which affect us on levels we are not always able to handle at first.

What happened to me was this: After a particularly intense and successful session of attracting and absorbing energy through my Dan Tien, with the help of two other people - we all exchanged these 'sessions' with one another on the same night, but I was last, and I believe that is why I suffered rather than the other two, as we did not yet grasp the concept of energy as a finite thing - I felt full of energy, I felt a warmth and a vibration throughout my body, vibrating outward from my Dan Tien. I played around with the sensations, attempting to pull the energy out of it's storage and into the corners of my body using the first Qi Gong techniques I grazed from a book in the study of what to do with that energy once I got it. At first it was fine.

Then, when i did not know how to release the energy, how to ground, and didn't understand why my compatriots were fine when i was beginning to sweat, I tried to concentrate the energy back into my dan tien, which I successfully did. Remember my comparison of the energy body to a water balloon? The heat faded, and the energy seemingly was fully assimilated, but for some reason i didn't feel that way. I was restless, unable to sit still, I became paranoid in subtle ways, my mood changed, and I began to have a sharp pain around the base of my spine. I had a throbbing pain in the front of my pelvis. I didn't seem to be able to get enough breath on the inhale, and my restlessness quickly turned into irratation and then irrational anger. I eventually ended our visit by storming out, angry that they hadn't agreed with a comment on the origin of reiki.

Now, i was a hormonal seventeen year old, and the Manipura chakra, the dan tien, is the reason why - consciousness begins to evolve in this chakra when we are fourteen years old, and is a 'young adult' in itself when we turn 21. That doesn't need an explanation right now, suffice to say it's a good analogy. Overstimulating that chakra with energy I was unable to handle made my hormones over active, and the hemmoraging energy, travelling down rather than up (density), caused my Muladhara and Svadisthana (lower two) to become imbalanced suddenly as well. This happened within twenty minutes of finishing our 'session'.

A couple of years later, I am experimenting with my root chakra, and am stricken with dizziness, whited out vision, a throbbing backbone, and a sense of lethargy and depression that afterwards lasted for a couple of days. My experiment involved intentional kundalini awakening. The vedics were smart people, read their books if you can...

I am, and have almost always been - at least within the span of my magickal career - a very even headed person. It's in my nature to allow the intellect to rule my actions in moments of extreme emotion, and so I have naturally cultivated an attitude of objective emotional detachment which I first used to shut people out, and to distance myself from emotional pain. Believe it or not, this is a form of psychic defense through withdrawal, similar to the martial practice of learning to sustain many blows without being injured initially (most people don't know this, but you will probably still be sore afterwards - when most martial artists say "it doesn't hurt" they mean, "it doesn't hurt enough to notice"). Anyway, it was this attitude that eventually - remember being an angry teen? - won out, and I was able to figure out how to let my reiki clean my system out. What if you haven't got the same objectivity? What if you are still firmly set in the physical, not yet always mindful of the energetic? What if you believe in fully indulging the emotions?

(that said, the Chaos magickian may note that emotional energy is potent, if it can be directed, and all emotions represent energy, without exclusion...)

Based on this experience, and others involving spiritual attack, and psychic combat, I would tell you not to discount the potency of the effect of energy - excess, erratic, negative, or agressive - on the emotional 'mind' and how that can in turn affect the body. In the course of your experience, if you are diligent, you will certainly encounter at least a few times, energy that you cannot handle. It's difficult to imagine, because in life we generally ignore the negative energy until it is hurting us, and bathe constantly in the positive energy when we can. When you are then confronted with negative energy of any kind which you are not accustomed to, and without the sufficient means to either transmute or deter that energy, there WILL be consequences.

Dangers are referenced in many occult texts, but generally vaguely. The truth is, the dangers are potentially many, but all of them are subtle. Their manifestations can be gross, and of course these bear attention, but at that point it will be easier to deal with it practically in most cases.

Psychological damage, damage to your life in the world, damage to relationships we have, damage to the balances of the body, all of these things are REAL, and if a bad experience with energy, with Magick, affects these things, or others, then we are wounded just as surely as if we have been cut with a knife. Paranoia, Obsession, Delusion, Megalomania - these things are real dangers to the occultist which, I am sorry to say, many will succumb to. Stay on top, stay balanced and stay objective in moments of heat, and always assume you do not have the whole answer yet, and you should do fine.

The next subject i'll address involves the basics of forming one's energetic vocabulary, and the foundations of the skills necessary to begin utilizing cultivated energy.

In the meantime, for posterity, if anyone has any words of wisdom concerning experience with bad energy, or the day you learned that magick very well might harm you, the future neophytes would benefit from it.

(edit) again, my irresponsible attention - Following are a few simple remedies for excessive energy.

1. Excercise. Seriously, take a run, do pushups until you pass out, anything to exhaust you. As your physical energy wanes, your excess energy will be drawn into those empty channels. Have a bit to eat, take a nap - in a few hours you'll not only be pretty balanced, but you'll most likely be wide awake. Not what you expected?

2. Surrender. Surrender is a tricky thing, i'm only putting it here because it may be part of the natural temperment of some reading. Surrender is a state of mind in which you are essentially communing with the unconscious self. Very simply, just sit or lay down - I suggest lotus asana, as during this process one often has the urge to look straight up, arch the spine, extend the hands, or similar usually devotional-esque physical expressions. Simply focus on your emotions - anger, love, everything and anything - and let them consume your mind, while remaining firmly and pointedly in the lotus asana. Follow your body's natural posture, bend, stretch, writhe - and when you have given into the sensation of emotion itself, begin to hum, and let the tune develope on its own. If you feel like crying, cry, or laugh, or laugh. In the end some people release themselves sexually. -note: thinking RETAINS energy and devotes one's already balanced energy towards the vibration of the emotion dictating thought. We surrender to our emotions in this way in order to dislodge only the excess energy - when it is gone, you'll very distinctly feel that you're done.

3. Grounding. I'll bet there are a billion posts about this on this forum alone, but one simple method I find to be highly effective is to simply take off one's shoes and walk on the bare ground, focusing all of your attention on the physical sensations of your feet touching the ground, and on the gravity pulling you down.
(/edit)

-peace-

ps. See the body/mind/spirit connection up there? Always a good basis for evaluation.

This post has been edited by Vagrant Dreamer: Jun 6 2006, 09:48 PM

Energetic Vocabulary means the same thing as vocabulary (collection of words, we expand our vocabulary) and functions just as a language does. What is a language but patterns of sound which transmit information? What we would call 'energy' is the information moving between the Material and the Spiritual. Energy is consciousness.

So, we are learning the language of consciousness, and that language is emotional in nature. We can speak with all of our other senses - there are traditional corresponding meanings to smells, tastes, textures, images (letters, particularly), and sounds. Energy, the realm of consciousness, has it's own language in its own right as the sixth sense.

Now, the most basic instruction for building that vocabulary is to simply be observant. Observe yourself, and your surroundings, and your life, as much as possible. Anytime you have a moment, anytime you think about it while looking at something, simply take a moment to observe exactly what you are feeling at that moment about everything around you.

A lot of beginners will simply say "well, i don't feel an emotion about everything around me all the time," but that's foolish. Consciousness is to emotion what skin is to touching - unless your skin is numbed, you are experiencing sensation at all times. (we of course make exception to the intentional sensory withdrawal of any sense)

Emotional reaction to some things can be really powerful and obvious - most notably, our reaction to external emotion. Other phenomenon can produce more subtle reactions. These might come as all sorts of feelings which are not experienced through physical senses - that is to say, having reactions which are phantasmal sensory imitations, are also emotions in their own right. Rather, they represent the subtle emotions that we experience during our daily life. If you skin prickles when you pay attention to some part of your world, does it remind you of some other experience? Seing the connection allows you to recognize what the two have in common, and illuminate the nature of the energy. By and by you begin to build an awareness of what you are feeling on both the gross and subtle levels of emotion, and this becomes a state of attention to which you can slip into moments at a time to glimpse the nature of the energy around you.

Now, there are a lot of programs of meditation, and a lot of traditions dealing with learning how to sense and see energy, but I'll tell you this. the ability to sense energy, is like sight. It's inherent. And just because you can see, doesn't mean you can naturally read. We all have emotions because we all react to subtle energy. Only observation, mindfulness, and time can develope the ability to interpret what is going on. However, if you start with broad subjects (how do I feel about this room?) and then gradually work your way inwards through layers (how about that wall? How about the furniture?) you will quickly begin to see correllations, which become categories, which becomes a language about what is going on that you can interpret as though you had just learned a new spoken language. It will happen gradually, but it will happen inevitably, if you are willing to commit to paying attention.

Nothing more magickal than that. Masgick is creation, in a way, the manifestation of thought, and so it is an art. And while there are certainly exceptions - savants - one must see to paint.

Magick, is where we are concerned first. Now, first of all, when it comes to the subject of manifesting/projecting energy of any kind, there are about a million theories and practices as to how it's done. Truth is, they are all right. Energy follows thought. In order to accurately manifest or project energy, you must have power over your consciousness. You must be able to focus. When we push something, we use our tactile sense to coordinate what we are doing. When we paint, we focus our eyes - and our will - on what we want to accomplish and it happens. Just as with both, those who develope a keen awareness of what these senses give them, and develope a fine control over those senses with constant attention and practice, so does their ability to manifest their will.

Magick takes no less dedication to the consciousness than the athlete must give to his body. People will argue that you can do 'this and that' to easily use magick which even the neophyte can pull off. I'm not arguing that. The average person can run, that doesn't make him a soccer player. The ability to manifest magickal effect doesn't make you a magician, sorcerer, or anything else. Everyone does it. Its the dedication that makes the Sorcerer. Or whatever.

A most excellent practice for developing such acuity of consciousness is a practice the yogin call Dharana. Dharana is essentially the pursuit of objective focus, to the point of shedding all sensory awareness of an object, directing one's attention only on the emotional energy, or consciousness, of the object. And object in this case is any thought, physical thing, any sensory object at all.

I suggest looking up the basics and the many theories of inducing Dharana, but here is a brief excercise effective for the neophyte with a strong will.

Sit comfortably, and place some object that you can see in front of you. I suggest good lighting, but nothing flourescent. It irritates the attention. Take a moment to fully engross your senses in the object. As it applies, Touch it, smell it, taste it (assuming it's safe, of course...), look at it, listen to it (hear how it warps sound as well, this is a most subtle practice, but give it a try a few times and you'll easily pick it up, we normally just don't think to use our sense of hearing that way, with our much more obvious visual spacial sense taking up more attention). Become emotionally aware of your reactions to all of these sensory aspects.

When you have explored whatever object it is (in whatever sensory facets it has), sit back and simply pay attention. Revisit the sensory information, and begin to shift your attention towards revisiting the subtle emotion they correspond to. Continue to focus attention on the object, but slowly strip away the sensory, and shift attention totally to the emotional awareness. When you are percieving only what the emotional awareness of the object is, then you are in a state of Dharana. At first you'll pull in and out of it.

The skill of dharana lends itself to magickal practice, and there are many techniques out there of developing various aspects of the skill. It takes dedication, yes, and practice, yes, but when you begin to explore on your own the process of connecting to an object, you will find that any techinque of sending energy - energy follows thought - will work with about ten times as effectively as the same technique in a normal state of attention.

Also, for those who have never had much aptitude as manipulating energy, the practice of emotional observation and dharana will naturally evolve the ability to do so effectively.

It may be noted - while that may all sound like a lot of work initially, with dedication it will become second nature, a state of mind or attention which you can easily slip in and out of at will.

peace

All of these posts so far have been concerned with the developement of sensitivity - the developement of the ability to See, and more importantly, to Read - and focus.

The dissemination into magickal theory as far as the application of these subjects, is naturally somewhat vague. But, I will begin by restating, as I have said before, that the practice of doing Magick is the same as the practice of Painting, writing a novel, building a boat, composing a symphony, or cooking a meal. It is the active, creating analog to the sensory of Conciousness.

The force which is the universal tool for Creation is the Will. Pick up a pencil. You've just used your will to exert creative control over an object outside of yourself, through the medium of your tactile sensory (it can be argued that your visual sensory helped, although that's more of a matter of gathering information in order to properly apply your will to the situation. An important note for later.) This is a simple act, which requires very little willpower, but considering it to scale this way makes it easier to understand. It is important to understand exactly what the will is, because there is a great deal of information out there that tends to muddle up it's significance with a few other concepts. We shall endeavor to keep it simple here.

We can think of consciousness as divided between Perception and Will - positive and negative, push and pull. As i have said before, consciousness itself is a third principle founded upong the essential duality between Body and Spirit - the Gross and the Subtle respectively. Consider that in nature, in the universe, it is ultimately the Subtle that Affects the Gross - for anything to change there must be the energy of causality there to initiate it. It is then through the Gross that the Subtle plays itself out, being percieved - we shall say, experienced - and passing back into the subtle. So we have two directions in which consciousness moves. Along the Current of Will - affecting the universe - and the Current of Perception - experiencing the universe.

Perception is emotion. What, therefore, is the Will characterized by? Because our cultures largely take the will for granted, we don't have much of a vocabulary for that. Is it need? No, need is a pulling force. As is Want. What force pushes?

An easy way to discover this feeling is to simple exert your will in any prolonged manner and observe what your mind, your brain, is doing to cause that exertion. Push two forefingers together in front of you, close your eyes, and hold that steady pressure. Listen to the sound within you, it helps to be in a silent room, although this will eventually not be necessary. Feel the tension in your arms, and follow the sensation up through your musculature and bones, to your spine. There will be a steady hum in your muscles of nerve activity which you will begin to hear/feel if you slowly drag your attention up from the fingertips to your spine, and then in a moment you will hear/feel the 'buzz' extend up into the base of your neck into the place just underneath the back of your head. Observe the sensation in your brain.

Now, release your fingertips, and imagine doing the same action, while focusing on the same sensation, the same buzz that you felt while pressing your fingertips to one another. It may take several attempts to be able to accurately conjure this feeling intentionally, but it will happen if you are diligent for about an hour at the most.

next, raise your arm and slowly wave it back and forth, as though pushing water to one side and then the other. Again, observe the sensation in your head that occurs steadily while you maintain that repeated notice the very subtle difference as the currents alternate, but also observe their similarity.

The purpose of these two simple excercises is to understand the relationship between will and tension. When you exert your will on the Gross, you meet resistance - there is tension. The more force you can exert against that tension, the more power your magick will have. When you wave you rhand back and forth, you are experiencing the 'flow' of will. When you are pressing your fingertips together you are experiencing 'strained' will. The more strain is exerted, the more power the will may have when it is released to 'flow' out into the gross.

We experience this in several ways on the gross level. A painter may envision his art intensely before actually commiting it to a medium. each attempt to create that art is another attempt to allow that will to flow out openly into the gross universe.

Think about everything you have ever expressed, and now much more accurately you can express it if you stop and envision it, gather your will, connect to the energy of the concept you are trying to construct, before attempting to release it.

Paying attention to the common thread in all of these examples is the key to understanding and located the faculty of will. Until you can pin that down, only the most subtle practices of magick are possible - he essential ability to 'put out vibes' that we all have naturally.

The process of exerting one's mystickal will is one of connecting to the energy of the concept you wish to come into being, accumulating psychic strain, or pressure, and then opening that pressure to the flow of mystickal will. that's very, very brief, but the purpose of this post is to cover only the first part of this process.

One excercise towards this end is to envision any simple geometric shape, we will say a circle to begin with. Give it any color at random, we'll say blue,, and then close your eyes. Start with the simple thought, of a blue circle, envision it in your mind's eye. Then focus your sight on the back of your eyelids and imagine that you see a blue circle there. Remember, at this point, the sensation of the strained will, of pushing your fingertips together, and infuse the image of the blue circle, in your mind's eye, with that sensation. it is like imagining that the circle is sensitive to touch and that you can imagine that it itches as though it were a part of you - this is a much easier sesation to achieve that you might think, and is essentially the same practice to a different end.

What we have done here is basically add a minor detail to the practice of internal or psychic dharaana. Instead of percieving the energy of the thought, however, we are instead projecting it, pushing it.

Now apply the sensation of the 'flow' of will, and let the image flow outwards from your mind, onto the black of your closed eyes. You may feel a sensation over your brow at this, or it may help you to focus the sensation to touch your third eye briefly and acquire it's tactile location on your body. You may recall the initial discussion about the purpose of the third eye.

With a little ingenuity, you can easily devise many practices which will also sharpen this ability. by learning focus on any level - through tai chi, I personally suggest, as a more active alternative to Dharaana, which is more particularly suited to focusing the Strained will.

The application of these principles towards the projection of energy for the purpose of magick is the subject of the forthocming article, although it may become immediately obvious to many.

peace