Cultural Influence On Rituals, How does your culture effect your rituals and their results? Options

Greetings All,

I've been wondering for a while how the culture one was exposed to from birth, influence his/her rituals in later period of life. As I have seen in my studies so far (not even a fraction of what's out there, i admit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/face08.gif)), most of western CM rituals are based on jewish mysticism with a flavor of christian flavor and occasional comparison with eastern traditions.

I was born in a muslim family and found my previous beliefs very difficult to mix with even the basic rituals like LBRP or MP ( I still do ). On occasions i found some striking similarities in philosophy but most of the time just contradictory. It's been a struggle to form a set of beliefs that seemed true to my self .. ... for now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sport_boxing.gif) .

So, all out there, will you please share your own experience or opinion on the matter?

PS: I wasn't sure where to post this or if there are any similar topic. If so, my apologies.

[quote name='Seth'sCall' date='Aug 27 2007, 12:41 AM' post='33190']
Greetings All,


So, all out there, will you please share your own experience or opinion on the matter?



Magick is a journey and you will find that you will change/evolve on the journey. Just let it happen naturally. On one hand it's good to challenge dogma, because ultimately most magick pathways are about self development and growth, rather than religious belief and dogma. A few major religions -- such as Buddhism -- embrace self development growth, but not always without dogma. Although Tibetan Buddhism comes close, basically embracing everything! But in the end, it should be about your journey, your comfort, your results and no one can tell you what to feel. And feelings will translate into results. Being a self-journey, I can't advise, other than to say, do what feels natural and right. I think this is the essence of Thelema, "Do what they wilt." That priceless and powerful phrase was as much about "let the self grow by finding your own way" as it was about anything else. (It's no coincidence that Crowley, early on, extensively studied Tibetan belief systems). I am a Chaotic, so I embrace everything that works for me, but I didn't start there, and I probably couldn't have started there. Results matter. If you're fighting years of belief, going too radical could hamper results because doubt creeps in. For others, going radical is just the ticket for results... it was for me. I was raised western, but I've entirely embraced the East and creative Chaos, about as far from "western" culture as you can go. Best,