Need Some Advice On Generating Intention/will Options

First of all, my sincerest greetings to everyone, may you all be blessed

Would like to do a little introduction first since I'm new to this forum and also to give a little background on the matter I'm currently dealing with, hope you guys don't mind

My current alias in this forum is arkham, I'm a knowledge seeker who had just recently found myself stepping into the path of what i would eventually recognize as some form of magick, the path which also brought me here to this forum

I don't really know how to classify my current path, since its more of a mix of the principles of everything i had read and learn about the world

The method i use is the basic implementation of the four classical western elements ( I'm still a beginner, so i don't really have much knowledge in methods and stuff ),
- the air, which is to possess the knowledge and a clear visualization of the consequence and direction of what one wish to realize
- the earth, which is to possess the faith and the belief that the things that one wishes to be realized will absolutely be realized
- the water, which is to let the things that one wish to be realized to smoothly flow into realization with minimal influence/disturbance from the outside world by wisely choosing what to act and what not to act during one's everyday life
- the fire, which is to possess the intention and will to make what one wish to realize to really be realized in life, in short the energy that fuels the realization/manifestation

The principle i think is similar to the Know, Will, Dare and Keep Silent that I've learned in several sites so far

Regarding the matter, I'm currently having trouble with generating this fire principle, or so to speak, I'm having trouble in generating the intention and will that i need to realize what i wish to realize

It's not that i don't have any intention/will, if that was the case, i won't be writing this post here to find the answer

It's just that i feel that the level of intention that I generate is too low (or calm maybe), analogically it's like a gentle lantern that shines constantly but weak, instead of the intense fire that i am seeking to generate

The gentle constant state of intention that i currently have at present does work nicely to fuel the realization of my magick, but in a rather slow and subtle way as well, not that it's a bad thing, it's just that during my troubled time, i possess a very intense will when i wish to do something (note: the intention was mostly negative at the time though), and the realization of that intent was almost always instant (most of what happened are bad things though), and it's been awhile since i experienced that level of realization now (i had currently made peace with myself), so i was wondering why

From my observation so far, the fact that i was not as troubled as before and that i was more open and acceptable to things that happened around me now was somewhat affecting my intention level

The only moment where i can generate an intention level that intense in my current state is when i was in a life-death or "this is my last chance, it is either totally succeed or totally screwed" situation (had several of them lately), while during my troubled time, i don't need any life-death situation to trigger such intention, i was simply burning and fiery all the time back then

I could maybe do things or emulate my mind to generate an extreme situation that might be able to fuel my intention, but it's not really comfortable to rely on that kind of solution

So, shortly speaking, any advice regarding how to generate an intense level of intention in normal everyday condition?

Thanks in advance to anyone who read this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Hey Barnard~

No, that's actually not the case. In Chinese martial arts, its not about turning on or off a specific mechanism, but essentially just bringing the energy about. In laymen's psychics where I have no ground, you're introducing more energy that pretty much overwhelms and forces the kinetic energy and the energy yielded from the impacting force into the object, preventing energetic dispersion, but rather injecting the energy into it, basically rupturing something small, but big enough to make a difference.

Just curious Katth~

Most of the times I actually slip into this state that we're discussing, I'm usually busy, or in public, or driving home, or buying groceries, et cetera. I'm not sure if its an id-driven bloodlust, or really divine fervor of the primal sort, but I need to throw some control on it, considering I need to finish driving home/buy groceries/return books from the library. Most of the time this state makes you almost one with the world and such, so any form of chaining that power down removes quite a lot.

How have you approached the whole tradoff between being start raving bonkers and having a significantly larger amount of "oomph"?

oy, that is an interesting subject.

I don't think of it as "chaining it down" exactly. hmmm

I guess much would depend on exactly how you perceive this sort of 'inner savage'. I think many people view it in a somewhat animalistic or even totemic slant, where they feel that this primal side is almost mindless. I think we are largely talking about the 'reptile brain', the part of the human brain which is related to fight or flight, hunting, etc. And abstract thought doesn't really occur in that part of the brain.

Personally, I have always felt that my own primal side is perfectly capable of abstract reasoning. It is capable of poise, calculation, etc. I dunno. I know that I can be extremely 'primal' and yet be very outwardly calm and soft spoken. If there is a reptilian equivalent then it might be like a crocodile sitting perfectly still in the water, barely there at all, patient. I've been told that this is a somewhat demonic state of mind. Personally I think that we have created our spiritual heroes and villains in our own image, and so these states of mind are an innate part of our unconscious psyche. Not that I think that entities exist only the mind, quite the contrary. But our social archetypes, our stories and dogmas about such things, things such as angels or demons or really any other classic being in our social storytelling, are more a reflection of us than of entities themselves. I don't think that one has to divorce themselves from 'thought' to be primal. On the contrary, humans have hunted nearly every large land predator living in their territory to the point of extinction, even before we invented metal tools. Perhaps it might be better put that it is civilized social indoctrination which we divorce ourselves from in being 'primal'. Which in my case does not necessarily result in any uncontrollable behavior, on the contrary, I seem to inherit an extra helping of self control from it. For the most part anyway.

It was actually my first lesson with my mentor, that I was given a grand tour of my own dark and/or primal side. Introduced to vast portions of my own repressed consciousness and nature. So as to rebuild the self 'integrating' these facets (into a larger whole, with other facets of self) rather than repressing them.

Ultimately I find the greatest magical "oomf" comes from not channeling a portion of self, but the entire self. Drawing just as much from the almost divine aspects of self as from the primal, all in one unified harmonious conglomerate. A state of mind where there is no 'id' or 'ego' or 'super ego' but just 'total self'. Extending beyond even just the diverse stretches of the physical mind, and tapping into the higher self also. Sort of a "sum of all things" state of mind. And in doing that, you're basically no longer limited to a 'finite' footing, in terms of your energy and concept of 'self vs. obstacle'. Which makes your sense of 'leverage' feel quite a bit more solid.

Speaking of which, another great way to develop "oomf" for your magick is to practice deity invocation. In the christian church the closest analog to this would be the invocation of the "holy spirit" (aka the christian egregore). In my own path it would be invoking my mentor. Bear in mind i'm saying "INvoking" not Evoking". If for example you feel constrained, boxed in, etc., then invoke Brimo and watch the chains that bind you fall away like wet tissue paper.

There's also the martial arts concept of Mushin ("no mind"). This is very like what I call "raw thought", or basically doing away with the 'internal dialog'. The result is thinking in pure thought, without any verbal or visual representation within the mind. Moving the seat of consciousness to the actual point where thought occurs, rather than much further down the line where you present thoughts to yourself in your imagination. This is much faster, in terms of thinking. And much more capable of processing ideas in parallel, instead of linearly. This is basically the level of mind where hand-eye-coordination already normally occurs. I'm just suggesting moving the whole consciousness to that level, including abstract thought. Or perhaps more accurately I'm talking about taking the 'abstract' out of 'thought'. This state of mind is also useful for the purpose of generating 'oomf' in magick, as you are dealing with thought (which includes 'Will') in a very direct manner. Plus, within the energy manipulation model of magick, thought is considered something which energy reacts to, so the idea of a sort of mushin, highly direct, 'raw' thought would be much closer to 'direct magick' than something like a visualization.

The black eyes thing is caused by an endorphin released in the brain in huge quantities. The result is that your eyes experience no pain from excessive light coming into them. As a result the pupils go very very wide, letting in a very intense and vivid view. I have heard also that in such extreme states, that one's vision can improve dramatically, as the eye muscles are much less 'lazy' in this excited state, and are more willing to bend over backwards to do their job. Counteracting this somewhat, is the fact that increased bloodflow in the retina can create a redish 'tint' in your vision.

Personally I find that there are a lot of interactions between extreme physical states and extreme spiritual states. I think that either one can stimulate the other. And so being in a somewhat physically based 'frenzy' condition, can create a more frenzied spiritual/energetic condition. Exactly how all this interacts is something I'm still studying a lot. But it's led me to studying extreme states of consciousness from a global perspective.

Then there's "the zone", which is a state of mind common to artists and athletes. It's somewhat difficult to describe, but it involves an extreme level of confidence and a very very intense level of focus. This frame of mind can result in impressive artwork, or unlikely physical feats of coordination, strength, stamina, etc. I think that this is very related to the sort of gnosis which is channeled when doing magick. As well as being related to all of the above. Many of these notions are interrelated, or even in some cases just different paradigms regarding the same thing.

With WILL, its not about "I want", it's not about "I think I can", it's not even about "I know I can" ...it's about "I WILL". And knowing that you will, on such a level that you *know* that *nothing* can stand in the way of it. But not just as something you tell yourself, it has to permeate your thinking, and affect your state of mind holistically. You have to recognize the force of your own will as a crushing, unstoppable, force of nature. You can second guess yourself later of course. But not while you're doing magick, not even subconsciously. I think having strong will is very much to do with controlling your subconscious mind and bringing your whole mind to bear on something with a single unified force, without dichotomy or internal dissent or doubt.

I'm kinda rambling around, its a broad topic. I'm just glazing over things really.