Michael Sternbach

Stating that whatever you see is your fault implies a misconception. The philosophy of personal responsibility only works in a non-dualistic framework that transcends notions of blame and self-blame. It is a very challenging philosophy, to be sure. Most of the LoA stuff I have seen falls short of that.

Among the books in your list, the Picatrix is the most important, IMO. Its influence on Renaissance Magic can hardly be overestimated.

I found the name change confusing too. It's just that Wells suits you so well.

Yes, I did the 'basic seminar' twice and the 'ultra seminar' once. (It was a long time ago, the curriculum may have changed a bit meanwhile.) What you learn includes going to an alpha state (and deeper) at will, using a variety of visualization techniques to intuitively retrieve information and accomplish goals, communicating with others on a psychic level, remote viewing, healing techniques.

I am afraid, I can't. It was an anecdote I heard some 30 years ago. For clarification, we all can function on the delta level - we do it everytime we get a good night's sleep. Advanced meditators can go there while staying awake. What was special about aforesaid master was that he could hold a conversation while he was in the delta state.

George Dillman was legit originally. His books and videos were among the first ones on the topic (along with Erle Montaigue's material) that had any real practical value. I would still recommend them above most others. It's too bad that he overstretched himself eventually and thus discredited the art of Kyusho-jitsu/Dim mak. There are a number of things that can go wrong in a public demonstration, which he and his people didn't factor in sufficiently in their eagerness to stun ( ) the audience.

Since you are interested in remote viewing, and in light of some of the other topics you recently started, I strongly recommend the Silva Mind Control seminars to you. That would give you a lot of stuff to work with for years.

While states of suspended animation in humans have been repeatedly observed (e.g., in cases of individuals surviving for hours under water in a frozen lake), medical science can not yet induce such states on purpose, so systematic surveys are not possible currently. However, DHCA (Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest) is being applied in cases of surgery of or near the brain that require the cessation of cerebral blood circulation, which involves cooling of body temperature below 20° C and can last to up to one hour. In these cases, there is no brain activity at all, i.e. an EEG will show a flatline. Samadhi states were previously thought of as being accompanied by rather low brain wave frequencies, but more recent studies (referred to in the article I linked) surprisingly suggest that gamma activity plays a role here as well. Perhaps this interesting piece by Ken Wilber can help satisfying your curiosity further. http://www.meditationplex.com/meditation-and-brainwaves/deep-meditation-brainwave-patterns-ken-wilber/

You might find this useful: https://visualmeditation.co/gamma-brainwaves-facts-and-benefits/ Lots of links included.

I heard of some graduates of the Silva Mind Control course dissolving clouds by the power of mind. As I am a graduate myself, once while sitting on a lake shore with a whole mountain wrapped in a huge cloud in front of my eyes, I decided to give this a try. I closed my eyes and went to my alpha level. Then I visualized the cloud gradually dispersing. When I reopened my eyes, much to my amazement, the cloud had vanished. That was my only attempt at influencing weather phenomena so far, though.

Generally, you will first learn how to function on alpha level without falling asleep. On an advanced level, it's possible to stay there with your eyes open and even moving around and dealing with dangerous situations (as some expert warriors can do). Experienced meditators can go to theta and in some cases even to delta at will. Only one person (an Indian yoga master) has ever proven the ability to still communicate with others from a delta level, though. For most, delta means deep sleep. Psychic abilities are generally enhanced by the lower levels of brain activity. Surprisingly, a study showed that during meditation (I think it was the Zen kind), there are also outbursts of gamma activity frequently occurring.

Because human lives are much too short these days. You would at least need a couple of centuries to figure out how things really work. Cause we like to leave responsibilities to other people. You have already partially answered that question yourself: We neglect subtle and spiritual aspects and still treat the universe like a machine built of so many tiny wheels. (One-hundred years of quantum physics hasn't really changed that.) I would try homeopathy if I were you.

Maybe moving to Kentucky would indeed be a sensible option after all... Looks lovely! (Just kidding.)

It's not incorrect to start the words of a header with capital letters, 3bob. I guess we will have to talk about the nature of the Self next...

Well, Buddhists tend to get entangled in semantics and conceptualizations. Replace 'Self' by 'Buddha nature' and you are talking business. Either way, I don't think it's THAT self which the OP is referring to.

With pleasure. First, let's consider what no-self means. The absence of awareness? Unconsciousness? Hardly. Rather, it refers to a state in which the conceptual nature of the self is recognized as such. For there can only be a self if there is a non-self. A division, BTW, that very young children don't make - they still exist in an oceanic state of mind. So much for my statement that the non-self excludes the cosmos. Save for that tiny part of it that is always out for 'me', of course. By the same token, transcending those conceptual dividing lines that constitute the border lines of the self leads to the understanding, nay, to the perception that the self is actually one with all of existence. Therefore I said that 'no-self' includes the whole cosmos. And yet some sense of self remains. Without it, it would be impossible to keep functioning in physical reality. However, it is a state hugely expanded from what people commonly experience. Do I make sense to you now?

Not in my view. The former includes the whole cosmos, the latter excludes it. Does this make sense to you?

The Buddhist temples I visited were joyful places. Never felt that way in a church.

There were a number of books that changed my life. One that immediately comes to mind is Jane Robert's The Nature of Personal Reality. Or perhaps I should say it was by Seth... It confirmed some of what I had been thinking, but also expanded my view of human possibilities. I was 19 at the time. I read all the then-available Seth books. I read other philosophical and esoteric books as well, for I was thirsty for knowledge. A time of awakening... Nice topic. I may add more books later.

Talking about the drought issue people have in SoCal, I wonder what keeps them from resorting to the supplies that Diamond Valley Lake provides? It was created as a reservoir for situations like this, in my understanding. Just leave enough for the fish, and also for the awesome wild flowers that are growing on its shore.

During the Industrial Revolution, technological progress was advertised as decreasing people's working hours. It didn't. Instead, they ended up working more! It would be great if, after all, technology allowed us to cut down more on repetitious jobs that can be taken over by machines. So that people are free to spend more of their alloted time on earth for creative endeavours, including non-profit ones - without having to struggle for survival. Making this a happier planet, overall. Yes, there will be challenges. As there are challenges now. See the bigger picture.

Just yesterday, I happened to read in an ancient Arabic book on magic about the method to sever a head from a body in order to ask it questions afterwards, using it as an oracle. (In excuse of the dudes who were doing such, let's bear in mind that people had no Internet available to them at the time.)

There seems to be some fundamental miscommunication happening here. I am not suggesting that psychokinesis plays a role in the throwing of the coins. What I am saying is that the process is under the guidance of 'something' that knows how to throw the coins so that they would land a certain way. And that 'something' is incomprehensible for the (linear) mind, so I can't tell you how it's doing what it's doing, I am afraid.

But it would still be me deciding that this is going to be my answer to a certain question (without knowing in advance what exactly the answer is going to be, of course). I suspect that from the level of the intuitive self I was talking about, this would be no different from opening a book at a "random" page (yeah, that works too!) or from throwing coins at a certain moment and in a certain way in order to get an accurate reply.

Here's the thing... I don't think there can be no personal involvement even in the process. Quantum mechanics got that right.