RiverSnake

Indeed, lots of experiences, positive and negative cobbled up into his forum. Generally in the long run they always end up being positive and highly transformative....they just look negative in the short term. My 2 cents, Peace

Welcome to TTB. Enjoy your stay. My 2 cents, Peace

I practice a particular style QiGong and it is always emphasized to remain emotionally calm....the only exception for this I think would be when practicing devotional work and you are intentionally enflaming yourself with prayer for a certain purpose. I would also add that emotions are quite "heavy" and can be very entangling....and as one refines there energy a sense of calmness and serenity is natural and too many strong emotions can be quite draining. Furthermore, from an inter-alchemical perspective in Taoism the goal is to refine ones energies from Jing to Chi to Shen and then void. Chi refers to emotions and intellect. The desire is to in many move past them to spirit. But let me end this tangent. Perhaps you should make a post about It on the forum. My 2 cents, Peace

The following is an excerpt i found in a recent book i read entitled Practice of Magic: An Introductory Guide and i thought it would possibly be useful for those interested in Magic and the Occult. I highly recommend the book, this is only the 2nd chapter and it is filled with gems and its only $8 bucks on Kindle. Enjoy. http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Magic-Introductory-Guide-Art/dp/0877288070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356896193&sr=8-1&keywords=Practice+of+Magic Chapter 2 Preparing to Practicing "Despite any of the various accoutrements required in the various modes of magical practice, the primary instruments of magicians are their consciousness, their mental faculties, and the physical bodies which house them. To become magical practitioners students must begin training the conscious mental faculties. Regardless of the particular practice that students intend to master, the first steps on the path are the same. Potential magicians must learn to relax and quiet their physical bodies. Once this is accomplished, they learn to take control of their minds. Until these two steps are mastered there is no sense in going further into the study of any of the various forms of magic. The mastery of these two steps may take willing and enthusiastic students three or four years under the direction of an able teacher. For neophytes working without the benefit of the direct instructions of a real teacher, it may take considerably longer. In our age of "i want this right now," there is a constant search for easy methods and quick solutions. In fact there is no royal road to magical practice, any more than there is a royal road to any other skill or ability. Those who promise quick and easy solutions to complex developmental processes are usually either charlatans or people who have nothing real to offer students. Developing yourself for the practice of magic requires a considerable amount of patient effort which is devoted in small bits of time over the course of many years. Eventually the performance of various exercises become a habitual part of life. At this point you begin to make progress that gradually becomes apparent. The first exercise my own teacher gave me was a relaxation exercise. I was given the exercise in the same form that it is given below, and told that i could see him again once i had mastered the exercise by practicing it for at least three months. I returned in four months with the exercise, to my knowledge, completed mastered. My teacher worked with me for about an hour, and showed me that i had only begun to scratch the surface of the exercise. He then sent me away with the admonition to return only when i had mastered the exercise. This time it was six months before i felt that i had some mastery of the exercise and was able to return to him for further guidance. I still practice this relaxation exercise on a daily basis, and intend to do so for the rest of my life. Relaxation The tensions of daily life permeate us with their nervous energy. We become unknowing receptors for the thoughts and emotions of others. Until we can learn to relax to a certain depth, and rid ourselves of tensions of daily life, we are not able to act on the world, much less to discipline our minds. All that we can do in this over-active state is react to influences exerted on us by the world around us. We can not become ourselves if we are full of muscular and nervous tensions that constantly demand our conscious or subconscious attention. We have nothing within ourselves to develop if we are simply reacting to the influences of the physical and non-physical world around us. In this situation--the situation in which most people live---we are not able to really express our fullest potential. Human beings were intended by their creator to become forces in the universe. We cannot become active forces in the universe if we are assailed by the universe to the point where we are so fully distracted that we have no time to act on the world in which we live. Relaxation, learning to free ourselves from external tension, is always the first step in development. Until we can live on Earth in a relaxed and stress-free manner, we are not going to be able to learn how to act on Earth in any real way. The relaxation exercise is simplicity itself. All that is required is that you relax your physical body as completely as possible for thirty minutes per day. During this time you should learn to ignore any thoughts which may present themselves to your mind. Do not try to blank your mind, just ignore any thoughts which may enter into it. Concentrate your mind only on relaxing your physical body. Relax yourself by releasing all of the tension from your muscles. Simply lay or sit comfortably, and mentally direct your physical body to relax. This is all there is to it. Because this exercise is deceptively simple, many people ignore it, to their loss. If you are sincerely interested in improving yourself, to say nothing of learning to practice magic, you will use this exercise to your advantage. Once you have practiced this exercise for atleast six months you should be living your life in a considerably more relaxed state. You will find that this will be of benefit to you in your everyday affairs, as well as giving you some insight into the process of preparing yourself to practice magic. The next exercise is one which Aleister Crowley used to develop his magical abilities. Although at the time he received this exercise he was a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, and considered by most of his association to be an accomplished magician, he really began developing his magical abilities on a cruise to Mexico. On board the ship he met a man who was also a mountain climber. In conversation they discovered that they were both intending to climb the same mountain. In further conversation Crowley revealed his interest in magic to his new acquaintance. The man was not impressed, because he had observed that Crowley was unable to concentrate his mind. He gave Crowley the following exercise, which Crowley mastered on the cruise. One he had mastered this exercise, he found that his magical abilities improved greatly as a result. The concentration exercise is given in substantially the same here as it was given to Aleister Crowley. When you master the exercise you will find that you have gained control over your mind. *Examine any common place object: a lead pencil will do. Observe and note as many details as possible in the object. Now set the object aside, and write down as many details as you can recall from memory. Describe the object completely from memory. *Now reexamine the object, seeking for new details. Put it aside, and once again write down all the new details you discover. *Lastly, close your eyes, and in a state of relaxation, visualize the object in your mind's eye. See the object in your mind as it is in the physical state, visualizing all of the details you have noted in it. Hold this image as long as you can, adding all of the details you have found in the object. Practice this exercise with a different familiar object every day for at least three months, while continuing to do your relaxation exercise. This exercise will develop your ability to pay attention. It will also begin developing your ability to observe and concentrate upon objects. You should begin this exercise with simple things, like tableware, pencils, pens and the like. As you perfect yourself with these objects, you may go on to more complex things such as the decor of a room,pictures,....etc As i mentioned, these exercises seem to be deceptively simply. However, they have a real, positive, and lasting effect on those who master them. You should take the time to master them if you are serious about striving to develop yourself in any way." Practice of Magic: An Introductory Guide to the Art -My 2 cents, Peace

A question for those whom have mastered the concentration/visualization exercise that Draja talks about. Does it help you with lucid dreaming? My 2 cents, Peace

Some very interesting videos on youtube with scarlet imprint authors. Mr. Kent makes some very important points in his video, I learned quite a bit: My 2 cents, Peace

DP

From the experiences of others i have heard it seems like going after the HGA is dangerous, but not in any literal death sense.it just requires you to drop all your excess baggage at the door and large negative aspects of your personality are burned away. Not a fun thing to go through..but its not gonna kill you either.it gives your practice a boost and your ego a kick in the pants. I have heard of many ended relationships, families, careers.....etc.....as a result of doing the HGA working. However, anyone with some kind of psychological disorder/psychosis should probably stay away form it and magic in general. My 2 cents, Peace

Interesting stuff Nungali. Thanks, made my first offerings last night. My 2 cents, Peace

From what I hear Halloween is a good day for hanging out with the dead. My 2 cents, Peace

Interesting technique, one that I have actually heard of before and practiced for awhile. Very useful stuff. My 2 cents, Peace

Experiences we get during practice can be highly varied, don't think anyone can give you an exact cause. Just relax, observe and let go. Have fun. My 2 cents, Peace

Currently reading "Grimoires: History of Magic Books" by Owen Davies. It's a fascinating book and really shows that magic has been so much more deeply intertwined with earlier cultures than I ever fathomed. It's also interesting to understand the origins of all of the Grimoires we have today. Also I just ordered "21st Century Mage" by Augustus Newcomb. Seems like a very practical and down to earth book, no pun intended, looking to move forward with K & C. http://www.amazon.com/Grimoires-A-History-Magic-Books/dp/0199590044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383136857&sr=8-1&keywords=Grimoires http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Mage-Bring-Divine/dp/1578632374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383136896&sr=8-1&keywords=21st+century+Mage My 2 cents, Peace

Very interesting technique. I have always been a fan of Gareth Knight's work. My 2 cents, Peace

What I am finding in my study of the Tarot is that many books on the Tarot like the one that goes with my deck has a highly esoteric focus and thus can be very ungrounded in that they propose these high in the sky alchemical and transformational concepts but at the same time when your doing a reading for others you need to be able to ground the cards in something real and tangible that is occurring in their life. Really trying to deepen my practice. Found this podcast as an interesting source for Insights into the minds of professionals readers and how they work and approach there trade: http://torontotarotportal.wordpress.com Also I am purchasing this book by Paul Fenton Smith which seems to be a bit more grounded and practical in its approach to doing readings, anyone have experience with his books? It's supposedly used in Tarot training courses all over the world: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tarot-Revealed-Beginners-Guide/dp/1741752590/ref=lh_di_t_dup?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AA5JYOVJZ74PX My 2 cents, Peace

The more i learn about this stuff the more i see how important GROUNDING is....it seems if you're highly psychic or simply undisciplined with your practice you can easily go of into the deep end with this stuff. My 2 cents, Peace

Lol, don't think i could've been farther of the mark their. My 2 cents, Peace

Was recently listening to a podcast and a couple of experienced practitioners were talking about how many people whom practice magic for a time often go on ego trips and develop messiah complexes and usually that nothing short of death ever breaks that complex....ie.....brings them back to sanity. However, for the people whom really get there ass handed to them early on in there career that level of ego inflation never really happens because they know there not all that and a box of cheese and there are a lot bigger fish in the pond than themselves. I guess these things like getting our ego completely flattened early on can have duel purposes. Interesting stuff. My 2 cents, Peace

Hmmm.....added a new word to my vocabulary never understood what psychopomp was....is that a term that originated from Chaos Magic? My 2 cents, Peace

Welcome to TTB, may you enjoy your stay and share a little light while your hear. My 2 cents, Peace

Don't really have any kind of astral altar space, but naturally when I practice trance I do have a kind of home base that I always go to and chill at before I journey off into the woods. Perhaps I'll create an altar there.....currently physical space is at a shortage for me. My 2 cents, Peace

A highly complimentary article on a similar topic from the same author. Really digging his work. http://www.inominandum.com/blog/i-am-the-emily-post-of-the-occul/ My 2 cents, Peace

For many people it may seem strange to see a bunch of threads focused on Christianity in the Occult section (as has been the case of late) given the CHRISTIANITY we often are most aware of is quite hard-lined. So I thought I'd share a couple enjoyable blogs that I've read lately on the topic of Christianity, Sorcery and Magic, they were quite illuminating for myself and hopefully may be enjoyable for a couple bums as well. http://www.inominandum.com/blog/onward-christian-sorcerers/ http://headforred.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-be-christian-and-magician.html#gpluscomments My 2 cents, Peace

Thanks for the additional response Michael, very much appreciated. My 2 cents, Peace