Come into the light, child!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!! (super excited)

I've been downloading goodies from you guys for a quite a while now (thank you so much for you diligent kindness)

I'm very excited to get to participate in this forum with you guys.

The occult/metaphysics and the such has been lurking in my life for about 3 or 4 years now and wont go away.

I have ALOT of books and information but no practical experience. I would really REALLY like to start experiencing my own magic but i seem to have some sort of blockage. I "feel" stupid and have a cemented in belief that these things wont work and I'd like to get over that so i can start experiencing. I am very practical oriented and would like to start there if anyone has any suggestions.

Thank you for reading my introduction and i hope to be making some new friends soon!!!

--Thought

Most practices have a good reason why they should work, for me too, i want to understand why something should work and how before i attempt it. Though this can be a threshold sometimes, its definitely not a brick wall! dig into the stuff until you find a reason why it works, and then try it. If it doesnt, what have you lost?

Hi Thoughtquery, welcome!

Hi and welcome!

If you're having a hard time getting over your skepticism, take the psychological approach, maybe? For example, you probably believe in the phenomenon of hypnosis. You may then sift through practices viewing them as peculiar ways to hypnotize yourself. Some practices may bear this approach better than others. Pranayama and Asanas may also be easy enough to do while under the spell of a skeptical mindset. Also practices like those described in Crowley's Liber III vel Jugorum.

If the problem really is just that you feel silly, you might have to just get started and do something. Doesn't matter what. Think of it like getting into a cold pool. If you dip your toe in, the chances of thinking, "Man, that's too cold!" and not swimming are greater. It would be better (and easier!) to just jump.

Hope that's useful!

I completely agree!

I've been doing ceremonial magic for a few months now, and when I started I felt pretty awkward. My subconscious still isn't convinced, but I'm working on it. I'm thinking about pursuing self-hypnotism to help it along and get my subconscious on board.

I humbly offer this observation: Is it possible, the single greatest aspect preventing anyone from achieving their own infinite potential is the person themselves? Is it also possible, every single thing written on the subject of occult practices/instruction are simply means by which you are presented an opportunity to get out of your own way through distraction... tricking you into applying your creative power in a focused manner with clear and profound intent without doing it the HARD way?

It is often easier to have people simply do a thing without knowing the complete reason why they are doing it... much like the Church instructing the congregation to eat fish on Friday. It is easier to just tell them it is the will of God that they do so, then it is to explain to them the complexity of nutrition and the essential elements missing in their typical diet without the fish... and the subsequent illnesses that may befall them without it.

In my world, the belief of the person is what makes or breaks the success... that is why so much is put into the SELLING of it... also why marketing professionals like exploiting group energy dynamics and the hype of testimonials... it fosters belief and expectation... science calls it the placebo effect, but despite it being powerful they discredit the fundamental core strength of this reality. Placebo effect or not... if you believe a thing to be true to the depths of your being... IT IS and WILL manifest in your experience. People benefit from the depth of their belief until the skeptics cast doubt or question the validity... invest energy in the opposite of a thing... invest energy in the disbelief of a thing and your energy creates the opposite of the thing; and, as such, removes it from your experience.

Humbly submitted for your consideration... my hope is that you find this perspective useful.

Each of us has an affinity... there is a doorway and a path of minimal effort into expressing our infinite potential for each of us. The existence of so many practices stem from this fact. There is no one best, most powerful method or expression that is universally effective for all of us. There are only means and methods that resonate with you... in most cases falling through is effortless... control/mastery takes discipline and skill.

With a little self awareness and observation your key will present itself to you... from there everything is up to you... you have total power and control over what you put in; and what you get out... but be aware that you are a creator in a world that may instantly manifest what ever enters your head.

There is a story about an order of monks who for generations would meditate on nirvana on top of a mountain... each day the monks would reach the threshold of nirvana only to be accosted by demons... this epic battle fought on the transcendental plane went on for centuries until one monk, instead of seeing demons come to do battle... chose to see angels come to escort them into nirvana... and that is what the demons became; and that is what happened... the monks were escorted into nirvana... and they could have been there right from the start. The battle need never have been fought... but their childish fear created the reality of demons; so demons is what they got together with a lifelong fight. They encountered pure creative energy and they manifest their own very real and very dangerous enemy.

Leary,

Thank you. Your input is lucid, thoughtful and illuminating...not to mention encouraging.