Brussels and all that

I woke up this morning and did the usual thing: I opened up my tablet and looked at the Huffpost to see what happened in the world while I was asleep, or otherwise ignoring it. You know what I found.

Some of us are better at controlling our baser instincts in response to events than others. As for myself, my first reaction is anger, and the corresponding tendency to say things that I’ll be ashamed of later. The thing is–and it sounds like a joke or a cliche, because it is–that if you do that, the terrorists win. Terrorists do what they do because they want a reaction.  And if you react in a crude or stupid way, you’ve given them what they want.

By all means, be angry. If you have it in your power to do something about it–giving money, or blood, or information–do that too. If you can only express your solidarity with the latest social media meme, I’m not going to laugh at you. I’ve had my Facebook profile picture wearing the Tricolor for the past few months, and I plan on keeping it for the foreseeable future. But don’t say or do stupid shit.

The value of any spiritual path is shown in your ability to display wisdom in how you react to the whirring and buzzing things out there. Do you fly off the handle like a sitcom stereotype, or do you think before you act or speak (or post)? You’re in control. Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law, my friends!

 

Can you ever really help someone?

Over the past few months I’ve been listening to Stefan Molyneaux’s podcast. Other than disagreeing him on almost everything, I’ve found his commentary challenging and enlightening. I’ve especially found his personal advice to his listeners helpful, with a few notable exceptions.

Anyway… On a recent podcast he was discussing the duty many feel to “help the poor.” And then he brought up a personal anecdote. He knew a guy who claimed that he wanted to meet more women, and lamented his lack of success in that department. Stefan took a long look at him, and noted that his lifestyle, personal appearance, mannerisms, in short everything about him made this difficult or impossible. So Stefan took him out to get a cool haircut and clothes from the current decade. He took him to the gym, and introduced him to his successful and gregarious friends. It seemed to take hold for a while. But then Stefan lost touch with him for about a year or so. When he saw him again, everything had gone back to year zero. He was cutting his own hair with the help of a mixing bowl, he had given up the gym for McDonald’s dollar meal, and his only female companionship was his mother and their Wednesday night Murder She Wrote marathons. The point: did he help? Was it worth it?

Stefan seems to think the answer is no, and at first glance I tend to agree. Maybe in a way he helped his friend to clarify what he actually wanted, and maybe he didn’t actually want what society thought he should want. Maybe he found what most of us would see as a sad and pathetic life to be rewarding in some way, or maybe trying to be someone he really was not wasn’t rewarding enough to justify the labor. But was the result what the do gooder intended? No.

Of course this is anecdotal, but I immediately thought back to people I had tried to help or advise. Usually if any change takes place, one has to cajole and babysit the subject of one’s help. For example, I had a friend who was a hoarder. I basically forced him to throw out his piles of decade-old newspapers. It worked for a while, but then I found out that he was collecting again. Another all-night recycling session. Then, several years ago he moved to the opposite coast. I visited him last summer. When he first got there, he had bought a house with his considerable inheritance and decorated it just the way he wanted it. Five years later, he was very evasive about showing me his beautiful house. Finally, I discovered that he had filled his house with newspapers, old junk mail, and random stuff he had acquired at yard sales, and was sleeping and living in a storage pod in his backyard. Did I help? No, I was just a source of shame and anxiety for him in the end…

So can we help? Should we? How?

 

 

 

 

Can you be a Magickal Agnostic (or atheist)?

I posted this on the Wiccan subreddit in response to the question of whether one can be a WIccan agnostic. I am not a Wiccan of any sort, but I am an interested well wisher.

 

I am not a Wiccan, but I consider myself to be agnostic or even atheist with regard to God or gods. My working assumption is that these figures exist in a sense, but primarily as concepts formed by the human mind. As such, we are externalizing aspects of our own existence and psyche. In magic, we are using this as a tool for working our will on the world around us, as a way of focusing our mental powers.

But let’s say gods, spirits, or deities do exist as external beings or forces. What does that actually mean? First, they exist. They are part of the universe just like we are. They may be smarter and more powerful, but the same can be said of any theoretically existing advanced extraterrestrials out there. We may show them respect or deference, but worship? No. Do you worship Stephen Hawking? Or Obama? These entities–if they exist–are part of the material universe like us, and are no more “spiritual” or morally advanced than we are. Theoretically, we could become like them if we took the time and effort.

Primaries elections, etc.

Why do we have this system of primaries? Specifically, why is the process spread out over such a long period of time? The result is that vast numbers of people are shut out from making their preferred choice by the arbitrary fact that they happen to live in a state that has a late primary. Is this another one of those little things built into our system to ensure that we don’t get too much democracy, like the Electoral College? I want to vote for Bernie, but by the time I have a chance, it will all have been decided.

Meditation and hypnagogic experiences

According to a quick and dirty Google search, hypnagogia is a common phenomenon of meditation, and is to be avoided as a distraction from the main purpose, which is Mindfulness or Something. I can see it as a manifestation of what Buddhists call the Monkey Mind, but some of the experiences can be quite evocative and suggestive (in a non NC-17 sense).

I have a recurring experience that occurs so far in only one place. Originally, I would meditate in Savasana, because I found sitting meditation uncomfortable. In this situation I would open my eyes and see a female with long dark hair attempting to grab me around the waist and carry or drag me somewhere. It disappeared as soon as I began to mentally take it in. When I began to meditate in the straight-backed sitting position, I saw the same figure, except she would be throwing a blanket around my shoulders. She seemed amused for some reason. Again, it would fade out as soon as I began to analyze it, and these experiences have occurred multiple times in one particular space.

So… What is it? A spirit that haunts that area? A vision of a past life? My imagination?

 

 

Future of this blog

I just wanted to inform my so far nonexistent audience that I will be changing the focus of this blog. My progress in the study and practice of Chaos Magic is too slow moving to sustain a lively blog presence, so from now on I will make this a general purpose blog with the original theme as a running thread. I will try to post daily, or at least weekly. If there is actually anyone reading this, I would appreciate some word of mouth, or advice on how to get read and seen. We all say we do it for ourselves, and we do. Few of us expect to get famous or rich through blogging. But a little interaction with someone outside our own skulls is definitely something to be desired.

Chilling out, Magickin’ Relaxin’… Part 1

I’ve decided to use the first phase of Vitimus’ plan to reinvigorate my on again, off again meditation program. There are a couple of employees lounges at work where I can sit or lie down undisturbed.

Usually I either sit with my back straight against a wall, or lay flat in Savasana. I’ve experimented both with mantra and breath in the past. When I was in my teens and just learning about yoga and meditation, TM (Transcendental Meditation) ruled the scene. I never attended classes or joined the organization, but I found a mantra I liked, and tried to repeat it as I sat in the lotus position. While I never experienced the change in consciousness I felt I had been promised, it felt like I was doing something. And I had some vague sensations I took to be progress on the road to enlightenment. This period ended with a tib-fib fracture in a karate tournament. I was in a cast for four months, and lost my ability to sit in the lotus position. Thus ended my yoga and meditation practice. Apparently I needed the Orientalist “authenticity” of padmasana.

Learning to Relax

Chapter 2 of Hands-on Chaos Magic concerns ways to release stress and relax the mind. While this is valuable, and certainly necessary to engage reality as a magician, I feel like I have enough experience with this sort of thing due to years of practice of yoga, qi gong, and martial arts. This chapter doesn’t really seem to add much to what I am already aware of. For the sake of discipline I would like to follow the book as closely as I can, but I may just move on to the next chapter.

Brief Intro

This blog is for the purpose of documenting my attempts at Chaos Magic. I’ll be working my way through Hands-on Chaos Magic by Andrieh Vitimus. Several years ago I heard the author speaking on a podcast. I was impressed, and thought that this was something I might like to try. It’s taken me this long to actually purchase the book and get down to business.

If you are reading this and don’t know what Chaos Magic is, Google and Wikipedia are your friends.

Since just about everyone I know in real life would think I am insane or evil for exploring this just on the face of it, I will not be revealing much personal information that is not relevant to the topic at hand. I will write posts exploring my spiritual roots (or lack thereof) as I move along. My user name comes from the fact that I have abandoned idealist metaphysics and come back in through the back door… More on that later.