“Living The Dream”

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away”

- How To Build A Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later, Philip K. Dick

Part 2, Essays for the Discordian occultist: inducing a magickal state of consciousness

Magick is a highly subjective skill. According to the occultist, Ramsey Dukes, as a discipline it lies somewhere alongside ‘art’, ‘science’ and ‘religion’ [1]. All of these pursuits require a certain state of mind. The magick user who entirely excludes the possibility of magick from his worldview is like a cleric who knows no God, an artist with no appreciation for art or a scientist who refuses to accept the laws of mathematics. It’s not necessarily the case that you will be unsuccessful but it’s significantly less likely. So, for as long as is comfortable[2], it’s time to allow magick to be part of your reality.
This essay includes two exercises, the first will involve noticing magick and the second will involve using it. The first exercise is outlined below in three easy steps:

Step one: Resolve to notice the number 23.
The particular number is not relevant at this stage. Some observe the number 11 or 13 or 7 but as we’re Discordians the number 23 will tune us into the right state of mind for this series of thought exercises. People who are inexperienced in the ways of numerology are advised to watch Eric Cartmen’s explanation of the causes of 9/11 [Mystery of the Urinal Deuce (Season 10, Episode 9)]. A good numerologist can easily spot the 23’s in the numbers 203, 2003, or, at a push, 5.
Step two: Get your dream diary and record what 23 means to you each time you see it.
This diary will now be re-named a “spellbook”. Spells can take years to manifest and there’s no way of checking your effectiveness if you can’t remember which ones you have cast.
Step three: Learn not to freak out too much when the number 23 does actually seem to take on some sort of significance.
I suggest you apply maximum fluidity to the meanings you start to notice here. The number 23 doesn’t usually acquire one meaning and the more you pay attention the more you should realise it’s neither always lucky or unlucky. All we are noticing is it carries a certain significance.
Step four: Toward the end of the week (usually by the fifth day) you’ll be able to explore a world where other random details can also be viewed as significant.

In his occult masterpiece “The Secret History of The World” Jonathan Black nails a description of the sort of mindset we’re trying to invoke here:

“In this history the universe is anthropocentric, every single particle of it straining, directed towards humankind. […In] the mind-before-matter universe that this book describes, the connection between mind and matter is much more intimate. It is a living, dynamic connection. Everything in this universe is alive and conscious to some degree, responding sensitively and intelligently to our deepest, subtlest needs.”
[my italics]
The Secret History of The World, Jonathan Black. P33-34

While dreaming one’s thoughts manifest almost instantly and if you’re lucid at the time this process is easily observed. Now you have entered a more magickal state of mind we’re going to see how long it takes to replicate this process in waking life. This next exercise is similar to one suggested by Pope Bob in the first chapter of “Prometheus Rising”[3]. The only difference is we’re adjusting things slightly to account for inflation and we are not searching for any explanation other than a magickal one. Once again it is a three step process:

Step one: Resolve to evoke a nice shiny fifty cent piece.
Step two: Keep an eye out for the fruits of your evocation.
Step three: Learn not to freak out when you finally do find it. It will be found by you easily and the moment you’ve got it in your hand you will be ready for part three of this five part series where we will finally get cracking on some real high grade Discordian nonsense.
Step four: Wonder why it is that each of these three step plans has had a fourth step?

23

Footnotes:
[1]
His essay on this topic is excellent but far beyond the realms of this short practical guide for today’s busy Discordian occultist. The serious student will return to these essays once they’ve achieved incredible results with the techniques outlined in Chapters #3 and #4. These initiates will of course want to purchase a copy of all the books outlined in the further reading sections.
[2]
Occultism’s not for everyone. If you feel out of your depth at any point it’s important for the uninitiated wanderer to remember that Discordianism is of course a joke.
[3]
Pope Bob is to Discordianism what St Paul was to Christianity. His work “Prometheus Rising” was included in part one’s further reading section. International readers (anyone outside ‘the land of the free and home of the brave’) will have to work out what sort of coin suits their circumstances. The local currency tends to be more practical so something equivalent in the UK, for example, would be a 5p.
FURTHER READING:
The Secret History Of The World by Jonathan Black
SSOTBME Revised – an essay on magic by Ramsey Dukes
And of course the always essential Disinfo comments section…
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