Engaging in magick pushes the magickal practitioner to have ever
evolving beliefs that are outside of the box. These beliefs include how
we think, what we believe in, and the very essence of the nature of
language, words, and the structure of thought. Thoughts, words, and
symbol sets allow us to understand and define things, but can also act
as mental chains and prisons that limit our belief structures and our
ability to have new ideas and even our ability to empower our magick
through willful intent. Becoming aware of the different ways in which we
cut ourselves off from the ability to believe in and have an
understanding of the metaphysical nature of the universe is a critical
step in encouraging fulfilling engagement with the Mysteries, the Gods,
and successful spell-craft.
In the popular, often quoted, science fiction movie blockbuster, The Matrix,
the main character Neo goes through a labyrinth of experiences that
makes him question the nature of reality. Toward the end of the first
movie, a child prodigy that can bend spoons with his mind looks to Neo,
and says, “The trick is, there is no spoon. You bend your mind to the
reality around the spoon, not the spoon itself.”
What allows Neo
to make advances that no one ever has, thus making him The One, is that
he is able to fully grasp that in this holographic world that people
are plugged into, none of the rules are real and can be bent to one’s
will. Most of the characters in the Matrix, even when they find out that
what they thought of reality was a computer-generated fantasy, are
unable to convince their minds that all of the rules of physics can be
bent. The characters all put pre-set limitations on consciousness on
themselves.
We all put pre-set limitations on our minds in terms
of what is possible. These chains of the mind are the main limiting
factor in what we allow to be possible in our spell-craft, psychic
skills, and mystical belief. Many of these pre-sets are unconscious.
These limitations are based on definitions of reality and morality that
were imposed upon us during our formative years. Those limitations of
upbringing may have been imposed by our parents, education (including
current scientific, psychological, religious, theological, and
philosophical theories) , peer pressure, and societal expectations.
Hard
sciences such as physics, biology, and mathematics, as well as soft
sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology help us to make
determinations about how the world works and how we fit into that
world. In fact, the word to define can be iterated in several ways, such
as: to determine or fix the boundaries or extent of, to make clear the
outline or form of, and to identify the essential qualities of. Words
and language, as well as science, use forms of categorization to create
containers of thought to understand the essence of ideas and how things
work. A container (whether through definitions or even a glass holding
water) contains, creates boundaries, and also limits movement into other
shapes. This means that in order to learn a system of categorization or
any field of study, you must limit the rules in which you are able to
think about something. This can be helpful as long as we also allow
ourselves to be cognizant that we are also limiting the possibilities.
An
important aspect of the work of a witch is to be consciously aware of
the choices we make, including what we choose to believe in. Galileo
posited that the world was round based on his studies. This idea was so
outside of what society, driven by the church, had said was truth, which
he was considered a heretic and was incarcerated. Yet, we are taught
that the world is round currently in grade schools, where in every
classroom there is a globe. If someone were to walk into a classroom,
throw the globe out the window, and demand that we believe the world was
flat, we would either stare incredulously, or just laugh. Yet, hundreds
of years ago, “societal truth” was just the opposite. We see this
battle of wills going on right now with the evolution vs. creation
theory struggle. Both sides of this coin cannot even fathom that the
other side is “right” or is speaking truth based on what they hold as
core beliefs.
We easily get hung up on words. Those coming from
very religious backgrounds can find that, even while exploring
alternative religious options, they may hold onto the core beliefs of
what is real and what is false based on what was taught to them as
children. For example many find that they still have firmer literal
belief in theological constructs such as the Christian Trinity than they
do when engaging the stories commonly put into the category of
mythology. A way to unlearn a biased belief is to also categorize the
Judeo-Christian stories as mythology as well. Mythology then becomes a
set of religious, archetypal allegories, rather than equating the word
myth to mean tall tale or fiction. In this way, you start to work with
both the underlying archetypal and psychological themes of all myths
equally. This will help foster the development of relationships with the
spiritual entities, i.e. the Gods, which are the characters described
in these stories. Myths can act as keys to accessing spiritual entities,
but without the possibility of considering these entities as real, you
shut the door to direct mystical experience.
The same goes for so
called mythological beings. Many have memories of seeing ghosts and
faeries as a child, and yet, through the process of growing into
adulthood, shut down psychic sight in order to let go of childish things
and grow up. This process shoves the existence of etheric creatures
into the realm of imagination, thus closing off the door to the
possibility of them being real. When we shut down what is possible, our
brains do a great job of closing off our perceptions to be able to
process information from such things that we consider impossible. A good
example of this would be several of the Native American tribes could
not see the ships of the conquistadors anchored off shore and in fact,
saw only the row boats that ferried the men to shore. It was as if the
rowboats appeared out of the misty horizon, literally out of nowhere.
They had to be shown several times where to look and keep concentrating
in order to see the larger ships in the distance because it was outside
of what they their normal scope (read container) of reality.
We
are much like these tribes, in that we have shut the latches on the
portholes of reality and the portholes of our third eyes that we have to
experience the Mysteries repeatedly over time in order to retrain our
minds to bend to the point that we can then start to engender new ways
of thinking. A definition of a greater Mystery is that which cannot be
put into words and can only be understood through experience. We
tenaciously cling to the familiar and only change what we believe when
there is enough stress on the old system that it no longer can function
in the past paradigm without causing us too much dissonance to cope.
Furthermore,
metaphysics will never fit within the container of the bounds of
scientific research. The scientific method uses a very narrow set of
rules in order to observe phenomenon. Because science requires
quantifiable variables, it will never be able to explain the nature of
that which is beyond physics—the very definition of meta-physics.
(Aristotle first coined the term metaphysics as the title to a book that
he wrote as the sequel to the book titled Physics) . If we use the same
sets of rules that we use in the scientific dissection in the study of
the Mysteries and metaphysics, the adage, “if it isn’t dead when you
start dissecting it, it will be by the time you are finished, ” will
apply. Metaphorically, if we use enough of the analytical scalpel to
narrowly categorize a mystical experience in our attempt to define it,
we will cut the threads of connection to the spirit behind any mystical
experience.
This is the case specifically because our minds are
mostly disallowing us to engage in experiences that we had previously
believed to be false or imaginary. It is indeed difficult to think
outside the box! In anthropology, it is considered a sad fate when a
scientist “goes native” or starts to believe in magick and the
mythologies of the culture he or she is studying. It makes the
anthropologist no longer a logical, observer, but a subjective
participant in the culture. When this happens, the anthropologist is
tapped into the group mind of the subject culture enough that he or she
starts to get internal validation of the efficacy of the experiences of
that culture.
Belief is therefore, in some ways, a matter of
faith. Faith means the willingness to allow for the possibility of
beliefs that are not based in provable science. This idea does not
equate to blind faith however. In the craft you are not told to believe
in something that you think is false and take it based solely on a book
or someone else’s word. Faith in this case is the wiliness to open your
mind to the possibility that reality is more and different than the box
in which you have previously held your beliefs. When you start to allow
your mind to let down the defining bars of the prison of what you hold
real, possible, or even allowed, you start to experience more of the
mystical, that which can only be proved by personal experience rather
than through scientific method.
Our society wants us to stay
within very narrowly defined limits of what is possible, what is moral,
and what is proper. Any time that you have an immediate gut reaction to
something, anthropology teaches that chances are you are having a
societal driven conditioned response. Such responses can be signposts to
open your awareness. Ask yourself, “Why am I having this response? Do
all people in the world feel this way? When did I first feel this way?”
Anthropology
has shown over and over again that, for the most part, gut responses do
not carry through to all cultures. TV and mass media of all sorts,
political parties, religions, and ethnic groupings all proscribe ways
for proper living. We hear constant messages about how to follow the
American dream, how to be good citizens, and most importantly how to be
good consumers, to keep the engine of the societal system running
smoothly. Not only are people in power motivated to stay in power, but
also societies are built in order to uphold the status quo and
discourage its members, to use the previously mentioned allegory, from
metaphorically waking up from the Matrix and see the underlying
(metaphysical) nature of the system itself.
Finally, we
psychologically set limits on what we think we deserve and what outcomes
that we are comfortable with and deserve. These limits are called the
‘set point’ in medicine. The set point is our comfort zone, and can
refer to body temperature, level of physical activity, hours of regular
sleep, emotional state, stress level, or even our social standing. As a
magickal practitioner, you can choose to push past your comfort zone,
your boundaries, in order to stretch and bend the limits of your
previously experienced reality. If in a spell you are asking for a new
car because your old clunker just bit the dust, do you expect a brand
new BMW to fall out of the sky with your name on the registration, or do
you think that you only deserve another clunker that has a running
engine?
Another example of a self-imposed limitation would be coming into the Craft after being inspired from watching the TV show Charmed
and feeling that your magick will only work right if it is not for
personal gain at all. With this limitation, you set the expectation for
the outcome of the spell to be that if you did conjure yourself a brand
new car, something horrible will have to happen because of the personal
gain involved. In this case, you have actually programmed into the spell
an expectation that if you experience a personal gain, you will also
pay dire consequences. Aleister Crowley’s definition of magick is “to
cause change in accordance to one’s Will”. If you set up magickal
workings with specific limiting factors as to the outcome, the change
you affect will indeed fit within your limitation.
So how does one go about changing preconceived notions about reality and the limits of belief?
1. Analyze What You Believe In
At
the ancient Temple of Apollo at Delphi, were inscribed the words, “Know
Thyself”. Knowing oneself does not just involve being able to describe
character traits and likes and dislikes, but also taking an inventory of
what makes you tick. Where do your beliefs come from? One of your
parents, a bad experience in school, or your previous religion’s
proscription for guilt? Unpacking what you are mentally made of may also
involve therapy and some in-depth shadow work so that you get to know
not just your reactions to your external environment, but also your
subconscious motivators as well.
2. Educate Yourself
Read,
study, compare, synthesize, and read some more. Become an amateur
anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, and historian. While the big
three religions have sometimes been called the religions of the book,
Paganism can be referred to as ‘the religions of the library’. Figuring
out the underlying nature of humanity is a big task that draws from
interdisciplinary study. Rather than using a specific scientific
discipline to dissect a particular teaching, compare the approach of
different disciplines to build mental bridges. These bridges can fill in
gaps of perspective and give you a broader, more detailed sense of the
big picture. When you start to see correlations between disciplines you
can apply these underlying principles to metaphysical, psychic, and
mystical experiences as well and gain a greater understanding of the
nature of the universe.
3. Give yourself opportunities for new experiences
Engage
new experiences without commitment to thinking you already know the
outcome. Plan new adventures and new experiences of what the world has
to offer to you. Thoroughly experience a forest walk, trying to note as
many subtleties as possible. How can you relate things to previous
thoughts, memories and what you have read? Go to a lecture on a new
topic. Try foods that have flavors that are foreign to you. Pay
attention to nuances. Compare how you feel in the experience both
didactically, emotionally, as well as mentally.
4. Push your Magickal Limits
In
magick, push past what you think has been possible for you in the past.
Move your set point slowly and reinforce your goals with affirmations.
Affirmations will guide your intent and help you feel more deserving of
your goal. Affirmations also help you consciously push against the
constant pressure of societal indoctrination that can work against both
magickal and spiritual development. Little by little, make bigger goals
in your spell-craft and ritual intent. Taking baby steps outside of your
comfort zone will help you to find a new equilibrium within an expanded
scope of belief.
It is through the development of conscious
awareness that we can start to slough off the bonds of mental
limitations on belief. The more we move out of our self-imposed mental
prisons, the more aware we become, thus widening our belief structure
and the nature of reality of the physical, metaphysical, and mystical
Universe.
When one walks away from mental prisons, one can seek
to become adept in the realm of air, through knowledge of the self,
constant education and the pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, one develops
a receptive attitude that allows for evolving perspectives. Education
can include interdisciplinary study, exposure to and conscious
engagement in new experiences, and the growing of one’s magickal
practice. In these ways one can seek to be consciously aware of the
fullness of reality, and to be fully awake, choosing our thoughts, our
beliefs, and our limitations.
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usnj&c=words&id=15275
