the Body of Light and Magick
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So it seems it is clear that some form of meditation is necessary to be able to be successful in magick, now let's look at something else, that which is known as the Body of Light. I have from time to time exercised the Body of Light and came out of it with a split like consciousness, as if a part of me was aware of 'somewhere else' when not in ritual.
I am well aware Crowley performed the Bornless Ritual in his body of light but I'm wondering if there is more to the Body of Light then just having visualization tool to do ritual in a less hospitable environment.
Does a developed Body of Light have any effect or impact on our Magick and Bornless Rituals done in the physical plane?
Is it necessary to create or maintain the Body of Light in order to be successful at contacting one's HGA?
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@Mahanta70 said
"So it seems it is clear that some form of meditation is necessary to be able to be successful in magick, now let's look at something else, that which is known as the Body of Light."
This isn't really "something else." I'm not saying they're the same; I'm saying that the most common failure in Body of Light work is that people aren't experienced in meditation, because the best preliminaries for Body of Light work are exactly the same as those for meditation. Also, consciously occupying and experiencing through the Body of Light is a continuous meditation - the two are so close that I simply can't talk about one without wandering into the territory of the other.
"I have from time to time exercised the Body of Light and came out of it with a split like consciousness, as if a part of me was aware of 'somewhere else' when not in ritual."
In that case, you don't have the technique right. Upon returning, you need to very carefully reintegrate the Body of Light with your physical body. Inch by inch, reverse the exact steps you did at the beginning until there is a sense of full integration. Then, with eyes still closed, move and stretch each muscle, feeling yourself fitting back into your physical body as if you were fitting into a new sweater that needed a bit of a stretch. When you feel integrated, stand up and, if you feel steady, assume the physical posture of Harpocrates, finger raised to lip. Raise your left foot a few inches and stomp it down hard, fully opening your eyes at the same moment as the stomp.
Separation and absorption should be entirely conscious, conscientious processes.
"I am well aware Crowley performed the Bornless Ritual in his body of light but I'm wondering if there is more to the Body of Light then just having visualization tool to do ritual in a less hospitable environment."
Oh, yeah! Entirely. That's the least of it.
"Does a developed Body of Light have any effect or impact on our Magick and Bornless Rituals done in the physical plane?"
I'm only addressing the Body of Light part of the question. You're lumping these two together as if they're the same thing, and I'm ignoring that so that I can answer the BoL questions.
It has an effect on your psyche, and any solid consequence in your psyche will affect your body. Also, in the event of only partial success (or poor separation), one usually ends up only with etheric separation, and experiences at the etheric level have a direct impact on the physical body.
"Is it necessary to create or maintain the Body of Light in order to be successful at contacting one's HGA?"
In most cases, there is an ethic against one person presuming to know what another requires for the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. (I note, though, that you spoke of "contacting" the HGA, not the K&C.) - I'll just remark that Crowley stated that success in the Body of Light was essential to the K&C of the HGA.
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@Mahanta70 said
""I have from time to time exercised the Body of Light and came out of it with a split like consciousness, as if a part of me was aware of 'somewhere else' when not in ritual."
In that case, you don't have the technique right. Upon returning, you need to very carefully reintegrate the Body of Light with your physical body. Inch by inch, reverse the exact steps you did at the beginning until there is a sense of full integration. Then, with eyes still closed, move and stretch each muscle, feeling yourself fitting back into your physical body as if you were fitting into a new sweater that needed a bit of a stretch. When you feel integrated, stand up and, if you feel steady, assume the physical posture of Harpocrates, finger raised to lip. Raise your left foot a few inches and stomp it down hard, fully opening your eyes at the same moment as the stomp.
Separation and absorption should be entirely conscious, conscientious processes.
"I am well aware Crowley performed the Bornless Ritual in his body of light but I'm wondering if there is more to the Body of Light then just having visualization tool to do ritual in a less hospitable environment."
Oh, yeah! Entirely. That's the least of it.
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"I was reading your Crowley quotes on the astral projection on pages 80-81 of the Mystical & Magical System and was particular inspired by the MWT quote.
The 'split consciousness' I mentioned is something I view in a positive light. After absorbing the BOL, I am left with an awareness of sorts of that there is more than the physical. It's as if the BOL <even when not being directly worked with at the moment> is still there with it's functioning astral senses although we might not be conscious of it at the moment. When I don't have an active BOL, I seem to be more 'stuck' in the physical from moment to moment.
I notice that when I am keeping the BOL 'active' and perform the Bornless Ritual, it is much more intense, as if the BOL is being used in the operation even though I am not consciously shifting my consciousness to it.
That's just something I noticed.
-Larry -
@Mahanta70 said
"I was reading your Crowley quotes on the astral projection on pages 80-81 of the Mystical & Magical System and was particular inspired by the MWT quote."
That quote (from Letter G) was: "Astral travel – development of the Astral Body is essential to research; and, above all, to the attainment of 'the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.'"
"The 'split consciousness' I mentioned is something I view in a positive light."
I don't, though - so I'm speaking up. It's one of the very obvious clues teachers learn to detect that something is wrong. Psychic phenomena and related altered states need to be cleanly turned on and off at will - there needs to be crisp demarcation from normal daily consciousness.
Of course, there comes a time - usually years down the line - when one can dip in and out in a more relaxed way. But that's for someone who has become entirely at home with the subject. For beginners (and that term applies past the first few days! <g>), one of the two or three most important principles of psychic hygiene is the well-defined demarcation between normal and magical / clairvoyant / psychic states.
"After absorbing the BOL, I am left with an awareness of sorts of that there is more than the physical."
That's a good gain.
"It's as if the BOL <even when not being directly worked with at the moment> is still there with it's functioning astral senses although we might not be conscious of it at the moment."
Your psychic senses are still operative, yes; but it's the leakage into your normal state of consciousness that is worrisome. (Again, I am speaking at the beginning - especially in the first six to twelve months of good work).
Another point that might require some clarification or distinction: The term "body of light," applied to these techniques, does not refer to something naturally present within you. It is an artificial structure intentionally created for a specific "journey." Your mind forms it from Yetziratic substance at the beginning, and it is important that you dissolve it at the end. Don't leave it in existence - that can cause an undesirable psychological split. Construct it, use it, and then dissolve it.
"When I don't have an active BOL, I seem to be more 'stuck' in the physical from moment to moment."
That's entirely appropriate at this stage.
"I notice that when I am keeping the BOL 'active' and perform the Bornless Ritual, it is much more intense, as if the BOL is being used in the operation even though I am not consciously shifting my consciousness to it. That's just something I noticed."
It's a good observation, and I'm sure it's basically correct. However, it isn't a desirable result at this stage of your growth. (There's a sound reason that Liber Samekh is not assigned in the A.'.A.'. curriculum until four grades later than the point where one has demonstrated mastery of the Body of Light in more general terms.)
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Just an observation... If the Bornless One is in Tiphareth and we are in Malkuth, it is blatantly obvious that Yesod is the link between the two. So that would imply that the Body of Light is the essential key to connecting with the Bornless One successfully. By building the Body of Light in Yesod we can get to the Bornless One in Tiphareth.
In fact, this would mean that the only way to approach the Bornless One and make effective the ritual is by first having constructed the Body of Light, otherwise there would be no link between Malkuth - Yesod- Tiphareth.
The BOL is thus like a container or temple we create in Yesod so that the Bornless One is able to be enter...
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@Mahanta70 said
"Just an observation... If the Bornless One is in Tiphareth and we are in Malkuth,
Just an observation... as performed by Aleister Crowley (and later revised by him as Liber Samekh), the ritual is specifically directed at those who are in Tiphereth.This doesn't mean someone else can't perform it. But it is worth noting that it is issued explicitly to the Adeptus Minor of A.'.A.'..
"it is blatantly obvious that Yesod is the link between the two."
"There is a very worthwhile principle based on exactly this. Have you studied Crowley's Scholion to Liber Samekh?