From theory to practice
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\Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law//
Over several years, more intently the past year, I have given much to the intellectual understandings of the Qabalistic philosophies. The mere breadth of it treasures entices one to read book after book without graduating to the deeds of practice. In part, I want to be sure I know what I am doing a ritual and why I am doing it.
I have learned the Hebrew alphabet and many of their meanings. I have studied the tree of life upwards and downwards and meditate every day on their meanings. I have read Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah, Regardi's Middle Pilar (and am reading The Tree of Life), Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism (which had a rather negative attitude toward applying magick to the Qabalah), I have read much of Crowley's stuff too, where the Qabbalah can sometimes take a back seat to Thelemic princibles.
In practice, I have been doing the LBRP and QC for many years. Doing so has certainly raised my energy, but it often causes typical anxiety associated with an profound change within the body.
What I have not been able to find is a good step by step guide such as: master this, then move on to this... The Middle Pillar exercise seems to be touted by Regardi as a step up from the LBRP in terms of rising up on the planes. Are there any such resources that show a typical curriculum and the objectives of each of the rituals involved? Are these still hidden under oath in the various orders? Thank you.
P.S. I also want to send out a general word of thanks to the effort that so many member are willing to help others on their spiritual paths on this board. Thelema and Agape hover over almost every statement.
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Although I don't own it myself, I've heard many good things about JAE's "The Mystical and Magickal System of the A.'.A.'." but also I could point out in Liber ABA the curriculum of the A.'.A.'. exists pretty much in full, with the work of each grade being pretty much described and describing in part the results. Another good sign is when you go "oh, well now. That's a new way to see it."
Oh yeah, and the meditations of Liber LXV that members of this board have been engaging in can give you fascinating clues. Overall though, I think to say that answering your question "Is there a simple a,b,c outline somewhere that answers all my questions?" No, I don't really think so. Not exactly.
But that's just my experience so far. Maybe someone, like Jim, can offer a better answer.
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Just a suggestion if you haven't heard of it (but you probably have) is Regardie's "One Year Manual". He explains it as a good preperation to work in the A.'.A.'. or a Golden Dawn type of system. It harps on the basics and may seem simple, but the basics are vital. If you do some searches on the board I believe there are some threads that discuss it.
Here is the table of contents:
Preface, ix
The Four Adorations, 1
Body Awareness, 5
Relaxation, 9
Rhythmic Breathing, 15
Mind Awareness, 21
Concentration, Use of the Mantram, 25
Developing the Will, 29
The Rose Cross Ritual, 33
The Middle Pillar Ritual, 39
Symbol of Devotion, 47
Practice of the Presence of God, 51
U n i t y - A l l is God, 57
Invoke Often! Inflame Thyself with Prayer, 63
Epilogue, 69
Recommended Reading, 71
Bibliography, 73Also, going through the "In the Continuum" publications from beginnning to end would be helpfull. It was the College of Thelema's publication and an outer expression of what they felt student's could benefit from. As well as the continuation of that idea in the "Black Pearl" publications.
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I was gonna suggest the One Year Manual myself. I haven't undertaken it, but it just looks like it could make quite a dent if taken seriously.
In general, I think that the whole step-by-step thing is one of the strong points of working with an Order.
93, 93/93.
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As Takamba has suggested Jim's "The Mystical and Magical System of the A.'.A.'." is a good one. I own this book and can tell you that it provides a great background on the Great Work, takes you step-by-step through the grades, and contains a syllabus of texts you need to read to advance through them.
@mojorisin44 thank you for suggesting the One Year Manual.
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The One Year Manual looks very interesting. I read the intro, epilogue, and perused the chapters. It looks like a really solid course. The book is well written and very practical. Has anyone here completed this course?
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I am working through The One Year Manual currently. I just received the digital audio recorder that I ordered and I am going to begin the Mind Awareness (free association) section tonight. So far I have had excellent results with the program, and even made an oath to myself that I would complete it before approaching any order for initation. Although, my personal experience so far has confirmed Regardie's assertion that a month is the minimum time to spend on each section and that it will take most students more than a year to finish the program.
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@The Old Guitaris said
"I am working through The One Year Manual currently."
Keep us posted and let us know how it's going. I am interested to hear the results and any commentary/advice you have to share.
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So I have been doing the Mind Awareness practice for a few days now, but last night was the first time I tried to go to sleep directly after "letting the reigns go" consequently I spent the next hour tossing and turning in bed with racing thoughts. Try as I might I could not reign in the thoughts so I decided to do a LBR and I fell asleep just minutes afterwards. I had work early the next morning, and I overslept. Lesson learned
so now I pass it on: if you intend to sleep after this practice you probably want to banish when you finish it. -
How's it going Old Guitarist?
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I have been having trouble motivating myself to do this practice for half an hour twice a day, which up until recenetly was the minimum amount of time I would let myself get away with. So I devised to begin giving my audio recorder special treatment and making a vow to it at the begining of each session that it will be my head shrink --- a mental mirror of sorts. This helps a lot and I find the 30 minutes much easier to bear.
Recently I have noticed a slowly trickling down of the thoughts that arise while I am watching my mind. So last night I devised a little experiment where I partook of hashish and then sat down to watch my mind. Consequently, the stream of thoughts didn't stop for more than about 1-2 seconds at a time, and even then my recollection is that the thoughts were so rapid that I could not articulate any one of them in time to perceive the next. The breaks in my verbal notes on this morning's practice were much longer than usual, spanning approximately 6-9 seconds where as it was perviously 3-6. I am not pointing out causation persay, only a correlation. Perhaps if one can speed up the flow of thoughts at certain times through external means, then when those means are not being utilized the thoughts will be more sparse, having been previously spent. Further experimentation is necasary but these are intersting results.