The Single Step (LBRP Experiences)
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Uriel, I'm posting because you wrote me privately asking me if I had any input on this thread.
Digesting long, personal threads in the heat of the work day is... a way for me to miss your real point. Can you, perhaps, summarize in a couple of concise bullet points your primary questions?
Thanks.
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Thank you for the rapid reply...I certainly wouldn't expect that you interrupt your work to respond to me. In any event, my questions:
- For someone beginning daily practice of the LBRP and continuing for ~6 months, are the following experiences typical?
- emotions ...good and bad..have become much more intense.
- acting more assertive.
- minor "supernatural" phenomena starting to occur, such as objects disappearing, switching places, or breaking suddenly.
- vivid dreams.
- electrical devices misbehaving, as you have said can occur with the MPR.
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On a broader note, are there any specific ways to note that a particular occurance relates to magickal practice or is making this determination a matter of experience? For me, certain experiences have been unmistakably related to magick, while others...I am not so sure.
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Would the LBRP typically break bad mental habits or minor phobias? If not, are there other practices that might?
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The Angels can be difficult to consistently visualize clearly. Raphael is the easiest to visualize -- and sometimes comes through extremely clearly. Uriel is BY FAR the most elusive. Is this because their appearance is a bit more of a "two way street" (i.e., they appear when you call AND they wish), a matter of developing visualization skills, a reflection of my psychology, or could it be any of these things?
Thank you again.
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@Uriel said
"1. For someone beginning daily practice of the LBRP and continuing for ~6 months, are the following experiences typical?
- emotions ...good and bad..have become much more intense.
- acting more assertive.
- minor "supernatural" phenomena starting to occur, such as objects disappearing, switching places, or breaking suddenly.
- vivid dreams.
- electrical devices misbehaving, as you have said can occur with the MPR."
Yes. There is no definitive list, but these are representative of the type of thing that may happen. Basically, taking up the ritual "volatilizes the fixed" to a certain measure - greater or lesser according to the individual etc. - and there is often a lot of "subconsciousness content boil-off" that takes the form of everything from altered psychological states to poltergeist phenomena etc. - It settles down after your system stabilizes a bit to the new threshold.
"2. On a broader note, are there any specific ways to note that a particular occurance relates to magical practice or is making this determination a matter of experience? For me, certain experiences have been unmistakably related to magick, while others...I am not so sure.[/quiote]
Understanding that there isn't a hard line between "magick stuff" and "the rest of the world," I do think it a good idea to develop a more (rather than less) discriminating way of thinking when starting to move into this sort of work. The best rule of thumb is: If there is a conventional explanation, go with it; don't jump to the conclusioln that something less conventional is the cause. (If nothing else, this is good balance for the direction the psyche is probably leaning that is at the stage of first taking up ceremonial magick).This is especfially true with matters of health and other body symptoms. Besides the liability prevention technique of ending any such advice with, "and be sure to consult your physician," it's just good sense to consider medical or other physiological causes first for medical and other physical phenomena - even though magick and other spiritual practices can start stirring body phenomena. This is consistent with the "check the conventional first." It also honors the fact that even magick- or yoga-induced phenomena will often seek out or disclose weak parts of one's physiology.
"3. Would the LBRP typically break bad mental habits or minor phobias? If not, are there other practices that might? "
You can use it to do this - that is, to fortify other (intentional, metaphysical, or conventionally psychological) methods. Intention and dedication are important. But, by itself, the LBRP is going to stir up the basic energy level of the psyche, and thus amplify all existing patterns. Without decision, commitment, and dedication toward a particular goal, it can, therefore, do the opposite of what you ask.
"4. The Angels can be difficult to consistently visualize clearly. Raphael is the easiest to visualize -- and sometimes comes through extremely clearly. Uriel is BY FAR the most elusive. Is this because their appearance is a bit more of a "two way street" (i.e., they appear when you call AND they wish), a matter of developing visualization skills, a reflection of my psychology, or could it be any of these things?"
"Practice practice practice.
One particular practice that may help: Before you call the archangels, stop and face each direction. Build up the image very intentionally and with as much detail as possible. Do this in all four quarters. Then return and do the middle part that formally calls them. In this practice, you are building the Yetziratic forms that you are choosing to use to house their Briatic natures.
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"You can use it to do this - that is, to fortify other (intentional, metaphysical, or conventionally psychological) methods. Intention and dedication are important. But, by itself, the LBRP is going to stir up the basic energy level of the psyche, and thus amplify all existing patterns. Without decision, commitment, and dedication toward a particular goal, it can, therefore, do the opposite of what you ask. "
That must be why things got MUCH worse for me before they started getting better.
How would one best link one's LBRP practice to the decision, commitment, and intent to improve one's well-being, breaking bad patterns, and striving for authenticity?
Would this link be best realized as part of a ritual working? Suspecting so, what techniques would you recommend for a beginner? I have only tried sigils and, only very recently, MPR. I also practice Ashtanga yoga regularly.
I realize that I may have asked a series of questions that could be answered in volumes, so even a point in the right direction would be appreciated.
Thank you again.
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DWTWSBTWOTL
I first started practicing intoning AUM at work and now I don't do this any more unless I want all the machines to fuck up. In my mind, I believe, I associated AUM with being a centre of calm in a storm of activity. Even when there was no activity...
LBRP also did something like this for me. A lot of problems got worse before they got better. Not to mention I've been over doing it.Isn't poltergeist activity related to "Breaks"?
If the willed result of magick is the desireable outcome of the ritual...is there a main result of the baseline LBRP one should be aiming for? Or is it to raise the power of the "defects" of the psyche in order to witness them as breaks and make changes via yoga?
After LBRP I was practicing the Breath of Fire Agni Prasana and during a brief moment of annihilation things began to slide off the tables like knives and taped on hoses.93 93/93
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@Uriel said
"How would one best link one's LBRP practice to the decision, commitment, and intent to improve one's well-being, breaking bad patterns, and striving for authenticity? "
Oh, so many ways... but try this, for example: In a prepared space, with yourself prepared as well, and with your intention well-defined, perform the Lesser Banishing (or, if you're stable in that ritual and are ready for the higher frequency energy, use the Invoking) Pentagram ritual. Then sit in the middle of your circle and bring your desired consequence to mind. Make it visual where you can. Get very clear on it. Then enter a meditative state and simply relax into concentrating upon this result and "sinking into it" like a hot bath. With successive performances, gradually feel it take root in the cells of your body and everything feel comfortable about it. When through, rise and perform the Banishing to close.
Perform this at the same time in the same place for a fixed number of days (such as a week), or until you feel the result described.
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@PainMeridian said
"Isn't poltergeist activity related to "Breaks"?"
Not breaks per se; that is, not in the technical sense meant in dharana. But leaks, sure.
And leaks, of course, are entirely commonplace for beginners - and, in fact, for each new level of ascent from a plateau. They are to be entirely expected. If they aren't there, you should seriously question whether you're doing anything worthwhile.
Poltergeist phenomena, in particular, are usually the consequence of a large upsurge of energy through subconsciousness that doesn't have a rightful path of expression. That's why they're so common at puberty, and in the early stages of ceremonial magick training.
"is there a main result of the baseline LBRP one should be aiming for?"
There are many. One might say, in the big picture, that it is to identify with the very deep ideas encoded in the geometry of the pentagram itself. But I think the main practice should be to do it for its own sake, without a particular bias to the work. The nature of the ritual is quite capable of being communicated to subconscious without the Ruach having a clue what it's about - provided that the ritual is done attentively and well.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"And leaks, of course, are entirely commonplace for beginners - and, in fact, for each new level of ascent from a plateau. They are to be entirely expected. If they aren't there, you should seriously question whether you're doing anything worthwhile."
If you don't experience leaks or phenomena, but after serious questioning you decide that your aims, if not your methods, are worthwhile -- then what? Practice more often? Try a different ritual? Recite the Lord's Prayer backwards?
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In the sense that "lack of phenomena" is a phenomenon... just ignore and "go on forth."
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From Liber 49
"I retired about 11 PM, and was awakened at 12 PM by nine strong, rapid knocks. A table lamp at the opposite corner of the room was thrown violently to the floor and broken. There was no window in this corner, and no wind was blowing at the time.
(Note. I have had little experience with phenomena of this sort. Magically speaking, it usually represents "breaks" in the opera- tion, indicating imperfect technique. Actually, in any magical opeation there should be no phenomena but the willed result.)"
see this gives it as Jack was doing something wrong...but I did note the word "usually" However what is different here?
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First of all, this could be explained merely by "hitting a new level." There are normally leaks in hitting in new level.
But this is a bad example. Parsons' diary of the Babalon Working shows numerous technical errors, including some truly fatal ones. I've used it for decades as my favorite example of exactly how not to approach the Work. It's probably the base-documented collection of magical errors and failures in the history of Thelema.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"In the sense that "lack of phenomena" is a phenomenon... just ignore and "go on forth.""
You're fueling my vice of paranoid and uncritical thinking. "Look! I did the ritual and nothing whatsoever happened -- it must have a supernatural cause!" 
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Yeah, but you're then skipping the basic instruction: Just ignore and "go on forth."
Do the practices. Record them and such phenomena as accompany them. And go on.
It's the "caught up in the phenomena and what it must all MEAN" that trips people up. Stuff happens, and we record it; but it doesn't MEAN anything that it happens (or, for that matter, that it doesn't), except when we impose meaning upon it.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"In a prepared space, with yourself prepared as well, and with your intention well-defined, perform the Lesser Banishing (or, if you're stable in that ritual and are ready for the higher frequency energy, use the Invoking) Pentagram ritual. Then sit in the middle of your circle and bring your desired consequence to mind. Make it visual where you can. Get very clear on it. Then enter a meditative state and simply relax into concentrating upon this result and "sinking into it" like a hot bath. With successive performances, gradually feel it take root in the cells of your body and everything feel comfortable about it. When through, rise and perform the Banishing to close.
Perform this at the same time in the same place for a fixed number of days (such as a week), or until you feel the result described."
I have done this, using LIRP, for a few days. You weren't kidding when you say "higher frequency energy." The sensation afterward is extremely energizing...as opposed to LBRP, which generally produces a feeling of focused calm - at least for me.
I've felt my mouth, down my throat, go numb twice afterward, which never happens outside the dentist.
Today, a few hours after practice, I experienced sharp sensations, almost like shocks, in my groin/pelvis. They lasted for 15 minutes or so - stopping just when I started to get a little alarmed. Again, never really felt anything like it.
Is this more typical sorts of stuff or do you (all) think I should revert back to LBRP? I hear your point regarding using mundane explainations, but want to err on the side of caution when it comes to things like physical sensations.
In any event, I find the differences in effects of the rituals this absolutely stunning. How can the small difference between the the two rituals cause such different effects?