Will & Resh : Seeds of the Work?
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@mark0987 said
"93,
"Any practical tips on how not to forget? "
For will, the only real way is to just continuously practice it until it becomes a natural act. You shouldn't just be saying will, the words you're saying should have meaning. Being able to dedicated your food and drink to the great work is basically you affirming, that everything you do for your survival and all the energy yo acquire is to be put towards this accomplishment of the great work. I wouldn't even say "So that I may accomplish the great work", I would specificlly state what it is you wish to accomplish-what your spiritual goal is. Of course if there is a preliminary goal for this spiritual goal state that instead. Having a connection with the statements will embed it more in your mind. I found that breakfast was the hardest time to remember saying will (I am very dosy in the morning). On my iphone I used to put a title on my alarm which said "Resh" and "will" so I didn;t forget.
As for Resh I used to set 4 sets of alarms on my phone; Dawn (or when I get up), Solar noon, Sunset and Midnight. But now once I know the solar noon and sunset times for the day, I find that the actions come naturally. I just know when it's time to do Resh. Of course if you've had a few afternoon drinks you may slip out of it, but when I see the sunset my mind is immediately focused upon Resh. Again continued practice makes these things natural, which is what you want with any set of actions- the feeling they are natural."
I've done that for Resh too. There's a web app that I found on this forum that sends you a text message or email based on the actual position of the Sun relative to your current position on Earth (I believe it's on KeepSilence.com or .org, I forget right now). I'm actually thinking of incorporating that into an Android application that would do basically the same thing (probably a direct tie-in to the app, but allow for purely android alarms or web based alarms instead of email or text messages).
I just need a way to remind myself to say will before meals. I missed it again for lunch, but just ended up saying it after I finished. Better than not at all I suppose.
In terms of your suggestion to replace "to accomplish the great work" with a specfic spiritual goal, I agree in theory, but in practice, I suffer from a severe case of "I don't know what my goals are." This permeates all aspects on my being, not just spiritually, though I suppose that is something I need to work on. For right now, my only immediate spiritual goal is to make Resh, saying Will, doing a daily 4-fold breath, and journaling all that a natural daily practice, and observing the effects on each on my understanding of myself. I suppose that will do for now! Problem solved!
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93,
"my understanding of myself"
3-5-3
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
It is my will to eat and drink,
To fortify my body therby;
So that I may know myself,
in order to accomplish the Great work.Love is the Law, love under will.
1
To know thyself, to gain an understanding of your will is the first step to the great work. The more connection and meaning the words have to you the better. If you eat your meals at the same time just set alarms for a month, that should be long enough for it to get into your head.
Certainly doing it after is better than not at all, you'll get to the stage when saying will is a natural part of your routine, just like Resh.
93, 93/93.
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If saying Will before eating becomes too ingrained and thus an automated behavior... that might somewhat defeat the purpose of doing it. That's an interesting thought, I find.
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@Deus Ex Machina said
"If saying Will before eating becomes too ingrained and thus an automated behavior... that might somewhat defeat the purpose of doing it. That's an interesting thought, I find."
And not just "Saying Will": any action or ritual that is done out of habit, rather than with full awareness as to how it's helping you in your goal to attainment, is actually not helping. It's just a new habit you've picked up.
I can't even count the number of beginners I've come across who do the LBRP every day because they think "Well, I'm supposed to do it." They have no idea why they're doing it, apart from some vague mumbo-jumbo about keeping their "auras clean." Basically, they were just told to do it, so they do, religiously.
That's not the path to attainment.
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@RulesOfAir said
"Any practical tips on how not to forget?"
Repetition will eventually do the trick. Just stick with it. I mean, if you're really desperate, I guess you could tie a string around your finger, but then you'll need something to remind you what the string is for...
By the way, you might find it enjoyable to perform the unity adoration in the Egyptian ("A ka dua....") before giving it in the English.
"I know it's an excuse, but I just completed a move to a new apartment yesterday, and my mind has been pretty focused on all that, and the wife and I have barely given ourselves time to rest (nevermind the fact that our 2 year old NEVER gives us time to rest haha)."
In all honesty, moving, raising a two-year-old, and maintaining a positive relationship should be providing more than enough "ordeals" -- all on its own -- to keep you challenged and prompt your personal growth. I think it's a mistake to think of initiation as something separate from the everyday challenges of your life.
Frankly -- and I'm not saying this necessarily applies to you, RulesOfAir: this is just a general point -- I think a lot of people are attracted to this magick stuff because it can be an escape from those everyday ordeals. People get it in their heads that regular ol' life is boring, and wouldn't it be so badass if I were a wizard and worked magick spells and chanted Egyptian at the sun....etc. But really, such people have it backwards: their "magical work" is just an energetic running away from the real task of coming to grips with who they are, in everyday life, and seeing through the illusion of their own self image, which is what the Work really is.
The secret to succeeding at magick is to understand it in the sense Crowley meant: all willed change is magick, including every last "mundane" thing you do. Attainment is nothing more than living your everyday life with the mindfulness necessary to manifest your True Will.
If doing a few simple rituals helps you keep that awareness, then great, but you have to be on guard against fetishizing the practices themselves or thinking that the practices "do" anything besides serving as helpful little reminders. Post-it notes on the path....
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@Deus Ex Machina said
"If saying Will before eating becomes too ingrained and thus an automated behavior... that might somewhat defeat the purpose of doing it. That's an interesting thought, I find."
Duly noted. What I feel I'm trying to achieve here is basically two fold.
First, it's in the book that I've chosen to follow (David Shoemaker's Living Thelema). It sounds like a silly reason on it's own, but I want to follow a basic structure of "attainment". I've recently started bodybuilding, and following a well documented regimen has been wonderful in that aspect. I see no reason not to follow a specific structure that I can later add to or modify to suit my needs/understanding.
Second, I'm trying to follow the idea along the lines of "pray with your words, and soon you'll be praying with your heart." I don't want it to become simply a habit, but in essence it needs to be something of a habit, just like basic grooming. I mean, I don't always stop and ask myself why I am shaving or brushing my teeth. I want to stay focused on finding my true will, and this seems like a very basic practice that will keep me subconciously reminded of that goal. I want to stay mindful.
Los, I basically agree with your points. I'm not neccessarily trying to keep things separate, though to be quite honest, it is a bit separate, at least as in as separate as my other personal goals are from the current commitments I have made. I sometimes feel like "magick" is somewhat of an escape, I won't lie. My work life is not particularly interesting, but it provides my family with what we need to survive. My family life is challenging at times, yet fun, but at the moment, very attention demanding. The little time I take away from this is a slight bit of escape, a time to reflect and feel, to imagine, to comprehend the great mysteries in my head and in the universe. I do hear what you're saying though. It's not separate, really.
EDIT: Seriously, I just simply cannot remember to say will. I forgot at every moment today. In the past 3 days since I've started, I've only said will maybe 2 times. Eh. I'm not beating myself up over it or anything. I think it's time I break out the big guns and set a phone reminder of some sort. Just put an icon on my phone. I feel oh so clever.
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I wanted to throw in that you should not allow it to become habit...
"Will" should not be repeated , rote, from memory.
When doing it you should be consciously aware and focused on the meaning.
As being consciously aware, directed by intent at every moment is one of the most important goals in Magick (at least, that is what my experience has taught me). -
I've given up doing Resh. I feel no connection to it, it's too awkward to do in public (not that I am afriad of public perception, it's just that having to go out of my way to do things at certain times throughout the day is too much for me at the moment), and I'm just not "into it." It feels like a chore to me, and that really detracts from a nice experience for myself. Call me lazy I suppose. This isn't in anyway a criticism of the ritual itself.
I'm comparing this to physical exercise. It's important to exercise somewhat regularly if you want your body to do the things you want it to do. For a long time I wanted to lose weight, and I've tried all sorts of machines, running, swimming, etc. but nothing ever lasted longer than a few weeks. That is, until I started doing a bodybuilding routine with barbells. Now I hit the gym 2-3 times a week at least, have lost almost 15 pounds, and have been doing consistently for over 3 months.
Are Resh and Will truly seeds of the work? Do you all feel them a neccessary foundation upon which to perform your magickal work?
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I noticed you have only been doing this for less then a month.
I have a lot of ambitions, but only a certain amount of energy and time in the day.
Before I even think about undertaking something new, something that demands a portion of that time and energy everyday I seriously think about everything else I am already doing and see how this new task can fit in.
Once I believe it can fit in, in an act of compassion towards myself I suppose, I commit to a certain specific time that I will do this task. For example I am working on improving my swimming and diving, so I made an agreement with myself that come he'll or high water, I will be in that pool for at least and hour three times a week, for one month.
And I hold myself to that personal contract. I will complete what I agreed to, no matter if I don't feel like it anymore. I know that at the end of the month, I can walk away and say I'm Done!Resh and Will are tools to improve and build upon your own personal integrity. If a person is to maximize there health and successful navigation of life it is pretty darn imperative to use some sort of tool, like Will and Resh.
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@Angel of Death said
"I noticed you have only been doing this for less then a month.
I have a lot of ambitions, but only a certain amount of energy and time in the day.
Before I even think about undertaking something new, something that demands a portion of that time and energy everyday I seriously think about everything else I am already doing and see how this new task can fit in.
Once I believe it can fit in, in an act of compassion towards myself I suppose, I commit to a certain specific time that I will do this task. For example I am working on improving my swimming and diving, so I made an agreement with myself that come he'll or high water, I will be in that pool for at least and hour three times a week, for one month.
And I hold myself to that personal contract. I will complete what I agreed to, no matter if I don't feel like it anymore. I know that at the end of the month, I can walk away and say I'm Done!Resh and Will are tools to improve and build upon your own personal integrity. If a person is to maximize there health and successful navigation of life it is pretty darn imperative to use some sort of tool, like Will and Resh."
True enough. I, like most people, have trouble sticking to new habits. I have trouble sustaining practices and establishing habits that aren't particularly exciting to me. The example I brought up with exercise was to illustrate that not all routines/practices/programs will be easy to sustain, and that others may work where others have failed. Given where I'm at in life at this moment, it just feels like there is so much momentum in a certain way that makes it difficult to change my current course. Perhaps, it is as Los had previously mentioned, that ceremonial ritual is a fantasy/escape, at least in my current situation.
My conclusions thus far are that one of two things have or must happen.
- I should continue searching for a similar practice that I jive with that captures the same essence and purpose (i.e. instead of running, which I hate, I bodybuild, which I enjoy)
- Alternatively, I just keep doing the work and persevere even if I don't like it or really want to.
I don't want to make this thread about me, but open this up to general discussion.
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Excitement is a choice.
In each and every moment you have a choice, to be on or off, happy or sad. Excited or bored.
It is a choice.
I can get excited about anything I want, if I so choose. I know how to flip my switch.
These things that you do, or think or say create in your body detectable physiological effects. Firing of neurotransmitters, secreting hormones, conditioned muscular responses, and groovy scientific material data.
It is completely irrelevant what the tool is as long as it gets the job done, and does not damage the mechanism/organism.
What I get out of Los is that for him, the use of the tools of spiritual/religious practices are tools that he, because of his unique individual biochemical makeup, will not use because he understands that for him, they do have a high risk of damaging the mechanism/organism.He genuinely (IMO) feels that these tools are dangerous for many people to use and that he wants to help people understand the tools he has come to use, quite effectively and efficiently too, for the most part.
Other people, with a completely different biochemical makeup, can very effectively use spiritual tools with no risk to them because that is how they are uniquely created. For those people using tools like ones Los advocates would be damaging to them.
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@Angel of Death said
"Excitement is a choice.
In each and every moment you have a choice, to be on or off, happy or sad. Excited or bored.
It is a choice."Exactly! and I think this can be learned from Resh or any other practice/ritual you impose on yourself. Resh definitely gave me a lesson on this, though admittedly, I do Resh only when it isn't terribly inconvenient (very often it means at least one is skipped because I'm asleep, but/and most days it adds up to three).
I think what AoD is saying here is very profound. To be banal about it, learn to get excited by waving your hands in patterns of (ultimately) your choosing and via your spoken word.
Look at traditional Church ritual, for example. Why does it have an impact on so many people? Some would argue for spiritual intervention, some might call up the weight of a few thousand years of tradition, but ultimately when these things were decided somebody chose some gestures and some words, putting them together in order to move people. While a magician can have similar motors to power his excitement (partaking of a secret tradition or belonging to a society) ultimately I think a magician has to learn to create the effect by himself, on some level pulling something out of nothing, the proverbial rabbit out of the hat.
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@RulesOfAir said
"I'm comparing this to physical exercise. It's important to exercise somewhat regularly if you want your body to do the things you want it to do. For a long time I wanted to lose weight, and I've tried all sorts of machines, running, swimming, etc. but nothing ever lasted longer than a few weeks. That is, until I started doing a bodybuilding routine with barbells. Now I hit the gym 2-3 times a week at least, have lost almost 15 pounds, and have been doing consistently for over 3 months. "
Do you work out at exactly the same time, each day?
Is there anything you do with a regularity similar to Resh?Resh involves the use of many of the necessary skills and talents involved in ceremonial magick.
More importantly, it establishes a powerful connection with the Sun.
As our little Angel pointed out, you were not doing it for long -
I suggest you give it another go, doing it for at least three months (six or a lifetime : far better
)
If there was a way for me to stress this more I would -
93,
I have done Resh everyday for around eight months, I feel it is perhaps my most favorite spiritual exercise. Taking two-three minutes to myself four times a day and forgetting about mundane life and focusing on something greater than myself. I get nothing but a peaceful and happy feeling from it.
If you are in a public place I would either wait until you can get somewhere quiet, or do it mentally....it's better than not doing it at all. If I do nothing else on a day or even weeks for a time, I always make sure Resh is completed, because it takes only 12 minutes and I do get something out of it..
I would also read Jim's article in Black pearl (I can't remember which one, it could have actually been in the continuum I'm thinking of) and I'm fairly sure That David Shoemacher (I apologise if that is spelled incorrectly) has both a book with a great chapter on Resh and a podcast episode which goes through it. I feel that if you take their pointers into account you might get more out of Resh.
But it's your life and your practice, if you feel it's not right for you, do something else. Afterall there is no law beyond do what ye will.
93,93/93.
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I'll give it another go. It's just hard for me to get excited about it. However, the visualizations that have come up have been interesting on their own. Maybe I was just focusing too hard on making sure that I get it done rather than just easing in to it. When I miss a workout, or when I go over my dietary budget, I don't sweat it, and just write it off and do it the next day. I guess I need to approach it in that way. Just don't worry about it so much.
I have started doing LBRP daily now, and actually doing it twice usually (morning invoking, nightly banish).
Heh. I just noticed something. When I do resh on a daily basis, my internal clock of sorts seems more in balance. I get really tired at night, I get to sleep earlier, and I generally feel more rested. On days I skip practice altogether, I seem to stay up later just wasting time. I haven't journaled this properly, so I don't have the best data to go off from but thinking about the past week seems to reinforce that.
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@RulesOfAir said
"Heh. I just noticed something. When I do resh on a daily basis, my internal clock of sorts seems more in balance. I get really tired at night, I get to sleep earlier, and I generally feel more rested. On days I skip practice altogether, I seem to stay up later just wasting time. I haven't journaled this properly, so I don't have the best data to go off from but thinking about the past week seems to reinforce that."
I have had similar experiences, and the balance it brings to the internal clock is one of the reasons I suggest it so highly.
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I just started doing Resh two days ago (on a full moon no less!), it really is a different kick to the day. It changes the whole functioning from one of dreaming to one of action, from one of theory to one of praxis, at least for me who has done no magic before. It's very beautiful. The first time I did it I noticed a really sharp and sudden change in consciousness but I haven't noticed that since - perhaps I have sustained it to normalcy! Regardless. I'm very very glad I started doing it.
What are you supposed to meditate upon, though? When it says, compose thyself to meditation on the sun. That's really vague and I don't really understand it and I haven't been able to find anything out about it. I feel that I'm missing out on that part of the show.
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Have you ever thought on the whole three dimensionality of space? The sun is over there, I am over here, the moon is somewhere near. Floating in space. Am I above this? Below this? Floating meaninglessly or am I falling into the sun? What if the whole time thing where at a different pace? What would it look like in super-fast-motion? As I know the sun no longer revolves around the earth, and it is the spin of the axis of the earth that gives the sensation of the sun having a position relative to me, what is the true position of the sun at this given time of day?
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Those were really really powerful thoughts thankyou so much Tkamba! Very effective!!!
