overcoming sloth?
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
This is a common problem in all Magickal work.
No sooner do you set yourself a task but it becomes almost impossible.
Also, acquiring the habits needed for regular and consistent practice is something we all struggle with, its when you no longer care that you have a problem, the fact that you are worrying about it tells me you are still fighting your own inertia, which is, imo, the first thing a serious student has to deal with.
Basically, your not the only one.
Hope this helps.
Love is the law, love under will.
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My little contribution on how best to work with resistance is to use your journal. The more you can describe what is going on internally and externally the better. Seeing your resistance play out in terms of feeling states and how you organize and pursue your practice is invaluable in overcoming your sloth in the long run.
The two dangers are that you will find a way to reasonably give in to the sloth—some external situation will justify not working, or that you will go through the motions without really making the heartfelt effort. The journal can help a lot with both of these by making it harder to lie to yourself in the moment you are tempted to cave.
Love and Will
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@Ash said
"93.
Laertes, what I have found to work best is simply persisting in the face of it and refusing to submit to the laziness.
93, 93/93."
exactly. continue working, even without any 'spark' or feeling whatsoever, even as just pure mechanical thing; this 'state' will pass; just continue.
p.s. and it may be useful to meditate upon the four virtues of the Sphinx - why is the fifth 'to go'?; and when only can one go (the necessity of having the four in dynamic balance)?
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For what it's worth, I have had the same problem
If it helps, I found personally that the more I did ritual (or whatever) even if you have to force yourself at first over the slow parts, then the more I wanted to do it. Its like setting up a pattern in your brain and you start to look forward to it so you want to do it simply because you have been doing it. Eventually the wanting to over comes the 'having to'
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After thinking about my own struggles, the subject brings to mind the origination of the rules that religion/groups set upon their members. Thinking about it I could see how one group may say - "do this" or "do that" and how things over time can turn it into an oppressive "dead letter" guide on how to live without the "spirit" to rule it. I'm not saying that anyone is doing that here in the least bit. However, it brought to mind "Postcards to Probationorers" from the Equinox.
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THE METHOD OF EQUILIBRIUMI. THE PASSIONS, ETC.
I. Since the ultimate truth of teleology is unknown, all codes of morality are arbitrary.
II. Therefore the student has no concern with ethics as such.
III. He is consequently free 'to do his duty in that state of life to which it has pleased God to call him.'
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For me, the best thing I can think of saying is to focus on it and work on it. For example, I make committments to my self where I say - for one week I will wake up at 6am, I will do Asana X amount of times a day, I will write in my Journal everyday etc. I document my struggles, failures, successes, and any other effects. In this way I continually focus and work out the ideas in my mind and determine their value to me at the time. For me it seems to also sharpen my will and has other good effects on me. Keeping in mind all this comes from a "lowly worm".
I guess my comments above touch on the idea that I'm creating "rules" to discipline myself. However, the rules, in and of themselves, aren't important, it is the reason behind it that makes it important - and it is only important to myself to the degree of weight I place upon it.
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thanks for all your replies, they did motivate me to get off my ass and do my rituals although i barely had the patience to finish a whole Middle Pillar. I think perhaps the rituals are just becoming mundane to me, even though the feelings that accompany them are increasing in intensity (i noted that I did them regularly for 2 months but i have been sticking to Resh, LBRP, BRH, Middle Pillar, and the Circulation of Light for much longer than that). What kind of new daily rituals can I add to spice things up?
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I don't think 'spicing up' would be of any true help. just persist in what you do. these periods of loss of enthusiasm mark subtle but important tresholds in our progress; it's the easiest thing to abandon the practice then, or to add new; but it's the persistance in the simple chosen direction that leads to valuable results.
...the metaphor of sex comes to mind: yours and your partner's body (in a monogamous relationship) are always 'the same', but that does not make the experience always the same, or dull in any way! quality of the experience depends ultimately on your attitude, your state of mind.
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@Ash said
"I enthusiastically second what Robert said."
Heh, I personally thought this paragraph by danica was the bomb:
@danica said
"I don't think 'spicing up' would be of any true help. just persist in what you do. these periods of loss of enthusiasm mark subtle but important tresholds in our progress; it's the easiest thing to abandon the practice then, or to add new; but it's the persistance in the simple chosen direction that leads to valuable results.
"Love and Will
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I have been reading some interesting articles about womens health issues lately. Professionals are trying to determine why so many ladies are having reproductive issues, mental health problems and social (relationship) problems.
From many sources, and many different views the problems seem to point to the issue that ladies are not resting properly. That in modern culture ladies work in artifical environments, and attempt to be "supermoms" if you will. This leads many to medicate and ignore what the female body needs, ignoring messages from the body that females need period of rest. And i mean more then just a good nights sleep, I mean to actually take time off when menstrating and lay down and rest- take it easy, let the dishes pile and let the family eat sandwiches.
I think that the men in our world are also not resting properly, and re out of tune with the natural world.
When we step back and look at our planet, and the cycles that befall the whole planet-our seasons, our climates, the currents, in a perfect world (!?) our own physical bodies are strenghtened when we are like a mirror to that ebb and flow. All of our bodies.
I think that it is unhealthy to not take a break, to not rest- even with things that we are attempting to discipline ourselves to. The moon is not always full and bright, the sun itself has cycles of rest and activity.
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93 everyone,
I have also struggled with periods where there seems to be no desire to do any magickal work whatsoever. As others have mentioned I think jotting these times down in the journal (and also reading past entries, if one has kept a journal) helps tremendously.
One thing that I have noticed lately is that exercising really helps me to focus on ritual work. I have been thinking of going back to visit my Sensei and joining karate once again. Exercising daily and a relaxing walk afterwards really helps me get motivated as far as ritual work is concerned.
My 2 cents
93 93/93
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93 Laertes,
My favorite abs class instructor has a phrase he uses to keep the people in his class in the game mentally. He says:
"Don't let your brain tell your body you can't do it."
I think his advice is suitable for your situation.
Even though periods of dryness in your work are normal, keep your attention OFF the dryness. The main reason I suggest this is because the more you focus on the dryness, the easier it will be for you to succumb to it. Instead, keep your focus on completing your routine. You may have to coach yourself through it and it might be tough, but you're tougher. And you can plow through this phase with some persistence and extra focus.
Hope this helps
93 93/93
Shariyf -
I have been there too.....once I succumbed to it and then picked myself up again because it was eating me up big time. The second time I just kept it up. I usually do my work via meditation and have been looking forward to it daily, even getting a bit frustrated when I had people visiting and couldnt do it. Then all of a sudden a stopped caring so much and was finding every excuse in the book not to do it. But I had to persist and keep going.
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@Ash said
"93.
Laertes, what I have found to work best is simply persisting in the face of it and refusing to submit to the laziness.
93, 93/93."
93
This definitely seems like the way to go. Building good habits, learning to enjoy the work!
Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty! AL II.35
Bear in mind that all things are ritual unto Nuit. Being a Thelemite, for me, consists in finding joy in whatever I do. In his comment on AL Crowley speaks of the Thelemite forcing himself by will to find the purity in the quagmire and dung. I'm of course paraphrasing.
Even starting out just doing your daily Resh adorations and LBRP is highly beneficial, and enjoyable! This takes very little time, but the very act of doing it day in and day out not only fortifies you magically, it creates good habits that will help you on the Malkuthian plane as well as later in your magical career.
93 93/93