College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

@ThelemicMage said

""Get behind me, Satan!"... 'There's a horrible storm brewing and I wouldn't want you to get hurt...'"

@gerry456 said

"Well the reason I brought up "mental wandering" is that when you do mental wandering you are literally projecting into and visiting* the etheric plane *which is the exact replica of the physical plane but the "next step up" although it penetrates the physical plane of course. That is, you are then etherically projecting and watching the etheric plane through your astral eyes. "

Straight from Ophiel book on astral travel. Not wrong but not exactly relevant to this specific practice (Ophiel has this tendency to digress, but I like his work in general).
Once you start to practice the astral drills there are some very useful information that you don’t find in books. Some of it I found out myself other I got from those more experienced.
For example, I found out that only daily practices taking more than 30 minutes where effective in increasing the results. It is not only about intense concentration but the very act of indwelling the imaginary body for a longer period, even if your concentration is not very intense.
Or that some intense middle pillar practice, with extra charge of the solar center, does wonders for the stability of the body of light once you are trying to get in it.

@gerry456 said

" You seem to be dismissing mental wandering as fanciful and useless when it might actually be the key to your success by acting as a launch pad to astral projection. That's what I try to do anyway."

Not fanciful or useless, just not "the key" or even "a key". That’s only one more kind of astral drill, like Ophiel idea of walking around the house or Jim suggestion of practicing your rituals in the body of light (this have some extra benefits).

@gerry456 said

"

Where are you interested in going in the physical world?

"

I would better enjoy driving there. Astral travel is much more interesting when travelling the astral.

@gerry456 said

"

I've deleted it."

No problem to use it, especially if it is helpful to you. It would just be polite to mention the source.

@gerry456 said

"Do you ever do mental wandering (i.e. visualizing what another part of your town would look like now) and then transfer over like that?"

That’s just one of the thousand ways to use the body of light. Since I am not really interested in what is happening in the other side of the city, no.

@gerry456 said

" to get to Yetsirah shut down the senses, to get to Briah shut down the mind "

I believe that you are quoting my words.

Is it expected that the mature Neophyte to have conquered this learning stage or is it something that will only mature in later grades?

When working with the body of light is the success in transferring the conscience to the simulacrum usually marked by a:
sudden shift of conscience (suddenly you are there, fully in the body of light, effortlessly)
or
it happens more gradually (the intensity of the astral experience increases gradually with sustained effort until you find yourself there, but if you reduce the concentration the intensity reduces)?

I am getting the second experience, even doing some interesting journeying while at it but it does not match the descriptions I find in literature (well, no luck trying to find a Neophyte in Brazil). Should I aim at a higher level of concentration so I will get the first type of experience?

Well, just try and see.

Jim,

to be more specific, in this case I am thinking about asana as a single practice with the goal of mastering a posture. Simply siting and holding myself in that position as long as possible.

Since while doing this practice a lot of body sensations will rise, should I try to focus on something else or should I witness those sensations as they rise?

While practicing asana, where should my attention be directed to? Should I actvlly focus on body sensation until it vanishes or focus on something else until I forget about the body?

Well, my conclusion from this discussion: Zelator grade looks really interesting!

Cool

Well, thinking about sci-fi, Muad'Dib would be a Magister, if not a full Magus.
(I think that Thelemic Mage can appreciate the idea of a Magister on spice)
Bene Gesserit girls being strike me as Zelator level.

If the name or divine formula is an expression of a “state of Being” (to use Guenon’s choice of words), first thing to do is to attain that state before formulating the word. Something like these can be seen in the works of shamanism, where most ritual formulas, spirits and gods are learned in trance state.

Sometimes stuff happen to me without conscience effort to cause it. Maybe it can be called grace, or luck.
More on the mystical side, I do not know if there can be said that the SAG has a particular volition to act on me without I somehow allowing it. In practice it seems that it is not only possible but part of the natural communication between me and my Angel. That can be rightly called Grace.

Are we talking with the same Tony that wrote the introduction to Hermetic Alchemy (among many other nice stuff)? That is really cool. Thanks!

Jim, when you said that this work is not available does it means that it is under oath?

I’ve been studying Anne Atwood for the magnetism perspective, Eliphas Levi for the magical one (Brazilians from the 90’s really love Eliphas), Regardie and Jung for psychology. Case seems more holistic embracing all the perspectives. Evola also does that but he seems to keep making alchemy fits in to his preconception.

In the end, it all seems like **theoria **while I am searcing for praxis.

Of all the subjects in western esoteric tradition Alchemy seems the most obscure. Since there are some suggestions that T.O.T. works with inner alchemy, I would like to ask what books I should be reading to get a better perspective on the subject.

(Last time I got some really good suggestions from you guys in the matter of psycology so I am going to try asking again )

Before starting to design your own rituals maybe you should work towards understanding the mechanics of how they work and what they do. The new ritual is only the final produc of this.

Although the question was not addressed to me, allow me to offer an opinion.

It may not be standard but, after a while, my attempts at dharana resulted in increasing the stability of my asana (even resulting in the “lockup” sensation). A silent mind made my body more quiet.

And too much worrying with breaks actually makes you more agitated than focused. That is something I started doing only after a lot of practice.

Just to report back after following the suggestions.

Better banishing and practicing the Tower of Light were effective in reducing the mood swings making the underlying symptoms much more clear.
It seems that from time to time some sort of inner tension will rise in my mind (felt almost physically in my solar plexus) and after a time an "intuition" will pop up in my mind and the tension will vanish, almost as a relief. Pratyahara meditation immediately triggers the “pop up” effect.

I am starting to get used to it by now. The time between the setting in of the tension and the relief is getting shorter and less troublesome. It seems to be just some channel my subconscious has found to talk to me more directly.

Frater Kephri

Just a commentary that I hope can help.
Those “gnostic” you are probably reading are the followers of Samael Aun Weor. He is infamous (not in the good way) around South America for teaching some highly neurotic combination of heavy christian morality and orgasm-phobia (that he calls sexual alchemy) and translating to Spanish some well know esoteric authors and publish their books with his name as author back in the 70 & 80ths.

In that last nine years the number of his followers have decreased rapidly in Brazil but it seems that he is starting to migrate to the Anglophonic world.