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Actually, Ceriel, you are on to something.  Keep up the good work []

Basically, magicians who can throw thunderbolts but who do not give a crap only exist in the movies.

Magic is, partially at least, an exercise in seeing properly.

soooooooooo . . . it's that time of year again, almost!

Thanks Links Shadow . . . I will use your method, but in the mean time could someone check out the "advanced search" function?  I tried everything, and always got "no matches."  I used the most normal key words possible, clicked the "archives" box, maximized the date range, did everything possible to get the largest number of hits, and, SQUAT.

There are old european legends of fairies (brownies, leprechauns, etc) who did things around the house in exchange for gifts.  However, they were not exactly reliable and could turn on you on a whim! []

quote:I think I have gotten a bad name here. Sorry guys I will stay in my section. Just thought it was interesting, and it was very intense for me.
RG MS

excuse me? did something happen here that the rest of us did not see?

Leyla, that's Prarie Home Companion you're talking about, one of my favorite radio shows on NPR.  Of course, I'm from Minnesota, so of course I'd love it!  I love the stories about the Norwegian bachelor farmer . . . []

Mind-over-matter only works to a certain extent.  I was stung in the back by a wasp and felt it right away!  Pure, physiological response.

Pain is nature's way of alterting you to the fact that something is wrong, so don't treat it like a bad thing.  It's better to go on a seek-and-destroy mission than to try to use "mind over matter" to ignore it.

My Experience has shown me that Azaithoth's and Ouspensky's world-views are only partly true. In my Experience, I am Aware of two worlds:  The world of Form, and the world of Non-form.  

Of course, our brains and bodies operate in the world of Form, where things are as Azaithoth and Ouspensky say.  We are surrounded by innumerable Happenings, and time moves in only one direction.  Once the Happening Happens, there is no action, only reaction. Given these conditions, it is impossible to, say (using Azaithoth's graceless analogy), shove the egg back up the chicken's butt.  One can persuasively argue that, in the world of Form, THERE IS NO MAGIC, only its results.

The world of Non-Form is where the magic (and the "do") take place.  Actually, the world of Non-Form is not a world at all.  Perhaps "realm" is a better word . . . but since it is unformed . . . oh, heck, just call it non-form.  Only the most powerful and organized of minds may operate here. Ordinary minds will flip-out and end up in the psych ward, because in non-form there is no time, and all possibilities exist at once.  Non-form is a BAD VACATION SPOT for the human brain.  Fortunately, for most people there are natural controls which will prevent them from ever reaching it.

But there are those few, perhaps naturally talented individuals, who reach that non-form place, whether by accident or by design, and discover that, in this realm, REALITY CAN BE CHANGED through the application of Intent.  Here there are no HAPPENINGS.  Only INTENT. And the results of this Intent reveal themselves in the world of Form in due course (actually, it's darn-near immediate).

So...magic is a tricky art, especially when it comes to healing.  Becuase an illness exists in the world of non-form before it becomes Form, and once it is in the world of Form it is a Happening, and there is nothing to DO but react. The "magical response" is almost an oxymoron. The only thing for a magical practitioner can DO is move in the world of Non-Form and create conditions such that the illness never existed (it's been done!), or that the body heals itself.

Like I said before, most magical practitioners don't have the power to lay on a real curse and, like AP Guy says, will instead work on your knowledge of their ill intent.  HOWEVER, I disagree with AP guy that a person MUST know about a curse for it to work.  

In your life, the odds of you encountering a real sorcerer are slim to zip.  But don't take any chances.  Don't get snarky, tinkling people off  with impunity, thinking somehow you're immune.  You might get a rude awakening, and THEN what will you do? The odds of you finding another practitioner who can actually cure you are just as slim!

It's best to go through life making friends instead of enemies, anyway.

I dunno, in my 20+ years in the Weirdo community I've never encountered anything like this.  Perhaps it's because I've always lived north of the Mason-Dixon line, in communities that value intellectualism (right now I'm only 2 hours out of NYC).  

Soon, this shall all change and I'll be in good 'ol Virginny . . . Land of Fundamentalist Radio Stations, Confederate Flags, Pickup Trucks and Pork Products!  If I encounter any alien-conspiracy theories or mass-deprogramming initiatives out there I'll let you know.

[The Deluxe Transitive VampireTorn Wings and Faux Pas: A Flashbook of Style, a Beastly Gide Through the Writer's LabryinthThe Disheveled DictionaryThe New Well-Tempered SentenceThe Ravenous Muse]

Hee hee!  You forgot Canada, Squeek!!!!!! []

Anyway,  THE 1st CARDINAL RULE OF WRITING:  CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This could be translated into:  BE CONSIDERATE OF YOUR AUDIENCE!!!!!!!!!!  And who, exactly, is the audience at Astrlpulse? The whole globe of English-speaking people!  People of any age, nationality, IQ, political affiliation, religion!  We have a lot of ground to cover.

English newspapers, knowing their audience, take great care to keep their communications to a clear, concise, 8th grade reading level, because they want to reach as many people as possible.  I suggest we try to do the same here. In fact, it is immature and self-centered to communicate in ways that put a burden on the reader.

Squeek, I think you'd enjoy these books by Karen Elizabeth Gordon:

The Deluxe Transitive Vampire
Torn Wings and Faux Pas: A Flashbook of Style, a Beastly Gide Through the Writer's Labryinth
The Disheveled Dictionary
The New Well-Tempered Sentence
The Ravenous Muse

I had the pleasure of "chatting" with my 11-year old daughter this week on the internet (she was writing from her school library), and she typed in the same annoying shorthand that other young folk do, using "k" for okay, etc.  Teachers have a difficult time convincing children that their essays need to be written in REAL english, not internet-chat-speak, because many kids don't even know the difference.  

Unfortunately, I think us old folk are going to lose this battle within a decade or two.  Soon, "k" will be in Webster's Dictionary, along with ROFL, IMHO, etc.  After all, McJob is already there!

(I guess I'll weigh in on the gun issue:  Where I live, I don't need one.  However, if I moved to a scarier place, whether a dangerous inner city, or a remote forest with large wild animals, I'd own the appropriate firearm for the situation, and I'd know how to use it.[}:)])

Weirdness abounds.  Fortunately for us, the same people who think WE are weirdos for believing in OBE, also think THEY ought to be locked up for believing in alien conspiracy theories.  So, for the most part, I think our community does not need to fear a new burning-time.

Personally, I believe the person who had the dream described in Revelations probably ate some bad barley or rye before he went to bed (a reason behind many hallucinations in those so-called Good Old Days).  But, I have no evidence, so take it for what it's worth.

Imagine how many people in this world have had strange dreams.  And THIS one is so important?  Like, because someone had a wierd dream, and somebody wrote it down, now we all have to believe the world will end that way?  PAH!

Nothing exists outside of the Divine.  Therefore It cannot transform . . . there is nothing for it to transform into, because It is Everything already.  However, our IDEAS about the Divine and the nature of the Cosmos, along with our Experience in this universe of unlimited possibilities, may transform over time.

I did it once on my side, but I wasn't very comfortable doing it.  
I think one needs to have a bit of tension in the body to be able to sleep on one's side.  So, that night I projected, all the tension of course had left my body and I felt as though I were squashing myself.

All the other times, I was flat on my back.  It's easier to "flop" while on one's back.

One important piece of advice for back-sleepers:  If you are a curvy girl or have back issues, put a pillow under your knees!

Someone born with the ability to WILLFULLY project could be said to have been born with a gift.  Those unfortunates who project willy-nilly, with no control, might consider it more a curse than a gift.

But yes, I believe some people are born with natural abilities, but they are general abilities, not peculiar to OBE.  These abilities are:

1. the ability to suspend disbelief and think magically
2. the ability to deeply relax
3. the ability to clear one's mind of cluttered thoughts
4. the ability to dis-associate ones mind from ones body
5. a strong Will
6. the ability to stay aware in liminal (inbetween) states of consciousness

Some people are born with these things.  Others need to work on them. Anyone may achieve them!

There is no use getting into a tinkling contest over who's blind, whose conciousness is better, whose magic is superior.  Azaithoth's classifications leave him alone, at the top.  Which is fine for him, if that's what he likes.  Magic for One in a lonely little world.

From my perspective, it's a big universe, with room for all kinds of magic. My preference is to be intimately and magically involved in the "happenings" of this big, beautiful marble we call Earth. Others might think it superior to transcend themselves beyond.  However, if you ask me (not that anyone did) the "transcendence" approach to consciousness is darn near Christian.  Because transcendence is what the Catholic Fathers beat into people:  Rejection of Flesh, in favor of Spirit. (how does it feel to be Chatolic, Azaithoth?).  

In my experience, Spirit/the One/the Divine (call it what you wish) expresses Itself through the flesh-happenings of the world, so I would never reject them. The process is beautiful and magical, and I would much rather participate than sneer at the world from some excusive, transcendant locale.

yeah .............. it happens.  Not to me, but I see the topic pop up on the forums every now and then (you could do a search on "blind" or "can't see" and see what comes up!).

The advice usually given is to ORDER yourself some sight (like a hamburger in a drive-thru? ha ha!  No, not like that.)   ORDER IT, like a command.  "SIGHT NOW!" or something like that.  Apparently, it works.

BEING-CONSCIOUSNESS - - such a terrible thing!!!![]

Before I begin, let me qualify my statements by telling you that this is MY OPINION, not that of the Astralpulse founders, or any of the moderators.

Mustardseed, you speak mainly of the Religion section.  The tone in the Religion section has been distinctively different than that of the other sections, which for the most part are safe haven for this  free-for-all of honest, insightful, intelligent, silly, confused, and insane opinions and experiences, all related (generally) to otherworldly matters.

We discovered that when it comes to discussing religion, many people's worst sides come out.  People become reactionary, bitter, accusatory and MEAN.  All this, despite the fact that they don't know anything beyond the most rudimentary information they were spoon fed in church!  It caused a lot of problems, as knee-jerk reactionary mean-ness bled into just about every other topic on Astralpulse.
Beth came to the rescue, in our attempt to bring an educated sense of history, reason, and context into the various religious debates, which were corralled into a new Religion section, so that everyone else (who did not want to be bothered by religious debates) could be left in peace.  It stands to reason that the Religion section would have a much more "educational" feel to it than the other forums. And for that, personally, I am most grateful, because frankly I was sick of inane, circular, religious arguments from knee-jerk reactionaries. Some religious education was TRULY in long order.

Mustardseed, your Nemesis (Beth) is long-gone, having left to work on her book.  So why are you beating this dead horse?  Do you miss her?  All over Astralpulse there is still a free-for-all, where people share opinions and experiences, ask questions, share ideas. That's the purpose of Astralpulse . . . it's a Forum.  Check it out!

and one more thing ------ keep practicing!  don't give up![][][][][][][][][][][][]

heck yeah!  do it!

remember - - flop![]

Hi!

If OBE is your goal, you are making great progress!  What you are feeling are projection vibrations, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Aren't they at trip?

The trick now is to relax completely.  Just let your body flop.  Like you have no bones, no muscles, no nothing.  Just flop.

You might need to practice a few times before you can relax yourself (again) well enough to project.  But when you succeed, you can launch yourself just by willing it!

Be gentle with yourself . . . even the most seasoned OBE-ers fail more than they succeed.  But every success is worth every failure.

In general, if you wonder if what you feeling are vibrations, then you can be almost 100% sure that they are NOT.  Projection vibrations, for a beginner at least, hit with the intensity of an oncoming train.  They cannot be confused with much else.  

"Slight" buzzing or tingling sensations are not projection vibrations, and there is no way to focus on them to make them "spread" into projection vibrations.  In fact, if you focus too much on the tingling/buzzing you will lose your sense of purpose, and botch your projection experience entirely.

When practicing, you will feel (and sometimes hear) many things. Tingles, little itches on your body, pops, voices in your head, a woozy floaty feeling . . . any and all these things, plus some, are normal.  Acknowledge them, and then - THIS IS IMPORTANT - forget about them entirely.  Your focus needs to remain on your awareness and your Intent to project.

In short . . . stay on the main path, don't get distracted by the side routes to nowhere.  Thoughts such as "is this it?" cause you to lose the relaxed state that is CRITICAL to a successful projection.

Maybe Spring 2004.  It's finished, but it's being edited right now. Edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite, review, etc.etc.etc.

We can have an online party when it comes out!

However, to answer your question:

There is no magic without Intent. Without Intent, one is just an awake mystic or, worse, an ordinary sleeping-victim of circumstance rocked by one "happening" after another.  

An earth-magical practitioner does more than experience magic; s/he is co-creatrix with the Divine Forces (beings, elements), shaping and weaving Reality in accordance with Intent. S/he must first practice Magic in the otherworldly realm(s) before Intent will manifest in the physical realm (as above, so below!) after which it will, of course, be subject to the laws of entropy.  

Please note that, for this kind of practitioner, MANIFESTATION is the PURPOSE of magical workings.