The attraction of the left hand path

[Mathias Jonsson]

Just to add to my previous comment:
Some left hand magicians state that demons are misunderstood powers, their dark imagery is just a result of a negative notion of them, and that if they are revealed or manifested by the magician, they will become completely positive. Hence their evilness or unbalance is just an illusion made up by the Christians and other religions.
This positive view is similar to the kurdish Yezidis who view Lucifer as a positive spiritual being.

In my opinion it may be true of some dark/qlipphotic entities, but not all of these type of entities, and I see it as a mistake and spiritually misleading to view the Qlipphotic Tree as positive.
One has to treat it for what it is.

Also demonic possession do exist even if it's rare, and to say that someone possessed is'nt suffering would be an insult to the sufferer.
If demons would be positive beings then they wouldn't attack or possess people, or make them do acts of violence.

I have heard one story from an occultist in Sweden who was sought out by a group of girls for help, they had experimented with an Ouija board with really disastrous results, they all had suffered violent attacks and partial possession when using the board.

Yet, perhaps we are entering into a karmic phase where we have to start dealing with unbalanced energies on a grander cosmic scale. I have heard some esotericists saying that there are darker energies that try to get a "karmic hitchhike".

There is probably a great deal to learn from the averse side of the Tree, the problem is how to integrate the energies in a way that harmonizes with the balanced Tree.

[Chimerae]

Some of this is what you are born to.  By that I mean soul history, assignment, nature and nurture all rolled into one.  Different people have different skills, different callings, different shadow work to do.    

Watching, I have seen that the farther you go on your path the more you have to deal with the same stuff -- whether you take the light or the dark path.  

How many "light side" holy mystics are really in it because they're chasing some kind of desire for a lightside "win" -- to be admired and outrank the lesser masses?  Greed is just a part of all of us, and we have to deal with it.  Ditto on pretty much everything else.

The thing is, most Travelers will find it all more manageable if they stay in the light.  It seems like the lightside path arranges the lessons and the tests in the best order for most of us material beings.  The darkside path has the same lessons -- if you get far enough -- but the burden that is accrued along the path quickly becomes unmanageable for real progress.  I'm often reminded there of the way a particle accellerated toward the speed of light starts to gain mass.  

I'm not sure of this, but it would appear from what I have seen that there are "born to" exceptions.  I think that the misuse of the right hand path creates a kind of pressure or void that demands a balance on the left side.  When that happens, sometimes a great soul is born into a set of parameters where their calling is to the left hand path.  Those few individuals, for whatever reason, seem to be able to get far enough on the path to ultimately confront the lessons not usually experienced on the left hand path.  I'm not talking about the mages who seem to take everything they are and push the left hand path deeper into the black.  I'm saying that there are some people who walk that path and find enlightenment.

When I run into one of those, I think "Better you than me, pal!"  and practice gratitude for the work they're doing.  

What it's taught me is that I need to look carefully at my relationship with truth.  When I am attracted to the left hand path -- what's really going on?  Sometimes, it's been that I picked up a "rider" and wasn't aware.  Sometimes, it's that my ego is unwilling to visit the next evolution in the road and a little walk on the wild side seems like a diversion that might slow me up.  Most of the time, it's that a handful of incompatible and unattractive truths have piled up and rather than deal with them one at a time, the Other Way calls.  

As for the things that go bump in the night, most of what people experience as demons aren't real demons at all, even though there are lots of things out there willing to pretend -- and really good at it!  I used to think it was just a semantics thing, since after all if you experience something as a demon and it's that destructive, what's the point of arguing?  After several years of unmasking "demons" and insisting there really were no such thing -- I ran into two.  I pray never again.  That wasn't fun.  The people who brought them to me acquired them messing around with dark side things pretending to be demons.  When the student is ready the teacher appears.    

[Nita]

Hello Matthias
I suggest that everyone read the book A treatsie on White Magic by Alice Bailey and Djwhul Khul. It states in there all of the things you are talking about and how the energies affect people.
  You have to get past the dated flowerly language but people on the left hand path follow the path of mentalism and thinking that they themselves are the only power. They have personal power and do not use anything else.They follow the path of Ego and self-aggrandizement.
  The people who work upon the energy of God or the great now draw it into themselves from above. Their soul becomes a conduit for God and they do the work and effort for Gods plan to help all humanity. They may never completely do anything but achieve their part of the plan but that is enough.
  Everyone is tempeted by the left hand path by the decisions they make in life. The little decisions add up so you either go one way or another even if you are not consciously causing trouble to anyone else but yourself.
  You do this by making the choices where you glorify your ego and yourself. It traps you in a cycle where you cut your soul off from God by the decisions that you make.
  On the subject of demons you will not be able to achieve anything with a demon that you can not achieve with God. Demons and the negative energies are part of the plan to show one why the right decisions have to be made to further the plan.
  Now personally I would prefer to help others and move things along for a better future for everyone. I have heard all sorts of stuff recently like spiritual satanism, qlippothic magic etc. Everyone has a choice and reading books and thinking about those choices is the best thing you can do for yourself.
  Nita

[boydster]

Thank you, Nita--that was very coherent and eloquent.

Aryanknight666, you mentioned, "You are mistaken if you think the occult adepts have always been sourceophiles, because to be quite frank, these notion of jesus, buddha, krishna, all being mystic prophets of the "I AM" maker source, are really quite young, and you're famous occultist or occult adepts came before these theories ever existed. And, just for the record, most if not all of them were of the left hand path.".

Upon what do you base these statements? Lifetimes of personal experience and study lead me to disagree with you totally.

[kalratri]

before any discussion is held of who followed the left hand or right hand path, these two paths must be clearly defined.

left hand - shakti(female-goddess)with form -- performance of magic
right hand - shiva (male- god)without form -- wisdom, universal

followers of either path can eventually "fall" or turn to evil, and there is nothing inherently evil about the left hand.

Out of all the recent practitioners, the most right handed was Buddha, he was purely meditational and discouraged all his students from demonstrating any magic - which is left hand.  He was the purest wisdom, as he refused to call himself or allow anyone else to call him God and only wanted to be known as a teacher.  After his death however, the left hand formed a major part of Buddhism.

Christianity - left hand forms (Mother Mary) a major part of his worship, he also liked showing off miracles and working magic which is pure left hand.  He loved being called the son of God or Son of Man by others.

However, most great sages practiced both and ALL great sages were proficient with both.

[boydster]

I've never seen the term defined this way before in any literature at all.

Nita's definition is the closest to my understanding of "Left handed path" that I've seen in this thread.

[kalratri]

quote:Originally posted by boydster

I've never seen the term defined this way before in any literature at all.

Nita's definition is the closest to my understanding of "Left handed path" that I've seen in this thread.

Well the western tradition kind of became quite biased against the left hand path as being automatically evil, left is "sinister"...

The fact that left hand worship meant goddess worship was lost in the west with semitic traditions emphasizing the right hand superiority, but in actuality utilizing secretly the left hand.  Bible states Jesus sat on the right hand of God.

Worship of the "dark Mary" vs. "fair Mary" is basically the left hand path.

Hinduism in particular preserved both paths quite well.  The picture of the half Shiva half kali body of God is what the left hand/right hand means.  Shiva is on the right, shakti is on the left -- THE TWO TOGETHER FORM THE BODY OF GOD.

The very hand greeting of Namaste is uniting the left hand with the right hand, the union of Shiva and Shakti, Yang and yin.

[Sentential]

I agree, the left is not evil. IMHO I think it is discouraged because of the "micacle" type experiences it provides.

As for me I would fall into the left hand path. I am both left handed psionically and physically. Although I abused what I was given as a kid, I no longer do this.

Free will allows everyone to choose their path, left or right.

[boydster]

I think we're getting lost in semantics here.

I do not consider that worshipping the deity in it's feminine form is evil or wrong. But then I've never heard of Goddess worship as being called the "left handed path" either. I point once again to Nita's definition as probably the most widely understood meaning of "left handed path".

You all are free to define it as you will, of course.

[daem0n]

to help others you must first help yourself
as usual, balance is called for

if you spend ALL your time helping others and at the same time you are unconciously boosting your ego how great you are becouse you help others you are getting nowhere

if you spend ALL your time treating others like sh** becouse you are so great and going for divinity/enlightment, you are boosting your ego and getting nowhere

if you advance enough, and UNDERSTAND that by helping others you are helping yourself, and do it unconditionally without defining yourself by it, and learn from it (but not spend all the time on it), you are getting somewhere

edit:(you see, we are all equal, but focusing only on one path tends to distort the view in both extremes)

but to advance you must first cleanse yourself, and no other human being can help you, this is the path each of us travels alone

i see magic as a useful tool that allows one to do more, and that removes obstacles which would slow down progress to enlighment/divinity, but not as the goal itself

i like kalrati definition and i practise both paths (magic and buddhism), becouse of the possibilites i gain that allow me to do more, both in helping myself and others

if you get sick won't you use magic to heal yourself ??, and if you see loved (but it could be virtually anyone..) one suffering can't you see through using telepathy/intuition and solve the problem at it's core ??,
and then, by practising buddhism (whatever, really ), you are emotionally stable and able to be objective and find the right solution ??

balance is called for ...

[kalratri]

Actually I never disagreed with Nita's definition of the left hand path which she states as being "mental".  In fact, anyone well read in the texts would know that my definition is the same as her's just put in a different way.

I simply disagreed on whether the ENTIRE left hand path is black magic.

Again the entire context of the title of the thread as Buddha might say, is incorrect.

To say that one should avoid the left hand path is is like  saying you want to drink milk without the calcium and protein, since calcium and protein strengthen the body and mind --> which might lead to a bigger ego--> which leads to evil.

So please avoid at all costs calcium and protein.[]

[boydster]

I did a whole bunch of reading online about the different ideas behind the left handed and right handed paths. It seems to me that there are two distinctly different descriptions for these terms out there. Some people here are referring to a description which I had never heard of, and which seems to be the basis for Kalratri's remarks (and others as well).

My background regarding these terms is rooted in their useage by Blavatsky's teachers, the Masters Morya, Koot Hoomi, Djwal Kul and others. And the term "left handed path" is, from this perspective, nicely summed up and also fairly restricted to Nita's description:

quote:Originally posted by Nita

...people on the left hand path follow the path of mentalism and thinking that they themselves are the only power. They have personal power and do not use anything else. They follow the path of Ego and self-aggrandizement.

Neither I nor anyone else here to my knowledge insinuated that the left handed path is all "black magic". I would, however, like to insinuate that the left handed path (my definition of it...) is not the most sure way to lasting health and happiness. Followers tend to make more karma which drags them into costly payback scenarios over a number of lifetimes. It tends to create spiritual blindness and vulnerability due to the undesireable connections and attractions the follower tumbles into.

I myself tend more towards a path of devotion to female deities such as Kali, Shakti and Mother Mary. A real important part of my path is the persistent raising of the Kundalini into my upper chakras, not for personal power or magic though. It is so that I may join, as Shakti, my Lord, my Higher Self or Shiva form. It is through the divine feminine polarity that I may rise into oneness with the Source.

I think, as you point out, many if not most spiritual luminaries have risen to their positions through paths which include worshipping and becoming one with the divine feminine polarity. My point of contention is that, to my knowledge, none of THEM terms this the left handed path. I've read quite of bit of teachings by the ascended members of the spiritual hierarchy of this planet and they seem to be pretty consistent in THEIR use of the term. And, once again, it mirrors what Nita mentions. My comments about the left handed path, if they seem disparaging, refer only to the definition I choose to accept and use.

[Moonburn33]

i don't really see the problem with self aggrandizement and ego worship.

[boydster]

quote:Originally posted by runlola
Anyway, what is this thread about again? What's attractive about using black magick?<--is that the question?

Mathias used the term "left handed path" in connection to comments about black magic practices and ever since then (it seems) we've been debating about the definition of "left handed path". It seems to have pushed the buttons of a number of people, including me, who have a fairly well conceived personal definition of the term, but whose various disparate definitions don't match up well.

My interest in the thread is prolonged when I see comments like this:

quote:Originally posted by Moonburn33
i don't really see the problem with self aggrandizement and ego worship.

Maybe Moonburn is just baiting me, maybe not. Either way I feel compelled to make comments to the effect that what you put your energy and attention into really does have consequences, even the apparent harmlessness of self idolatry and selfishness in ones personal choices. It sets up the next few dominos of ones experiences or even lives which bring understanding (sometimes painfully) to the one who elects so. Thus my previous comments:

"Followers (of the LHP) tend to make more karma which drags them into costly payback scenarios over a number of lifetimes. It tends to create spiritual blindness and vulnerability due to the undesireable connections and attractions the follower tumbles into."

It might take time to arrive at, but it is inexorably true that the LHP is a regretable decision. I'm not talking about instant payback, like one week later you regret a decision. I'm talking about your soul gets to the end of a particular run of a half dozen lives and can see clearly that he regrets a decision he made a few thousand years ago which created karmic debts and delays which played out slowly and expensively over several (or more) lifetimes.

I hope this frames my comments better. This is the way I see this issue--what does a decision cost over the period of many lifetimes, not just my current little stage act. If we make our decisions based on the feedback we get from day to day we tend to resemble, in the long run, blind men running.

[SomeBloke]

OK, here is an encyclopedia definition, including a description of how its usage in the West was changed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Hand_Path

Very interesting reading, and from its conclusions, I appear to (ahem) swing both ways.

I liked Kalratri's definition...  but I guess if you ask what 'left hand path' means, it is clear that it means different things to different people.

Hi Boydster, I notice your avatar is Babaji, (are you are kriyaban?) Do you think he exhibited some of both paths as described in the link above?  Would he make a distinction?

[boydster]

quote:Originally posted by SomeBloke


Hi Boydster, I notice your avatar is Babaji, (are you are kriyaban?) Do you think he exhibited some of both paths as described in the link above?  Would he make a distinction?

The link you included is one which I did read very carefully recently in order to try to figure out where this apparent dichotomy of definitions appeared from.

Babaji is what I aspire to be like. I know him from reading SRF books and from some other sources as well. I am not formally associated with the SRF but I adore the books and the mission of the organization. It's just not my group of people at this point though.

I have been engaged in various yogic practices for over half of my 44 years and recently convinced a friend to loan me his kriya instruction book. I read most of it and felt as though I understand what it is about. I tried it (kriya yoga) several times and found it to be safe and effective. I will probably adopt it more into my life as time goes on, adding it to the things I already do regularly.

As for how Babaji defines the left handed path--who knows? The important part for me is that Babaji has sacrificed himself for the salvation of the unascended souls of this planet. He has delayed his rightfully earned escape into the bliss of nirvana in order to spend his time teaching and raising up those in need. I don't believe that any of his activities at this point are for "himself". He lives toward the end of all mankind attaining their ultimate respective goals.

Did he spend time earlier in his life working to free himself from the bondage of his karma or to work on raising his consciousness out of the limitations of the mortal brain/mind? Of course. And you could call that self-centered I guess, from a limited point of view. But I don't define that as the left handed path, myself. I would call it "taking care of business" before getting on with the ultimage goal of service to life.

[kalratri]

well, ahem.  There are so many people who claim that they have attained Nirvana/moksha...so many coming from India, that I thought I should make a suggestion.

If you really want to test any of these claims, do something to that person that ought to hurt like crazy any ordinary person...if he escapes everytime or doesn't even wince and not one drop of blood falls, than you know this person is for real, otherwise this so called "guru" is just crazy trying to make money and probably doesn't have a clue as to what attaining Nirvana is.  

Another clue as to THE REAL DEAL, is if he's the picture of health, strong, good skin/hair, strong shiny eyes,etc. That's also a sign of someone who knows energy.  The person should not have lose aging skin, look horrible.  IN FACT, ALL sages who have attained anything were NOT ugly or unhealthy looking but were in fact attractive.  True nirvana destroys all imperfections of the body and soul.

Ofcourse, if the guy is for real, then he might curse you and you get a horrible neg infestation.
[]

[SomeBloke]

[boydster]

quote:Originally posted by kalratri


well, ahem.  There are so many people who claim that they have attained Nirvana/moksha...so many coming from India, that I thought I should make a suggestion.

If you really want to test any of these claims, do something to that person that ought to hurt like crazy any ordinary person...if he escapes everytime or doesn't even wince and not one drop of blood falls, than you know this person is for real, otherwise this so called "guru" is just crazy trying to make money and probably doesn't have a clue as to what attaining Nirvana is.  

Another clue as to THE REAL DEAL, is if he's the picture of health, strong, good skin/hair, strong shiny eyes,etc. That's also a sign of someone who knows energy.  The person should not have lose aging skin, look horrible.  IN FACT, ALL sages who have attained anything were NOT ugly or unhealthy looking but were in fact attractive.  True nirvana destroys all imperfections of the body and soul.

Ofcourse, if the guy is for real, then he might curse you and you get a horrible neg infestation.
[]

Here is some info about Babaji--he's not your ordinary Indian guru:

http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/33.asp

[Lefthandblack]

What is the attraction of the left hand path?

For me personally, it's mostly about freedom, with a pinch of pride,
ego,lust,spite and a desire for vengeance thrown in for good measure.

Freedom:
Serving yourself and your own desires first above all others,
gods and devils included.

ego/pride:
Endeavoring to reshape the universe to your own model rather than the other way around. Futile? Maybe, see spite.

Lust:
Pursuing physical-reality attachments/desires without guilt, no matter
what methods employed to obtain such desires.

Spite/desire for vengeance:
Vengeance for what? Existence.
I never asked for this existence, so don't expect me to play by the rules of a game that I never wanted to play in the first place, and
I will do everything in my power to diametrically oppose myself from
whoever/whatever is responsible for my existence whether they/it be
a deity, higher-self, aliens or whatever. So, I attempt to numb the
pain of existence with self-aggrandizement and base desires until such
time that the enemy surrenders and negates my existence, whether it
takes one lifetime or a million.

[kalratri]

How can anyone be attracted to evil?  I don't get it.

I mean let's really look at evil. How much fun could it be to hurt babies, animals, perform really sick sexually deviant acts (outside and inside the species), get diseases, give diseases, make people into soap (Hitler).

There's also the occasional possessed dictator causing massive holocausts against defenseless people, and that includes killing little babies.

I mean, sheesh!  How fun can it be?  Evil people should really think about it.



[!]

[boydster]

quote:Originally posted by kalratri


How can anyone be attracted to evil?  I don't get it.

I mean let's really look at evil. How much fun could it be to hurt babies, animals, perform really sick sexually deviant acts (outside and inside the species), get diseases, give diseases, make people into soap (Hitler).

There's also the occasional possessed dictator causing massive holocausts against defenseless people, and that includes killing little babies.

I mean, sheesh!  How fun can it be?  Evil people should really think about it.



[!]

What you bring up is almost an entire different thread.

The psychology of evil and rebellion against the Source seems to the rest of us to be like an unexplainable insanity.

Suffice it to say, the Source gives them plenty of chances of see and embrace the Light before they are put out of their misery permanently.

[Lefthandblack]

quote:Originally posted by kalratri


How can anyone be attracted to evil?  I don't get it.

I mean let's really look at evil. How much fun could it be to hurt babies, animals, perform really sick sexually deviant acts (outside and inside the species), get diseases, give diseases, make people into soap (Hitler).

There's also the occasional possessed dictator causing massive holocausts against defenseless people, and that includes killing little babies.

I mean, sheesh!  How fun can it be?  Evil people should really think about it.



[!]

There are different degrees to everything.
Sure, I might sleep with your wife while you are out of town on buissiness, but that doesn't mean that I would get off on murdering
infants or molesting your dog.

People like me are the reason that societies have laws and a punishment system to enforce them.

The only thing that I could think of as worse than existing in this
reality, would be existing in this reality locked inside of a cage.

I'll give you a couple of examples:
I drive the speed-limit. Do I do so because I have some moral concern
for the safety of others on the road with me?
Absolutely not.
I drive the speed-limit because if a cop catches me speeding, he is
going to write me a ticket which will cost me hard-earned money.

There are more than a few people that have crossed me in my life.
They are still alive only because of societies laws and the punishment
system to back up those laws.

When I was younger, I struggled alot with this, eventually I came to
the conclusion that it would be far better just to admit to and be
comfortable with the fact that to play by anyone else's rules but my
own, would be to deny myself what little comfort I can find on this
miserable rock.

[Moonburn33]

my contention is that whatever made reality wants us to become separate from it.  I believe that nirvana is a sin, in that sense.  Everything that we do is for the stability, or perceived stability of our own organisms.  I base my belief system on that in that the only way to be happy is to do what i want to do- that includes helping others if it floats my boat.  I think that being intentionally hurtful to others for no reason or any of the other things discussed in this thread is not the left hand path, but the path of Stupidity.

[Moonburn33]

unless it's what you need to be truly happy