Your mindset is everything. No, I am not kidding, so I'll say it again: your mindset is everything. It might not seem like much, at first, but how you respond to stimuli, your thought processes, what you feel, what you think of, how inspiration strikes, what effect it has, and how you just go about your day to day life depends heavily upon what's happening in your gray matter.
In my life & line of work, I've seen a lot of cray cray things. Spirits manifesting out of nothing, folks getting ridden by unseen phantoms, possessions, light shows, flames going nuts without an apparent cause, and so on. Some of it alarming, and some of it is pretty cool.
All of that pales in comparison to what's going on inside our headspace. Its a world all its own, and so few of us spend any time really paying attention o what's happening there. That's a shame, and its a bad idea to be that ignorant of something that drives all that we do.
Just something to consider before I get into the reason for this post....
A gent posted a query on an older post of mine that got me thinking about what can best be termed as the "Magical Mindset" and how it influences one's work. Its something that seems to be either misunderstood or otherwise conveyed in such overly scientific terms as to render itself useless, so I'll take a stab at it here.
Any time you're looking to do magical work, be it through conjuration, prayer, sigils, rootwork, or some combination of the above, you're looking to effect change in the world around you through the sacred act. By interfacing with this tech, you're literally looking to terraform the world to your standards, and that requires something more than the day-to-day POV we all have. When you're simply "Bob who works Construction", you might be well-ascquainted with building things, but you're not bloody likely to be all that comfortable with directing the construction of something (unless you happen to be the Foreman).
This might seem a bit silly, but its worth mentioning that boots-on-the-ground construction worker will see things differently than the Foreman. You're concerned with making things fit together such that each other person around you can do their job unimpeded, but you're not really focusing on how to make it easier for everyone to do their job, nor are you looking at what it takes for them to carry out their function.
Likewise, in magic, to effectively create change in accordance with your will, you need to see the playing field differently. How you get to that state of mind isn't really important, but achieving that state and using it appropriately is absolutely crucial to making magic work effectively for you.
Now, there is no way for me to adequately convey what that feeling is or even how to get there. Its different for all of us, but you'll feel it when you get there.
For me, slipping into this state of mind is a bit like stepping into an open doorway. Its not difficult, and it happens with a subtle intellectual/emotional shift. Pride doesn't really have a place there, and neither does wrath or any other such distraction. Instead, its something akin to a place of raw analysis and utter competence. Its my "comfortable place", in a manner of speaking, though the words fail to convey the point effectively.
If you're looking to get there, try different methods of attaining that zone. For some, its sex that gets 'em there. For others its running, jumping, pushups, meditation, masturbation, self-flagellation, prayer, singing, or something else. So I recommend you experiment until you find that thing that gets you there.
Then do it again, and again, and again until it becomes second nature to you. You can do it, but it will take time.
Happy magic'ing.
SE
All of that pales in comparison to what's going on inside our headspace. Its a world all its own, and so few of us spend any time really paying attention o what's happening there. That's a shame, and its a bad idea to be that ignorant of something that drives all that we do.
Just something to consider before I get into the reason for this post....
A gent posted a query on an older post of mine that got me thinking about what can best be termed as the "Magical Mindset" and how it influences one's work. Its something that seems to be either misunderstood or otherwise conveyed in such overly scientific terms as to render itself useless, so I'll take a stab at it here.
Any time you're looking to do magical work, be it through conjuration, prayer, sigils, rootwork, or some combination of the above, you're looking to effect change in the world around you through the sacred act. By interfacing with this tech, you're literally looking to terraform the world to your standards, and that requires something more than the day-to-day POV we all have. When you're simply "Bob who works Construction", you might be well-ascquainted with building things, but you're not bloody likely to be all that comfortable with directing the construction of something (unless you happen to be the Foreman).
This might seem a bit silly, but its worth mentioning that boots-on-the-ground construction worker will see things differently than the Foreman. You're concerned with making things fit together such that each other person around you can do their job unimpeded, but you're not really focusing on how to make it easier for everyone to do their job, nor are you looking at what it takes for them to carry out their function.
Likewise, in magic, to effectively create change in accordance with your will, you need to see the playing field differently. How you get to that state of mind isn't really important, but achieving that state and using it appropriately is absolutely crucial to making magic work effectively for you.
Now, there is no way for me to adequately convey what that feeling is or even how to get there. Its different for all of us, but you'll feel it when you get there.
For me, slipping into this state of mind is a bit like stepping into an open doorway. Its not difficult, and it happens with a subtle intellectual/emotional shift. Pride doesn't really have a place there, and neither does wrath or any other such distraction. Instead, its something akin to a place of raw analysis and utter competence. Its my "comfortable place", in a manner of speaking, though the words fail to convey the point effectively.
If you're looking to get there, try different methods of attaining that zone. For some, its sex that gets 'em there. For others its running, jumping, pushups, meditation, masturbation, self-flagellation, prayer, singing, or something else. So I recommend you experiment until you find that thing that gets you there.
Then do it again, and again, and again until it becomes second nature to you. You can do it, but it will take time.
Happy magic'ing.
SE