Protection is all a matter of preparation and awareness. Being certain that you're covered is foolish, so keeping your head on a swivel is important. When you're aware, you can be proactive and be sure to do the needful long before its ever actually needed. Tends to let life work out a bit better that way.
We covered preparation in the last post, so this one is all about awareness, which is something of a dirty word to "modern occultists" in that its connected to meditation. Its a simple tool, but so few people feel that they can actually do it. I think its difficulty is centered in the fact that it isn't a complicated tool, and for whatever reason, humans love to overcomplicate things.
We covered preparation in the last post, so this one is all about awareness, which is something of a dirty word to "modern occultists" in that its connected to meditation. Its a simple tool, but so few people feel that they can actually do it. I think its difficulty is centered in the fact that it isn't a complicated tool, and for whatever reason, humans love to overcomplicate things.
This is particularly obvious when dealing with the occult and matters thereof. Various organizations associated with magical work and its practice release long-winded rituals with overwhelming trappings and grandiloquent speeches with poor grammar and poorer Latin. Its an indication that getting ourselves in the mood to do something is difficult...so difficult that this tendency frequently keeps us from doing what we wanted to do in the first place.
Such is definitely the case with meditation. We psych ourselves out by believing that something is supposed to happen. At least, on the surface that seems to be the case.
I was taught, both by spirits and people, that meditation is all about stillness and introspection. I believe that, secretly, the idea of being one with our thoughts scares the hell out of us, as a species. Study psychology for a little while and you start to see that everyone's got their internal De Sade, Hitler, or Judas, and coming face to face with those bits and pieces of ourselves is often more frightening than dealing with demons. We'd rather be publicly embarrassed. That, to me, is terribly ironic.
There's a hokey new age saying that is repeated like a mantra: you have to love yourself to be loved. For a long time, I thought that it was a ridiculous notion, but I've learned that there's some truth to it. When we can't be honest with ourselves about what we want in a relationship, we sure as hell can't easily be in a healthy relationship. How do you tell your wife or husband what you want when you've got no idea what that is? The short answer is that you can't. The same idea and truth exists in all aspects of our lives.
And we, as a group, run from Truth like darkness from the light.
That's all meditation is: shedding some light in the dark reaches of our minds. Our minds are wonderful tools when we get to know them and how they tick, and that's where meditation comes in.
Know Thyself is a Delphic maxim that applies here. Cultivating self awareness usually leads to external awareness as well. You start to see how you create problems for yourself and, later, figure out how to fix them.
With that in mind, when you meditate, don't try to do anything. Just sit there and focus inwards. Don't try to control your thoughts, and certainly don't try to change them. Just become aware of them and watch the flow of information. You'll tell yourself more than you realize.
So, to meditate, I recommend that you find a comfortable spot outside of a bed (you're meditating...you don't want to fall asleep). You can sit in a chair, sit cross-legged on the floor, stare blankly into an empty TV screen (useful for scrying), stare at the floor, etc. so long as you aren't distracted. I recommend closing your eyes and using the four-fold breath (a steady breathing exercise) to get comfortable and unwind. From there, as indicated above, just watch and see what your brain hands to you. I recommend doing so for five to ten minutes, then working your way up to a half hour or so. It might not seem like much, but a half hour of meditation per day is known to have some wonderful medical effects.
Later on, you'll learn to use those insights as your patterns become apparent to you.
Take care,
SE
Such is definitely the case with meditation. We psych ourselves out by believing that something is supposed to happen. At least, on the surface that seems to be the case.
I was taught, both by spirits and people, that meditation is all about stillness and introspection. I believe that, secretly, the idea of being one with our thoughts scares the hell out of us, as a species. Study psychology for a little while and you start to see that everyone's got their internal De Sade, Hitler, or Judas, and coming face to face with those bits and pieces of ourselves is often more frightening than dealing with demons. We'd rather be publicly embarrassed. That, to me, is terribly ironic.
There's a hokey new age saying that is repeated like a mantra: you have to love yourself to be loved. For a long time, I thought that it was a ridiculous notion, but I've learned that there's some truth to it. When we can't be honest with ourselves about what we want in a relationship, we sure as hell can't easily be in a healthy relationship. How do you tell your wife or husband what you want when you've got no idea what that is? The short answer is that you can't. The same idea and truth exists in all aspects of our lives.
And we, as a group, run from Truth like darkness from the light.
That's all meditation is: shedding some light in the dark reaches of our minds. Our minds are wonderful tools when we get to know them and how they tick, and that's where meditation comes in.
Know Thyself is a Delphic maxim that applies here. Cultivating self awareness usually leads to external awareness as well. You start to see how you create problems for yourself and, later, figure out how to fix them.
With that in mind, when you meditate, don't try to do anything. Just sit there and focus inwards. Don't try to control your thoughts, and certainly don't try to change them. Just become aware of them and watch the flow of information. You'll tell yourself more than you realize.
So, to meditate, I recommend that you find a comfortable spot outside of a bed (you're meditating...you don't want to fall asleep). You can sit in a chair, sit cross-legged on the floor, stare blankly into an empty TV screen (useful for scrying), stare at the floor, etc. so long as you aren't distracted. I recommend closing your eyes and using the four-fold breath (a steady breathing exercise) to get comfortable and unwind. From there, as indicated above, just watch and see what your brain hands to you. I recommend doing so for five to ten minutes, then working your way up to a half hour or so. It might not seem like much, but a half hour of meditation per day is known to have some wonderful medical effects.
Later on, you'll learn to use those insights as your patterns become apparent to you.
Take care,
SE