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Perfecting Your Own Ritual

StuKE

Junior Acolyte
Joined
Feb 11, 2017
Messages
87
Some believe that the most important element behind magic is intent, the ritual merely serves to focus and channel the mind.
Some say it is far better to learn and master one effective technique in martial arts / self defence, to absolutely drill it into the sub conscious and muscle memory, to perfect every last nuance so it becomes part of you, than to go through the motions with multiple, poorly applied techniques.

With that possibility in mind, has anyone here picked a 'spell' or field of ESP they want to experiment with and applied their full focus on that only, building up their own methodology and throwing the self into it? For example, someone may have decided they want to master psi, maybe moving objects with the mind, another may work solely on developing their vision to see the aura, or perhaps someone is out there giving everything they have got to be able to plant thoughts in others' minds...

What I am wanting to know is if anybody believes you can make your own technique and it will work if you work on it enough, with enough focus and intent, and if you have actually spent a good amount of time doing it.
 
What I am wanting to know is if anybody believes you can make your own technique and it will work if you work on it enough, with enough focus and intent, and if you have actually spent a good amount of time doing it.

Do you believe that that's possible? In honesty that seems rather silly to me.
 
stuKE,

How will anyone who claims to have attained such a power demonstrate it to others ?

Many claim to be able to do some strange things, but when asked to demonstrate it hide behind claims of (can't do that, top secret, have to kill you if I did) exclusivity.

And thus there is no way of separating out the charlatans from those who found something.

People on sites like this regularly make such claims.

INT21
 
I suppose.... would christian prayer count under you definitions?
 
stuKE,

How will anyone who claims to have attained such a power demonstrate it to others ?

Many claim to be able to do some strange things, but when asked to demonstrate it hide behind claims of (can't do that, top secret, have to kill you if I did) exclusivity.

And thus there is no way of separating out the charlatans from those who found something.

People on sites like this regularly make such claims.

INT21
I'm not too bothered about proof, more what people think of the idea. If someone tells how they have been successful with it, I won't be trying to scrutinise.
 
Do you feel it has brought you results?

results? I know I am changed as a result - which is usually what I petition for. But prayer isn't asking for things mainly.

Do I think that there is someone on the other end of the line, so to speak. Yes. Totally and absolutely.
 
I don't think there's a "one size fits all" answer to the OP's question.

The main reason is that the OP only cited examples that concern elicitation, if not active causation, of changes or novel outcomes external to the person pursuing them. If one believes there are historical examples of effective paranormal (supernatural; occult-ish; whatever ... ) means to achieve such externally-manifested ends, it would be advisable to start with surveying what's been known / done before.

This doesn't mean the seeker is doomed to follow a pre-existing 'cookbook' approach. My point is that building one's own idiosyncratic 'power' should proceed from a basis informed (not necessarily steered ... ) by precedents. If nothing else, such background review and examination will aid the seeker in defining / demarcating what's involved, what's important, what to avoid, etc., etc. The degree to which the seeker elects to 'go free form' outward / onward from that basis is entirely up to him / her.

If one is aiming more toward developing internally (i.e., personally) manifested changes / outcomes, I would say he / she has greater leeway to create idiosyncratic techniques (strategies, methods, etc.). This is especially relevant if the objective is exploring one's own perceptual / cognitive / mental / spiritual capacities and abilities.

However, even within this personally-circumscribed scope of objectives it would still be advisable to do some preparatory work just to figure out what's at issue. The reason is that effectuating outcomes in oneself involves nuances and complexities (e.g., in self-reference) that are as, if not more, daunting than dealing with the so-called 'real' / external world.

The key point in both cases is to proceed with at least a minimal coherent frame of reference. Otherwise, you're just randomly flailing in the vain hope of seeing some results - a non-method whose futility can persist all the way to your grave.
 
What I am wanting to know is if anybody believes you can make your own technique and it will work if you work on it enough, with enough focus and intent, and if you have actually spent a good amount of time doing it.

You can. I have.

Have a look at the Aleister Crowley thread Stuke. Such matters are discussed there.
 

Do you believe that that's possible? In honesty that seems rather silly to me.
Not sure it is possible, but yes I believe it probably is. If actual magic exists, as clearly many believe it does, then the spells/rituals must have started somewhere, with someone, no rule book, no instructions. If the key requisite is intent and belief, why would you need to follow a set ritual?
Is this any different ro the blind people who have taught themselves echolocation, or Wim Hoff - the 'Iceman' who taught his body and mind to withstand subzero temperatures, performing incredible feats? There are many more examples of people 'paving their own way'.
Or is it the actual notion of magic that you find silly?
 
Some believe that the most important element behind magic is intent, the ritual merely serves to focus and channel the mind.
Some say it is far better to learn and master one effective technique in martial arts / self defence, to absolutely drill it into the sub conscious and muscle memory, to perfect every last nuance so it becomes part of you, than to go through the motions with multiple, poorly applied techniques.

With that possibility in mind, has anyone here picked a 'spell' or field of ESP they want to experiment with and applied their full focus on that only, building up their own methodology and throwing the self into it? For example, someone may have decided they want to master psi, maybe moving objects with the mind, another may work solely on developing their vision to see the aura, or perhaps someone is out there giving everything they have got to be able to plant thoughts in others' minds...

What I am wanting to know is if anybody believes you can make your own technique and it will work if you work on it enough, with enough focus and intent, and if you have actually spent a good amount of time doing it.

Hi StuKE,

I'm not sure this answers your question in the way you're asking, but this is how I go about things in the way that is most successful.

I've been doing various forms of divination for many years now. Tarot cards are easiest to use because they contain so much information, but just about anything can be used for divination purposes.

I don't use rituals that most people would recognize as such. No candles or calling upon guardian spirits or anything. However, this doesn't mean there is no ritual at all. Shuffling the cards and laying them out is a ritual, if you see what I mean.

This is not the thing that makes it work for me, though. By far the most important thing is what's happening with my ability to concentrate at the time. This is very specific, and I will try to describe it in a way that makes sense (but no guarantees, alas!)

Some may call it divided attention, but this doesn't seem quite accurate, because of the way it's so specifically divided. It's as if I've focused myriad parts of my attention on my actions or surroundings, while leaving one channel open to pick up the signal from...whatever mysterious place it comes. This part of my attention is a bit like peripheral vision. You can't look directly at it, or focus on it, otherwise it will vanish. You almost have to outfox it, pretend you don't notice! :)

A three way mirror is a good analogy. If you look forward into the mirror, you can peripherally see those other reflections on the right and left sides. For me, the information I need for the divination is coming from the left hand side while I focus on the center. If I turn my focus. it will disappear.

Also, when reading for a person, it's important to pick up their signal as well. ("signal" is just the best term for whatever it is I'm picking up - I don't know what it is, really). If I fail to grasp these signals, then I have to rely on intellectual knowledge of whatever symbolism is in front of me. This can still be instructive, but nowhere near as accurate, in a gut-level intuitive way.

Anyway, the point is that any ritual of mine is meant to facilitate this mental state. With divination it's extremely easy, with other workings, more effort and perhaps more elaborate ritual is needed.
 
I hadn't realized it at the time, but I had been dabbling in chaos magick in my youth. I simply hadn't worked myself up to fully believing in any one ritual at any given time.

It's a fictional book, but "The Illuminatus! Trilogy" has a couple of lines I quite enjoy regarding this practice....

"Reality is thermo-plastic, not thermo-setting"

and then this fantastic exchange when Joe meets Malaclypse The Elder:

"I don't get it," said Joe. "The first time I saw you, we were all terrified out of our minds. Though when you finally showed up looking like Billy Graham, I didn't know whether to laugh or go catto. But I know I was scared."
...

"Well, I wasn't so scared just at that moment you mention," said Joe with a smile. "But a little later, when our friend here was about to appear. You were terrified yourself, Padre. You kept hollering, 'come not in that form! Come not in that form!' Now we're all sitting around the living room behaving like old chums...."
...

Padre said, "The night of that Black Mass, I simply had worked myself up to the point of where I totally believed. That's what magic is, after all. The people who were here that night relate to left-hand magic, to the Satan myth...we've brought you along fast...so now you don't need the trappings.
"

I happen to subscribe to the idea in OP's post, I just have no way to qualify it to other people.
 
... By far the most important thing is what's happening with my ability to concentrate at the time. This is very specific, and I will try to describe it in a way that makes sense (but no guarantees, alas!)

Some may call it divided attention, but this doesn't seem quite accurate, because of the way it's so specifically divided. It's as if I've focused myriad parts of my attention on my actions or surroundings, while leaving one channel open to pick up the signal from...whatever mysterious place it comes. This part of my attention is a bit like peripheral vision. You can't look directly at it, or focus on it, otherwise it will vanish. You almost have to outfox it, pretend you don't notice! :)
...

I believe I know what you mean ... From 1969 through the 1970's I was known for being able to locate small treasured items (rings, jewelry, etc.) lost in large outdoor areas after days or even weeks of searching had failed. Over the years I identified and routinely included a set of procedural elements which seemed to occur repeatedly in all successful recoveries.

One of these elements was looking around - even all the way out to the horizon - rather than looking down at the ground. I would walk around visualizing the person(s) and event(s) involved in the item going MIA, while keeping one corner of my consciousness reserved for receipt of a discernible yet ineffable cue that I'd finished. Only then would I look down, and the lost item would typically be lying on the ground before me within a foot or two of my feet. On two occasions the lost item was lying directly between the toes of my shoes.

I agree that 'divided attention' doesn't accurately describe the intended effect. For me, it was more like blurring the 'real world' environment slightly, so as to generate an opening for whatever-it-was-that-occurred. The first time I made such a wondrous recovery I was significantly hung over and my vision was slightly out-of-focus unless I concentrated. I adopted these elements of 'blurring' to the extent that one hearty glass of wine before scanning and the slight eye-crossing gambit borrowed from the Castaneda books became formulaic components of my routine.
 
...I'm not too bothered about proof, more what people think of the idea. If someone tells how they have been successful with it, I won't be trying to scrutinise....

Then you will never be able to ascertain the truth, or otherwise, of any claim.

Why do you not want to know is a claim is true or not. Or should I ask 'why does it not matter ?'

INT21
 
I believe I know what you mean ... From 1969 through the 1970's I was known for being able to locate small treasured items (rings, jewelry, etc.) lost in large outdoor areas after days or even weeks of searching had failed. Over the years I identified and routinely included a set of procedural elements which seemed to occur repeatedly in all successful recoveries.

One of these elements was looking around - even all the way out to the horizon - rather than looking down at the ground. I would walk around visualizing the person(s) and event(s) involved in the item going MIA, while keeping one corner of my consciousness reserved for receipt of a discernible yet ineffable cue that I'd finished. Only then would I look down, and the lost item would typically be lying on the ground before me within a foot or two of my feet. On two occasions the lost item was lying directly between the toes of my shoes.

I agree that 'divided attention' doesn't accurately describe the intended effect. For me, it was more like blurring the 'real world' environment slightly, so as to generate an opening for whatever-it-was-that-occurred. The first time I made such a wondrous recovery I was significantly hung over and my vision was slightly out-of-focus unless I concentrated. I adopted these elements of 'blurring' to the extent that one hearty glass of wine before scanning and the slight eye-crossing gambit borrowed from the Castaneda books became formulaic components of my routine.

Brilliant, EnolaGaia. Yes, this is it, exactly.

Earlier, I was trying to remember how I came upon the process and realized it had sprung, in part, from Castaneda's eye crossing technique, as well. Not in its pure form, but components that had become habitual, the way you describe. Very interesting!
 
But shouldn't one at least try ?

When some member of this site states that he or she regularly holds conversations with alien beings from other planets, is it not sensible to ask for some proof of this 'unusual' activity.

Or should we just say 'fine, we believe you'.

INT21
 
...I'm not too bothered about proof, more what people think of the idea. If someone tells how they have been successful with it, I won't be trying to scrutinise....

Then you will never be able to ascertain the truth, or otherwise, of any claim.

Why do you not want to know is a claim is true or not. Or should I ask 'why does it not matter ?'

INT21
But how would I ever know anyway? All these posts on this site, all the stories, the claims, for how many do YOU have undeniable proof that it is genuine?
I think for me, the possibility matters more in some respects. Take for example, Bigfoot. I am a big fan of the big foot-ed one, but how would I fell if the News at Ten ran a breaking news piece showing footage of the capture of one, of produced a body? Right at that moment, it all sot of begins, but it also new. It has gone from a dream, a mystery, an incredible potential occurrence, to solid fact, from story to cold scientific fact, and in doing so, for me, something would have gone, never to return. I am more about the chance, however small, the unknown and unknowable.

Another thing is, who am I to tell somebody I don't know, will never know, online that what she is telling me is garbage? What makes me an understand that this is what happens on these threads and I am fine with that, I would expect people to scrutinise and pick holes in my story if it was me telling my tale, it's just not something I am interested in doing to others.

That's not meant to sound holier than thou, not saying my way is better than anyone else's, it isn't but it is right for me.
 
But shouldn't one at least try ?

When some member of this site states that he or she regularly holds conversations with alien beings from other planets, is it not sensible to ask for some proof of this 'unusual' activity.

Or should we just say 'fine, we believe you'.

INT21
Yes, people should and I am sure plenty will, and I will read what is said, but as I said in my last post, for me, the idea, and even if it is tiny, possibility that I is real, is enough.
 
EbolaGaia and Ulalume: very interesting, I think I know what you mean and suspect that this is would be much easier for someone brought up with less distractions and sensory bombardment that we have in Western society. I imagine it is harder for us to notice the subtle messages or signs.
 
Brilliant, EnolaGaia. Yes, this is it, exactly.

Earlier, I was trying to remember how I came upon the process and realized it had sprung, in part, from Castaneda's eye crossing technique, as well. Not in its pure form, but components that had become habitual, the way you describe. Very interesting!

Thanks ...

I wanted to mention the finding experiences to illustrate how one may independently / individually develop or refine a skill or capability once it is recognized or demonstrated. I have no problem claiming such development - once underway - is entirely amenable to a 'do it yourself' orientation. If anything, I'd go further to claim some degree of DIY adaptation is evident in the practices of every person I've considered demonstrably 'adept' at whatever paranormal (etc.) activity they perform.

In contrast, my experience has been that being doctrinaire and sticking to a 'cookbook approach' is almost always evidence for either rookie naivete or inevitable flame-out.

With reference to the OP's query, I'd emphasize this is not the same as setting out to obtain such a skill / capability from scratch and pursuing it on a strictly DIY basis. I didn't set out to be a notable 'finder'. Once I'd pulled off a seemingly extraordinary 'finding' I simply pondered over all I remembered of the experience and began a continuous learning process that extended across circa 10 years and multiple recoveries.
 
StuKE,

..But how would I ever know anyway? All these posts on this site, all the stories, the claims, for how many do YOU have undeniable proof that it is genuine?..

Absolutely none.

There never was any question on that. That I why I am a skeptic.

Many strange things happen to most of us. And we can't provide proof positive for most of them. Not a problem.

But there are limits to what even a skeptic can read about or hear and still say 'well, maybe'.

I expect the sun to rise tomorrow. I don't know it will, but past experience indicates it will. If I was to hear 'I believe the Sun will not rise tomorrow' then I would have to ask 'Why not ?'.

And the person who believed would really be bound to explain. A simple 'I just belief it won't' isn't really good enough.

People all over the earth have been believing the end of the Earth is on such and such a day. It's still here.

INT21
 
EbolaGaia and Ulalume: very interesting, I think I know what you mean and suspect that this is would be much easier for someone brought up with less distractions and sensory bombardment that we have in Western society. I imagine it is harder for us to notice the subtle messages or signs.

I absolutely agree ...

One of the key requirements is a combination of personal sensibilities and 'quiet space' to enable focused reflection with no distractions.

When I was circa 9 or 10 years old I read an article about a European psychic who'd successfully contributed to multiple criminal investigations. (It might well have been Peter Hurkos, but I don't recall exactly who it was.) Something he claimed resonated strongly with me. He claimed that the best way to engage and / or develop one's psychic abilities was to spend as much time as possible away from the rat-race / everyday-distractions and instead immerse oneself in nature and concentrate on experience in that natural realm.

This wasn't a call to meditate (with an inward focus ...) in a natural setting. The point was to be as open and aware as possible of all that was around you, even though it may seem devoid of activity. I took this lesson to heart, and from that age onward I made a point to simply 'sit and be with mindful self-observation'. Doing this helped me to grasp how to be aware, how to recognize things that weren't simply sensory, and how to engage these ephemeral things as clues / cues.

This was probably the most fundamental skill that would eventually contribute to my 'finding' and other such experiences.
 
Some believe that the most important element behind magic is intent, the ritual merely serves to focus and channel the mind.
Some say it is far better to learn and master one effective technique in martial arts / self defence, to absolutely drill it into the sub conscious and muscle memory, to perfect every last nuance so it becomes part of you, than to go through the motions with multiple, poorly applied techniques.

With that possibility in mind, has anyone here picked a 'spell' or field of ESP they want to experiment with and applied their full focus on that only, building up their own methodology and throwing the self into it? For example, someone may have decided they want to master psi, maybe moving objects with the mind, another may work solely on developing their vision to see the aura, or perhaps someone is out there giving everything they have got to be able to plant thoughts in others' minds...

What I am wanting to know is if anybody believes you can make your own technique and it will work if you work on it enough, with enough focus and intent, and if you have actually spent a good amount of time doing it.
Do you believe that that's possible? In honesty that seems rather silly to me.


No it worked for Kwai Chang Caine.
 
There does seem to be a fair few belief systems knocking around where some form of ritual or mental exercise is performed that gets results in the eyes of the conjurer, (for a better word).


There is a huge movement of Wicca and white witchcraft, Voodoo, Santeria, etc that is constantly evolving and it's throwing up adepts left right and center.

What does this mean?

Essentially it's Fortean, its based on the perception of the individual.

So know no one is going to fix my car with a Sage blessing, (sick of that one tbh), but might attain a state and reveal a wisdom that helps them through life. Mine was through very good quality LSD not witchcraft.:)
 
Or should we just say 'fine, we believe you'.

It's of course right that every body reacts in the way they want to, of course! For me - if someone tells me that...I guess there is nothing for me to believe except for the fact they've just told me something. I don't know anymore than that.
 
There's a trick I used to pull. I don't do it that often now because, damn, I've got a conscience. But I discovered many years ago that if I were to go into a shop and absolutely convince myself that the five pound note in my hand was really a tenner, or the ten pound note I was handing over for the goods was really a twenty, then the person behind the till would give me change as if I'd paid over the higher value note. The trick appeared to lie in convincing myself and absolutely believing that I'd passed over a twenty. I didn't need to work at all on the till-person.

And then I did cash-handling jobs and realised the till had to be completely spot-on at the end of the day or this leads to strife if it's down. Hence this sodding conscience. Somebody else carried the can when I took advantage. Damn damn damn.
 
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