Post by shawnhartnell on Jul 7, 2016 3:34:09 GMT -6
Let's Learn Magick: Cause and Effect
Have you ever noticed that stage magicians have a habit of visibly and audibly tapping their wand on something before something “magical” happens? We know the magic wand isn't really magic, so why do they bother? It must be distraction, right? The answer is sometimes.
The “wand tap” can be used as a distraction, but more often it's used as a cue that something has changed. He will be careful to give no other cue that would suggest that, for instance, the lady has disappeared from the box, specifically so that our mind will grasp onto the wand tap as the “cause” of the lady's disappearance.
What I've just illustrated is what our minds actually do rather than what we think our minds do, which, in this case, we think our minds do nothing. We assume cause and effect is fundamental to the universe when in fact, it's nothing more than our minds linking two things together, one as the cause of the other.
I'll wait while the realization sets in.
THAT'S RIGHT, CAUSE AND EFFECT IS BULLSHIT!!!
Imagine this. You get in your car. You put the key in the ignition. You turn the key and … nothing. Since we're imagining this, I've stole your engine, just to make a point.
At some level most people know that turning the key isn't directly responsible for starting the engine. However, we don't think all the stuff in-between because it's as if turning the key is directly responsible for starting your engine. The only time we think about the stuff in-between is when something goes wrong. For instance, hearing “wrarr warr wrarr wrarr” of your alternator failing to turn over (whatever that means) snaps us out of the illusion that the key starts the engine really fucking quick.
So, what I've just given you here is a fundamental understanding of magick: it's not supernatural and it doesn't violate the laws of physics in any way, it's psychological. All you have to do is look for causes and their effects, you don't have to worry about what's in-between. If you do X then Y will happen. Simple.
Now, here's a Crowley quote you'll understand quite a bit better than you did before:
“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing any objective reality or philosophical validity to any of them." --Aleister Crowley, Liber O
Have you ever noticed that stage magicians have a habit of visibly and audibly tapping their wand on something before something “magical” happens? We know the magic wand isn't really magic, so why do they bother? It must be distraction, right? The answer is sometimes.
The “wand tap” can be used as a distraction, but more often it's used as a cue that something has changed. He will be careful to give no other cue that would suggest that, for instance, the lady has disappeared from the box, specifically so that our mind will grasp onto the wand tap as the “cause” of the lady's disappearance.
What I've just illustrated is what our minds actually do rather than what we think our minds do, which, in this case, we think our minds do nothing. We assume cause and effect is fundamental to the universe when in fact, it's nothing more than our minds linking two things together, one as the cause of the other.
I'll wait while the realization sets in.
THAT'S RIGHT, CAUSE AND EFFECT IS BULLSHIT!!!
Imagine this. You get in your car. You put the key in the ignition. You turn the key and … nothing. Since we're imagining this, I've stole your engine, just to make a point.
At some level most people know that turning the key isn't directly responsible for starting the engine. However, we don't think all the stuff in-between because it's as if turning the key is directly responsible for starting your engine. The only time we think about the stuff in-between is when something goes wrong. For instance, hearing “wrarr warr wrarr wrarr” of your alternator failing to turn over (whatever that means) snaps us out of the illusion that the key starts the engine really fucking quick.
So, what I've just given you here is a fundamental understanding of magick: it's not supernatural and it doesn't violate the laws of physics in any way, it's psychological. All you have to do is look for causes and their effects, you don't have to worry about what's in-between. If you do X then Y will happen. Simple.
Now, here's a Crowley quote you'll understand quite a bit better than you did before:
“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing any objective reality or philosophical validity to any of them." --Aleister Crowley, Liber O