Witchcraft Journal Blog

A resource for information and opinions on the beliefs, practices, customs, and magic of Traditional Witchcraft of the British Isles.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

An Essay on the Importance of Intention in Magick -= Part 3 =-

[Sorry, it appears that we published Part 4 before Part 3 in this series. So, now we present Part 3, below. This comes from Witches' Voice. Adrian]

The second factor involved is to gain an awareness of the fact that we can at least have some control over this process through various techniques of mental cultivation. First, we have to work constantly at strengthening our mindfulness so that we can become increasingly more aware of what is actually going on within the vast, complex structure of our minds. In simpler terms, we must flex our mental muscles to keep them in shape, and exercise effort to keep our mindfulness sharp and alert at all times. Simple breath meditations or some other form of mindfulness training can be done to help develop this. Next, we need to observe these mental processes in action. We have to be as aware of our intentions as we can be (i.e. know why we are about to do something), and then observe the consequences of the actions that follow. Even after the fact -- when we believe the outcome of our actions to be good, bad, or neutral -- we still need to be aware of possible changes, since the full results can take time to mature. Quite often, the way that it usually works is that the mind intends, we act according to those intentions, and then we simply forget about it. This is just plain sloppy. We need to remain continuously alert and sensitive to what we are doing at any given time. The power we will eventually learn to wield is not a toy by any stretch of the imagination.

The third factor involved is to refine the first two factors until they are able to be preformed effortlessly. This means that we have to practice each factor everyday, and constantly be aware of whatever arises in our experience regardless of the outcome. We must remind ourselves to pay close attention to these mental qualities, and what effect they have on our actions. If things are going well, we simply note that and try to learn why they seem to be going well. Conversely, if things are not going well, we simply note that and try to learn why they seem not to be going well. Sometimes we may learn that the reasons why things turned out the way they did were completely out of our control, but other times we may learn exactly what it was that we did to influence the outcome. In essence, we are becoming mindful of precisely how our intentions influence our actions, and how those actions produce results. In this way, we will learn to have more control over our magickal workings in the future. This is not the end of the training, however, because we still must work on the intentions themselves.
----------------------------------------

Don't forget to read Part 4 which is below, or located in our Archives in 07/30/06. Part 5 will come soon.
Again, sorry for the mix-up. Adrian
-

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home