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3/28/2015 ThePracticeoftheMagicalDiary

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ThePracticeoftheMagicalDiary

PostedbyNathanW.BjorgeonNovember08,2000@10:21AMfromthecomposeyourselfdept.

Keepingadiaryofone'sspiritualexercises,experiences,andreflectionsisoneofthemostimportantandeffectiveactivitiestheaspiringmagiciancandedicatethemselvestomastering.Whyisthis?It'snotanecessaryactivityforspiritualattainment,sincemostotherreligioustraditionsdonotpromoteadiarypracticeasanormativeundertaking.Thelemadoes.

Crowleywasfondofdescribinghisapproachtomagicaltrainingwiththemotto"themethodofscience,theaimofreligion".ThismottowasusedineveryissueofTheEquinox,whichhealsocalledthe'organofScientificIlluminism'.ThisideaofascientificapproachtomysticismandmagickisakeycomponentoftheThelemicway,andisatthebasisoftheusefulnessofthediaryaswell.

Whatis'science'then?Ifweattempttoanswerthatquestion,wewilldiscoverthattheworddesignatesmoreofavarietyofbackgroundassumptions,activities,andattitudes,ratherthansomethingreallyspecifiablebyasetofpropositionsthateveryonewouldagreewith.Inthe19thand18thcenturies,'science'wasoftenusedtoconnoteanykindofknowledgearrivedatthroughreason.Hegelusestheterminthismanner,forexample.Magickpositsatransrationalsourceofknowledge,however,soMagickisnotscientificinthissense.Today,scienceisperhapsbestunderstoodasasetofmethodsforrecognizingrepeatableregularities.Thegoalofusingthesemethodsisnotitselfdeterminedbythemethods,sothiskindof'science'isnotnecessarilytiedtoaparticularmetaphysicssuchasmaterialismorphysicalism.Manyscientistsarematerialists.Manyarenot.Thiswayofunderstandingtheideaofsciencealsohastheattitudethatbeliefs,assertions,ortheoriesshouldbesubjectedtosomekindofappropriatetestingorverification.

Crowley'sMagickdoeslegitimatelyhavesomefeaturesofthistypeofscience,andinfewplacesmoreclearlytheninhisuseoftherecord.Thediaryfunctionsexplicitlyasakindoflabnotebookforvariousinvestigationsthatthemagicianundertakes.Whatisthenatureoftheseinvestigations?

TheoathoftheprobationerofA.'.A.'.istoexplorethenatureofone'sbeing.One'sownbeing,one'sself,isthereforethephenomenontobesubjectedtoexperimentation.Theaimoftheexperimentationis'religion'andsothisdeterminesthetypeofexperimentswithwhichthephenomenonisinterrogated.Ourquestionsthereforeare:whatisthisself,whatisitsnature,itslimits,itsmeaning?

Itmayturnout,inexploringthisphenomenon,thattheselfisnotatalllikeaphysicalobject,andthatitisopaquetoanalysisinquitethesamequantitativemannerasarethechemicalpropertiesofH2O,forexample.Nevertheless,themethodwillremainscientificinthebroadsensealreadyoutlinedifoneproceedswithattentionpaidtotheobservationofrepeatableregularities,andifonerefusestobeconvincedofstatesofaffairsbyotherthenconclusiveresults.Skepticismisanimportantelementbut,asinphysicalscience,asameanstoanendratherthanasanendinitself.Theendistheattempteddiscoveryofthemeaningofone'sexistence.Mostcrucialtoallofthisisthatarecordoftheprocedurebemadeforoneselfandothers.Thisisthemagicaldiary.

Asfortheactualpracticeofthemagicalrecord,hereareafewpersonalreflectionsfrommyownworkalongtheselinesovertheyears:

Firstofall,don'tworrytoomuchaboutpresentabilityintermsofwhatonewriteson.Fancymanuscriptbooksgiveaweighttothevalueofone'sdiary

RelatedLinksArticlesonSelfRealizationAlsobyNathanW.BjorgeContactauthor



workbutloosebinderpapersheetshavebecomemypreferredmeansofrecordingentries.Theytransporteasilyandcanbecopiedwithoutdifficulty.Thevalueofthediaryiswhatiswritteninit,notwhatit'swrittenon.Nevertheless,aqualityboundbookhasarealmagicaleffectthatshouldnotbeoverlooked.Thisisamatterofpreference,butdon'tbeafraidtouseaformatthatgetsyoutowrite,butdoesn'tlookpretty.

Trytowritesomethingeveryday,evenifit's"didnothing",becauseifyougetthatdownyouhaven'tdonenothing,you'veatleastworkedonyou'rediary.CrowleywouldnotadvanceanyonepastProbationerinA.'.A.'.unlesstheycouldkeepacompletediaryforayear.Hedidn'tcareifwhatwasinitwasanygood,thatwastheProbationersbusiness,buttheyhadtodosomething,andtherehadtobearecordofit.Tryholdingyourselftothesamestandardandseewhathappens.Iguaranteethatwhateverpracticesyouaredoingorexperiencesyouarehaving,theywillbeenrichedbywritingthemdown.Theselfreflectionnecessitatedbythenatureoftheactivitywillacttodeepenyourspirituality.

Don'ttrytomaketoomuchofadistinctionbetweenyourspiritualactivitiesandyourdailylife.Lettherecorddealwithyourmundanegoingsonletitbearegulardiaryattimesbutkeepinmindasyoudosotheultimatelyreligiousnatureoftherecord.Letthataspectofthediarybleedintoandinfiltrateyoursupposedlyprofanegoingsabout.Seehowtheytieintoandareinseparablefromyourexplicitlymagicalpractice.Letyourselfdiscover,throughyourdiarywork,exactlyhowitisthatyourwholelifereallyisdedicatedtotheGreatWork.

Finally,don'tworryabouthowgoodawriteryouare.Theimportantthingistowrite.Ifyou'reapoorprosestylist,keepingaregulardiarywillmakeyouabetterone.

Therearemanymorekindsofworkonecandowiththerecord,aboveandbeyondthebasicusethathasalreadybeendiscussed.TwoparticularexercisesIhavefoundtobeofspecialvalue.ThesecomefromPhyllisSeckler.

Thefirstinvolveskeepingarecordeverydayfor3monthsofissuesrelatedtoyourhealth.Whatareyoudoingtokeepyourselfhealthy?Doyoufeelilloftenorhavechronicproblems?Whatareyoueating?Doyousmokeandifsohowmuch?Tryeachdaytodosomethinginapositivedirectiontowardmaintainingorenhancingyourhealth.Makeanoteofitinthediary.

Manykindsofspiritualitysufferfromakindofdualism,abeliefthatthephysicalbodyissomehowunimportantorinessential.Thisisalimitedpointofview.ThomasAquinassaysthatthehumanexistenceisaunityofbody,soulandspirit.Thesearedistinguishableinsomecontexts,andyetiftheyareseparatedthehumanbeingceasestobeassuch.Inalchemy,theanalogisthepresenceofthethreealchemicalprinciplesinallthings.Saltisbody,sulfurissoul,andmercuryisspirit.ThissacredtriadfurthercorrespondstothethreemotherlettersandultimatelytotheSupernaltrinitywhichistherebymanifestinallsubstance.Youcan'tabuseathirdofyourselfandhopetosucceedinyourgoalsofasuperiorlife.Thishealthpracticeisdesignedtoremedythattendencytoimbalance,andtokeeponeinabalancedandgroundedstate.

Thesecondpracticeistomakenotes,everydayforthreemonths,onone'sprocessofpsychologicalprojection.Thatistosay,onone'stendencytointerpretothers,ortoexpectthemtobehaveinamannerthathasnottodowiththewaytheyactuallyare,butwiththeprocessesandprejudicesofone'sownpsyche.Thiskindofthinggoesonallthetimetocolorourperceptions.Itisnotsomethingwhichwecaneversomehowstop,becauseallofourjudgementsandperceptionswillnecessarilybefromsomeperspective.Thetaskofthisexerciseisrathertobecomemindfulandawareofourownprocess,sothatwecanlearntoprojectinappropriate,rathertheninappropriateways.

Bothofthesetwodiarypracticesareintendedtodevelophabitsthatshouldpersistthroughoutone'slife.Theyaremindfulnessexercises,andwhiletheyhaveinitialtimelimits,theycanbereturnedtoformallyorinformallyinone'sfuturejournalwork.They'retools,sotospeak,whichonemaykeepinone'skittousewhennecessary.



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Re:ThePracticeoftheMagicalDiarybyRafaelKitoveronFridayNovember10,@11:28AM

ThanksforpostingthisNathan!

Afterhearingthispaperlastmonth,Iimmediatelystartedkeepingadiary.BeforeIwasn'treallysurehowitwouldhelp,orwhatuseitwouldserve.

Itdoesseemtohaveanenhancingeffectonanyspiritualexercises,andlifeingeneralasrelatedtotheGreatWork.Evenifjustrecordingthetimesofthings.

Ialsofinditveryusefultokeeptrackofwherethesunandmoonare,andeventuallyanyaspects.Thereareeasytousemonthlyephemerisesherewithaspects:

http://www.khaldea.com/ephemcenter.shtml

Andthere'saniftyastrologicalclockontheGermanOTOwebsite:

http://home.snafu.de/marcus/aclock.html

Cheers

Re:ThePracticeoftheMagicalDiarybyMissLeslieonTuesdayNovember21,@10:13AM

Dowhatthouwiltshallbethewholeofthelaw.

IhavefoundNathan'scommentsonthePracticeoftheMagickalDiaryveryinteresting...!Ialsotrytokeepadailydiaryup,anditistruethatoneisattimessurprisedtoreadhowonehasbehavedorwhatonehasdone,whenoneisreallykeepinghisdiaryas"scientific"aspossible,andascompleteaspossiblebyaddingdailyentries...KeepingaM.D.hashelpedmealottodiscoverhowIreactinortoparticularcircumstances,andthisaswellonthehealthplane,asonthepsychologicalplane.

AsforRafal:thankyouverymuchforthelinks!JustwhatIwaslookingfor,havingcometotheendofmyephemeridscopyoftheyear2000.Thesearetrulyneatlinks!

Loveisthelaw,loveunderwill.

Greetings!MissLeslie

Re:ThePracticeoftheMagicalDiarybysfumatoonWednesdayApril17,@09:06PM

iammarch231950heteromaleyoube?sorryforchildishintrobutthereismoretomethanthisabruptcharge...ikeepdiariesforthepasttwentyyears..iraprogroff,cjung,alanwatts,etal.wouldlovetoeventuallymeetmysorormystica...soundsdesperateiknowbutthisismywish..cettetouspleasewritebackicanbeacuriousitythatmayprovetobeinspiring,,,...ialsoplaysaxrunmyownpaintingstudioamingreatshapeformyageandtrytopracticetantrainallthings...hopeididnotfrightenyourchiaway..postme

TheFinePrint:Thefollowingcommentsareownedbywhoeverpostedthem.