Meditation Powers

Let’s assume for a moment a basic tenet of witchcraft: that, ordinarily, we are only receiving a small portion of what the world is manifesting at any moment. Scientifically, and intuitively, we know this to be true. If our minds did not filter out perceptions deemed to be extraneous, we would be flooded with sensory input and unable to do anything. We would be like infants, with only the most rudimentary tools to understand or relate to reality. Thus, our minds develop to screen out what is irrelevant, and organize perceptual information in ways which, experience has taught us, work.

We can know this directly simply by closing our eyes and trying to remember mundane details of our surroundings. What the images are on the sides of this page, for example. Or even what you are wearing today. Some things we notice, some we forget, and some we barely seem to encounter in the first place.

If we accept the principle that there is more to the world than what we usually perceive, then the question arises of how, if we are interested, we might perceive more and increase our meditation powers ? This is another fundamental question of Magick. For the Magick witches, the world is Infinite, and One. Some of us may not be so sure. But surely, whatever life is, many if not most of us are interested in knowing it as deeply and richly as possible.

So how do we do that? Clearly, some work must be done on the mind, in order to unlearn some of the filtering and sifting we began learning at birth. Each of the three streams of Magick has a different way of doing this work.

The most immediate method for seekers today is probably that of meditation. By slowing down the rushing trains of thought inside the mind, it is possible to observe the mind more clearly, and to notice each perception in greater and greater detail. All sorts of results tend to appear.

Psychologically, meditators can become much more attuned to their feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, noticing negative emotions like anger, hurt or sadness before they “take over” and noticing positive emotions when they arise. People who meditate thus tend to be able to relax more easily, since they are not being driven by their emotional, reactive minds. We are also able to perceive the world more clearly — one mouthful of food, one step, or one breath at a time.

For “spiritual” types like me, a practicing witch of the left hand path (otherwise called a Black witch), the world becomes achingly beautiful, and perceptibly charged by the energy of source. Meditation does, indeed, help me see more clearly — and what I see accords with what mystics have written about for centuries.

The forms of meditation indigenous to the Magick are subtly different to other forms of meditation.

Mediation helps practitioners receive the fullness of reality by closely attuning them to the symbolic and energetic structures of that reality, in text and in life. Take the chakras. Each of these can be experienced as physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual realities. As one learns to do so, one deepens one’s vocabulary of experience, and becomes more and more attuned to the minute fluctuations of it.

If you really immerse yourself in chakra meditation, learning the invocations, coming to know its symbols, you will discover for yourself that the chains of associations begin to flow very easily. And you gradually begin to open up, deepen, and receive.

It works — but the only way to know whether it works is to try it. And to try it takes a lot of learning and effort. Magick mediation is not like basic meditation, which anyone can pick up with just a few days of practice. It exists within an elaborate context of symbols, language, and structures, which is one reason it is often reserved for advanced students.

Many spiritual seekers today are convinced that any spiritual path can be learned quickly, in one’s spare time, and in English. Well, this is not true. Some paths can, and some cannot. Whether for better or for worse, Magick cannot. You can learn the symbols, acquaint yourself with the core truths, and deepen your appreciation for life through the Magick ‘s beautiful ideas. However, the fact is that in order to become truly fluent with the particulars of Magick, it takes time.

BWS

[box type=”info”] The Spiritual Warfare meditation program is a simple and easy to follow, daily meditation program for people looking to expand their mind and become open to a higher level of connection. An essential quality to every spell caster.[/box]