If you are learning this on your own, observe these rules: Relax your body consciously and completely. You must be in a comfortable, calm environment to do this properly. Starting at your feet, think about each part of your body and let it relax. It may help to tighten the muscles first. Use a cue to tell your mind to relax. This can be something like mentally going down stairs or counting backwards. [Do not use a common cue. For instance, "three, two, one" is something that you might encounter on the radio while driving.
This could be dangerous. It would be better to use, "three, three, three, two, two, two, one, one, one." This is less likely to cause a problem. It is dangerously easy to get into a meditative state during automatic tasks like driving. This you must avoid.] Once
relaxed, you can use this state to allow subconscious thoughts to float to the surface, or you can use it in ritual to give a powerful message to your Little Self. This mental state is another key to magick.
You will find that it is very difficult to focus your conscious mind at first. See how long you can hold one word or picture in your head without any other thought. It is probably an astoundingly brief time. Watch commercials to see how many seconds they show one unchanging scene. This represents the average attention span. This is one of the reasons that magick is so difficult, you must remain focused for the entire ritual. Be aware of you concentration span. While it is short, you should be working short rituals. It is better to have three five-minute rituals than one half-hour ritual if you spend twenty minutes of the latter thinking of other things.
In order to improve your concentration, spend some time each day trying to hold a word or picture as long as possible. Another good exercise is to pick a word and try *not* to think of it for a week. Count how many times you think the word in your head, if you think it again when counting it, count that instance, too. This is very difficult, but eventually you will even be able to hear or see the word without thinking it.
These skills immediately become useful in communicating with your Little Self. You will want to hold positive thoughts, such as "I am a lovable, successful person." You will want to dispel negative thoughts, as when the T.V. tells you, "I was very unpopular until I started using Crealm Toothpaste!" When you are trying to reprogram your Little Self, feel free to use aids such as subliminal tapes. Another good one is colored cards. Place your simple, direct message, such as "I succeed," on a colored card where you will see it each day. Put small pieces of the same color where you will encounter them throughout the day. Each time a bit of card comes in your field of view, your Little Self will notice and remember the message, even when you don't.
Symbolic acts are also very powerful. When you clean out your house and get rid of everything that you don't *need,* you make way for new things to come into your life. This is a good thing to do in concert with a major change in your life, quitting smoking or graduation, for instance. It helps to tell your Little Self that your old life is over and your new one has begun. The more you can eliminate the symbols of your old life, the more you can shape your new life to your liking. Be aware of all that you do, for you can use ordinary acts to give messages to your Little Self. Your morning shower can be a ritual to "wash away" all your stress or yesterday's mistakes. If you do this, however, you must *make* it a ritual. Develop a routine and concentrate on the purpose of the act throughout. This is true of all magickal works.
Once you have begun this work to focus your conscious mind and reprogram your Little Self for success, then you can begin some small works of magick. You want to start small because most people have difficulty accepting a great success on a deep level. If start with a spell to win one million in the lottery and you are not ready for this, your failure will set you back. If you do prosperity spell and you get a small raise or win $10 in the lottery, that is a start that you can build on.
One of the better starting goals is manifesting an insignificant object. Manifesting means bringing it into your life. Things tend to manifest in unremarkable ways, so keep a look out. The blue feather is a classic. Set up a ritual in which you concentrate on a blue feather. See it, feel it, smell it, want it, then let it go. Then pay attention for the following week (and keep track in your journal). You may find a blue feather on the side walk. You may notice one for the first time on a billboard that you pass every day. You may see one on T.V. All of these are successes.
It is best to start with insignificant, uncommon (but not rare) objects. An uncommon object gives you a good indication of success. A rare object is a challenge you can work up to. An insignificant object is easier because you do not have interfering desires or fears. You have to be relaxed and confident and let go of your desire as you complete the ritual. You should be able to manifest such an object before you proceed to a greater challenge. It is valuable to repeat this exercise every so often in any case.
Another good spell to start with is a spell to do good spells. That is, you can use magic to help remove blocks and fears. For instance, if you have discovered that you feel unworthy, this will seriously impair your ability to manifest what you want. But, you can use your desire for self worth to empower magickal work toward feeling worthiness. You can also do a spell to support your ability to concentrate on your goal. This is just an extension of all the other methods of getting messages to your Little Self.
When you discover blocks and fears, when thoughts intrude and your mind wanders, or when you find yourself thinking exactly what you're supposed to avoid, don't worry! This happens as you learn to control your will. The idea is not to avoid these problems, but to *learn* to avoid them. You can't do this by trying to force yourself. There are no instructions on how to do this, only exercises. Just do your stuff and the rest will follow. When problem surfaces, recognize it and go on. Don't try to stop it and don't dwell on it, just continue. You may know that you have "spoiled" a ritual with a stray thought, but complete it anyway-- it's a good exercise. Sometimes you can deal with stray thoughts by *trying* to think about them. Concentrate on these thoughts and let your mind
tire of them, then go on with your work.
Work steadily, but not overly hard, on these exercises and make magick a part of your life. Unify your will. Take and prove your Power. Only after you have done this are you ready to do magick. When you feel you are ready, develop the messages and visualization which will be the most powerful for you. Decide how you are going to set up your ritual area and how you will orchestrate your spell. Whatever you feel best with is what will be the most powerful. If you need an idea of how to start, consider the examples that follow.
Suggested e-books:
Hermes Trismegistus - The Emerald Tablet Of Hermes Multiple TranslationsBenjamin Rowe - The Essential Skills Of Magick
Hermes Trismegistus - The Emerald Tablet Of Hermes Interpretation
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