Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.magick Subject: Renewing Practice (was Dry Spell Query?) From: 333 Reply-To: spam@yronwode.com User-Agent: nn/6.6.0 Lines: 81 Message-ID: Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 06:26:18 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.242.18 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 1023171978 208.201.242.18 (Mon, 03 Jun 2002 23:26:18 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 23:26:18 PDT Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.magick:304047 Orig-To: thelema93-l@yahoogroups.com 50000421 IVom > > When one is experiencing a significant 'dry spell', when even > > basic practices seem intollerable, how does one jumpstart back > > into full work? cut back further. strike at your personal activities until there is so much extra time left that you are incredibly bored. destroy distraction. depart from those who talk too much. avoid time-sinks like media-programming devices (television, radio, internet). sit and read. if this does not inflame, read only small amounts about practice, even if it is theory underlying the practice. being imbued in the practical environment can be extremely helpful. living with people who are full of practical activity can inspire. spending time around those who are open in discussing practice and diligent about their practice can be helpful also. breaking up the routine is a good bet for allowing the dynamic quality to resurface. change schedules of waking and sleeping if this is possible. change diet, speech patterns, living place, jewelry, clothing, beliefs, name, job, lovers, anything or everything. > > What have members of this list done to reinvigorate their > > daily work? I haven't always found that daily work was valuable. when I was interested in that, I found that a special place designated for magical activity (which I called something specific, though this changed -- the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Space Room, the Temple) was quite helpful. constructing it set the stage, routinely entering into it (sometimes with rites of entry and departure) for mystical and magical activities was also beneficial. timing the work to be repeated each day at a specific time helped me out also, such as between rising and departing for employment, or after returning home but before dinner. observing my condition during such practice was just as important. sluggishness or a condition of irritation (due to not having had enough down time) was sometimes dissuasive of continued diligence. 2 years ago I undertook a complete (first significant geographical move) change of residence, intending to lay the groundwork for a new stage of my life and magical activities. at that time I suspended all my disciplines, many of which I had escalated for more than 10 years, inclusive of a variety of ascetic restraints, regular rituals, and even dietary observances. since that time I've watched the result of a lack of these disciplines, enjoyed a few stray rites and occasional enthusiasms for discipline and ritual routine come and go, and have read signs and omens that indicated the wisdom of resuming or innovating new routines. I find that resumption of routinized ritual or mystical acts is facilitated, as I mentioned above, at a time of suspension or disruption of ordinary schedules. on holidays, immediately after celebrations, posterior to momentous and emotional events such as the visit of someone inspiring to me or consumption of psychoactives that impact my malleability and break me out of my structured lifestyle (often necessitating some kind of energy anyway to resume ordinary scheduling and activity). very likely my personality style has something to do with the approach I find works best for integrating new practical elements into my life. I tend to try to set things up around me such that I have to put little energy into memorizing or attending to the details of my surroundings other than that which I *like* to attend. everything else I prefer to routinize and handle subconsciously (often by temporal or sequential cues). in this way in order to integrate something new into the entirety I have to kind of suspend the process, tossing it up in the air for a brief duration, inserting at proper points the novel element and then focussing intently on the initial continuation of the routine until it becomes 'second nature'. blessed beast! ______________________________________________________________________ (333) nagasiva@luckymojo.com; http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html I don't read everything here; cc me if you absolutely want a response.