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2 years ago
in Ultraculture: Aryan People Only Please on In Pursuit of Mysteries
well, i'm not terribly impressed with those guys, either, but more from the perspecive that i haven't seen any useful contributions whatsoever to the technical aspects of magical practice (with the caveat that their collective writing makes my eyes glaze over within minutes so i am likely missing some buried treasure;) however, in my eyes, the fundamentals of buddhism are entirely incompatible with a magical worldview. i'd rather play with reality then escape it, dammit. chain me to the wheel of karma, baby, cause i'm here for the long haul!
buddhism, of course, contains a long and damn fine list of useful tools for mind control and magic. oh blessed paradox!
finally, yes he's right that those voodoo critters can mess you up, but it goes with the territory because they're totally mercenary. that doesn't make them a priori evil or bad, however.
so, as usual, i must respectfully both agree and disagree with your fine words. :)
buddhism, of course, contains a long and damn fine list of useful tools for mind control and magic. oh blessed paradox!
finally, yes he's right that those voodoo critters can mess you up, but it goes with the territory because they're totally mercenary. that doesn't make them a priori evil or bad, however.
so, as usual, i must respectfully both agree and disagree with your fine words. :)
2 years ago
in 93 and so long, it has been fun! on In Pursuit of Mysteries
so you seek to annihilate your ego rather than expand to obscene proportions? definitely the better of the two options.
i'm really not satisfied with either path, though.
i'm really not satisfied with either path, though.
2 years ago
in Egyptian Souls on In Pursuit of Mysteries
although it certainly doesn't fit in the academic literature category, be sure to check out William Burroughs wonderful comparison, in 'The Western Lands', of the multiple Egyptian souls as various individuals working on a movie set.
2 years ago
in Death and Immortality on In Pursuit of Mysteries
gawd, that was SO disappointing, and i was really looking forward to it. i hope our sarcastic running commentary ruined it for anyone in the theatre who actually thought this shit was profound, because there was absolutely nothing of value to be found in the ad-hoc collage of pretentious, pseudomystical crap.
talk about starting with a bunch of cool ideas and completely failing to tie them together in any sensible or satisfying manner. oh well, at least the visuals were occasionally compelling.
talk about starting with a bunch of cool ideas and completely failing to tie them together in any sensible or satisfying manner. oh well, at least the visuals were occasionally compelling.
2 years ago
in Research on Speaking in Tongues on In Pursuit of Mysteries
this is fascinating, i'm glad they're starting to delve into neuroimaging these mystical states.
i'm very interested in seeing the glossolalia data also contrasted with brain images of:
a. trance state during performance of a native-tongue mantra
b. as a. but induced from a non-native-tongue mantra where the meaning is known
c. same, with meaning not known
d. same, using an randomly generated gibberish mantra
e. trance state during kabalistic letter permutation exercise
f. during a long winded recital of the psalms or somesuch, from memory
g. during a long winded evocation with an artificial language like Enochian.
i'm very interested in seeing the glossolalia data also contrasted with brain images of:
a. trance state during performance of a native-tongue mantra
b. as a. but induced from a non-native-tongue mantra where the meaning is known
c. same, with meaning not known
d. same, using an randomly generated gibberish mantra
e. trance state during kabalistic letter permutation exercise
f. during a long winded recital of the psalms or somesuch, from memory
g. during a long winded evocation with an artificial language like Enochian.
2 years ago
in Parallels between Vajrayana and Western Magic in the Maha-Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra on In Pursuit of Mysteries
good stuff!
i think Jungian-style analysis of eastern magical and mystical systems really screwed up western people's understanding of this stuff. it pretty much writes off all those intricate visual descriptions as metaphorical and symbolic representations to be understood intellectually.
however, i would argue that it is something else entirely; if anything, it is much more literal than is commonly assessed from outside the system.
the degree to which the mandala is hallucinated as a virtual sensory representation would be a stronger correlate to the degree of resulting consciousness transformation than any amount of intellectual understanding and 'going through the motions,' in my opinion.
thanks for posting it.
i think Jungian-style analysis of eastern magical and mystical systems really screwed up western people's understanding of this stuff. it pretty much writes off all those intricate visual descriptions as metaphorical and symbolic representations to be understood intellectually.
however, i would argue that it is something else entirely; if anything, it is much more literal than is commonly assessed from outside the system.
the degree to which the mandala is hallucinated as a virtual sensory representation would be a stronger correlate to the degree of resulting consciousness transformation than any amount of intellectual understanding and 'going through the motions,' in my opinion.
thanks for posting it.
2 years ago
in An Outline of My New Thesis: The Nature, Structure, and Purpose of the Soul in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn on In Pursuit of Mysteries
i'm very interested in how exactly you see their system as more than a superficial amalgamation of disparate traditions?
that's a tough one for me...it seems that, in studying their roots, i found every single disparate tradition they incorporated to be demonstrably superior on it's own terms: Dee's Enochian, Jewish Kabballah, Greek Qabalah, etc... Thelema is a joke, Wicca is a travesty, Scientology is a nightmare, though your mother is probably rather hip.
that's a tough one for me...it seems that, in studying their roots, i found every single disparate tradition they incorporated to be demonstrably superior on it's own terms: Dee's Enochian, Jewish Kabballah, Greek Qabalah, etc... Thelema is a joke, Wicca is a travesty, Scientology is a nightmare, though your mother is probably rather hip.
2 years ago
in Oakland Victorian on In Pursuit of Mysteries
what's something like that go for, in that area?
2 years ago
in Folsom Street Fair on In Pursuit of Mysteries
don't be too hard on TKK, they're ANCIENT. frankly, i'm amazed any of them are still alive. SUD could be their grandchildren.
2 years ago
in A Little Desire on In Pursuit of Mysteries
buddhism is pretty much like the borg, expanding through cultures assimilating their past religious and magical practices. i actually find its philosophy rather repulsive and very nihilistic.
however, because of this method of expansion, it has integrated a ton of very practical esoteric technology, and i find it worth studying for this reason.
however, because of this method of expansion, it has integrated a ton of very practical esoteric technology, and i find it worth studying for this reason.
2 years ago
in Back from Burning Man 2006 on In Pursuit of Mysteries
wonderful slideshow, thanks for sharing!
