Training Awareness

Since the Magical Myth regards the accumulation of Power — the development and expansion of awareness — as the primary goal of any manifestation, the ways and means of that development are, of course, the foundation of the system of Magic.

All the actions of the magus, his practice, and his aspirations are aimed at self-realization, self-examination, and self-awareness.

At the same time, the effectiveness of that development is not always optimal, which is usually connected to the activity of shadowed areas of the mind that drain the energy of awareness — the predators and parasites.

Accordingly, a large part of the magus’s efforts is devoted to “clearing” dead-ends and blockages in the streams of consciousness, and for this he must learn to exert significant psychic effort.

Because the concept of the “shadow“, “predators”, and “parasites” is not intended to shift responsibility from awareness itself onto some “external enemies,” but rather to lay out paths for the self-cleansing of the psychocosm, it is extremely important for the magus to train his awareness for constant, strenuous self-cleansing and self-inquiry.

Accordingly, the question arises of training the mental currents, giving them coherence and stability.

And it should be noted that a serious mistake often creeps into approaches to this training — a person may imagine that training the mind is like training the body; the mind must be “forced” into stability, “coerced” to flow along certain channels, and that this is the discipline of the magus. But such an approach not only fails to overcome the shadow; instead, it increases dissatisfaction and leads to destruction.

Although the mind manifests as various psychic currents, the nature of those currents differs from the flow of existence. Manifestation is vortex-like, while the mind is matrix-like. To develop and strengthen a vortex, one must constantly apply one’s will to it, and therefore the development of the existential component always occurs through “extra effort” — being must constantly be “spurred on”, “driven”, supplied with fresh infusions of will. This development is a crucial part of the integrated growth of the magus, his wholeness, and realization. At the same time, “coercing” the mind will not lead to its growth, because at the root of the mind’s currents lies the impulse of feeling, not the accumulation of will.

The currents of the mind are as strong and ordered as the matrices that generate them are clearly expressed and harmonious. Therefore, the basis of training awareness is not applying effort but the search and cultivation of states.

Any current of the mind is the self-manifestation of a particular matrix of mind. That is — in the mind the agent first becomes objectified, and only then does he act in a way that is natural to him (whereas from the standpoint of being, the agent is not only the source but also the product of action). Thus, the training of awareness comes down to the discovery and maintenance of the mind’s constructive forces, its self-developing matrices. Accordingly, rather than “shoving” awareness into those currents that seem positive, correct, or constructive, the process of training awareness is the study of its currents and states, the detection of those constructive states accessible to it, and then the search for and development of ways of naturally entering those constructive states. And, conversely, awareness must detect tendencies within itself to fall into destructive states and endeavor to prevent such falls. In other words, training awareness is less about redirecting it and more about the efforts to achieve correct self-identification. Accordingly, the question awareness should ask itself as it flows from one matrix into another, from one subpersonality to the next, is not how “right” or “constructive” this matrix, this subpersonality, this state seems, but how well it corresponds to its own nature, its individuality. The question should not be “how good am I now?“, but — “to what extent am I now myself?“.

Therefore, upon discovering itself in a state that corresponds to its nature, awareness should strive to fully realize that state, to manifest and actualize it, and thus strengthen and harmonize the corresponding matrix. Conversely, having discovered itself in a state unnatural to its nature, the mind should gently but inexorably confront the forces that led it into that state, clearly recognize their incompatibility with its nature — and thereby remove their influence. In other words — the discipline of awareness is not only its ability to apply effort, but its honesty with itself, its courage to look at itself, without averting its gaze.

Thus, the development of the magus as an integrated being must include both elements — the cultivation of his “essential” component, that is, training in action; and the development of his “knowing” aspect — that is, training in awareness. The approaches to these two aspects of development should not be mixed or confused, but should complement and strengthen one another.