Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: shaman@cix.compulink.co.uk (Leo Smith)
Subject: Re: Tactile Kinetic
Reply-To: shaman@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 19:02:06 +0000

ba@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (B.A. Davis-Howe)

[....good stuff..]

>One other point--you are assuming that the ability to visualise is
>somehow tied to magic. While visualisation is a very common tool in
>the sorts of magic which people write books about, it is not used in
>all types of magic. Also, it is not only used in magic. My flatmate
>has a Masters in mathematical logic. He is much better at
>visualistion than I am. This is a very good thing, since
>visualisation is apparently very important in a lot of higher math. I
>do not think that this means that most mathematicians are secretly
>practicing magic--my flatmate certainly isn't.

        (i) As a desigenr of many things I used to have the ability
        to visualise quite complex abstractions in the course of my
        work. This was very useful in that field.

        (ii) as far as my own brand of 'shamanism' is concerned, I
        have found that only in rare states of detachment does any
        'psychic' info come through and get put into a 'visual'
        matrix. My current understanding is that a part of me is
        capable of responding to input and MAY choose to throw up a
        picture for me: Normally it doesn't as the ability is
        suppressed so as not to interfere with daily life....

        (iii) the way it comes across in daily life is as feelings -
        unfortunately some of these are my own.....so it gets VERY
        blurred. On this matter I think that what is happening is
        that the mind /body/nervous system/soul/spirit or what the **
        you want to call it in some way 'resonates' with extrenal
        stimuli, or can be set in ptterns of its own. Most witchcraft
        is not about brute force energy, but about setting up psychic
        snares to trap people into resonating in certain forms.
        Propaganda and advertising are overt forms of the same thing:
        Once people ARE resonating they tend to form mutually
        supportive resonances if you like - which is why we all end
        up agreeing that grass is green etc. We all synchoronise into
        the current public domain worldview.


All that shows how a familiar might be used: Basically you have to
get resonating with the animal. Think cat. Smell cat. Look cat. Live
cat (cf stories of animal transformation/totems/etc) and one day -
hey presto you synch with cat. Then all cat knowledge is yours.

(Great. won't do you a lot of good, but kind of a nice change!)

Ba - I think that I agree with most of your descriptions: Near enough
that I think we are talking roughly the same things. What I DO think
tho, is that how these things appear are mostly a facet of how you
approach them. Like ritualistic knee scraping to Gods and Spirits
gives a formal area in which contact to this part of experience is
rigidly defined and controlled. My gut reaction to all that (as most
of you are already aware) is b****shit! you just do it directly! what
we really want to do is to develop the SIMPLEST possible direct route
to the those experiences. Otherwise you get hung up in the
methodology and not in getting the results. Arguments over Enochian
versus Crowleyian when all you actually want is to SEE what is going
on....
...so when someone says 'tactile kinetic' my initial response is to
say 'yes, I can realte to that' but the second response is 'but you
are just putting another map over an area of experience that you
ought to be trying to deal with (more) directly'

Thats the theoretical response. The practical response is that if I
can find the hell a better way I'll feel more justified in opening my
big mouth. The problem I have is that I dislike the fartology of
spirits and demons, of rituals and pentagrams, but apart from
emotional stress, I haven't found a reliable way to tune my
perceptions out of the 'normal' band.

I don't have the patience for meditation either..:-(