This article is based off a series of lectures I did for the Higher Magicks coven in our forum. I think they have a lot of value so I want to share them with everyone. They are designed to be progressed through at the rate of one lesson per week. I highly suggest going at that page and putting the lessons into practice during each week.
Lesson One - Week One
In times past, when someone went to join a magical organization it wasn't like today where you fill out an application, pay your dues and "poof" you are a member. There were interviews, members researched you, and there was a trial period. During that trial period you would have been given some basic instructions, usually to be carried out over the course of a couple of months, to see if you had the aptitude and drive to join. This has fallen out of practice today, but there are still some places where you can get that information. As someone who has actually been through that kind of training I can attest to its effectiveness and importance. So, I decided to share this with our group. I intend to present these here, in a series of seven steps (as they are sometimes called) at the rate of about one a week. They may seem simple, but I promise they are invaluable. So, here is step one:
What do you want?
This is not a question to be taken lightly. This is the first step to achieving success. You must have a clearly defined goal. Write it out. Until ONE PURPOSE is written out, prefaced by a specific declaration of intention, is written out you are simply wasting your time and energy. Is it a large idea? Then break it down into smaller ideas. One goal may be broken down into smaller, manageable chunks. Break these down into smaller steps until you have every step to your goal mapped out. Then, take the first step and make your statement of declaration.
Make this a statement of declaration. Write it out as ?I will apply all my powers to achieve the aim of??, putting your goal after ?of?.
You must do this because, provided that your desire is in accordance with the laws of life and justice, you can be whatever you want, so whatever you want, and have whatever you want to have. That is extremely important: If your desire is beyond the laws of life and justice, you desire will never become reality!
You must truly WANT it! This means it must be a imperious craving or need. This want regulates your powers and brings you into harmony with the universal order It prepares you for success. It is a mental and emotional state. Wishes are vague, hopes are hazy. Genuine wants are sharply defined. Allow a mental image to begin to form. A clear mental image tends to materialize itself as an actual condition or event.
Memorize that statement. Definite images have a driving power. Like seeds they have a life of their own. You have now began to use magical power. You have taken the first step to bring it under your direction so that you can build with it.
By doing this you have set your destination. Now you must set to work. Mere aspirations will not take you to your goal. There must also be activity. Intention that does not assert itself by deeds is vain intention, and the speech that carries it is idle speech. You must act in order to be successful. Be certain of the outcome, as if you knew for a fact that it would happen.
There is an energy throughout the Universe. It is the energy of everything manifest and unmanifest. Human thought and will may act directly upon this force. This fact is the basis for a method which will enable any person who applies himself steadily to carrying it out to attain mastery over himself and, though this self-mastery, command over the conditions of his environment.
NOTICE YOU MUST HAVE MASTERY OVER YOURSELF TO HAVE MASTERY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE! This can not be overstated.
Each of us lives in a world of his or her own creation, built according to his imagined mental pattern. Change the pattern and you change your world. You already know how to do this. Every day of your life up to this moment you have exercised control over this force and have directed it by mental means. The world you are living in now is the world you have built for yourself. If it does not suit you, you have the ability to change it.
Most people do not take conscious control of themselves and their environment. They prefer to blame others, or call it fate, or their lot in life. But this is also a choice. The purpose of this course is to show you how to make the proper mental pattern.
To build the correct world for you, you must learn to control your bodies, to direct the nerve currents coursing through them, to balance the emotions and to master the modifications of the mind.
Now, the most important part of the process: Keep it to yourself! Do not show what you have written to anyone. Do not discuss it. Every night, before going to bed, read the statement. Do the same thing in the morning, before dressing. When you know it by heart, destroy the paper and recite the statement every morning and evening until you have success. When this is realized, repeat the process with the second step, and so on.
Only do one step at a time. Always observe this little ritual! It is simple, but it is genuine magic. Always make the introductory statement as given above. This may seem like a small thing, but you will find it is very important.
You KNOW what you want. You WILL to accomplish it. You DARE to aspire to it and to work for it. Be sure you remain SILENT about it until you have attained your goal.
Don’t set goals that are too lofty or too far into the future. Take definite steps to achieve your bigger goal. Do not waste time worrying about years into the future. Life is lived in days, hours and minutes. Today’s activity determines the fulfillment of tomorrow’s goals.
Be specific about your goals and ideals. Do not be vague. Know what you want, work toward it and use magic to help you achieve your goals.
Lesson 2, Week 2
Your life began with two cells. One carried the family record of your fathers family, the other your mothers. When they combined subconscious took control of the development of your body and has controlled it from then to now. This is subconscious because it does not function at the level of your conscious awareness. In this lesson we will discuss your subconscious and how it can be used toward the attainment of your goals.
Subconscious knows all about the processes in your body. It makes fine adjustments all the time. It does this for the infant as well as the adult. Subconscious cures every disease. Medicines only create a chemical reaction which healing power reacts to. Surgeries likewise do not heal. Neither do mechanical adjustments. They just remove obstacles that would impede natural healing ability. The healing power is hidden in the subconscious. This healing power can be raised and awakened by the proper application of mental methods. This does not mean that we should abandon modern medicine. Far from it. But it does mean that there is a way to awaken that healing energy within you to do wondrous things.
This healing power is not limited to the cure of functional and nervous ills. Today, many doctors are embracing the healing power of positive thought. But, unfortunately it does not work on everything. Why, you may ask? Honestly, we do not know. But this lesson will explain what we do know. However, this is not just a lesson in mental healing. Subconscious can restore you to health, but it has other uses as well.
Subconscious keeps a perfect record of everything we experience. Anything that touches our awareness is recorded in it, when the correct conditions are present, and any detail of it may be recalled. Thus, the secret of good memory is not just making impressions on the subconscious, but making clear ones, relating them properly together and bringing them to the conscious when needed. When you understand how to do this you have access to the wealth of experiences stored in the mind. Practice will help you make greater use of impressions which have been made without your conscious knowledge.
Subconscious also works with these mental records and has a reasoning power of its own. This reasoning power has its limitations. It is only deductive, drawing conclusions from the information it has. It will come to perfectly logical conclusions when given a thought. Unfortunately this process will develop false conclusions just as logically as it will develop true ones. No matter how logical it is, if it is not based on correct thoughts and impressions it is useless. You will learn how to protect the subconscious from false thoughts and ideals. When you do this you will be able to use your subconscious mind safely and constructively.
Our instincts and intuition come from the subconscious. Instincts come from deep within the subconscious and are inherited from the past. Intuitions come through the subconscious mind from Superconscious origins. This happens when a young child can give square roots of 268,336,125, or when they express unexplainable manifestations of genius. Many creations have been inspired by this intuition. These come from something beyond our ordinary mental processes. For practical purposes, that something is subconscious and, with practice and training, it can be controlled.
The selection of some definite aim starts the operation of hidden activities within the subconscious which bring us the necessary materials, puts us in contact with the necessary people and cause all the necessary conditions to attain that goal. Yet, there is not a satisfactory explanation of this hidden process. Many have given theories of it such as the “Law of Attraction’ and the ‘Secret’, but these are just theories. Some are sound and logical, others are highly fantastic. What we really know is:
Something below the surface makes connections for us with whatever we need in order to achieve our goals. This something can be put into operation by anyone who learns and practices the proper technique. All of these subconscious operations are manifestations of the force that was spoken of in Lesson 1. This knowledge of this hidden force is not new, and has been written about by occultists for centuries. Some of these records have strange forms, but it is possible to give you clear and specific instructions. These instructions will make your mind and body effective instruments for realizing your goal. You can easily learn to do this even if you do not understand the process. It will achieve results.
Fix your attention on the powers and abilities you have immediately at your disposal in order to realize your goal. When you direct your subconscious mind to employ these forces you are enabling them to keep your body functioning correctly, develop knowledge that you must have to reach your aim, and get in touch with those people who are necessary for achieving your aim.
Now, you can see that your statement that you created in Lesson 1 is so much more than what it seemed. You are instructing your subconscious to use ‘all of my powers.’ This includes those subconscious forces that are described in this lesson, plus any other powers that you may have been aware of when you wrote the statement. In choosing a specific target you have already set in motion a process which has helped thousands to grow in wisdom, power, happiness and true spirituality.
You can learn to direct its currents. You can use it to any and every conceivable end. It is there for you to command, to make changes in your personality and environment. Many people have used this process and were no more gifted than you are.
Study this lesson for a full week. Re-read it several times. Continue making your declaration of purpose every morning and evening. As you say the words remember that they are planting seeds in your subconscious which will certainly and fully grow into reality.
Lesson 3, Week 3
The law that will enable you to make the best and fullest use of your subconscious power is: Subconscious is always amendable to control by suggestion.
In explaining this, amendable means: 1) able to be called to account; subject to authority, and 2) Submissive. The subconscious is always subject to your authority. It does not resist or act grudgingly. It is willing and easily led. In fact, it is amazing how well the subconscious accepts your suggestions. Many people think it takes work to bring your subconscious under control. Nothing could be further from the truth. It never resists us. In fact, because it is so easy to govern it often seems extremely stubborn. This is not the case. It only seems that way because it immediately acts on the suggestions given to it, and continues that action until a stronger suggestion to change that action is given. Subconscious is easy to manage once you learn how to do it.
Control means to exercise directing or restraining control over an object. Many people think that psychology will remove all restraint from their subconscious. This is a dangerous lie. Subconscious can not direct itself, much less us. Its power must be controlled to have any good effect. Unrestrained subconscious is insanity. Nobody can gain health, success, happiness, or growth on any level by letting subconscious run wild. Control, however, does not mean meddling in the workings of the subconscious. We give it directions, but leave the deeper inner workings free to obey our instructions in their own way. Remember, the subconscious carries on all of the body maintenance, health issues, heart beating, and the like. Our concern is not with the processes but with the outcome. Also remember that your conscious work ends when you have formulated a clear, distinct image of the result you wish and have turned it over to the subconscious. Always express perfect confidence in the subconscious. If you express doubt, the subconscious will take that as a suggestion and make it a reality. This includes being anxious or having too many repetitions of your work because you want to make sure it works. The subconscious will immediately go to work making these fears a reality. This is because emotion is vital to your mental image.
This is why it is important to be familiar with Step Two. It gives you all the knowledge you need to banish fear and doubt from the subconscious. With the instructions in this step, you will be able to direct the subconscious with full confidence which is essential for success. When you fully understand what the subconscious can do you will make your commands to it with assurance that it will be carried out.
Suggestion is anything that will make an impression on the subconscious. It should be given as a hint. It should be subtle and indirect. Subconscious responds to what is implied quicker than what is commanded. It does this because of the subconscious reasoning power described in Step 2. It does this deduction naturally. To employ your subconscious powers to their best advantage subconscious. You just have to gently make your direction known indirectly. This is why alchemy says the work of controlling our hidden powers must be done? Suavely, and with great ingenuity.
You should now fully understand the above law. All the wondrous powers described in Step 2 are yours to command. The responsibility for right direction is up to you. Your subconscious is always responsive and easy to govern if you do it correctly. Now you have to learn to give your subconscious the kind of suggestions that imitate what needs to be done. This takes work and practice. Most people see this as difficult because they are not using the correct process. The truth is that you have been controlling your subconscious by suggestion all of your life! Now, go back and read that statement several times until it sinks in. You have been doing this all of your life. The problem is you have probably been giving it all kinds of hints, which may or may not have been constructive to your goals. Because of the perfect obedience of the subconscious mind, it follows them completely.
For example, say your goal is to save money. You focus on it. You spend an hour a day focusing on your goal. Then you spend the next 23 hours worrying about having enough money. The suggestions and hints you are giving your mind are fear and worry about money, and it brings those into reality.
If you have learned to use affirmations and suggestions correctly, you achieve success. If not, it is because of your affirmations and suggestions were counteracted by the suggestive power of your habitual ways of thinking, imagining, speaking and acting. Even perfectly conveyed suggestions of health will fail if they are countered by hundreds of fear thoughts, selection of the wrong foods, or not giving your body enough water, light or air. What you do or think all day long is recorded by your subconscious. If your deeds turn your words into lies, the suggestion which reaches your subconscious is then based on that lie. To say you want health and then to starve your body is to build the suggestion that what you really want is disease. The subconscious mind obeys. You get what you ask for.
This is the same for all things. If you formulate the suggestion for financial success, but spend your money foolishly, your subconscious will not go to work on that suggestion, because your actions say something different. Now will it build your business if you let your home and office be in disorder? Until you keep order as well as you can your suggestions will be over-balanced by subtle suggestions of failure. Your subconscious is always amendable and always obeys the predominate suggestion. Nothing in occultism will give you a magic formula to be successful if you are disorderly, neglect hygiene or you persist in making negative impressions of your experiences. Subconscious is controlled on the level of subconscious awareness. What you think, say or do throughout the day furnishes the bulk of impressions received by the subconscious. First you must give attention to your body. This is because the body is the instrument of your subconscious work. You must learn what your body needs to be healthy. Then, once you have acted upon that, focus your awareness on your clothes. Make sure that they are clean and well cared for. Next turn your attention to your abode. Make your working and living quarters as orderly as you can. Later in your training you will be taught how to form the correct mental patterns.
Follow these simple, easy rules and you will give your subconscious the most powerful suggestions. Begin at once to put these lessons into practice. This will be your first step in using the Law presented earlier.
Lesson 4, Week 4
Whatever you do to realize the aim you have formulated must be accomplished through some form of bodily activity. At first you may think that this goes without saying, but many people neglect the physical activity necessary to complete their goals.
Thinking is a bodily action. It is a function of the brain. It is no different than breathing being a function of the lungs. Human personality manifests in tow modes, the manifest and the unmanifest. The manifest is obviously the physical body and its interactions. The unmanifest can be seen during astral projection, during sleep or trance and before birth and after death by the psychically gifted.
Since we are primarily concerned with the here and now, our instructions deal with the physical functioning of the personality to achieve goals. Occult wisdom states that evolutionary advancement of the ego or self must take place on the physical plane, here and now. You cannot put it off. The two modes complement each other. To neglect the physical is fatal to advancement. The body contains trillions of cells. Their operation is the basis of everything you do, say and think. The fulfilment of your goal is accomplished through them. Their power is what allows you to accomplish your goal. But what is this power?
First off, the cells of living things are composed of the same elements that compose the inorganic bodies of the universe. This means that there is no special matter in the universe that possesses life. Most people only see life, or consciousness, in plant or animal cells. But the occultist knows that consciousness exists in all matter, albeit illusive or latent in some. Where ever form exists, life, or consciousness, must exist too. Therefore there is no reason to ask “Where did life come from.” It is eternally present in the chemical elements themselves.
Life appears to our perception when certain chemical elements are arranged in certain structural patterns which are adapted to the manifestation of life. We call these organic. Other structures can not manifest life on our level of perception. We call these inorganic. Both, however, are composed of the same chemical elements.
Each cell, then, is made of chemical elements. These chemical elements are made of atoms. The atoms themselves are all made up of the same things: protons, neutrons and electrons. The only difference between an atom of gold and an atom of lead is the number of these subatomic particles that make up the atoms matrix. These particles are then made up of smaller things. The occultist calls these smaller things ‘radiant energy’, ‘light’ or ‘electro-magnetism’. They are different names for the same thing. Thus, the cells in your body are really made up of ‘light power’. The energy which manifests itself in the activity of these cells is the result of the light power’s flow through the cells. The function of every cell is the result of this flow of Light power.
This light power is the substance of everything in the universe. This is the power at work in the organic and inorganic chemical reactions. It is the power of expression in plants and animals. When it works through the human body, and especially the brain, it produces the personality. Since this same radiant energy builds inorganic and organic structures and carries on the function of plants, animals and man, it must also be life power since physical and mental activities are included among its forms of manifestation. Life power is at once the substance of your cells and the working force in those cells. Yet it is not limited to those cells. It is not limited to your environment. It is distributed throughout infinity.
Life power builds everything manifest out of itself. It does not affect an outside substance of matter. It is matter. The one real something in the universe is the single consciousness of life energy. It can be said that there are two poles to this power. One is consciousness, which is spirit. The other is the working power of that life power, which we call energy. By acting upon itself, through energy acting upon spirit, all forms come into being. When life power works through the cells of your liver, it secretes bile or make sugar. When it works through your muscles, they contract. When it works through your brain and nervous system the result is certain states of consciousness and the expression of personality.
Biologist agree that it has taken millions of years to develop to the human experience, and that the process of evolution is not finished. So, the time will come when life power is able to manifest and show powers we have yet to conceive. According to occult teachings, this is already happening, and has been happening. This course is designed to promote that through a higher order of brain development. There are elaborate systems of practice in place to do this. These were created by those who had experienced this effect, to help others to have the same experience.
Physical transformations that are caused by this are partially chemical and partially structural. Some changes occur in the blood, lymph and glandular secretions. Other changes occur in the arrangement of brain and nerve cells. We are not working on the mind. We are producing changes in our bodies that focus life power in specialized ways. To affect those changes we first use our knowledge of the subconscious given in step three. By giving the correct hints, the subconscious will start the process of transformation. We can do this through the knowledge contained in the systems of development mentioned earlier. Occultists agree that the basic force used in their work is Conscious Energy which expresses itself as light and life throughout the universe. As Hermes Trismegistus said, “All things are from One, by the mediation of One. And all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.”
These methods of changing the body chemistry and structure are largely, but not wholly, mental. Before the mental work is undertaken, you must bring your body into a certain degree of normality. The first rule is cleanliness, inner and outer. You must drink enough water to keep the body functioning properly, eat the right food without becoming a faddist, make sure you are getting the proper vitamins, proper rhythmic breathing and have correct posture. The mental practice will be discussed in the next three lessons. But it is of little importance if the body is not supplied with the correct food, air and nutrients to do the work.
A preparation for these next steps, spend a week considering what type of bodily activity is required to complete your goal. If you have difficulty in this your goal may be too vague or set too far in advance. Remember what you want to be and do. These are an expression of bodily action. What will your body have to do next? Is it ready to do so? If not, what must you do to get it ready? Consider this carefully, and if any part of your body is lacking in this regard, remedy that deficiency. This will be the foundation for all future building.
Lesson 5, Week 5
You never have to lie to your subconscious in order to make it start building the conditions to make your desires reality. You learn the truth about yourself, tell yourself that truth and act upon it.
What keeps people sick, miserable or in want is ignorance of the truth about human personality, its place in the scheme of things, and its powers. Ignorance shapes suggestions that the conscious mind continually passes to the subconscious. Those suggestions are lies we tell ourselves. Because the subconscious is amendable to suggestion, those lies become patterns that begin tp work themselves into our reality. The remedy is truth.
People believe that they are supposed to be sick, poor, and unhappy. Because they accept it, the subconscious mind makes it a reality for them. The only pattern they give the subconscious is one of failure. The occult student should reject these lies for truth. The truth is: sickness is a rare exception. There is infinite wealth. Anyone can and will be happy when they understand the laws of spiritual nature. Through subconscious the occult student is already in touch with the power, wisdom and materials to make this truth reality in their immediate environment. Such a person knows he already has what he wants. He just has to complete the work.
Outward circumstances may seem to contradict this. Actually, we know that we can change this if we learn to work with subconscious in the right way. Everything essential to your realizing your aim on a physical level was formulated in lesson 1.Getting in touch with the Limitless potential involves transforming your pattern of thinking, feeling and experiencing. You must learn to feel ‘rich in spirit’. Then you will have access to limitless supply. Through occult training you learn how to truly ‘see’, ‘hear’ and ‘understand’. These first steps get you started into motion towards self-fulfillment.
Your desire is currently a mental fact. Even though you can not touch or use this mental fact, you will never have the physical effect of that mental fact if you do not understand that the mental fact is a real possession which you must cling to until it becomes realized. Keep your image steady in your mind’s eye. Think of it as actual, present reality. Dwell on it. Dream of it. Then turn it over to subconscious as described previously. As night follows day, so will your mental reality become physical reality.
Visualization is of the utmost importance in practical occultism. The more detailed the picture, the clearer the pattern. By making up your mind in the first lesson as to what you want you have taken the first step towards the formation of mental images which will be materialized by the subconscious into reality. Now you must complete those images and impart them to the magical suggestive power which causes subconscious to bring it into physical form. Take out a pencil and paper and answer the following questions:
1. What color will be shown by the thing which embodies your desire? This could be the tone or complexion of your body if you want health, the color of the interior and exterior if you want a new house, her color radiating from you if you want success, etc. You may need to define what the outcome will look like a bit more. To be ‘of service to others’ is too vague. Tri to create an image of what that will look like, and then the colors associated with that result.
2. What sounds will be characteristic of the embodiment of your desire? It may take you a little bit to figure out how your healthy body sounds, or your new house sounds, but think about it. You will.
3. What is the characteristic movement, and direction of movement, that will be manifested by the thing to be brought into existence? This is a large question that is great for making vivid details.
4. Of what materials is it composed? Are they course or fine? Hard or soft? Warm or cold? Light or heavy?
5. What other sensations will be aroused by the thing you want and desire?
Go over every detail in your head. Write it down on paper. Use definite words. When you use a color, find out just what color it is. When you consider size and weight, be specific. As you write this down, your mental image will become more and more vivid. Details of movement are very important See yourself interacting with your desire. The more details you put into your desire, the better. Make your image in the present tense. See your image as present reality. If your desire involves personal relationships with others, see those relationships as current reality.
This is mental creation. Your pictures become mental reality the moment you create them. Add as much detail, depth form, color, movement, sound and other details as you can. Soon you will be mentally sculpting instead of sketching.
This sets up the primary visualization that your subconscious mind will bring into reality. You must do this as a preliminary step before the step of calling forth the subconscious powers to create reality. That will come in a later step. For now, practice creating and holding, and refining, this mental reality of your desire. Next lesson you will learn how to transfer them to the subconscious.
Lesson 6, Week 6
Though subconscious responds better to suggestion than to direct command, you still have to transfer a specific image of the result you desire. The image is not a command. You desire that you formulated in Step One do not give instructions to get the result, just the result itself. The image is necessary because it calls up associations within the subconscious. These associations are what direct the subconscious, not direct commands. These associations bring specific activities and unseen powers into play.
Subconscious is always below the level of conscious thought. You will not be aware of these powers operating. It is like planting a seed. You do not have to see the seed growing once it is planted. You just have to know how to plant it properly. In the same way, once you have formed your mental image, with as much detail as possible, written and drawn it out, you can start the process of putting it in to your subconscious.
The most important thing to remember was mentioned in Step One: Keep quiet about your work! Conserve the energy others waste by talking about it. To talk about your plans and your work is to dissipate their energy. Maintaining silence develops power, physical and psychological.
To implant this image into your subconscious, set aside a few minutes each day to do your work. You need to be free from interruption, so turn off the phone and hang the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. You will need a comfortable, straight backed chair. Sit comfortably, without crossing your legs and with your hands on your thighs. Your head and back should be erect and in alignment. Don’t be overly relaxed, but at the same time do not be overly tense. Be free from strain, but awake, alive and engaged.
Repeat your statement of purpose confidently and with power. Unless someone is likely to hear you, do so out loud. Then, close your mind and go over every detail of the image you wish to achieve. Pay attention to your mind and if it starts to wander bring your attention back to your mental picture. Remember that the picture should be in present reality? it is happening now. If you find yourself mentally saying the words describing the image, try to picture the image corresponding to the words. With practice, this will become easier. Begin with the bigger details and then work down to the fine details. Do this for five minutes, and then stop. No longer!
Repeat this process the next day. Begin by reviewing the details you went over the day before, and then begin adding new details. Continue this process daily until you have achieved the desired result. When you begin with the review of what you did before, you become aware of details that need to be filled in. Do not count the time spent in review as part of your five minutes you spend adding details. Remember not to go over the five minutes.
Like anything else, things will start off slow at first. But, with practice, the pace will gradually quicken. With practice you will be able to summon the image, with full details, in much less than five minutes. As you do this over time, you will also gain the ability to form new images with ease and speed. This is one of the most valuable skills you can acquire in occult training.
When you do this, make sure that you keep any thoughts about the future out of your mind. You are creating this in the present. No matter what your circumstances are, this image is part of your reality. You will find that you are at the center of all the mental images. Thus, your mental images are truly part of your environment. Also, your mental images are controlling part of your circumstances, even if you can not see it. This has always been happening. Now you are learning to take control of it. The condition of today is always the result of the images of your yesterday. You have brought your current circumstances into existence through your mental imagery. Your future will be materialized by what you image now.
When you change your mental imagery from a negative image to a positive one, you set in motion forces that will make your world what you want it to be. Select one image and set your mind on it. Your actual experiences will correspond to your mental image. Thought always takes form in action unless cancelled by opposite thought, and mental images tend always to materialize themselves.
Ideally you should do this practice in the morning every day. Then, throughout the day, repeat it whenever you have a few minutes to spare. This will help you to use your mind creatively as opposed to letting it drift aimlessly. This will also help to counter fears, doubt and negative thought patterns. When you have built a mental image of your heartfelt desire, you have the best protection against negative mental activities. Practicing in the morning also makes it easier to call up positive energy and imagery throughout the day. This will result in positive, constructive thoughts.
All of this is centered around perfecting one mental image. Single images are the only ones with sufficient power to penetrate deep into the subconscious and set those hidden processes into motion of materialization. You should also do this at night, after you have gone to bed and made yourself comfortable. This will help you transfer the image to your subconscious.
Once you have fully created the image, transfer it to the subconscious. Do this by first relaxing completely. Start from you feet and work up to your head, tensing and relaxing every part to put it into a relaxed condition. Tension always proceeds relaxation. This also helps to establish the link between the conscious mind and the subconscious centers in the body. Once you are relaxed you will be ready to transfer one image to the subconscious.
Bring up the mental image in your mind and see it before you. Or you may see it in your forehead. However you see it is right for you. Then, project the image onto the back of the mind. In actuality, this is something that occurs naturally since the optic nerves actually connect to the back of the mind. When you project it to the back of your mind, it is the same as if you had actually seen it, and the image becomes impressed on the nerves of the sight center in the brain. These nerves then assist in implanting the image into the subconscious. Once accepted, the subconscious goes about the process of making it a reality.
As soon as you have completed this, go to sleep. If doing this has made you more awake, then go through the relaxation process described earlier. Then dismiss all further thought about it. If your mind starts to drift to it again, turn your mind back to a pleasant thought from your immediate past. The main goal at this point is to stop thinking about it and go to sleep. Once you go to sleep, the mental image will be sent to your subconscious.
What has just been explained to you is basic in mist elementary metaphysical schools of thought. You may have been trying similar methods before with varying degrees of success. These steps are essential for the future magical and occult workings you choose to undertake.
Lesson 7, Week 7
In the first step you learned the following about the subconscious:
1. Subconscious cures every disease. This curative power may be aroused by mental methods.
2. Subconscious keeps a perfect record of all our experiences and contains a summary of the essentials of our ancestors experiences.
3. Subconscious makes connections for us to achieve whatever we want to have, be or do.
4. The operations of the subconscious are controllable from a conscious level provided the right means to this end are used.
In the second step you learned that the potencies of the subconscious and the means to control it are no new thing. The terms of modern psychology are new. The ancient techniques for controlling the subconscious are more certain and effective than many modern methods. For centuries these methods were closely guarded, being taught only to initiates. Since the 19th Century, this knowledge has been more widely given out. This is where this course on the First steps, as well as most other occult teachings, comes from.
These first steps, and much of the later work, are derived from the principle that says Subconscious mind responds more readily to visual images than to any other form of suggestion. This is because sight is the most developed of all the senses. Every visual image has a subconscious response. You can program these responses into your mind by looking at the image daily for about 5 minutes a day, for three days in a row. When you do this, obviously you will have some unique understandings, but the essence of how you describe the image will be the same for nearly everyone. Even if consciously you think of the wrong thing at first, the subconscious will correct those provided you look at the picture for long enough, in the proper manner.
This is what the ancient techniques are founded on. The release of subconscious powers is caused through the repeated acts of attention to visual images. It is better to know beforehand what the image means. This causes the effect of awakening the subconscious energy to be quicker since the conscious mind adds its energy to the process.
You have been doing this with your exercises that you started several weeks ago. There are other ways, more structured ways, of achieving occult wisdom with this method. One is the Tarot. There are others. In your occult and magical practices you will be given and taught keys. If you are in an initiatory path, many meanings and images will be placed in your mind in the initiations.
To determine if you are ready to continue in occult studies, ask yourself the following questions. Answer honestly, because above all you must be honest with yourself.
1. Have you clearly formulated your first objective?
2. Have you planned the necessary steps to attain it?
3. Do you perceive clearly what forms of bodily activity are required in order to realize your One Aim?
4. Can you form clear mental images?
5. How do you define the subconscious?
6. What is the danger that arises from the peculiarity of the subconscious reasoning process?
7. What is the value of silence?
8. Since beginning the work, have you observed any changes in yourself?
If your answers are all satisfactory, and you feel ready to continue, then proceed. If not, go back through the lessons. This is not a race. This is about you reaching your fullest potential. Do not short change yourself.