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School of the Wise
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Course #1 Lesson #8 Silver beings this chapter by showing us two very important things about Wicca. One, this religion requires some serious work on our part if we want to learn not only its scientific wonders, but also the religious principles. Secondly, she points out how, in our religion, we are responsible for our own actions, and will reap the benefits, or suffer the consequences, accordingly. Mental Programming
"You are what you think!" This is a wonderful insight, and something that we should each keep in mind. One of the 13 Goals of a Witch is that of keeping your thoughts in order. This is not an attempt to control you by someone else, but rather it is an attempt to help us see that what goes in must come out. If we want to grow in the Craft, which obviously we do or this School wouldn't be happening, we must put the time and effort into it. If you want to become more adept at reading the Tarot cards, all the magick in the world is not going to help unless you put some time and effort into it, working with the cards and practicing.
Another way to look at this is our mental self image. Do you see yourself as someone who can succeed, who has the ability to reach your goals, and who is worthy of having that success? Or do you have a poor self esteem, and believe that either you can't succeed or that you don't deserve to? Which of these attitudes do you think is going to lead to success. This principle holds true in the spiritual, as well as physical, worlds. Our minds are capable of great things, but we must convince ourselves of that fact first.
Do Self-help Tapes Really Work?
Personally, when I hear an advertisement about the wonders of these self help tapes I almost laugh out loud. But Silver makes some very valid points about how they can be effective. The tapes, if you are unfamiliar with them, usually revolve around one topic, such as stress reduction, and if you apply the principles, from a good source, I suppose it would work. And if nothing else, the repeated positive messages being sent to your brain can't really hurt.
As Silver has mentioned, I'd strongly suggest keeping the 5 suggestions in mind when purchasing a self help tape or series. There's no need to go bankrupt purchasing these things, and no need to beat yourself up if you don't listen to them for a couple of days. The whole idea here is to increase the positive images in your mind, and self destructive thoughts are not going to help.
Affirmations
Affirmations are wonderful techniques, and I have found them to be very effective. (Of course I'm still working on that blasted procrastination problem lol). The only thing I'd like to point out here, is to notice how Silver writes these affirmations. All of them are positive, and none of them contain words like; will be, maybe, could be, should be, or any thing else. She is showing that we must begin to think that we have already achieved our goal, before our goal will become a reality. So be sure and try to keep your affirmations positive, and word them as if you have already become that type of person. You will be amazed at how well this works if you put some time and effort into it.
Controlling and Directing Your Thoughts for Self-improvement
I think a lot of times, especially when someone is new to the Craft, the tendency to kind of miss something very important exists. Magick is not something that can only be used during a full rite, nor is it something that has to be designed for fireworks type results. In the story Silver shares, she used a simple magickal technique to help her protect and care for a group of children. She certainly didn't cast a circle and start invoking the Lord and Lady. I'm thinking that would not have been the effect she was after. Rather, she took a few minutes to gather herself and magickally help herself be the type of person she felt she needed to be for that given situation.
Another good point that she starts to discuss is regarding magickal ethics. We will go much more in-depth on the ethics subject later, but right now I think we need to touch on it briefly. One of the best descriptions of magickal ethics that I have seen basically says that if you could not use a similar physical action in a situation, than you should not use a magickal action. For example, lets say you really like this girl, and you want as her out. Love/Sex magick is a hot topic, and can be totally dismissed too easily. If you want to increase your chances of success when you ask her out, you might want to do some magick that would help you overcome your fear of asking her, or your inability to speak around her. I do not think this steps on any ethical problems. What you shouldn't do is work a spell that forces her to go out with you. This is taking control of her mind and her actions, against her will, and that is when you have broken the ethical code of magick. For now, I hope that helps to get us thinking about ethics, but as I said we will go much more in-depth later on.
Meditation
To be completely honest here, I am not truly qualified to give you a whole lot of suggestions when it comes to meditation. This is one of the areas that I constantly struggle with. Being a strong type A personality, it's tough for me to sit still, let alone concentrate on my breathing, for more than a couple of minutes.
However, I can say that I know several people who have had great success with meditation, so I know it works. Silvers suggestions of trying several types of meditation is a wonderful idea, in my opinion. I mean, how will I know if I am comfortable with a particular system until I try it. And how will I know I've found that perfect system for me if I stop working with new systems occasionally? These are just a few things to keep in mind regarding meditation. We will do a lot more studying regarding meditation later in our courses.
Creative Visualization
When we use creative visualization we are forming a clear picture of something in our mind. It might be something as the white stream of energy many of us refer to in magick, or it might be something complex like a peaceful place besides a calm river that we like to retreat to occasionally. As with any other tool in the Craft, this one will take some time and effort to develop and begin to master. The benefits that we can achieve as a result of learning how to effectively use creative visualization are astonishing, and very well worth the time that it will take to develop this skill.
Assignment
I really believe that each of us will benefit from working on the exercise that Silver provides on pages 69-70. The first few times I tried to do these exercises, I was not extremely successful, but I was able to achieve moderate success. As I continued to work with them, my ability to hold a picture in my mind, and to call upon it when necessary, increased. This is not an exercise that you want to rush through, so wait until you can find time to truly sit down, away from all the distractions of the day, and work through them.
Dreams
I don't know about you but I could count on one hand, with fingers left over, the number of dreams I actually remember in a given month. I know I dream, it's just a fact, but I don't generally recall them. That does tend to make working with, and interpreting, dreams a little difficult. I'll admit, I haven't been as diligent in this area of study as I probably should (there's just so much to learn and do!!), but I have tried a few of Silver's suggestions, and they do work. I don't wake up much in the middle of the night, unless my fiancé' starts pushing me because I'm snoring, so I don't have much of a chance to record my dreams before I wake up for the morning. But at least once a week, before I even stir out of bed, I try and recall what I dreamt that night. Sometimes, things come back to me rather quickly, other times I may have already gotten to work before I start recalling much. It's definitely an area where a lot of time must be devoted, especially if you don't recall your dreams naturally. So far, I can't say as though I've had any major revelations, but I'm still learning. I'd recommended each of us working towards remembering our dreams, and trying to determine what they might be teaching us. Personally, there are times I can use all the help I can get.
Interpreting Your Dreams
I like Silvers idea here about each of us must interpret our own dreams. We must always remember that anyone can write a book, but not everyone that writes a book has a bloody clue what they are talking about! In order to interpret our dreams, we must work through the puzzle ourselves. This does not mean that a book on common symbols and meanings might not prove to be helpful, but if you feel like a particular person or other item in your dream means something other than what your book is telling you, well, then it probably does. Remember, we created the dream, and we must interpret it.
Writing Assignment
Pick one of the topics that we have covered in this chapter to work on over the next 30 days. Now put together a plan of how you think you can best achieve success in that area. This will help your mind get used to the idea that you are trying something new, and also get you ready to put the effort into it.
We have covered a lot of ground in this chapter, and some of it is still rather unclear. This is mainly because while a book can teach us many things, there are some areas that we just have to work out for ourselves. I believe this chapter deals with many such areas. Hopefully, though, through reading, talking with each other, and practice we will all be able to become more adept in these areas.
Lesson 8 Quiz:
1. T/F If I try my best I am not responsible for the outcome.
2. T/F What I think will effect how I behave and how my life unfolds.
3. T/F A self help system will work the same for everyone.
4. T/F With practice and diligence, everyone can learn the skills covered in this chapter.
5 T/F I have completed both the application and writing assignments for this lesson.
Lesson 8 Quiz Answers
1. False - we are accountable for our actions, and must weigh them carefully.
2. True
3. False - a particular system may not provide you with any benefits, but it might be perfect for your best friend, and the other way around.
4. True
5. True?
Continue on to Lesson Nine
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