What is Meditation?

Meditation is a mental discipline in which one's mind and body are completely relaxed; at which point all extraneous thoughts are removed from one's mind, or the mind is focused on one single thought or idea. Meditation, in one form or another, has been recognized and practiced by virtually every religion, but has also been practiced outside religious circles for a variety of goals including, but not limited to, it's health benefits, for attaining greater self-awareness, to stimulate the creative process, and to relieve stress to name a few. Whereas there are many types of meditation, each can be divided into one of two categories. They are: 1. Concentrative Meditation focuses the attention on the breath, an image, or a sound (mantra), in order to still the mind and allow a greater awareness and clarity to emerge. 2. Mindfulness Meditation involves opening the attention to become aware of the continuously passing parade of sensations and feelings, images, thoughts, sounds, smells, and so forth without becoming involved in thinking about them. The person sits quietly and simply witnesses whatever goes through the mind, not reacting or becoming involved with thoughts, memories, worries, or images. This helps to gain a more calm, clear, and non-reactive state of mind.

Basic Meditation

A Concentrative Mediation Below is a description of a concentrative meditation for the purpose of achieving an Alpha State. The Alpha State is defined as a state of being in which both the mind and body are completely relaxed. Although there are meditative aids on the market for the purpose of meditation such as music cds or candles, it would probably be best for you to learn meditation without the use of these aids in the beginning experiments with meditation. Eliminate all extraneous distractions by turning off the television or radio, taking the phone off the hook, turning off you're cell phone, and put away your ipod, etc...

Although some people meditate in a lying position, it is not recommended as you are more likely to fall asleep in this position. Ideally, you would assume the Lotus Position, but this is not completely necessary. Sit comfortably with your spine straight and shoulders back. Your hands can rest in your lap or balanced on at your needs, palms up. Once you are in position, close your eyes and slightly raise your chin as if looking up. Take a deep breathe in through the nose, completely filling your lungs. You should feel your diaphram completely expand as well. Hold the breathe for a count of three seconds, then release it out through your mouth. Slowly push the air out of your body, expelling as much carbon monoxide as possible. Wait three seconds before breathing in again. As you breath, eliminate all extraneous thoughts from your mind. Focus on nothing but your pattern of breathing. If any thoughts enter your mind, just let it go. Repeat this process of breathing in through the nose, holding it for three seconds, breathing out through the mouth, holding it for three seconds. The process may seem difficult at first but as you practice it will become easier. Beginning with your feet and moving up towards your head, relax a part of your body with each intake of breath. When both the mind and body are completely relaxed you have achieved the Alpha State. As you practice meditation, you will be able to reach this state of being more quickly and then you can practice more complex forms of meditation. When you are done, open your eyes and acclimate yourself back to mundane reality.

How to Develop Psychic Ability with Meditation The process described below is one of the very first exercises that I was taught in order to develop and enhance my own psychic abilities. I cannot vouch for the "science" behind the the process, but I can tell you that with consistent practice it works. To begin, enter the Alpha State as described above. At this point you can do any of the exercises below.

Visualize the letters of the alphabet one at a time holding each letter in your mind for as long as you can before moving on the the next letter. Do not stop until you have gone through the entire alphabet. Alternately, you can visualize numbers, or even geometric shapes. Supposedly, visualizing these letters and shapes forces the left and right hemispheres of the brain to work together resulting in increased intuition and psychism.

Continue breathing as before only instead of focusing on your breathing, turn your attention to your Brow Chakra. The Brow, or thirdeye, chakra is located between and slightly above the eyebrows. It is known as the seat of the soul and is associated with psychicism. As you breath in, mentally pull energy into the brow chakra. If you do this correctly, you should feel a swirling sensation in the center of your forehead. Ideally, you should maintain this level of concentration for 20 minutes a day.

Affirmations What are Affirmations? Affirmations are defined as a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something. In magick, affirmations are often worded in a positive manner and repeated over and over to ourselves either silently, or aloud. The idea is that we focus on inwardly that which we wish to manifest outwardly. However, it is not enough to simply repeat these statements, but we must also believe them to be true. Belief is perhaps the most important factor in magickal thinking. If you dont believe the words coming out of your mouth youre not going to achieve any results. Affirmations help us build up our beliefs and make them more real. In fact, the word affirm come from the Latin word that means to make solid. When we are thinking positively, we are not thinking negatively; and in the absence of negative thoughts we grow to believe our words. With belief in our thoughts and words, comes the manifestation of our desires. Writing Your Affirmations While some people may have a difficult time thinking positively, its not very hard to write a positive statement. Here are some things to keep in mind when writing yours. 1. Begin your affirmation with the words I AM. For example, I am wealthy rather than I will be wealthy. By stating that you will be wealthy it places your intent in the future rather than the present and that is precisely where your intent will manifest in the future, always before you, always out of reach. 2. Make your affirmation active rather than passive. Directly after the words I am, include a word ending in ing. For example, I am having, I am receiving, I am manifesting, etc 3. Avoid negative words and contractions. For example, repeat I am patient and understanding, rather than I wont lose my temper. The point here is to focus on what you want, not what you dont want.

4. Be specific but keep it short. In order to get what you want, you must be clear about what you want. Avoid vague statements but keep your statement short as short affirmations are easier to remember. 5. Words of Power: Developing Personal Incantations

A lone figure, clad in red, narrows her concentration to a single purpose and stretching forth her hands towards her target utters the phrase Winds of Destiny, Change! Immediately the world around her conforms to her will. A Wizard to a legendary King lays his hand over a knights wound and chants Anil nathrach orth bhais betha, do cheol danta and the knight is healed. A Sikh centers himself chanting Om Shanti, Peace and he is then able to climb an electrified fence by allowing the current to pass harmlessly through his body. Sounds amazing right? What if I told you that figure clad in red was Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, a mutant with the power to alter probabilities? That the wizard I described was Merlin as portrayed in the 1981 motion picture Excalibur? That the Sikh able to climb the electrified fence was Darwin Jones, an expert in the field of biofeedback as portrayed in an episode of the 1970s television series Bionic Woman, starring Lindsey Wagner. You may be wondering why Im talking about fictional characters in a discussion on real life magick and witchcraft. The answer is simple. In the early days of the comics, a character could perform amazing feats because they could-- that was their power, or it was magic and for many readers that was as good an explanation as any. As comic readers grew up they began wanting better explanations for these amazing feats. How is it that Superman can fly? How does Spiderman stick to walls? How does Doctor Strange accomplish his magical efforts? In response, comic writers began looking to real world science and mysticism in an effort to explain how fictional characters accomplished the impossible. Today, the power and abilities of many comic characters (especially magick users) have a basis in real life theories and practices of metaphysics. Doctor Strange draws power from occult objects imbued with power (talismans), ambient energy (the earth, sun, & moon), inter-dimensional beings (Gods), words of power (incantations) and himself (personal power) among other things. Kabbalists believe that God spoke the world into creation. In like fashion Zatanna, long considered to be the most powerful magic-user in the DC universe, performs magic by simply stating what she wants---only backwards. For example, to make someone forget something she would say tegrof. The Mandarin draws energy from his ten rings of power, which are similar to the Navaratna, or nine gems, sacred in Vedic Astrology.

The point Im trying to make here is that though the portrayal of magic in comics and other works of fiction are the product of creative writing they have a basis in reality. Although you wont turn lead into gold, teleport yourself across the world, or fly high above the clouds you can adapt these techniques to real life magick. One of these techniques is the adopting of a magickal phrase, or personal incantation, that you can use for the performance of real magick. How to Write Your Personal Incantation So, you want your own personal incantation? How about a la peanut butter sandwiches! Nope, well I guess that makes Mumford the Magician happy-- his power words will remain his own. Why not Azarath Metrion Zinthos! Nope, well since its likely that you dont know what that means, its probably a good idea. By the power of Greyskull! No good either, huh? The point here is that it really doesnt matter what you say, so long as it has meaning for you. It can be a line from a favorite song or poem such as My words fly up, my thoughts remain below , (Hamlet, Shakespeare) a famous quote or saying such as I think therefore I am, or you can take a page out of Captain Marvels book and say the name of a favored Deity. Whatever words you choose, make them your own. Now I bet youre wondering what I use as my personal incantation. Ok, Ill share. You probably encounter my power words every day without even knowing. My power words are E Pluribus Unum. These three simple words represent the unofficial mantra of the United States for many, many years before an act of Congress in 1956 made our official motto In God we Trust. E pluribus Unum is Latin for "Out of Many, One." Originally suggesting that out of many colonies or states emerge a single nation, it has come to suggest that out of many peoples, races, and ancestries has emerged a single people and nation illustrating the concept of the melting pot. For me, what this means is that there are an infinite number of possibilities in the universe and out of the many, many possibilities I wish to manifest the one result in tuned with my desires and goals as represented by my thoughts and deeds when chanting my power words. How to Program Your Power Words Once youve chosen your power words, you will have to program them in order to use them. Your personal incantation is a trigger that puts magickal forces in motion. Each time you say your personal incantation it triggers psychological changes which tells yourself that you are ready to perform magick. Programming your power words isnt a difficult task, but it will take time. How much time it will take for you to see results is entirely dependent upon you.

Psychology teaches us that it takes roughly 21 days to develop habits, or patterns of behavior. Perform this meditation every day for 21 days. 1. To begin, sit comfortably and enter a meditative state in which both your mind and body are completely relaxed. 2. Imagine that you are on the top floor of a 10 story building standing before an elevator. Step into the elevator and face the door. 3. Imagine that you are pressing the 1 button that will take the elevator down to the first floor. 4. Look at the digital counter above the elevator door. As the elevator descends; imagine the numbers slowly going from 10 to 1. 5. Say to yourself: " I am descending the various levels of myself. Down down down to my lower self the dwelling place of my untapped potentialthe deeper well of unlimited power." 6. When the elevator reaches the first floor, the doors open to reveal a long, narrow hallway. Exit the elevator and walk down the hallway at the end of which is a door. On that door is your name in big bold letters, under which is also written Super Witch or some other description that evokes a feeling of power and authority within you. 7. Open the door and go inside the room. Here you are met by a version of yourself that is completely empowered. 8. Standing directly across from your other self look into your own eyes and know that this person exists within you. 9. When you are ready, literally step into your other self so that your bodies join and become one. Say I AM (your magickal name). I HAVE the power! I can use this power anytime I desire simply by focusing on my desire and saying (your magickal incantation) and my will shall be done! 10. When you are done, open your eyes and go about your way. Flexing Your Magickal Muscles As you begin to become proficient with the meditation described above, you can start to test your new abilities by effecting small things and building up. For example, use your new personal incantation to change traffic lights, banish nuisances, heal minor wounds, etc As you grow more confident you can begin to work on bigger things. In the mean time, if you have occasion to cast a spell or perform a ritual, immediately after speaking the spoken part of your spell (the part that describes your goal) repeat your personal incantation. Incorporating your power words into your regular mode of magick helps build a bridge between the two methods and can lead to greater success. As you become more skilled you will be able to perform successful magick without the use of a full on spell or ritual. Remember, the most important tool you have as a witch is yourself. It is not my intention to change the way in which you practice your faith, but rather to

show you a path in which you are not dependent on things outside yourself in order to exert power and control over your life. Even if you become a master at this art that is not to say that you will not wish to cast a spell or perform a working ritual in the manner to which you are accustomed. Workbook of Shadows EXERCISES

1. Practice achieving an Alpha State every day using the Basic Meditation as described in this chapter. 2. Once you have successfully achieved the Alpha State, remain in meditation for at least ten minutes. Gradually increase the amount of time you remain in Alpha for one minute until you can remain in the Alpha State for at least 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Record your progress in your journal. 3. In an Alpha State of mind, practice the exercises described above to develop and nurture your psychic ability. Record your progress in your journal. 4. If you begin to have psychic episodes, record them in your journal as well. Indicate the form in which these psychic episodes manifest. (visual, aural, intuitive, etc...) This information will prove useful when you begin researching methods of divination. 5. Choose a goal that you would like to achieve. Write the goal in your journal. Below the goal, write three positive affirmations regarding that goal. 6. Practice repeating your affirmations to yourself silently and aloud throughout the day for as long as it takes to achieve your goal. Then choose a new goal and begin again. Record your progress in your journal. 7. Research and develop your own personal incantation. 8. Using the method described above, program your words of power. 9. Begin practicing using your words of power for small things and gradually increase to more difficult goals.