Control or Restraint
The importance of control in mastering oneself and Power is obvious and has been discussed repeatedly. However, even in such a cornerstone element one can fall into the trap of the Parasite of mind.
Very often, control of oneself and of one’s manifestations is understood as their restraint. “Restrain expressions of emotion, restrain feelings, restrain manifestations of nature” — such recommendations abound on esoteric resources.
For the Magus there is a clear distinction between controlling and restraining one’s manifestations.
By control is meant influencing a manifestation at the stage when it arises: for example, an undesirable emotion is not restrained — it does not arise, because the triggers are identified and the energy that would go into its development is redirected into another channel. This approach has been called since ancient times “the hunt for the self,” or, more recently, thanks to popular literature, “stalking.”
It may seem that there is no significant difference — what difference does it make whether one catches a manifestation at the appearance stage or at the expression stage?
Perhaps, from the point of view of psychology, the difference really is not that great.
But from the point of view of Magic — it is fundamental.
An emotion that has arisen or other manifestation is a charge of energy moving toward realization, striving to become action. Naturally, such expression is accompanied by considerable dissipation of energy, which is the food of the Parasite of mind. In the case where a manifestation has arisen and developed but is held back in its expression, dissipation is much greater; consequently it is very advantageous for the Parasite of mind to promote restraining oneself. A society that encourages “restrained,” that is, “well-bred” behavior, is, of course, a favorable environment for Parasites to feed on.
Therefore, from the point of view of Magic, a manifestation, if it has arisen and developed, must be expressed — then this will curb the Parasite’s gluttony.
At the same time, simply allowing all impulses arising in the mind to become external expressions means wasting one’s energy and becoming exhausted. A Magus cannot permit himself such an approach.
Hence the idea of control — the redirection of energy. This allows, on the one hand, energy conservation, on the other — accomplish desired ends at its expense, and thirdly — starve the Parasite. All three of these points are useful on the Way of the Magus. Note that in the process of control an action must be performed: as soon as an impulse to manifest arises, immediately, by the binary law, a charge of energy necessary for that manifestation is generated. Consequently, in order that the Parasite does not take it, an action must be performed. Therefore control requires practice, and a whole system of actions has been developed which, on the one hand, uses arising energy impulses, and on the other — directs this energy toward accumulating Power.
It turns out that free energy, energy available for action, is scarce in real life, and its lion’s share goes to sustaining vital activity. Therefore for the Magus, striving to realize his will and seeking additional resources for this, it is very important, on the one hand, to use this energy more efficiently, and on the other — to “catch” impulses meant for manifestations that are useless for Power. It is precisely this system that constitutes the basis of Practical Magic in its pure, non-applied form.
So, for the Magus, restraining oneself is completely unacceptable, and manifestations allowed at the arising stage must be carried to completion, while it is precisely this “arising stage” that is the object of the most intense attention, since it is at this stage that the very possibility of Magic arises.
It would also be good to write about how to ‘catch’ impulses intended for useless expressions, from the perspective of strength.
Well, this is quite a big art. It can’t be described in one post (and in general, in posts) 🙂
One of the most powerful impulses is the impulse of anger. At the same time, it is difficult to imagine controlling and redirecting this impulse. How to train consciousness so as not to lose this energy? To remember it even?
At the stage where control is appropriate, there is no anger yet; there is only a ‘desire to get angry.’ And this desire, which is certainly already destructive, can be redirected to break down obstacles in one’s way.
Do you mean that real anger is something greater compared to what we see in everyday life? In a mundane environment, there is only a ‘desire to get angry’… What does real anger look like then? Isn’t it spontaneous? Is it necessary to learn to achieve it?
No, I mean that we see a manifestation of anger, and control is appropriate at an earlier stage.
It seems to me that this ‘hunting for oneself’ is possible not just in relation to all negative emotions, but especially to those that have turned into a model of behavior that recycles cyclically. Then, the preconditions for emergence are uncovered. But sometimes in everyone’s life unexpected events arise that shake energy. I don’t know if they can be ‘caught’ in advance.
Can we say the same about fear? Can this impulse also be controlled before it arises? Perhaps it can..
But there are probably other methods to combat fear. Is there anything on your blog about fighting fear? It is a very unpleasant feeling that hinders realization.
“and the ‘missed’ manifestations at the stage of emergence must be brought to completion”
That is, in relation to the feeling of fear, does this mean we need to ‘look it in the eyes’? Or just become fully afraid?)
Yes, if fear has already arisen, it is necessary to look it in the eyes. One can be afraid for as long as they want, what’s important is not allowing fear to control you, to dictate its conditions to you.
About fear:
https://enmerkar.com/en/way/magic-and-fear
https://enmerkar.com/en/way/the-sense-of-otherness
https://enmerkar.com/en/way/desire-and-fear-of-victory
Good day, your description of parasites in this article resembles the description of pendulums by V. Zeland. So are pendulums parasites?
I am greatly irritated by the stupidity of people. I can’t figure out the reason for the emergence of anger. In my opinion, the reason is that each person evaluates the actions of others from their own perspective and according to their own life experience. A small chain: a person’s erroneous behavior— behavior which I consider stupid (the mistake does not correspond to age, or in my opinion, the developed mind of that person at that moment in time)— there arises a feeling of misunderstanding of the adequacy of behavior or action, which expresses itself in— the protest arising impulse. Thus, misunderstanding— protest— anger. Here, pride is also buried, in the form that if I know something, then everyone should know it.
I wanted to add something to the question of Control… You said it yourself, complete immersion in battle should be accompanied by complete control. …between acute desire for Power and clear control over it. …not allowing the flame of desire to extinguish, a passionate drive for self-realization, but also not allowing the flame of this desire to consume controlling strongholds of consciousness. … So Control is exactly what does not allow the Egregore to suck a person into itself, Recall Castaneda: the secret of great hunters is in the shift of accessibility and inaccessibility, precisely at the appropriate turns of the path. You must learn to consciously become accessible and inaccessible, whether you want to or not, but with your current lifestyle you remain accessible all the time. You are always open. Open means losing control, closed is someone who controls themselves; so what is Control? At one time I was also available like you and would open up again and again until I was left almost with nothing. And what was left could only whine. Which I did, just like you… (i.e. there was no Control in his life) You must get out of there, ‘Leave the middle of the street, where there are a lot of cars and passersby.’ You’re all ‘there’ with all your being; therefore, it doesn’t matter whether you hide or not. Hiding there is pointless; you can only imagine that you are hidden, but it changes nothing – you are still open. You are standing in the middle of the street; that means that everyone who passes or drives by sees you wandering back and forth. (i.e. start moving from the periphery to the Center of your Being…) For example, you make your secrets very accessible, talk a lot… Treat life carelessly, you don’t know how to conserve. The main criteria for inaccessibility are caution, care – towards everything. Being unapproachable means gently touching the surrounding world. To eat not five quails, but one. Don’t injure plants just to make a barbecue. Don’t expose yourself to Power unnecessarily. Don’t use people, don’t squeeze every last drop out of them, especially those you love. Being unapproachable means consciously avoiding exhaustion, treating yourself, others and everything around with care… He is unapproachable because he does not squeeze every last drop from his world. He slightly touches it, stays in it just as long as necessary, and then quickly leaves, leaving no traces. Here lies the answer – a weak person cannot control themselves; their weakness makes them a leaf in the wind and they easily get caught up in passions… A WARRIOR FORMS HIS MOOD himself, as he is able to control himself… A warrior’s mood pushes a person through the empty chatter… the unproductive backdrop that sucks in all weak-willed people… Achieving the state of a warrior is very, very difficult. It is a revolution. It requires POWER. And the power is hidden in the exact way of life of a warrior. To possess power, one must lead a life filled with power. An impeccable mood, a state of detachment and tranquility… It doesn’t even matter whether you find it or not. What matters is that you will try to find it. Just try sincerely, pretense is not needed… Without sincerity, it’s better not to do anything at all.