The Health of the Mind

At each level of its existence — physical, soul-level, somatic and psychic — any being is constantly exchanging matter, energy and information with its surrounding environment, forming a unified whole. Any notions of separateness, or the being’s isolation from its surroundings are merely provisional assumptions, and such relative “separateness” is preserved only by the volitional efforts of each being, who expends vast quantities of energy to delimit itself from the environment. The moment those efforts weaken, diffusion immediately begins: the partial or complete dissolution of the island of individuality into the ocean of universality.

And while at the bodily level this fact usually raises no doubts, the mind is deeply uncomfortable admitting that it is merely a temporary focus, a gaze arising within the universal psychocosm and in no way separated from other analogous streams. That is precisely why people generally treat pathologies of the body and of the mind so differently: “physical-level” illnesses are monitored, treated and avoided, whereas destructive changes in the stream of the mind are more often ignored or denied.

At the same time, just as there is no such thing as an “ideally healthy” body, there are no “untainted” streams of consciousness either; the complete enlightenment of such a stream would lead to a total transcendence of separateness and, indeed, of manifestation as a whole. One might say that “to be embodied” is identical with “to be obscured,” and the question is only one of the degree and severity of that obscuration.

Therefore, the “diseases” of the mind demand the same systematic study as bodily illnesses, as well as well-developed therapeutic approaches and technologies. Just as in “physical” medicine, it is important to understand the etiology (origins, causes and predisposing factors) of obscurations, their pathogenesis (characteristic manifestations) and prognosis (possible courses and outcomes). It is likewise necessary to find remedies and antidotes, and to create a therapeutic toolkit.

Nevertheless, paradoxically, those who work professionally in mental therapy (exorcists, goetic magi and others) are largely marginalized even by their own communities: public figures of the church usually distance themselves from exorcists, “white” magi shun goetic practitioners, while medical doctors already enjoyed honor and respect in archaic societies.

Similarly, inexplicably, regularities observed on the physical level are rarely applied to the mind, even though the Thrice-Great Hermes reminded us of the uniformity and analogy of the structure and functioning of different planes of the cosmos.

For example, it is important to remember that both the the energy of good (bonus) and of evil (malus) are capable of induction, of spreading from their bearer; therefore the environment of the mind is as important to its health as the epidemiological situation is to the body’s health. And just as the body resists infections, the mind has its own “immunity” — the resilience of its stream — which also needs maintenance and awareness training.

From this point of view, demons and their manifestations — destructors — can be regarded as infectious agents that attack the mind just as bacteria and viruses infect the body. And if being-possessed can be compared to an “ordinary” disease, then possession is like a tumorous growth, when pathology penetrates the very foundations of the being.

At the same time, transformations of matrices, goetic and theurgic operations, exploratory and competitive rituals — all of these are therapeutic techniques aimed at healing and harmonizing the stream of the mind.

Moreover, unlike ordinary medical procedures, Magical practices aim not merely at “stabilization” or “purification” of the stream of the mind; they serve its development and realization, since the “standard of health” for the mind is its fully enlightened pleroma perfection.

Thus, for the successful healing and development of the mind it is crucial to acknowledge both facts: that the original ground of our mind is unquestionably luminous, and that all, even the deepest, roots of our psyche are obscured (or corrupted), poisoned by anger, greed and apathy. And we can emerge from this obscuration only by recognizing both facts: our light and our darkness. If we deny the darkness, focusing solely on the primordial light, we are deluding ourselves, and thereby sink into the disease of the mind — obscuration. This is a paradox: the deepest immersion in darkness belongs precisely to those who ignore it. However, if we deny the light-bearing nature of the Ground — we are also obscured, because we remain stuck in the relative. Thus one who denies the divinity of the soul truly distances themself from that divinity. Only by understanding that we are Light, and that before that Light there lies a road — a road as long as eternity, lying through Darkness — do we find within ourselves the readiness to take a step from obscuration to the radiance of our core.