Meditation

A Practical Mystical View

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I am a practical person – project manager, a writer who manages his own works, and a cook who has tested recipes up to eighteen times to get them right. I’m also a mystic who mixes magic, meditation, Taoism, and syncretic paganism. I find that a mystical viewpoint is very practical.

The fact I even feel I have to say that says something about the American culture I live in (as well as some of my own personality, but that’s for later). Our culture seems to be awash in religion and spirituality and an obsession with supposed-practicality – to judge by the various self-help books and seminars I see. In reality our culture seems to mostly be interested in making money not actual life – which in many ways is sort of impractical.

Making money is not the end-all-and-be-all of life. In fact that’s where I find a mystical viewpoint useful – dare I say, practical.

Let’s take a look at a sort of “generic” mystical viewpoint. The world is composed of powerful living forces like gods and spirits. There are connections and correspondences in the world, an interconnected reality beneath our supposedly mundane world. People can alter themselves with meditations and practices, interact with this world via ritual and activity.

It is a view of an organic, living world that a person can adjust themselves to and interact with.

Viewing the world as organic – complex and connected – is useful and accurate. From the way disease spreads to complex cultural changes, our world is not like a mechanism on any larger-scale level. An organic viewpoint helps you get the world – as if it is alive. In fact . . .

Viewing the world as alive, as filled with living (or life-like) forces, is also accurate. We can argue if spirits or gods are literal, but as I’ve said before, they’re at least a useful concept to grasp the world. Understanding the world as alive, respecting it, fearing it, understanding it’s as complicated as you lets you live within it better (and know it may crush you so get out of the way).

Viewing oneself as able to improve and evolve in this living world is vital to growth and participating in the world. Sure some stuff about aligning forces, energies, whatever is bullshit. But the idea of learning to rethink yourself as a changing being lets you, well, change – or resist change when needed. You just need to be careful of the bullshit, which is often prominent AND has neat diagrams.

Viewing the world as something we evolving beings can participate, is both empowering psychologically and for real. We evolvable beings, connected to this living world, can work within it and live our lives better. We think in terms of interaction, be it energy flows, correspondances, or whatever.

The mystical worldview is being engaged. Which is, as I note, rather practical.

The “dressing” for all of this – correspondence charts, pantheons of gods, etc. are just tools for doing this. They are ways to wrap up these living complexities in ways we can understand and share. They’re a mix of art, advice, maps, and metaphors to help us deal with the world.

You’ll notice none of this asks what’s “real” because in many ways that’s not the point. The question is does it work and help us deal with this world – a practical one. For many of us who engage in mystical practice, the answer is “yeah, it works.”

Of course it only works if we’re also engaged in thinking and rethinking our practice. But the whole thing is about being engaged, isn’t it? Most people I know who are inclined to magic and such spend their lives refining practice and their understanding. Many a witch or magician is more skpetical than supposed skeptics.

And thus we arrive back at my conclusion – the mystical viewpoint is practical and useful, a way to interact with our living, wide world. Indeed I wish we explored this in a more secular, systemic way so others can learn from it.

But then again, that’s for another time. Or perhaps something for you and I to discuss and see what we and our friends can learn together.

– Xenofact

I Am A Whirling Thing

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My meditative practices mostly come from Taoist, Buddhist, and psychological works. My goal is to sit there with myself, watching in that focused-yet-relaxed state that is hard to describe. Note of course, I do not say I want to reach a checklist of mental states – doing comes first, and I could probably write a lot more on that.

My practice is also simple – sitting cross-legged, back straight, breathing in a slow constant cycle, mind resting on breath. This is advocated in my oft-mentioned The Secret of the Golden Flower, and like that lovely manual it’s simple, yet you could also discuss it at endless length. We humans love words, and we love to use them to describe the hard-to-describe.

You’ll notice despite my love of words, I’m often cagey about discussing these things. However, there is one insight I feel fine holding forth on as it is interesting and won’t put you, my reader, at risk, of trying to force yourself to experience meditative states.

Slow, regular, even breathing is a fascinating thing to watch because it’s a cycle. As I’ve practiced in my return to meditation, I’ve realized that everything is a cycle. Breath meditation isn’t that special, really, which is why it’s so important.

We live in an environment of cycles. The seasons go in their circles, water evaporates then precipitates, animal populations rise and fall. We depend on these great circles to live – and as we have seen, ignore or alter them at our peril.

Our societies and histories are cycles. There are times of taxes and of building, of growth and contraction. Civilizations come and go – often in depressing predictability in hindsight. Humanity’s “journey forward” even seems to be a spiral of repetition, though our ignorance of our environment suggests we’re heading for a nasty swing.

Human relations are cycles. We are born and grow, roles changing and expanding. Students become mentors to other students. Children become citizens. Someone at the height of their achievements will retire (well, if they’re smart).

We ourselves are cycles. Our daily waking and sleeping, eating and digestion, birth and death. Even when we end, other cycles begin – decomposition, and some would believe reincarnation.

I can see the cycles of my life and my behaviors when I pause. There are great circles and spirals of growth. There are predictable life patterns you can see in others. There’s even simple things like foods I like then leave then like again.

Then there’s meditation.

I am a cycle of cycles and part of cycles. I am a whirling thing.

– Xenofact

Enlightenment In The Trash Heap And Enlightened Garbagemen

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Around 2003, remarking upon the all the mystical and meditative books available, I said “someone could probably achieve enlightenment on their own.” The remarkable rare texts, deep analyses, and thoughtful translations were stunning to me. No monk, magician, or meditator could match what we could get with a trip to the right bookstore, a catalog, and a few clicks online.

This is not to say it would be easy – one would need dedication and research. One could doubtlessly make mistakes, as I did examining various Taoist practices (let’s just say physical pain and leave it at that). This is also not to say that learning from a person is inferior, it’s merely that enlightened teachers seemed in short supply. But the knowledge was there, and it was impressive and humbling.

At least one could get pretty far along, I’d figure.

(The fact I am of the opinion there is an identifiable form of enlightenment is something for another time, of course. I like to keep these columns of a reasonable size).

As time went on, I came to realize that even if I was right – and I arrogantly assume I am more likely right than not – it’s gotten harder because of all the damn stuff out there.

How much could a seeker dig up that is Theosophy wearing a funny hat and carrying a fake ID? What books are out there that are merely well-designed rehashes, Robin Hood’s barn’s of meditation and contemplation? How much is manipulative near-criminal bullshit designed to pull you into a very criminal cult – or help you found one?

Then you’re up to your armpits in podcasts, TikTok videos, and people trying to sell you something! There’s distractions beyond books – and things that may be helpful that look like distractions! Even if Sturgeon’s law wasn’t true, it’d all be more than a bit much.

It makes me understand why some sages and such grab a pile of books and high-tail it to a shack. Or the modern equivalent, which I guess is a studio apartment.

For modern seekers of spiritual knowledge, sincere people who want to learn and grow and attain some kind of Enlightenment, you can’t rely on the market. You have to research and talk, be skeptical and test, and above all walk that line of skepticism and enthusiasm. We’ve given the spiritual seekers all the tools the could need, and scattered them inside a junkyard.

In many ways, this just reveals the value of having fellow spiritual seekers to work with and consult with. We need people to talk to, to recommend things to us and to recommend things to. We need people to sort through the bullshit for us and with us, people we can trust.

Any enlightened teachers out there are probably pretty busy not just teaching but helping people avoid and filter bullshit on a level unseen in history.

Maybe it’d make them harder to recognize because they’re helping clean up the trash.

– Xenofact