Matt8800

@Alex bliss Depends on which non-dual tradition you check with. Buddhism would say there is no "true self". They believe in reincarnation but wont comment on what gets reincarnated. Yoga posits the idea of the Atman, which is an eternal True Self that is simultaneously separate and one with Brahman. There is not general agreement within Yoga about this concept. Taosim, Kabbalah, the Occult, Shamanism, etc, etc claim that there is an eternally evolving True Self that remains individuated in many realms but is ultimately One/non-dual at its aboslute foundation. I agree with this.

@ewerson18 I usually meditate 40 minutes every morning and about another 40 minutes most evenings.

@karkaore As a child, I was indoctrinated into Christianity. A few years ago, I got heavily into Buddhism, then yoga and finally the occult. I can say that the path of Christianity does not resemble the path I ended up taking in the least. I definitely dont share the opinion that I would have ended up in the same place had I continued with Christianity. They are radically different paths that can take one to different heights within a similar time frame. Ive seen people claim that different paths are the same path. When looking at an evangelical Christian, a Buddhist monk, a witch and a wandering yogi, I dont understand why people think they are the same thing when their experience of life and spirituality is so different. It seems like a form of political correctness that is used in spirituality. People believe it because it feels good to them to believe it imo.

@DrewNows I would recommend Magnus Opus by John Kreiter just as a way to start being able to work with energy. When healing, infuse the energy with the energy of gratitude and it will take your abilities to the next level. I learned that trick with using gratitude with healing from a Reiki master and it definitely works. Regarding astral travel, many people say that we all do it when we dream but are just unaware or we dont remember.

@DrewNows I would recommend Magnus Opus by John Kreiter just as a way to start being able to work with energy. When healing, infuse the energy with the energy of gratitude and it will take your abilities to the next level. I learned that trick with using gratitude with healing from a Reiki master and it definitely works. Regarding astral travel, many people say that we all do it when we dream but are just unaware or we dont remember.

@ewerson18 Wow, that is a very complex subject that whole books have been written about. I would recommend learning the basics first of building energy and working with it. The best beginner book in that regard imo is Magnus Opus by John Kreiter. This is one of those things that there is no end to the level of mastery one can develop.

@yannick Speak up and then let go. Never make decision out of fear.

@ShugendoRa What esoteric content are you referring to? Ive heard of people claim that hollywood people are into the occult and paint these pictures of actors doing strange things like eating people, killing babies, etc. Thats nonesense imo spread by Christians that are terrified of the occult. The reason why they are terrified is because they have been told by the church that occultists are evil. This started hundreds of years ago when Christians started murdering, burning and torturing in very gruesome ways people that were into the occult. The only way that the church could get people to go along with such horrific and cruel actions is by removing natural empathy by making outrageous claims. The claims were simply an attempt to ensure that everyone fell under church control. Im a big fan of witchcraft. Witchcraft isnt evil, its a tool. Its an effective way of influencing reality according to your will. If you have a hammer, you can hit someone on the head or you can build a house for someone (or yourself) that needs shelter. Ive never heard of spirit cooking. I googled it and couldnt find any occultist commenting on it whatsoever. The only thing I could find is Christian conspiracy theorists talking about it. My impression is that it is something Christians invented to raise hysteria. I was indoctrinated with Christianity so I remember well how nuts they got about the occult. I remember as a child asking why the occult was "bad" and the only thing they could say is that they worship satan. It is an extremely small percentage of occultists that are satanists. The biggest danger satanists pose is to themselves. Embracing negative energy when delving into the spirit world is just going to bring problems....some very serious. The illuminati and freemasons are occult groups that form for various reasons. While the occult does give people power, the illuminati and freemasons dont have any more occult powers than other occultists. While I might not agree with their overall motives and purposes, they dont have nearly the nefarious influence that paranoid Christians would think. Dont believe the hype

@Danioover9000 Ive done it years ago but havent in a long time. Ive had some pretty severe insomnia issues my whole life so my sleep and dreams is hard to get a handle on.

@kieranperez I told my fiance and she was curious about it. She wanted to try it during one of our sessions and it did it for her also. I havent seen it do that since but havent really put much effort into trying. Im not confident that I could make it do that at will....at least not at this time.

@Scholar Sexual energy is used in magic in many magical traditions across the world. It is used in Tantra, Tibetan Buddhist sorcery, Thai magic, etc, etc. The reason why is, if controlled, can generate massive amounts of psychic energy that can than be used and directed to workings based on your intention. It can add huge amounts of power to magick. This magick can be used for inner transformation, enlightenment/awakening or manifesting one's will in the physical realm. Sex, in this context, is considered sacred and holy. Jason Miller wrote a great book on Sex and Sorcery that is mostly based on Tantra and Tibetan Buddhist sorcery. The term "occult" includes any methods to influence possible realities according to one's intention so doesnt necessarily just refer to Western practices.

@enderx7 There is a ton of info out there on sigils. I wouldnt make it too complicated. While people have a lot of different methods, I kind of think they all work. Google "sigil shoaling". I love that idea and havent seen it much from too many people. I would recommend Six Ways by Aiden Wachter. He has some good info about it and tons of other valuable info. I also love Jason Miller's books.

@astrokeen Yes, absolutely. Conversely, I have been in buildings with very negative and dark energies. First I would cleanse the house with sage. Since you have a relationship with archangel Michael, I would then ask him to fill your house with his protective energy and thank him for doing so. There are other things you could do like make a sigil with his angelic seal in it that represents him protecting your house. Then, the house will mirror your energy. If you keep your energy at a consistent high vibration, your house will reflect that. If you feel your vibration drop, summon feelings of gratitude and build on its intensity through breathing in the light from above that represents gratitude with the divine as the source. I would start with a few minutes of concentration meditation first though to clear out the junk that lingers and concentrate your consciousness (I do this before any working). Gratitude is extremely powerful to work with. Also, if you combine the energy of gratitude with healing, it will take your healing up to a new level.

@kieranperez Yes, the occult excels at emotional development and purification imo. I did a post here on building inner strength occult style that is a perfect example. I would suggest looking it up. If you cant find it, DM me. Once you raise the energy of gratitude, that energy can be used for more than just building strength. There is nothing wrong with emotions. The occult path shares a lot of philosophy with Tantra regarding that. Emotions are the fuel for magick and can make life beautiful.....or miserable if you dont master your mind. Once you transcend the ego, fear and shame dont pollute your mind or emotions. To truly master it, you have to be willing to go through the dark night. To get through that, you have to fully accept that nothing you thought matters really matters, including you, your life, your dreams, etc, etc. When you fully accept that, you are free to experience real love, beauty and truth in the flowing present moment where you abide.

@Esoteric I would go with what Jason said. Hes the man imo. Also, Aiden Wachter has some good things to say about something he calls sigil "shoaling" on his blog that I like. I think he got that from the guy that does Rune Soup. If you google "sigil shoaling", you'll find some great info. I dont do much divination. Also, the more Ive gotten into it, the less I am concerned about "black magick". I think Kraig's perspective is a little too restrictive. I believe it is a false dicotomy to demarcate between "white" and "black". If one acts from a place of high vibrational values, they will keep on the path of light. Personally, I have done "black magick" as a way of getting an adversarial person to stop what they were doing but I put a lot of thought into it first. For example, many people here would say they would never punch someone in the face but they might reconsider if it meant saving someone else from serious harm from an attacker.

@oMarcos Sounds like astral projection. Also, there is a very fine line between lucid dreaming and astral projection. Why not overcome your fear and go for it? Fear is very limiting to beautiful experiences and ones evolution. I am a huge fan of sigil magick and do it all the time. I used to get concerned over the distinction between high/low and white/black magick but I finally realized it is the intention that matters. If you have to work at a job for money, why not increase your ability to make money via sigils? I view sigils that way in relation to a lot of things.

@Ibn Abbas Yes, that is why I take the Tantric path rather than the path of asceticism. Its a path full of awe and beauty. Its said in ancient texts it is a faster route to enlightenment but can be more risky. I would recommend a book: Desire - the tantric path to awakening. If you decide you eventually want to work with occult abilities, the occult and tantra are basically the same path and fit well together.

@VeganAwake On a note related to this post, my introduction to my spirit guide basically taught me most of the core principals of Buddhism in one night when I had no understanding of buddhism prior. That night radically and permanently changed my life. That is why I believe that one can absolutely have spirit contact through psychedelics.

@VeganAwake I experimented with DMT for the first time and met my spirit guide. It told me that I needed to start meditating daily and taught me the principals that I found a few days later in Buddhism. I dove heavily into meditation and started seeing through the illusion of the ego. When I realized that my ego wasnt real, that also meant all "my" dreams, instinct for survival, desires, opinions, etc, etc, completely didnt matter. Of course, that leads to understanding that nothing matters except the experience of the flowing present moment where true love, beauty and truth are found. This death was agonizing but made it through about 6 months later when I finally fully accepted that nothing matters and that "I" dont matter. (Try telling people on here that they dont matter and see how they respond ) That is when I found happiness for the first time in my life, was able to really perceive beauty all around me that I didnt see before and changed my focus to projecting love rather than just trying to consume it. I went through the second dark night about a year later but that one wasnt as brutal. It was just a deeper level of accepting, surrendering and letting go that wasnt apparent until I got there. According to the Visuddhimagga, one goes through a total of four dark nights and each passage marks a deeper level of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not as complex or as big of a deal as a lot of people make it out to be. Its also an unfolding process; not a destination. Many simply lack the courage to let themselves fully die and completely accept all there is, as it is (Trump, global warming, bigots, etc, etc).

@VeganAwake My mind hasnt been imprisoned for almost 3 years after I passed through the dark night into equanimity. I am no longer a "seeker".

@VeganAwake Well said

@VeganAwake You say that but yet you spend a portion of your time pursuing money, knowledge and love The path you are describing is not the only path. Ancient texts claim that Tantra is a faster path to enlightenment but more risky due to potential for unhealthy attachment. A book called "Desire - the tantric path to awakening" describes the Tantric ideas. I wouldnt completely dismiss it until it is understood.

Your opinion about how people should arrive at their subjective positions is just your subjective position. You are getting wrapped up in shoulds and shouldnts. You perform intellectual gymnastics about others "justifying" their "biases" while blind to the fact that you are dong the exact same thing. You are adding a lot of invented complexity when maybe it is just a matter of a different view. You believe that if I explain my position, I am "justifying". If you explain your position, you are merely "clarifying". These distinctions only exist in your head. Leo has a video about shoulds and shouldnts that explains this well.

@Scholar I never said that I base beliefs solely on supernatural experiences, just like you dont either. Equating eating meat to slavery is a false equivalency. Equivalencies are all subjective anyway. Some people insist that homosexuality is comparable to bestiality. While that is obvious that it is nonsense to us, people will argue that it is true because they believe that their subjectively is objective. You are certain that your subjectivity is objective simply because you feel strongly about it. Notice how you think that anyone that disagrees with you and explains their reasons is "justifying" yet if you state your opinions, you are simply "clarifying". BTW, throughout all of the history of the human race, slavery was considered subjectively perfectly acceptable. It was only the last couple hundred years that things started changing. The "wrongness" of slavery is a subjective value I have but nobody can make an argument that it is objective. I had to come to grips with the truth that objective morality doesnt exist a couple years ago. It was a surprisingly difficult truth to accept at the time but it is still truth.

@Scholar Not only has no spirit commented on the subject of eating animals to my knowledge, neither is anything said when people have near death experiences when important truths are communicated by their guides. Yes, some spirits lie and some tell the truth....just like people. Knowing this, we still scan for useful information from other people because sometimes the information is valuable. It is up to us to use wisdom in our discernment, whether from people OR spirits. Your assumption that one can take or leave claims made by people but are somehow required to accept all things on faith from spirits is erroneous due to a lack of understanding. Just like some people are consistently reliable in gleaning truth, some specific spirits are also consistently reliable. We tend to keep going back to sources we find are consistently reliable and avoiding the others. While I know you feel strongly about veganism, your comments are not related to this topic/post.