Techniques

[darkdestiny]

Do any of you have mind/will strengthning techniques that you can share with me?

[Ðanisty]

This is going to make you laugh...I'm sure of it. I use anger. I have a lot of it anyway, so I just use it fuel my motivation, determination, etc.

[DocHolliday]

I tend to use sex, fear, and funerary-related imagery, icons, and foci. Personally, the best thing is to find those energies, themes, etc which resonate with you, and use those to help increase the force of your will. Each of us is different and will find that different things provide greater or lesser degrees of assistance.

[m1thr0s]

I find that any conscious assertion of mind/will amounts to a technique for strengthening it/them, but you have to be able to integrate that perspective in a conscious sort of way for that to work as it should. Job-hunting can be will-honing technique but only if you allow it to be...if you are the type of person that always separates out your peas from your mashed potatoes, you may have to train yourself to think this way since we otherwise tend to pack the *mundane* off one way and the *spiritual* off another.

They don't actually have to be separated out like that. But in terms of anything that might be especially targeted in this respect, I would have to say that this has largely been a type of *quest* that started from a conscious aknowledging of the quest and developed various habits from there...habits of research and study...habits of experiment and hands-on application. I think maybe scrying activity is an especially focused will-training excercise, if I had to pick just one.

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

I juggle.
-Ibisis-

[m1thr0s]

I juggle.trick answer but a true one. The magus is called the juggler for good reason...

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

I didn't think it was a trick answer... Just a short one. It's my Yoga.
-Ibisis-

[Ðanisty]

I find that any conscious assertion of mind/will amounts to a technique for strengthening it/them, but you have to be able to integrate that perspective in a conscious sort of way for that to work as it should. Job-hunting can be will-honing technique but only if you allow it to be...if you are the type of person that always separates out your peas from your mashed potatoes, you may have to train yourself to think this way since we otherwise tend to pack the *mundane* off one way and the *spiritual* off another.You know, I'm one of those people that separates my peas from my mashed potatoes. I kinda came about all of this a different way. I never really thought spiritual was anything until I realised it already was part of the mundane. Perhaps this partially explains my aversion to "magickal" rituals. I always find myself not taking them seriously enough for them to be of any good for me at all. I just use life to perform magick.

[Kain]

Well, I see this in a very similar fashion to m1thr0s and Ðanisty's viewpoint. I think that the key really is in realizing that the so-called "mundane" and "spiritual" eventually are indistinguishable and one and the same thing. I also dislike ritual work of any kind personally as well. If I had to pick a particular method/technique of will-training excercise, I'd agree with m1thr0s on scrying and also add direct energy manipulation upon the body itself, as both have proven exceptionally powerful in my experience.

Kain

[m1thr0s]

I didn't think it was a trick answer... Just a short one. It's my Yoga.I actually didn't mean that you intended it as such Ibisis, though I see how it might sound that way...only that the answer is a classical pun since the Magus is called *The Juggler* etc... I have no doubt that juggling makes a great yoga-type discipline. I wouldn't be surprized to learn it actually originates in India to begin with even...

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

I have no doubt that juggling makes a great yoga-type discipline. I wouldn't be surprized to learn it actually originates in India to begin with even...

m1thr0s

I think it's Egyptian. See here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Juggling).

-Ibisis-

[m1thr0s]

oh kewl...that makes it a Hermetic Art Form! lol...

yeah...now that you mention it, I have heard it originated in Egypt before...

m1thr0s

[Anibis]

This is such a HUGE can of worms to open, so I've started a thread on it here (http://forums.abrahadabra.com/showthread.php?p=1533#post1533).
-Ibisis-

[darkdestiny]

I find that when I am amoungst noise I can concentrate better. For example, I sit in the livingroom with my family and I stare at a picture on the wall and I can focus more than what I would while I am in my room trying to foucus on a glass.

[Amur]

I try to do my dishes which means to clean-up afterwards :p Still it's more in the 'trying' section and not as much in the 'doing' section. Imo cut the crap and start doing things. It's so easy and weak to just sit all day long and dream about things which will never happen unless one lifts the finger and actually manifest them. Though my main motivator is to survive and get out of this place. Not easy being an amurian :D

Right Action takes one quite far ahead already, cutting through all kinds of lazyness.

[Oroc]

Hi, this is my first post.
A friend of mine trains Ninjutsu. They have a way of strenghtening their will that seems to be very effective: first look at yourself and find you fears: it can be an animal, fear of the dark, fear of death, whatever u fear.
Then u have to put yourself in a situation where u have to face that fear. U will probably need outsiders to help u doing that but there is many things that u can do alone. Facing your fears is a direct way to a stronger mind and will.
An example is fear of the woods at night. Find a "safe" wood (or not...). Now choose a day and go to those woods. U can either face your fears totally or step by step, say:
1. First Step: standing one hour in the woods, close to the exit, with a Knife and a cell phone, telling a Friend what u will do (safety).
2. 2nd Step: standing two hours in the woods, not far from the exit with a cellphone and telling a Friend.
3. 3rd Step: Deep inside the woods only with your clothes and telling a friend.
4. 4th Step: Going alone, all night, without telling anyone.

U have to decide for yourself what u r capable of doing and try to break your limits. By doing so, u will get stronger. Just try not to die trying :).
Another way is by doing Weapons Training. Now i seriously recommend that u NOT train without a Specialist/Master/Sensei teaching and supervising you.
Last thing, praticing Asanas and Pranayama will strengthen everything, u just have to be pacient.

Peace and hard work,

Oroc

[Luciftias]

I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned "Liber III vel Jugorum" (http://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib3.htm) It's Crowley's suggestion on how to strengthen the Will. For example, he suggests not using the word "I" for a whole week, and that every time you mess up and use the word, you should slice your arm with a razor blade.

I agree with Amur on this subject when he says to simply "...cut the crap and start doing things." That is the most powerful way of strengthening your will, in my opinion as well. Laziness is a habit. When we are lazy it's because we habitually respond to work with aversion. We need to re-condition ourselves to react with action. It's something I'm still working on. The longer you've had the habit, the longer it will typically take to replace it. We can use conditioning methods such as self-hypnosis and NLP to help speed up the process, but it really comes down to action.

Luciftias

[Ðanisty]

Hi, this is my first post.
A friend of mine trains Ninjutsu. They have a way of strenghtening their will that seems to be very effective: first look at yourself and find you fears: it can be an animal, fear of the dark, fear of death, whatever u fear.
Then u have to put yourself in a situation where u have to face that fear. U will probably need outsiders to help u doing that but there is many things that u can do alone. Facing your fears is a direct way to a stronger mind and will.
An example is fear of the woods at night. Find a "safe" wood (or not...). Now choose a day and go to those woods. U can either face your fears totally or step by step, say:
1. First Step: standing one hour in the woods, close to the exit, with a Knife and a cell phone, telling a Friend what u will do (safety).
2. 2nd Step: standing two hours in the woods, not far from the exit with a cellphone and telling a Friend.
3. 3rd Step: Deep inside the woods only with your clothes and telling a friend.
4. 4th Step: Going alone, all night, without telling anyone.

U have to decide for yourself what u r capable of doing and try to break your limits. By doing so, u will get stronger. Just try not to die trying :).
Another way is by doing Weapons Training. Now i seriously recommend that u NOT train without a Specialist/Master/Sensei teaching and supervising you.
Last thing, praticing Asanas and Pranayama will strengthen everything, u just have to be pacient.

Peace and hard work,

OrocI've been having to do this lately, actually. I work for the tax assessor's office now and I have to go out and take pictures of property. Some of that property is in neighborhoods that I've never been in because I have always known they are dangerous. Today, I went to several neighborhoods that had shootings this past week (we had 5 in one day...that's a whole lot for a small city like Savannah). I took a picture of a crackhouse today with a crackhead parked on the street right next to me. It's been scary, but also amazing. When I got back to the office, I felt so much more confident which is really good because I had an interview for a higher paying job in the department this afternoon!

[Monah]

I have found that doing the MP ritual on a daily basis and playing chess for about 8 hours a day at least three days in a week has profound effect on my intuition and intelligence.I think I can almost hear the thoughts of others or definetiley do not need to hear much when they start talking to know what they are about to say.