Defining The Abrahadabra Institute

[imagenerator]

Lately I have found myself wondering : what is The Abrahadabra Institute ? What legal structure does it assume ? Does it have an organizational structure ? I ask these questions because I am interested in seeing this intention realized : "that it might eventually be possible for the Abrahadabra Institute to be self-supporting". And with several mentions of of both "backlog" and "delegation" by m1thr0s, it makes me wonder, how can the community facilitated by the forums become supportive of The Abrahadabra Institite (and/or how does it currently) ? I have encountered many challenges in making a personal agenda aligned to a common good into a collective agenda towards a common good, and so I guess I feel rather empathetic to this endeavor in that sense.

So, while pondering the questions, I came up with some ideas on how to approach social organization of the institute.

There is a clear description of the overall purpose of the Abrahadabra Institute on the corresponding TAI page, but what follows seems to be more of a description of MA. I think it would be helpful to follow this paragraph with a description of how those ends will be achieved. I see this as a kind of "statement of intention" which starts in the general and moves to the specific.

Also, the Abrahadabra Institute might create specific roles for people to ocupy and list these roles centrally. Each member filling one or more roles could be asked to do a check-in at regular intervals to help keep them on task and so that everyone was on the same page.

Another idea: suppose there was a section of the forum, call it the "Delegation/colaboration zone" where active members could state their intentions and describe the projects/research that they are working on (moderated by TAI). Then they could either ask for a hand in a particular task, or other members could propose something related to the given intention.

I am very much a fan of the open publishing model that the Abrahadabra has embraced in what seems to be a very healthy way (thanks in part to the mods :yes:). Open publishing and an open, co-operative organizational model seem to have many parallels. I think a valuable challenge for the TAI to approach is to create a co-operative structure that invites colaboration but at the same time recognizes/respects members' talents/strengths. As someone who has the intention of working in and/or helping to creative co-operative work environments, I would be pleased if the members here shared this intention, as it could be a valuable learning experience.


May we weave a way together,

-imagenerator

[m1thr0s]

Ok...let me lay my cards on the table here for all to see.

First of all...right at this moment...the Abrahadabra Institute is just an idea and I'll tell you why. Shortly after I began this site I began having a health problem that just didn't seem to go away and within a few months found myself unable to maintain a full-time job. Soon after that I was run through a whole battery of tests and diagnosed with a chronic condition I don't wish to discuss, but it is severe enough that I have been left without any regular employment, attempting to survive on disability insurance. Anyone who has ever had to do this knows what a freaking joke it is in the US especially. You can either eat and have no place to live and not afford to see a doctor, or any one of the other 3 but seldom 2 out of the 3 and under no circumstances 3 of 3 at the same time. This is America's idea of social healthcare. It takes over 6 months to qualify for SSD and you nearly have to have a court order to get on the damn program. As soon as they qualify you they pull your medical benefits and make you wait 2 years to get Medicare (which they will charge you for). Some might (justifiably) call this beurocratic homicide. It's a certainty that sick people are getting worse and dying as a direct result of this policy.

So I forged on with what I could do which was to build this site and begin cranking out articles and so on. The situation is not hopeless by any means...but it is severely cramped right now. I consider this to be an obstacle and nothing more. Something to be dealt with and overcome.

But I have been mainly trying to overcome it by myself...with a little help from people on occasion through ideas and a few donations and so on. That's all extremely appreciated and all goes right back into the project but it has not thus far been quite enough to actually get the Institute off the ground...and I very much agree that this needs to happen...it's an integrated aspect of this whole process...the future foundation stone upon which this work will logically proceed.

So...if this were to become a group project we are really right at square one folks. I have not quite known how to make it a group project since the whole idea has pretty much been a vision in my head but I am not averse to sorting out how to enlarge upon that and involve others in a more direct sort of way.

We will need people to sniff out the legalities...how to set it all up on paper. We will need to come up with a little money...not a lot but more than I currently have on tap...and we will need to begin looking at a range of projects that can be inititiated under the auspices of the Institute starting from a shoestring budget and hopefully advancing into more robust sorts of things.

Otherwise it all waits until I can spring the funds and attend to all these kinds of things myself. I don't for a moment believe that any of my personal setbacks are permanent but they are real and have had a real impact on this whole vision of things.

So that's sort of the outline and maybe we can start brainstorming from there. I am open to anything that can actually work...In the past, the few people who have come forward expressing the desire to help were never really able to follow through on even one plan of action, so there have been a few disappointments this way. But the clock hasn't stopped ticking. I don't really know if anything like this has ever been crafted from scratch as a community based operation. I rather think it would be seriously cool if that did, in fact, happen.

At the same time...I do know a little about cooperative business ventures and they are not an easy row to hoe. They very rarely succeed since you usually get too many visions clashing into each other and no way to resolve these differences. There are times when the most efficient way to make things happen is to have at least one person officially in charge of making the final decisions. This is one of the main reasons I have not more aggressively sought to network this thing out, but perhaps there are ways and means I am not fully aware of. In general, it is my feeling that somebody will always need to be in charge in order for the thing to go forward properly.

m1thr0s

[m1thr0s]

side note: I suppose we could use this forum as an actual organizational platform, ie, carve out a special forum for TAI Members only or something where we could hammer out logistics one at a time...It would need to be a hidden forum I think. Members could apply or something if they had a serious interest in participating in it etc...

I wouldn't want all this stuff public all the time since, despite the force of its theme, this site really is about more than Abrahadabra alone...

Anyway...it's all doable somehow.

m1thr0s

[MythMath]

I volunteered to help you complete the work...

Perhaps that's the case with the others...

My job as an audio engineer/producer requires me to
start and complete many large projects each year...

My role in each project is to figure out what
the artist needs and then facilitate it...

If I do my job right, the process yields the 'desired result'...

It's inevitable...
_________________________

It seems that the production of some more stuff
(beyond the existing zazzleware) would serve to
introduce and promote the subject(s), as well as
to serve as merchandise to augment the cash flow...

So, based on some of the things we've already discussed
here's a list of possible projects to 'begin and complete':

1. book - 'how to blow your mind with sigils and talismans'

2. book - 'intro to MA/book of mirrors' (compilation of existing articles)

3. books-on-cd (see #1 above; read by m1thr0s!)

4. book&carddeck 'intro to THC, etc'

5. book-on-dvd (see #1, etc. above)
_________________________________

Or something like that...

Anyway, we're assembled and ready... :p

[m1thr0s]

We probably need to get more aggressive on the organization end of things. I am aware that people are interested in this project and have skills and so on. The problem has sort of been a logistical one, ie, how to actually use any of that talent and how to monitor projects in motion on a regular basis.

We have to look at all of this like a consentual decision making team and then those things we decide to commit to as a group need to be monitored with regular meetings and trouble-shooting sessions and all the rest. Right now a lot of great ideas are just sort of floating around in the air. The trick is how to pull some of those out and actually commit to making them happen...

Who is going to write these books for instance? Me? I am having a tough time making enough time for the one book I most want to get out right now...We are defining a sort of departmental process here much as you find in professional art departments at Adobe or anywhere else. Projects need to be agreed upon and then monitored on a regular basis or nothing really gets done.

m1thr0s

[MythMath]

So, let's pick the 'most appropriate one' and start in... :yes:

If we figure out how to get that one done,
maybe we'll want to try to do another...

[Naomi]

Ok...let me lay my cards on the table here for all to see.

First of all...right at this moment...the Abrahadabra Institute is just an idea and I'll tell you why. Shortly after I began this site I began having a health problem that just didn't seem to go away and within a few months found myself unable to maintain a full-time job. Soon after that I was run through a whole battery of tests and diagnosed with a chronic condition I don't wish to discuss, but it is severe enough that I have been left without any regular employment, attempting to survive on disability insurance. Anyone who has ever had to do this knows what a freaking joke it is in the US especially. You can either eat and have no place to live and not afford to see a doctor, or any one of the other 3 but never 2 out of the 3 and under no circumstances 3 of 3 at the same time. This is America's idea of social healthcare.

Sorry to hear about that. You know there's a whole mess of Goetia that deal specifically with illness and curing them. Sometimes they can even give you information on natural cures you can find in your kitchen. Yes I am familiar with America's healthcare system, it sucks - I'm still paying for two uninsured pregnancies from seven years ago. It's not like they did anything but stick me in a lousy room for nine hours.

So I forged on with what I could do which was to build this site and begin cranking out articles and so on. The situation is not hopeless by any means...but it is severely cramped right now. I consider this to be an obstacle and nothing more. Something to be dealt with and overcome.This is already understood.

But I have been mainly trying to overcome it by myself...with a little help from people on occasion through ideas and a few donations and so on. That's all extremely appreciated and all goes right back into the project but it has not thus far been quite enough to actually get the Institute off the ground...and I very much agree that this needs to happen...it's an integrated aspect of this whole process...the future foundation stone upon which this work will logically proceed. Okay, well, you are the project - without you it certainly wouldn't exist in the first place. I'll give everything I have to the project but hey that's my hand and there's not much more too it than that. - i survive mostly on coffee, water, sushi and showers. AMONG OTHER THINGS.

So...if this were to become a group project we are really right at square one folks. I have not quite known how to make it a group project since the whole idea has pretty much been a vision in my head but I am not averse to sorting out how to enlarge upon that and involve others in a more direct sort of way.

We will need people to sniff out the legalities...how to set it all up on paper. We will need to come up with a little money...not a lot but more than I currently have on tap...and we will need to begin looking at a range of projects that can be inititiated under the auspices of the Institute starting from a shoestring budget and hopefully advancing into more robust sorts of things.I know lawyers. Like, three of them. I'm related to one of them.

Do you have any ideas on setting up fundraising ventures?


Otherwise it all waits until I can spring the funds and attend to all these kinds of things myself. I don't for a moment believe that any of my personal setbacks are permanent but they are real and have had a real impact on this whole vision of things.Well, no one will ever accuse us of not being fearless.



So that's sort of the outline and maybe we can start brainstorming from there. I am open to anything that can actually work...In the past, the few people who have come forward expressing the desire to help were never really able to follow through on even one plan of action, so there have been a few disappointments this way. But the clock hasn't stopped ticking. I don't really know if anything like this has ever been crafted from scratch as a community based operation. I rather think it would be seriously cool if that did, in fact, happen.It will be great. Just wait and see. If you've got the keys to the gates of heaven no one can stop you.

At the same time...I do know a little about cooperative business ventures and they are not an easy row to hoe. They very rarely succeed since you usually get too many visions clashing into each other and no way to resolve these differences. There are times when the most efficient way to make things happen is to have at least one person officially in charge of making the final decisions. This is one of the main reasons I have not more aggressively sought to network this thing out, but perhaps there are ways and means I am not fully aware of. In general, it is my feeling that somebody will always need to be in charge in order for the thing to go forward properly
Well, you're the king...as long as everyone understands that all the better. It's a hard job and anyone who actually wants it is usually not worthwhile for anything at all, so it goes. It's going to be difficult, there's no doubt about that. It's a hard road, taking over the galaxy. However, there's nothing more fun than a bunch of wizards getting together to plot stuff together. (and I remember all of the good parties, being the social butterfly that I am - Tang dynasty, for example...very hardcore)

Something I've been noticing here at the forums is we seem to be attracting alot of high powered minds - some not so obvious, but I'm clever and sneaky and notice everything. So something's up. I really shouldn't say any more.

[m1thr0s]

I'll think a little more about putting the TAI Forum together. That might help. I can't do it right away though...few days maybe...

m1thr0s

[Naomi]

It would help ALOT with the sensitive topics. That's the whole point of a court...

anyways, cool...

[deviadah]

I have worked with fundraising for seven years and done a lot of editorial work. At the moment I have just started my own fundraising business, so to speak, although I only work for Amnesty, Greenpeace and the like fundraising is still fundraising whatever field you place it in. It is a great irony since I loath money :laugh:

Anyway give me a shout if you need fundraising ideas/plans/concepts and logistics. The editorial stuff I've already talked to you in PM about.

:cool:

[Ci Celli Ddu]

Ive got a few ideas, but I'll save them for when there's a TAI forum.

Oh, and I can translate stuff into Spanish.

[Kuroyagi]

It's a hard road, taking over the galaxy. However, there's nothing more fun than a bunch of wizards getting together to plot stuff together.
You know...she has a point!

As for my skills...hmm..not much Im stupid but loyal. ;)

Hang in there, m1!

[Naomi]

Don't feel bad Kuroyagi.




Anyways your skills are obvious:

Cultured Diplomat
Japanese Schoolgirl Magnet
Mattress
Fashion Consultant.

[m1thr0s]

I have no idea why K says that kind of thing...he's clearly one of the most intuitive and best read occultists on these boards...

In any case...thanks folks...and thanks for bringing this up imagenerator. I do have a tendency to hole up inside my own head on some things. Not purposely but usually when I can seem to find no outward solutions...

m1thr0s

[imagenerator]

Ok...let me lay my cards on the table here for all to see.

First of all...right at this moment...the Abrahadabra Institute is just an idea and I'll tell you why. Shortly after I began this site I began having a health problem that just didn't seem to go away and within a few months found myself unable to maintain a full-time job. Soon after that I was run through a whole battery of tests and diagnosed with a chronic condition I don't wish to discuss, but it is severe enough that I have been left without any regular employment, attempting to survive on disability insurance. Anyone who has ever had to do this knows what a freaking joke it is in the US especially. You can either eat and have no place to live and not afford to see a doctor, or any one of the other 3 but seldom 2 out of the 3 and under no circumstances 3 of 3 at the same time. This is America's idea of social healthcare. It takes over 6 months to qualify for SSD and you nearly have to have a court order to get on the damn program. As soon as they qualify you they pull your medical benefits and make you wait 2 years to get Medicare (which they will charge you for). Some might (justifiably) call this beurocratic homicide. It's a certainty that sick people are getting worse and dying as a direct result of this policy.

Thanks for being so upfront. I am wishing you wellness as I engage with this forum. I personally feel quite conflicted with the Western approach to medicine, both on the institutional level as you speak of, but also on the fundamental level as well. Personally, I do not feel like I can trust our medicare system even here in Canada, and that's why I try my best to take care of my body and practice preventative medicine. But of course, sometimes it just comes down to a traumatic situation and we need to at least partly rely on them.

So I forged on with what I could do which was to build this site and begin cranking out articles and so on. The situation is not hopeless by any means...but it is severely cramped right now. I consider this to be an obstacle and nothing more. Something to be dealt with and overcome.

Glad to hear your'e taking it in stride. I don't know if I've ever expressed just how amazed I am at the synchronicity going on in your treatsie and how appreciative I am to have been refered here. It's obvious that there is still a very large body of work to convey here, so may blessing be bestowed upon you so that you may continue to share this work.

But I have been mainly trying to overcome it by myself...with a little help from people on occasion through ideas and a few donations and so on. That's all extremely appreciated and all goes right back into the project but it has not thus far been quite enough to actually get the Institute off the ground...and I very much agree that this needs to happen...it's an integrated aspect of this whole process...the future foundation stone upon which this work will logically proceed.

I'm curious to know how you work to overcome this illness. In particular, do you use magickal ritual or other practice to aid your healing ?

So...if this were to become a group project we are really right at square one folks. I have not quite known how to make it a group project since the whole idea has pretty much been a vision in my head but I am not averse to sorting out how to enlarge upon that and involve others in a more direct sort of way.

Clearly this is your body of work, and I wonder if it was a bit brash of me to suggest that the Abrahadabra Institute become a collective endeavor. But I guess the thing I'm most interested in seeing is a community of study, development and practice of this work.

We will need people to sniff out the legalities...how to set it all up on paper. We will need to come up with a little money...not a lot but more than I currently have on tap...and we will need to begin looking at a range of projects that can be inititiated under the auspices of the Institute starting from a shoestring budget and hopefully advancing into more robust sorts of things.

So, from this it is suggested that The Abrahadabra Institute is not currently a legal entity. Is this right ?

Otherwise it all waits until I can spring the funds and attend to all these kinds of things myself. I don't for a moment believe that any of my personal setbacks are permanent but they are real and have had a real impact on this whole vision of things.

So that's sort of the outline and maybe we can start brainstorming from there. I am open to anything that can actually work...In the past, the few people who have come forward expressing the desire to help were never really able to follow through on even one plan of action, so there have been a few disappointments this way. But the clock hasn't stopped ticking. I don't really know if anything like this has ever been crafted from scratch as a community based operation. I rather think it would be seriously cool if that did, in fact, happen.

It is definitely challenge for me to follow through with my intentions, but I feel strongly about becoming integral to my word. For now I am most interested in taking on small jobs and making contributions out of my own volition to avoid dispointing myself and others. When you speak of the disappointments, it make me wonder how an organization/order might use magick to hold the volunteer to their word.

At the same time...I do know a little about cooperative business ventures and they are not an easy row to hoe. They very rarely succeed since you usually get too many visions clashing into each other and no way to resolve these differences. There are times when the most efficient way to make things happen is to have at least one person officially in charge of making the final decisions. This is one of the main reasons I have not more aggressively sought to network this thing out, but perhaps there are ways and means I am not fully aware of. In general, it is my feeling that somebody will always need to be in charge in order for the thing to go forward properly.

I agree that co-operative ventures are no easy task, but I think it's partly due to the fact that we are trained to operate in authoritarian systems from when we are very young continuing into the time when we find a job/career. If we want to create relationships of power-with rather than power-over (a useful distinction that Starhawk makes in her book "Truth or Dare") then we have to teach ourselves that, starting in our own households and communities, then to larger things like workplaces/organizations and eventually to our systems of governance. That being said, if you want to ultimately be in charge, who am I to question that...every situation calls for different means, and I trust you to make that decision. Considering that you are the one to have established this body, it makes sense that you may be "in charge" but/and I still hope that we can all play a role in this work.

[Naomi]

It is definitely challenge for me to follow through with my intentions, but I feel strongly about becoming integral to my word. For now I am most interested in taking on small jobs and making contributions out of my own volition to avoid dispointing myself and others. When you speak of the disappointments, it make me wonder how an organization/order might use magick to hold the volunteer to their word.lol I know he's too ethical...he even has ME behaving ethically YECH!

I agree that co-operative ventures are no easy task, but I think it's partly due to the fact that we are trained to operate in authoritarian systems from when we are very young continuing into the time when we find a job/career. If we want to create relationships of power-with rather than power-over (a useful distinction that Starhawk makes in her book "Truth or Dare") then we have to teach ourselves that, starting in our own households and communities, then to larger things like workplaces/organizations and eventually to our systems of governance. That being said, if you want to ultimately be in charge, who am I to question that...every situation calls for different means, and I trust you to make that decision. Considering that you are the one to have established this body, it makes sense that you may be "in charge" but/and I still hope that we can all play a role in this work. Finding someone who wants to be in charge has got to be the absolute worst part of this whole great work thing...you almost always end up with pale imitations of the real thing.

Just keep him in the corner there and I'll distract him with small rodents or something until he's decided he has nothing better to do.

Your stuff on Deviantart is great...check it out everyone.

http://imagenerator.deviantart.com/

[m1thr0s]

It's not even what I want at all so much as what works and what doesn't. In the US at least there absolutely has to be at least one person *in charge*, usually referred to as the *founding member*, to start either a non-profit corporation or corporation, yet it also requires a minimum of 3 people to launch it as such...so some things are built right into the whole system anyway.

Unfortunately it is simply unavoidable that if things are not structured this way you wind up in the ridiculous situation where every little thing from sharpening pencils to choosing projects and setting deadlines becomes a matter of prolongued negotiations and the whole thing becomes an unpleasant and overly cumbersome ordeal that most people will simply walk away from in the end.

Heirarchies work. That's why they really persist at all. They work in the animal kingdom as well as for humans and in all cases it is because of their advanced efficiency. Even democratic systems typically have provisions in times of extreme urgency to resort to this form of leadership at least while the crisis lasts. There are risks of course but every form of leadership has its risks.

m1thr0s

[Naomi]

Oh yeah.

And on Kuroyagi. Well. Have you ever checked out his aura/body of light on the astral? That is some scary shit. That's just his sense of honor...I mean, humor. Yeah I check out everyone, eventually. Usually the worst ones later rather than sooner...haha!

[Kuroyagi]

Yeah sure! Im all those things and many more....:laugh: (my comment was only self ironic and maybe hard to understand due to cultural and esp. personal differences in humor).

As for supporting your institute and leadership I can only say: I do what I can but I myself must admit that Im not a very good team player, though Im more socially competent than many a magician (for normal playfullness hanging out etc.)...yet either I myself am the leader OR I dont care at all (meaning then I could be the last slave or no.2 isnt relevant to me anyway...thats why I am also living a more reclusive life)..yeah what would be practical to you would be some ppl who could write a few intro books on basic topics that you would only need to give a once over correcting here and there (like workshop-work a la Rubens where the master only put his sig on it or filled in the most difficult parts etc...)...and such ppl would need to be intelligent enough to do it and yet paid well or be submissive enough to listen to all your corrections...its very hard to find good servants you know, serving itself is an artform and some ppl are simply very good at it (of course this is only my experience in real life and maybe it doesnt sit well with "true self" and "all are stars" magicians...yet lets be honest: most ppl who join orders [and political parties or the masons] are looking for such a bigger context anyway even though they blabber grandely about self reliance and freedom...hypocritical times are these, I know but its not wise to close ones eyes from reality esp.when wanting to found some organisation...)

[m1thr0s]

you needn't worry about any of that K...I'm not actively soliciting anything here. If I create the TAI Forum it will be a hidden forum for those interested in getting more actively involved in the institute project itself. It won't necessarily be a very interesting forum from the standpoint of theory etc...it will simply be an organizational platform to keep track of projects and monitor their progress etc...no one needs to be a part of that at all and I would much rather only be dealing with people motivated in this direction to begin with...

so no pressure...that would be self-defeating I think.

...of course...you won't get to wear the silly hat and there's no way you'll be given the secret handshake...:p

m1thr0s

[Naomi]

You have hats?

[m1thr0s]

what hats? who said anything about hats? :mad: :laugh:

m1thr0s

[Naomi]

yeah I know that's what I was thinking cuz hats arn't allowed...

you know who wears ugly hats? Mithras. I don't know, seriously he is supposed to be some kind of badass but he wears this little elf hat idk wot the fuck....

[m1thr0s]

damn dopplegangers...place is crawling with 'em...freakin' pods... :mmad:

m1thr0s

[Kuroyagi]

Hmm of course Im nosy and would still like to be able to view that section whether I participate or not...and decide upon what I see- is that ok?

Or just give me that hat and I'll be your most hbl svt for all eternity! :laugh:

p.s. Mithras gave the ass hat to the Pope and he wears it with pride.

[Naomi]

so the hat has mystic powers...i see

you guys are fucking off topic. It's ok. I forgive you.

[m1thr0s]

Hmm of course Im nosy and would still like to be able to view that section whether I participate or not...and decide upon what I see- is that ok?not really...it's not that kind of forum...actually...it's not ANY forum just yet...

m1thr0s

[Kuroyagi]

Yes I realize that- sorry if I came over as too negative even before it started maybe I was only mirroring my own frustration with all kinds of groups...anyway as I said: good luck, hang in there, I also have been through lots of shit myself and quite know some about (physical) pain too...

[imagenerator]

lol I know he's too ethical...he even has ME behaving ethically YECH!
Finding someone who wants to be in charge has got to be the absolute worst part of this whole great work thing...you almost always end up with pale imitations of the real thing.

Just keep him in the corner there and I'll distract him with small rodents or something until he's decided he has nothing better to do.

Your stuff on Deviantart is great...check it out everyone.

http://imagenerator.deviantart.com/

Just want to clarify that my new deviantart page is http://playful-geometer.deviantart.com .

Edit: PM sent re question - Ricci

[Transcix]

I think having a forum for collaboration ideas is outstanding.. I will on my upcoming site.. it's something people just really need, and that's practically never present.. and it's a wise decision in terms of practicality.. I mean I could teach Ken Wilbur so many valuable things!.. then again that's not so hard to do, but you get my meaning :P (fyi you have to pay to become a member of the "integral institute"! and the whole integral idea is absurdly cumbersome.. and the main page has a huge photo just of his big bald head looking sophisticatedly revolutionary.. utterly preposterous..)