Absurd sounding, but..?

[...]

I have an incredibly open-mind, if I may say so myself.
On one hand, I have been very mildly successful on the path of transcendance.. on the other, I am exceptionally gullible.
I strive for the truth, so ultimately my terrible gullibility becomes a minor nuisance..

So, now onto the main point--

I totally believe that simply being in the presence of a master has an awesome influence on you. ....but how far does this go? Can masters influence the energy of others through such things as.. telephones? ...e-mail? ...Internet forums?

You know, just curious on your thoughts on the subject. It is very interesting. The mechanics of such a process.... just trippy :eek:

[Kain]

I totally believe that simply being in the presence of a master has an awesome influence on you. .Well, first of all, I think one must remember that the process of learning is also a personal one, and that both participants (student and teacher) are equally important in the transaction. It's not like the proverbial student comes into contact with the master, the knowledge is passively conveyed and that concludes the procedure...far from it. The student, if he/she aspires to do anything more than simply parrot the knowledge gained by this transaction, needs to actively and individually involve oneself in the discussed subject, certainly following guidelines offered by the teacher at certain points of the way but overall charting out a new territory through the utilization of one's own filters of perception. There is no other way to learning really, and even though I totally agree with you that the teacher's influence is often incredible, it must not be accepted as the full way to knowledge, but only an aid to that way. Knowledge that truly resides in oneself, distilled knowledge rather than simple storage of information, requires the active and extended personal experimentation of the student through his/her own strengths.

...but how far does this go? Can masters influence the energy of others through such things as.. telephones? ...e-mail? ...Internet forums?Indeed they can...you know, connections between people can be built and function through many different channels. Admittedly, there is a huge difference at points between talking to someone face to face and over the internet. However, in my view at least, such obstructions can be avoided and the knowledge, influence and interraction really come through just fine if approached in the right way. For instance, we read the works of many esteemed personalities, many of them having met the end of their lives centuries past, and consider (practically, know really) the knowledge and subject matter discussed to have conveyed itself to us. If this wasn't true, there would be no reason for saving such knowledge in written and pictorial form, as we would convey it only in a direct teacher-to-student relationship. And yet we do, and there is no doubt a lot can be gleaned by such texts...so, written language (and learning through distance, whether through space or time), despite it's faults, is a real asset to us.

Now, consider a written language format including pictorial explanations, that does not only tell us things in a passive manner but can actually interract with us, rephrase and expand on certain parts of the described processes on demand, and generally carry an intelligent and interractive communication with us through this format. Since written texts with concentrated knowledge from previous times helped us get this far, an interractive written format providing instant discussion between people all over the planet is a great addition and much more than we could hope for until a few years ago!

That's my personal view at least, but I think that it is perfectly possible to convey this influence through a remote interraction format such as this, and in fact it provides advantages purely impossible to achieve otherwise.

I hope you found my answer helpful [...] . It would be interesting to hear the approach of the other members on this.

Kain

[m1thr0s]

Perhaps the term Guru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru) is better than Master in the end. Somehow the latter necessarily implies a mundane pecking order, which, while it may have its place to some extent, has a tendency to distort many key issues of becoming itself. But in either case, a proper respect for advanced skill and learning must not be allowed to degrade into neurotic distortions or the magick is broken. A novice may not always know exactly where this line is to be drawn...being too slack on the one end or too taut on the other. Thus it is often the experience of the teacher that is the first to kick the student in the ass and shuttle him along his own path in life.

What attains to mastery in life is capable of influencing others even from the grave, so certainly a powerful teacher can assert influence at a distance and through diverse mediums. Indeed, the stronger the connection between student and teacher, the less barriers will seem to even exist at all. I have had many teachers, and many in the most unexpected of places, not always my elder in years and not always in whatever form I would have imagined. Having one teacher is no good excuse for being oblivious to others and it is perhaps one's best "asana" overall to become responsive to the "sound" of higher instruction in whatever form it may present itself or at whichever time it chooses. This is hardly a skill any of us perfects overnight, but the ongoing perfecting of it brings us always that much closer to true self-mastery.

m1thr0s

[Amur]

In my own life everyone seems to be a teacher to my own Path in one form or another. Only when I really really fuck up will my own Father come to teach me.

The reason for the concept of surrendering is that if one can surrender, it is quite straight-forward to be able to be used as an instrument of the universe itself. Whereas one can only tune oneself to a higher frequency and let it flow down. This is only possible if one can be non-attached to the things happening.

[Austin Osman Spare]

I predict that if you continue along the path of initiation for long enough that you will begin to view your "gullibility" as a great magickal strength, and that your willingness to believe actually creates reality.

Among the many gifts my own teacher gave me , the gift of "dissillusionment" has been perhaps the most important, as it is ultimately neccessary for each of us to seek the wisdom of thier own "holy guardian angel", and i garner "gullibility" is really more akin to "virginity" in this context.

Of course i believe that "masters" can manipulate energies via telephones, internet, etc. However great your reach, whatever you touch, shall touch flesh.
How do we know any damned thing? Chaos is our language; our own eccentric rhythms are unsynchronized to Cosmos—with a mildewed ear for the brassy cacophony of imaginary menageries dissonant to each other; and it all ends drooling over minutiae to discover oneself.

Our acceptances are our conclusions.

[m1thr0s]

I predict that if you continue along the path of initiation for long enough that you will begin to view your "gullibility" as a great magickal strength, and that your willingness to believe actually creates reality.I will second that prediction and perhaps only add that even our so-called skepticisms are a poorly cloaked convictions...even these must spend some time learning at the foot of the master...

m1thr0s