Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Has Percival Made a Come Back?

It has occurred to me tonight that I may be pursuing the wrong thing. A friend used to call me Percival because I always asked the wrong questions. I've been seeking magickal skills more than wisdom, effect more than purpose and knowledge over understanding.

I am a man without religion seeking the ultimate god, the ultimate unity. Perhaps, the above traps, siddhis, I think the Buddhists call them, have been a distraction. Perhaps, they are not markers of spirituality at all.

Do these thoughts come from an odd skrying on a void of course night or Terry Pratchett's books? Does their origin matter at all? What matters is, are these thoughts correct?

3 comments:

Scott Stenwick said...

Perhaps, the above traps, siddhis, I think the Buddhists call them, have been a distraction. Perhaps, they are not markers of spirituality at all.

In my experience it is this way of thinking that is the trap. I'm of the opinion that magick and mysticism go together, and while it is a mistake to pursue either at the expense of the other, they are complimentary practices. All of the best magicians I have known over the years have pursued both with equal devotion.

Balance and equilibrium between the two approaches is what I find works the best for me in terms of both internal and external results. Mystical practices empower me so that my magical operations are more effective, and objective magical results are definitive signs of spiritual progress beyond the psychological realm.

Jason Miller, said...

I gotta say, that I actually disagree with you here. While I do not find there to be any problem with doing mystecism and magick, I have not found adeptship at practocal magick to have any relation to spiritual realization.

Some of the most realized and wise people I have met have no interest or capacity for practical magick, and the most powerful magician I have met was definately not the most spiritual.

Scott Stenwick said...

Hi Jason,

I just posted a longer and more detailed response to your blog article on this topic.

Briefly, I agree with you that you can't compare the magical abilities of two people and from that infer their degree of spiritual realization. Different people have different levels of talent for magick, and many mystics have no interest in it.

However, I do think that when your abilities improve relative to the level that they were previously at it is a sign that your realization is increasing, rather than some sort of distraction that has no relation to the path.