tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post8470368388582436671..comments2024-02-20T09:54:37.105-06:00Comments on Talking About Ritual Magick: Mending Cartesian Duality in Magical PracticesFrater.Barrabbashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11689013897789072360noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-18027568172440202572019-02-11T20:29:26.109-06:002019-02-11T20:29:26.109-06:00Hi Scott - yes, you are correct about not saying t...Hi Scott - yes, you are correct about not saying that my methods would lead to an unresolvable Cartesian dualsim. However, logically, one could surmise that such a dualism might be problematic if it were allowed to continue, and your article revealed that fact to me. So I was answering what I saw was a possible problem with how I wrote my previous article. I needed to emphasize that how we learn magic has a lot to do with our history and our way of thinking and perceiving reality. It was important for me to explain that what I write is not to be taken as some kind of inflexible law, but merely representative of one person's way of learning and mastering magic. There is a lot of subjectivity and even artistry in how I perceive and practice magic. I am lucky that some people have taken my rituals or parts of them and made them work, and this has at least given me some objectivity in what is for me, a very subjective affair.In other words, it has comforted me in knowing that I am not engaging in pure fantasy. <br /><br />I don't have the mental discipline or education to approach magic as you do, and I admire what you do and how you state it. I have learned more from you than you could know. Ultimately, I have to use the skills and abilities that I have, and they are those that are less of a scientist and more of an artist. <br /><br />Unfortunately for me, I was not exaggerating about the negativity that I have had to deal with in my formative years. It has marked me, and to some extent, I carry that baggage with me. I have done wonders mitigating and transforming my flaws and mental issues, but it is not a full recovery, and considering my age, it probably never will be. <br /><br />Once again, thank you for responding to my blog article. You are a good friend and a well respected peer. <br /><br />FBTFrater.Barrabbashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11689013897789072360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817682567561164198.post-8493315599198179212019-02-11T15:11:30.643-06:002019-02-11T15:11:30.643-06:00A couple of points. I did not claim it could lead ...A couple of points. I did not claim it could lead to an "unresolvable Cartesian dualism." That's a much more extreme statement, implying that "if you do this ever, you won't be able to resolve it." That is not what I meant at all. If you and/or your students find it useful and want to do it, great. If it works it works. My point was just that I don't think it's necessary, so students don't HAVE to do it if it just doesn't make sense or just doesn't work for them.<br /><br />My example is also myself - I've never found it useful at all - but I also understand that my experience is not universal. I'm a semi-generational magician. Neither of my parents were practitioners, but one of my grandparents and two of my great-grandparents were involved in the Church of Light/Brotherhood of Light before I was born. I say "semi" because they all died before I was born and as such I never met them or learned anything from them. But I also never grew up with a bunch of negativity around the idea of magick, so I don't have a bunch of bad conditioning related to it. As such, most of the tricks designed to circumvent it aren't helpful for me. I don't have it, so I don't need it.<br /><br />And by the way, this article addressing dualism as a form of trauma and how you healed from it is probably going to be super-helpful for a lot of students with backgrounds similar to yours. Thanks for posting it, and I'm glad I could be part of the conversation.Scott Stenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12389664381513219613noreply@blogger.com