Comments on: Endless Shells

By: Z.

Z. — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 09:05:16 +0000

It was not meant to be a “dig” against you, as you put it. Also, I quoted the passage from Liber O because I personally find it to be something that’s useful to keep in mind, and not because I think Crowley said everything that ever needed to be said about anything. There just seems to be lots of people who have very little actual experience with any occult techniques, and who discuss the whys and wherefores of it all; that was the gist of my little comment - that this field is full of people with armchair experience, i.e. reading what someone else wrote about something and then using that as a basis instead of personal experience.

So, round we come again to the mediated experience …

By: Occult Investigator

Occult Investigator — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 23:14:16 +0000

That’s awesome. A potluck, I love it. Yeah I totally know what you’re saying about the five-star restaurant analogy. You won’t be surprised to find that I don’t like fancy restaurants in real life either.

By: The Word

The Word — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 23:10:48 +0000

Uncertainty indeed. Sometimes seems like that’s all that’s certain. I like what you say about questioning “occult authorities”. I think some of the best students/observers of the occult learn to do that early. It always seemed to me that strict devotees of Crowley or Buddhism or Blavatsky or whatever had worked themselves (whether they realized it or not) into a shell of their own making.

And I realize that it’s hard to prevent that from happening. Perhaps sometimes the best we can do is keep the shell as porous as possible.

I kinda picture certain occult or spiritual Systems as five-star restaraunts; places with a dress code and required reservations and I have to speak French if I want to order and I have to know that white wine does not go with fish. But other Systems are great; they’re loose, they’re flexible, they welcome the curious and the honest explorers, they share their wisdom, and above all, they’re willing to change and alter themselves - always cognizant of the shifting Path they walk.

Which is why I love this site. It’s like an Occult Potluck. Everybody is welcome to bring something.

By: Occult Investigator » New Age Horse Shit

Occult Investigator » New Age Horse Shit — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 23:07:48 +0000

[...] seem about equal to me. Which brings me back to this thing about the occult acting as an endless system of shells. When you as a magician (either civic or psychic) tell me t [...]