Practicing Occultism Neuro divergent

[YxiSylvia]

I have struggled with my practice in witchcraft in an odd way. I am on the spectrum for autism and have had trouble investing in things my whole life. I consider myself an avid reader, but I have only read maybe a handful of books to completion. Usually I'll read the first chapter, then jump around and find what interests me before I put it down. This has gone on my whole life. As I have seen others grow their practice, I am still hovering around a stage 2 of 10 stages for growth in my practice.

To love something, to have everything needed to do spellwork, to have read the Book of Thoth, to be a fangirl of Laurie Cabot, to be familiar with bits and Bob's of Crowley's works, and many others, I often feel like I collect ideas and practice little.

I know I am not alone in this. So, I reach out into the world today on this glorious forum of seeking minds to say hello, and thank you to the one who created it, so we can all whisper in one another's proverbial ears the secrets of manifestation.

Love and respect, from Yxi.

 

[Mycelial_Adept]

I have ADHD. TBH I did not believe ADHD was real for most of my life. I had to be dragged into accepting it. I have been trained in magic since I was a child, and I see the struggle that neurodivergence can cause in the work.

All of the following is from my perspective about my traditional practices.

Firstly I will say in magic, discipline, focus, and willpower are keys that will open all the doors. Very little real work can be done without them. For people who have difficulty focusing their minds that means you have a lot of work to do to catch up to a good starting base line.

Like I said I did not think ADHD was real. I wrestled my mind into obedience, but it took a very long time. I have learned new ways of doing things over time, and while I still see the benefit of the way I trained originally, I find my brain works better with different styles of the work.

you MUST learn to do the following things:

• Observe thoughts passively - this is like watching tv but not being invested in what you are watching. You have to watch the show (thoughts) but not participate in them, or get carried away in them
• Be able to focus on one thought to the exclusion of others - there are multiple ways to do this but it become extremely important during things like enchanting. You don't want to be building a healing enchantment into something then have a stray fear of the person getting worse/dying into your enchantment.
• Silence your thoughts / Go into Deep levels of Trance - this has more reasons than can be listed here, but it's here where the big stuff can be done.

Although the above seem like a progression, and is, they each have their own purposes as well and each skill should be honed for life.

You have to learn to work within your body's current confines, and that means working within the limits of your neurodivergences. I came to the practice of Shikantaza much later. Although I do my own variation. where I sit or lay comfortable with eyes fully closed instead of sitting in the soto zen style with a wall. be comfortable and relax fully. do not move, this includes to itching. Ignore all of that just stay still.

Set a timer, start small. Think of it like working out. you want to set the timer for what is doable for you and try to push a little more each time, build the willpower muscle.

For your books, save your spot and go back each time. do the same as with the meditation timer, when you feel like you are at the end of your focus, push just a tiny bit more. and just keep doing that.

just as a side, not a big fan of Laurie Cabot / the Salem side of things. doesn't have authentic vibes

 

[YxiSylvia]

There's some great ideas there I think I'll try to implement. Great and thoughtful response, I can tell it's a lived experience answer. What do you think you might Excell at because of it?

 

[Mycelial_Adept]

The meditation/trance skills I mentioned are really foundational in nature. so, in a way you could say anything you would excel would be because of developing those (and other) foundational skills.

 

[Solenyx the Friend]

I have struggled with my practice in witchcraft in an odd way. I am on the spectrum for autism and have had trouble investing in things my whole life. I consider myself an avid reader, but I have only read maybe a handful of books to completion. Usually I'll read the first chapter, then jump around and find what interests me before I put it down. This has gone on my whole life. As I have seen others grow their practice, I am still hovering around a stage 2 of 10 stages for growth in my practice.

To love something, to have everything needed to do spellwork, to have read the Book of Thoth, to be a fangirl of Laurie Cabot, to be familiar with bits and Bob's of Crowley's works, and many others, I often feel like I collect ideas and practice little.

I know I am not alone in this. So, I reach out into the world today on this glorious forum of seeking minds to say hello, and thank you to the one who created it, so we can all whisper in one another's proverbial ears the secrets of manifestation.

Love and respect, from Yxi.

Hiiii!! I totally related to your post, my goodness yes. I feel that neurodivergence and relate it right to my own.
I wanted to ask you if you're familiar with Suno, the app to produce songs? I have found such success in taking texts, verses, and eventually create my own spellwork in the music production part of the app. For instance, I have a song casting a circle, and I have a song calling the corners/directions. My friend has put together a lot of Crowley's works set to music, it is INTENSE, here, I'll get you the link. Maybe it'll hit you the sae way it has me: my attention, for once, was highly focused: http:////4dekVLE

 

[Allofyoush]

I have struggled with my practice in witchcraft in an odd way. I am on the spectrum for autism and have had trouble investing in things my whole life. I consider myself an avid reader, but I have only read maybe a handful of books to completion. Usually I'll read the first chapter, then jump around and find what interests me before I put it down. This has gone on my whole life. As I have seen others grow their practice, I am still hovering around a stage 2 of 10 stages for growth in my practice.

To love something, to have everything needed to do spellwork, to have read the Book of Thoth, to be a fangirl of Laurie Cabot, to be familiar with bits and Bob's of Crowley's works, and many others, I often feel like I collect ideas and practice little.

I know I am not alone in this. So, I reach out into the world today on this glorious forum of seeking minds to say hello, and thank you to the one who created it, so we can all whisper in one another's proverbial ears the secrets of manifestation.

Love and respect, from Yxi.

I'm kinda in the same boat. I'm autistic and I've generally considered myself flakey when it comes to committing to a practice or pursuit. I deny the presumption that such a "weakness" is permanent though. It can be overcome through extra effort on our part. We have strengths and weaknesses. We just need to find the right angle to be able to catch the interest and hyperfocus on it. Also, some media may be easier to consume. I watch YouTube videos and listen to audiobooks at 2x speed since I consume media a lot faster that way instead of reading (though I still read when I can). We have similar struggles, and perhaps similar strengths that we can overcome through discipline.

 

[Freestarwins]

Are you motivated externally , for instance deity work tend to work well for people who are bad with internal commitments but good with external commitments. You ca have a spirit for accountability and guidance and go from there. However if u don’t do well with external commitment spirts got not be good idea

 

[Allofyoush]

Are you motivated externally , for instance deity work tend to work well for people who are bad with internal commitments but good with external commitments. You ca have a spirit for accountability and guidance and go from there. However if u don’t do well with external commitment spirts got not be good idea

Would this require giving a spirit/deity/servitor the ability to hold you accountable through reward and punishment? Is that possible?

 

[Freestarwins]

depending on the deity that could be quite natural , but not necessarily . Also like it can be a Natural reward an consequence. You may find that you naturally like their support , signs or psychic experiences they send you ( if u r into that). But some entities are naturally more reward and punishment in vibe in the sense of amplifying the work you do for yourself so it feels more rewarding. Whereas many don’t respond well to oath breaking. ( but u don’t have to make oaths.just ask for support in becoming consistent in xyz . You may find deities to be more authoritative in nature . Though u can program a servitor to remind you . ( it depends on what you’re able to access quickly enough initially before you lose consistency) (I hope you are able to understand lol I couldn’t see what I was typing at some points lol)

 

[Allofyoush]

Makes sense. I've been curious too, as to what extent servitors are able to assist versus higher forms. Is there a way to quantify or qualify the amount of "oomph" or power they provide? Can servitors only remind me of things, or can one, say, improve my physical and psychic senses? Or is that something that requires a lot more power? I haven't seen anything that differentiates spells or assistance by the power required, so I don't know who/what to ask for what.

 

[Mycelial_Adept]

Makes sense. I've been curious too, as to what extent servitors are able to assist versus higher forms. Is there a way to quantify or qualify the amount of "oomph" or power they provide? Can servitors only remind me of things, or can one, say, improve my physical and psychic senses? Or is that something that requires a lot more power? I haven't seen anything that differentiates spells or assistance by the power required, so I don't know who/what to ask for what.

Thoughtforms, by whatever you call them, are only as effective as the person who makes them. I would be very difficult to make something stronger or more skilled than yourself in anything (not to mention dangerous) unless you bring in embodying things into physical forms, like golems etc which adds the nature of its physical components, you should be hard pressed to believe someone claiming they have done that. That level of enchanting is very complex.

Instead, it would be more useful/easier to create a thoughtform to reduce something holding you back. For example, if you have not trained your psychic senses, you could create a thoughtform which could more easily warn you if something negative was around, and even to protect you from it etc (though that comes back to skill/willpower).

Effective thoughtforms are related to your personal ability to condense energy and do at least basic enchanting. The more energy you can condense, the more powerful the thoughtform will be. The more skilled you are at enchanting the more complex the instruction can be. For example "protect this room", and "protect this room from any being that means me harm" are very different commands. If you were trying to summon a being, "protect this room" is too generic. Why ask for someone to come over but then block the path?

Then of course how much consciousness you weave into the enchantment. Balancing the skills and awareness of the thoughtform against it realizing that you will destroy it. on and on.

Frankly thoughtforms can be used to do almost anything. powerful ones have been made physical in several cultures throughout history. I have a friend who almost solely uses them as his active practice (not including training like meditation etc). He has built quite a nice life with them.

All that being said, they can be dangerous if you allow them to grow outside of your ability to control. Depending on their nature they could use the connection between you and them as a vampiric drain. If they think you will destroy them (which is done regularly) and that grow so strong they can resist the instructions you have woven into their making they may try to kill you as a precaution to prevent them from being returned to their base energies.

That all stuff though that you would be prepared for by the time you can create something that powerful.

If you do create a thoughtform with another being, human or otherwise. it is always going to be stronger than you along doing it, but that isnt a good thing, for that to be safe the enchantments would have to be very complex since more than only the amount of will/energy was used to create it.

Thoughtforms are a great asset and as amazing as they can be, IMO you want to aim way higher in what abilities you want to obtain.

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:37 AM

there is a good movie about thoughtforms (egregores really, thoughtforms created on large scale) called Branded. you could skil the first half and be fine. second half is where the good parts are (i do have ADHD as mentioned above lol). but watching it through for the full context is fine too

 

[Allofyoush]

Thoughtforms, by whatever you call them, are only as effective as the person who makes them. I would be very difficult to make something stronger or more skilled than yourself in anything (not to mention dangerous) unless you bring in embodying things into physical forms, like golems etc which adds the nature of its physical components, you should be hard pressed to believe someone claiming they have done that. That level of enchanting is very complex.

Instead, it would be more useful/easier to create a thoughtform to reduce something holding you back. For example, if you have not trained your psychic senses, you could create a thoughtform which could more easily warn you if something negative was around, and even to protect you from it etc (though that comes back to skill/willpower).

Effective thoughtforms are related to your personal ability to condense energy and do at least basic enchanting. The more energy you can condense, the more powerful the thoughtform will be. The more skilled you are at enchanting the more complex the instruction can be. For example "protect this room", and "protect this room from any being that means me harm" are very different commands. If you were trying to summon a being, "protect this room" is too generic. Why ask for someone to come over but then block the path?

Then of course how much consciousness you weave into the enchantment. Balancing the skills and awareness of the thoughtform against it realizing that you will destroy it. on and on.

Frankly thoughtforms can be used to do almost anything. powerful ones have been made physical in several cultures throughout history. I have a friend who almost solely uses them as his active practice (not including training like meditation etc). He has built quite a nice life with them.

All that being said, they can be dangerous if you allow them to grow outside of your ability to control. Depending on their nature they could use the connection between you and them as a vampiric drain. If they think you will destroy them (which is done regularly) and that grow so strong they can resist the instructions you have woven into their making they may try to kill you as a precaution to prevent them from being returned to their base energies.

That all stuff though that you would be prepared for by the time you can create something that powerful.

If you do create a thoughtform with another being, human or otherwise. it is always going to be stronger than you along doing it, but that isnt a good thing, for that to be safe the enchantments would have to be very complex since more than only the amount of will/energy was used to create it.

Thoughtforms are a great asset and as amazing as they can be, IMO you want to aim way higher in what abilities you want to obtain.

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:37 AM

there is a good movie about thoughtforms (egregores really, thoughtforms created on large scale) called Branded. you could skil the first half and be fine. second half is where the good parts are (i do have ADHD as mentioned above lol). but watching it through for the full context is fine too

This is definitely a lot and still very complex for me. I have a lot of questions, and am aware I probably don't even know what questions to ask. One of my core misunderstandings is WHAT energy is and how it functions. How to sense it, work with it, etc. I have a LOT to learn, and I appreciate the explanation in response to my question. I'll try to parse it and look deeper into certain aspects you've mentioned, including golems, condensing energy, giving consciousness, what servitors can do to improve life in a realistic way, and what skills to aim for as you mentioned. I'll also check out the movie, thank you!

If you were to recommend a YouTuber, a book, a meditation, a method, a goal, or a servitor to aim for first, I'm open to anything!

 

[FireBorn]

Here is a very related thread as Autism and ADHD are both forms of neurodivergence.

Hope this helps: Magicians with ADHD: a thread

 

[Mycelial_Adept]

This is definitely a lot and still very complex for me. I have a lot of questions, and am aware I probably don't even know what questions to ask. One of my core misunderstandings is WHAT energy is and how it functions. How to sense it, work with it, etc. I have a LOT to learn, and I appreciate the explanation in response to my question. I'll try to parse it and look deeper into certain aspects you've mentioned, including golems, condensing energy, giving consciousness, what servitors can do to improve life in a realistic way, and what skills to aim for as you mentioned. I'll also check out the movie, thank you!

If you were to recommend a YouTuber, a book, a meditation, a method, a goal, or a servitor to aim for first, I'm open to anything!

As far as workbooks go, I feel that Initiation into Hermetics, by Franz Bardon, is the most complete system available to the public. I am not a Hermeticist myself, but I did train for over two decades with his methods, and since I try not to teach anyone (not that you were asking), it is my go-to recommendation. It is years of work, but it can take someone from never hearing the word magic to being a true adept. if you cannot feel or move energy yet, creating a servitor would be pretty difficult.

I would recommend starting with meditation. The best thing you could do is come with a daily routine that you can grow with. Always judge what you are doing by testing for results. For example. Bardon has you make a string of beads you use as a counter. You don't move on from one meditation practice until you are able to regularly meditate per the instructions without deviations, which you monitor by moving 1 bead per interruption.

For my adhd'd brain, I would have started with my variation of Shikantaza though had I known about it at the time, and then moved into Bardon's first 3 meditation practices. You can achieve the same results only doing shikantaza, but Bardon's workbook provides the best guided initiation I have seen. It is very rigorous though and requires a significant amount of discipline and daily practice. Since you mentioned struggling with consistency, starting with building that skill up would likely be a good starting point as well. If you are not at a point where you can do direct magical training consistently, start with smaller things. wake up and go to bed at the same time daily, or whatever measurable work you can do to build the skill of consistency. I would recommend dream journaling daily as well. It will significantly shorten the time many things take later on.

Build yourself into the magical practitioner you want to be. Always judge by verifiable results. It is easy to fall into self-delusion otherwise.

We do not climb the Mountain of Initiation in one day, or even one lifetime. Each step across all lives where you intentionally climb the mountain is progress towards the top, you can even make some steps forward in lifetimes where you are not aware of the path though those tend to be smaller steps, they all count towards the goal in the end.

 

[wizardofsam]

I also have ADHD and I recently started my meds; they surely help with the brain buzz. I also listen to thetha healing frequences and all the sounds that, allegedly, could calm down the neurodivergent mind. It might help