Let's discuss about ways to open perception

[Blackrose00]

Do you have any thoughts on this subject and is there any method you have applied?

 

[Mannimarco]

What do you mean by open perception? As in training one's clairvoyance and clairaudience?

 

[Blackrose00]

What do you mean by open perception? As in training one's clairvoyance and clairaudience?

Please answer as you understand, my point was more about your ability to comprehend something. , , but you've made a good point, go ahead and explain your methods.

 

[Anziel_Merkaba]

Please answer as you understand, my point was more about your ability to comprehend something. , , but you've made a good point, go ahead and explain your methods.

I posted a basic initiatory primer I wrote with exercises for this purpose in the Tutorials section a while ago.

Improving mental acuity and developing visualization and intuition is always useful for understanding things. After all, all things start and end with the mind.

 

[pixel_fortune]

my point was more about your ability to comprehend something

You mean perceptive like "become more insightful"?

I think reading analysis from insightful people helps. You see what things they look out for, and how they approach it.

For example, reading the analysis of a tarot reader, I learned that they look at where prominent objects are in relation to the chakras - eg the Two of Swords crossed at the heart chakra, or a headband at the third eye chakra, rosettes on robes and stuff. Now that's an additional lens I can apply in my readings. I don't have to, and I often don't, but it's a method that's available to me now, especially if I'm struggling with an interpretation

That, but for like.... all phenomena. When an arborist looks at a tree, what key features help them identify it? I learned that, and now I notice the different patterns veins make in a leaf, and the different ways leaves are organised on a branch.

Learn what experts notice, and start trying to notice the same things

 

[Taudefindi]

Well, I'll answer as I understood it then:

• Read more to learn more
• Try to focus more my senses whenever I'm outside the house(it also helps with my situational awareness)
• Try new things, specially stuff I never tried before or seems to not be something I would do
• Dishwash by hand...seriously, I train my tactile and visual perception by doing that.My mild OCD doesn't allow me to "clean enough", I need to clean well or else it'll stay in my head.
• Some mental exercises
• Play guessing games
• Play boardgames(I play chess and recently started to learn about backgammon)
• Play videogames(specially those that demand a lot of attention and reaction in real time, like first person shooters)
• Do sports(corporeal perception)
• Do art(specially the kind that isn't digital)
• Do training based on the senses
• Take some minutes to do nothing and just "be"

Among other things.

 

[Mannimarco]

Please answer as you understand, my point was more about your ability to comprehend something. , , but you've made a good point, go ahead and explain your methods.

Oh I don't have any particular methods I would recommend, just daily meditation, hard work, and stubbornness.
And as to comprehending something, i haven't had any real success comprehending anything that matters. To comprehend something, you need all the info, the full context, and some level of practical experience. Getting some snippets of info isn't hard, but the universe doesn't give up the full picture of its secrets easily, at least not to me. Seeking the knowledge of teachers could be helpful, but their experiences are all different, and some/much of their materiel contradicts each other, so you still have to decide what to believe and how to approach things. Ultimately, to comprehend something, you'll have to find a way to experience it for yourself, and draw your own conclusions.

 

[Lazarus]

Practice

 

[HoldAll]

Simple empty-mind meditation without any bells and whistles: sit down on a (preferably hard) chair, spine erect, hands simply resting on the thighs (= no mudras), close your eyes and try not to think of anything. The first obstacle for me was holding an upright posture as I tend to slouch when sitting down, not letting my head loll forward, and then all sorts of micro-corrections to ensure a 'comfortable but firm' asana. The second was finding the right method to deal with intruding thoughts - books usually recommend not being too harsh on oneself and gently guide the mind back to the Void. And they're right, beating oneself up about becoming distracted during meditation only tends to make things worse.

After having achieved some success with meditation, I started to practice holding an empy mind while walking. It wasn't anything I had planned, it just occurred to me one day to try it, so I did. It's still an education, not least because the experiences I had while walking went against the stereotypical NewAge waffle, like you suddenly started seeing everything crystal-clear and taking in even the minutest detail once you stop your 'inner dialogue' (Carlos Castaneda). No, my first impression was how unspeakably banal everything is once you lose all that chatter in your head.

I for one value such unexpected experiences because in this way, they prove to me that they are really genuine instead of following a scripted occult narrative which usually is described like this: "If you meditate diligently every day, you will slowly become more and more receptive for supernatural stimuli." Which may be even true but it won't happen right away, you will most likely go through several stages before, and the whole process may not even follow a linear progression. In my case, it started with the realisation of the banality of things, like taking your headphones off and suddenly finding yourself in this ugly nondescript residential area instead of a happy musical lalaland. Next came a strong disgust at habitually deceiving myself all the time, constantly maintaining a running commentary in my head instead of silently perceiving the world as it is. Currently it's about self-awareness, how I was always some place else, projecting my mind into the future, telling myself stories about myself, worrying about my social persona, etc. I wonder what comes next…

Tl;dr: Empty-mind meditation will help you to become more self-aware and more yourself but will not necessarily improve your perception of otherworldly sensations in the short run (although the possibility is always there).

As for other approaches, I am starting to doubt that there is a single method to broaden your perception leading straight from your present sensory capabilities to a desired state of heightened alertness. More likely it will be a convoluted path where you first have to remove obstacle A (including learning a method to remove said obstacle), then having a few unexpected realisations that will blow you off course, next obstacle, then a stage of surprising progress leading you straight into a blind alley, etc. - most people here know how it is. Perhaps improved perception is only a by-product of other milestones you reach on your path and should not be considered a goal in itself, but I guess you have to start somewhere, so this is actually a good question, I'd say.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

Forgot to add something importat: Never lean back on the chair while sitting and meditating, always leave your trunk unsupported and your back straight. Not very comfortable but it will keep you alert. Some Zen sects keep the eyes open and fixed on a point on the wall, some close them (personally I prefer the latter method).

 

[Blackrose00]

Simple empty-mind meditation without any bells and whistles: sit down on a (preferably hard) chair, spine erect, hands simply resting on the thighs (= no mudras), close your eyes and try not to think of anything. The first obstacle for me was holding an upright posture as I tend to slouch when sitting down, not letting my head loll forward, and then all sorts of micro-corrections to ensure a 'comfortable but firm' asana. The second was finding the right method to deal with intruding thoughts - books usually recommend not being too harsh on oneself and gently guide the mind back to the Void. And they're right, beating oneself up about becoming distracted during meditation only tends to make things worse.

After having achieved some success with meditation, I started to practice holding an empy mind while walking. It wasn't anything I had planned, it just occurred to me one day to try it, so I did. It's still an education, not least because the experiences I had while walking went against the stereotypical NewAge waffle, like you suddenly started seeing everything crystal-clear and taking in even the minutest detail once you stop your 'inner dialogue' (Carlos Castaneda). No, my first impression was how unspeakably banal everything is once you lose all that chatter in your head.

I for one value such unexpected experiences because in this way, they prove to me that they are really genuine instead of following a scripted occult narrative which usually is described like this: "If you meditate diligently every day, you will slowly become more and more receptive for supernatural stimuli." Which may be even true but it won't happen right away, you will most likely go through several stages before, and the whole process may not even follow a linear progression. In my case, it started with the realisation of the banality of things, like taking your headphones off and suddenly finding yourself in this ugly nondescript residential area instead of a happy musical lalaland. Next came a strong disgust at habitually deceiving myself all the time, constantly maintaining a running commentary in my head instead of silently perceiving the world as it is. Currently it's about self-awareness, how I was always some place else, projecting my mind into the future, telling myself stories about myself, worrying about my social persona, etc. I wonder what comes next…

Tl;dr: Empty-mind meditation will help you to become more self-aware and more yourself but will not necessarily improve your perception of otherworldly sensations in the short run (although the possibility is always there).

As for other approaches, I am starting to doubt that there is a single method to broaden your perception leading straight from your present sensory capabilities to a desired state of heightened alertness. More likely it will be a convoluted path where you first have to remove obstacle A (including learning a method to remove said obstacle), then having a few unexpected realisations that will blow you off course, next obstacle, then a stage of surprising progress leading you straight into a blind alley, etc. - most people here know how it is. Perhaps improved perception is only a by-product of other milestones you reach on your path and should not be considered a goal in itself, but I guess you have to start somewhere, so this is actually a good question, I'd say.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

Forgot to add something importat: Never lean back on the chair while sitting and meditating, always leave your trunk unsupported and your back straight. Not very comfortable but it will keep you alert. Some Zen sects keep the eyes open and fixed on a point on the wall, some close them (personally I prefer the latter method).

I tried empty mind years ago, I succeeded somewhere, I can still do it, but frankly I started to dislike it, what is the next step? what can I try?

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

Oh I don't have any particular methods I would recommend, just daily meditation, hard work, and stubbornness.
And as to comprehending something, i haven't had any real success comprehending anything that matters. To comprehend something, you need all the info, the full context, and some level of practical experience. Getting some snippets of info isn't hard, but the universe doesn't give up the full picture of its secrets easily, at least not to me. Seeking the knowledge of teachers could be helpful, but their experiences are all different, and some/much of their materiel contradicts each other, so you still have to decide what to believe and how to approach things. Ultimately, to comprehend something, you'll have to find a way to experience it for yourself, and draw your own conclusions.

I don't know what I should feel in meditation, by the way what you mentioned about experience is really true but we can do better by grasping things, I'm trying to improve on the ability to grasp
But how can I find it? What do I need to find?

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

I posted a basic initiatory primer I wrote with exercises for this purpose in the Tutorials section a while ago.

Improving mental acuity and developing visualization and intuition is always useful for understanding things. After all, all things start and end with the mind.

I started to analyze it right away.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

Well, I'll answer as I understood it then:

• Read more to learn more
• Try to focus more my senses whenever I'm outside the house(it also helps with my situational awareness)
• Try new things, specially stuff I never tried before or seems to not be something I would do
• Dishwash by hand...seriously, I train my tactile and visual perception by doing that.My mild OCD doesn't allow me to "clean enough", I need to clean well or else it'll stay in my head.
• Some mental exercises
• Play guessing games
• Play boardgames(I play chess and recently started to learn about backgammon)
• Play videogames(specially those that demand a lot of attention and reaction in real time, like first person shooters)
• Do sports(corporeal perception)
• Do art(specially the kind that isn't digital)
• Do training based on the senses
• Take some minutes to do nothing and just "be"

Among other things.

I'm trying to do some of these things but I haven't found a clear solution yet, maybe it's in my own head, I don't know.
OCD is very difficult, it took something from me too. get well soon

 

[HoldAll]

The next step for me would be breathwork. I've noticed that my breath is relatively shallow so I'd like to try Jason Miller's Vase Breath where you fill up your lungs to their total capacity, then maybe the Fourfold Breath (because meditation doesn't really seem to calm me down, no matter what other people claim). Right now I don't want to interfere with my breathing, I've currently got my hands full dealing with those pesky intruding thoughts. Then (or in parallel) I'm planning on doings some energy work - here are some simple exercises I've copied from Reddit:

Book – PDF - Energy Work: 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501

Like I said, focussing on a single skill or ability may not be the answer. Your perception may evolve as a result of some other faculty you wish to develop or master. Take the exercises above - it all starts with visualisation but then you try to feel that energy ball, so the overall purpose is ostensibly energy work but in actuality you are striving to become more perceptive. Like @Lazarus said: practice. Practice, practice, practice. Stubborness does it for me, like @Mannimarco wrote.

 

[Blackrose00]

The next step for me would be breathwork. I've noticed that my breath is relatively shallow so I'd like to try Jason Miller's Vase Breath where you fill up your lungs to their total capacity, then maybe the Fourfold Breath (because meditation doesn't really seem to calm me down, no matter what other people claim). Right now I don't want to interfere with my breathing, I've currently got my hands full dealing with those pesky intruding thoughts. Then (or in parallel) I'm planning on doings some energy work - here are some simple exercises I've copied from Reddit:

Book – PDF - Energy Work: 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501

Like I said, focussing on a single skill or ability may not be the answer. Your perception may evolve as a result of some other faculty you wish to develop or master. Take the exercises above - it all starts with visualisation but then you try to feel that energy ball, so the overall purpose is ostensibly energy work but in actuality you are striving to become more perceptive. Like @Lazarus said: practice. Practice, practice, practice. Stubborness does it for me, like @Mannimarco wrote.

thank you,, my visualization is usually far away from me, how is it with you?

For example, I visualize it as if it is not in front of my eyes, but as if it is in a distant place, even if I zoom in, it zooms in the upper layer of my brain that I use, it's a bit interesting, I can't explain it, but in general it is not close
It seems close, but it feels far away

 

[HoldAll]

Ha, 'stubbornness' describes my approach much better than the more sophisticated 'consistency', I've prevailed over much more talented people in the past simply because of my inborn pigheadedness making me practice, practice, and practicing some more. Peter J. Carroll says that 'sheer bloody-mindedness' helped him pull through when he did his magical groundwork. Good quality to have.

 

[Blackrose00]

Ha, 'stubbornness' describes my approach much better than the more sophisticated 'consistency', I've prevailed over much more talented people in the past simply because of my inborn pigheadedness making me practice, practice, and practicing some more. Peter J. Carroll says that 'sheer bloody-mindedness' helped him pull through when he did his magical groundwork. Good quality to have.

If I could have stubbornness, I could get rid of laziness. How did you get it?

 

[HoldAll]

thank you,, my visualization is usually far away from me, how is it with you?

For example, I visualize it as if it is not in front of my eyes, but as if it is in a distant place, even if I zoom in, it zooms in the upper layer of my brain that I use, it's a bit interesting, I can't explain it, but in general it is not close
It seems close, but it feels far away

I haven't tried formal visualisation yet, it's the stereotypical 'LBRP + meditation' for me that everybody recommends. The pentagrams have become much sharper and the colours much brigther but I still wait for the archangels to assume some shape on their own without me interfering with some preset ideas of how they look. Apart from that, no exercises for me in that field yet.

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

If I could have stubbornness, I could get rid of laziness. How did you get it?

I guess I was born with it. Like a child constantly screaming "Gimme, gimme!" despite it's moms persistent refusal to oblige. Not very mature but it works for me.

 

[Blackrose00]

I haven't tried formal visualisation yet, it's the stereotypical 'LBRP + meditation' for me that everybody recommends. The pentagrams have become much sharper and the colours much brigther but I still wait for the archangels to assume some shape on their own without me interfering with some preset ideas of how they look. Apart from that, no exercises for me in that field yet.

I understand, but I have the same situation when even the old clock visualizes it, do you know anything about it?

Post automatically merged: Apr 11, 2024

I guess I was born with it. Like a child constantly screaming "Gimme, gimme!" despite it's moms persistent refusal to oblige. Not very mature but it works for me.

can continue to be used as long as it is useful

 

[Promise]

The GOM books, "Success Magick", and "Mystical Words of Power" have rituals directly aimed at increasing perception.

 

[Blackrose00]

The GOM books, "Success Magick", and "Mystical Words of Power" have rituals directly aimed at increasing perception.

Do you have the pdf?

 

[HoldAll]

Do you have the pdf?

This forum has quite a sophisticated search function, just go to Book Shares and search the Library for the titles, we have both these books here.

 

[Blackrose00]

I looked for it but I couldn't find it, I'll try again.

This forum has quite a sophisticated search function, just go to Book Shares and search the Library for the titles, we have both these books here.