Limiting Beliefs?

[NeutralLion]

I am new to all information relating to magic, and from what I gather, belief plays an important role. I suspect that I have many of them. Is there any point to or any benefit derived from practicing magic without belief? How do I go about identifying and dismantling each belief in a practical and systematic step-by-step formula?

 

[Beyond Everything]

This is actually an enormous topic that isn't much touched upon because most occultists know very little outside of memetic tropes passed down by other people of questionable esoteric merit.

Beliefs aren't just beliefs. They are thoughtforms on the individual level, and they can hook one up to egregoric 'streams'. These can be very limiting factors. These are real energies that impact one's entire complex.

Introspection is a must. Altered states of consciousness are useful for ferreting out beliefs. Again, these are real energies and can be treated and dispensed with as such.

Ideally, one's beliefs should come about not from books, orders, or the emotionalized pressures of egregores (ie, religion) but from direct, clean perceptions of higher dimensions and working out an individualistic practical regimen.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

The way I look at it, belief is how you access the mechanism of magic. You have to alter your viewpoint at such a fundamental level to match up with your successful outcome, that the interface that you use for this is belief. The key is that you are trying to reprogramme your unconscious mind, where the changes occur, but the intent has to begin in the conscious mind.

As they say in chaos magic, it doesn't matter what the belief is, as long as you believe it. Why else would such a wide range of different magical systems have equal amounts of success?

 

[dandadan]

The way I look at it, belief is how you access the mechanism of magic. You have to alter your viewpoint at such a fundamental level to match up with your successful outcome, that the interface that you use for this is belief. The key is that you are trying to reprogramme your unconscious mind, where the changes occur, but the intent has to begin in the conscious mind.

As they say in chaos magic, it doesn't matter what the belief is, as long as you believe it. Why else would such a wide range of different magical systems have equal amounts of success?

That makes sense. It’s really the belief and intention that matter most, not the specific system. If you truly believe, it seems anything can work.

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I'm also new to magic, so I get where you're coming from. I think personal conviction definitely helps with maintaining focus and intention, but even if your belief isn’t perfect, results can still happen.

As for dismantling beliefs, I guess the best way is to start paying attention to what thoughts come up, question if they’re true, and then try to replace doubts with more positive ones. It’s a gradual process, but I think awareness and practice are key.

 

[NeutralLion]

Introspection is a must. Altered states of consciousness are useful for ferreting out beliefs. Again, these are real energies and can be treated and dispensed with as such.

I was already under the assumption that introspection was necessary for identifying beliefs, but what about replacing them? Will old beliefs simply fall away with enough investigation or spiritual experiences? Or is there a formula to cut them out precisely and intentionally? If these are real energies, can they be dealt with by a third-party, or must this be done internally by each individual affected?

As for dismantling beliefs, I guess the best way is to start paying attention to what thoughts come up, question if they’re true, and then try to replace doubts with more positive ones. It’s a gradual process, but I think awareness and practice are key.

This is the bit I'm stuck on. If beliefs are real thoughtform energies, is it really as simple as paying attention to thoughts/questioning them, using mental reframes and positive affirmations? If so, it sounds like a grueling and very long process. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to me.

The way I look at it, belief is how you access the mechanism of magic. You have to alter your viewpoint at such a fundamental level to match up with your successful outcome, that the interface that you use for this is belief. The key is that you are trying to reprogramme your unconscious mind, where the changes occur, but the intent has to begin in the conscious mind.

As they say in chaos magic, it doesn't matter what the belief is, as long as you believe it. Why else would such a wide range of different magical systems have equal amounts of success?

So basically, use magic in such a way that the mechanism/system aligns with my current beliefs? You are probably correct and I thank you for your insight; I am only disappointed by how restrictive that sounds.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

So basically, use magic in such a way that the mechanism/system aligns with my current beliefs? You are probably correct and I thank you for your insight; I am only disappointed by how restrictive that sounds.

Not really - the point of chaos magic is that you manipulate your belief system to match up with the successful outcome of your intent. The simplest kind of belief is that you are a magician who can achieve your goals. You have to get a bit meta about all this