Subject: Re: I want power From: woody@alumni.caltech.edu (William Edward Woody) Date: Sat, 01 Feb 1997 01:56:31 -0800 Message-ID: "diana202@tld.net"@tld.net wrote: > I recently became involved in using magic and performing rituals etc., > but I want to know/understand if I have power to do this, and if i do, > how do I know? I really want to get involved into magic and want to HAVE > POWER! Power to do what? It's not a facitious question, you know. It depends on what you want to use with your power. There are several times of power, by the way. There is the power to gain money, material accumulation, status, wealth, the ability to live in a nice house, practice philanthropy, and support a favorite cause or two. But the best way to do *that* is to get a better paying job. There is the power to influence people, pursuade dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people, drawing them into your sphere of influence, leading them in a different direction and into a purer form of light and enlightenment. But who really in their right mind wants the responsibility of having to wipe so many people's mental asses? And then there is the power to raise the dead, travel through time, levitate heavy magical objects, and materialize glowing lights and fireballs and create or destroy matter and energy itself. But outside the context of AD&D, it's all bullshit. Except for glowing lights--but only if the flashlight holds out. No, the true power that most Ceremonial Magicians play with, that most Wiccans try to invoke, that many Pagans practice and Yogi Gurus exercise is the transformative power to improve yourself, get in touch with your Soul, and expand your mindful awareness of the world around you. Sorry to disappoint, I guess: I think many people that are drawn to magic want to perform magic tricks. And the only trick any magical path will teach you is how to live your life to it's fullest. Which, when you think about it, ain't half bad. - Bill -- William Edward Woody - In Phase Consulting - woody@alumni.caltech.edu http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~woody