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The Self as Metaprogrammer


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The Self as Metaprogrammer (magick)

Chris Arkenberg (LVX23) April 2004

The human brain is not a static computing device merely receiving and processing information acquired by its sensoria but, rather, it is a dynamic and plastic network of neural centers, each specialized to handle specific tasks, coordinated with each other through a continuously changing array of associative connections between hundreds of billions of neural cells. (Readers are encouraged to look through "The Self & It's Brain" by Karl Popper & John Eccles for exhaustive studies of neuronal plasticity in associative networks and their implications for consciousness.) While the various regions of the brain are shared by all humans, and the functions of those regions are essentially the same in each of us, the connections between them and the intangible interface which integrates experience between our senses and our mind is absolutely unique to each individual. Genetic predisposition, early imprints, and life experiences each contribute to the ever-evolving construct of the individual. And behind it all in the secret center of our mind, resides the self, absolutely intangible but undeniably real, stringing together the momentary snapshots of the sensoria, creating our sense of time and guiding the processes of mind in accord with its will. But while many may never question the way their mind and brain color their world, others seek to elevate the self to the level of meta-programmer and actively break the bonds of belief to rewire the associative network of the brain and its mind. Many tools exist for such a task, including the archaic techniques of shamanism, the use of psychedelic compounds, and the canon of western esoterica commonly known as magick. By employing these and other methods it is possible to directly modify the physiology of the brain and reprogram the mind in accord with the ideals of the self. (Please note that this paper is not intended to present a reductionist or mechanistic view of consciousness. The visionary experiences of shamanism and the phenomenology of magick are far more profound and ineffable than if they were simply side effects of metabolism.)

Neuropsychology - the physiology of mind

The human brain is exceedingly complex. We know much about it, but what we know is very little compared to what we don't know. The mind is far more amorphous and slippery, often evading attempts by science to pin it down. Indeed, most neuroscientists adhere to the convenient convention of never addressing consciousness because it always confounds the data. Or rather, it usually fails to generate consistent, reproducible results. The mind remains the domain of psychology, philosophy, and metaphysics. Yet even more elusive and intangible is the vague concept of "the self".

The self is like the secret chief of the sentient human. It is the innermost core of the self-conscious mind - the impulse behind the thought to move one's arm. Like some discarnate analyst, the self watches the roiling surface of mind, focusing its attention on what it reads from the immense neural activity of the brain. In this manner it filters the flood of data to focus on what it needs to satisfy its intention. Moment to moment the self takes filtered snapshots of the brain, stringing them together into the perception of time seemingly unique to humans. The experience of time then is like watching a movie of the brain's electromagnetic processes. The self gives us identity and history, as well as the capacity to plan for and predict the future. While it remains ultimately indefinable and, at its core, may be completely without substance or dimension, our common experience of the self is one of concrete identity, wrapped in our mental clothing and bound to the physiology of our corporeal incarnation.

For humans, uniqueness is not merely the phenotypic expression of their DNA. Our physical appearance is indeed a unique identifier for just about all of us, but what really makes us who we are, what defines the self of each individual, is the mind. We are each an impossibly unique summation of biology, environment, experience, chance & circumstance defining the physiology of our brains and the topology of our mental processes. We have thoughts & memories, beliefs, dreams, chemical signatures and genetic predispositions among a myriad of other complex influences. In the spirit of convenience, we can define these influences by 3 levels: the genetic, the imprint, and the experiential.

At the genetic level, genes predetermine the physical structure and underlying metabolism of neural centers. Thus, one person may have an overactive hypothalamus, another a deficiency of serotonin, and a third an extra sensitive limbic system. Such structural differences could also have been the result of inappropriate diet or exposure to toxins in the formative years of infancy or, earlier, in the womb passed from the habits or oversights of the mother. But the physiology of the individual is the foundation of everything else and any variations will establish a unique template upon which the self is constructed. The next level could be regarded as the imprint level - the very early experiences of infancy such as the degree of physical love given by the parents, experiences to which the child was exposed, and the types of symbols and tools introduced into its world. The bridge between this layer and the experiential layer is language, which, once acquired, will radically alter the way the mind interfaces with the world. The experiential level is formed by the accumulation of life experiences as perceived and classified by the person as they grow and live. This level is perhaps the most intangible and convoluted as it is informed by the genetic and imprint levels, as well as the ongoing feedback loop of experience. These factors ensure that life for one will never be identical to another. For example, the same event may be perceived very differently by someone with a genetic chemical deficiency, an unloving parent, and a past characterized by abuse than by someone with a relatively standard psychogenetic profile. Similarly, someone with a typical genome and caring parents could gradually be changed from a playful & cheery child into a cold and lonely adult depending upon the types of associations made within their brain as they respond to the circumstances of life. The person could witness the brutal death of the loving parent and re-associate that love with suffering and loss. In an instant their world might change from a kind and happy place to one of loneliness and darkness as the brain rewires itself to cope with the tragedy of loss.

The Brain

The brain is a collection of neuronal bundles - groups of cells differentiated to handle specific aspects of neural processing. The cerebellum regulates autonomic functions like the beating of the heart and respiration. The thalamus is the master controller for the body's hormonal network. The occipital lobe processes visual information while the temporal lobe houses the speech and language centers. The hippocampus stores and retrieves memory and the limbic system adds emotional content to everything. As previously stated each of the bodies within the brain is present in every person, though they often differ in physiology to some degree. But more important to the uniqueness of the self are the connections between these bodies and the way that experiences move within the brain and are colored by each processor.

Microscopic pictures of the brain, particularly clumps of brain cells, reveal a ridiculous organic mess akin to a plate of spaghetti tumbled in a washing machine. This wild disorder is testament to the plasticity of brain cells: they are constantly making new connections with other cells, terminating old connections, and even arcing back on themselves. A single neuron may make over a thousand connections. Indeed, in a mass of 100 billion neurons the number of possible connections between them is more than the number of atoms in the known universe. This is how the human brain is so incredibly capable of dealing with amazingly complex situations and calculations: it is constantly rewiring itself to make new connections, to update its hardware to better adapt to and solve novel situations and problems.

Mind

The complexity of the brain grows exponentially when we place mind as the mediator between experience and neurophysiology. If the brain is the product of genetics, imprints, and experiences, then so too is the mind. Mind and its psychological complexes - such as Freud's psyche and Jung's collective unconsciousness, our identity and beliefs, as well as our plans, goals, and dreams - is a dynamic evolving construct informed by every facet of our existence. As a perceiving, self-aware organism we channel all the information of our senses through the brain and into the evaluative processes of the mind. Mind is the operating system running on the hardware of the brain. But unlike silicon computers, the software of the mind alters the hardware of the brain. Experience and how it is received by the individual determines the evolving structure within neural bodies, as well as the associative connections made between them. Mind is like an abstraction layer sitting on top of the electromagnetic fields generated by the brain's neurochemistry. The mind is focused to sift through the vast amount of data generated by neural processes, evaluating and cataloging that data and picking out the bits that it deems important to the current situation or query. This disembodied aetheric wave then enacts its will upon the physiology of the brain, modifying the chemistry and physiology of the neural substrate in accord with its goals. It can be as simple as moving the arm, or as complex as composing a symphony. This is how the adaptive computational abilities of the mind grow in response to the world in which the organism is embedded. We analyze the data, consider a response, extrapolate the results into various models and outcomes, and then induce the body to action. The outcome of the action is then recorded and compared to the projected models. As this process repeats, learning occurs and the associative connections - the physical nerve fibers arcing between various bodies of the brain - are strengthened.

The initial perception of fire is one of color, warmth, awe, and wonder. Touch it and those associations quickly change to include pain and damage to the organism. With the shock of sudden pain the internal representation of "fire" has been modified and updated to better fit the external experience. Not only does the brain now include pain in its internal representation, but also a host of emotional content relative to the experience. Did Mom tell you to stay away from the fire but you disobeyed and touched it anyway? Desire, embarrassment, betrayal by the warm colors, fear - for humans, associating emotional content with an experience is like a tag which makes memories stronger and more readily retrievable, better enabling the individual to deal with the world.

Emotional associations are strong defining features of the individual. They determine how we react to people, places, events, colors, sounds, everything. Even to our own thoughts, our own physiology. They are the lenses through which we view the world. The critical point to understand with respect to our thesis is that these associations are rooted in physiology and are not static. They can be willfully modified and changed, affecting the actual physiology of the brain by modifying connections within and between neural bodies. We are programmable. We are constantly being programmed every day by our perceptions, our experiences, what we eat and drink, our music, our movies and television, the people we encounter, even a single word or symbol has the capacity to affect physiological change deep within our brains, subtly altering the associative network of consciousness. Indeed, language (as we will discuss later) is perhaps the most powerful program we know.

Metaprogramming - becoming the mind you want to be

Most of us will live our lives without much consideration of these ideas, content to exist as semi-automatons, acting & reacting based on genetics and imprints and the accumulated experiences of our lives without ever questioning these habitual responses to our world. In spite of the brain's ongoing updates, the perceptions and beliefs of most people will change little after about 30 years of age, barring some sudden traumatic or visionary experience which disrupts their ingrained view of things enough to allow the brain to rewire a new way of seeing the world. Yet the hardware of the brain and the software of the mind is open source. We can each become mind programmers - metaprogrammers - actively rewiring our beliefs and associations towards whatever goal we may have. This is no new revelation and there are many techniques, both modern and archaic, for breaking the mold of belief and mapping novel associations in the brain.

Shamanism

Shamanism is perhaps a good starting point. Shamen have been subjecting the brain to physical and chemical stressors for millennia, seeking to shatter the boundaries of knowledge and walk between the worlds of the real and imagined. If anything can be said about reality, it's that it only exists in the eye of the beholder. Or rather, behind the eye in the depths of the brain and its mind. The slightest modulation of chemistry will radically alter one's "reality", like the onset of schizophrenia or 150mcg of lysergic acid diethylamide. The shaman understands this malleability of reality and seeks to use it to hir advantage. Trance, dance, pain, hallucinogenic plants, fasting - all of these things can radically alter human physiology. The substrate of mind changes and the shaman's perception of reality is altered allowing hir to view the world through different lenses, to see formerly hidden aspects of self and nature. It's like suddenly having bee vision. Bees are known to see the 3-color RGB spectrum like humans, but they can also see into the ultraviolet bands. Many flowers have special markings only visible in the UV spectrum to attract bees who will then aid in cross-pollination of the flowers. So humans only perceive a specific region of nature, adapted as it is to their unique brand of evolutionary survival. This observable bandwidth is further narrowed by our conditioned beliefs and imposed expectations of what is acceptable data. The shaman seeks to widen the perceptual bandwidth and retrain the mind to see more levels of reality.

To return to our notion of the self as a discarnate interpreter and integrator of complex neurological processes, the effect of shamanic techniques is to present that self with a novel set of data in an attempt to break up the crust of belief that limits the accepted notions of how things ought to be. Although the self is not entirely bound by physiology it nevertheless has a tendency to become rigid and narrow in its conceptual map of how reality should behave, due in large part to the strength of the ego - the ultimate abstraction of the biosurvival mechanism inherent in all creatures. The narrowing of focus establishing the boundaries of the self and its world is strengthened by a feedback loop between the logical and emotional constructs of the mind and the physiological substrate of those constructs as they exist in the brain. The mind, it seems, seeks stability. It seeks order and, most importantly, predictability. We are, after all, organisms trying to survive in a potentially hostile environment so it is a beneficial and adaptive mechanism to create functionally accurate & static maps of the world. As we move through our lives our maps, our expectations, our ingrained responses to events and situations, images and ideas, become more defined and concrete. The human mind wears its belief systems as armor and the techniques of shamanism are ways of breaking through that armor by eroding the fundamental expectations of reality as defined by our beliefs.

Psychedelics

Perhaps the most powerful technique originally pioneered by archaic shamen is the ingestion of psychotropic agents – the "mind manifesting" psychedelics. No other technique short of the experience of near-death seems to work with the same efficacy as psychedelic compounds. These unique molecules, originally produced by plants for some as-of-yet unknown evolutionary function, induce changes in brain chemistry by binding to and modulating the activity of neurons in neural controller bodies like the reticular activating system. These changes in chemistry have profound effects on higher brain centers radically altering the pattern of data presented to the mind. Increased activity in the occipital cortex induces visual hallucinations, sounds take on new depth, the boundaries of self begin to dissolve as the emotive centers become unleashed imbuing the perceived world with a rich depth of meaning and emotion. The initial shock of seeing the world in such a different way can be enough to undermine the currently held belief system with the basic understanding that the world as we normally perceive it is far more rich and malleable than we had thought. The associative network of the brain shudders and can enter a state of uncertainty as the mind attempts to make sense of the visions. It is in this state that it is possible for the self to reprogram those networks, as if the drug were a passkey granting access to the mainframe of the brain.

John Lilly has written much of this ability of psychedelics to induce flexibility in the mind, coining the term "metaprogramming". Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Alexander Shulgin, and other hallucinogenic visionaries & therapists have honored this ability of psychedelics to launch the user into a state of psychological malleability. Indeed, the U.S. investigated these substances as potential mind control agents in the MKULTRA and ARTICHOKE projects but found that they were too unwieldy, and the subjects difficult to control. These diverse agents seem to be keys that induce specific neurochemical profiles like software programs. The program of LSD is unique from the program for Psilocybin which is itself different from DMT. But they all share the common ability to dilute the ego, break down the beliefs held by the mind, and open the brain to potential reprogramming by the self.

Magick

But it’s not enough to simply shake up the physiological foundations of the brain and open the mind to whatever happens to be floating by. Indeed, it can be very dangerous to do so. As shamanism offers a wealth of cultural myths to guide the shaman and give meaning to hir visions, so to does the rich collection of myths, symbols, deities & entities, rites & rituals, commonly known as Magick. For the sake of this discussion the ability of magick to affect the material world will not be addressed here. An entire volume could and has been written on the subject and it remains as elusive as ever. Instead we will focus on the role of magick as a process of self-actualization through the invocation of god forms, mythologies, and symbolism designed to empower the self with the will necessary to reimagine and remodel the individual according to their ideals. As a model, magick is open-ended and encompasses any technique, including the one's we've already discussed, that is useful for transforming the individual. The key is that magick proceeds by will - we are in charge of ourselves and have the capacity to actualize our visions of who we wish to become. As noted, the trick is putting the brain into such a state that it is open to the change.

The canon of western esoterica has contributed the most to the field of magick. Hermetica, Kabbala & Judaica, Egyptian mythology, The Old Testament, Greek & Roman, Norse & Celtic, all western mythologies have contributed in one way or another. In the last century or so, thanks in large part to the work of Aleister Crowley, magick has expanded to include many of the techniques of the eastern path, such as yoga and meditation, and the modern techniques of Chaos Magick have extended the canon even further to include just about anything. But the core of the western path is represented by Alexandria. It was here that the confluence of the Egyptian, Christian, and Judaic schools met and established the Hermetic Philosophy. This foundation established the principle deities, the descriptions of god, and the rites and rituals used to speak with them. These deities were representations of the aspects of external nature and the internal voices solidifying into the elements of the young human psyche. The gods were anthropomorphic embodiments of life's rich collage, and they would avail themselves to their worshippers given the appropriate conjurations and rites. These humanized archetypes offered a way to understand the mysteries of creation and to integrate their secrets into the individual. The stories of their lives and deaths were like plays written about the trials of life and the mysteries hidden within. The myths offered guidance and meaning for a world destined to grow more and more logical under the weight of language and economics.

Mythology

While myths like the resurrection of Christ or the dismemberment of Osiris offered keys to the processes of life, death, and rebirth, the gods themselves embodied archetypes of nature and consciousness that could be invoked into being. The real value of the goddess Isis, whether or not she actually exists in some form, is in the archetype of the earthly mother that she embodies. Invoking her essence - running the program Isis - allows us to understand the archetype of female creator and relate it to ourselves as humans. We feel motherhood, earth, water, womb, form applied to force to create being. We understand the balance of Isis and her husband Osiris as the balance of goddess and god, female & male, form & force - subtle universal concepts sometimes difficult to grasp without this anthropomorphic key. The deities of myth embody universal concepts and the stories in which they appear give us paths by which to engage those concepts and transform ourselves by their integration. We become Isis walking along the Nile trying to find the pieces of her dead husband, Osiris, to bring him back from the grave. The myth of resurrection shows that, out of the ashes we can rebuild ourselves anew in the image of the transcendent gods.

This concept of the resurrection, perhaps best symbolized by the phoenix, is a key to our understanding of magick as a tool to reprogramming the mind and brain. The phoenix is a bird engulfed in fire that rises from the ashes aflame, speaking to the notion of death preceding rebirth. As in the shamanic path and the use of psychedelics, the crust of the psyche and the rigidity of the brain's associative networks must be confronted and challenged, torched and torn down to be rebuilt in the new image. The myths and rituals of magick offer paths to tear down the edifice, and the gods and goddesses act as role models to guide the reconstruction.

Ritual

The networks of the brain are not designed to change at the slightest whim or passing fancy. Nor are the constructs of the psyche. Sudden, radical confrontation can inspire change, as in our phoenix analogy, but so can persistent repetition, like learning to play the piano. We acquire this skill through diligent practice, over and over, slowly rewiring our brain to adapt to the task and integrate the art. Much of eastern mysticism proceeds by this path, like a river slowly wearing down the hardened stone until it is soft and polished. Magickal ritual may employ radical initiations, but for most it is a daily practice that gradually reprograms the practitioner to be more in line with the metaphysics of the path. Anything done regularly and consistently will forge grooves in the brain.

A classic example of a ritual recommended to any serious student of magick is the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. This practice seeks to bring the student into a magickal space by visualizing key metaphysical concepts like the four cardinal directions, the four elements, the symbolism of the pentagram and hexagram, angelic watchtowers, and the notion of creating a protective space within which one can safely engage higher archetypes. Thus, by daily regimen the aspirant becomes more in tune with these concepts, reassociating their worldview to include the magickal and the divine. To return to our meta-programming metaphor, the Ritual of the Pentagram is like a software application running in the OS of the mind. Initially it must be launched by the user every time but gradually, as it modifies the associative networks of the brain to integrate its code, it begins to act like an agent always running in the background re-enforcing itself in everyday consciousness. The program becomes part of the operating system and even part of the hardware.

Language

Inherent in ritual are language and symbolism. Language is the most defining feature of humanity. All else proceeds from our internal symbolic representations of the world. Our language defines our reality, replacing the awed wonder of childhood with the consensual definitions of the culture. Language allows us to analyze and catalog our environment, and to plan and communicate our intentions – it is the code of mind. When we think, we think in words. The words we chose not only reflect the state of our minds, but they affect it as well. Willingly think dark thoughts and your emotions will darken. Words are very powerful – far more so than we realize – and magickal practice can reawaken the individual to the power of words and languages and the symbols that seek to go beyond their limitations.

Language is the interface between reality and mind. It imposes the order of definition on a wholly chaotic mess of inherently random stimuli and, in doing so, ascribes meaning to life. The techniques of magick can empower the words we use by reminding us of their role in programming mind. They can also lead us into new or archaic magickal alphabets laden with rich meaning, which may be lacking in our native tongue. English particularly is a very rational and logical language adept at describing physical systems but not so good at describing emotional abstractions such as love. The role of the poet is to bring art and emotion into the language and adapt it to speak of the ineffable. In this manner a profound poem is more than simply the words of which it is composed. The arrangement of the language becomes a transformational vehicle into the subtle realms of the human experience, normally indescribable by words alone. It is thus apparent that the poet and the mage have a common goal: to sidestep the boundaries of language and logic, tap in to the deeper realms of the human experience, and to return and convey these experiences to the world.

Obviously language offers many possibilities to the metaprogrammer. Reading transformational poetry and literature can affect the mind in pronounced ways. Repetition of words or phrases, engaging specific words and examining their linguistic content and baggage, or changing the way you speak, such as eliminating prepositions, can each alter the way the world and self are perceived. Integrating and speaking in a foreign language can create a very different way of perceiving the world, as the rules governing the linguistic interface are different for each language. Indeed, language is deeply interwoven with culture and geography and each language creates a unique relational map of the world. Consider the underlying logical differences between a Latin alphanumeric language like English and a symbolic character language like Chinese. The mind using one to represent the world is very different from the mind using the other, especially given the historical weight of an ancient language like Chinese.

Ancient languages are common foundations for the esoteric schools. The strongest spiritual systems on the planet are those based on ancient languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, & Sanskrit. Each of these languages created the mindsets of the individuals who contributed the religious myths, and each myth is reflective of the linguistic character through which it was created. And not only do languages create the interface between mind and matter, but the tonal characteristics of the words affects the physiological properties of the person speaking. The intonations of Hebrew god names, for instance, invoke the characteristics of the deity and create a specific sonic resonance within the skull based on the phonetics of the word. These resonances create waves which modify the electromagnetic field of the brain, altering the substrate of mind. In this manner not only are the mythic traits of the deity invoked, but the feeling of the deity is conveyed through the timbre and resonance of the spoken name. This is the basis of the mantra.

Mantra

Mantra is traditionally an eastern creation but it applies well to magick as a metaprogramming technique and is often integrated into western approaches to spirituality. As we’ve seen, words not only hold a definition, but also a sonic signature that resonates through the skull. The mantra capitalizes on both of these features to create meaningful phrases designed to alter brain chemistry and reprogram mind. The classic Tibetan mantra “Om Mane Padme Hum” translates roughly into “I am the jewel in the thousand-petaled lotus of the heart of Shiva”. The definition of the mantra is the linguistic code to be run in the mind. We understand and embrace its meaning and use this as the conscious relationship to the mantra. It means something significant to us and embodies a mystical experience we wish to embrace and integrate. Likewise the words have a distinct phonic signature when spoken. Through repetition the logical definition of the mantra recedes into the subconscious, put to sleep by the gentle cadence and resonance field of its vocalization. Om Mane Padme Hum Om Mane Padme Hum Om Mane Padme Hum. This fragment of code, repeated over and over, calms the torrent of mind and synchronizes the electromagnetic fields of the brain. In this receptive state the meaning of the mantra is internalized, planting seeds of change deep within the subconscious, and deeper within the associative networks of the brain. As the individual returns to baseline consciousness and goes on about their day, the seed germinates. With steady practice, as in the Ritual of the Pentagram, the seed is nourished and grows to affect real change in the consciousness of the individual.

Symbols & Sigils

As we’ve noted language is a very strong force binding us to our cultured perceptions of reality, dominating the internal landscape of mind, so much so that it can become an obstacle to the goals of the metaprogrammer. Logic and rationality, it seems, serve more to re-enforce our conditioned beliefs than allow us to bypass them and change their foundations. The efficacy of foreign languages like Hebrew or Tibetan (foreign to us Anglo devils) is that they lack such rigid definitions as the English tongue. At best we have a translation but in the practice of mantra, the logical meaning of the words must be worn down so that the essence can slip past the constructs of the conscious mind and be embraced by the subconscious. To this end symbolic representation of archetypes, spiritual ideals, personal goals, or any other concept valuable to the metaprogrammer can circumvent the limiting definitions of language and rationality to affect the nonrational layers of the subconscious. Indeed, symbolic representation preceded language and was its precursor, language being the codification of symbolism. It is very old and a very deep and fundamental part of human consciousness. Because symbolism is not restrained by the definitions of language it has been the repository of the ephemeral and indefinable traits of the human experience, particularly emotional and visionary experiences - deeper aspects of the human experience which do not lend themselves well to language.

Though language and symbolism may seem somewhat at odds, Austin Osman Spare created a magickal technique for uniting the two. The intentions and goals of the individual are generally formulated through language, spoken internally in the dialog of the self and its brain. We imagine that we wish to be more disciplined at the gym, for instance, and plan a logical course of action to accomplish this goal. What Spare created was a way to translate the logical conscious intent of the individual into a symbolic subconscious representation: The sigil. A sigil is a symbolic representation of a written intention. “It is my will to be more disciplined at the gym” - a simple metaprogram which can meet much resistance when run in the conscious mind (I’ll do it tomorrow, I’m tired, I have a meeting later, etc…). By isolating the unique consonants of the written intent and rearranging them in a symbolic fashion bearing no coherent resemblance to the words, the intention is encrypted in a visual package designed to fool the conscious mind and slip into the subconscious. Spare postulated many ecstatic techniques, some of which we have discussed here already, for putting the brain into a receptive state. His favorites, probably quite telling of his disposition, were death postures and orgasm. The point is that at the moment of peak exstasis, when the brain has all but shed it’s mind entirely, and the boundaries of the self are shattered in a great limbic shiver, the sigil is stared at and absorbed in 100% concentration. The steady state of the brain is disrupted, the conscious mind is beaten into submission, and the self injects the symbolic intent – the metaprogram – into the subconscious where it can readily rewire the associative networks of the brain.

Symbol, language, myth & ritual - invoked and repeated - form the foundation of the western approach to magick. The process is by no means instantaneous, though shocks and traumas can suddenly jar the individual into a state of gnosis or illumination, but is rather an ongoing path of practice and dedication; an open willingness to give oneself to the higher forms and constructs in hopes that they may become part of the aspirant. It is a process of internalizing and integrating the human maps of spirit and soul, invoking and becoming the idealized god forms of our myths. In doing so, our language takes on new meaning and depth, our mental constructs expand to include the subtle aspects of nature and metaphysics, and the associative networks of the brain change to re-enforce the new mode of behavior.

Mind, Matter, & Magick

It is difficult to discuss the profound metaphysical experiences encountered within shamanic, psychedelic, and magickal practice within the context of neurochemistry without sounding mechanistic. While we can attempt to show some of the physiological processes that underlie such experiences, we can never rely solely on chemistry to explain the depth of these visions and the bizarre synchronicities and seeming violations of physical law that so often attend mystical states of consciousness. Suffice it to say that there appears to be much more going on than we suppose and the boundaries between what we imagine to be “reality”, the mind we use to interact with it, and the individual self that guides us through it all, is likely very thin and tenuous, if real at all. At best, reality is an ever-shifting map of language, emotion, associations, and chemistry, unique to every sensory apparatus in the universe. We each look at creation through our own facet of a single infinitely vast diamond, and the world may simply be the result of this infinitude of observation, nonexistent without consciousness. The only thing that is really real to us right now is what’s going on in our own heads.

In this context we can modify our world on two fronts: physical and mental. Trance, drugs, foods, exertion, breathing, and many other techniques offer ways to alter neurochemistry. By changing the chemistry we change the substrate of mind. Similarly, magick, mythology, language, mantra, symbolism, and sigils, among others, can each affect mental states and influence the associative networks of the brain. The personal goal is to employ these techniques to reprogram the brain in accordance with the will of the self, but the outcome is often far greater. As we embark upon a mystical path and engage the archetypes and mythologies of the spirit, we integrate those ideals bringing them to life through our own actions as individuals. As we work with the rituals and symbols, the god-forms and holy languages, we are drawing spirit into the material world by preserving their teachings, evolving their meaning, and strengthening their ability to engage the human soul.

Metaprogramming offers the individual an opportunity to bring themselves into alignment with myths, philosophies, and archetypes, and integrate the characteristics they wish to be part of themselves. The tools available enable us to break down our conditioning and open our awareness to much more of the world than we are ordinarily allowed to see. In doing so we open the mind to new ways of thinking and perceiving, and encourage the brain to integrate these novel perceptions into its physiology.

The metaprogrammer aims ultimately to effect external change from within, in a sort of meta-metaprogram. (This is the other half of this paper that we’ve chosen to set aside as it would easily double the current length.) Suffice it to say that the magick practiced by an individual does not occur in a vacuum, and the assumed lines of boundary between us and everything else are mere illusion. In a vast field of electromagnetic waves with far more space than matter our flesh is only slightly denser than the air we breathe. The fields of the self & its brain are not confined to the skull and, when focused & amplified by the appropriate set of conditions, can influence the dynamic interference pattern that is existence. Like the macroscopic butterfly effect providing the initial impulse at just the right time to be swept along and iterated into the cyclone, focused ritual can have subtly profound influences on the fields of life and consciousness. In this way the metaprogrammer wields a power of potentially great magnitude and is thus not only responsible for themselves but for the entire web of life.

Human consciousness is the product of evolution and the form it has now is very different from that of 200, 1000, or 50000 years ago. Our minds, our language, and the technologies we produce are intimately bound to one another, progressing in a continual feedback loop as each empowers and limits the other. In the modern age we have seen the mechanism and duality of Descartes and Newton supplanted by relativism and quantum uncertainty. We have broken open the atomic nucleus and harnessed the primal powers within to assemble molecules and destroy nations. We have established a planetary network of communication and information, a digital hive mind archiving culture and extending technology through the global brain. And in making information digital we have produced a simulacrum of reality entirely convincing yet entirely malleable, much like the linguistic maps of belief woven within our minds. When it is impossible to tell the real image from the manufactured image, when the fantasy of myth is brought to life in digital cinema, when information technologies can synthesize anything, then the lines between the real and imagined will have grown very thin indeed. Slowly, the human mind and its culture are inexorably drawing nearer and nearer to a time when imagination is as real as anything else and belief is a faint vestige of the past.

The shaman, the psychonaut, and the metaprogrammer have intuited this inevitability and are setting themselves ahead of the curve. They engage imagination and invoke it into being, shaping mind and matter in the image of heaven. The central goal of the western magickal paradigm is to unite spirit and matter, the macrocosm and the microcosm - to reveal the kingdom of heaven on Earth. We are becoming the gods and goddesses of antiquity, poised on the edge of time, a breath away from hyperspace.

future hi

Edited by Ozrosis
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Damn, you're right. And here I thought I was doing pretty good working my way up to that title with my posts. =( Then again, I wrote all mine.

I wish I could add something salient, or reply in a relevant manner, but I have no clue what is expected - do we ask questions, comment, argue a point? Its just a giant textbook reproduction ... for the reason of...?

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What would you suggest, as a process, to help with the practice of making psi balls? What would be a good procedure to help with this? A good "sigil" for this? Any sites for this sort of thing that I can look at?

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Although it could be argued to the contrary, my time is precious.

Any chance of a brief synopsis? thumbsup.gif

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TheHand:

As you mentioned sigils, heres an article on sigils I found (er, I mean NoName found...). As for making psi balls check out this site.

Loonboy:

All time is free time but what the hey heres a pretty good taster of the rest of the article:

'I've (Chris Arkenberg, not me) written an article on neurology, shamanism, psychedelics, and magick as tools for metaprogramming the brain & mind. Here's an excerpt:

At best, reality is an ever-shifting map of language, emotion, associations, and chemistry, unique to every sensory apparatus in the universe. We each look at creation through our own facet of a single infinitely vast diamond, and the world may simply be the result of this infinitude of observation, nonexistent without consciousness. The only thing that is really real to us right now is what's going on in our own heads.

Edited by Ozrosis
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It's possible but unlikely that only ourselves exist.

I believe that you may be correct in that each of us views existence through our own unique, subjective eyes, and as such has a different experience. Whether this says more about the universe, or ourselves is open to debate.

Thanks for the synopsis. thumbsup.gif

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