9

Signal Clarity

108-38

p. 109

"There are generally two different kinds of cultural approaches to being able to connect with Spirit, the spirits ... . One could refer to them as the shamanic approach and the yogic approach. The shamanic approach is to use

altered states of consciousness ... . ...

{Such so-called "altered states of consciousness" are (in all forms of traditional shamanry) primarily dreams. This method is praevalent amongst classless societies, such as Siberians and Amerindians.}

The yogic approach is longer and slower".

{This method is praevalent in class-ruled societies, such as Han (China, as Taoism) and Bharata (India). It is so slow because it is not intended to produce usable results -- because any results could be employed to overthrow class-rule.}

"Modern spirit workers refer to the relative ability to see, hear, and generally sense nonphysical presences as

signal clarity.

{a term borrowed, recently, from radio-electronics}

Some people are born with better-than-normal signal clarity; others gain it as a result of specific practices (or sometimes

severe physical trauma such as a near-death experience).

{This is quite misleading : a typical near-death experience involveth no physical damage to the body, but quite an emotional shock.}

Many religions, especially in Asia, have codified elaborate long-term procedures in order to increase signal clarity."

"modern Neo-Pagan subcultures tend to lean toward the explanation that we are all born with wonderful signal clarity and it's ... disbelieving parents -- who suppress it".

{Such a so-called "Neo-Pagan" fallacy is really a "Neo-Capitalist-Stooge" trickery, for the class-enemy is constantly engaged in tricking families (especially different generations of a family) to turn against themselves -- another instance of this trickery is the capitalist-promoted deceit known as Freudism, which causeth generations of a family to suspect each other of harbouring secret intents to murder each other. Such are typical capitalistic divide-and-conquer schemes.}

p. 110

"For some, animal products

{so usually alleged in Bharata}

and grains

{so alleged in Han}

dulled their signal clarity;

for others, it helped.

{so alleged in Vama-acara Tantra}

Some felt that the animal products ... were grounding, but [that] they needed that grounding or they'd be overwhelmed."

{so alleged in the Holy Order of MANS (a word meaning 'flesh-meat' in Vaidik Samskr.ta)}

""Heavy" foods such as meat, fish, eggs, root vegetables, starchy vegetables, mushrooms ... are said to ... dull the subtle senses.

{tamas gun.a}

Spicy ... foods, strongly flavored vegetables ... are said to promote an overactive ... mindset.

{rajas gun.a}

... someone trying to refine the subtle sense is advised to eat ... fruit; mild ... vegetables; most dairy products (... yogurt ..., but not cheese)".

{sattva gun.a}

"The shamanic Eightfold Path includes

the Path of Breath ...,

["the fourfold breath" (p. 119)]

the Path of Ritual,

"the process of ritual creates a "groove"" (p. 120)]

the Path of Rhythm,

["music" (p. 121)]

the Ascetics's Path,

["fasting" (p. 123)]

the Path of the Flesh (sexual techniques),

the Ordeal Path,

["the Lakota Sun Dance, ... the Hindu kavadi ceremony" (p. 133)]

the Path of Sacred Plants, and

the Path of ... spirit possession".

p. 122

[quoted from Igjukarjuk, Inuit shaman (NVIWE, pp. 116-7)] "When I was a shaman, I chose ... suffering through hunger and suffering through cold. First I hungered ... and was then allowed to drink ... warm water; the old ones say that only if the water is warm will Pinga and Hila {2 Inuit deities} notice the novice {including that the novice hath just fasted} and help him."

(He fasted for periods of 5 & 15 & 10 days.)

{These lengths of fasts would be long enough in such a cold climate, where body-fat must be used up continually by the body in order to maintain adequate bodily warmth.}

p. 124

"Devout Hindus may refrain from food on certain days of each week, depending on the Gods {and/or Goddesses} they wish to honor : they fast

on Monday for Shiva and Parvati,

on Thursday for Lakshmi,

on Saturday for Hanuman".

"the Order of the Horae {Horai 'Seasons'} has an "ancestral fasting" that involves certain sacred foods ..., such as eggs for Ostara or grains for Lammas; one "fasts" from those foods for three days before the astronomical holiday and then celebrates by eating them on the marked day.

... in Lukumi, Oshun's children will not eat pumpkin because it is one of their mother's favorite foods."

{Is this refraint maintained only under saecular, non-caerimonial circumstances? It would be reasonable for them to eat (as eucharist) the food of their goddess so that the goddess can eat it by means of [being in] their bodies -- for the deities typically have so little contact with the material world that they need to be in a person's body (and/or soul, mind, spirit) in order to sense anything of the material world.} {It is commonplace in spirit-possession cults (including African ones) for the deity-possessed spirit-medium to be fed the favorite food of the possessing-deity.}

"Once you learn to separate your thinking self from the chattering {or howling of a "howler monkey"} of the monkey mind,

{"The monkey represents interruption (distraction) and its black colour, the mental factor of Scattering." ("MICAR")} {The said separation is achieved when ("DC-A9SA") "the monkey leaves the elephant and now squats behind the monk in complete obeisance."}

you will find yourself better able to concentrate in mundane life".

{Actually, the avowed function of these rather sophisticated Bodish s`amatha techniques is mainly to obtain divine visions of deities -- not to cope with mere mundane life, which is instead to be retreated away from. Ordinary mundane life is generally regarded as manifestation of the "monkey mind" : "to be stuck with that monkey in both its mundane and deeply painful forms." ("ME&M")}

"called "going under the cloak"; mystics would actually wrap themelves in a large woolen cloak ... for hours or even days at a time."

{"Muh[.]ammad was wrapped in a cloth and a pillow was placed under his head when a revelation came." ("MR&L")} {There was in <arabia also "Ibn Sayyad, who, like Muhammad, wrapped himself in a cloak, recited inspired verses, and claimed to be the apostle of God." ("HM10.1", citing "IST")}

p. 135

"LSD is producced from ergot fungus, while

MDMA manufacture begins with sassafras oil".

p. 136

("EA") "I had woken up in the void where nothing existed, had ever existed, or would exist in the future. ... Time stretched of so far into the future that it no longer existed; past, present, and future were one."

"the sacred plants ... will force open

the doors of the mind

{or rather, the doors of perception}

and enable psychic powers. Traditional spirit workers, however, will tell you that such openings occur only with the aid of the plant spirit, and only if that spirit has already made its will known beforehand, and all the proper offerings are made. Usually an experienced practitioner who already has these alliances will discern whether the plant spirits will extend their aid to the novice and [the experienced practitioner will] make the proper ceremonial introductions."

10

Solo Divination

139-49

"Some fortune-tellers are talented enough in their own way, but they haven't ever {been} asked {by clients} anything more supernatural than "Is my boyfriend cheating on me?" or "Will I go to jail {gaol} for this?"

{In Neo-Platonic (and Gnostic) jargon, a reader of praeternatural imprints who is dealing only in mortals' relations with other mortals is designated a "psychic", while a reader who is dealing in relations between mortals and deities is designated a "pneumatic". (Non-readers, who can do neither, are known as "hylics".)}

If you really have a connection beginning with Gods or spirits, and if you really have a reader with a good "spirit phone," it's not unusual for the Deity or spirit in question to appear to the reader[-pneumatic] and start telling him or her what to say to you. This can be upsetting and disconcerting to a reader[-pneumatic] who has never had this happen before {viz., one who hath hitherto functioned merely as a reader-psychic}."

"someone ... approaches you out of nowhere and says, "God X told me that he has a message for you."

While this has been known to happen,

{For example, several persons independently approached Julius Caesar and told him that they had a message from the Deities warning him about the upcoming Ides of March.}

it is rare, and

{If could not happen, without being expected, to a spiritualist practitioner, because that practioner would have been told about the upcoming message, and upcoming messenger, by his or her own divine spirit-guide.}

most instances thereof stem from the other person's ... issues. ...

{The "other person's ... issues" could include the messenger's having misidentified the intended addressee of the message -- the message having been intended (by the deity/spirit sending it) instead for a family-member (or close friend) of the messenger.}

In our experience, personal divine messages generally come unwittingly {as serendipitous co-incidences to be taken as omens} from people you already know well, not from ... strangers ... . (In fact, when reputable spiritual practitioners get a message for someone they barely know and who is not actually a client {or, or course, a disciple}, ...

they should file it for future information and ... It may be that a better opportunity to pass it on may come in the future, or

{until after the addressee of the message shall have become a client, disciple, or colleague}

perhaps it should be passed on to another practitioner."

{The message could be appropriately passed on to a practioner who hath the addressee of the message as client.}

"An Iyalocha ... is not going to give you the details of how a cowrie reading works, and a Babalao ["priest trained to read the Table of Ifa ... divination"] is not going to go into lenghty explanations of the various pataki[-]s [stories] that may be connected with a particular reading. However, there's a difference between professional discretion -- keep in mind that many of the details of how to perform these divinations are oathbound secrets -- and a refusal to explain how the various taboos and requests they are seeing apply to you."

p. 147

"If you know how to psychically shield, you should do so before walking into the space of any readers you do not know. You don't know what has shown up in their magical space and may still be hanging around ... . Experienced readers should be able to pull down information for someone regardless of their personal shielding; their supposed to be reading your destiny, not your aura ... . ... (If you don't know how to shield, ... recommends the book Spiritual Protection : A Safety Manual for Energy Workers, Healers, and Psychics, by Sophie Reicher ... . ...)"

p. 147

If you have no aversion to Christian iconography ... Saint Michael the Archangel holy card or medal and carrying it with you ... . ...)"

{If, however, one be a devotee of Chinese religion, St. Michael the dragon-slayer would be the worst of all possible choices; for in Chinese religions we are are expected to be defended by benevolent and holy dragons from infidel fiends such as foreign-devil Christians and their impious cohorts.}

"Facade.com offers a number of automated divinations -- the I Ching, runes, tarot, and various other systems."

{This could provide accurate divinations only if spirits residing in that website are consenting to do so.}

11

Silence and Faith

150-6

"modern Neo-Paganism is very much an experiential religion with no doctrinal barrier on who is allowed to have divine connections. Unlike faiths in which the majority of people are expected never to be touched by the Holy Powers but to believe in them anyway, most Neo-Pagan sects enthusiastically tout that anyone can get to the point of ... doing effective magic, and connecting with Deities. We can all be mystics and [spirit-]mediums if we only give it a try".

p.

#

reason

151

1.

"You could if you tried, but you're not trying hard enough."

2.

"You're afraid of what might happen if the Gods spoke to you."

3.

"Your psyche ... is ... to the point that your subtle senses have been blocked".

152

4.

"Your natural inborn ... energetic "wiring" is not able to sense things in this way."

5.

"It is your life's destiny this time around {i.e., this lifetime, or incarnation} to concentrate on the physical world".

153

6.

"It is you life's destiny this time around {i.e., this lifetime, or incarnation} to make your own decisions, without help or advice from Spirit."

7.

" It is you life's destiny this time around {i.e., this lifetime, or incarnation} to learn to keep faith in the face of divine silence and to model that faith to others who find themselves facing an unresponsive Universe."

"The Yoga Sutras make disapproving references to supernatural powers gained by ... yogis".

{The true rationale for such "disapproving references" is that many membres of the materialistic nobility would be jealous or hostile to any yogin-s (or yogini-s) who would display any such powers; therefore in order to remain safe from the materialistic rich, any person actually possessing transcendental power would be advised to conceal such power, and even to feign to derogate any such power.}