You have to realize two things. First, Fake it till you make it. AKA assume its working, till you can feel it and see it, and imagine it. Basically, it takes at least 21 days to start opening those channels. Just doing it, repeatedly with no expectations. Play around ( thats another key). Have fun while doing it, and treat it like method acting. Doing it is the greatest help I can give you ( really ). Start simple, really simple. Just do the flow exercise for 15-20 minutes a day, laugh out loud and connect your breath and then do it. Imagine what it would be like if you did feel it, and see it... and keep going deeper and deeper into the breathing... and relaxing. Eventually, and not that long, you will feel it.

Also of course, http://andriehvitimus.com/bootcamp will help too, if you can make it :)

I haven't read the entire book, just skimmed through and used it as a resource depending on what I'm doing, and it proves to be a great resource :) I was just saying that drawing the pentagram probably doesn't have much to do with the games not that the games don't help with constructing a banishing ritual... I was merely not trying to be misleading, I should have stated that I did not know if the exercise could be incorporated into the games or not b/c i forgot what games are in there ;) But the games I saw listed were the ball exercise and such, unless all the exercises were to be considered games as well. I wasn't trying to dis your book or lead anyone astray either, I was just trying to give some advice in relevance to things I do. I thought practicing drawing the pentagram with the IEAOU mantra would be good to practice both image and sound concentration while also giving the student a tool needed for banishing, two birds one stone. In either case I didn't mean to offend you or your book, I was just trying to offer a suggestion for meditative practice and addressing the concern for mind control and banishing before proceeding into other work.

Love you Andrieh

- Chaodiscordia

Mind control is certainly where I'm starting first. I know how powerful the psychology of NLP can be, and even with simply that it's easy to mess oneself up in ways that will take serious time and effort to fix, and that's without evoking or invoking anything at all. So, wisdom declares: start from the beginning and have patience! (Yeah, that's a big step for me.. :P)

I'm eager to get into the energy manipulation games, though one of my biggest initial hurdles will be learning what it feels like so that I can be sure whether anything I do succeeds or fails. I've known many people in my life who seem to just have an innate or otherwise well-developed perception of energy, but I don't have it and due to the nature of the beast, no one can teach me.. so my confidence suffers. The focus granted by mental control will help, so again, baby steps. If, and I suppose it's a big if, I master energy manipulation to my own satisfaction, then I can follow through the rest of HOCM steadily and with resolve. Any hints or tips on energy perception would be very appreciated.

Chaodiscordia,

There are most certainly banishing rituals in HOCM, multiple banishing rituals. The GPR is really just one metaphor for banishing, not the end all be all.

The games provided foundational training for what is needed before you can do a banishing ritual, effectively. What do the games provided? Fun energy training. Focus. Intention training, Visualization, Sensory training and more. Essentially, the games build the foundational skills to effectively use and do a banishing with potency. So Chaosdiscordia, I will firmly say you are WRONG about the banishing rituals not being incorporated into the games, many of the games are foundational materials which allow you to get a banishing ritual to work powerfully and effectively.

Have you read the book Chaosdiscordia, last time I talked you you had not.

It won't be incorporated in the games. It will help you prepare for learning a banishing ritual. Banishing rituals are a must for magic. The GPR consists of 4 pentagrams about you and focusing on 5 points within the body. Learning a banishing ritual does many things, it puts the magcian in a state of gnosis faster than any other means, clears a space for ritual and other magics, cleanses and strengthens the aura and is used to banish/ward any psychic energies that might assail you. Also, a banishing ritual can be used at any time to practice mind control and keep fresh.

If you are serious about wanting to get into magic, an effective banishing ritual is one of the first things that must be learned, after some decent mind control is obtained.

Hi Aimee my name is Andres, I'm from nyc just joined the forum too. Reading your post reminded me of me since I also read HCOM first followly through before starting the exercise so I completely understand where your coming from. Today I embark on this new adventure. Like you I really have a hard time staying grounded. Would love to hear what works for you and vice versa. Chaosdiscordia thats a very interesting meditation. However how could I incorporate that with the games in the book?? Well best of luck to both of you in all your endeavours look forward to discussing and growing with you all. Cheers

Draca,

You mentioned having a racing mind and such and that meditation was difficult. What exercises have you been using? Have you made it habit to do meditations daily?

Mind control is no easy task starting off, it takes practice, practice, practice.... more practice... and ummmmmm.... practice.

Set some time aside every day, take a half hour a day and practice relaxation techs. Focus on your breathing and relaxing your entire body. Let yourself become the passive observer as your subconscious manifest in front of you. You'll get a world of understanding from that.

After doing that for a while start practicing mind control, take a half hour a day to focus on image/sound concentration. Do it Everyday. Set aside a week for meditations then take a break for a day if need be. If you want to kill two birds with one stone I would recommend doing this exercise.

Sit comfortably and get into a relaxed state of mind, visualize your mind drawing a bright white pentagram infront of you. Start drawing the pentagram from the lower left hand corner. As you draw the first segmant of the pentagram vibrate I (eeeeeee), the second, E (ehhhhhh), third A (Ahhhhhh), fourth O (Ohhhhhhh), Last U (Urrrrrrrr) in one long breath. The vibrations can be done internally or out loud.... or practice both to get a feel for each.
After you have drawn the last segmant of the pentagram try to hold the pentagram in your minds eye as long as possible. When the image begins to fade redraw it as stated above and try to hold it again. Devote a half hour or as long as you can to this exercise. Practicing this exercise will you help you with image/sound concentration as well as preparing you to learn the GPR (Gnostic Pentagram Ritual). If you don't already know about the GPR is a very common Banishing Ritual used by chaos magicians. The GPR can be found in the book LIBER KAOS. After practicing the above exercise and learning the GPR you should find that you will have much more control over your mind and energy.

I saw that you already went through HOCM. That is some feat... I still find it to be intimidating, its so huge. But I've used it for a resource sense I purchased the book and it has a lot of awesome stuff in there. Sense you already went through the book I can not advise you enough to make sure you start the exercises from the beginning and move to the back. Until you have perfected a banishing ritual it can be very dangerous to your mental health to pursue other adventures in magic.

Good Luck to You :)

Chaodiscordia

Heh heh.

I'm about two hours north of Minneapolis/St. Paul, but that's a fairly easy field trip. Once I make a bit of progress on the personal front I'd definitely be interested in attending events, if you do decide to plan some for the area... cost permitting.

Unfortunately I don't know anyone else nearby that might be interested in such. My two best friends are deeply spiritual, but walk a different magical path, so I'm not sure this kind of thing is up their alley.

Well, Minnesota, At least St. Paul, is on my list of places to try to get classes going. In person, I am even more powerful :), with a little work and elbow grease on the ground, I am sure you can know what in person classes would bring to the table if I got out there in person. Think about it for a few moments or as much as youd like, what could you learn in person, what could you gain by this happening, in how many ways and how quickly would you positive change and manifest new components of the life you want :)

I definitely need on the ground people to make the in person visits happen. St. Paul is where the Llewellyn headquarters is and Id like to do stuff out there ( if you are out there :)

I do see why, of course, but I don't regret reading it through anyway. ;) To be frank, your book has given me the drive to get serious about my practice where all other literature has failed, and for that I'm more than grateful. I have been reading other recommended source materials on chaos and high magic, and I've realized that if I hadn't read your book through and understood it, I wouldn't be able to fully understand the other literature I've been reading on the subject. Ovayki truly is "the book I wished I'd had", and I salute you for its creation.

I plan on keeping a close eye on the forum, no matter how slow it may appear.
Good fortune in all your ventures!

P.S. I hope very much that the lucid dreaming group that's been talked about here is still going somewhere! I'd dearly love to be a part of that sometime in the future.

Well I love the fact you are going through it a second time ( and you can see why I recommended not reading it through).

Thanks for gettting the book. The forums are a little slow right now, but well make sure to keep. :)

-AV