THEORY THEORY FOREWORD: The terminology on this site is traditionally associated with religious and spiritual practices not in congruence with the beliefs and ends to be described henceforth. Sever these associations here and now, the historical ties to different groups do not carry over. The nomenclature however is useful for ease of understanding and prevention of writings becoming overly verbose.
The denial of worldly pleasures/frivolities, performing large scale exercise of self-discipline, and voluntary self-subjection to discomfort in pursuit of such goals as self-realization, spiritual enlightenment, and strengthening one's relationship to the divine is commonly known as Asceticism. Ascetickism is the implementation of such to accomplish the aforementioned but with distinct ties to occult practice and the additional aim to enhance one's influence over the metaphysical with the intention of future utilization of such within occult practice. A practitioner of Ascetickism will not only have mastery of himself but will have more power behind his magickal efforts as he will be more in tune with both himself and that which is unseen. It is akin to only being able to whisper in a loud room then learning to have the ability to yell in that room, have all present be more inclined to listen, and to be able to move things around in the room as one sees fit.
Through mortification of the mind and mortification of the flesh one can condition oneself to be able to fully realize his full potential, both in regards to the self and within a magickal context.
MORTIFICATION OF THE MIND: Arguably the most formidable to conquer. Mastery of one's own mind however is of the utmost importance. This should be attempted through means such as:
- When conversing with another, pay full attention to what is being said. Opt to remain silent if speaking would be unnecessary or would communicate nothing of importance, and certainly do not interrupt. Do not mindlessly chatter in a self-pleasing masturbatory manner. If you do speak, choose your words with care. Do not engage with unproductive petty matters such as gossip or other needless unsavory talk of others.
- Allow oneself to be okay with a lack of stimulation. This may be first approached with something as simple as not listening to music during train/bus/car rides or while exercising, or not falling asleep to the noise of a television. Eventually this will become pleasant and will be embraced. Staring off into space with no thoughts for stretches of time can be practiced for meditative and grounding purposes, whereas doing the same albeit "leaving the mind up and running" allows for greater flow of ideas, increased comprehension/processing of things swimming within the mind, increased extrasensory perception and open reception to such.
- Be sparing with one's energy. Do not preoccupy oneself with maladaptive or shallow social engagement. No casual sex (both a matter of the mind and the flesh), casual flirting, fostering friendships with people one does not fully respect/care for and get reciprocal respect/care from, or engaging in petty rivalries or squabbles.
- Free oneself from mental hangups regarding petty matters. Do not allow oneself to fall victim to shallow or poorly thought out fleeting or naive preoccupations. Do not allow the mind to dwell on things unproductive or untrue. Pull the wool away from the eyes.
- Do not allow oneself to indulge in pridefulness or masturbation of the ego.
- Become accepting toward and eventually embrace the performance of menial, boring, tedious tasks.
MORTIFICATION OF THE FLESH: For many, this is easier. However it is still challenging, as it is human nature to always choose the path of least resistance and to avoid discomfort if possible. However defying and overcoming this yields great results. Examples of approaches to this include:
- Altering one's diet to not be indulgent or pleasure focused. Do not eat in excess or to soothe emotions such as boredom or sadness. Choose to eat foods that are adequate to nourish the body properly while taking strides to gradually eat more and more bland/simple foods. Forgo eating for pleasure and rather only eat for sustenance. If medically appropriate, fasting can be practiced.
- Maintain celibacy. If in a spiritually healthy truly loving relationship this is not necessary unless truly desired, as in that case sex is not degenerative to one's energy or mindset and in fact can enhance both, as well as opening the opportunity for the proper, most effective, and least harmful performance of sex magick. If that is not the case, do not engage in casual sex or sexual activity with a person one does not truly love and have an extremely strong, special connection with. One may eventually work up to abstaining from masturbation as well, but if impossible such is preferable as a form of lesser evil and thus is still indicative of self discipline.
- Forgo vain luxuries. Do not let your possessions possess you, have only what you need and do not fall victim to materialism. Do not spend money on impulsive or shallow things.
- Impose forms of mild to moderate discomfort to oneself. Examples: Sleep without a blanket/pillow or on the floor. Subject oneself to uncomfortable temperatures such as mild heat or mild cold by adjusting air conditioning/heat within one's living quarters, taking cold/hot showers or baths, or dressing inappropriately for the weather. Go about one's day to day life with ankle weights and such things under one's clothing. Choose to walk to a destination rather than take a car or public transportation. Spend an extended amount of time kneeling or in another such uncomfortable position. (AUTHOR"S NOTE: Things such as self flagellation and bloodletting have been practiced for this purpose but that cannot be endorsed because Neocities would not like that and some numbskull on here would probably take it too far and I'm not catching a case! So don't do that I'm not telling you to.)
- Limiting one's sleep. This is rather extreme and must be practiced with extreme caution. Sleep is essential to keep the mind clear but intentional "sleep fasts" can be good exercises in self discipline/growing one's acceptance of discomfort, and the alteration in mental state can yield results of the shamanistic/psychonaut variety.
- Experience different states of consciousness through use of intoxicants (with extreme caution for health, and OBVIOUSLY within legal bounds). As mentioned above, changes to mental state/consciousness of this sort can be a psychonautical shamanistic exercise or practice because it allows for one to gain new perspective, become more in tune with one's own body and mind, and ultimately leaves one with greater perception of and ability to navigate/influence/more easily attune to and have the ability to intertwine with the metaphysical. However, recreational substance use for dopaminergic or distraction/coping mechanism purposes or any excessive/regular consumption of a substance (addiction) is the opposite of good. Aside from obvious physical and mental health effects and effects on one's life regarding personal relationships, employment, etc., it is self indulgent and neuters one's potential and growth.