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Thinking Like A Mage Part 1: Intention
Apr. 9th, 2020 05:21 pmThinking Like a Mage series:
https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/tag/thinking+like+a+mage
It is my sincere belief as an aspiring mage that intention is crucially important.
I was an atheist less than five years ago and before that, a lackadaisical Christian in an extremely secular, why bother going sort of Protestant church. Both as an atheist and as a Christian, I had zero concept of what my intentions were, let alone the importance of them. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is not altogether true, however, I think it can be more accurately restated as “The road to hell is paved with eclectic intentions.” My intentions, much like my personality back then, were all over the place. I didn’t know whether to wish people harm or ill, so I did plenty of both, swinging on a Tarzan’s rope from one set of emotions to the next. When your intentions are sloppy and largely unknown to you, it becomes almost impossible to achieve anything you want to in life, love, and career. For instance, I was once obsessed with landing a low six-figure salary for myself as I thought it would solve various problems in my life, such as owning my own home. Had I examined my intentions, I would have realized that money was not my true desire — instead I craved the feeling of security afforded by resilience. Once I examined and refined my intentions, it became apparent that my much-desired resilience would only be achievable if I trained myself to make do with much less than most suburbanites, and stay rooted in my particular niche career. My career is nowhere near six-figures, but unlike the executive position I once thought necessary, my business is one that can pick up and move anywhere people cherish good music education, and anywhere includes the online realm.
I used to throw around my good and bad intentions rather freely, and though I am not proud to admit it, I often reacted harshly and negatively to both my enemies and general disappointing circumstances. Druidry taught me that it simply is not okay to wish people harm because they cut you off in traffic or because they could not have a rational conversation with you about politics. I wasn’t transformed into a do-gooder, however, I make more room nowadays for humans to do stupid human things. My intention becomes to get out of the way when someone is being an ass instead of attempting to school them on why they are wrong. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord, and he can take care of that mess. I no longer consider myself skilled enough to try to right the world’s wrongs. I can only do my personal best; the rest I leave to powers much stronger and better than me.
Once my ego shrank to a manageable level, I naturally became a better listener, and not just to other humans. I often converse with non-corporeal beings. Some are ghosts, some are angels, some are just random beings passing through, some are hostile and perhaps demonic, and some I believe are actual gods. I have small intentions of “I am drinking tea and it makes me alert” and “I accept my husband for what he is and not some impossible ideal” but the larger one is always “I am a better person today than I was yesterday, if only by the slightest bit.” My community of various non-corporeal conversation partners are aware of my intentions, as intentions are the currency of the astral plane where they live. Now that I have good intentions, I attract a good community.
https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/tag/thinking+like+a+mage
It is my sincere belief as an aspiring mage that intention is crucially important.
I was an atheist less than five years ago and before that, a lackadaisical Christian in an extremely secular, why bother going sort of Protestant church. Both as an atheist and as a Christian, I had zero concept of what my intentions were, let alone the importance of them. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is not altogether true, however, I think it can be more accurately restated as “The road to hell is paved with eclectic intentions.” My intentions, much like my personality back then, were all over the place. I didn’t know whether to wish people harm or ill, so I did plenty of both, swinging on a Tarzan’s rope from one set of emotions to the next. When your intentions are sloppy and largely unknown to you, it becomes almost impossible to achieve anything you want to in life, love, and career. For instance, I was once obsessed with landing a low six-figure salary for myself as I thought it would solve various problems in my life, such as owning my own home. Had I examined my intentions, I would have realized that money was not my true desire — instead I craved the feeling of security afforded by resilience. Once I examined and refined my intentions, it became apparent that my much-desired resilience would only be achievable if I trained myself to make do with much less than most suburbanites, and stay rooted in my particular niche career. My career is nowhere near six-figures, but unlike the executive position I once thought necessary, my business is one that can pick up and move anywhere people cherish good music education, and anywhere includes the online realm.
I used to throw around my good and bad intentions rather freely, and though I am not proud to admit it, I often reacted harshly and negatively to both my enemies and general disappointing circumstances. Druidry taught me that it simply is not okay to wish people harm because they cut you off in traffic or because they could not have a rational conversation with you about politics. I wasn’t transformed into a do-gooder, however, I make more room nowadays for humans to do stupid human things. My intention becomes to get out of the way when someone is being an ass instead of attempting to school them on why they are wrong. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord, and he can take care of that mess. I no longer consider myself skilled enough to try to right the world’s wrongs. I can only do my personal best; the rest I leave to powers much stronger and better than me.
Once my ego shrank to a manageable level, I naturally became a better listener, and not just to other humans. I often converse with non-corporeal beings. Some are ghosts, some are angels, some are just random beings passing through, some are hostile and perhaps demonic, and some I believe are actual gods. I have small intentions of “I am drinking tea and it makes me alert” and “I accept my husband for what he is and not some impossible ideal” but the larger one is always “I am a better person today than I was yesterday, if only by the slightest bit.” My community of various non-corporeal conversation partners are aware of my intentions, as intentions are the currency of the astral plane where they live. Now that I have good intentions, I attract a good community.
