Brain Magick: Exercises in Meta-Magick and Invocation by Philip H. Farber

Author:Philip H. Farber [Farber, Philip H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: neurolinguistics hypnosis, magick, neuroscience, brain
Publisher: Llewellyn
Published: 2011-10-01T07:00:00+00:00

[contents]

The

Time Axis

Timelines

We represent our experience of time through sensory metaphor, just as we do most other experiences. The simplest and most common of these representations is a linear metaphor, a timeline. Linear time is expressed through language such as “the future is ahead of us,” and “the past is left behind.” Research has demonstrated that we respond physiologically to these representations, as we do with other embodied metaphors. In a study that used motion sensors, researchers discovered that experimental subjects tend to sway forward when thinking about the future and tend to lean backward when thinking about the past.1 Other cultures, it may be noted, have alternatives to the ahead/behind metaphor that we favor. For instance, the Aymara people of South America typically represent the past as ahead and the future behind.2 We also express linear time through cause-effect relationships that may have their basis in language more than in the fractal complexity of the world around us.

Deeper yet, we encounter the idea that the structure of language itself, the grammar and syntax of the words, defines our perception of reality. Our language presupposes a variety of things about the linearity of time (“I went to the store before coming home.”), about cause and effect (“The cars hit because Fred ran the red light.”), and about the nature of being (“Socrates is a man.”). In these examples, “before” presupposes linearity (as do most, if not all, time-related words), “because” suggests a chain of actions followed by consequences (when, in fact, Fred’s running of the red light might have been equally complicit in causing the accident with the speed of the other motorist, the exact timing of Fred’s arrival in the intersection, and the many situations that may have influenced his timing), and “is” creates identity (while Socrates might exhibit manly qualities, he “is” also a philosopher, a wearer of togas, a drinker of wine, etc.). If our language structured grammar and syntax differently, our conceptions of time, causality, and being might be extremely different.3

Like the other simple geometric figures we use to express concepts in ritual, the timeline can be used to express, explore, and work with our states. As a therapeutic modality, timeline therapy was originally developed by NLP cofounder Richard Bandler and was further explored by Tad James, Wyatt Woodsmall, Steve and Connierae Andreas, and many others.4 The method given here is a simplified one, modified to fit our magical, rather than therapeutic, purpose.

Exercise 9.1 Finding a Timeline

Select some activity that you do on a regular basis that happens in a similar state each time. This could be a ritual or meditation practice, for instance, or could be something as simple as washing the dishes, brushing your teeth, or taking a shower.

Remember when you most recently performed the behavior. Remember some time a day or two in the past when you did it. Remember when you performed the behavior a week, a month, and a year ago. Think about what it will be like to do this thing tomorrow, the next day, the coming week, in a month, or a year.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.