Martial magic 101 — part 3 (don’t neglect your health)
You can’t defend yourself if you’re already vulnerable. Not even with the fanciest rituals.
I don’t know and don’t care who started this trend of compartmentalising different areas of knowledge — as if they didn’t overlap and connect at various points throughout life — but it has to stop. The more we insist on trying to put things in neat little boxes, the more anxious and helpless we’ll become. This is not a speculation, it’s a warning. A prophecy, if you will.
People today have a terrible habit of thinking along the lines of “health is health, food is food, the mind is the mind, the body is the body, the environment is the environment” — all separate and (apparently, somehow?!) never interacting. No. Stop it. That’s wrong and dangerous. Your diet can affect your mind, which can affect your physical health, which can affect and be affected by the environment you’re in, which can influence your spiritual beliefs and be influenced by them… And so on. Everything is connected at some level. The world is multidisciplinary. It doesn’t care about your obsession with “boxing” things.
The above sounds obvious (and it is!), but a lot of professionals today dislike admitting it. Very few psychologists will consider that a patient’s diet, or religion, or level of physical activity, or [insert thing here that is “unrelated” to mental health] might be influencing something you’re working on during therapy; Very few doctors are willing to admit all the other aspects of your life that aren’t directly connected to the stuff they learned at med school can influence someone’s health; Very few spiritual leaders tell you that the “non-spiritual” and totally mundane areas of your life can influence your relationship with religion. Worse still: out of the rare exceptions who DO consider a multidisciplinary approach, a lot just try to make it all about their business. It’s like psychologists who claim “ah, but religion has this and that psychological aspect to it; Oh but this other area of life, yes, there’s psychology in it too”; religious leaders who are like “yes, there’s magic everywhere; Yes, this mundane thing can be ritualised for you” — What if it can’t? What if there isn’t? What if you CAN’T cater to it YOURSELF, for once? Does it hurt to admit that someone else’s service can be valid too, without having to invalidate yours? It’s not a competition. We’re in this planet together. Wake up.
And why does that phenomenon happen? Well, we can only speculate the reason why. My own educated guess would hint at fear. Since today everything is commodified, people are just afraid of losing “a market”. And to prevent that, they try discouraging people from other kinds of help [which they’re not earning for]. But then again, that’s just my opinion.
To add insult to injury, there are phenomena like radicalism, black-or-white thinking, polarisation, identity politics and a whole bunch of other crap we’re dealing with in today’s world, which make everyone prone to go on these weird info wars against each other. “Religion is valid so science is not!!!11!1!!!!1!1!”; “No! Science is valid so religion is not!!/!//!”; “No, actually, diet is all there is to life. Take your vitamins. Forget medicine!!1! Ooga booga!”; “Oh no, absolutely not! All you need is to trust your doctor. Don’t take informed decisions on food, ever”.
Whatever happened to… More than one area of knowledge can be valid and necessary at the same time?
I’m ridiculing the above problems, because I know they’ll keep happening whether or not I speak out. I don’t have the power to change the world for the better in that aspect — Not on my own, anyway; But if I can get as much as ONE listening ear and help one person out, I’m happy already.
This is all to say: if you’re about to “lecture” me on sticking to my subject, don’t.
Last but not least: here are links to the previous articles in this series:
Martial magic — part 1 (what’s the point)
Martial magic — part 2 (why protect your privacy)
This path is not for the lazy.
…Before the outraged comments appear: no, I’m not being ableist. Anyone can be lazy within their own capabilities. Ability and attitude are two different things.
To be quite honest, no spiritual path is for the lazy. None at all; But the warrior path can land you in real danger if you neglect certain “boring” aspects of it. All in all, as we discussed already in the previous articles in this series, I’m not just teaching warriors here. The knowledge I’m sharing is useful for anyone who goes beyond the surface in any kind of spiritual endeavour, because ultimately you’re dealing with other human beings, and human beings aren’t all peace and love. So even if you’re not dedicating yourself to the art of war (and I respect that), it’s always useful to know tried and tested ways to react in the worst case scenario.
Sometimes, depending on the path you decide to follow, it’s actually good common sense to learn to protect yourself first even if it’s not related to the work you set out to do. For example, I’m an advisor. (I write for the public here when I feel like it, but this is NOTHING compared to what I offer in private). Although my job description is “advising on present and future”, it entails a lot of hidden dangers. Not only do I have to ward off unwanted influences when I’m gathering intel, but I also need to be able to protect myself FROM certain customers who didn’t like what they heard. A lot of people think I turned on them, when in fact I just told them something they ASKED for, but weren’t actually ready to deal with. So, there you go. That’s why I first learned how to be a warrior. And in learning that, the very first thing I had to do was accepting discipline.
So, what do I mean by “lazy” in this context?
Specifically, I’m referring to some people’s habit of putting the cart before the horses (because in reality, they’re feeling lazy for those first steps which aren’t too exciting or “magical”). If you want a very common example, think of your average person who dabbles in the Occult. How many times do they say things like “I’m feeling poorly out of a sudden. I wonder if someone is attacking me” or “when I made [insert mistake here], I became very ill so beware of that”.
These people mean well, and I trust they’re doing the best they can, but they’re very, very green (in the sense of newbie). So if you’re one of them, maybe you’ll benefit from learning the following:
Re-read the above assumptions, and think long and hard about them. Specifically, think of “why”. If you don’t know whether or not someone is attacking you, WHY is that? If you don’t know the reason you get super ill when you make a mistake, but other people on the same boat don’t, WHY is that? There won’t be a blanket answer that works for everyone, so find yours.
I’ll use a more mundane situation as a metaphor of what’s going on here: imagine a kung fu fighter blindfolded and wearing jeans. But I don’t want you to imagine Bruce Lee or Shi Heng Yi. I want you to imagine a random white belt person. Will they achieve much if they face someone more experienced, or even at the same level but more prepared? No. And is it all their fault? Is it all because of their [undeveloped] technique? Also no. I mentioned they’re wearing a blindfold and a pair of jeans. These are two constraints you SHOULDN’T give a beginner. So, how would they remedy this situation? Well, they need to shop for appropriate clothing and free their eyes. Now imagine them saying “but shopping? That’s not very kung-fu-esque. That’s not exciting. That’s not what I signed up for”. Ridiculous, aye? Well, it’s no different from occultists who think they can skip unrelated things like mental and physical health BEFORE setting out on this mystical (and finally exciting enough) journey.
But they can’t. They shouldn’t. The very first step anyone interested in magic should take is listen to their doctor and psychologist. “Oh but I can’t afford those” — the nearest equivalent then. Don’t be filling mundane gaps with mystical material. It never works and it will harm you. Yes, the mystical and the mundane DO interact, they ARE connected, but they aren’t one and the same. And the Occult is “occult” for a reason. It’s harder to navigate. Start with what you CAN see.
First of all, you need to be in good shape. Don’t be out of shape, and you won’t get hurt as easily anymore.
For the simple-minded out there: hold your horses. I’m not talking about weight. This is a blog about occultism, not a fitness and fashion magazine. Don’t forget WHERE you are reading, thank you, next. I’m not being shallow. I couldn’t care less what you look like. Everyone is beautiful.
By “in shape”, I mean on top of your physical and mental health; Or AT THE VERY LEAST, understanding your shortcomings that could stop you from functioning, where they are, what is the medicine for that, how to get it and when to take it, etc. But the thing is, you’ll only be able to figure that out if you care to try.
“But you don’t understand Lucy, I’m so busy and exhausted and burned out and [insert whine here]”
Here is what’s up: if you were TRULY too busy, too burned out, too exhausted for occultist work… Would you be even reading my blog? No. You’d be focusing on self-care instead. So the people who say such things don’t actually believe I’m guilty for their suffering. Deep down, they know I have nothing to do with it. Come on, yes they do. I wasn’t born yesterday.
They’re just trying to bargain an easier and more painless way to get the sweet “results” without putting in any of the hard work. It’s the kind of thing I could offer, but won’t, because it can bring about a very dangerous outcome even if at first sight it looks attractive. Just like, IDK, picking up a poisonous frog in the wild because it’s colorful.
Sorry, I can’t sugarcoat here.
Am I forcing anyone to follow this path? No. Am I saying anyone is ready for this path? Also no.
This is another point worth considering.
But again, before the whines come, I must repeat a thing I always say: nothing is fixed or permanent.
When I say someone is “not ready”, am I saying they’re “never” ready? No. Never is a strong word. Never implies permanence. I do not use never.
When I say someone is “ready”, am I implying they can’t possibly run into unrelated problems in their life that will make them temporarily “not ready anymore”? No. That’s an assumption of permanence. I don’t work with permanence. So, remember that.
The path is here. It exists. You can join or stray from it or rejoin it as many times as you want, and you don’t need to go back to the start line every time you return. Relax. Don’t try to stop life from flowing. You never step on the same river twice.
So… Are you eating well enough to keep functioning?
Are you getting quality sleep, or at least TRYING to?
Are you exercising enough to comfortably do what you need to do?
Not everyone into martial magic needs to know martial arts, be super flexible or strong. That’s a misconception. Sure, you can if you want to, but the mental work takes precedence over the physical work.
In fact, the keyword here is “trying”. Success is a byproduct — if it doesn’t come, don’t beat yourself up. You just need to try. Trying is enough. So, go ahead.
Yes, I know, discipline is boring and not fun, inner baby is bored and wanna cry. What’s most important? Instant gratification? Or working towards this goal? No, I’m not manipulating you. It’s a genuine question. If you answer “instant gratification”, cool, valid. But in that case, let go of the goal. You can’t have both. You can’t eat the cake and have it too. You OWN your choices. Nobody is bossing you.
Are you with me or not?
