The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

The powers of the mind are at the core of all magick and things you do on a daily bases. There are many parts of a psychodrama that attempts to tap the unused parts of your mind. The best way to get the psychodrama to work for you is to train your mind to be receptive to requests for access to its hidden regions and potential. Here's where those of you working in the shadows have an edge. If not, you will only be working three times greater at getting the peace and quiet you want. One of the biggest advantages to practicing by night is that you can take advantage of the psychic quiet hours. As the darkness overtakes a region, more and more people begin to relax and eventually go to sleep. They're not actively generating all the psychic "interference" found during the day; they're not expending mental energy to solve problems and perform necessary tasks in, for instance, the business world.

You can feel the change that occurs at night easily for yourself. Just step out well after dark and listen. Depending on where you live, you'll notice immediately that it's quiet, or if in the city, it's quieter.

But extend your awareness beyond just sound and you'll find something else. At first you won't be able to pinpoint exactly what you're feeling, or feeling the lack of, but it should still be obvious that something is different.

Step outside during the hours of three to five in the morning, and you'll feel it even stronger.

But you need not stay up that late, or get up that early, to take advantage of night's distraction-free psychic time. Here are some simple exercises/ techniques that, when performed any time after dark, will rapidly begin to create change in your mental faculties which will improve your basic abilities.



Calming the Chaos



Before you can access those inner regions of the mind, you have to quiet the inner chaos that normally accompanies waking thought. I mentioned how this happens in others at nighttime, resulting in a clear psychic field, if you will, in the atmosphere. Make sure that you take full advantage of this time by clearing your mind as much as possible of distractions.

The first step to achieving the inner quiet, therefore, is to relax. A calm body helps induce a calm mental state. To this end, you should perform a simple deep relaxation technique. Make certain the room is as dark as possible.



Deep Relaxation



Sit on a hard-backed chair, feet flat on the floor and palms down on your legs.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath while tightening every muscle in your face that you can. Purse your lips, squint, and really squeeze every cell possible. Then hold the breath and keep the muscles in your face tense for a silent count of three or so. When you exhale, let all the muscles relax.

On your next deep inhalation, stretch your neck forward a bit and tense your neck and shoulders.

Repeat this general breathing and tensing, holding, and releasing process as you tighten each of the following areas in turn: upper chest, abdomen (this takes a little practice to do while breathing), buttocks, thighs, calves, and arch of foot and toes.

Finally, take a deep breath for a silent three count, hold it for the same amount of time, and exhale, also mentally counting to three. Repeat this cycle two more times, enjoying the feeling of how deeply relaxed you now are.



When you've deeply relaxed your body, it’s time to test just how serene your mind is capable of becoming on its own. Keep your eyes closed and focus on the darkness behind your eyelids. Try to accomplish the state that mystics throughout the ages have referred to by various names, including “no mind” (a funny name for a mental state if you think about it). Basically, this is when no thoughts intrude on your inner peace. I prefer to call this mental state the inner quiet. Success at it to some level is a prerequisite for true mastery of mental powers and magick.



Quieting the Mind



Sit in your relaxed state and just observe the thoughts that enter your mind. As you’ll be aiming for inner peace, the first thought you have will likely be: “What am I thinking about?” The next is just as obvious: “Have I quieted my mind yet?”

Let these and other disturbing thoughts come and go, but don’t seek to banish them. Setting out to banish such mental intrusions is setting yourself up for failure. Merely observe the thoughts that pass and let them drift by on their own, as if the darkness behind your eyelids is an inky river capable of carrying them off.

Each time you attempt such mind calming, after each deep relaxation, you should find that fewer distractions enter your conscious awareness. How long should you practice? Let the amount of time you can go without becoming too distracted or, worse, falling asleep, determine how long. However, try to extend this period on a regular basis. After one short week of at least daily practice, the technique should result in you being able to remain in a reasonably quiet inner state for almost a minute. That’s a pretty powerful state to achieve.

But remember to merely let this happen. Don’t force it or, again, you’ll end up only asking your mind if it’s succeeded yet. And each time it answers, it means you haven’t succeeded yet!