It is common for words found in the magical lexicon to be used differently than the same words applied in mundane context. Academics enjoy scolding us for our “abuse” of language or misuse of terms, but it’s not abuse when we are willing to clarify the distinction in our usage of these words.
Out there among the muggles, belief refers to an acceptance of something as existing or being true. I like to further categorize beliefs as those which are compelled, i.e. evidence gives us no choice but to accept a thing, and those which are faith-based, as in we may not think a thing is true or may be unsure but we choose to hold it as being true and act accordingly.
Magical Belief
While the definition of belief is the same in both magical and mundane paradigms, there is significant nuance involved on the magical side of the fence.
As a noun, belief is a tool or trick in the bag of a good magician. Objectified it can be adjusted and refined the way a blade can be sharpened.
In verb form belief is a powerful technique applied by an astute spellcaster. One can vary the intensity or specifications as a carpenter would use different saws or framing concepts.
The Art of Deliberate Belief
There is great value in developing an ability to commit to and be convicted by your chosen beliefs, from a magical point of view. Practice generating the feelings and focus associated with true belief until you can simply choose any belief and set your mind and body to fully support whatever you have chosen.
This takes time to develop and certainly deserves more attention in future blog posts. Consider the often-used phrases from the self-help and personal development culture “act as if” and “fake it ’til you make it”. These maxims are telling you to act or pretend in a most convincing way that you believe a thing to be true. If you want more confidence, just pretend with all your heart that you actually have it in the present moment, working to generate the emotions and postures that come with a confident state. If you want to manifest $1,000 visualize already having this in the bank or in your wallet and engage the thinking and feeling that would be present in that real-life scenario.
By this very same token you, as a magician, can learn to temporarily adopt beliefs as needed for magical working and then release them (or not) once the work is done.
This is a multi-tiered topic, at once complex and stupid-simple. It is easy enough to conceptualize what I am describing. Trouble often comes in the effort to actualize this technique, because of the cognitive dissonance we may experience.
Tension in the neck, a queasy stomach, even feelings of depression are examples of how our body may react to our claim that we believe something when we in fact do not. Be grateful for this, as it is what allows the human being to engage with science, easily the champion of the modern and post-modern worlds which has elevated our species more than any other pursuit. It is entirely possible to keep your rational mind, and simultaneously hold beliefs that contradict this rationale, once you make peace with the idea that a belief can be held in this moment and released in the next.
Our minds are absolutely this sophisticated. They are also incredibly compartmentalizable. As an exercise, contemplate these terms for three act of deliberately believing:
- Empowered Conviction
- Intentional Alignment
- Active Imagination
- Temporary Adoption
- Emotionally Charged Assumption of Truth
- Suspension of Disbelief as an Act of Will
This is a potent list and it’s one I personally use from time to time. Each item upon it carries a specific connotation geared towards helping your rational and possibly objecting mind both cope with and cooperate with the fact that you are using belief as a rotating policy of accepted realities to further your magical gain.
Care of course must be taken. It does no good at all to become a mush-brained New Ager who wholeheartedly and forever embraces every warm and fuzzy treatise offered by the peddlers of delusion and denial who style themselves as the leaders of the contemporary spiritualist industry.
Keep one foot in the magical paradigm and the other planted firmly in reason and you can be a powerful magician and still smarter than the average hog.
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