Since this is a forum about
Ouija boards and their use, I'm going to go out on a limb, and explain
exactly what I believe occurs in many cases ... when a group of sincere individuals uses a board. I agree with all that you've said, Ben, and I know that often enough
it's the subconscious we're getting in touch with, yet I
do believe that we can also contact
the deceased, or the discarnate ... even potentially
non-human spirits.
What I'm afraid
mee doesn't understand, is that
all three of the latter cases
CAN BE JUST AS GOOD, and
desirable, as they can
bad, and
undesirable. My only regret is that there is so much mumbo-jumbo out there, so much ignorance, superstition, and
misinformation/disinformation ... that, much like in UFO circles, people tend to see this as an
all-or-nothing prospect. Either ouija boards and their use is
100% good, accurate, acceptable, etc.
... or we have mee's type of
fearful, suspicious, superstitious paranoia about it, which is no better than the skeptic's charge -
that's it's all, 100% BUNK.
So what do
I think? Simple ...
In many cases, the
ideomotor effect is definitely, or most likely, tapping in to one's
own subconscious - OR perhaps,
superconscious, if you will. I distinguish, because I believe the
real goal, in cases of Divination, is the latter. Subconscious influence, in terms of the ideomotor effect, will not necessarily give us helpful, accurate or
inspired/inspiring advice ... whereas I believe that
superconscious influence
will do so. This is because we are seeking contact, via a ouija board
or whatever, with our Soul (Higher Self,
Buddha Nature, Christ Self, Inner Guide, Inner Light, etc.).
Now if one looks at the early days of the Theosophical Movement, leading up to the establishing of the Theosophical Society in 1875, one can see that H.P. Blavatsky had a great interest in
Spiritualism. This was - and is - a Movement
unto itself, being inspired by one of our world's
greatest Adepts, Master Hilarion (Whom mee reads about in his bible as
St. Paul). This does not mean
that any time a bunch of folks sit down to have a seance, they are
automatically in the right ... nor does it mean that
contacting the recently deceased is
always okay. Arguably, it is SELDOM okay, and even then,
only conditionally.
But anyone who is familiar with the Master H., and with the esoteric teaching on the Seven Rays, will likely also know that
Master H. is the 5th Ray Lord ... the 5th Ray being that of Concrete Science. This has
everything to do with the Scientific Revolution, and everything to do with Humanity's own, inherent need, as a
4th and a 5th Ray entity, to learn about and understand things
scientifically.
The inspiration behind
the Spiritualistic Movement, of the 19th Century both in America and in Europe, is thus - largely - the Master H.,
PRECISELY in an effort to help us with a SOLID, SCIENTIFIC understanding of
"the other side" ... or,
what lies beyond the veil of death. Now gee, let's see, mee ...
it was, in fact, St. Paul the Initiate who dictated the Book of Revelation to the advanced Disciple, John the Beloved. So, if you want to blather on about
how reading your Bible is the only way
YOU feel comfortable
learning about something like
DEATH ... then that's fine.
In fact, doing so just shows (ME) that you prefer to study the
earlier writings of the same MASTER ... Whose
LATER writings, and dictations, appeal to
others. Hmmm ...
Have I lost you yet?
Well,
sure enough, SOMETIMES, when a group of open-minded individuals sits down at the table with a ouija board,
if there is the right type of
psycho-spiritual alchemy, let us say ... THEN there will be, sure enough,
an opening to the astral (or higher) world(s). This allows for communication with entities that may be:
- recently deceased humans.
- discarnate humans (in the higher worlds, possibly even Masters).
- non-human entities, never have been human or physically incarnate.
The idea to communicate with
recently deceased humans needs to be carefully considered, and as Madame Blavatsky continued to work under the instruction of her Teachers, she soon found that
only a small number of Spiritualists, or folks interested in that type of
spirit communication, could actually make
good esoteric students - and move on to what she had to offer.
This was because it becomes
vital to understand
enough about the nature of our after-death state(s), to ACCEPT that
not everyone SHOULD communicate, after death, with those of us still in incarnation. It CAN be harmful, and it CAN lead to undesirable results. The great irony, of course, is that the Bible
is FULL of cases, in which PRECISELY
Spirit Communication is happening! But I guess
we'll just have to overlook that one, for the moment ...
Anyone interested can read more about the Spiritualistic Movement at
Wikipedia ...
Personally, I don't think folks like
mee should
ever sit down at a ouija board. The reason should be evident.
If I am focused, already, on `demons and devils,' then
will it be any real surprise when this is EXACTLY what I
bring through?
Too much
television, and overactive imaginations, have led to these crazy ideas that
Hell itself is going to spawn before us in our living room, and while that makes for cheesy
Constantine-like, Keanu Reeves movies, and gives me & 17th stuff to snicker about, it's not exactly what happens
even when ouija board experiences end up negative. But unquestionably,
negative or undesirable influences can sometimes - even often enough - get contacted, though this is owing
largely to the very character, motive and circumstances of the
users of the board, and in such cases, we pretty much have
instant karma ...
you get what you ASKED for!
Even here, circumstances seldom get out of hand, though we can end up with a genuine
haunting, or an excess of negativity focused upon, and through, the aura of the especially
vulnerable ... and this just makes things difficult, until the person, or persons,
right the wrong they have set in motion. Even when their mistake was
innocent enough, they must close the door they have unintentionally opened ... but anyone who is familiar
at all with esoteric or occult Law(s) will recognize that
Nature itself, allows for just these kinds of mistakes.
What we are dealing with, after all, are the occasional
`bad apple' type of discarnate humans, either
those with a heavy, negative karma - who have recently transitioned and perhaps become temporarily `
stuck' ... or yet, sometimes it is
entities in the third category, consisting of the
lower orders of mischievous, nature spirits, or
elementals. Mee, you might try familiarizing yourself with
OTHER WRITINGS than your Holy Bible,
if you wish to truly understand all this.
Should your wish be to simply communicate
that we should be CAREFUL as we use Divinatory aids, then I think you've made your point. I've echoed it.
"Fools rush in, where Angels fear to tread." Yet I ask you, mee,
what do you know about the lower orders of the devas? About the thought-forms, which you yourself CREATE, and strengthen, and energize, when you imagine DEMONS and DEVILS and things that go BUMP in the night?
Did you know, even, that
your thoughts might be the very ones which HAUNT the poor, innocent victims of
a seance gone wrong? Hmmm. You don't think so?
Well let me ask you ... do you ever get angry? Do you EVER, even for a moment, become fearful or fretful?
We just don't realize, most of us, that
we build the world of our thoughts, and of our fears, and of
99.9% of the negativity that is out there, WITH OUR OWN MINDS, and emotions, and imaginations. So, too, do we construct
the kinds of thoughts, and uplifiting emotional states, which free Humanity from our enslavement to the worlds of matter ... and darkness, and ignorance.
None of us can say,
No! Not I! I am exempt!
Yet the
2nd category of Beings that might be contacted via ouija boards, or even at a seance, which rightfully also ought to include
the Higher Orders of the Devas (or Angels, and ArchAngels),
are largely free from all the normal limitations that affact 99.9% of Humanity. And
WHEN our motives are pure enough, and WHEN the circumstances are just right,
I KNOW - and do not have to
speculate - that yes,
even a ouija board, can put a person in touch ...
with a Mystic or a Saint, an Angel Teacher or a Master Guide, and even - if we are so lucky - with the Christ (or World Teacher) Himself.
My own experience, I have already offered, as
testimony, and confirmation. I think the Jehovah's Witnesses call this
WITNESSING. And I AM, a living witness,
to what I have just said. Either we then come to understand the Wisdom of our
Bibles (whatever our religion may be, and whatever
book we may look to for guidance), or else we are barking up the wrong
tree. And as I have said,
you can quote that thing SIX WAYS FROM SUNDAY ... and
still, miss the point.
Experience sometimes IS the best teacher, yet I don't feel,
just because there are people who can consciously ASTRAL TRAVEL (leave their bodies), that
I too, must learn to do this.
Remember, Fools rush in, where Angels fear to tread. No one is saying that
you have to
use a ouija board, mee, since it makes you so uncomfortable. I have already given you, and others,
several good reasons why THAT WOULD BE UNWISE. You yourself recognize this,
even if all you are doing is using a circular reference ... for your guide.
And you may even know
others who have had a bad experience,
for the reasons I have mentioned, I think you'll find. All the more reason,
why you are suspicious, and cautious ... and there's nothing wrong with playing it safe.
But to impose
your reasons for your OWN wariness
upon OTHERS .... that's just unhelpful, and awfully presumptuous. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness, so it's NOT EVEN REMOTELY close, to being
sound advice, offered from someone of LIKE MIND. The best it can be,
is the BEST advice you know how to give ... and because of that, because this is a DISCUSSION group, a set of forums, where you have
OTHER understandings, and interpretations, and
spiritual paths, I have tried to show why it
can be alright, even helpful, to use a ouija board (!) - even as I agree with much that
Ben has shared, and with what others have shared.
Thus, I have tried to allow for
your understanding, mee, and to make it clear that
I think we all have a degree of familiarity with your background, and your (presumed) intentions ... yet I would do everything I'm able to
remove the superstition, and bring these kinds of things to LIGHT, as best I'm able, because we
aren't meant to remain in darkness (ignorance) about them. And even if what I have to share
is literally, just ONE, tiny experience, it is nonetheless my TESTIMONY, it is DIRECT experience ... and remember,
it only takes ONE exception, to DISPROVE the rule, inasmuch as there
might even be such a thing, as you seem to believe, mee, about
not using divination, because ALL you can contact are `evil spirits.'
It comes back to MOTIVE ...
and if you think that everyone who studies the Bible has equally pure, spotlessly pure MOTIVE, then think again. Shall I rattle on about
how wrong it is to study the BIBLE, because you might contact an evil spirit?
If that disturbs you, or strikes you as odd, then I would suggest you don't actually know
the least thing about modern (
`New Age') forms of Divination ... and for that matter, I'm not sure you know much about the Divination of the Bible, either -
as I say, that book being FULL of it. Err, full of Divination, I mean.
I challenge you to respond to what I've shared WITHOUT quoting the Bible.
Tell me something
in your own thoughts. Dialogue
without calling upon the authority of
a 2000 year old text, which really doesn't have any direct bearing on a discussion under ALT-MAGICK, anyway!
Just talk about
your own experiences, if you like, or even share those of someone you KNOW (rather than heard about) ... and as you do so,
look to my post, and see if it hasn't been covered by
#1 or #3, or - perhaps - by
#2. It's either one of those, or the person's
own super/sub-conscious, I will argue. Can you prove me wrong?
Ben,
et al, all I was really going to say, was that I think
even in the cases of the ideomotor effect, what we sometimes have, is the
Higher influence of a `Noble Spirit' - be that
Human, formerly Human, or Angelic/Devic - and thus, the real
communication is taking place
beyond our physical awareness, and the way this
reaches us, is - of course - the
ideomotor effect, which we see via the
board, pendulum, etc. The source of the
information, is what is
external, outside our immediate awareness ... yet it is `OUR hand(s) which guide the
planchette or
pendulum ...
My own belief is that
the best way to use a ouija board, is triangulated. That is,
have THREE people, always, rather than oneself alone, or two, or more than three. This is for esoteric reasons, and allows for the
most stable arrangement of inherent, or natural forces/influences ... preventing
two people for kind of, subconsciously
battling over the answer (Yes/No questions are best to start out with), and actually it also references the
Biblical statement made by Christ Himself, which I think is
esoterically true regardless of one's religion, and
regardless of how we recognize the underlying meaning of
"In My Name," so long as we actually
understand that.
This, of course, is the difference between
Spirit, and
dead letter.