I'm a complete beginner to Magick. I've been doing the LBRP for a week now. I've never managed to keep a practice up for a whole week multiple times per day, but with this it's effortless, and I look forward to it.
I have dabbled with meditation and yoga a la Aleister Crowley for the past year, but have never experienced benefits like I have in the past week. With meditation and yoga, it's difficult to detach from the 'lust of result', to simple do yoga for the sake of yoga, and not with a goal in mind. When you do yoga expecting a result, it is like building a house of cards. Trying to find that perfect state of mind to stay in forever. Yet the wind always blows and knocks those cards over. I think Crowley's analogy was of trying to lift yourself up by your own shoelaces.
I believe most of us are somewhat attracted to the spiritual side as a method to remedy the lack of control we have over out lives, whether it's overeating, controlling sleeping patterns, feeling good about yourself, we all have our own reason. One of the main goals of the OTO is the elimination of mental bondage after all.
The first time I did the LBRP it had little effect. The second time I did it, I felt a great surge of energy for a few hours. I was in a state of awe and bliss, I felt like I could do anything. I can't explain this. I usually brood in my head, turned inward, and try to explain things rationally. Maybe it's just the effect of the ritual causing me to feel like something outside myself is giving me this energy, that causes me not to turn inward and go to war with myself. Maybe it's something deeper. I don't know. I don't think that I can know, and I'm too happy to care.
After the second session, this energy got the better of me and ended in a binge eating session. I then read that one should have ones Intentions in mind, knowing the results that one wants, directing the great surge of energy towards one's Will.
I have done it 7 times now, and have experienced the following benefits:
- Greater control over my problem with binge eating. Whereas before my mind would enter into a trance when passing the sweets shelf in the shop, losing control over myself. I've been walking past thinking "Fuck you sweet shelf, fuck you and all you've done to me, goodbye!"
- Greater control over my sleeping patterns. Mainly it gave me enough self-control to practice Steve Pavlini's early riser methods.
- I'm much more laid back around people. I conquered the fear I have of going up and talking to random girls. I have been trying to do that for 4 years. I simply decided to do it, and I magically got up, like something else was moving me, and I did it. This is the way I am supposed to be.
I must say for posterity that I have also been listening to an NLP confidence audio session, and while this definitely contributed, I don't think it would have had any effect without the clarity of mind that the ritual produced.
I've made a lot of changes to the ritual already, specifically removing some of the closing text (classical english has bad connotations to the Irish), changing the Archangels to Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and _______, and sneaking in some of the yoga-esque breathing exercises prescribed by my singing teacher.
All this in a week after years of struggle! There's no other way to describe it, pure magick!