I used to, and in some ways still do, pose an exercise to others and myself. Let’s say you encounter the proverbial genie in a lamp. He offers you one—and just one—wish. Your wish will be granted, but only if you are entirely self-honest about what you want. If you are not, you will lose everything. What is it?

have lately revisited a passage from In Search of the Miraculous, P.D. Ouspensky’s invaluable record of his time with Gurdjieff. In it, the teacher asks a circle of students to state their personal aims and what they desire from the work. The answers are fairly ordinary: world peace, to know the future, immortality, to be a real Christian, and so

In any case, Neville advised against thinking in terms of, “It will happen this way” or “I’ll do something to make it happen.” His attitude was that the event will unfold in its own natural manner, similar to what was explored regarding sigil work and “established lines.” Your job is not to draw the map. It is to live from the destination.

He would say: “Unfoldment will come. You will see.” Again, he argued that an assumption, though false, if persisted in, hardens into fact. He further advised, “Assume the state of the wish fulfilled. Live from the end.” Remember, the teacher reminded, you are not in a state of wanting; you are in a state of having received. Your aim is occupying

Another way of using Neville’s approach is entering an inner state of theatrical or childlike make-believe. Not childish but childlike: a state of internal wonder and pretending. Children excel at this. We grow embarrassed about this quality as we age, but Neville spoke ingenuously about walking the streets of Manhattan imagining that he was in the

Hypnagogia naturally occurs twice daily: just prior to and following sleep. It is a period of hallucinatory sentience during which you are nonetheless capable of controlling attention; moreover, your rational defenses are lowered. This is “prime time” to visualize a desired end. Hypnagogia is also a period of heightened ESP-related activity, as

venture that warranted realization of our innate extra-physicality is sufficient for the act of selecting or revising an event or outcome. In matters of magick, the wish may be enough.

you must honestly and plainly make clear to others your actions and enthusiasms.

Magick reaches those who practice, or at least attempt, impeccability.