What drew you to the Occult?

[Beelzebunz]

I personally do not practice, actually if I had to define my belief, I would say I am a christian in the most liberal definition of the doctrine. I don't know how one would really define my beliefs, I suppose something like an anti-fundamentalist. I believe that any hope for the perpetuation of enlightenment was lost with fundamentalism, but I'm not a nihilist either. I say ******** the spectrum, I believe in everything. Anywho, I'm really curious as to how you all got into occultism, and what philosophy you all live by. Do you believe there is still hope for the world? Do you feel that there really is a force that we can look to for hope, or is our only hope eachother? Do you think that maybe our gods are real in the sense that they live through their worshipers? Is there any truth to find in the universe, or is there only reality? Just putting it all out on the table without fear of persecution, or the trolls the internet is so damned notorious for.

 

[monckey77]

I believe there is hope in everything and anything is possible as the world is not more than our perception of the world. That being said, it is most possible at any moment anything may happen to our desire, this includes bending the world's very structure to something we prefer. The question is, whose the client creating this universe? I believe it would be me. You would believe it is you creating it, an endless loop. I also believe the possibility of many forming together to create this perception of a world using linked brains, similar to that of the matrix. Anyways, that's my thoughts.  

[Beelzebunz]

monckey77

I believe there is hope in everything and anything is possible as the world is not more than our perception of the world. That being said, it is most possible at any moment anything may happen to our desire, this includes bending the world's very structure to something we prefer. The question is, whose the client creating this universe? I believe it would be me. You would believe it is you creating it, an endless loop. I also believe the possibility of many forming together to create this perception of a world using linked brains, similar to that of the matrix. Anyways, that's my thoughts.

Right, well reality in it's definition is our own arbitrary definition of the universe's mechanics. We define it by observation as best we can, everyone can be right in reality, but no one can in truth. I also questioned the possibility of an inherent universal conciousness. It sounds unlikely that is based on the majority though, I suppose it is also it's definition though.  

[monckey77]

Patron-Saint of Poppycock

monckey77

I believe there is hope in everything and anything is possible as the world is not more than our perception of the world. That being said, it is most possible at any moment anything may happen to our desire, this includes bending the world's very structure to something we prefer. The question is, whose the client creating this universe? I believe it would be me. You would believe it is you creating it, an endless loop. I also believe the possibility of many forming together to create this perception of a world using linked brains, similar to that of the matrix. Anyways, that's my thoughts.

Right, well reality in it's definition is our own arbitrary definition of the universe's mechanics. We define it by observation as best we can, everyone can be right in reality, but no one can in truth. I also questioned the possibility of an inherent universal conciousness. It sounds unlikely that is based on the majority though, I suppose it is also it's definition though.

Which is why I assume the whole theory of the universe can be simply put as dividing by zero, endless possibilities or none at all(undefined)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_by_zero
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaskara_II  

[Arcane_Ninja24]

what drew me to the occult?
Gamygin. or Samagina... or Gamigin... take your pick.  

[Obscurus]

Patron-Saint of Poppycock

I'm really curious as to how you all got into occultism, and what philosophy you all live by. Do you believe there is still hope for the world? Do you feel that there really is a force that we can look to for hope, or is our only hope eachother? Do you think that maybe our gods are real in the sense that they live through their worshipers? Is there any truth to find in the universe, or is there only reality? Just putting it all out on the table without fear of persecution, or the trolls the internet is so damned notorious for.

I got into occultism because I wanted to find out if magic was real. I wanted to find the truth and seek some esoteric power.

I would describe myself as a pantheist. I'm not sure I really "live by" any particular philosophy. If it feels wrong I don't do it; if it feels good then I allow myself to do it. I've referred to this as visceral morality before, about as close as I feel we could get to an objective morality.

Hope for the world to do what? I believe there is always hope because possibilities are limitless.

I don't think it really matters if our gods are real or not as long as we keep worshiping them.

There is a lot of truth in the universe. I think the question is whether there is static truth or if truth is dynamic, constantly changing.  

[neko-mata-01]

Patron-Saint of Poppycock

I personally do not practice, actually if I had to define my belief, I would say I am a christian in the most liberal definition of the doctrine. I don't know how one would really define my beliefs, I suppose something like an anti-fundamentalist. I believe that any hope for the perpetuation of enlightenment was lost with fundamentalism, but I'm not a nihilist either. I say ******** the spectrum, I believe in everything. Anywho, I'm really curious as to how you all got into occultism, and what philosophy you all live by. Do you believe there is still hope for the world? Do you feel that there really is a force that we can look to for hope, or is our only hope eachother? Do you think that maybe our gods are real in the sense that they live through their worshipers? Is there any truth to find in the universe, or is there only reality? Just putting it all out on the table without fear of persecution, or the trolls the internet is so damned notorious for.

ok, well first of all i pretty much have the same type of religious belief (im catholic technically though)
i was always interested so i cant really answer that correctly. hm for hope look to friends and your own will. i don't think so, i believe god or gods are pretty sovereign in their ability to exist. depends on what truth you are looking for. there are things that must be regarded as true no matter how reality appears. to put it into perspective there is a quote by a Chinese philosopher "Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi" the truth is either way he is himself despite the title he has and that must be considered true regardless of reality. after all reality is defined by our perception is it not? if for example a man could sense nothing physically would his surroundings matter at all? i guess one could say that the physical world around him would still affect him even if he was unaware but that brings into question if thats just the observers perceived reality. and how would one know that they are not just dreaming at any given point? or if their dreams are the reality rather than other way around? the point is many things cannot be determined as true until you define them as that and many things deemed to be true have the technical ability to false at any given point. for example how do you know something random like atoms exist? although not probable there is the technical possibility that every reference to atoms existing up to this point has been a lie. (btw im not saying that i truly believe this but technically its possible)  

[Vanilla eXee]

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I'm really curious as to how you all got into occultism, and what philosophy you all live by.

I'm not sure how I got into all of this to begin with, magic, spirits, anything odd has just always interested me. I'm basically a left wing atheist. I have a strong moral compass that comes from...within? I guess. I believe that you should try your best not to hurt anyone else, and just make your way in the world. I'd love to believe in a religion, and afterlife, and that I'll see my loved ones again when I die, but it's just not there for me. My SO on the other hand is an ultra-conservative christian, who loves to tell me about how sad he is that I'm going to hell for being a heathen rolleyes We'd make a great TV show.

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Do you believe there is still hope for the world?

There will be hope for us until the day the sun explodes xD

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Do you feel that there really is a force that we can look to for hope, or is our only hope eachother?

The only force you should really look to for hope is your self. Just 'be the best that you can be' and the rest will fall into place.

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Do you think that maybe our gods are real in the sense that they live through their worshipers?

I've always found that theory interesting, and it's something I wish I could believe in.

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Is there any truth to find in the universe, or is there only reality?

rofl The truth is out there!

 

[astrenose]

I was brought up in a very strictly religious environment and I always thought, there has to be more! I started digging, looking for alternate answers. Even if they weren't the right answers, it was endlessly exciting trying to explain the meaning and validity of life and consciousness through these several conduits.  

[Nero-gataki]

Because i saw the picture and was intranced by it... sweatdrop sweatdrop rofl rofl plus im a philosopher and i have always shown a vast interest in the unknown. :3  

[BSPBleach]

neko-mata-01

ok, well first of all i pretty much have the same type of religious belief (im catholic technically though)
i was always interested so i can really answer that correctly. hm for hope look to friends and your own will. i don't think so, i believe god or gods are pretty sovereign in their ability to exist. depends on what truth you are looking for. there are things that must be regarded as true no matter how reality appears. to put it into perspective there is a quote by a Chinese philosopher "Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi" the truth is either way he is himself despite the title he has and that must be considered true regardless of reality. after all reality is defined by our perception is it not? if for example a man could sense nothing physically would his surroundings matter at all? i guess one could say that the physical world around him would still affect him even if he was unaware but that brings into question if thats just the observers perceived reality. and how would one know that they are not just dreaming at any given point? or if their dreams are the reality rather than other way around? the point is many things cannot be determined as true until you define them as that and many things deemed to be true have the technical ability to false at any given point. for example how do you know something random like atoms exist? although not probable there is the technical possibility that every reference to atoms existing up to this point has been a lie. (btw im not saying that i truly believe this but technically its possible)

lol i like your definition of reality biggrin
i though upon a similar idea awhile back........i got bored though ><" and moved to other ideas which eventually brought me to the word occult. so I guess that answer's Poppycock's question as well. What brought me to the occult was instinctual thinking. lol many other things as well, but it was asked about the occult so i won't go into that xd  

[GM Phish]

For me the very first thing that drew me to the occult was how I didn't seem to fit in anywhere else. It was at that unstable age in middleschool that I first started to explore the possibilities. As soon as I found the occult, I realized my talent, my passion.

So, initially, my first school of magic I was introduced to was Alchemy. And not hokey pokey "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST LAWL" or "TURN URSELF INTO METAPHORICAL GOLD" crap. It was the initial science of magic. To me, this was a perfect ground for starting my occult lifestyle, only because it started with a concept more grounded in science in reality, and only expanded from there. So as it is seen there are a few different goals of alchemy that are renowned (you are considered an alchemist if you pursue any of these things periodically) :

1) To create Gold
2) To create a cure-all
3) To extend life
4) to reanimate the dead
5) to create life.

I was drawn to number 5, to create life. This struck me as an amazing art, only because there are so many angles from which it was approached, that only by combining them all could you achieve success. This was a bit shoddy mind you, as it probably wasn't the best place to start casting magic: with high magic. Needless to say, countless things went wrong, and I brought about more harm than I initially expected. Ultimately I had succeeded, but not nearly in the way I had intended.

So there's my story. If you want to know more, go ahead and ask. I won't bore you with the details, because there are far to many stories for one post.  

[Beelzebunz]

GM Phish

For me the very first thing that drew me to the occult was how I didn't seem to fit in anywhere else. It was at that unstable age in middleschool that I first started to explore the possibilities. As soon as I found the occult, I realized my talent, my passion.

So, initially, my first school of magic I was introduced to was Alchemy. And not hokey pokey "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST LAWL" or "TURN URSELF INTO METAPHORICAL GOLD" crap. It was the initial science of magic. To me, this was a perfect ground for starting my occult lifestyle, only because it started with a concept more grounded in science in reality, and only expanded from there. So as it is seen there are a few different goals of alchemy that are renowned (you are considered an alchemist if you pursue any of these things periodically) :

1) To create Gold
2) To create a cure-all
3) To extend life
4) to reanimate the dead
5) to create life.

I was drawn to number 5, to create life. This struck me as an amazing art, only because there are so many angles from which it was approached, that only by combining them all could you achieve success. This was a bit shoddy mind you, as it probably wasn't the best place to start casting magic: with high magic. Needless to say, countless things went wrong, and I brought about more harm than I initially expected. Ultimately I had succeeded, but not nearly in the way I had intended.

So there's my story. If you want to know more, go ahead and ask. I won't bore you with the details, because there are far to many stories for one post.

Would you mind expanding on your half failure half success?  

[BSPBleach]

GM Phish

For me the very first thing that drew me to the occult was how I didn't seem to fit in anywhere else. It was at that unstable age in middleschool that I first started to explore the possibilities. As soon as I found the occult, I realized my talent, my passion.

So, initially, my first school of magic I was introduced to was Alchemy. And not hokey pokey "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST LAWL" or "TURN URSELF INTO METAPHORICAL GOLD" crap. It was the initial science of magic. To me, this was a perfect ground for starting my occult lifestyle, only because it started with a concept more grounded in science in reality, and only expanded from there. So as it is seen there are a few different goals of alchemy that are renowned (you are considered an alchemist if you pursue any of these things periodically) :

1) To create Gold
2) To create a cure-all
3) To extend life
4) to reanimate the dead
5) to create life.

I was drawn to number 5, to create life. This struck me as an amazing art, only because there are so many angles from which it was approached, that only by combining them all could you achieve success. This was a bit shoddy mind you, as it probably wasn't the best place to start casting magic: with high magic. Needless to say, countless things went wrong, and I brought about more harm than I initially expected. Ultimately I had succeeded, but not nearly in the way I had intended.
So there's my story. If you want to know more, go ahead and ask. I won't bore you with the details, because there are far to many stories for one post.

How did you come upon alchemy? i was always interested in it(of course i heard of it in history with people trying to make gold, but money and gold hold no value for me. i always wanted to learn how they tried) but i could never find out any information on it.  

[GM Phish]

Patron-Saint of Poppycock

Would you mind expanding on your half failure half success?

Well, in all my naivety I insisted upon a technique called 'the breath of life' originally taken to be the same method christ supposedly used in the creation of man. The concept in itself was to form a being of the earth, a golem if you will, made out of entirely natural resources. So, I made a small creature out of clay, shells, and sand and set about trying the spell. It didn't work. This was the concept that was explored in frankenstein, that it cannot simply be correct on the outside, but correct on the inside (pretty much sculpting all thee organs and veins.) I realized what I had done, and immediately decided "meh, too much work." So what did I do? Picked up a natural form that was complete; a dead turkey. (I had disposed of one in the woods the other day) I set about attempting it again, only to realize too late the dark intentions of the spell. instead of infusing the corpse with a soul, newly made, it infused it with what already existed, a demon. Essentially, it was a demon raising spell hidden within alchemic text, which is to say the approach was only scientific and factual, not approaching a moral or theological standpoint behind the process.

So it raised. It screamed. It flailed. It ran. I chased in into the forest, but it escaped me. To this day I have no idea if it is still living. I can only hope that in it's undead condition it died slowly out in the woods. Knowing this though, I'm sure this will come back to haunt me.

Moral of the story? Start small. I wanted to get right into the race, and brought about more destruction than originally intended. To this day that is the only 'black magic' spell I have ever used. Now I know what I'm doing, but I certainly didn't back then.

This was 4+ years ago.