For Jr [though Lord knows I need it too...]

Alchemical Braindamage:

"...That root is concentration. Your ability to channel and shape energy is directly related to your powers of concentration. Any time you, or anyone else, bumps up against the so-called limits of occult power, they've done no such thing. All they've done is bump against the limits of their ability to concentrate. So before you start throwing around ill-informed pronouncements about what is and is not possible, go do some samatha meditation for five hours a day for ten years and then tell me what is and is not possible. kay?

Of course, if you actually did that, you'd probably go through half a dozen or more nervous breakdowns, bouts of paranoia, degrees of psychosis, epilepsy, and neurological disorders of various stripes. So I can understand why the misinformation out there runs so thick.

The reason most people in our society have such ridiculous ideas about what our minds can do is simple: our minds are ridiculously weak. If you think five hours staring at a wall is a 'long time' you don't get a opinion in the occult powers debate. Thanks for comin' out. If you think it's 'impossible' to do anything, and you're prepared to debate your belief in any form of 'impossibility', you'll have already crippled yourself in that department anyway, whether it be starting a new nation or standing up to armed men. I'm sure you guys were helpful at the foundation of all the countries that exist right now.

I'm always sort of amused when people talk about how 'the media' screws with our minds. How did they do that? Are you saying the media is stronger than your own will? Did someone put a gun to your head and make you watch alla that CNN?

CONCENTRATION. Chances are your mind is so hopelessly splintered and contradictory that you couldn't finish a half hour sitcom. A safe transition to occult powers is probably not in the cards for you. If you try, you'll probably freak out, or kill yourself. Most postmodern 'occultists' have all the willpower of a heroin addict with fetal alcohol syndrome, and most of the material out there is meant to soften that fact to themselves. Old Uncle Aliester would die of embarrassment. But don't let me get in the way of your consumer instinct towards instant gratification. For the foolish or truly dedicated, the exercise is as follows:

1. Sit still.
2. Pick an object of concentration. It helps if it's relatively static and simple. The breath is ideal. A circle on the wall, or a potted plant will do.
3. With as little daydreaming, mind wandering and internal babble as possible, hold your focus on the object.
4. Do it every day for at least an hour.
5. For a year.
6. Yes really."