To know the difference between experiencing something that is of the Ego, as compared to an experience that is truly originating from an entity outside of us, is deemed important. Zen will define how ego must be conquered or in some way defeated to reach the realms beyond and to avoid the traps of self-delusion or ego-driven thought-forms that take on a life of their own but add to illusion (Maya). So, let’s try to define the difference between something experienced from the perspective of the ego compared to that of a true external entity. I would also like to give an option to those of you who consider that there is no such thing as an external entity other than the self. My argument is such: If that is true, then there is still the option of defining the Self as the center of the Universe, and defining Ego as the part that you are in contact with, while on the other hand there are parts of your Self that contain wisdom inaccessible to you, sourced either from the collective unconsciousness that you absorbed throughout your life, but didn’t process or master, hence you are unable to use it adequately. My take on the world is that external entities are real, whether you choose to believe that it is a figment of your imagination or that it is really in existence, the consequences are one and the same. The same thing applies to magick. You can believe that by magickal ritual you change the world and thereby your relation to the world, or on the contrary, you change yourself and thereby your relation to the world. Either way, your relation to the world will experience change. Let me stress that by doing magick, and doing it really and truly the way it should be done, in a real magickal practical sense, you cannot combine the ego with an element, planet, god form, angel or daemon. Magick, done properly, as in an invocation of an element, planetary force, god form, angel or daemon, will result in that force truly coming to life and suppressing the ego, so that either a full possession occurs or a partial evocation happens where the magician is slightly possessed and will act according to the Will of the entity or force in question, but regains his subjective reality. Contrast this to an LSD or mushroom trip where the ego is completely altered or even lost in the process, but most of the time regained at a later point so objective un-reality can merge with subjective “reality” and projections (Maya). When doing ZaZen meditation, the goal is to achieve the moment where your voice falls silent. That is the end of the Ego and the beginning of Enlightenment. Somewhere in that fragile state of mind of illumination, you can have experiences of a non-egoistic nature and non-subjective experience. When doing magick, as in pathworking, you allow an external force that is not your ego, but a primordial force that belongs to the cosmos, and to the pan-dimensional, collective extra/subconsciousness, that which belongs to neither time nor space, to come into play and enrich your life. To ensure safe operation and safe interaction with these powerful entities, guarantying a pure and true operation, is exactly the purpose of ritual/magickal preparedness. Banishing, the consecration of the temple by water and fire, its furniture, peculiar lighting, sigils, and pentagrams, are there to induce both an altered state of reality and to magically and on all levels change the reference point and focus on a particular force and/or operation. The secret law or reason behind this working is embedded in occult knowledge, reference can be made to Hermes in the teaching “As above, So below”. Anything created in the high level is also created in the low. Anything created in the low must also exist in the high. The Ego is just a lower form of un-enlightenment but just as an unkempt garden, the Ego-personality can be cultivated, and it will reflect change down to the animal self, as well as to the divine self, the astral self, the cosmic, the spiritual, and so on and so forth. I urge you to persevere in your studies and works of the Occult until such knowledge occurs where you can clearly separate those experiences that do stem from the ego to those that are external to it. ii-wy em Hotep - Patrick Gaffiero
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