Occult, Qabalah, Golden Dawn disillusionment

[Lighthead]

Well it's not like I'm getting paid to "commend" them. I'm just sharing what has worked for me. That other stuff is about selling you a membership (at times), and they only offer you a drip of the truth at a time. The truth is simple: meditate and meditate the right way. Unfortunately, meditating the right way is something that you discover as you meditate. If you told someone to get from A to B, would you tell them to go from A to 3 to 10 to 5 to B? Why not just go right to the point? I even find it ironic that those Western mystery traditions are, more and more, incorporating traditions from the East. Doesn't that tell you something in and of itself?

Okay, let me ask you, what is the point of ritual magick? Let me just start by telling you that I'd be surprised if you could answer that question with one word.

Communion.

I don't see any need to 'defend' the different traditions, I just find your opinion somewhat snide. That it doesn't work for you or that you don't see merit in it doesn't define it or determine whether it is effective for someone else. It is well and good to express what has worked or not worked for you, but the attitude you're giving seems to be more of superiority.

Communion was excellent as a one word answer.

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@Lighthead From how I see it, ritual magick can be viewed as a shared meditation practice of which the goal could be seen as synergy.

As I'd be not good in explaining how and why, I'll just use quote Tanner from something he said in another thread :

The purpose of ritual is to configure mind, body and spirit in to a single intent. The reason that these rituals which have already been created are useful is that they are already 'ingrained' in the planetary mind and consciousness. When you do the LBRP properly it will be recognized by the consciousness of the Earth as the same configuration done by any other who has done the ritual properly. Thus, the intent is somewhat already more solid and focused in this ritual, so it is easier to use because it already offers a complete structure. I'm not saying it can't be tweaked slightly to be comfortable (for example my use of "within" for the six-ray star rather than "behind") but the idea is that you don't want to change the fundamental symbolic formula because then you change the configuration and the ritual is no longer the same intent.

You could create your own rituals if you preferred though as a mean of setting your intent and easily bringing it up, probably not as efficient but equally something.

Nah, I don't need rituals. I'm working on enlightenment.

They are tools one might or might not need or want to use. What tells you an enlightened person wouldn't see purpose in rituals?

To me a ritual is like a snack whereas meditation is like dinner. It's just something to hold you over for the main meal, but it's not necessary in and of itself. For example, you perform a ritual to raise planetary consciousness and then what? Why not just encourage people to meditate so that they can actively have a hand in raising their own consciousness? To me, ritual just seems so unnecessary. It seems like something someone did before they found out about meditation. 

I'd like to do more research into it, but my intuition tells me that meditation is far more superior. To me ritual seems more clumsy and "ornate," whereas meditation is more streamlined and simple. Even Zen aesthetics with their minimalism are more to the point. It doesn't beat around the bush. It is the bush.