About
You found my old blog. Thanks for visiting! For my new writing, visit mikesententia.com.
Have you read my front page yet? It’s the best intro to this blog.
About Mike
Magick
In 1991, I started noticing energy in myself and other people, in the trees by my house and the ocean my family would sometimes visit. I was 11.
By my teens, I wanted to know how magick worked, and more than that, why it worked. When you do a symbolic action over here, what happens to cause a result over there? And once we understand that mechanism, what else can we build from it?
In the two decades since, I’ve explored energy healing, manifesting, protection, spirits, awakening ethereal muscles, and more. I’m slowly formalizing my techniques into a system of magick, and figuring out how to teach it.
For more about how I got started with magick, see the preface to my book.
Science
I’ve always been interested in science. As a kid, my father would teach me chemistry and physics, and I had one of those crystal radios you build yourself. I liked taking things apart and understanding how they worked, and that’s basically what I try to do with magick.
I’ve worked as a scientist, also. Masters in computer science, published my thesis, then five years at the national labs in New Mexico researching genetic programming and quantum computing. That work taught me how scientific research really works, and how different it is from what we learn in high school.
These days, I do computer consulting, and apply my research time to magick.
For more about my take on science, see this series.
About Direct Magick
I call my system direct magick. It’s about three things:
- Understanding the mechanism that creates the change in the external world — the steps that happen after the ritual.
- Triggering that mechanism directly, without rituals or symbols.
- Taking that mechanism apart, then using those parts to build new techniques.
Exploring direct magick requires some specialized concepts and terms. This can make my writing difficult for new readers. If you’re feeling lost, try this series on my overall model, with all the major moving pieces. You might also try this guide to learning direct magick.
And later this year (hopefully), I’ll have my first book on direct magick coming out. The electronic version will be free on this site, and you can see the work in progress here.
About Magick of Thought
Started in 2010 to meet other people interested in how magick works under the hood, I’ve posted at least once a week for over three years. These days, new posts go up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
FAQ
Ethereal software? What do your terms mean?
See this series on my overall model, with all the major moving pieces. (Note: “Ethereal muscles” is a new term for an old concept. I used to call them “mental muscles.”)
How do I get started with direct magick?
You’ve probably noticed: A blog is designed to share random ideas, not to teach a complex skill. To learn direct magick, you want a book. I’m working on one — you can read the work in progress. And until it’s done, use this guide. (Slightly old, but basically accurate.)
Can I practice other systems of magick, too?
Yes, you can practice direct magick with other styles. Some direct magick techniques will help your other magick, too, such as learning to consciously engage your ethereal muscles. (In older posts, I called them “mental muscles,” by the way.)
Thinking about learning two styles at once? See this post.
What are your ethics around magick?
Short answer: Magick is a tool. It’s up to the mage to use it for good. The simplest solution is, imagine everyone will know all the magick you do, and ask if you’d still do it.
And here’s the long answer.
If you liked this post, consider visiting my current blog at mikesententia.com.