Six Weeks of Eigg
As an undergrad Geology student you have to undertake what’s called a field mapping project at the end of year 2. The field mapping project is essentially about spending 6-weeks out at some location trying to understand the geology and make a geological map. It’s great fun. I chose the Island of Eigg to do mine…. Eigg? I hear you ask. Where is that? Well, it’s an island off the west coast of Scotland below the Island of Skye. At the time I was there, it had about 50 inhabitants mostly living in the south of the small Island. I ‘lived’ on the north end of the island and sometimes I didn’t see anyone for days on end….. I took two tents there as my intention was to camp. After
Read More »Inner Journeys Out On Kindle
Thoth has finally made Inner Journeys available on Kindle. It can be ordered at both the US and UK Amazon sites for immediate download. Inner Journey: Explorations of the Soul was my first foray into publishing my experiences. It is somewhat autobiographical in that it deals with why I had an interest in all things Occult and follows my trail to the point where I found the Servants of the Light. It then tracks my experiences of taking the SOL’s first course over 5-6 years and provides some insights into what I learned. In fact, it was Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, the SOL’s Director of Studies, who suggested I write the book and who kindly provided an introduction too. Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul is the compelling account of one man’s
Read More »Inner Journeys On Kindle
Thoth has finally made Inner Journeys available on Kindle. It can be ordered at both the US and UK Amazon sites for immediate download. Inner Journey: Explorations of the Soul was my first foray into publishing my experiences. It is somewhat autobiographical in that it deals with why I had an interest in all things Occult and follows my trail to the point where I found the Servants of the Light. It then tracks my experiences of taking the SOL’s first course over 5-6 years and provides some insights into what I learned. In fact, it was Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, the SOL’s Director of Studies, who suggested I write the book and who kindly provided an introduction too. Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul is the compelling account of one man’s
Read More »The Measurement Problem Revisited
As a small boy, I recall quite often thinking and imagining that, in reality, I was sat on a chair in a small room looking at a TV screen and controlling myself through a set of knobs and levers in front to me. In this dreamlike imagining, there were rows upon rows of these small rooms or booths each with an occupant managing their virtual life. Remember, I was thinking and dreaming this in the mid 1960’s before color TVs, computers, virtual reality and The Matrix movie. I mentioned this also in Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul. Additionally, at that age, I had not widely read any books and quite honestly, other than Watch with Mother, I hadn’t seen much TV either (in black and white on a box-like
Read More »Magical Practice and Imagination
Sometimes the thought of meditating and conducting what amount to tortuous mental exercises is less than compelling. It takes effort, it is repetitive and you can go for weeks without any meaningful results. But there is no way out. You can’t learn magic from a book! It has to be via hours and hours of practice. Sometimes, I go for days without doing formal exercises instead practicing various things like pore breathing and so on in those moments when I have some time. After a while, I make a renewed effort to get formal again. The plain fact is, its pretty bloody tedious. The biggest part of magic is imagination. You simply have to be able to imagine and to see/feel/hear things that you imagine. One exercise I practice all
Read More »Just Today
Have you ever wondered if today is, in fact, the only day of your ‘life’? Ever since I was a young child, I have puzzled over reality. As I have mentioned many times, in Inner Journeys, I talk about how as a young boy, I really felt like this wasn’t real and that I was in a booth somewhere looking through some glasses and experiencing life as a ‘virtual reality’ game. Back then there was no virtual reality of course. Later, at school, I couldn’t quite understand how I could be just a bunch of atoms floating around in space! What kept me together? How did I know which atoms where mine? and many many other questions. Other kids thought I was a bit weird. Probably they were right. I
Read More »I Used to be able to fly…..
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan I posted this quote on Facebook last night on the Last Observer page. For a novel about the nature of reality and magic, it struck me as a darn fine quote. Magic really does involve belief or faith. Faith really can move mountains. Magic rituals, far from being some evil activity performed naked with the lights out, are simply a very traditional human activity designed to help act out and therefore convince the subconscious and other areas of the psyche, that something is so. That, if you like, we can still fly. I discuss this in Inner Journeys where I use the example of projecting success and
Read More »Sex Sells
Ha…. that got ya didn’t it. Sex really does sell but this post isn’t about sex. I was just being sneaky hoping to catch your eye and stimulate your hormones…. Sales. If you write books, you like to see them sell. At least I do. I don’t write books because they look pretty and therefore wonderful on my shelves at home. Nope, I want people to actually read the buggers. OK, so I could give them away, and I do, quite a few anyway, but really I’d quite like to live as a writer. That means generating cash and at my age, I’m not gonna be able to do that shaking my booty (actually, at no point in my life would that have been viable). So, yep, sorry my friends…
Read More »Why This Blog?
So I have been blogging at Asteroth’s Domain since what? 2005! I started it when Inner Journeys: Explorations of the Soul was published. Like all first time authors, I had half expected the book to sell, if not in the thousands then certainly in the many hundreds. ‘Build it and they will come’ was my mantra…. These days I know a lot more about publishing books (especially in rather strange and suspicious genres!) and much more about blogging. At one time, I think I had 8 blogs on the go. One even had hundreds of visitors a day! Then, well, I got busy, stopped posting and things declined. These days, I have more books out and far fewer blogs. So why would I build another blog? (this one!). Well, it
Read More »Imagineering
Some days, I don’t wish to do anything I would just like to sit and stare A lazybones Awake, but asleep to this world Wakeful dreaming Creating in my head No need for people Me and me alone Crowded by thoughts And memories of times gone by Begging to question why? If I could change it Would it mean anything? Would my now be any different Would I have learned anything? Pondering the future There’s that feeling again So strong, so strange It’s only me this thing No you or them, just me Everything and nothing Cycle, no end nor beginning Eternally now Me Imagineering
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