Log from #Classroom on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 9PM EST:  “Building A Strong Foundation”, hosted by SawyerHickory:
[21:05] <SawyerHickory> Mmmk, let me give everyone a brief talk about how I run my classes/who I am/etc.
[21:06] <SawyerHickory> I’ll be keeping the chat modded for short bursts during ‘lecture’ portions of the class, just so I can go through some material without getting side-tracked, and after every topic I go through I’ll unmod it and open the floor for questions
[21:07] <SawyerHickory> Please don’t PM me because I’ll ignore you- I’ve got my hands full
[21:08] <SawyerHickory> Also, while you can sound things off your classmates during these question times, don’t get too carried away with the cross-talk- it’s not a terribly long class, let’s try to stay as focused as we can on the matters at hand.
[21:09] <SawyerHickory> As for me, I’ve been in the OEC for about 12 years in different communities. I originally started at PsiPog, where I ended up because I was having some serious issues with my developing telepathy/empathy, including some problems with uncontrolled geisting
[21:10] <SawyerHickory> After getting those under control I started to really branch out and delve into other areas, and I  consider myself to be rather well-practiced in most areas of psionics.
[21:11] <SawyerHickory> I’ve never dealt with the magick stuff, it’s not my thing, so if it’s yours, please remember when you’re asking me questions that I have a limited amount of background in magick and try to phrase things in a way that I don’t have to google them.
[21:12] <SawyerHickory> Also, I admit I have a propensity to be a bit of a hardass, and I expect anyone who wants to work with psionics or magick to work just as hard as I do and have.
[21:14] <SawyerHickory> And one more thing, I have a filthy mouth. I curse a lot. I can’t help it. If you’re super sensitive to that, I’m probably not going to do you any favors. If I drop a ‘fuck’ your way, I’m not mad or anything. It’s just how I talk.
[21:14] <SawyerHickory> Ok, any questions about the class structure or me personally?
[21:15] * RavenFire is here
[21:16] <SawyerHickory> Okey dokey, let’s get started
[21:16] * SawyerHickory sets mode: +m
[21:16] <SawyerHickory> Welcome to “Building a Strong Foundation”.
[21:16] <SawyerHickory> I know that’s a rather ambiguous name for a class, so let me break it down for yall a little.
[21:17] <SawyerHickory> A lot of people give classes on skills. Healing, empathy, telepathy, energy manipulation.
[21:17] <Bmartin82> that doesn’t work on me
[21:18] <SawyerHickory> There’s no problem with that, and you can generally at least pick up some of those skills without any previous skills or knowledge.
[21:18] <SawyerHickory> oh son of a bitch, everyone’s voiced, aren’t they
[21:18] <Itchies> We’ll be good
[21:18] <Ephraim> yes
[21:19] <SawyerHickory> well, we’ll deal with it later if we have to. everyone stays in line we’ll be ok
[21:19] <SawyerHickory> anyway, moving on
[21:20] <SawyerHickory> Here’s the thing- there’s a whole other layer under all those skills that people usually skim over.
[21:20] <SawyerHickory> In terms of how we prepare TO practice, how we get our minds in the best shape to approach these new areas
[21:21] <SawyerHickory> What I’m going to focus on tonight are some of those- in brief, techniques to build focus, exercises to get you mentally in the best ‘shape’ for psionics work, and to help you expand and change your perceptions.
[21:21] <SawyerHickory> Any questions about the class so far?
[21:21] <Taetarthe> Not from me, at least
[21:22] <SawyerHickory> mmmk, no questions, then I’ve got one
[21:22] <SawyerHickory> What do you guys do before you start practicing any technique? Any little ‘tricks’ or so on that anyone wants to share?
[21:23] <Ephraim> i clear my mind, usually load up the shuman (sp?) binaural beat thingy i have
[21:23] <FenixWorkPC> For me, (Hi all, btw), It depends on what technique I’m doing.
[21:23] <Taetarthe> I like to set aside some time to meditate and center myself before I do anything new or particularly serious.
[21:23] <Ephraim> or theta
[21:23] <SawyerHickory> Fenix, pick something. saaaaay…energy manip
[21:25] <SawyerHickory> Well, anyway, no matter what you’re doing, establishing a kind of habit around practicing can increase your likelihood of success in the long term- just by psychological preparation
[21:26] <SawyerHickory> I.e, a lot of people go through a routine right before bed that puts their brain in a position where it says, oh, ok, it’s time to go to sleep now.
[21:26] <FenixWorkPC> well, if it’s just moving energy around, i don’t do much of anything (16 years of practice does that to you). If i’m planning on being destructive, i build/channel emotions, opposite for things like healing
[21:26] <SawyerHickory> You approach psionics the same way, eventually, you do a certain routine, your brain says, oh, ok, it’s time to do that weird shit now.
[21:27] <SawyerHickory> Thanks Fenix
[21:27] <SawyerHickory> Things like routines are a very, VERY basic way of getting your brain in the right ‘zone’.
[21:27] <SawyerHickory> I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, breathing exercises have always been a huge help.
[21:28] <SawyerHickory> There’s probably a few billion deep breathing exercises in the world, but I want to touch on a couple quickly
[21:28] <SawyerHickory> Your basic deep breathing exercises, just taking deep, regular breaths- are great
[21:29] <SawyerHickory> Doing them alongside something like meditation, or yoga, are even better. You want to be able to get into that calm, even state of mind that comes with deep breathing WHILE doing something else.
[21:30] <SawyerHickory> If you’re walking down the street, you’re breathing. you don’t have to think about it
[21:30] <SawyerHickory> Try and make deep breathing kind of the same way.
[21:31] <SawyerHickory> I have a technique called a ‘pranayama’ I learned at a meditation seminar a couple years ago that I think is fabulous
[21:31] <SawyerHickory> Technically ANB pranayama
[21:32] <SawyerHickory> You breathe in through one nostril, out through the other
[21:32] <SawyerHickory> good for your heart too, actually
[21:33] <SawyerHickory> And that kind of physical help is exactly what you’re looking for with breathing exercises. You want to calm your body down. Get it in as relaxed and well functioning a state as you can
[21:34] <SawyerHickory> Breathing well and having those physical systems all chilled out naturally helps your ability to focus
[21:34] <SawyerHickory> It can also help with a lot of the mental stresses and anxieties in your day to day life that can distract you when the time comes to need practice
[21:35] <SawyerHickory> Any questions or comments about breathing exercises?
[21:35] <RavenFire> It’s moderated, they can’t comment.
[21:35] * SawyerHickory sets mode: -m
[21:35] <SawyerHickory> sorry
[21:35] <RavenFire> hehe
[21:35] <Taetarthe> Pranayama reminds me of several breathing techniques under the science of breath.
[21:35] <SawyerHickory>
[21:36] <Ephraim> how do you breathe with only one nostril when not stuffed up?
[21:36] <Taetarthe> Which is basically a book on yogi breathing techniques.
[21:36] <Taetarthe> xD
[21:36] * SawyerHickory nods
[21:36] <SawyerHickory> It was at a meditation/yoga seminar
[21:36] <SawyerHickory> Art of Living
[21:36] <SawyerHickory> fabulous program
[21:37] <Taetarthe> I’ll have to look that up at some point
[21:37] <SawyerHickory> Eph, you can’t, really
[21:37] <Ephraim> thot so
[21:38] <SawyerHickory> Though Sri Sri Ravi Shankar would ask who could breathe better through one side and who could breathe better through the other and then decide from that whether we were going to do a meditation exercise or a yoga exercise next
[21:38] <Bmartin82> yea, and i had all the voices taken away
[21:39] <SawyerHickory> ok, we ready to move on?
[21:39] <Ephraim> yip
[21:39] * SawyerHickory sets mode: +m
[21:39] <SawyerHickory> okey dokey
[21:39] <SawyerHickory> so, we deal with some of the stuff that physically helps you with psionics
[21:39] <SawyerHickory> Now lets get to some of the mental and energetic stuff
[21:40] <SawyerHickory> two terms you’ll hear almost always together are ‘grounding’ and ‘centering’
[21:41] <SawyerHickory> And when you use them on a regular basis, they can make a world of difference in how you feel when approaching practice
[21:41] <SawyerHickory> So, lets start with grounding.
[21:42] <SawyerHickory> There’s not really 100% universal definitions for either of these, so I’ll give my take, and you guys can give yours.
[21:43] <SawyerHickory> Grounding, as I use it, is like schluffing off all of the energy that you take on in every day life from other people, just focusing it right back into the groud. I kinda see it as taking a psychic shower.
[21:44] <Bmartin82> *ground
[21:45] <SawyerHickory> There’s also sometimes an aspect of taking IN clean or good energy from the earth, but that’s not really my approach. No matter how you approach it, the basic fact is that it’s healthy for your natural energy systems
[21:45] <SawyerHickory> ty B
[21:45] <SawyerHickory> So, it’s like getting a fresh start to your practice, if you do that before starting.
[21:46] <SawyerHickory> Actual grounding techniques are…well, they’re everywhere. Mine, I like to go outside when I can. Usually I’ll ground/center during a meditation session, though it’s not necessary.
[21:47] <SawyerHickory> What’s important is that you give yourself time to deal with all the shit IN or ON your body, energetically, before you start trying to deal with anyone elses.
[21:49] <SawyerHickory> In centering, you’re basically ‘finding’ your own energy. I always visualize it like I would blood flowing through my body. It’s a method that lets you get comfortable with your own identity, encourages you to strip everything away from who you are because you have to be, to who you are when you simply can BE.
[21:50] <SawyerHickory> The reason these two go together so well is because often when you center, you focus on finding your own energy, and naturally cast off the stuff that doesn’t belong. They’re incredibly simple after you do them a few times, and they can clear your mind and give you a much cleaner slate to start with when you go to practice something else.
[21:51] <SawyerHickory> I usually send any of my ‘bad’ energy out through the soles of my feet
[21:52] <SawyerHickory> The real advantages to grounding and centering apart from just feeling good is that it helps provide your with a type of mental clarity, it broadens your ability to percieve, and lets your start to understand how to keep yourself separate from anything else- which is going to be a big deal with our next topic
[21:52] <SawyerHickory> But first, questions/comments?
[21:53] * SawyerHickory sets mode: -m
[21:53] <Taetarthe> I do have some considerations about how grounding and centering apply to the paradigms of willwork
[21:54] <SawyerHickory> that was a rather halfassed go through of centering/grounding, but I had the weirdest feeling pretty much everyone knows this stuff, heh
[21:54] <SawyerHickory> please, go ahead
[21:55] <Taetarthe> Simply. Grounding is the act of removing the influence of other’s wills from yourself, whereas centering is the act of focussing on the effects of your own will and often “reigning it in”
[21:55] <Taetarthe> .
[21:56] <SawyerHickory> pretty good way to put it, actually.
[21:56] <SawyerHickory> hell, whether you’re talking willworking or no
[21:56] <SawyerHickory> not*
[21:57] <SawyerHickory> okay, one more topic to cover
[21:57] * SawyerHickory sets mode: +m
[21:57] <SawyerHickory> All righty, this one is the bane of psychic existence
[21:57] <SawyerHickory> and it has a douchey name that proves it
[21:57] <SawyerHickory> “analytical overlay”
[21:58] <SawyerHickory> Basically, analytical overlay is the conclusions our brains jump to without us knowing it.
[21:59] <SawyerHickory> this can be a problem in about a million different ways
[22:01] <SawyerHickory> One of the best examples is with say, Remote Viewing. People who practice RV try to ‘see’ things that are usually far away. So, what they have to go on is what their brain communicates to them
[22:02] <SawyerHickory> Say though, that the brain communicates ’round’. The sun is round. a ball is round. a cracker is round
[22:02] <SawyerHickory> all this shit is round and your brain starts going through ALL OF IT
[22:03] <SawyerHickory> And because it obviously can’t be ALL OF IT, your brain starts making calls FOR you about what it must be, based on the strangest and stupidest things.
[22:04] <SawyerHickory> Like it decides it must be a trash can lid because tomorrow is trash day
[22:04] <SawyerHickory> never, of course, bringing these things to the surface. It just decides them
[22:04] <SawyerHickory> Because really, brains are dicks.
[22:05] <SawyerHickory> And the other deal with analytical overlay- it’s virtually impossible to completely overcome.
[22:06] <SawyerHickory> That’s why you have to start with small things, like grounding and centering. Then comes the tricky part- learning how to make some of the unconscious stuff your brain goes through conscious.
[22:06] <SawyerHickory> THIS is the stuff that really takes work.
[22:07] <SawyerHickory> So, let’s start with just your daily life. You make little judgement calls every day, about what to wear, about people you see, about when to hit the brakes in your car so you don’t run over the baby stroller
[22:08] <SawyerHickory> The BEST way I have ever found to start making your brain talk to you more is to start listening more. Pay more attention to what you do every day, especially the stuff you’ve just been doing so long you don’t remember why anymore
[22:09] <SawyerHickory> It can actually be really cool if your start looking new at things you’ve just been walking through numbly for years
[22:10] <SawyerHickory> If you want to do well at psionics, you’ve got to get along with your brain. So make the effort
[22:11] <SawyerHickory> The other thing you can really do is when you start practicing things like TP or RV, you stick with adjectives. use descriptions. Your brain will help you with it- you’ve got a ton of adjectives in your head
[22:12] <SawyerHickory> use them instead of saying what you think something might be. It’ll be good for your creativity, good for your ability to start clarifying individual aspects of things you recieve, and good for basic communication with your brain
[22:14] <SawyerHickory> So, basically what we’ve got here- physically learn how to deal with your body. Breathing exercises can help focus your mind. Mentally learn how to prepare yourself. Grounding and centering can help you rid yourself of any unwanted input before you start a practice session and give you a better chance of success. And finally, analytical overlay sucks, but learning how to avoid it and how to
[22:15] <SawyerHickory> better communicate with parts of your mind below the conscious level can be incredibly rewarding, especially in terms of energy work and psionics
[22:15] * SawyerHickory sets mode: -m
[22:15] <SawyerHickory> Any questions or comments or blah de blah?
[22:16] <SawyerHickory> …ooookay then
[22:16] <Taetarthe> I have one
[22:16] <Taetarthe> before you move on
[22:17] <SawyerHickory> I’m actually about wrapped
[22:17] <Taetarthe> How do think the practice of mindfulness applies to analytical overlay?
[22:19] <SawyerHickory> Heh, mindfulness, at least in my opinion, is the only real way to even attempt to overcome it. Though I’m not sure if you’re using the term in a more specific way than I’m familiar with
[22:20] <SawyerHickory> Generally I see mindfulness as a constant awareness, of being in tune with one’s surroundings both internally and externally
[22:21] <Taetarthe> *nod*
[22:21] <Taetarthe> That would be the definition I follow
[22:22] <Taetarthe> I personally think that you have to be mindful of mindfulness too though
[22:22] <Taetarthe> Else you get saturated
[22:22] <SawyerHickory> true
[22:22] <SawyerHickory> or paranoid, heh
[22:22] <SawyerHickory> all right, kiddos, that’s about all I have for today…anyone have anything they want to bring up before we shut ‘er out?
[22:24] <SawyerHickory> oooookay then
[22:24] <SawyerHickory> thanks for coming, and have a beer

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