Monday, March 12, 2012

Alchemy as transformation

Not much to this post, really.  Just setting a set of parameters.

image from http://www.levity.com/alchemy/


I've declared this blog to be related in some way to alchemy.  The usual understanding of alchemy is that is has a relationship to chemistry.  Of course there is the lead to gold thing. Then there's the Philosopher's Stone and eternal life.  Neither of those is what I have considered as the guidance of alchemy.

When I was trying to define my experiences, the ones that seemed to be better addressed in some fantasy and science fiction stories, I focused on magic as a concept. Then I wondered about alchemy and its contribution to the ideas about magic.  From what I've discovered about the actual practice of alchemy, the work of transforming material from one state to another, the one quality that stood out was patience.  Patience and focus.

In the age of sub-atomic physics, the role of the alchemist is that of maintaining the same state of attention throughout one entire phase of the transformation.  We know from experience that maintaining one state of attention can be difficult.  We have all kinds of distractions and doubts.  But, if you consider that a shift in attention might change a process at a subatomic level, distractions and doubts might be a problem.

So, what do you do?  You do the work to eliminate as much doubt and distraction as you can.  That might seem like some kind of psychological claptrap, but, if you consider that we are a collection of electromagnetic (E-M) fields, that E-M fields can and do disrupt chemical processes, then, if there is a way to assess and change the condition of the field, it might be a good thing to do.

Hence, alchemy.  Alchemy, when it is considered as a personal transformation practice, is a way to influence our experience of our reality to the better.

That's my definition as I practice it. I don't practice Alchemy, though.  I write stories, investigate daydreams, study to practice a philosophy called Huna.  All of which include practices that might be considered bardic.  Together, there is a way down the middle that suggests storytelling is a convenient means to transforming ourselves, a form of alchemy.

I will be working this out over time.  Alchemy. Storytelling. Transformation.  Fun and play, if you ask me, though.  Looking forward to having more fun.
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