Further notes from Severity: The Magical Powers of "Act As If".

"My goal is to always come from a place of love...but sometimes you just have to break it down for a motherfucker." - RuPaul

Because I love you, I'm going to divulge a secret of the universe to you, one that is not taught or understood by many pagan or magical groups in the world. Like all such secrets, it's pretty damned simple, and yet still seems to elude a fair number of people, even people with a lot of letters after their names. Also, like all such secrets, it may not be a thing you're going to like, because knowledge of it places more of the burden of controlling your life and your fortunes squarely on your back. ( You're a sovereign being - you can click here, or not. )

Further notes from Severity: The Magical Powers of "Act As If".

"My goal is to always come from a place of love...but sometimes you just have to break it down for a motherfucker." - RuPaul

Because I love you, I'm going to divulge a secret of the universe to you, one that is not taught or understood by many pagan or magical groups in the world. Like all such secrets, it's pretty damned simple, and yet still seems to elude a fair number of people, even people with a lot of letters after their names. Also, like all such secrets, it may not be a thing you're going to like, because knowledge of it places more of the burden of controlling your life and your fortunes squarely on your back. ( You're a sovereign being - you can click here, or not. )

Posting for balance

Lest I get too bitchy, self-righteous, or serious, I present this somewhat embarrassing factoid:

Last night, I had a dream about doing superspy James Bond ninja stuff, sneaking into corporate headquarters in a very Shadowrun sort of way, with Captain Jack Sparrow as my teammate. And yes, we were dressed as pirates. And yes, pirates are terrible at superspy James Bond ninja stuff. There were explosions.

So there.

Posting for balance

Lest I get too bitchy, self-righteous, or serious, I present this somewhat embarrassing factoid:

Last night, I had a dream about doing superspy James Bond ninja stuff, sneaking into corporate headquarters in a very Shadowrun sort of way, with Captain Jack Sparrow as my teammate. And yes, we were dressed as pirates. And yes, pirates are terrible at superspy James Bond ninja stuff. There were explosions.

So there.

Addendum to previous post

I have a hard time believing in absolutes. I think that I live in a very large and complex system, in which very little, possibly nothing, happens for one reason only, or because of one actor only. The first thing I was taught about marriage/couples therapy is that nothing is exclusively the fault of one party, and that's a system consisting of only two primary actors. I don't believe that you can control everything that happens in your life, make everything that you do or are involved in strictly by your will.

I do, however, believe that you can reduce the number of things that "happen to you" and increase the number of things that you "cause to happen". Yeah, things will still "happen to you", good and bad, no matter how mindful of your actions and your environment you become. Things will still backfire, or work out in some way you hadn't anticipated. But I think that you can improve your lot in life in a number of ways by being more responsible for yourself, thinking about the possible consequences of your actions and making measured decisions.

I've seen this work more times than I can count. I've seen people begin the climb out of depression by shifting their perceptions from "I can't do anything to lie on the couch" to "I have chosen to lie on the couch today", and a thousand other iterations on the same sort of theme. Maybe you can't make everything work out the way you think it should, but you can damned well try.

Addendum to previous post

I have a hard time believing in absolutes. I think that I live in a very large and complex system, in which very little, possibly nothing, happens for one reason only, or because of one actor only. The first thing I was taught about marriage/couples therapy is that nothing is exclusively the fault of one party, and that's a system consisting of only two primary actors. I don't believe that you can control everything that happens in your life, make everything that you do or are involved in strictly by your will.

I do, however, believe that you can reduce the number of things that "happen to you" and increase the number of things that you "cause to happen". Yeah, things will still "happen to you", good and bad, no matter how mindful of your actions and your environment you become. Things will still backfire, or work out in some way you hadn't anticipated. But I think that you can improve your lot in life in a number of ways by being more responsible for yourself, thinking about the possible consequences of your actions and making measured decisions.

I've seen this work more times than I can count. I've seen people begin the climb out of depression by shifting their perceptions from "I can't do anything to lie on the couch" to "I have chosen to lie on the couch today", and a thousand other iterations on the same sort of theme. Maybe you can't make everything work out the way you think it should, but you can damned well try.

(no subject)

Christ, I'm a lawyer today.
EDIT: I may also be inherently amoral. Or at least inherently capable of amorality. This is not as big of a concern as it might be, I suppose, since my personal guiding philosophies apply to acts and not necessarily to thoughts or opinions. Unless the thought is an act, in which case the first thing applies. Further investigation is required.

(no subject)

Christ, I'm a lawyer today.
EDIT: I may also be inherently amoral. Or at least inherently capable of amorality. This is not as big of a concern as it might be, I suppose, since my personal guiding philosophies apply to acts and not necessarily to thoughts or opinions. Unless the thought is an act, in which case the first thing applies. Further investigation is required.

On to the next thing - Answers to the "What Gender am I" exercise.

As promised, the results and answers to the first round of the "What Gender Am I?" game.
( Read more... )

On to the next thing - Answers to the "What Gender am I" exercise.

As promised, the results and answers to the first round of the "What Gender Am I?" game.
( Read more... )