Magic Monday

[ecosophia]

It's almost midnight, so here we go with a new Magic Monday. The picture is Max Heindel, founder of the Rosicrucian Fraternity, one of the big four American Rosicrucian orders during the golden age of American occultism -- that was most of a century ago, in case you were wondering.

Ask me anything about occultism and I'll do my best to answer it. Any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer, though it may be Tuesday sometime before I get to them all.

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use the button below to access my online tip jar.

With that said, have at it!

***This Magic Monday is now closed to new questions. See you next week!***

Comments

Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[tunesmyth]

In the breathing practice instructions in the Order of Essenes materials, students are asked to lie prone and "lift up or puff out the triangular space just below the sternum (breastbone)." I am not sure if "up" of "out" means towards the ceiling or toward the head. I have tried it both ways, but in either case -- even or especially when I try to follow the instruction of pushing my muscles so I feel a pressing outward high on the side of the ribs -- I seem to be making it more difficult for air to fill up my abdomen. I can't seem to find a position which does a better job of allowing more air into the abdomen than lying relaxed while prone.

I understand that I'm attempting to maneuver muscles which I'm not used to focusing on here, and there is value in simply focusing my awareness there and continuing to try. Beyond that, though, do you have any advice to offer that may enlighten as to how to attain the correct position?

Re: Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[ecosophia]

That's probably a function of systemic tensions in the musculature of your body core. Keep trying, and don't worry about it too much; that's a detail, not the heart of the practice.

Re: Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, I will and have been. Understanding that Burks L. Hamner is no longer with us to confirm one way or the other, would you say there's a clear answer to whether "up" in this case means towards the ceiling, or towards the head?

And by the way, have you seen the photo of Mr. hamner shaking hands with Jack Dempsey that shows up when one does an internet search of his name?

Re: Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[ecosophia]

My guess is that when he says "up" he means "toward the head" and when he says "out" he means "away from the backbone," but it's a guess. As for the photo, did you mean this one? ;-)

Re: Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[(Anonymous)]

Very cool! Such an upbeat picture. He looks the way his writing reads, to my mind anyway.

Thanks for posting this. 😊

OtterGirl

Re: Order of Essenes breathing instructions

[(Anonymous)]

In vocal music training, a similar-sounding set of breathing instructions is one of the first techniques students are asked to practice. In that case, if you are lying on your back, the area moves up towards the ceiling. (My teacher had students actually place a book there to learn to make it lift with the inhale.) It feels counter-intuitive at first, but the aspiring singer is learning to pull the diaphragm muscle down into the belly, moving the organs there outward (if you are standing) or upward if lying down. This is to counter the habit of chest breathing, inhaling high in the chest first and sucking the belly in toward the backbone on the inhale, which allows a much smaller volume to enter the lungs (a shallower breath) than the aforementioned belly breathing. I haven't read the Essene materials, but I am guessing the principles may be similar.
--Heather in CA