78 I hope the reader will forgive me for not attempting to write another entire book on the subject of 108 and why the Hindus and others hold it in such veneration. One need only type “Why 108 beads?” on any search engine to begin your “never-ending” journey.
79 There are, of course, variations on this theme that magicians use to mix or match the dynamics of deosil and widdershins movements for specific magical effects. For this little ritual, however, we are applying them in the most simple and generic manner.
80 Or the image of the deity or spiritual personage that represents the object of the magician’s devotion.
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The Rabbi’s Dilemma
Divination is not a rival form of knowledge;
it is a part of the main body of knowledge itself.
Michel Foucault,
The Order of Things
The reader who has come this far with me should by now have a fair idea of my basic magical field theory. It is with the most profound conviction that I embrace the words that form the subtitle of this book, “It’s all in your head, you just have no idea how big your head is.” This is not to say, however, that I believe magick is purely psychological. What I am saying is there is more we don’t understand about the human mind than we do understand. With each new discovery we draw nearer to the realization that the mind is not limited by the brain. In fact, our brains, our bodies, our world, and even time and space are manifestations and aspects of mind. If we truly understood the limitless wonders of the mind and its relationship with the universal consciousness, we would know that in actuality there can be no outside of the mind—no outside of ourselves.
Does the mind explain everything? Theoretically, I’d say yes. But I would be the biggest liar in the universe if I were to even suggest that I am firmly in touch with that level of consciousness where everything is explained to me! And that’s one of the reasons I find magick is so fascinating, and at times, so unexplainable. One does not need to understand every detail of the inner workings of a computer in order to install and operate a complex program. So too, the magician does not need to objectively understand every detail of the inner workings of the infinite mind in order to operate the system. I do feel, however, that in this day and age it is wise to give credit where credit is due, and woe to the sanity of the modern practitioner who would have others believe that he or she has guilefully cornered the market on understanding magical powers.
I reiterate all this because I am about to share two stories about magical operations I have done for the benefit of others. Such efforts when not considered carefully threaten to challenge my “it’s all in my head …” field theory. After all, if “… the only thing I can change with magick is myself …” then how can I seemingly help others with my magical endeavors? Do I think that I am ultimately responsible for all the good and evil in the world?
I must confess, I’m not always clear on my own answers to those questions. But there is one thing upon which I am clear. Every bit of information that reaches the receptors of my senses and is processed by my brain—every myth I hear, every historical event I read about—every news story I watch—every book I read—every person I meet—every object, idea, image, sound, feeling, taste, emotion, observation, fear, or longing I encounter—everything changes me and becomes a living component of my conscious and subconscious reality. I am inextricably linked to everything that enters my realm of consciousness, and I am 100 percent responsible for how I process, react, and respond to it.
It might appear to the casual observer that my magick effects changes in the outside world. But ultimately, my outside world is one and the same as my inside world. If my magick does indeed bring about some desired change, it merely proves to me that somehow, someway, I have succeeded in transforming myself into the kind of person to whom such things happen.
In the spring of 2002, I received an e-mail from Ezriel,81 a rabbi living on the East Coast, who wrote that he was familiar with my work and felt confident I could magically help him resolve a serious problem. In his first note, he did not describe his problem or what he wanted me to do. He said he wanted to simply introduce himself and provide me with personal information which he begged I would verify and keep confidential; this included his full name, address, professional titles, educational degrees, and details of his standing within an influential community of Orthodox Jews. He closed by restating his sincerity, and that he was willing to fly me to the East Coast, pay my expenses, and award me whatever my fee may be for “this kind of black magick work.”
As you might imagine, I regularly receive letters and e-mails from some pretty colorful (sometimes very disturbed) individuals. I also occasionally receive requests from people asking me to curse an enemy, repel a psychic attack, expel a demon, extract an embedded extraterrestrial, or kindly endorse their claims that they are Jesus Christ, Aleister Crowley, or Cagliostro. I nearly always leave these requests unanswered, but Rabbi Ezriel’s note struck me as being something more.
I took a few minutes and investigated on the Internet. I easily found a mountain of information about Ezriel’s very ethnic home town. When I added his name to the search criteria, I found it prominently positioned among the religious and educational leaders of the community. I found it very odd that
