Hands-On Chaos Magic: Reality Manipulation through the Ovayki Current - Andrieh Vitimus 2009

Breathing

In the last chapter, we talked about some simple relaxation techniques to create a relaxed state. In fact, that relaxed state has a lot to do with both magic and meditation. Meditation, from particularly Taoist (yin) points of view, is about progressively relaxing until you are relaxed enough to focus on your body. But in yang traditions, such as Buddhism, meditation is as much about control as it is about relaxation. Originally, in Liber Null & Psychonaut, Peter Carroll outlined some basic techniques that he believed were core skills to be competent in before being admitted into his order, the Illuminates of Thanateros. There are so many resources on meditation that I cannot begin to cover them all, but these are some techniques that have worked for me. I encourage you to do your own research to discover new techniques and try them.

Controlling Breathing

There are many different types of controlled breathing, and each breathing method can have a different effect upon you, your mood, or even the way your body feels. Breath is a tool. These are fun exercises that are quite enjoyable. If you get frustrated with a technique, try to relax and have fun with it. Just relax, and try again. Some breathing techniques might not work for you. That is perfectly fine as well. Take these merely as example methods, and experiment on your own. You might find a particular pattern of breath work that has a really strong effect on your body. If it works, it is right for you.

Hermetic-Style Breathing

One particular style of breathing that I have read about in Initiation into Hermetics is to take a deep breath, inhale for a count of four, hold that breath for a count of four, and then exhale the breath for a count of four (Bardon 1999). I have tried to do this and can do it for a count of five seconds for each step as well. By deep breath, I mean breathing into the entire back and stomach, just like we did in the relaxation exercises. This breathing technique seems very useful when done sitting or lying down, but may be a bit more difficult when walking around. Remember, don't stress out if you get the pattern slightly off at first; just keep working on it.

Try working up to thirty minutes or so without breaking the pattern. How do you feel after doing this? How does your body feel?

Hyperventilation

Hyperventilation is not usually thought of as a breathing technique. I do not recommend practicing this type of breathing for more than fifteen minutes. Hyperventilation is very simple: take increasingly shorter inhalations and exhalations while increasing the force and power of each breath. Try to get to the point where it is impossible to really get the air into your system because the breathing is too quick and shallow. How does the hyperventilation affect your mood? Your skin tone? Your heart?

Lamaze Breathing

Lamaze breathing is a technique that is often used when delivering babies. It is designed to help with pain management (and as many a woman will tell you, delivering a baby is painful as hell). The simple pattern of Lamaze breathing is the infamous hee-hee-hooooo phrase (Bevins 2006). Before the hee, a short, deep inhalation is taken. The hee is exhaled in a quick, deep, and aggressive manner. Before the hooooo, however, a long, deep, and slow breath is taken. The hooooo is then exhaled very slowly. If you have the misfortune of having some pain, try this breathing pattern. After doing this for a few minutes, how do you feel? What happens when you use this technique for controlling the pain? How does it affect your mood? What thoughts come to mind? If you have never been pregnant, what pops into your head when trying this technique?

This technique is reportedly based upon an old Qi Gong technique for pain management. I honestly could not confirm definitively whether or not it is from Qi Gong, but such breathing techniques would be common to the art.

Reverse Chi Breathing

Reverse chi breathing is a relatively difficult style of breathing because it inverts the normal breathing process. Some literature refers to reverse chi breathing as chi packing (Yudelove 2000). I can honestly only do reverse chi breathing for about ten to fifteen minutes, but when I do this style of breathing I feel super-energized. Take a deep breath in. Instead of letting the diaphragm (and thus your stomach) expand, force your diaphragm to contract. As you exhale, expand your diaphragm as far as you can. Both the inhalation and exhalation should be deep and steady. The first time I tried this, my breath was both unstable and choppy coming in and out. This is not a natural style of breathing. After some practice, however, this breathing style seems very energetic. According to Chinese Qi Gong, this method of breathing forces tremendous amounts of chi into the body. I have found that this method of breathing works best when standing up.

Fibonacci Breathing

As you start practicing different styles of breathing, it will become very apparent that even the rhythm of breathing and the pattern of breathing alone can have a very strong impact on your state of consciousness, mood, energy levels, and even physiology. Feel free to experiment, devising your own method of breathing that produces certain effects in your body. I personally have two breathing techniques that I have developed that I really enjoy and will share. The first technique is simply to deeply inhale for more than five seconds and then exhale in about half the time in a quick, deep fashion. This is much like a deep inhalation and then a quick sigh. I have found that this breathing style de-stresses me very quickly.

The second technique I have experimented with is breathing in a certain sequence. For the math enthusiasts out there, I started using the Fibonacci numbers to dictate my breathing patterns in two unique ways. The Fibonacci numbers under 100 are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and 89. Now, before you ask what the point of doing this is, I will say that the Fibonacci numbers appear everywhere in nature, from the layout of a pine cone, to the spirals of a galaxy. Any mathematics book on infinite series will include more information on the Fibonacci numbers.

One playful technique I have used is to count the number of breaths. So I inhale deeply and exhale, both for a count of five, and then do this again. After the first two breaths, I take three five-second in-andout breaths and then hold my breath for five seconds. In the next step, I take five deep breaths in and out, and then hold my breath for five seconds. I am just breathing in the pattern of the Fibonacci series by counting my breath and then taking a break. I can never seem to count past thirty-four in this exercise.

A second technique of using the Fibonacci numbers involves the golden section. The golden section is a ratio that nature seems to use to decide the structure and patterns found in plants, leaves, and even cells. The number phi,

<="" p="">

There are tons of sequences in nature to try. Play with breathing, and try to come up with some new breathing combinations for yourself or to share. See what effects you can produce in mood, feeling, or even thought, merely by experimenting with your breathing in new and interesting ways. Do the initial experiments for fifteen minutes or so, and assess what is going on. If a breathing experiment creates pain or seems wrong to you, stop doing it. Try a different pattern.