Modern Survivalism

In the final stage our actions are no longer hindered by emotions. We are skilled and proficient at encountering and creatively resolving challenging situations. Through the long and difficult process of trial and error we have become resourceful and look forward to the next challenge and the rewards it may bring. This is the stage of personal mastery. Our reserves of creative power in moments of crisis automatically take over and do what is needed to deal with the situation in a successful manner. Our Master Within will instinctively guide our physical actions in ways that keep negative situations from arising. We act with a keen awareness of our physical environment and are deeply sensitive to the possibilities that exist within each moment.

Not one moment is wasted or spent uselessly in counterproductive efforts.

The Master must have first passed through each of the previous stages. They have at some point risked and risked again. They have been a victim in the spiritual stage; learned from repeated mistakes in the mental stage; became friends with the condition of lead feet, pounding heart and the inability to breathe in the emotional stage and resolutely gone ever forward to physical mastery. Let us ask again if the phrase "no pain, no gain" applies to the spiritual path and the path of self mastery. Is it worth personal discomfort to take the harder path? Is the reward worth the greater effort? I guess each one of us must answer this question individually as we come to it.

Our contact with the Master Within and our creative power started at the spiritual level and then transferred to the mental level. After we have enough risks, failures, and confrontations under our belts we enter into the emotional realms. Our inner reserves are potent enough to act upon our emotions.

We take risks and experience the joy, pleasure and satisfaction success brings. We work hard and earn the rewards we receive. We are competent in life and enjoy competition. We enjoy the struggle and the reward. We have no interest in getting something we have not earned through our own physical labors.

Perhaps we risked by asking someone out for a date. After many rejections we were accepted and dating someone we really liked. Perhaps we even fell in love.

The negative aspect of this stage is powerful. We are confronted or placed in situations where our feet feel like lead weights, our heart is in our throats and we can't breathe. We feel fear to the point of being frozen. Despite this awkwardness, fear and discomfort we force ourselves to move forward, whether it be a task we fear or asking someone to marry us. The important point is we do not allow our fear to prevent us from doing the things required.

We develop the heart and will power to achieve in life. At this stage we develop what it takes to succeed in life.

We can only achieve joy, pleasure, and satisfaction by risking and acting in spite of personal fears and limitations. This is not being passive. In the first stage we were victims, in the second stage we learned from our mistakes. In this stage we deliberately go after what we want. We do this in spite of our inexperience, lack of knowledge and fears.

We are clumsy and crude in our attempts. We may or may not succeed but we have the heart and will power that allows us to eventually succeed. We believe in ourselves enough to overcome whatever obstacles may occur. It is our faith in ourselves and our connection to the Master Within that allows us to go forward into new and strange situations with confidence and determination. Our desire is stronger than our fear.

At this stage we learn from past experiences and are able to mentally remain in the situation. Our awareness has enough power and flexibility to understand how our physical actions have brought us to where we are. We understand our part in being responsible for what happens to us.

This is what most understand as mastery of life. Our mental web of associated thoughts has become sophisticated enough that we can adapt it successfully to a wide variety of physical situations. We develop a lifestyle that appears to get us the things we want in life. Few people ever go beyond this stage.

Increased contact with the Master Within allows us to learn from our mistakes. It does not allow us to foresee and avoid mistakes but it does allow us to learn from failures. Each failure brings greater knowledge and awareness of the issues involved and the realities behind them.

We understand the importance of risk taking. If we do not take risks and try new things we will remain where we are. Many are afraid and will attempt only those things they have a proven ability to do. They play it safe except when nature or God/dess decides to interfere in their otherwise placid, boring life and liven it up a bit. Both God/dess and nature intend life to be an exploration and adventure. This includes experiencing as many things as possible.

The struggle to adapt to new life conditions and the satisfaction of personal achievement is rewarded by both nature and physical life. The rewards go to those that take the risks and succeed.

When we first tap into creative power it does the best it can but is not able to alter physical events. This first contact with the Master Within involves abstract spiritual energy and in times of peace and relaxation offers us a feeling of peace and love. It also comforts us in our time of need.

In times of crisis such as physical abuse, rape, robbery, or accident this same contact takes our mind and awareness away from our physical body as an act of mercy and it seems what is happening to our physical body is happening to someone else, to a stranger and not to us. Our awareness retreats far back into a safe place provided by the Master Within. We are physically passive and defenseless; we are a victim and can only watch helplessly at things we can do nothing about.

Later we tap into concrete spiritual energy and experience intuitive illuminations and "hunches" on the best way to tackle problem or situations. This is a type of intuitive knowing.

Our culture has chosen to give importance to the "illumination" aspect and minimize or ignore the "victim" aspect of these first contacts with the inner creative power. The important point is we all start with a zero balance of this creative power and as we reach in and tap our own source we accumulate a reserve. We accumulate more of this creative power by successfully confronting obstacles and by spiritual "disciplines" such as meditation.

The concept of trial by fire, alchemy, turning lead into gold, and choosing the harder path because of the reward it brings is an old one. Taking risks is a difficult path to understand and a difficult path to walk. Who wants to believe the "no pain, no gain" approach applies equally to spiritual life as it does to physical life? When we express desire to have mastery over our own lives what do we really mean?

The chances are that our vision of mastery includes the ability to accomplish physical goals we were born to do. We feel spiritual strength should overcome barriers that attempt to block us. For this reason we concentrate on spiritual things to the exclusion of physical realities and limitations. We attempt to build reserves of spiritual strength to help us in our times of need.


We have been taught and we believe to the point we no longer question. We are taught the superiority of spirit over physical and taught to deny the physical in favor of the spiritual. Let's take a closer look and see what is really happening. We will find the physical and spiritual are not to be so easily separated and each one has need of the other.


Each of us has individual past memories and experiences we draw upon. Each of us has a system of beliefs tailored to us individually. They may not be appropriate for someone else. We all walk individual paths.


These memories , experiences, and beliefs create a web or network within our psyche that allows us to travel consciously from point A to point B. We solve problems that confront us by reasoning or traveling this web or network until we arrive at the desired destination and solution. This web or network is our "computer program" that we can not deviate from or ever leave. One thought is connected to the next, connected to the next and so forth. This is the nature of associated thought and of mental reasoning. It is not possible to jump from point A to point B unless a mental connection of some type exists, an association of some type. We are imprisoned within the web or network of our personal memories, experiences and beliefs.

We monitor the development of these energies through our dreams. If we are living intensely enough our dreams will be vivid and empowering. If we are not living intensely our dreams will relflect a weakening as we loose ground.

Dream life is a form of astral work that reflects physical life. When we are happy and empowered in our dreams we are happy and empowered in our physical lives. Each dream involves a specific type of astral energy and represents our development in that particular energy. When something is wrong or threatening there is a weakness we must confront or it will act to destroy us.

It is important we remember our dreams and learn the symbolic language that our "inner self" uses to communicate with us. This symbolic language is personal and one dream image will mean different things to different people. Dream dictionaries are not helpful.

Each dream is either the creation of a new energy connection between people and issues or the severance of an old connection. By this I mean each dream episode is connected to the next in the same way our thoughts are connected to each other. During each dream the energy generated during the day flows through astral cords and is released. The release of this energy creates the movement within the dream itself. If we gained energy the dream will be empowering. If we loose energy the dream will be threatening.

By living an intense life we can ensure that our dreams will be empowered ones. This empowerment will be relfected in our physical lives.

As you can see there are several types of charisma that can be developed. Each type has its own characteristics and brings its own rewards. Our goal should be to develop each type of energy by doing the activities that develop those energies on a daily basis. All of our personal efforts are progressive and cumulative.

The goal should be putting out intense effort for at least 1/2 hour every day if possible. More than two hours of intense effort is too much.

For developing Etheric energy we should plan to do some type of aerobic excercise. Try to do something that you really enjoy. Ideally you will stress the body until you get the "second wind" sensation. When this happens the generated energy is going into the astral planes. You can also stress the physical body by doing breathing excercises but this should be done with extreme care.

Lower emotional energy is best developed through human sexuality as opposed to anger, fear and hostility. Try to become a lover and not a fighter! The pleasurable sensations that flood the body prior to orgasm are going into the astral planes.

Take some risks and do some thrill seeking to develop the upper emotional energies. We will create crisis in our lives if we do not have enough excitement. By deliberately planning for excitement we take away the need for much of the crisis that we face daily.

Love, honor, patriotism, these are not things to laugh at. They are very important upper emotional energies as well. Find a cause to believe in and act upon it! Stand up for what you believe.

One of the greatest pleasures in life is to learn new things. Everyday if possible we should make a point to expand the world we live in by learning something new that we didn't know before. This type of learning develops the awareness of our environment and strengthens our mental concrete energy.

Debate and philosophical arguement strengthens our minds and our wills. Through practice we develop persistence and the ability to return our focus to what we are doing. If we allow ourselve to be side tracked we will never achieve the things we want in life. Mental discipline is vital.

The resolution of paradox and problem solving allows us to think outside the box and make quantum leaps in awareness. These leaps in awareness are what breaks us out of old non productive programming.

Prayer and mediation every day can center us and bring us health and peace of mind. As we listen to the still small voice of our conscience we learn the all important task of loving ourselves. If we can't love ourselves how can we love others?

Lastly, we are all part of the great collective soul of humanity and part of the earth as well. How can we harm someone else without harming ourselves? In truth we are all in this together.

We monitor the development of these energies through our dreams. Our dream life is a form of astral work that reflects physical life. When we are happy and empowered in our dreams we are happy and empowered in our physical lives. Each dream involves a specific type of astral energy and represents our stage of development with that particular energy.

This is the energy that forms the bonds between our parents, our siblings and others we love deeply. We form connections or bonds that are so strong we couldn't break them if we tried.

When these bonds are supportive and positive nothing in the world can prevent us from achieving our goals in life. Those that love us give us support and encouragement through the tough times and rejoice with us when we succeed. They share in our joy and we share in their joy. They share in our sorrow and we share in their sorrow. As a united force working collectively toward a common goal we are able to overcome all obstacles and achieve great things. That at least is the ideal situation.

When these bonds are abusive and negative it is impossible to achieve permanent happiness and satisfaction in life. These people and bonds drain us of our will and lower our self esteem. We become ineffective in our lives and doomed to struggle much harder than others. Our every effort toward happiness is sabotaged by these self defeating tendencies within us and those we love.

There are two ways we can develop this energy and use it to achieve positive bonds. The first way is through hard physical work. Hard physical work will generate etheric energy and create a powerful body that can withstand the abuses we subject it to. We can use hard physical work to create appropriate boundaries that keep negativity away from us. The physical act of "doing" successfully overwhelms those influences that say "you can't do". In this manner you physically prove to those that don't believe in you that you have the ability to achieve. Their resistance is overcome through the sheer intensity of your physical effort.

The second way to develop etheric energy is by going through some kind of psychotherapy or counseling to explore and bring into awareness the self-destructive aspects that we all have. In this manner we confront those issues and come to terms with them. We also learn how to act in a more appropriate manner. Doing this releases trapped and repressed energy allowing us to make productive use of it. The first method is to generate new energy. This second method is to reclaim energy that we already have but can't use.

The person that has highly developed this energy forms deep bonds of attachment everywhere he goes and is deeply loved by close personal friends. His friends are highly supportive of him and he is highly supportive of them. The magnetic charm and attraction he possesses lets others know he will always be there if they need him. This is a person that can be counted on. This is a person that is strong in themselves and their ability to live a productive life.

Normally we think of sensuality or sexuality as belonging to this category but there are several others. Anger, fear, pain and anguish are all lower emotional energies. Determination and resolve are the traits that we acquire as we develop these energies. The development of these energies is not easy.

There is often a gap between the way we wish things were and the way things really are. The lower emotional energies fill that gap. At first we are confronted with negative or harmful physical circumstances that we have no control over. We are "victims" and feel the paralyzing despair of helplessness as events damage our lives and the lives of those we love. That is until we get fed up and decide to do something about the mess we are in.

We develop these energies by deliberately and methodically confronting our deepest fears and bringing them into full awareness. As we develop these energies we still feel fear but force ourselves into physical action to defend or protect ourselves from further damage and suffering. We learn to physically respond in an appropriate manner in spite of our fear.

In the jungle the roar of a lion makes some animals freeze with fear and the lion eats them. It makes other animals run like hell and they get away. How we deal with our own fear is quite similar. We can freeze and not do anything or we can move inspite of our fear and move forward toward our dreams. "It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all".

Through repeated frustrated experiences we become angry instead of fearful. We physically lash out in pain and rage at what ever is hurting us. Gradually we gain the ability to defend ourselves and are no longer "victims". A point is reached where we can use our anger in creative ways to propel us toward the fulfillment of our dreams. This is the development of courage, determination and resolve. "I'll be damned if I am going to let that stop me", is an example of using anger by turning it into resolve and determination.

The person that develops these traits has a magnetic charm and attraction that is emotionally powerful and overwhelming. He is a natural leader and takes control in emergency situations. This person overwhelms the opposition through shear force of will and personality. The aura radiates from this person and dominates all others in the room. When he walks in a room heads turn and notice.

This is a variant of raw sexual magnetism. Sexual magnetism is developed in the same manner through confronting and dealing with our own fears about human sexuality and closeness in relationships.

The most familiar forms of this energy are joy, love, and excitement. With this energy we feel alive and vital in the most positive ways. It is the development of these emotional energies within us that makes life worth living. Lets add honor, pride and a sense of fairness to the first three.

This is the energy responsible for the aesthetic experience and enjoyment of the fine arts and of nature. This emotional energy allows us to experience and feel the beauty of life in all its forms.

We develop this energy by taking risks, doing new things and being successful at them. It is the joy of winning and the joy of attainment that develops this emotion within us. When we try something new and discover that we like it our world expands and we feel free and joyous. We create this energy by doing things we enjoy and love. Curiosity, pleasure seeking, sensuality, excitement and thrills all help to bring emotional richness.

It is in the joy of discovery and going on exciting adventures that we can rediscover our "inner child".

As children we had an abundance of this energy. As we grew older we forgot to do fun things and gradually we lost the ability to treat life as an exciting adventure. Fortunately we have the ability to reclaim this excitement by doing things we love.

We can tell when someone has developed this aspect of themselves becausethey radiate a love and enjoyment of life that everyone around them can sense. They make us feel alive and vital as well. This is the magnetic charm and attraction of this energy when it is fully developed. We all want to be around this person because they makes us feel alive. They are exciting and fun to be around. In social circles they are the life of the party and extremely popular. They laugh a lot and have a highly developed sense of humor. Through them we learn how to truely live!

This is a passive mental energy where we absorb and learn from our environment. We develop this energy within us by becoming walking question marks. We are curious and listen to others accepting what they say without question. Authorities tell us what to do and we do it. We develop this energy within us as we make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.

This energy is not creative except in the ability to learn. At first we make mistakes and don't learn from them. As we acquire more of this energy we learn and don't repeat them. As life experience accumulates we devise a strategies and systems that will get us through each situation. These are mental programming tasks like how to drive a car or ride a bicycle.

Instead of treating each situation as totally unique we devise "formulas" to get the things we want. At first we take these "formulas" from other successful people and try to make the "formulas" work for us. When they don't work we learn from the mistakes and alter the "formula" until it works most of the time. From that point on we use the formula to get the things we want in life. A truly successful "formula" will get a person what he wants.

The magnetic charm or appeal that this person has comes from a well polished and perfected "formula" that allows him to be the best at whatever he does. This is the smooth talker that can charm the opposite sex and break hearts. This is the business person that is highly proficient and productive in his job or skill. This person uses a "formula" to become an expert at whatever he wants to do and is highly predictable. He can not easily deviate from his "formula" and can become "trapped" in it when it doesn't work. The more developed this astral body is; the more adaptive, resourceful and universal the "formula" becomes.

First we absorb and learn from our environment. After we understand what is expected we try doing it and fall flat on our faces. Ulitimately we find that doing what other people tell us to do is not rewarding and does not bring us closer to our hopes and dreams. That is when we devise "programs" that work for us.

This is a type of mental energy and the astral body it creates forms our "ego". In normal awareness and in our dreams this energy creates the "I" that we think we really are.

It is also associated with logic and reasoning ability in a creative manner. Developing this energy gives us the ability to focus and direct our thought processes in the direction we want them to go. We develop mental discipline when we acquire this energy. Normally our thoughts are random or follow a "flow of consciousness" pattern where one thought is connected through association to another thought which is in turn connected to another thought ...ect. This is a foundation of the "free association" school of psychology.


We mentally return to the goal that we are striving for whenever we get distracted. We focus on a particular subject. The way we develop this is participation in philosophical debates with other people. In these debates we are constantly trying to make a specific point and need to keep coming back to the subject at hand until our point has been made and clearly understood. At the same time the other person is trying to direct the debate in a way that will allow his point to be clearly understood. The mental agility and stamina needed in debates is very great.


The development of this energy helps us to become strong minded or strong willed and not easily swayed by another's opinion or distracted from our goal. We use this energy to think for ourselves.

The magnetic charm and appeal of this energy is to become highly opinionated and strong willed. This type of person has a very strong ego and insists upon learning and doing things his own way. Through force of will this type of person can change the outcome of "bad" dreams into "good" dreams. This person can also stick with a project and see it through to conclusion. This ability is vital in getting the things we want in life. People see this type of person as being confident and sure of themselves.

This energy forms what is often called our "soul" body. While Abstract Spiritual energy is concerned with experiences of "Unity" this energy is associated with intuitive insights and answers to questions that go beyond what is possible with the mind alone. In meditation we percieve "Truth". In addition to forming the astral "soul" body this energy forms archetypal concepts. Anything a person can envision or experience and remember as an ideal is created with this energy.

The characteristic that marks experiences with this energy is the perfect solution that intuitively and suddenly presents itself. An answer spontaneously comes to us and it is the perfect answer in every way imaginable. It is possible to train ourselve to be strong in this type of perception. It's also called "thinking outside of the box"!

As we develop this energy we gain an intuitive knowledge of what our true mission in life really is. We understand why we are living the way we are and how we can change our lives to achieve our goals.

The intuitive insights and answers that come to us as we develop this energy are commonly called communications from our higher self or soul. They are inspired answers and insights to our problems that come at exactly the right time and place. They are the "hunches" that we follow that somehow just feel right for us.

We generate this type of energy through creative problem solving that forces us time and again to come up with intuitive answers. Each "aha" experience becomes easier for us and we develop an intuitive understanding of ourselves, our world, and the entire universe. This is a form of "cosmic awareness" that has also been called "Christ Consciousness". When we develop this ability we become "Christs". Jesus attained to this level of consciousness and was called a "Christ". There are currently thousands of individuals in the world that have developed this ability in themselves. It is attained when our personal belief system or paradigm is entirely individual and integrated. As this energy is developed within us we resolve conflicting areas of our lives and integrate them into a harmonious whole.

When we can do this we find alternate ways of doing things and often are persecuted by others that insist upon corporate and social conformity. They fear personal freedom and call upon external authority to curb and control us. They don't want anyone rocking the boat!

The development of this astral body gives "luck" to the person that has it. The developed magnetic charm and appeal appear as a person that is extremely lucky in whatever they do. By responding to intuitive hunches they act in creative non-traditional ways and avoid many of the harmful things in life that afflict others. The troubles and sorrows in life seem to slide off this type of person like water off a duck's back. These people lead a charmed life and are highly likable. They are very curious and get into a lot of trouble but always seem to find a way to get themselves out of it unscathed.

Abstract Spiritual energy is the energy of "unity". In a way we are all part of the planet earth, we are all part of the collective soul of humanity. When we hurt someone else we are also hurting ourselves.

This type of energy has no real form and is responsible for the "illumination" that is commonly associated with "mystical" experiences and spiritual "love". Another common term for this is "spiritual light". An example of this type of energy in our lives is the "light-bulb" effect when we suddenly have a brilliant mystical experience of being surrounded or bathed in spiritual light, love and peace. Light is a characteristic of experiences with this energy. We generate it through meditation, prayer, devotion, and creative or inspirational pursuits. In developing this energy we develop spiritual power and spiritual creativity. Our experiences are intensely personal and sacred and we feel at one with the Cosmic or Higher Power.

The development of this "astral" body gives a glow or halo of "spiritual light" around the physical body. Divine persons, saints and other highly spiritual people are often depicted in religious art with this spiritual light around them. The developed magnetic charm or appeal is spiritual in nature and others sense and respond to it.

Abstract Spiritual energy marks the pinnacle that human consciousness can achieve. It is that mystical place where everything merges into one vast unity and our spirits return to source at least momentarily.

The power the development of this energy gives is the ability to make "quantum leaps" of awareness giving us the miracle of finding opportunities or escape routes where none seem to exist. It is here we can literally create something out of nothing!

Chapter 1Developing Charisma

One of the most important goals in personal development is to acquire a special magnetic charm or appeal commonly known as charisma. I'm sure that we all would like to be able to do this. The good news is that it is strictly a mechanical process.

To understand the process we must first understand the connection between the "physical" body and the "non physical" body, soul or astral body. The physical body is made up of atoms and molecules and is capacitive in nature. By capacitive I mean that it has the ability to generate energy, store energy, and discharge energy in a similar manner to the capacitors used in electronic circuitry.

I will be using many examples from basic electrical theory to explain some important but subjective areas. Please try to bear with me and keep an open mind. You might even consider studying up on some basic electrical theory. (chuckle) The "nonphysical" body is inductive in nature and is formed of magnetic fields and flux lines.

Occultists call this the astral body or "aura". It has the ability to repel or attract as well as its main function as a simple conductor of energy. The electrical type of energy that we are most familiar with is "nerve" energy. This "nonphysical body" operates in a manner similar to electrical coils found in electronic circuitry.

It is the development of this "nonphysical" body that gives a person charisma. Throughout this book we will explore many ways of progressively developing this "nonphysical" body and in the process developing our special magnetic charm and appeal to others. This "nonphysical" body is also the body that we have in our dreams.

As we develop the power of this "nonphysical" body our dreams will reflect our personal growth. That is why it becomes very important to monitor our dreams if we are serious about personal development. We need to learn the special language of our dreams so we can understand what they are saying to us.

If we are progressing in the proper way the body we have in our dreams will become more powerful and more resourceful. Instead of having dreams where we are helpless and powerless, we will have dreams of successfully dealing with adverse situations in a positive way. This is our goal and we will gradually gain conscious control of our dream life.

The "nonphysical" body is commonly referred to as the "astral" body. The world of dreams is commonly known as the "astral" world. There are seven main types of energy that form astral bodies and astral worlds. They are Abstract Spiritual, Concrete Spiritual, Abstract Mental, Concrete Mental, Upper Emotional, Lower Emotional and Etheric.

These terms were first developed by famed occultist Dion Fortune to describe the various types of energy that the physical body produces. The human body produces many more than seven different energies but they tend to fall into seven categories also known as chakra energies located at the pineal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, heart, solar plexus, spleen/ovaries or testes, and perenium or tailbone.

CHAPTER 1: DEVELOPING CHARISMA
CHAPTER 2: TAKING RISKS
CHAPTER 3: THE WILL TO LIVE
CHAPTER 4: OUR PUBLIC IMAGE
CHAPTER 5: CREATIVE POWER
CHAPTER 6: SELF ESTEEM
CHAPTER 7: DO IT
CHAPTER 8: SOCIAL PRESSURE
CHAPTER 9: WINNING
CHAPTER 10: FAMILY AND LOVE
CHAPTER 11: FREEDOM
CHAPTER 12: DREAMS
CHAPTER 13: DEATH
CHAPTER 14: LIKE A ROCK
CHAPTER 15: THE GIFT OF LIFE
CHAPTER 16: MEDITATION
CHAPTER 17: MIRACLES
CHAPTER 18: DREAM WORK
CHAPTER 19: YOUTH AND INNOCENCE
CHAPTER 20: DREAM VEHICLES AND WEAPONS
CHAPTER 21: ROMANTIC LOVE
CHAPTER 22: THE BALANCE OF LIFE