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Sahaja

Sahaja, Sanskrit, can be translated "spontaneity." It requires relaxation during initiatory periods of trouble and turmoil; also, there is complete abandonment of all preconceived routines and learned responses. Through relaxation one is capable of acting with increased freedom thus making shifts in one's, the magician's, Achievable Reality threshold. This sense of spontaneity does not come naturally since most people have been preconditioned to exhibit certain responses; such preconditioning must be weakened and destroyed through the practice of opposite or different behavior. It is vitally important that person trying to achieve this change of behavior be aware that he is entering a threshold of change which also requires changes in attitudes.

The initiatory crisis demonstrates, often forcefully, the awareness of the fragility of ordinary life experiences, and of the hidden complexity behind that which is accepted as normal. The average acceptance of "sameness" becomes addictive thus causing difficulty when coping with the novelty of change. Thus, when faced with a foreign or threatening situation the habitual response is to rely on predetermined reactions rather than actually observing the situation and determining an appropriate course of action. The magician must recognize an abyss might possibly lie around every corner and has to be dealt with. Thus, one must recognize one's personal acceptability to initiatory crises and constantly be ready to manage them. A.G.H.

Source:

Hine, Phil, Condensed Chaos: Introduction to Chaos Magic, Temple, AZ, New Falcon Publications, 1995, pp. 163-184