wynnsoft.com: Newsletter Number 5

Message Number #5 23/06/2004

"Worry is a word that I don't allow myself to use"
Dwight D Eisenhower

Merry Meet <Salutation:40>,

Welcome to issue number 5 of the WynnSOft Newsletter.

This Newsletter is distributed in HTML format, if you have problems reading it then view it on the Web

http://www.wynnsoft.com/newsletters/newsletter5

Apologies for the delay of this weeks Newsletter, once again we have been experiencing a number of Email problems which should be resolved shortly.

Featured Articles

Start to 'Burst' and get more out of Life
Every day should be Magickal
Rune Reading Class - Part 1 Introduction

Plus

Latin word for the week 'Schola'.
Myths and Deities 'Branwen.
Magickal Dictionary 'Besom'.
Magickal Site of the Week.

Start to 'Burst' and get more out of Life

If you are having trouble getting started or working on any project, whether personal or career related, you might want to try the 'Burst' method.

As I have mentioned in previous emails, our minds are wonderfully complicated tools that require a lot of our attention. Our minds tend to work best in short/sharp bursts of activity. The reason for this is our minds crave completion. If we have an essay to write the whole essay may conceivably take four or five hours, if not longer. If we were to sit down with that idea in our mind, to write an essay for four or five hours, then our mind will actually start to work against us. Unfortunately our minds really do hate thinking in long periods of time.

Initially your mind will probably be fine for around the first hour, but then it will start to undermine you. Throwing out suggestions to break our concentration. We need a drink, we need a break, we need some food, we should of called Bill etc. Anything to give our mind a break from thinking for a long sustained period of time. Once our concentration has been broken our mind makes it exceedingly more difficult to get started again. Long periods of time make our mind wander, it is hard for our mind to sustain concentration for time periods longer than about 40 minutes.

A good way to overcome this limitations in our mind is to 'Burst'. To work in short sustained bursts of activity, then switch to another activity for another short sustained burst, then back again. I know it might sound strange but in this way, we do not give our mind too much time to think!!!

Say for example we have the essay to write, we also have our email correspondence to catch up on. So we have two major tasks to complete. Starting with the essay we set a countdown timer and work on the essay for 20 minutes. Once the timer has counted down to zero we switch to replying to email and restart the countdown timer for another 20 minutes, once that is complete we then once again switch to writing the essay and restart the countdown timer.

Why use a countdown timer? Basically our mind craves completion. If you have a countdown timer it will strangely make you work more efficiently. Your mind can see the time counting down which gives it the sense of impending completion, it also has a knock-on effect of giving your mind a real sense of urgency. (If you need a countdown timer for your desktop then download Countdown Clock from Contact Plus it is a free download. http://www.contactplus.com )

You have to make sure once your first burst is done, that you switch tasks no excuses. Do not spend any more time on your first task. If you get interrupted then pause the timer and return to your task once the interruption is over. Make sure you stop and switch the task you are doing as soon as the timer reaches zero.

Even though we may not have finished the first task we give our mind a sense of completion when we switch as soon as the timer reaches zero. This sense of completion though, is only a secondary sense of completion. Our mind still knows that the first task is unfinished, so it still craves total completion. Yet with the burst method it has had to move on to another task so it does not have time to be overly concerned about the first task. That craving for total completion works in our favour, because at the back of our mind it is ready for when we switch back once again to the first task.

With this burst method you can rotate as few as two tasks or as many as you like. Bursts of time can be as little as 5 minutes and long as 40 minutes. 40 minutes is the maximum. If you need a break, then take a break in the middle of doing a task. Pause the countdown timer, then take a break. Remember you mind craves completion so it will be eager to get back to the task if you pause in the middle and not at the end.

Experiment with the bursts of time that suit you. You may alter the system and decide to burst for 20 minutes on writing the essay, followed by a 5 minute burst on reviewing emails, followed by a 40 minute burst on updating your website. Play around with burst times until you get something that suits your requirements.

I personally work on 40 minutes bursts with a slightly more complex version of the system. Rather than individual tasks I place all of the tasks into categories/projects such as eBooks, Email, Personal etc. I then have multiple tasks relating to that category. I work for 40 minutes on as many tasks as I can complete within the 40 minutes for that category, I then switch to a new category and go again. With multiple tasks in a category I may sub-burst, breaking down the individual tasks into 5 or 10 minute bursts within the 40 minute burst for the category..

One of the benefits of utilising this system is your mind does not stagnate and get bored just working on the one task for a long period of time. You will probably find if you follow this method that you can get a lot more done in the space of a day than you normally would achieve. It is great for at least getting started on projects that you may have been postponing. Knowing you are only going to be working on them for a short period of time almost lowers the pain threshold especially if it something you do not particularly fancy doing!

Give it a try and let me know how you get on.

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Every day should be Magickal.

As with anything in life in order to become adept at Magick you need to put in the hours of study and practice. Magick is a much a learned skill, for most people, as any other skill. The more time and effort you put into your Magickal pursuits the more rewards you will gain in the long term.

What puts people off in the beginning is sometimes the lack of results. You cast a spell and it does not appear to have worked. You perform a ritual thinking you will feel some mystical power course through your veins, yet you feel the same as you always do. It appears to be one setback after another. You wonder if you have done something wrong, said the wrong thing, made the wrong gesture. You may even start to wonder why everybody else seems to understand this thing called Magick yet you are having such difficulty? Perhaps you don't have the talent for Magick etc etc.

One of the main causes of Magick not working is belief. In order for Magick to work you need to have a definite belief that Magick exists and Magick works. Without belief, Magick will fail.

Belief can not be gained straight away, you need to work at it each and every day. You need to make every day Magickal. So that day by day, week by week, month by month, your belief in Magick grows stronger. So that before long, your belief will be unwavering, solid as rock. You will know that Magick exists, Magick works and more importantly Magick works for you.

So work Magick into your daily routine, meditate, visualise, cast a spell or read a Magick related book. Go for a walk in the countryside or park, absorb nature. Feel at one with the world. Look at nature through Magickal eyes, see that true Magick exists in everything Mother Nature is showing us. As William Shakespeare wrote "In Nature's infinite book of secrecy. A little I can read". If you view nature through Magickal eyes you start to unlock some of the secrets. Do something each and every day to build your belief, make each day Magickal.

Remember your mind is your biggest asset when it come to Magick, not fancy tools or complicated rituals. Your mind has the power to create Magick that is all you need. Feed your mind food that it can work with, reinforce the idea that Magick is all around you. In other people, in animals, in plants, in everything that you see, hear, taste and touch. Everything that is living has a Magickal entity to it, a life-force that in itself is Magick. Even objects that are considered to be lifeless can absorb energy from living creatures. Everything you come into contact with can have an air of Magick about it, if you look hard enough.

The more you build the belief of Magick, the more your ability with Magick will increase. Your mind acts like a large magnet, it draws things to you. If your mind believes in the existence of Magick it draws Magick to you. Which in turn gives you the ability to create Magick.

In a previous Newsletter I talked about affirmations, affirmations are a wonderful thing to build belief in your mind. So think of some suitable affirmations concerning Magick and then say them first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Even if you don't believe them to begin with, if you keep saying them they will eventually become fact within your mind.

Your mind needs to be tuned into the Magickal frequency and this may take some time. Stick with it, the rewards are endless if you keep plugging away. So do something Magickal each and every day, no matter how small.

Rune Reading Class Part 1 - Introduction

The Runes have been used for centuries for the purpose of divination, an Oracle to foretell future events. The full meaning of the Runes is not really known as the Rune Masters of old passed on their knowledge by word of mouth, if anything was ever written it has been lost over the years. The modern day use of the Runes, it is hoped, closely follows the little we do know about their origins. This information has been gleamed for the various Norse Sagas, also the Runic writing found in Germany and Scandinavia. Runic symbols have been used as early as 250 B.C.

The word runes comes from the Gothic runa, meaning a secret thing, a mystery. The Runes were used as symbols, which in themselves had great power, but they were also used as letters. Runic letters are known as runastafr and the art of Rune casting was known as runemal. When you read the Runes you read them from right to left.

Below is a sample Rune, this Rune is called Mannaz and signifies 'The Self'. This Rune can also mean man or the letter M.

The runes we are going to study are Viking Runes. There are 25 Rune Stones in total, all apart from one have a symbol/glyph etched onto them. The rune without a symbol is intentionally left blank to signify the unknowable. Runes can be made of any material, wood, stone, metal, even just drawn onto a sheet a paper. Certain Runes can be drawn reversed so they have two meanings.

Rune casting is very similar to Tarot reading. There are 4 main spreads or techniques.

1) Odins Rune - The drawing of a single Rune to give an overview of an entire situation.

2) The Three Rune Spread - Three Runes are drawn. The first represents the current situation. The second, the action that needs to be taken. The Third, the new situation that will arise the outcome. There is a variation to this method, a slight modification. The first represents you now. The second, the challenge you face. The Third, the best outcome.

3) The Runic Cross - Six Runes are drawn. The first represents the past. The second, you now. The third, the possible future. The fourth, the foundation of the matter under consideration. The fifth, the challenge that awaits you. The sixth, the best outcome you can anticipate. If after six runes have been drawn the issue is still clouded then a seventh rune, the rune of resolution is drawn.

4) The Three Lifetimes Spread - Five runes are drawn. The first represents your birth and childhood. The second, represents your present situation. The third, represents your future in this life. The fourth your past incarnation. The fifth, your future incarnation.

With Rune Reading we do not ask a specific question, instead we address an issue. For example, if you were having a problem at work you would not ask 'Will I get fired on Monday?'. Instead you would ask the runes to address the issue, that issue being your work/career. Specific questions can be asked of the runes but then a yes/no answer will be received.

Next week - A detailed explanation of the first rune, Mannaz 'The Self'

Action Plan for the week.

Try the 'Burst' method to kick-start you on a long overdue project.

Look for the Magick in everything, make each day Magickal in some small way. Start to build you belief in Magick.

Latin word for the week. (Latin is very useful for reading old Magickal Texts)

Schola = School

Myths and Deities

Branwen (bran-oo-en) = (Wales) One of the three matriarchs of Britain, Lady of the Lake, Goddess of love and beauty.

Branwen was the sister of Bran the Blessed and wife of Irish King Matholwch. The mistreatment of Branwen by Matholwch led to Bran the Blessed invasion of Ireland, his death and destruction of most of his followers.

Magickal Dictionary

Besom - Old word for a broom. This special broom is used for symbolically sweeping a ceremonial circle prior to ritual. It symbolically sweeps away all of the negative energy to cleanse a particular area.

Magickal Site of the Week

This weeks Magickal Site of the Week goes to Witchvox

http://www.witchvox.com