One of the most basic yet effective training tools known to a practical occultist is the famous fake it until you make it approach. In essence it means acting and behaving as if you already possessed the skill you are training for, until one day you suddenly realize that you’re no longer faking it. However this method is not without drawbacks: the process is frustratingly slow, and sometimes it can feel too, well, fake — too much like roleplay or that cringy positive thinking.
Here is something better: a more advanced but still simple exercise that takes the idea a step further, in which you sort of invoke into yourself a figure who possesses your desired abilities at a master level, so you actually take on those qualities and apply them in your life. It’s like borrowing qualities from someone else and incorporating them into your own personality. Don’t be scared, it’s far from a full-blown ceremonial working.
To begin you have to come up with someone outstandingly successful in the area you want to develop. It can be a living person, a historical personality, a mythological figure, or a completely fictional character like a pop-culture hero, etc, you get the idea. In any case that person must be someone you truly love and admire, strong emotional resonance is absolutely required.
When you have identified the figure you will be borrowing from, you contemplate that person exercising those abilities that you desire. In your mind’s eye picture that person performing those talents that you covet. Visualize him or her dealing directly with the problems that you are facing right now, and picture that person achieving tremendous success in every aspect.
Now the fun part. Imagine this hero that you admire standing right there in front of you, and then in one rapid overwhelming swoosh, he or she is instantly sucked into you. The previous instant there were two people, and now there is one, this one person being a conglomeration of the both of you. This new person is you with all of the attributes you wanted!
Spend some time contemplating how different things are now that you have all of those talents that you desired. Visualize yourself performing all of those feats that your hero was doing. Think about how different people’s reactions will be now that you have all of these new talents. It’s important that you see yourself in the here-and-now moment perfectly wielding your newly acquired abilities. Continue to visualize the new situations in your life and how much better things are now that you are the superhero.
Perform this technique as often as you can until you become certain in your new abilities. Enjoy your new skills in your life with complete faith in yourself and your new talents. If you feel unsure about yourself or suspect that you don’t quite have all of your new attributes in perfect shape, then keep practicing this exercise in your mind’s eye until you feel more confident of your abilities.
Try it for a week without giving up, and you will be incredibly surprised with the power the borrowed abilities can provide you with. Just one week of practice can and will change your life forever.
