Building Willpower Through Self‑Knowledge

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Welcome And Why Will Matters

0:16

Welcome to Peg and Coffee Talk. If you enjoy our content, please consider donating and following our socials. We've talked in the past about magic and aspects of magic, right? Right. I thought we'd delve a little bit into the power of wheel. You mean what it actually is? Yeah, since that seems to be the heart of everything magical, you know. The heart of pretty much everything that we do. So let's just delve a little bit in it from the occult side of things. You know. So basically, you know, it's the way I see it is it's it's kind of like a muscle. You have to train it. Right. That's

Golden Dawn Willpower As Muscle

1:05

uh that's what the Hermetic Order thinks. Yeah, the Golden Dawn, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Yeah, that that your will is like a muscle, you gotta exercise it to strengthen it. Yeah. Well, it's I think it I think you have to use it on a regular basis. I think it's one of those things. You don't necessarily use it or lose it, but if you don't use it, then you have to retrain it. But are they really talking about wheel or are they talking more about concentration? Well, I mean, do you not see them both as one and the same? No, not necessarily. Okay. Well, I don't need my willpower to concentrate on what I'm cooking for dinner tonight. Are are you with me? Yeah. I mean, I guess uh I guess I see it as a little different. It's it's one of those situational things. It's just the way I say it. I don't know why I'm weird. Yeah, you're not weird. Well, again, we're we're talking, well, again, first of all, we're talking about something where, okay, what are we actually talking about? What is willpower? Right. All right. Again, what what what we hear from the uh golden dome people is that it's a muscle, and you got to do certain exercises to strengthen that wheel, and it's all external. All right. The extra exercises are more external. Here's this, we have to do these tasks for it to be outside our body, just like you know, just like we're lifting weights. Okay. That same concept, it's not internal, internal, it's us physically doing something in the world. See, I don't, yeah, I don't necessarily agree with that. I don't it's not all it's not all external. It's an internal thing, you know what I mean. All right. So we'll let's jump

True Will And Misread Crowley Quote

3:05

over to the other people. Uh uh Crowley and their group. All right, what did they have to what do they have to say about willpower? Um, well, for them, it's more about true will. Let's define that a little bit. What is true will so it's not just about what you want, it's about discovering your ultimate um divine purpose in the universe, you know, wherever that fits in. It's the whole entire concept. It's one thing to sit there and go, I want to be rich. It's another thing to sit there and have an actual plan to get there. Right. And so, and so basically his famous line that everybody quotes, do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Um I think many people misinterpret it. It's not a license to do whatever you want. No, I think it's more along the lines of finding your finding a one true path for you and following that path. And again, it still doesn't really tell us what willpower is. No, it doesn't. Even then, it's still this external something off in a far-off land where we might get it right, might not. What what what is it like you said, what is our true will? What at what point do you know you actually have that? Right. And also it's one other aspect that's common to both of those groups is that everything, it's will is defined. Well, I say defined, but it's it's more of a force that's um you have to use a system of tools and rituals in order to use your will. Right. And that's again, that's something that I don't agree with. You I I don't necessarily agree with it either. No. So so what we what so so working off these two, or working off what in the world, what do you

Willpower Starts With Know Thyself

5:05

think willpower is? When we're sitting here and we're talking, hey, use your willpower, what are we actually talking about? Hmm. Well, for me, I'm back to willpower is not just like something external. I believe willpower is internal as well as external. I believe it's a it it is a force that you can use, but it's so hard to define because ultimately it comes from within. It's kind of like determination. How do you define determination? But I kind of see them along the same lines. Here's the best way I can describe this, all right? And take it for what it's worth. I believe willpower to a certain extent has to do with know thyself. All right. The better you understand yourself, the more you understand your motivations and what acts, and you're honest with yourself, at least honest with yourself about those motivations. Okay. Things get a little bit clearer. I truly believe in keeping your word, right? I've done this my whole entire life and the whole nine yards. Right. This is part of my identity, this is part of me. Right. All right. My willpower is the fact is that I'm never going to give up on this aspect of my personality. I understand my personality enough to realize I got to be careful where in the world I open up my mouth. Right. All right. So again, part of this is knowing ourselves, knowing our own limitations. All right. Remember that song got Knock on Wood? What was the name of the band that did that song? I never had to, but if I thought I could. The impression that I get. Yeah, was the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones. This story, this song, this is about willpower. Okay. It's what will you do and what won't you do? So, well, let me ask you. Are you are you gonna be are are you gonna be that guy that goes, nope, no Jews here? Or are you gonna be that guy go, nope, they're in the attic? Okay, but I don't I don't see that as willpower. Well, I see this as knowing yourself, your ethics, your morals. What lines you will cross and what lines you won't cross. If you don't know that, then how are you gonna cast any spell? Do you really have the fight and drive to do that spell that you're sitting there thinking about? If you don't have that drive to do it in real life yourself, what makes you think a spell is going to make it any different? So you think you think that all of that is part of it's what makes up willpower. Willpower in and of itself. That's like all the different components, and you put it together and boom, you get willpower. Right. You get your ethics, you get your morals, you get your personality. Where in the world lines you will cross and you won't cross. Okay. You then have willpower. Okay. I think I think that's a good definition. We're talking about that whole entire concept of if you don't stand for anything, you'll fall for everything. Right. I mean, at what point that to me is willpower that you are standing up. This is what I believe in. Even if I'm going to sit here and go as far as, hey, look, yes, I'll admit I could be wrong, but I still believe in this because it makes sense to me. It's what I see happening in the world. You know, I I see where people break their word and people don't trust them anymore. To where in the world people start breaking the word and suddenly lying becomes a whole lot easier to them. Yeah, and I can see how that breaks down your will. Well, it breaks down your willpower. Let me ask you this, since I'm doing it that since I phrased it that way. Is there a difference between will and willpower? No, I don't know. Or is it just the phrase? I think it's just the phrasing. Okay. One might saying it one way might be having it, the other one might be actually using it. Okay. Do you see what I'm saying there? So will you so you could you could probably say will is more like I have the will to do something, which means I have the determination to do it. Right. But actually doing it is

Will Versus Willpower Gym And Smoking

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is the difference between will and willpower. Right. Okay. You know, like like I I can go to the gym. I can start going back to the gym tomorrow. I'll be the first to admit, okay? I haven't been in a while. I can go back. Uh-huh. But I gotta I got to make myself go. Right. I've got to do that part. That requires willpower. But I also sitting here, I also know myself, and I realize I'm not gonna get motivated until I'm ready to get motivated. I don't know how else to put that. I mean, it's the truth. You know, you you can't force yourself to do something. I mean, you can't if you're if you're not ready, then your mind's not just not gonna do it. Well, again, I I I equate it with like quitting smoking. Until you're in the right mindset to quit smoking, if every time you try, you're gonna fail. True. So you got to get yourself into the right mind frame. I want to do this, I I have a desire to do it right now. Then you gotta then you need to move on it. Right. But there's my point is is that we can sharpen, we can sharpen that willpower. We we have to understand what it is that we're actually talking about. How well do you know yourself? How well will you fall for that con? How well will you fall for, you know, the next person that tells you the pretty little lie that makes sense when you're hearing it, but right? There's a lot of people out there that do that, that sound really good until you actually start thinking about what they're talking about. And you're like, oh, wait a minute. Yeah, I mean, that's very true. So to me, that's willpower. That's you stopping yourself going, wait, wait a minute. Let's think about this, let's take a moment. And I and I think part of that is is and it brings back, and it's why in the world that know thyself is so important and keeps on coming back up inside craft and everywhere else, because that's what gives you that willpower. So it's basically the root of will and willpower. Right. When we're talking about willpower, yes, do you have the willpower to charge into that cave and slay that dragon or not? Good point. Just saying. Just saying. You know, but again, someone who knows themselves might sit there going, Yeah, I'm gonna be scared to death, but yeah, I'll do it. Right. So what about what about things like for lack of a better word, and don't cringe and don't hate me for it. For lack of a better word, um, or phrasing, what about um like backlash when things go wrong? And is that like a side effect of your willpower not being strong enough? I I don't think of that as necessarily a side effect of your willpower not being strong enough. I think it's that you didn't take time to learn what it is that you're actually wanting. You sort of miss the mark. Well, no, I mean I I'm talking like uh like keeping your word. Right. Right. If that's if that's part of the root of your willpower. Right. And you can't keep your word and people can't trust you, then does that I mean surely that's that's got to affect your willpower, right? Well, I d that just to say affects your whole entire attitude of life. I mean, but I'm gonna start asking. Could that not be seen as a backlash of some sort? To a certain extent, but if it's because I'm volunteering myself for stuff I physically can't really do. True. Right again, this is back to know thyself. I need to know my limitations. All right, because again, um as we talked, I'm still getting even older. And moving around and doing certain is not always a given. Right. So I have to adjust that behavior, okay? No, ask me to come help you move out of one house and into another. No, it's not the best thing to probably ask me to do, and it probably would not be a good idea for me to go, yeah, I'll go and help you. Right, because then you're gonna be paying for it for you know a week or a week later. So we have to adjust our expectations if we're being honest with ourselves. If you're going through all this process and you're not being honest with yourself, there's bigger issues here. Because you should be at least able to be honest with yourself. You might not be 100% honest with your therapist or anybody else, but at least with yourself, you should be. Right,

Meditation Honesty And Knowing Limits

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you should be. But that's also where our favorite thing comes in to meditation. Yeah. That helps you be true to yourself, it helps you deal with your shit. And well, it is a chance to get to know yourself. It is. You know it's not just about you know dealing with your issues, it's honestly getting to know who you are. What makes what makes you tick. Right. What motivates you, what don't motivate you. So again, there there's that willpower. I mean, this is what this is what I think we're talking about. I I understand other people might have a different idea of that. And it would be nice to hear some other people's opinion on this. Right. So maybe, maybe, maybe the Discord will actually have a conversation about this. Maybe. We can hope, right? So we can hope. Let's let's do one last thing before we close things out. Let's make it a little more real. So

Hand Tingles And The Imagined Ball

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in class, you do this lovely little exercise. I I do. Right? You know which one I'm talking about. Yeah. Walk us through that. All right. This is simple. I normally walk into class and we're talking about magic and we're talking about will and all this other stuff. And what I'll have them do is rub their hands hard, fast, harder and faster, harder and faster. If you're doing this right now, do it harder and faster. Right. You should be feeling some heat. You should be feeling some heat in your hands. Now, when you stop, you're gonna feel some tingling in your hands. That's not magic, that's nerve damage. Just to let you know, that tingling sensation in your head, that's nerve damage. Now hold your hands like you're holding a ball. All right. Now that tingling should feel like you're helping you feel like you're holding a ball. And now that ball is rotating clockwise. That tingling should feel like it's rotating clockwise with it. Right. Now it's going to counterclockwise. Here's the messed up part. All right, and the reason it works, the reason this works is A, I'm sitting here, I'm I'm saying this with very much confidence. I I'm saying this is, hey, this is gonna happen, it's gonna work no matter what, right? Yeah. All right. So again, that sort of bypasses people's thought processes and goes straight to the subconscious, going, okay, well, I filled the tingling and I fill what seems to be a ball, and so I have a ball, and the really messed up part is who's actually doing magic? Whose wheel is it that's actually doing this? Is it me telling you, or is it you doing it yourself? Right. And and that's the funny thing because is it even magic, or is it just me manipulating you? Me manipulating you is a form of magic. Well, it is, but I'm just putting it on a more simple level. Well, see, in the way, actually, the way I see this process working, here's what's going on. If you think about it this way, it's kind of like teaching a kid how to ride a bike. You know, you hang on to the back and you get them started, and after you after they're getting started, they get going, you let go and you really don't tell them. Right. And then the ride, this is the this is what I think this process is actually happening. I'm getting the ball started for them, and once it's started, they're doing it themselves. Right. But this is a this is an interesting way, and then to ask that question of whose will is it? There's the interesting question. Who's actually doing the magic? Who's enforcing whose will on who? This is a nice little exercise to explain and to show how willpower works. Well, and I think the exercise also shows that if we can do something as simple as this and make and make that rotation happen and make it change and make it get bigger, make it get smaller, what does that say about our ability to change things that are you know in our own lives? Well, well, again, it asks a quick well, it also asks the

Ego Colors Perception What Fails

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question, too, is how much of our perception do we color ourselves because we want to see it that way. Right. And I think that falls into more like ego. Yes. Because a lot of times our ego gets in the way. Because it's the way it's the way we perceive things. Well, again, it's the way our mind works. We're all the hero of our story. Right. But the other thing you gotta realize is that I mean, I don't know if everybody knows it, but everybody should know it. That if what you're doing is driven by ego, it's gonna fall apart. It's not gonna succeed. It may for a little while, but then it's just gonna fall to pieces. Because it really don't have anything to stand on. Right. It's this really shallow way of looking at things and doing things, and it don't last. Right. Because it's weak to begin with. Yep. With that said, you ready for some coffee? Sure. Let's go get some coffee. Thanks for listening. Join us next week for another episode. Peg and Coffee Talk is brought to you by Life Temple and Seminary. Please visit us at life templeseminary.org for more information, as well as links to our social media Facebook, Discord, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit. We travel down this trodden path, the maze of stone and mire. Just hold my hand as we pass by a steel blazing pyre. And so it is the end of our days to walk with me till morning break. And so it is

Coffee Outro And Community Links

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the end of our days to walk with me till morning break.