Chapters 12 and 13 in Trungpa's book on Shambhala are perhaps of the
greatest interest to the readership of alt.magick. They address the subject
of magick directly. Chapter 12 is entitled "Discovering Magic". Chapter 13
is entitled "How to Invoke Magic".

Way back in the dimly-remembered, ancient 1990's, the architect of
alt.magick, Josh Geller, was fond of defining magick as "the manipulation of
reality". In Chapter 12, Trungpa clearly agrees with this definition and
goes on to describe it more fully.

In line with Trungpa's basic position that reality is not made by us but is
discovered by us, he talks not of performing magic or of doing magic, but of
discovering it. Magic is already there. It's the innate condition of
reality. By discovering reality, we discover magic. We interact with
reality directly and reality interacts with us. When this interaction is
intentional, what happens is magical. Magic arises naturally from our clear
perception of reality. It's not a learned set of special symbols that we
shuffle around. It's not spooky paranormal powers. It's a person who
really sees what's going on and acts on that.

"Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of Natural
Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations by a right
understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; so that true Agents
being applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable effects will thereby
be produced. Whence magicians are profound and diligent searchers into
Nature; they, because of their skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the
which to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle." -- The Lemegeton

Back to Trungpa:

"Normally we limit the meaning of perceptions. Food reminds us of eating;
dirt remnds us to clean the house; snow reminds us that we have to clean off
the car to get to work; a face reminds us of our love or hate. In other
words, we fit what we see into a comfortable or familiar scheme. We shut
any vastness or possibilities of deeper perception out of our hearts by
fixating on our own interpretation of phenomena. But it is possible to go
beyond personal interpretation, to let vastness into our hearts through the
medium of perception. We always have a choice; we can limit our perception
so that we close off vastness, or we can allow vastness to touch us.
When we draw down the power and depth of vastness into a single perception,
then we are discovering and invoking magic. By magic we do not mean
unnatural power over the phenomenal world, but rather the discovery of
innate or primordial wisdom in the world as it is."

The Tibetan word for this magical, primordial wisdom is "drala". "Dra"
translates as "enemy", "la" translates as "beyond". Drala is perception
beyond the idea of an enemy, beyond dualism.

"One of the key points in discovering drala principle is realizing that your
own wisdom as a human being is not separate from the power of things as they
are... Therefore there is no fundamental separation or duality between you
and your world. When you can experience those two things together, as one,
so to speak, then you have access to tremendous vision and power in the
world - you find that they are inherently connected to your own vision, your
own being. That is discovering magic. We are not talking here about an
intellectual revelation; we are speaking of actual experience. We are
talking about how we actually perceive reality. The discovery of drala may
come as an extraordinary smell, a fantastic sound, a vivid color, an unusual
taste. Any perception can connect us to reality properly and fully. What
we see doesn't have to be pretty, particularly; we can appreciate anything
that exists. There is some principle of magic in everything, some living
quality. Something living, something real is taking place in everything."

In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, the author tells us that the
ability to do magic effectively can come only after we have been granted the
vision and instruction of our "guardian angel". The very first thing that a
magician must do is to achieve that connection, otherwise every other
attempt at magic is merely flailing about blindly, hoping to hit upon a
right action by sheer accident.

"Then first, on the following day, in the name and to the honour of God
almighty the creator of Heaven and of Earth, I commenced this holy
operation, and I continued it for six Moons without omitting the slightest
detail, as thou wilt understand later. And the period of the six Moons being
expired, the Lord granted unto me his grace by his mercy; according to the
promise made unto our forefathers, since while I was making my prayer unto
him he deigned to grant unto me the vision and apparition of his holy
angels, together with which I experienced so great joy, consolation and
contentment of soul, that I could neither express it nor put it into
writing. And during the three days, while I was enjoying this sweet and
delightful presence with an indicible contentment, my holy angel, whom God
the most merciful had destined from my creation for my guardian, spake unto
me with the greatest goodness and affection; who not only manifested unto me
the Veritable Magic, but even made easier for me the means of obtaining it."

Mathers and Crowley have interpreted the references to a "Holy Guardian
Angel" as a manifestation of the "higher self" that serves as a conduit
between God and Man. They both asserted that the mark of an adept at magic
(Mathers' spelling) or magick (Crowley's spelling) is the establishment of
that connection.

"It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and
essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and
Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must
of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably
and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step-crossing of
the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple."
-- Aleister Crowley, in "Magick Without Tears"

Back the Trungpa again:

"Drala could almost be called an entity. It is not quite on the level of a
god or gods, but it is an individual strength that does exist. Therefore we
not only speak of drala principle, but we speak of meeting the "dralas".
The dralas are elements of reality -- water of water, fire of fire, earth of
earth -- anything that connects you to the elemental quality of reality,
anything that reminds you of the depth of perception."

The chapter concludes:

"You might think that something extraordinary will happen to you when you
discover magic. Something extraordinary does happen. You simply find
yourself in the realm of utter reality, complete and thorough reality."

It should be made clear to every student of magick that its practice will
not provide an escape from reality. Precisely the opposite is true. It
will completely immerse you in reality.