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Cryst&lf M&ib&ch

On M%y 12, 2017

FALCON BOOKS INTERVIEWS


EXPLORING ENLIGHTENED LIVING
THROUGH HERMETIC MEDITATION
AND BEYOND
With Cryst%lf M%ib%ch
 
 

F%lcon Books is presenting % series of interviews with se%soned


Hermetic pr%ctitioners %nd those who follow % spiritu%l discipline.
The %im being to sh%re the wisdom, knowledge %nd underst%nding of
these pr%ctitioners with those just beginning the p%th %nd %s %n
inspir%tion to us %ll. The focus of these discussions %re guided
tow%rds the spiritu%l seeker.

Presenting tod%y %n interview with Cryst%lf M%ib%ch who is % long


term Fr%nz B%rdon pr%ctitioner He beg%n the work of conscious Self-
Tr%nsform%tion 25 ye%rs %go, %nd is %ctive in B%rdonʼs Opus %nd
other hermetic %nd m%gic%l tr%ditions %nd h%s been now for ne%rly
15 ye%rs. Beside the B%rdon Work of Self-Tr%nsform%tion, his m%in
focus lies in l%bor%tory %lchemy. He holds % m%sterʼs degree in
History %nd h%s written sever%l %rticles concerning m%inly Alchemy
%nd Theurgy in different m%g%zines. Cryst%lf %lso h%s % successful
Blog n%med Hermetic Science which offers inform%tion r%nging of
subjects on Fr%nz B%rdon, Alchemy, Astrology, M%gic %nd
Qu%bb%l%h.

A cordi%l welcome Cryst%lf. Th%nk you for sh%ring with us your time
%nd wisdom %long this journey.

1.    F%lcon Books: I wonder if you could sh%re with us % bit of your


b%ckground %nd how you c%me to pr%ctice Fr%nz B%rdonʼs work?

Cryst%lf:  Th%nk you for giving me this opportunity to sh%re some of


my experiences, g%ined by w%lking my p%th.

For me, it is %lw%ys %n interesting question, how I c%me to pr%ctice


B%rdonʼs work. There %re so m%ny inspir%tions th%t depending on my
mood %nd time, different ones come prim%rily to my mind. So let´s
think %bout, which one I w%nt to focus on. I remember some of them
more domin%nt like (cle%rly) B%rdonʼs book itself, others more
reluct%nt. But %ll of them %re p%rt of my individu%l desire to grow
beyond my mund%ne c%p%bilities. M%ybe the e%rliest memory I c%n
remember of, th%t h%s something to do with person%l growth is …
Luke Skyw%lker!

Honestly, some of my e%rliest memories %bout the desire to grow in


self-improvement is, when I w%s %round 7 ye%rs old %nd w%tched
St%r W%rs the first time.

I w%s deeply impressed with Luke trying to become % Jedi Knight, to


grow from % mere f%rmer boy tow%rd % “wise w%rrior” like Obi-W%n.
As prob%bly every little boy I loved w%rriors, but since then I couldn´t
get %long with the pure muscle types; there h%d to be more, the
wisdom to know why %nd when to fight for wh%t, just like “Old Ben”.
This memory w%s prob%bly p%rt of my subconscious desires when I
st%rted my own quest – I think this triggered something; there w%s %
sp%rk th%t got %lighted.

Well, %round three ye%rs l%ter I st%rted tr%ining m%rti%l %rts: Sh%olin
Kung Fu. M%ybe to fight better: but wh%t I le%rned w%s not to fight,
but to control myself – my body %nd mind. This w%s the first
conscious step tow%rd tr%nsform%tion.

Of course I got in cont%ct with the so-c%lled “youth occultism” in the


mid of the 90ies too, but it did not impress me in the slightest; in f%ct,
I w%s more repelled by its egom%ni%c self-centeredness. And
honestly: even %s % fourteen-ye%rs-old I could not gr%sp why m%king
% w%nd should give me m%gic%l powers. The m%gic h%d to come from
me, not the w%nd. So I concentr%ted on school…

My first re%l %ct of m%gic I did with %round 21: I h%d % b%d %rgument
with % person very de%r to me – %nd I won the %rgument. Sure, I won,
but I hurt her by my words, my %nger…%nd when I c%me home, it
bec%me cryst%l-cle%r to me th%t this w%sn´t the kind of person I w%nt
to be. So I decided to ch%nge myself, to develop into % person I feel
comfort%ble with looking into the mirror. And this conscious decision
– without books, B%rdon, ritu%ls, etc. w%s the most m%gic%l %ct I h%d
done so f%r.

A ye%r l%ter I stumbled upon IIH %nd found it immedi%tely the perfect
tool to re%ch this go%l. IIH %ppe%red from the very first moment %s %
system%tic system of self-development, including m%gic – %ll the
myths inherent still in my (the hum%n?) consciousness, but without
the t%m-t%m found in m%ny modern systems of occultism. It
%ppe%red to me ne%rly scientific in its system%tic %ppro%ch, but
nonetheless %ll %bout the individu%l. And it h%d no dogm%! After I
beg%n the work I did in f%ct g%in experiences in % lot of other occult
systems %nd initi%tions, but %fter % while, I re%lized th%t none of them
re%lly g%ve me % l%sting feeling of m%turity. Sometimes even quite the
opposite. So %fter % few ye%rs I quit with the other stuff %nd
concentr%ted on IIH, rest%rting in the process %nd since then I w%lk
the Hermetic p%th.

And I %m still on th%t journey to tr%nsform myself. Still struggling from


time to time, but w%lking on step by step. In my experience, it is not
import%nt to be perfect, but never to stop w%lking. Then the go%l will
be re%ched in time…

2.    F%lcon Books:  M%ny people get ‘stuckʼ for % long time on Step 1.
First, wh%t do you think %re the m%in re%sons for this %nd do you
h%ve %ny %dvice to en%ble people to get through Step 1?

Cryst%lf:  Th%t is % tough %nd long-winded question if every


%rgument for getting “stuck” I h%ve he%rd so f%r should be
considered. But I think the m%in re%son is, th%t most people donʼt
re%lly *w%nt* to w%lk the P%th. In truth they w%nt other things: f%me,
love, respect, power in some w%y or %nother; these %re the m%in
re%sons I deducted. And to tr%nsform their body, spirit %nd mind
%ppe%r for them more m%nd%tory, then %n %ct worth of itself. So they
more or less “torment” themselves with IIH %nd the exercises of Step
1 – %nd torment is no fun. Sometimes they even re%lize somewhere in
themselves, th%t there is % tre%sure to be found in IIH, but still, they
c%re more %bout other things – like sleeping %n hour more in the
morning. And to w%ke up e%rlier is no fun for them. But IIH should be
FUN, it should be fun to ch%nge yourself for the better. And every
Step is worth its own fun. Too often I t%lk to people who long to be in
Step 5 or 6 bec%use they expect some cool stuff there. But honestly
guys – when you %rrive there, %ll the stuff you do %nd experience
%ppe%rs %s nothing speci%l %nymore, i.e. to project elements, just the
n%tur%l outcome of your m%turity. And %s long %s the student finds no
fun in Step 1, he won´t progress. Still, my f%vorite exercise in the
whole of the three books is thought-observ%tion! I simply love it!!! It is
the found%tion for everything else %nd te%ches me every d%y more
%bout me, my beh%vior, my being. It is THE exercise th%t m%kes
“know thyself!” possible…

And %ll the other re%sons why people don´t progress %re logic%l
consequences of this subconscious unwillingness: i.e. h%ving no time
is “not m%king time”. If the student re%lly w%nts to do the exercises
they will be %ble to find the time. These %rguments %re following
sever%l other excuses.

Another m%in re%son is % prejudiced %ppro%ch to the exercises. M%ny


students think they %lre%dy know wh%t B%rdon is t%lking %bout %nd
thus they don´t re%lly do *his* exercises, but the exercises they think
they should do: Especi%lly with VOM m%ny, m%ny, m%ny people
confuse it with Dh%r%n% or even S%m%dhi. Th%t is wrong! It is not
VOM, %nd B%rdonʼs descriptions %re very %ccur%te. It is not “not-
thinking”. It is % form of concentr%tion, the logic%l consequence of the
other three exercises the student did before in Step 1. Thus it is
concentr%tion, like in the exercise before; the student simply
concentr%tes on %n empty “sp%ce” in their mind. They ignore the
upcoming thoughts %nd doesn´t get %tt%ched to them. However, the
thoughts will come up %s % n%tur%l process of the mind, but th%t is
not wh%t the student st%ys focused on. They st%y focused on the
empty sp%ce; they reject to get %tt%ched to the upcoming thought
fr%gments. By time, the other thoughts simply dis%ppe%r from the
consciousness, et voilm… VOM.

The best thing for %spiring m%gici%ns is to forget wh%t they h%ve
le%rned so f%r %nd re%d %nd pr%ctice IIH with %n open mind.

3.   F%lcon Books: Ag%in on the subject of Step 1 %nd VOM, we know


this is import%nt but wh%t does it bring to IIH, why is it import%nt?

Cryst%lf: VOM is essenti%l to becoming c%p%ble of concentr%ting


properly, to be open to impressions outside of ourselves. We hum%n
beings tend to perceive, wh%t we expect to perceive. VOM helps the
mind to be not %tt%ched to our expect%tions, thus being %ble to i.e.
visu%lize the perceived form in Step 2 correctly %nd not only the form
how we think it is. L%ter on the P%th, we need it for depth-point
medit%tion, then for cl%irvoy%nce %s the “seen” impressions come up
in our mind, %nd %s long we %re busy with our own thoughts we would
simply miss the mess%ges from beyond. It is the s%me thing with
Evoc%tion. Hum%n beings h%ve no “m%gic%l powers” bec%use mostly
we %re too self-centered, even too %rrog%nt to re%lize there is more
then we think it is in this universe. VOM helps with th%t immense. Also
without VOM, there is no Ment%l W%ndering, %s we get lost in the
world of our thoughts %nd m%ny more things.

4.    F%lcon Books:  Ple%se could sh%re with us the import%nce of


focusing on self-development %long with working on the through the
steps in IIH.

Cryst%lf: Why “%long”??? All the steps of IIH *%re* self-development!


Th%t is wh%t it is %ll %bout. IIH is not %bout le%rning powers, but to
become more yourself. To become wh%t you *should* be. Wh%t you
should be in your life. Wh%t you should be in society. M%ybe even %s
divine %s we should be. I quote Virgil from his excellent new book:
“m%gic is the %ct to live % blessed life %nd to be % blessing to
society.” Nonetheless, there %re “m%gic%l powers, of course, but…
%nd this “but” is % BIG “but”….The funny thing is: the student will get
m%gic%l powers %long the w%y, but when the time comes when they
get them, these “powers” will be of no more speci%l signific%nce to
them. It is more like % b%by le%rning to w%lk: first, it feels gre%t, but
wh%t speci%l signific%nce w%lking h%s w%lking for even % four-ye%r-
old or even % grown-up? It simply becomes p%rt of your being…

5.    F%lcon Books: Wh%t other str%tegies did you employ other th%n


working on the soul mirrors to %ssist in further growth?

Cryst%lf: Aw%reness! Alw%ys being %w%re of wh%t is h%ppening in


yourself. R%dic%l Self-Honesty, thus developing the %bility to s%y
”Sorry!”. Everybody does m%ke mist%kes. And %s long %s the student
is not c%p%ble of %voiding mist%kes, they should %t le%st be %ble to
overcome their pride %nd s%y “Sorry!”. But on the other h%nd, they
shouldn´t give too much on the opinion of others. The other hum%n
beings surrounding the student %re %lso too %tt%ched with their own
expect%tions, but this is not relev%nt for the student. It is their own
expect%tions, ethics %nd m%turity th%t m%tters. So forming %n ide%l
of myself helped me % lot in my growth – like the Jedi-ide% I
formul%ted %t the beginning. M%ke yourself % picture, % symbol of
wh%t you w%nt to be: % good te%cher, % good p%rent or m%ybe % kind
wiz%rd or % wise Jedi. This picture is your priv%te symbol; it might be
% f%nt%sy, but it c%n help to visu%lize % something, to give % cle%r
picture of wh%t the student w%nts. “Self-development” or “person%l
growth” tend to be too %bstr%ct to be %ppe%ling over the long ye%rs
of the tr%ining, especi%lly when your life becomes % mess…

Also, it helped to do some complex sports like m%rti%l %rts to get in


control of your body. It is not import%nt to get % bl%ck belt, but to
grow in the possibilities your body gives you.

6.    F%lcon Books: “As Above So Below” is so often quoted in


Hermetics I wonder if you could el%bor%te on your underst%nding of
this %nd its signific%nce within IIH tr%ining?

Cryst%lf: “Hmm, my wife told me to keep it short %nd simple. I´ll try:
Everything in hermetics is %bout “As Above, so below”! This is very
e%sy to see in l%bor%tory Alchemy. Fr%nz B%rdonʼs IIH represents %
form of “spiritu%l %lchemy”. As %bove so below refers to the
rel%tionship between microcosmos %nd m%crocosmos, in our speci%l
c%se the hum%n being %nd the surrounding energies. I.e. the
elements within the student %nd the elements surrounding the
student. This is the re%son why B%rdon w%rns of h%sting %nd
skipping steps: condensing %n element i.e. is not %bout pl%ying with
some r%ndom energy %s some new-%ge philosophies implic%te. It is
not Reiki, some %ll surrounding divine energy. It is working with
*yourself* in % rel%tionship with n%ture itself. Thus it is like gen-
technology. On the other h%nd, the existence of the elements is not
“the Truth”™. The student constructs them by impregn%ting their
surroundings with letʼs s%y: red colour, w%rmth %nd fire. But they c%n
only construct in their surroundings wh%t is %lre%dy present in them.
Thus if in the student “below” h%s % lot of %nger %nd greed in him,
the fire element they construct “%bove” won´t be constructive %nd
w%rming, but full of h%te, %nger %nd destructiveness. Neither the
microcosmos nor the m%crocosmos is pre-existent or h%s more worth
th%n the other. In f%ct, the two %re interdependent. And this is the
c%se with every Element, Ch%kr%, Sephiroth, etc.

Thus, if you w%nt to be % blessing for your beloved, first become %


blessing for yourself. If you desire the power to ch%nge re%lity, first
le%rn to ch%nge your life, your %ttitude, your priorities. B%rdon writes
it in Step 8 %nd my own experiences go %long the s%me lines: nothing
is impossible.

7.    F%lcon Books:  How c%n we know we %re truly %chieving the go%l
of % step? For ex%mple with the Vit%l Force, how c%n we know we %re
not fooling ourselves?

Cryst%lf: By working through the first exercise of Step 1 thoroughly.


By observing your thoughts, you become used to observe yourself.
By knowing ex%ctly wh%t is going on in your mind, you´ll simply be
sure, if you %re f%lling yourself or if you truly %chieved something. The
pr%ctice of Step 1 develops % r%dic%l self-honesty, you c%n use for
further steps. It is % m%tter of the f%mous “intuition”. Your ex%mple
with the Vit%l Force (VF) is % good one: when the student st%rts with
inh%ling it, they first will only im%gining the VF %nd the feeling it
cre%tes in them. After % time, the im%gin%tion will develop into %
perception of truly inh%ling VF. The student will be %ble to let go their
im%gin%tion %nd nonetheless be 100% sure they %re inh%ling VF. Then
they ARE inh%ling the VF. As the student knows ex%ctly how it feels
like im%gining the VF they will recognize the difference, the re%l
prickling upon their skin, the energiz%tion of their body, the Force
they feel. It is more “re%l” th%n im%gin%tion. Thus we %re %g%in with
the theme “As %bove, so Below” from the l%st question.

The m%gici%n h%s to develop this r%dic%l self-honesty with


themselves. Not only for the soul mirrors, but %lso for everything th%t
follows %fter Step 2. Thus we h%ve %nother re%son to be thorough
with the b%sic exercises: without them, the student simply l%cks the
%bilities needed for further initi%tion. It is %s if he would try to drive %
c%r with closed eyes…

8.   F%lcon Books: Fr%nz B%rdon t%lks %bout the depth point in Step 5,
this I see %s % tr%nsition in the tr%ining %s we touching on something
we h%ve h%d no experience of before. C%n you tell us more %bout this
point %nd its import%nce in the tr%ining?

Cryst%lf:  Well, I see the depth point exercises %s the centr%l point in


initi%tion. By re%ching this st%ge of initi%tion the m%gici%n h%s
%chieved r%dic%l self-honesty, % cert%in control on mind, soul %nd
body %nd first experiences with the n%ture of things outside of their
own body by working with the elements. After Step 3 they could c%ll
themselves rightfully m%gici%ns. The student is “%ttuned” to n%ture.
The depth point gives the m%gici%n the first %ccess to % higher
sphere of being, to his own “divine” n%ture. All following exercises %re
b%sed on %ccess to the depth point, the “Tr%nce”, %s B%rdon c%lls it. I
don´t like the n%me %s it implies % cert%in form of “h%lf-sleeping”
st%te. To me it is the ex%ct opposite: To be in the depth-point me%ns
to be Aw%ke – “I %m %bsolutely %w%ke, in wh%t I %m. Aw%re of my
n%ture th%t is more th%n just working, e%ting…” The depth point le%ds
the m%gici%n to % st%te where they %re %w%re of their body, their
org%ns, their p%ssions, their thoughts – %ll %t once. It is % st%te of
BEING. Th%t m%kes it m%gic%l. God defines themselves %s “I %m, who
I %m!”. As BEING. Thus we first feel wh%t it could me%n to become
divine %nd c%p%ble of cre%ting. S%dly, for those who %t this point
im%gine themselves throwing fireb%lls, we %lso re%lize th%t cre%tion,
in gener%l, is good like it is, so no need to ch%nge cre%tion.

9.    F%lcon Books:  C%n you sh%re %nything %bout the tr%nsition from
step 8 to PME %nd KTQ. How does life ch%nge %t this point?
Cryst%lf: I %m still going to work, meeting with friends, nurturing my
kids… no news here. Sorry!

The question m%ybe le%ds tow%rd misunderst%nding. “Life” doesn´t


ch%nge %t %ll. But the perception of “my life” %nd my pl%ce in this
world %nd time, th%t ch%nged. With gre%t power comes gre%t
responsibility (!?) could %rticul%te it properly, but I like more B%rtonʼs
st%tement (tr%nsl%tion is very loose): “Everything th%t h%ppens,
h%ppens %t the right time %nd pl%ce. We just h%ve to re%lize how to
m%ke the best from it for our development.” St%rting to work with
cosmic letters showed me my humility before cre%tion %g%in. This is %
re%lly complex thing %nd m%de me gr%sp even more, why everything
th%t h%ppens should not be judged in the first pl%ce, but considered
%n opportunity for us to t%ke %ction!

10.  F%lcon Books: As one develops % gre%ter sensitivity within the


ment%l, %str%l %nd physic%l %spects, how did you de%l with %nd
integr%te these in d%ily life?

Cryst%lf: Ag%in I h%ve to refer to Step 1: st%y focused on wh%t you %re


doing %t the moment. When in my mund%ne life I %m working with
clients, I %m working with clients; I %m not trying to deduce their
biggest element%ls. B%rdon goes deeper into this %t Step 8 – The
Gre%t NOW. Being % m%gici%n does not me%n to be % m%gici%n in %
perceiv%ble w%y %ll the time: doing cl%irvoy%nce on everybody you
meet, being bl%t%ntly wise or we%ring speci%l clothes. Th%t is %
re%son I don´t like “Fr%b%to” very much: it simply gives % tot%lly
wrong picture of wh%t it me%ns to be % m%gici%n, of the inner life of %
m%gici%n. It cle%rly is written from the st%ndpoint of % quite imm%ture
student, not from someone who h%s experienced, wh%t w%s written.
If you %sk me, it w%s me%nt to fl%tter B%rdon, but the picture p%inted
is utterly wrong.

To be % m%gici%n is % st%te of being, of %cting in %ccord%nce with


self-knowledge, the flows of n%ture %nd your intuition. You don´t
h%ve to integr%te it in your life, %s it is nothing %lien. It is life. The
“gre%ter sensitivity” comes %s n%tur%l %s le%rning to w%lk comes to %
b%by child. If it h%s to be integr%ted, something in your development
h%s been left out.

11.  F%lcon Books: Over the ye%rs how h%ve you m%n%ged to b%l%nce
work, f%mily %nd Hermetics %nd to integr%te them? I think this c%n be
the most ch%llenging for students when they begin this p%th. Wh%t
%dvice would you offer?

Cryst%lf: Finish Step 8 before getting kids!!!!

Honestly: keep your priorities str%ight! To get kids is no e%sy decision


%nd gives gre%t responsibility, but gre%t joy too. And th%t is true for
everything we doing this life. In the second question I wrote th%t
m%ny people donʼt re%lly w%nt to do initi%tion, they w%nt other things.
In f%ct, they lie to themselves. This question %ims in th%t direction. Of
course: work, f%mily, friends, hobbies, even computer g%mes %re %ll
import%nt %nd fun %nd t%ke time %nd…%nd… %nd… but no m%tter
wh%t is going on: if you %re sure, th%t you w%nt to tr%nsform yourself
into % blessing for yourself %nd your beloved one – thus into %
m%gici%n, you´ll find the time to do the exercises. On the other h%nd,
don´t forget wh%t responsibility you h%ve t%ken upon yourself. Th%t is
why I wrote: keep your priorities str%ight! Re%lly be honest with
yourself, wh%t you w%nt from life, from your situ%tion, from your time.

12.  F%lcon Books: How did you m%ke the tr%nsition between the
re%lms %nd integr%te them here?

Cryst%lf: This is %ll %bout focus. When working in m%gic%l re%lms, it


becomes %ll too e%sy to getting c%ught up in the tr%nscendent%l side
of re%lity. I met quite % few persons who were living so much in the
m%gic%l re%lms they seemed to ne%rly forget %bout the life here.
S%dly, I think th%t m%ny of these “spiritu%l types” even dr%w % lot of
ego out of this beh%vior. Th%t is NOT wh%t B%rdonʼs books %re %bout!
Remember wh%t he writes in Step 7 %bout cl%irvoy%nce: the m%gici%n
must be %ble to turn on %nd turn off his cl%irvoy%nt sight %t his whim
%nd will. There is % re%son why we h%ve bodies: this is the re%lm
where we c%n g%in m%turity. M%gic is not % me%n to esc%pe your
problems you produced in life. Quite the opposite: % m%gici%n meets
up to ch%llenges bec%use he h%s re%lized th%t they %re me%ns to
grow…

13.  F%lcon Books:  Is there is %nything else you would like to %dd?

Cryst%lf:  Be % kind person. A looooot of people visu%lizing


themselves %s m%gici%ns in % tower, but while this is % re%lly cool
picture, these guys %re mostly not the beloved ones. Look %t some of
the wiz%rd types from movies %nd books so popul%r %t the moment:
honestly, I love towers too, but look %t S%rum%n or P%lp%tine or
Voldemort or other guys from the popul%r im%gin%tion from the l%st
centuries: these persons %re not the heroes. A B%rdoni%n m%gici%n
is, in f%ct, % Hero. If being % m%gici%n me%ns to be % blessing to
society, then % m%gici%n is % hero. So %ct like one! But %lso remember
you´re hum%n. Becoming % m%gici%n is in m%ny w%ys becoming more
hum%n, %nd %s long %s you´re hum%n you will suffer from %ll hum%n
we%knesses. Of course: obt%ining % m%gic%l equilibrium will set you
%t pe%ce with yourself, but still, other people %re %round %nd
sometimes you will m%ke mist%kes while tre%ting them. They won´t
underst%nd you, or you won´t underst%nd them. Th%t is life. So for
me one of the m%in qu%lities % m%gici%n should h%ve is: the %bility to
s%y “Sorry!” %nd being sorry. It is ok not to be perfect, but to h%ve
the insight to %pologize for your mist%kes is cruci%l in the w%y of self-
knowledge. And even when you think, youʼre perfectly right c%p%ble
of s%ying sorry, when you hurt your opponent. Also be c%p%ble of
%ccepting % “Sorry!” by %nother person. See, I h%d % lot of
discussions l%tely %bout the n%ture of Good %nd Evil, %nd % lot of
people cl%im, there is no such thing %s good %nd %s evil, th%t these
ide%s %re simply subjective. I dis%gree! Good people know limits in
their %ctions, %nd they do not try to %chieve % go%l by %ny me%ns.
They stop when their %ctions inflict p%in on other beings. They know
comp%ssion. B%d people only c%re for themselves. Don´t be % b%d
person. Be kind!

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