In my weekly meditation meeting, we are currently in the process of doing some work with neurotransmitters, bacteria, and other microbiota of the human body. This is a continuation of the work I started in Inner Alchemy, but it's also been an opportunity to experiment further with non-anthropomorphic meditations, in a group setting, which has provided some valuable information. What I've confirmed is that just launching into non-anthropomorphic meditation is hard because the frame of reference is so different from the usual frame people have. It can be done, but its not as successful as it would be if an initial "human" context was provided. Note: Are you curious about the terms anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic...scroll down past the rest of the article to see definitions and then scroll back up to read the rest.
In contrast, if I've done a meditation with an initial anthropomorphic reference its provided a level of context that has been helpful for the participants. What I've then done is actually had the meditation transition from an anthropomorphic reference to a non-anthropomorphic reference. This has worked out very well. The initial meditation provides enough context for the person so that when the transition occurs there is something recognizable they can still use as a frame of reference. So let's break this down in practical terms...
Let's say you decide to do a meditation to connect with epinephrine, a neurotransmitter. The initial meditation would be an anthropomorphic one, where you ask Epinephrine to appear in a form that is recognizable to you and ask it to communicate with you. Typically the communication will be in your first language, and the form will be something that is either human or rooted in what we know. You might ask the neurotransmitter for a symbol that you can use to connect with it.
Next lets say you decide to transition into a non-anthropomorphic meditation on the same neurotransmitter. What this involves is experiencing the neurotransmitter and its effect on you. You would ask the anthropomorphic version to become the experience that it creates in your body and you would communicate with the neurotransmitter through that experience. No language, no form based in human perception, just the experience itself. Let that experience in...let it move you, let it become part of your consciousness.
The anthropomorphic meditation provides enough context for a person that if s/he chooses to do the non-anthropomorphic meditation it becomes easier to work with. With that said a person can just attempt a non-anthropomorphic meditation and see what happens. It's not impossible to do and can be interesting to experience without the human filters in place.
Definition time! Anthropomorphism refers to the tendency to ascribe human qualities, emotions, values, language to something that isn't human. In magic, it is essentially used as a way to communicate with nonhuman beings.
Non-anthropomorphism is the attempt to experience the entity with as little human filters as possible.
Radio interviews
I was interviewed on Main Street Radio about Pop Culture Magick and Pop Culture Magic 2.0
I was interviewed on Pagan Musings Podcast about Pop Culture Magick and Pop Culture Magic 2.0
Magical Experiments Radio: I interviewed S. Rune Emerson about Tarot Sorcery.