Vampire lifestyle, is there danger?

the part that i call "kookie" is where they make up an imaginary illness for themselves and then prescribe drinking blood as the treatment

im no medical professional but i cant help but wonder if theyve tried multi vitamins?

im not concerned with the cultural relativism of blood drinking

almost none of these people come from a culture that drinks blood

if you make up the norm from your own imagination, its not really "cultural" is it?

Anne Rice and "Vampire: The Masquerade" do technically count as cultural influences, but they are not inherited and compulsively indoctrinationed influences, like as ethnicity or religion

in fact, they defy the cultural norms, so you cant quite view this as "cultural relativism" in the conventional sense

i acknowledge the occult belief that there is power in blood - people have been saying that blood has magical properties for a very long time and there's enough historical momentum heading in that direction, from traditions with roots all the way back to prehistory, that im not anyone to argue with them

for me, what I am talking about, is living in a self constructed fantasy world, which is likely chosen more because of its emotional appeal than because of any well considered and intelligently validated process of personal discovery

i consider it "kookie" and i apply that criteria to SW fantasy as much as vampire fantasy

i understand that its a tight rope, because we all construct parts of our world view based more on emotional appeal than solid observation and logic - cold logic is cold indeed, and sometimes it might be more functional to just run with a bit of fantasy

and if a person constructs a reality that promotes a sense of well being or positive sense of identity, then who is anyone else to say that its "not sane" ?

but how many times has this temple seen role players who really believe in the role?

do we not make some distinction between the magical powers of the jedi in the films compared to our own abilities?

every now and then, doesnt someone come through wanting to be trained in the force by a jedi master, (or a sith lord) and it turns out to be so much fantasy?

is it wrong to say "whoa there youre a little out of touch with reality" if thats whats actually going on?

matter of fact, dont we kind of cringe when those people show up, because we know they are examples of a stereotype we want to avoid?

im ok with people drinking blood if theyre not doing anything against anyones will

i see no reason to assume that because they are different that they must be unethical

most of all, i believe in freedom

which means that i believe that its totally OK to be kookie

but i equally believe that its OK to say "well thats a little kookie, isnt it"

Some of the symbology will work for some people at certain points in their life. I won't say who are we to judge, but rather how are we to judge if we were to judge? Sometimes belief can be temporary to exert progress in some area, and working with subconscious or 'spiritual' things can look strange to everyone else because its a dance to connect inwards not express outwards - like listening to a foreign language you do not understand it will sound silly but not be without purpose necessarily. If its consensual and safe then it feels a bit presumptuous to jump on it as negative or 'deviant', unless it actually is
:evil:

I would find it very humorous to find out that on some vampire forum there's a thread about these crazy people who call themselves Jedi. "They like believe in the Force and quote Yoda at each other. I'll bet they all wear robes all day and practice telekinesis. Don't mess with them though, they'll whip out their lightsabers. LOL"

Something is always different and weird to someone else.

Goken wrote: I would find it very humorous to find out that on some vampire forum there's a thread about these crazy people who call themselves Jedi. "

I was just about to say something like this. Tell any average person in your life that you're a Jedi, and they'll probably give you an uncomfortable response.

So long as no physical or psychological harm is being done, then it would do well to support another's beliefs, even if it's "weird" in your eyes. It's a great big fantastic weird and wonderful world out there, and that's what makes it so magnificent to study. As Jedi, we seek to know and understand, not to judge.

Goken, the psychic vampire communities I've been part of look at Jediism dubiously.

I have practiced with the occult to a pretty big extent. I can verify that psychic vampirism is a thing which exists and, contrary to common thought, can be helpful. At least, as far as my personal experience goes. Projecting or taking in energy is not so difficult, many people do it without even knowing about it. It can be greatly helpful in conflict resolution and in calming a person's temper if done with care, and can even be helpful in energy healing.

Yabuturtle wrote: But comparing a psychic drain to a lion eating an animal, there really is no comparison. The lion does it to survive, the psychic vampire is willingly draining another person's energy for their own selfish needs or personal gain. I'd say that's pretty unethical, even if it doesn't kill them. You wouldn't like it if I drained your energy, would you?

If you did it without my consent, I'd hospitalize you. That isn't the point, however.

That and the whole blood play. Some even use it as a sexual fetish...

And what's wrong with sexual fetishes, provided they're mutually consenting adults? The entirety of your tone suggests that anything other than what you deem acceptable, whether that's Jediism or vanilla sex, is wrong. And that's not how you learn anything about anyone.

That's why you'd probably question someone's sanity if they engage in such behaviors and combining a vampire lifestyle with occult magic

Actually, I wouldn't. Mostly because "vampire activities" are forms of magick. It's not surprising, or new, or amazing, or awful. It's just expected.

That's where a lot of the psychic vampires come from or use blood in their rituals.

Says someone who obviously is not an occultist.
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Yabuturtle wrote: Let's see, you see someone with a vampire lifestyle and combines it with occult, which they often do, what happens? Quite a few do psi draining. There's even written instructions on how to do that with certain vampire groups. Do people think this perfectly ok, to see others drain each other's energy?

Psi vamps != sanguinary vamps. They may share some circles due to their nature, but they are not the same, nor do they practice the same sets of magicks.

I practice magic, but nature magic...

Which is every bit as bad as these "dark occultists" you're seeing around every corner. Nature magick is not inherently "good" or "beneficial." By its very nature (heheh), nature magick is neutral. Just like every other form. It isn't the path that makes a person do bad things; if you're a bad person you're going to bring that badness into the craft. It doesn't give it to you.
[hr]

TheDude wrote: I have practiced with the occult to a pretty big extent. I can verify that psychic vampirism is a thing which exists and, contrary to common thought, can be helpful. At least, as far as my personal experience goes. Projecting or taking in energy is not so difficult, many people do it without even knowing about it. It can be greatly helpful in conflict resolution and in calming a person's temper if done with care, and can even be helpful in energy healing.

I'll second what TheDude said here about using this capacity to "drain" carefully and well-intentioned. I have routinely used it to calm entire roomfulls of people so they didn't make stupid mistakes, or "drain" away the pain from someone until they could receive physical medical attention. It isn't inherently awful.

I don't talk about this much, but I essentially function in such a manner as to "police" and guide occult practitioners in a geographical region. As such, part of my responsibility is that people use what they know in the right ways, and don't stray from their personal paths for selfish ends. And if I, having that responsibility, can tell you that you're overreacting, then you're probably overreacting.

the celestine series had a lot of fluff and was highly commercialized, but in the original celestine prophecy, redfield did a pretty good job pointing out the "attention competition"

heres a summary http://enlightentheuniverse.com/notes/insight-four-of-the-celestine-prophecy/

his descriptions of the "control drams" are a bit simplistic, but a good enough place to start

what he tells us is that the demand for energy is a universal human need, and attention is the most readily available kind of energy, as all you need to find it is the presence of another person

he goes on to explain that the methods that we use to get the attention that we need have a lot more to do with our maturity level than being a vampire

actually he doesnt ever say anything about being a vampire at all, he just says that human beings compete for attention

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ive been looking for info online

this guy says energy vampires, arent really vampires

http://www.vampirewebsite.net/energyvampires.html

"People that refer to themselves as "energy vampires", aren't actually vampires. They are people that have been brainwashed in to believing that being able to take energy is what makes some one a vampire."

this guy says that half of all energy vampires are deliberately assaulting peoples wills

http://www.vampiricstudies.com/psivamp.html

"Psi~Vamps are people who have the ability to drain away energy in all of its forms. To do so enhances their mental and physical energies as normal feeding would for regular Vampires. A Psi~Vamp may or may not be psychic, in the normal sense, but this use of the terminology means the psychic ability to drain another individual of energy or life forces. It also means such an individual can drain thoughts, emotions, life force, mental and physical strengths.

About 50 percent of Psi~Vamps do so automatically without intending to, or even realizing that they are doing so. Everyone has known, or shall know, a person like this, be it a sibling, lover, relative or friend. No matter how little time you spend with them you always feel tired and weak when they leave. The other 50 percent of Psi~Vamps do so with intent. Some do so just to increase their own power, while others view it as a challenge --- a sort of game, to see how much they can take."

this website refers to some other web site and says that astral vampires are the apparently immortal astral souls of dead vampire lords

http://www.sanguinarius.org/support/psi-energy/astral-vampires-and-dreamwalking/

"According to occultist Dion Fortune, an astral vampire is created when a powerful magickal worker refuses to submit to the “second death”, or death of the astral shell. This astral shell is essentially the same vessel one projects when engaging in astral travel, and according the Fortune’s views, it naturally expires a short while after the physical body dies. "

heres a list of questions to help you determine if you are a real vampire

http://www.vampirewebsite.net/howknowifavampire.html

If you have the time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st3iBRHPzGI

steamboat28 wrote: It isn't the path that makes a person do bad things; if you're a bad person you're going to bring that badness into the craft. It doesn't give it to you.

/mic drop

Snowy Aftermath wrote:

steamboat28 wrote: It isn't the path that makes a person do bad things; if you're a bad person you're going to bring that badness into the craft. It doesn't give it to you.

/mic drop

PREACH!!