Fire and Forget.

[OmniZero]

Through my experimentation with contamination, and effecting the chance of outcomes I have come to find a subtle technique that works well for me. This could be something that works just for me and my style of magikal thinking, but I wanted to share it to see if anyone else has had any similar experiences.
I call it fire and forget. It's the idea of focusing on an outcome to a situation, or a desire that you hold, imagining how you would like it, and how it will play out, and then forgetting it, and not holding any attachment to it. I theorize that it's the subtle act of setting one's subconscious up to believe a certain outcome will happen with a situation, while the conscious mind looses it's hold on the idea. Now, I'm not sure what mechanics would specifically make this work, or not work, but I have found results with this, and I'm looking at distilling the technique down.

I'll give an example where this concept applied itself out, and I'll keep it brief. One day at work, we were waiting on a Concrete Truck showing up, so we could pour what we needed to, and get home. If the truck were to take too long, then we could be stuck working way later. So, I looked at my watch, and focused on the idea that concrete would show up at 2:00, which was several hours early. I didn't focus too much either way, on how it would be if it showed up later, and how that would feel, and I didn't focus on it showing up earlier, and how that would feel. I just let it go, and went back to working, and forgot about it completely. To my surprise later, the Truck we expected showed up early. I then went to check my watch to see what time it had been when it arrived, rather than checking the time constantly in expectation. Sure enough, the time was 2:00 pretty well to the minute. This has happened in other instances, enough for me to notice a pattern with the results, so I figure it's worth bringing up.

I'm probably not explaining this the best, or really clearly... But I'm not looking to write a treatise here, just to strike up a discussion.
Thinkers of DKMU, lend me your thoughts.

[Wächter]

My take on it revolves around a delightful mix of psychology and quantum physics with electromagnetic theory thrown in for good measure. If I had to speculate, I would say what happened was something like this:

[CAVEAT: It is entirely possible for my knowledge to be off on any of these aspects so if anyone smells bullshit please call me out and correct me on it. ]

The human brain (likely all brains for that matter) emits measurable radio frequency waves, and those waves have a very real effect on the environment we inhabit. When you formulated the intent (pyschological component), it produced a waveform of very specific frequency, amplitude, and polarization (EM theory component). Think of it like sending an email to the universe, to put it at a mickey mouse level (I do not intend to sound condescending or basically rude in saying that haha)

I should state that RF energy is simply a type of light. . As you mentioned, you fired-and-forgot, therefore I posit there was no corruption of the signal transmission, which allowed it to reach its intended destination with minimal degredation. I liken this to the removal of the lust for result. One sets the subconscious to broadcast without the mind trying to edit it every five or so minutes, or trying to recall the message.

Since RF energy is in the form of waves, and not visible to the eye (enter quantum physics, ala double slit experiment), it interacted with the environment on the sub-atomic level thus creating a chain reaction. I theorize that this chain reaction caused the perfect set of circumstances (hello synchronicity, you foxy lady) to enable the concrete truck to arrive when it did.

So those are my thoughts.

[Kiki]

Heh, I do something similar when I'm running late....

[empath23]

I find its too difficult to achieve continuous results from a technique like this without involving the use of symbols, or at least some form of ritual behind it; all the time's ive tried, the successes could easily have been written off as simple chance, as it was always about a 50/50 hit/miss. Your technique is not unlike the common practice of sigilization wherein one forgets the meaning of the sigil after firing. It also vaguely reminds me of that absolutely horrible movie: the secret (barf).

If anything you have successfully discovered a method for the reduction of anxieties, accepting the root of them by concentrating on the thing that is causing anxiety (such as the truck being late), and then allowing it to pass by trying to forget about it. I'd settle for that any day :D

[Ianas Tebron]

While I do not think that a ritual is absolutely necessary, and that a technique like you say can and does work to some degree, for myself I need some sort of ritual. Otherwise without the physical actions and grounding my will itself seems to not be focused enough because I have not achieved the correct mind frame. This probably varies with each magician to differing degrees.

[Johnna'dreams]

I have actually used this trick a lot early in my life before my subjective analysis of magick...

BUT i have a question that still makes me wonder...
How can we distinguish the possibilities that a) we did a spell or....
                                                                         b) our unconcious mind knew the exact outcome before our intention to change something and projected it as our "wish"...

[Kiki]

Neither of those are relevant. You wanted it to happen, it happened.  End of story.

[dave]

There is a third possibility. It was co incidence thetruck was early anyway

[OmniZero]

That's allays a possibility dave; but as someone who resorts to the simplest most understandable reason of explanation (Occam's razor) in every instance before even saying anything, it seems a moot point. As I stated, that is a basic example of one instance. It's happened over a course of numerous instances as I stated. If I felt even a modicum that it were simply a basic coincidence I would have said naught here. But as I said, it's a chain of events and experimentation; take it or leave it. But I think it more educated to experiment with a theory and derive one's own results as a basis for opinion rather than a base assumption that the person reporting said results knows not how to measure his results. Try it and see for yourself; but I find basic assumptions like that ignorant, and small minded. Maybe that's just me though.

And that's just my three cents.

[Timesage Taylor]

Attachment to your works is an important lesson in art.