S. Liddell MacGregor Mathers was one of the original members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He once stated that he hated Ritualistic Magic because it prevented him from concentrating on, and completing, even the simplest of normal, daily tasks.

Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie were also original members of the order, as well as prolific authors on Magic and the Occult. They spoke about the human mind as operating on two different planes: 1) the Earth Plane, and 2) the Plane of Imagination.

Apparently (obviously), we human beings have the mental capacity to think/operate in two different modes: 1) the, "Earth," mode---going to work, cleaning our homes, doing our bills, running our errands, etc., and 2) the, "Imagination," mode---the creative possibilities of which are unlimited.

My experience is that the Occult, Magic, the Esoteric Arts, the Paranormal, etc. have ENORMOUS appeal to the imagination. I also think that they are particularly appealing to artists, or exceptionally creative types of people. I feel that I have a lot in common with S. Liddell MacGregor Mathers. I find the, "Plane of Imagination," so extraordinarily fascinating that I want to stay there because I find it so much more mentally exhilarating than the, "Earth Plane:" that is, the Mundane World. Like Mathers, I really, really have to make concerted effort just to be able to concentrate on and complete normal, daily tasks such as cleaning my house, doing my bills, running my errands, etc.

Several books I've read on Wicca talk about the importance of, "Grounding," after performing a Magical Operation, or Spell. As I interpret, "Grounding," Magic requires the, "operator," to, "go up," into the, "Plane of Imagination," in order to perform a magical operation. So, "Grounding," is a method of coming back down to the, "Earth Plane," after the magical operation is completed. The books talk about, "Grounding the Experience."

My fascination with the occult is such that I'm beginning to feel that I don't have the mental discipline to stay, "Grounded," for any length of time. I also feel that it is beginning to hinder my ability to live life, "normally," like most everyone else. Ever since I was a young child, I've heard myself described as, "always having my head in the clouds." I'm also noticing this, "trait," becoming prominent in my 11-year old son. I believe he's a genius. But, unfortunately, several of his school teachers have suggested that he might have a learning disability.

So, I'm asking for your help. Do any of you have this same type of, "condition?" If so, how do you cope with it? Are there any, "Grounding Methods," that you've found particularly effective? After spending so much time on the (preferred), "Plane of Imagination," how does one discipline oneself to stay on the, "Earth Plane."

I'm really not joking. I'm serious. I would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you.

I can completely sympathize with this post. I know exactly what you mean about head in the clouds, learning disability, etc... I don't have time to expound now unfortunately, but I will try to write a decent post on the subject by tomorrow at lunch.

I don't know about the magic part of it - unsurprisingly, I doubt that any of it has any merit - but I do agree with the Earth plane/Mind plane bit. I often find myself living almost entirely inside my own head, making up stories or playing music while the rest of my life is going on around me.
The best way that I've found to get oneself off of the "Mind plane" is... not to. It's not going to happen. Instead of leaving the clouds, bring the clouds closer to Earth. Physics, for example. It's fascinating to go about your daily tasks with an eye to the physics of the situation - even more so when you combine it with a rudimentary knowledge of anatomy. Focus the mind on the activities of the body, and study them.
Say that your job is statistical data entry on a computer. Consider the inner workings of the machine as you type, and think about all the data flowing around you. Think about the electricity and the incredible intricacy of the keyboard. Hell, forget the keyboard and think about the CPU. Or watch your fingers and think about the muscular movements that you're making - they're so intricate and refined, yet you do it without even thinking.
Everything has a fascinating side to it if you look at it through the right lens.

Per the norm, let me start by giving examples from my own experience. I have always held my imagination in high regard. I have always struggled to stay “grounded” since around third grade. Unfortunately, in society today, if you don’t think like the majority, you must have a problem. The worst part is that I bought into this for years. I just thought I was sick and needed help. I have luckily always been able to maintain at least a semblance of normalcy, enough at least to get through school etc. However my “notes” from school were commonly pages upon pages of drawings and diagrams I had thought up.

I rarely received good grades in school, not because I did not understand the material, but because I almost never did my homework. Homework to me seemed like a huge waste of time. I already knew the material. I would practice when I found real world applications for the knowledge. A’s on tests and quizzes combined with F’s on homework usually averaged me to about a C. So I never stood out. I looked pretty normal and that was how I liked it. If people didn’t bother me, then I could do what I wanted. I did have a couple teachers that gave me the “not reaching your potential” talk, but I mostly blew it off.

In high school, I was diagnosed with ADD. I was medicated for a while. The whole experience was unpleasant. In general, the medication made me feel good about myself, but it prevented my mind from wandering at all. In trying to do anything creative, I felt completely restricted. Additionally, even if I wanted to take the meds so I could conform, the side effects were very bad, the primary one being a complete loss of appetite. I dropped to less than 120lbs. at a height of 5’ 11”.

After adderall (the ADD medication), I found several ways to stay grounded when I needed to. The primary techniques I use are from neuro-linguistic programming, a field of study basically in how to program your own mind. Once you are proficient with NLP, you can literally change habits you have had for years in hours. You can tell your mind to work a certain way for a certain amount of time. For instance, I never get angry. So when I have to make a complaint to a business, I tell my mind that I need to be angry for an hour. If you’d like to learn about it, I would suggest reading this book to start.

The best way I have found to stay grounded recently is my wife. She is the exact opposite of me in that she absolutely refuses imagination. Only practical topics make sense to her. She keeps me grounded like nothing else and it is to her more than anything else that I attribute my success in attaining a degree and a decent, paid IT position.

For your son, I don’t know what disability he’s been attributed, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it yet. Unfortunately he might have trouble in modern society. If he is a genius, he will get through it okay. I do not recommend getting him medicated. Though you will definitely run into teachers who will push this and even suggest you are a bad parent if you don’t medicate him.

I think the best thing for children like this is probably an alternative style of teaching than the formal techniques used in common schools. Unfortunately, you must either provide such education yourself or pay for it elsewhere, both can be a costly venture.

I am hoping to homeschool my daughter once she is old enough.

(Hmm, I tried to make this brief. Several topics I didn’t touch on, but I need to get back to work.)