Initially called “Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment, The One Year Manual is a tiny little book packing plenty of information. Written by none other than Dr. Israel Regardie, the book outlines a practical study course lasting at least 12 months. While that’s the “ideal period” for the “ideal student,” the author points out that such people don’t exist, and everybody is unique. Hence approaching the material in a best-suiting-you manner would be most optimal. If you do so, you’ll find that fully mastering it might take up to 5 years. For this, Regardie offers a piece of priceless advice to follow from the very beginning.

Equally emphasized is the importance of making a Day Book. That being a journal to write all your experiences with the exercises presented. Unveiling psychological patterns (possibly running through your practices), those entries provide invaluable insights when later revised. Another, the book aims for is preventing a crucial mistake many people make, especially when starting. That’s burdening them with too many books and material. Thus spending more time reading than practicing.

Another, Тhe One Year Manual aims for is preventing a crucial mistake many people make, especially when starting. That’s burdening them with too many books and material. Thus spending more time reading than practicing. Revealing the most natural ways of adopting any of these or other rituals, prioritizing performance over reading opens one’s eyes to a crucial piece of Truth to know from the start…

Understanding this enables better grasping and working with other, more sophisticated systems. The examples given are the-edited-by-Regardie The Golden Dawn and Gems From the Equinox. The first includes the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’s methods and practices. The second those of Aleister Crowley for his order — the A.A.

Mentioning the last reminds that according to Regardie, using the OYM can help reach A.A.’s neophyte grade. However, rather than promising outstanding achievements, the author suggests that performing the explained exercises obtains such and such results. So, with all of this given, let’s proceed with the actual practices.

An essential part of many Thelemites’ day, the first exercise is called the 4 adorations. It comes down to adoring the Sun as a symbol of Divinity, 4 times a day. Ideally, that’s every 6 hrs from 6 am to 12 pm. Nevertheless, some flexibility is allowed to better suit one’s schedule and lifestyle.

Though Liber Resh vel Helios is a more prolonged and sophisticated rite including god forms and a passage from the Book of the Law, here Regardie deliberately focuses on its most basic segment — the actual Sun adorations. And the reason (I suppose) is not burdening you with too much material.

Crucial to any self-development and spiritual growth system, the second practice is obtaining body awareness. Either performed while sitting in a straight-back chair or lying in a bed, this comes down to something “very simple.” That’s observing and accepting all discomforts occurring for the time being. Said differently, it’s “watching” your body right at the moment, giving your best in becoming conscious of any arising sensations. 

While doing that, you don’t move. Nor try to avoid the last in any way. Instead, you let all those happen, completely accepting each. Re-focusing the mind on the sensations gradually develops the concentration faculty. Plus, this simple exercise is vital for mastering the arts of stillness and relaxation.

The first those paragraphs recommend is maintaining the previously discussed for more extended periods. Thus prolonging the sessions. The second to start each with some preliminary physical exercises, which the author defines as somewhat similar to calisthenics. The purpose is obtaining even greater relaxation from the get-go. 

Employing the imagination is the next stage of that. The same is for extending your awareness’s boundaries. For this, Regardie proposes meticulously envisioning aspects of the body. More specifically, seeing how the blood flows freely to them, in profound detail.

It’s also advised to utilize organ diagrams, especially of the brain and the eyes. And the reason is facilitating your focus and visualizations.

Explaining that most people don’t breathe properly, this part stresses rhythmic breathing’s importance. It builds on the maxim that since life is all-penetrant-and-pervasive, the breathable air is extremelly saturated with vitality. Based on that, the author advises adopting the daily practice of what’s known as the fourfold breath.

Another found in the same section is to utilize devices for readily maintaining a steady tempo throughout the entire session. That being a metronome, which nowadays is freely downloadable as a smartphone app.

Before describing the desired results to obtain (and how rhythmic breathing strengthens the will), the book proceeds by advising the utilization of a mantra. That being to accompany the breathing. The example given is a traditional Christian mantra perfectly fitting into a 4 bar count — which is precisely the thing to look for when choosing yours.

After those three, the book proceeds with something identical to psychoanalysis’s free association. When practicing it, you focus on all possibly-occurring unpleasant thoughts and feelings. As emphatically stated, the key isn’t judging nor suppressing those. That’s actually the thing to avoid. The goal is bringing them to your mind’s surface. Therefore letting each happen with maximum freedom. Providing fascinating insights about what makes you tick all this gradually calms and clears the mind.

Despite some may disagree, this partially reminds me of something found in Napoleon Hill’s Outwitting the Devil…

While more extensive comments on it can be found in my Outwitting The Devil book review, here, I’ll only say that mastering the Body and Mind Awareness exercises builds the basis for just that. Thereby it makes you begin accepting yourself as a whole.

Before exemplifying a Hindu mantra (here), the book elaborates on another fundamental. Namely that the mind is a “creature of habit.” So, it’s best to turn all those practices into actual habits, embedding them in your schedule. 

By doing so, you eventually reach the point when skipping practicing becomes difficult. And this, I think, is something which the students of the New Thought movement may think of obtaining permanency by availing of the defined by N. Hill as Hypnotic Rhythm.

Offering methods for boosting willpower, this chapter starts with a thing called “modified asceticism.” That being deliberately depriving yourself of something pleasurable (or inflicting some perfectly safe light pain) unless sticking to a set goal.

For how long to do that depends on the situation. The most important is understanding that there isn’t any virtue in this whole procedure. It’s just a means for creating a conditioned response and strengthening the will.

Аfter a while, this produces a couple of results, considered “major aspects” of the Great Work. More obvious, the first is generating a powerful willpower current — to be used for consciously controlling the psyche’s diverse activities. The second and more critical is gradually developing significant control over the mind. Hence further improving your ability to concentrate. Аnd now, let’s continue with my favorite part of the book.

Moving to more elaborate techniques, here, the book introduces a staple Golden Dawn exercise. Called the Rose Cross ritual, the same is utilized for various purposes. Тhis includes self-enclosure, creating a curtain within the aura, preparing for meditation, protecting against astral junk, and calming the mind differently than LBRP — a tutorial (of which) I published, as my previous post.

According to some sources, the RC can also make you “invisible,” which is basically unnoticeable. However, to my knowledge, thе rite’s primary function is centering the operator’s consciousness to Tiphereth — the Sun sphere right in the Tree of Life’s center.

While more about that is to be found in books like the Golden Dawn, DMK’s Modern Magick, Donald Tyson’s Magician’s Workbook, and Scott Stenwick’s incredible blog, more “interesting” in this context is something else. That’s the outlined-in-the-book modified RC technique.

Changing the Rosy Crosses’ directions, the same creates not that much of an X but more of a standard cross shape. That’s one similar to those of the pentagram and hexagram rituals. It also omits the Keyword’s Analysis, which is the traditional way of finishing the exercise.

Instead, it employs a prayer, which is part of the bornless ritual. The same can be found in Regardie’s Ceremonial Magic. And this, I believe, makes up for a slightly different rite.

Needless to say, this is another exercise not needing an introduction. Just in case it does, I definitely offer to check my Middle Pillar tutorial. Тhe same does a great job in explaining the technique.

The MP’s primary purpose is increasing awareness of the presence and guidance of that which is regarded as your Higher Self, HGA, or Genius. Or, as I like to call it, of the very source of all brilliant thoughts and deeds you’ll ever be capable of. Raising vitality while centering you, the MP also helps with focus and creativity. Also, with anxiety…ot needing an introduction. Just in case it does, I definitely offer to check my Middle Pillar tutorial. Тhe same does a great job in explaining the technique.

Combining the MP with more prayers and passage from Crowley’s The World Tragedy in these sections, Regardie stresses two things. (1) How much spiritual energy this exercise charges the organism with. And (2) the imagination’s importance; for activating the spheres and performing the ball of light’s circulation, which is the proper way of finishing the MP.

Now, this section reveals (what I see) as one of the mightiest tactics for total self-development. Namely, employing a symbol of devotion for evoking strong emotions to increase focus.

After discussing the intricacies of that, the author proposes finding a piece of art, poem, bible psalm, letter, or hieroglyph to profoundly impact your psyche. Essentially, you can also create your own painting or sigil. Whatever that is, it must be readily linked/associated with your beloved or your muse.

After accomplishing this, you devote all your self-improvement to that same person represented by the sigil. Regularly contemplating and concentrating on the latter embeds that perception within your mind. Then the symbol becomes alive, thus capable of mobilizing the right emotions at any time.

Totally essential, when practicing sexual transmutation, similar methods have proven to produce outstanding results in my life. And while that also deserves a separate post, I suggest my article and video on channeling sexual energy. The same discuss something quite identical, I figured solely through intuition years before knowing about the Western Mysteries, Dr. Regardie, and even N. Hill.

Building on top of some of the first explained methods, this chapter teaches a rather peculiar exercise. That’s envisioning and genuinely feeling all bodily cells wholly permeated by the air, sucking it up like some of a sponge.

Practiced for some time, this technique helps to comprehend more spiritual truths. The most fundamental being about the primordial connection between Air and Spirit. And how they’re both carriers of life.

Once thаt’s understood, the student is advised to associate the permeating-his/her-body Air with the Divine Spirit itself — elevating one’s consciousness, that increases awareness of the ever-present Universal Spirit; also of one’s own Divine nature, which is within all of one’s aspects, including one’s body.

Provoking the recognition of Divinity even in one’s ego and various mundane tasks, this section stresses the importance of working under the laws of all levels of existence. Hence keeping their diverse phenomena in the proper places.

Through this, the author inspires searching for ways of utilizing one’s connection with the Divine for practical applications of fulfilling one’s True Will while having their needs met in this reality.

One way of achieving that is by employing the practices explained in Regardie’s The Art of True Healing. Mobilizing spiritual power with the agency of will, color, sound, and imagination, the work outlines an extension of the Middle Pillar exercise. That being charging each sephira with a separate element. And then attuning one’s sphere of sensation to one of those elements of Nature and Ancient Philosophy.

After all that, the author touches on establishing a connection with one’s HGA, i.e., reaching what’s nowadays most commonly called Christ consciousness. How that redefines the meanings of many things in one’s life; and how trusting and letting the Angel do the planning renews one’s character in an initially-seemingly-not-possible manner.

Whereas much of what this means can be found in the book, the following definitely stands out…

Although some people may disagree, to me, this kinda matches two things. (A) What the Left-Hand Path followers define as not being “occultic.” And (B) what others call letting the magick and the Angel guide you into the journey of your own unique initiation. But that’s just me…

By reaching this stage, the student is supposed to possess a substantial awareness of GOD and his/her own Divinity and capabilities. In that case, the book suggests using a period for celebrating one’s accomplishment.

The reason really isn’t taking time off, but recuperating and preparing for the waiting-ahead long path. For this, Тhe One Year Manual offers remembering an ancient proverb found in the Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage. 

Invoke Often! Inflame Thyself with Prayer! The same turns out to be the secret formula for achieving results when praying. 

Reminding that there really isn’t a spiritual tradition not utilizing meditation and prayer, this chapter also discusses prayer’s beneficial effects on the mind. That’s creating a revolution in the psychological apparatus by triggering formerly unknown experiences of high consciousness and Divinity.

Using the word prayer and invocation somewhat interchangeably, the author suggests 2 prayers to incorporate in your day. Тhe same brought some incredible value to his spiritual life… One can be found in some Golden Dawn books, whereas a version of the first is incorporated in the very powerful (IMHO) 5=6 Revised Middle Pillar.

The One Year Manual was one of the first books I purchased on the subject. Despite its small size, the same taught me invaluable lessons I’m sure I’ll find helpful for a very long time. Some of them I discussed, others you’ll find on your own. Through a combination of simple yet carefully selected exercises, the book gently opens one’s eyes to many truths.

Prioritizing practicing over reading, the book helps to activate what Dr. Regardie calls the Inner Warrior. It also prepares for much more sophisticated workings outlined in the earlier mentioned books. For this, it’s a classic and a favorite of mine — one I like to read once in a while. And this time, I also decided to review it. So, just in case if you haven’t done that already… Go grab your copy of the book. And now…

Thank You For Your Time!