Spells for Collective Liberation and Healing
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Knowledge Base
A growing and constantly updated library of concepts, tools, and resources that have been helpful to us.
Concepts (92)
Ideas and topics that help us understand our world.
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated over and over through humming, speaking, chanting, or singing. There are different ways to work with a mantra: - Many spiritual lineages work with mantras that come from long traditions and carry a lot of meaning in them. See examples below. - You can also craft your own mantra by choosing an affirmation that you would like to focus your mind on. "The word 'mantra' means 'mind-protecting.' A mantra is something that protects the mind from itself, really, by giving it some fodder other than the thinking process." – Ram Dass in Paths to God "As you chant, start to surrender into it, start to offer up all of your other thoughts as sacrifice into it." – Ram Dass in Paths to God - Om Mani Padme Hum - Om Ami Dewa Hrih
Upper Limit Problem
The Upper Limit Problem describes the tendency to unconsciously sabotage ourselves when we surpass a familiar level of success, happiness, or love. Rooted in internalized beliefs and fears, it limits our capacity to grow, like an internal ceiling. Overcoming it means expanding our ability to receive and sustain well-being without self-sabotage. The term Upper Limit Problem was coined by psychologist and author Gay Hendricks in his book The Big Leap. - Impostor syndrome - Fear of outshining As above so below: just as individuals hit an inner ceiling on how much joy, success, or peace they allow, collectives (and the human organism as a whole) can unconsciously limit how much well-being or transformation they believe is possible. When systemic breakthroughs arise toward justice, healing, or liberation, they often meet resistance not just from external forces, but from within the collective psyche. This may show up as backlash, polarization, or a retreat into the familiar. Recognizing the collective Upper Limit Problem invites us to ask: What are we afraid of when things get better? And how can we expand our shared capacity to hold more possibility, not just individually, but together?
The Magician
The Magician is the creator. They know how to transform energy and turn something that has previously existed only in their imagination into a material manifestation. They know that attention is power and don't waste time complaining about situations. Instead, they take a look at the matter at hand, identify possibilities, and get to work. They are a light worker.
Tools (23)
Exercises and practices that help us shape our world.
Ultimate Success Mantra
The Ultimate Success Mantra is a mantra that was developed by Gay Hendricks and presented in his book The Big Leap. It is designed to be an antidote to the Upper Limit Problem. "I expand in abundance, success, and love every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same."
Energetic Shield
The visualization of an energetic shield helps with stronger energetic boundaries. It can help to visualize energy bouncing off the shield like when something hits a windshield. It can also be helpful to see the shield as a transformer that converts anything that comes through into loving, joyful energy. I decide where my attention goes. I decide what energy I take in. I am my own refuge. This shield is a transformer. It turns anything that comes through into loving, joyful energy. <Image src="/img/2024-04-19-energetic-boundaries.jpg"
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is perhaps the most common form of meditation. It is about recognizing when the mind has wandered off and then just letting that thought go in a gentle way. These moments feel like waking up from a thought, and this awareness can be trained like a muscle. After doing mindfulness meditation for a while, it is also easier to be aware of your thoughts and mental state in daily life. If you are prone to overthinking, this practice can help a lot to catch these moments earlier and then decide if it's still productive thought. Lift a finger when you notice you've drifted off. This helps remember what this type of meditation is about. To let go of a thought, it helps to visualize it like a thread that can be gently cut or let go of and then floats away.
Resources (34)
Books and other resources that we recommend.
Book: The Big Leap
In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks introduces the Upper Limit Problem and shows how we can move past it. - Ultimate Success Mantra
Article: Damien Echols on Leaving Ritual Behind
On his Patreon, Damien Echols published an article called Leaving Ritual Behind. "For many years, ritual work was the center of my life. [...] And it worked. Unquestionably. It changed my inner landscape, sharpened my attention, reorganized my psyche, and altered the trajectory of my life in very concrete ways." "Because of that history, people often assume I must still be doing ritual work daily. [...] The answer surprises them: no, I don’t. And if ritual is done correctly, there will come a time when you don’t either." "The Buddha gives a perfect metaphor for this in the Diamond Sutra. He describes it as crossing a river. To cross it, you need a raft. The raft is essential. Without it, you will drown. But once you reach the other shore, carrying the raft on your back would be absurd. The raft has done its job. You leave it behind and continue walking." "In the beginning, ritual is a technology. [...] Ritual gives the untrained mind something to hold onto while it learns how to stay present." "Early on, ritual feels powerful because it is. The practitioner’s inner world is chaotic, fragmented, and reactive. Ritual introduces order. It creates boundaries. It teaches cause and effect on an internal level. You perform an action with intent, and something changes. This is intoxicating, because you realize it’s not fantasy, and it gives you agency where there was previously confusion and helplessness." "Over time, if the work is done correctly and with great devotion, the effects of ritual stop being episodic and start becoming structural. [...] Presence begins to appear on its own more and more often in “regular life.”" "At a certain point, ritual becomes redundant." "Ritual, in its early stages, often involves negotiation with the world…requests, invocations, adjustments. Later, that impulse disappears. The practitioner no longer seeks leverage over circumstances. Instead, they remove the internal friction that prevents reality from moving cleanly through them." "When ritual has done its job, it leaves you with something quieter and far more demanding: the responsibility to meet each moment directly, without ceremony, without insulation, and without excuses."
Article: Care on Avoiding Boundaries
On their Substack newsletter Erotics of Liberation, Care published an article called Avoiding boundaries is not kindness. It is a refusal to risk being known in real time. "I tell myselves I struggle with boundaries because no one taught me. Because of my intersections. Because of white supremacy. Because of trauma. Because of history. And all of that is true. And, it’s not the whole truth." "I am tired of my wounds. Not in a bypassy way, not in a “just get over it” way—but in the way that comes when you realize that healing doesn’t only mean tending to pain. It also means losing the identities we’ve built around our wounds." "_The truth is: I struggle with boundaries a lot because I struggle with intimacy." "I delayed truth until it hardened into resentment because resentment felt safer than vulnerability. Resentment preserves power without risking rejection." "Over time, I’ve come to understand that boundaries are not just about self-protection; they are a direct line to my capacity for accountability. When I don’t hold my boundaries, resentment begins to accumulate." "I stay silent. I’m scared to set a boundary because I learned early on that boundaries threaten the relationship—and sometimes my safety within it. I learned that it was safer to abandon myself in service of the relationship than to risk the freedom that might exist outside of it." "When internal boundaries are weak or absent, resentment becomes the substitute. And resentment is dangerous because it disguises itself as moral clarity while actually being deferred responsibility. It says, you should have known, when the truth is, I didn’t say." "For me, resentment is often closer to jealousy than to anger. It sounds like: “Well, I didn’t say anything when you did X last fall.” What I’m really saying is: I cannot hold your boundary because I cannot hold or speak my own." "When a boundary finally appears—but it isn’t mine—the one I should have set months or years ago arrives late, charged, absolute, and often absurd. It’s not a boundary anymore. There is no room for repair then, only punishment wrapped in layers of defensiveness. Accountability, at that point, can no longer be practiced."