What is chess like from sorcery perspective?

Chess requires a great deal of attention and concentration to be played well. The same applies to magic, because one must concentrate enough to shut off internal dialogue and manipulate attention at a high level in order to achieve results.

This is exactly what chess demands. It requires internal dialogue to be silenced and attention to be focused on a geometrical, sequential abstraction that cannot really be described by words.

I suspect that grandmasters replace their internal dialogue with this kind of thinking. It is a known fact that the best players show very high cognitive development, and their level of play appears to be highly dependent on this “method of silence.”

From this perspective, chess looks less like a purely intellectual activity and more like a structured way of training attention, silence, and perception.

2 Comments

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u/castaneda-ModTeam 1 points 2026-01-30 03:28

The stated purpose of this subreddit is to aid in restoring the reputation of Carlos Castaneda and the knowledge he imparted, by pragmatically applying that knowledge IN PRACTICE. This means that we are sticking to what really works, as proven by direct experience by long-practicing members. We need to make clear our intent to move away, as a community, from the mistakes others have made. Content that is at-odds with this purpose will, upon review, be removed.

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u/TechnoMagical_Intent 1 points 2026-01-30 03:31

There are all sorts of activities that are better done without an internal dialogue. Silence is, of course, directly applicable to those.

But the intent of sorcery, is what we focus on in here. And this isn't on-topic enough with expanded perception.