[2] Since it takes years of training to master this sort of Zen-like meditative ability, chaos magicians employ a variety of other ways to attain a "brief 'no-mind' state" in which to work magic.
[citation needed] To achieve this, it is necessary to enter into an altered state of consciousness in which thoughts are stilled, and awareness is held on a single point.
[2]In asserting the necessity of attaining such a state, the earliest chaos magicians were following the example set by artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare.
[9][10] Aleister Crowley had also argued that the key to magic was an altered state of consciousness, whether attained through meditation, sexual practices or the use of drugs.
[11] However, the real breakthrough of the early chaos magicians was the realisation that there are many states of exhaustion, arousal or inhibition that cause consciousness to briefly "blink", sidestepping the need for years of meditative attainment.