“The word "asceticism" comes from the Greek askesis, which literally means "athletic exercise." Crowley's method is one option, and it works, but it's also true that any willed action does the same thing. You can deliberately give yourself a habit, for example, get it established, and then stop doing it -- you learn from both stages of the process. You can also set yourself some wholly arbitrary task -- for example, decide that you will be at some specific street corner a dozen miles away from your home at 11:36 am this coming Sunday, and keep the appointment to the minute. All this trains the will and gives you the capacity to accomplish magical action in the world.” - John Micheal Greer”