Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Chapter 1Duality the Male-Neophyte Degree
Duality/ the Male
I would like to share a few essays that compare the process of ego development with some of the more recognized landmarks of metaphysical and psychological research. I've used the grade system of the Golden Dawn as a convenient way of organizing this data using Israel Regardie's book as a reference. I could just as easily have used terms used by psychology or some other school of thought.
The main point is that even if different terms are used the experiences described are the same. There is a universal experience that is true for all people even if it is highly subjective. Therefore these next chapters are tied together in a way that builds on what went before. What they propose is a progressive ladder or stairway that we each must traval in the process of healthy ego development.
They also offer a type of initiation that will act as a catalyst for personal growth and healing. While my examples may not be strictly accurate they should be very evocative and I would welcome comments that would help smooth these concepts out a little more.
NEOPHYTE DEGREE
In this degree the Neophyte enters the realms of thought beyond the purely physical and begins explorations of the ego. What I'm really saying here is that we move from an animal type awareness into an awareness of "self". Typically many of these levels are dealt with naturally during childhood. This degree has eight levels of thought within it. Each level deals with personal limitations and how our developing ego's grow and adjust to confront and gradually master these limitations. I don't really know of any order or sequence these areas may fall into. I do know that we are not complete until we have explored and come to terms with these areas.
Limitations of Language. So often in our lives' words are inadequate to express the depth of our emotions and the intent of our actions. We feel that no one understands us, that no one will listen to what we are trying to tell them. Gradually we learn to accept that we have a unique perspective on life and that many things that happen in our lives will remain forever secret between ourselves and the God of our hearts.
At least this is the healthy way things should be. All too often we expect others to understand and have insight into our personal situation. We want to think that they know us but the reality is that no one can really know us that deeply, not even our loved ones.
Limitations of action. We learn very rapidly in life that certain things are acceptable and others are not. We think things are unfair. Why are bad things happening to us? Why can't we do the things that we want to do? We learn there are consequences to our actions, that action causes reaction and that we are in the highest sense responsible for our actions. We learn to do the right things at the right times so we are socially acceptable. Our parents are a great help in this regard. We do unto others as we would have them do unto us. These are the beginning insights into the cosmic law of karma, cause and effect.
Sadly generations of children are being raised without learning that their actions have natural consequences. Parents over protect and shelter their children and let them get away with things. How can they be expected to know how to behave when they turn eighteen?
Limitations of emotions. This deals directly with our strongest personal desires. Often we want things so badly we would do or give anything to achieve them. We feel hurt, anger and helplessness when they are taken out of our reach. We WANT these things and we can't have them. In time we learn to desire things that are within our grasp and our abilities.
It is very important that our sights are aimed high at this point because otherwise we will lose our desire to succeed in life. Unfortunately many parents have effectively killed the higher ambitions in their children by not giving them the emotional support they need when they need it.
Personal limitations. Now we deal with the limitations of our own newly developing ego. We realize our perceived shortcomings. We feel life is not fair. Why is my nose so big? Why am I so fat? Why am I so tall? Does any of this sound familiar? We come face to face with what we have been given in life and we react with intense personal dissatisfaction. Hopefully we grow above these things and accept ourselves as we are.
Learning to love ourselves goes hand in hand with believing in our abilities. This means that we have to expose ourselves to life and be successful in our own eyes.
We are Gods and Goddesses
Here we ponder what it would be like to live for ever and ever. As children we still feel we are immortal and nothing can harm us.Life is so huge and it just goes on and on. We realize that we have no control over this at all. Awareness just goes on and on and on. We believe that we have a destiny to fulfill whether we want to or not. We believe that we are important.
Some children are told that they will be judged according to their deeds and sentenced to heaven or hell accordingly upon death. Others fortunate enough to be exposed to reincarnation at an early age will see karma as a wheel of life where we are born again and again until we get some meaningless lesson right. We feel helpless and small as we consider these forces of destiny.
Right and Wrong. Here we deal with our desire for revenge and the destruction of the wicked. We now know through the help of our parents and others the difference between right and wrong. We try to do the right things and God help those who are doing the wrong things. We are on their case in an instant. As children we are the tattler and as adults we turn others in to the authorities. We feel a strong desire for reward and recognition because we are doing the RIGHT things. We also fear the pain and humiliation of punishment.
We' re given an early understanding of the religious/philosophical background that we grow up in. We have now mastered the fundamentals. The stories and dogmas have been read to us. Our questions have been answered and our thoughts carefully directed to conform with the wisdom of our elders. In their infinite wisdom they assure us that there is nothing more to learn. That our education in these matters is over and we can take our place as adults. We do this through ceremonies such as confirmation, baptism, and graduation. There is a strong sense of stagnation and we no longer question the way things are. Sadly enough many adults seem to be stuck at this stage of ego development.
Death.People die, animals die, plants die and we have a growing realization that we too will someday die. It is inevitable. What happens after we die? Where do we go? Is there life without the physical body? Does it hurt to die? Are ghosts real and can they hurt us? If we are lucky our parents and churches tell us that we will go to heaven. They tell us that heaven is the most beautiful place we can imagine. But they also tell us about hell and damnation. They tell us that if we do not believe certain things and do certain things we will go straight to hell with its eternal agony and torment. We need to save our immortal soul by not doing the things that our bodies want us to do. We learn that we have a part of us that does not die. We feel this instinctively and deeply in our very core.
I would like to share a few essays that compare the process of ego development with some of the more recognized landmarks of metaphysical and psychological research. I've used the grade system of the Golden Dawn as a convenient way of organizing this data using Israel Regardie's book as a reference. I could just as easily have used terms used by psychology or some other school of thought.
The main point is that even if different terms are used the experiences described are the same. There is a universal experience that is true for all people even if it is highly subjective. Therefore these next chapters are tied together in a way that builds on what went before. What they propose is a progressive ladder or stairway that we each must traval in the process of healthy ego development.
They also offer a type of initiation that will act as a catalyst for personal growth and healing. While my examples may not be strictly accurate they should be very evocative and I would welcome comments that would help smooth these concepts out a little more.
NEOPHYTE DEGREE
In this degree the Neophyte enters the realms of thought beyond the purely physical and begins explorations of the ego. What I'm really saying here is that we move from an animal type awareness into an awareness of "self". Typically many of these levels are dealt with naturally during childhood. This degree has eight levels of thought within it. Each level deals with personal limitations and how our developing ego's grow and adjust to confront and gradually master these limitations. I don't really know of any order or sequence these areas may fall into. I do know that we are not complete until we have explored and come to terms with these areas.
Limitations of Language. So often in our lives' words are inadequate to express the depth of our emotions and the intent of our actions. We feel that no one understands us, that no one will listen to what we are trying to tell them. Gradually we learn to accept that we have a unique perspective on life and that many things that happen in our lives will remain forever secret between ourselves and the God of our hearts.
At least this is the healthy way things should be. All too often we expect others to understand and have insight into our personal situation. We want to think that they know us but the reality is that no one can really know us that deeply, not even our loved ones.
Limitations of action. We learn very rapidly in life that certain things are acceptable and others are not. We think things are unfair. Why are bad things happening to us? Why can't we do the things that we want to do? We learn there are consequences to our actions, that action causes reaction and that we are in the highest sense responsible for our actions. We learn to do the right things at the right times so we are socially acceptable. Our parents are a great help in this regard. We do unto others as we would have them do unto us. These are the beginning insights into the cosmic law of karma, cause and effect.
Sadly generations of children are being raised without learning that their actions have natural consequences. Parents over protect and shelter their children and let them get away with things. How can they be expected to know how to behave when they turn eighteen?
Limitations of emotions. This deals directly with our strongest personal desires. Often we want things so badly we would do or give anything to achieve them. We feel hurt, anger and helplessness when they are taken out of our reach. We WANT these things and we can't have them. In time we learn to desire things that are within our grasp and our abilities.
It is very important that our sights are aimed high at this point because otherwise we will lose our desire to succeed in life. Unfortunately many parents have effectively killed the higher ambitions in their children by not giving them the emotional support they need when they need it.
Personal limitations. Now we deal with the limitations of our own newly developing ego. We realize our perceived shortcomings. We feel life is not fair. Why is my nose so big? Why am I so fat? Why am I so tall? Does any of this sound familiar? We come face to face with what we have been given in life and we react with intense personal dissatisfaction. Hopefully we grow above these things and accept ourselves as we are.
Learning to love ourselves goes hand in hand with believing in our abilities. This means that we have to expose ourselves to life and be successful in our own eyes.
We are Gods and Goddesses
Here we ponder what it would be like to live for ever and ever. As children we still feel we are immortal and nothing can harm us.Life is so huge and it just goes on and on. We realize that we have no control over this at all. Awareness just goes on and on and on. We believe that we have a destiny to fulfill whether we want to or not. We believe that we are important.
Some children are told that they will be judged according to their deeds and sentenced to heaven or hell accordingly upon death. Others fortunate enough to be exposed to reincarnation at an early age will see karma as a wheel of life where we are born again and again until we get some meaningless lesson right. We feel helpless and small as we consider these forces of destiny.
Right and Wrong. Here we deal with our desire for revenge and the destruction of the wicked. We now know through the help of our parents and others the difference between right and wrong. We try to do the right things and God help those who are doing the wrong things. We are on their case in an instant. As children we are the tattler and as adults we turn others in to the authorities. We feel a strong desire for reward and recognition because we are doing the RIGHT things. We also fear the pain and humiliation of punishment.
We' re given an early understanding of the religious/philosophical background that we grow up in. We have now mastered the fundamentals. The stories and dogmas have been read to us. Our questions have been answered and our thoughts carefully directed to conform with the wisdom of our elders. In their infinite wisdom they assure us that there is nothing more to learn. That our education in these matters is over and we can take our place as adults. We do this through ceremonies such as confirmation, baptism, and graduation. There is a strong sense of stagnation and we no longer question the way things are. Sadly enough many adults seem to be stuck at this stage of ego development.
Death.People die, animals die, plants die and we have a growing realization that we too will someday die. It is inevitable. What happens after we die? Where do we go? Is there life without the physical body? Does it hurt to die? Are ghosts real and can they hurt us? If we are lucky our parents and churches tell us that we will go to heaven. They tell us that heaven is the most beautiful place we can imagine. But they also tell us about hell and damnation. They tell us that if we do not believe certain things and do certain things we will go straight to hell with its eternal agony and torment. We need to save our immortal soul by not doing the things that our bodies want us to do. We learn that we have a part of us that does not die. We feel this instinctively and deeply in our very core.
# posted by banjo @ 5:08 PM 
