Re: [BardonPraxis] Regarding Orders/Fraternities/...

[Joachim Rundgren <joachim.rundgren@...>]

Dear João

I think there are several ways to answer this depending on the perspective
one aproaches the question from. Also groups/orders/lodges/ etc. have very
different ways of aproaching new members.

I have personal experience from three different aproaches and I think all of
these are quite ok.

One group was a lodge who served as an independent part of a bigger order.
In that case I had to do certain solitary training for about two years
before I even could apply to the lodge. After that came outer court training
which was used for at least six months. In that case I got to know both some
representatives and also aproached their line of work from both theory and
practice before even becoming a part of the group. The lodge as well as
myself had plenty of time to evaluate the situation.

The other order had open activities, and also provided material for solitary
training as well, so that was also an easy case since there was plenty of
opportunities to evaluate both the system and its members.

The third cas was a bit different because it was a closed group, but even
there the first level of the work was somewhat like a "guest-grade".

Your issue of money is easy, stick to non-profit organisations. There is no
reason fees should be larger than to cover the costs of the activities, and
there is no reason (at least that I can think of) for chosing anything else.

Lastly try to judge the tree by its fruits.

I think group work is a very valuable complement to solitary work. It don't
always turn out well. Sometimes we grow in different directions and it last
for a shorter period, and sometimes it can be a long and fruitful
relationship. 

But at the end of the day I think we get the teachers/groups we deserve, no
matter if it is genuinley constructive or a lesson in "the school of hard
knocks". In the latter case we know better next time so we have grown
anyway.

I wish you well on your journey.

/Joachim


> This may be considered off-topic, but I came across this question today, and
> have been wondering it for a while. I know that at least some of the
> presents have (or still) belong/ed to a Fraternity/Sorority, or an Order of
> this kind.
> 
> As it is well known for most of us, there are many institutions which claim
> to lead people to higher spiritual states, and attain certain powers, even
> go through the Initiatic process and complete it successfully.
> 
> But "younger" people (and I do not speak in terms of earthly age), will
> surely have a greater dificulty in finding one that is truly righteous...
> One that isn't simply after our money.
> 
> These "mistakes" can easily be considered a fragment of our normal path as
> human beings, but isn't there a way to avoid this?