Re: [BardonPraxis] Doubts about the path

["Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@...>]

Dear David,

I want to begin by suggesting that IIH is not the path for you. If
after 5 months of involvement you express these sorts of doubts about
the path you're pursuing then, to my mind at least, this is a pretty
clear sign that you're not following a path that resonates with you. :)
Perhaps Buddhism would be the better choice for you?

That said, your post does raise some issues that have nothing to do with
Bardonism but everything to do with pursuing ANY path to enlightenment.
Since it's not *my* place to resolve *your* doubts regarding Bardonism
(that's *your* job), I will address these other issues.

>> First of all, it seems to me that Bardon gave a sort of bare-bones
outline in IIH of what is needed to achieve each step. But what about
the particulars of the technique or instruction? <<

While I definitely disagree with your assessment here, it does raise the
issue of self-reliance. Following ANY path requires the faculty of
self-reliance, of the willingness and ability to look very deeply into
the instructions that are provided before declaring them insufficient.
Almost always, it is a matter of your not understanding the instruction
as opposed to something lacking in the instruction itself. One MUST
develop self-reliance in this regard and do their best to avoid relying
upon others for these answers. One must always look within for the
answers *first*.

>> Moreover, what is the goal of the Hermetic path? In Buddhism it
seems that the goal is very simple: be enlightened.
Why not, as some Buddhists teach, ignore all of it, because all
phenomena are illusion, and place the focus simply on being awake in the
moment?
Also, there are lineages in Buddhism that are unbroken going back a few
thousand years. There are teachers around and available with whom one
can meditate and learn. Hermetics by comparison seems new and obscure
and perhaps immature? Where are the guides and the wisdom teachings
handed down over hundreds of years? Obviously I don't know much about
it but I would appreciate someone enlightening me.
I do think that part of it for me is the unfamiliar complexity. The
four elements, three bodies, the Hebrew words and Qabalistic terms and
talk of elementals that people bandy around. This is all very new to me
and somewhat overwhelming. I know that part of my doubt is that I would
rather retreat to something familiar. I take a look inside the Kybalion
and my mind starts to shut down from the sheer overload of unfamiliar
forms of information.
But a part of me also wonders, isn't this unnecessarily complex? I
guess that would, again, depend on the goal. If the goal of Theravadan
Buddhism is simply enlightenment, then it is simple enough to go live in
a monastery and work on being mindful of everything that arises in
yourself. If the goal of Christianity is to feel God's love, then one
simply must open oneself to it.
Would it not be simpler to give up the power and focus on experiencing
the Divine, with paths like Buddhism? <<

Intellectual laziness and the making of assumptions that are based upon
the most superficial of understandings is anathema to the pursuit of ANY
path to enlightenment. In all of these statements I see gross
misunderstandings of all the disciplines you've named. This leads to
incorrect assumptions especially when you start comparing one poorly
understood philosophy with another poorly understood philosophy.

Within each of these statements I see a desire held by many folks -- the
desire for an easy way that doesn't take any work. A way that is fully
explained and which doesn't challenge the intellect, will,
self-confidence, etc., at all. But such a path, were it to exist (and I
can assure that it does NOT exist), would also be of absolutely no
value. ANY path to enlightenment is a path strewn with hard work.
Enlightenment itself is indeed infinitely simplistic but the path *to*
enlightenment is complex and laborious.

>> I hope someone can tell me what Hermetics is about to them, because
right now I still have this idea in my head that magick is about power
over things in the world, rather than harmony with the world. That idea
is very attractive and, as such, I think, dangerous to me if what I
really seek is freedom.
Isn't a path like Hermetics, strewn with many possibilities for power
and abuse of power, also prone to abuse of self and self-delusion?
Doesn't it focus unnecessarily on methods of control rather than methods
of communion? <<

A path is what *you* make of it. It's less important which path you
pursue than it is *how* you pursue it. If you pursue ANY path for the
purpose of personal power then that is what you'll end up with. Just
about every tradition has produced its power mongers, including Buddhism
and Hermetics, so the stated goal of any particular tradition is no
guarantee that all of its adherents will reach that goal.

The stated goal of Bardonian magic is union with the Divine. Some have
described it as becoming "more than human" but to become *more* than
human, one must first become *fully* human. Bardonian initiation is the
process of reclaiming what it truly means to be a human being and all
the magical faculties he described are the *natural* powers inherent to
humanity.

There is a mystical belief at play here that says if one is to merge
with the Divine, one must first be worthy of the Divine. In other
words, one must purify, expand and grow the small self until it
*becomes* the Big Self. This means that one cannot fear any part of the
Divine manifestation. Following ANY path to enlightenment requires a
personal sense of bravery and the willingness to confront anything that
one fears.

>> I hope that no one takes offense at my questions, they are posed in a
spirit of honest inquiry. <<

And likewise, I hope you don't take any offense at my replies. :)

My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
01 Jan 2004
rawnclark@...
rawn@...
http://www.ABardonCompanion.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BardonPraxis
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