Paenitere

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

Dear Friends,

At the end of February, just before my month long holiday, I promised to
read and then share my thoughts about William Blystone's book,
"Paenitere", which has been advertised as being an important aid to the
student of IIH. Well, I started to read it during my holiday but got
only a small ways into the book before putting it down. I found it too
difficult a read for holiday. :)

When my holiday was over, I began reading it sporadically, picking it
up, putting it down, over and over, until Dan's question today, which
prompted me to finish skimming the rest of the book.

The main reason I found it difficult was because of the melodramatic
writing style. The book opens with a "warning-disclaimer" which is then
followed by all sorts of additional warnings about the "dangers"
inherent to initiation. Of course, all of these warnings are pertinent
*if you follow the author's regimen*, but they have little relevance *if
you are pursuing IIH*.

While reading, I found myself agreeing with many of the author's
statements and then a second later disagreeing. But despite all of my
points of agreement, I do not agree with his basic thesis that all these
practices are necessary prerequisites to IIH. Bardon wrote IIH to
*begin at the beginning* and to my mind, "Paenitere" does nothing to
make the beginning any easier, nor the sticking with it any surer.

The author states that no one under the age of 26 should even consider
taking up the work of initiation (unless they are a reincarnated
magician under supervision by another magician). With this I cannot
agree.

The author asserts that the study and practice of yoga, pranayama and
astrology are all absolute prerequisites to beginning Step One of IIH.
Again, with this I cannot agree.

In this argument (which is very well written!) he further
states that control of the breath and of the body is *the* path to
mental discipline. Obviously, the mind can be intentionally and
scientifically *manipulated by* the correct application of bodily and
breath control, but this is quite different than directly disciplining
the mind itself. This is not the mind taking up the reins of its own
chariot but rather, it's like giving directions to the hired charioteer.

He also focuses a lot of attention upon the direct manipulation of
kundalini aimed toward awakening the chakras. While his explanation
very explicitly states that the chakras must unfold in their own time
and not be forced, I still must reiterate that these practices are *not*
necessary in conjunction with IIH (for all the reasons I've stated
previously).

All in all, it is not a regimen I would recommend. Nor do I see it as
in any way the necessary prerequisite to IIH that the author claims. In
fact, it seems quite the opposite since many of the "preliminary"
exercises the author recommends appear later in the course of IIH, at a
point when *there is no danger*.

The things I appreciate most about this book are the author's sincerity
(this is a man who has definitely practiced what he is preaching), his
depth of knowledge (even though I disagree with several of his
conclusions), his desire to empower the student and help them succeed,
and his fearless honesty.

The things I did not appreciate were his melodramatic tone (this begins
with his rather bizarre "Warning-Disclaimer" which prefaces the work
and sets the tone throughout) and his very paternalistic style of
expression (e.g., always speaking of the student as "Neophyte" and in
general talking down to the reader).

All in all, I'd say this book was worth reading (especially considering
the affordable price of the online download) even though I can't
recommend the practices he suggests as being prerequisite.

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