Re: Paenitere

["golden558dragon" <tim100lund@...>]

What about his views concerning a temporary abstinence from sex and
the one week of fasting. Would there be any advantages in starting
your magical practise in such a manor, seeing as it might destroy
laevas and train your will ???
On his yoga regime, what do you think would be the benefits of
following his regime to the letter and would there be any unforeseen
dangers in doing so ???
Also would there be some advantages in waiting with some of his
lessons, and then using them as a compliment to some of the more
advances IIH lessons ???
Finally what about his comments on some of the books of the Bible and
his comments on the Tarot, something I personally found to be some of
the most interesting parts of the book. Do you agree with his ideas,
and if not then why ???
By the way, to a point I also agree with you about his writing style.
It is sometimes slow, a bit to melodramatic, and clearly painted by
his Gnostic beliefs, but at the same time I also think he wrote it
like that to convey a point (be careful not to accept everything, do
not think the occult sciences is a game, etc.).
Anyway thank you for your insight :-).

--- In BardonPraxis@yahoogroups.com, "Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@n...> wrote:
> 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@n...
> rawn@a...
> http://www.ABardonCompanion.com
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BardonPraxis
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