RE: Step V - a few questions (cont)

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

Dear Richard,

>> Both editions make it clear that the Step V trainee needs to master
the condensation of the elements to the degree of physical tangibility -
i.e. able to be observed by a non-initiate. <<

Well, that's not exactly true. :) Let me throw a few quotes from the
Ruggeberg edition (which, in my opinion, is the best, least biased
English translation) into the mix here.

"It is not absolutely necessary, in this step [i.e., Step 5], to
bring about such an amount of physical warmth that it can be measured
with a thermometer. But supposing a magician takes a keen interest in
working in this more spectacular way, he can specialise himself in this
problem with the help of these instructions. *The genuine magician
however, will not be satisfied with such insignificant phenomenon, and
rather prefer to further his own development, because he is firmly
convinced that he an obtain much more, as time goes by.*" (p. 110)

In other words, pursuing the accumulation and projection of an Element
to such a degree, *through the Step Five exercise*, is *contrary to the
magician's further development*. In fact, such a desire *at this
stage* may well point to a character imbalance.

"All the time he ought to feel the specific property of the element
he is working with quite distinctly; he should be able to induce even a
layman or ignorant people to see and feel the element in question."
(p.114)

Notice how he says "should be able to" and not "must do". In other
words, the *ability* and the magician's confidence are what matters
here, not the factual demonstration. Nonetheless, if one has mastered
the exercises up to that point, the ability to condense any Element to
such a degree that another person can be *induced* to sense it, will be
a natural result.

>> Bardon did on occasion discuss various abilities that a one-sided,
unbalanced regimen of exercises would develop. However, his manner of
writing is different in this section. Rather than describing
possibilities, he's giving
instructions as to how a student can test their level of mastery. <<

This section about lighting a wick is important but not as a test of
one's magical abilities. Rather, it is a test of one's character
development because it asks again the question of why one is pursuing
initiation. By exposing what *can* be accomplished -- at a point in the
training when to accomplish such a "spectacular" phenomenon would mean a
diversion from the furtherance of their true development -- the student
is faced with a choice: do I spend my time pursuing "insignificant
phenomenon" or do I further my development? If the character of the
student *needs* the sort of gratification derived from lighting a wick
magically with the Fire Element, then at this point they will surely be
diverted from forward progress while they spend the next several years
perfecting their accumulation of the Fire Element. If, on the other
hand, they do not have that need within their character, they will move
forward and master future exercises which make such a feat look truly
silly.

As Bardon wrote immediately after explaining the tricks with the
lighting of wicks and cotton balls -- "The genuine magician will not
waste his time with such dallying."

>> Yet I do reckon these exercises are important, if not necessarily a
prerequisite for Step VI, then important in the long run, especially as
the true keys to magick are based round mastery of the elements. <<

On page 115, Bardon wrote:
"Who would not be reminded of the wedding at Kanaa where our Lord
did transform the water into wine? Only such a high adept as Jesus
Christ did accomplish this miracle, *not by the influence of the
elements from the outside, but by mastering the akasha-principle of the
water being transformed from the inside*"

And further down the same page:
"I take it for granted that it will not enter anybody's mind to
stick to single exercises and methods only. The result would be fateful
to the health of the person and the success would never come. These
facts have to be considered very carefully."

>> I remember Bill Mistele mentioning somewhere that he failed to master
the basic condensation exercises to the degree that Bardon expected of
his students. As a consequence, Bill has for many years continued to
return to the
basic exercises to try to master them to the extent that Bardon
intended, but with greater obstacles in place than if he'd tried to
master them fully the first time round. <<

Throughout IIH, the student will encounter points where accurately
understanding what Bardon truly *expected*, is critical to their forward
progress. What Bardon *expected* is frequently different than what
Bardon mentioned as *possible*. :) I think the first instance where
this occurs is in Step Two with the sensory concentration exercises.
Many folks get caught up in trying to condense their visualization to
such a degree that they appear before the *physical* eyes as ordinary
objects would. Unfortunately, this is *not* what Bardon *expected* of
the *Step Two* student. Likewise, Bardon did not *expect* that the
*Step Five* student would be able to light a flame with the Fire
Element, freeze water with the Water Element, levitate objects with the
Air Element, etc.

When one misunderstands the difference between what is expected and what
is possible, and therefore pursues the possible instead of mastering the
expected, they are creating an imbalance. For example, in order to
condense the Fire Element to such a degree as to succeed in the cotton
ball experiment, one would have to focus exclusively upon the exercises
of condensing the Fire Element for a *long* time. Such an extended time
of working with that one exercise with the Fire Element will invariably
induce a state of physical, astral and mental dis-equilibrium. On the
other hand, if one were to master what is *expected* in Step Five and
progress through the Steps, they will, in *less time than it would take
pursuing the Step Five technique*, gain the ability to *cause a
condensation* of the Fire Element sufficient to ignite an alcohol soaked
cotton swab (if they desire to).

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