9/23/99
Initiations and Duality
Someone e-mailed me several questions about initiates and initiation so instead of giving the answer to just one I will post it to all of you as I am sure this is a subject of great interest.
Question: I said earlier that an initiate is one who initiates. Therefore, you are an initiate to some degree when you start a business, a rock and roll band, or initiate an invention. How does this type of initiating correspond to the initiations as taught by DK through Alice A. Bailey and Theosophy?
Answer: As taught by the Brotherhood there are five initiations before becoming a Master and then two additional before graduating from this planet. In addition there are two more that will be taken in another solar system making nine in all. Nine is therefore called the number of initiation.
Before one reaches initiation, if he is sincerely seeking the truth, he is called an “aspirant.” Just to give you an idea here, the majority of members of Spiritweb (our hosting service at that time) in general are either just curious or aspirants to the Path. There are a handful of first degree initiates, a few second and maybe two or three above that. From the 50,000 members on this site there are probably about a hundred who think they are almost masters of the fifth degree or above but are strongly deluded. I met a guy a while back who thought he was higher than the Ancient of Days.
We will eventually cover the initiations in detail, but we have a lot of other material to go through first.
If one is not sure if he is an initiate or not it is best to assume he is an aspirant and aspire to have power to serve and initiate. If one sees himself as higher than he is he will miss steps along the way that he will have to retrace in a future life.
Initiating projects of different types does not tell us for sure that you are an initiate of a certain degree. Instead they are like exercises that build your spiritual muscles that will make you strong enough to pass through the portals into the Kingdom of God.
Rick Initiated this list. That is a sign that he is working in the direction of being an initiate, but it does not tell us his status.
Glenys is initiated a Synthesis Group. This is also a sign that she is going in the direction of initiation. Mindy, Anni and others are going the same direction. Lorraine initiated the interviewing program. In addition to this many of you are initiating projects unknown to us. Visible evidence that you are initiating something new is a sign that you are headed in the direction of the initiate. If you begin a work that affects many people this is a sign that you are an accepted initiate, but it is difficult to tell the status of an initiate without soul contact.
Question: Can the seeker pass through more than one initiation in one life?
Answer: Let us say you were a third degree initiate in your last life. That means to get to where you left off in the last life you must pass through three initiations in this one. Sometimes the disciple bungles things and does not even get to the first initiation. Other times he will make it, but because he has gone through the first three before it will not be so difficult this time. However, the next level up, the fourth will be horrendous for him. One usually does not pass through more than one new initiation in one life, but there are no limits set on anyone. Jesus passed through the fourth and began the fifth whereas the Christ within him passed through the sixth and started work on the seventh. Nevertheless Jesus had to show mastery of the first, second and third initiations before moving forward.
Question: What if someone like me gives you an idea and you run with it and initiate a project, are you still initiating?
Answer: Yes, if you are acting on your own INITIATive. Jesus initiated the Christian movement, but Paul who mainly promoted it was also a high initiate because he was so successful and had such an impact. No one had to tell him what to do in every detail, he just saw the need and initiated action.
Hope this Helps
There have been many good questions and comments that I have just not had time to expend upon. One thing I am grateful for is that many of you come forward with good answers and comments that I am sure aid the persons seeking help. I encourage everyone to keep this up.
And as far as opposing viewpoints are concerned, it is true that they sometimes lead to conflict and this does disturb some and sometimes costs us members, but such is life. We must always welcome all opinions. Often the interplay of conflict does bring additional light. All we ask of anyone with an opposing viewpoint is that they be sincere and as clear as possible. Often people think they are disagreeing with me when they are not, which produces illusionary conflict.
Concerning this latest conflict of living in duality vs. living apart from duality I feel that it has not yet been resolved on either side so I will contemplate and may post additional thoughts in the future. I think one of the main things we need on this is clarification as about two thirds of the conflict is from lack of understanding each other.
Some thought I resorted to humor because I did not understand the beyond duality idea and feeling, but I submit that I do understand and that is what made my story so potent.
One thing that concerns me is that those who support the non-duality livingness idea seem to believe that they have achieved some mystical consciousness that is far beyond that which is had by those in the group who disagree with them. The idea conveyed is that if we could just experience this oneness consciousness we would be instantly converted.
This is quite a judgmental thought to be conveyed by those who see themselves as beyond judgment.
Let me submit this. Many people in the group who see themselves as not beyond the dualities have experienced some high spiritual feelings and states. They have experienced what some may think of as a consciousness beyond duality, but just interpreted it from a different point of view than the beyond duality idea. I have had many spiritual experiences myself and I can see how some would think they have achieved the ultimate by feeling them, and possibly thinking they have transcended duality. But for myself, I did not interpret my experiences as beyond duality.
Many spiritual feelings and experiences are difficult to describe in words, but let me say this. In our current plane of existence there are seven planes and three of them have form – that is the physical, the astral and the mental. In Mormon terminology these are called the telestial, the terrestrial and the celestial kingdoms. Then there are four higher ones that are sometimes called the formless worlds. Very few people have reached the higher mental let alone the formless. They are called formless because the ideas behind the form are communicated and used rather than the form itself.
Often times a good high astral feeling is interpreted as being some ultimate beyond duality feeling. So when someone tells me that are living in this high ecstasy that is beyond duality I figure they could be experiencing a number of different things. However, when someone has the New Jerusalem experience in consciousness and feeling there is a knowing when communicated to another who has had the same experience.
Let me tell you why it is impossible in our present state to completely transcend duality. All the seven planes of our existence are subplanes of a higher plane called the cosmic physical which is the lowest of the planes in this higher realm. No mortal in the flesh has come close to mastering even the lowest parts of the cosmic plane and again on the cosmic physical we have a higher correspondence of the same dualities we have here. Since we are a part of this cosmic physical, but cannot transcend it in our present condition then completely escaping duality for us in present state is way way beyond our ring-pass-not.
Nevertheless we can obtain an angle of vision where we sense the dualities working as a unity within the purpose of the One Great Life.
As far as good and evil is concerned, the three groups I previously mentioned look at it in three different ways. Group one sees every possible action as neatly packaged into good and evil with no thinking or discernment required to judge it.
The group twos see nothing as good or evil. They avoid thinking and discernment, just as do the group ones. For the first all is good or evil and for the second nothing is.
I invite all here to come to a higher angle of vision. As with most things neither extreme is correct. The first extreme results in events like the burning of witches and the killing of prophets. Then too if no good or evil is assessed there would be a total break down of society and no structure for civilization could be created.
Even though good and evil are an illusion and are both part of an ultimate good within the plan of God that does not mean we are to ignore them here for if we do it will be at our own peril.
It is true that good and evil is as we define it, but we have defined it just as we have defined the color red. Just because we define the color red as red and we could have called it blue instead, does not mean we have just cause to start calling it blue. No. A thousand times no! If we did that with our whole language communication would be destroyed.
In many ways we have defined good and evil and we as the human race will redefine it periodically as we progress.
In this present time to kick your dog is evil, but to selflessly give or to help animals is good. Is there some reason that we should throw out the window all the progress the race has made in discerning good and evil to the point that a beneficial civilization is created??? I think not.
The Master DK through Alice A. Bailey has given us the definition of good and evil as the Brotherhood views it.
Good is that direction which takes us forward in evolution and evil is that which takes us backward into what we were in the past.
This is why the Masters saw Hitler as an evil – because he wanted to return us to the kingdom type rulership of the past instead of free democracy or republics.
Our decisions on good and evil definitely has an effect that Jesus acknowledged when talking about Judas.
“The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” Matt 26:24
In other words, the mistake of Judas was so great that he completely wasted a life or two at least.
Then if he turned completely to the dark side he will wind up wasting billions of years. All the bodies composing this reality will be destroyed and his Creator will take its essence back and send it out again in a future solar system. The time consumed and wasted, the pain endured, the retracing of steps is beyond imagination. Here is how Joseph Smith described it:
“And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows;
“Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof;
“Nevertheless, I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again;
“Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are ordained unto this condemnation.” D&C 76:45-48
Fortunately, few are persistent enough in the direction of utter selfishness to achieve this end, but I will say this. I certainly do not want to choose such a path just so I can say a trillion years from now that I learned a valuable lesson.
That may be true, but as Rick said “man is that he might have joy,” so let us get on with the joy. Let us not even delay the joy a day, a month or a year let alone a trillion years. Let us have a sense and vision of the far away realities, but let common sense rule in this one.
Copyright by J J Dewey
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