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# Re: Doubts about the path

#### Message 02030 of 3835

- To: "FBM" <FranzBardonMagi@yahoogroups.com>, <BardonPraxis@yahoogroups.com>
- Subject: Re: [BardonPraxis] Doubts about the path
- From: "Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@...>
- Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 12:03:08 -0800
- References: <bt1c7b+fqvd@eGroups.com>

    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
    http://E.webring.com/hub?ring=arionthebardonwe

- Follow-Ups:
  - Re: Doubts about the path
    - From: "David Yeh" <ldreamr@...>
  - Re: Doubts about the path
    - From: "David Yeh" <ldreamr@...>

- References:
  - Doubts about the path
    - From: "David Yeh" <ldreamr@...>

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