I have found that these past several years with the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn to be a harsh test of my perceptions, character and moral fiber. What does that mean, exactly? Simply this: do I walk my talk?
For me, I had to make a choice: hold on to my Ego and justify it at all costs, or, take a breath and step back to look at the larger lesson behind the situation and make the right choice applying what Na Kupuna (my Elders) taught me about Unity (Lokahi), Family ('Ohana) and Unconditional Love (Aloha). Let me say that I surprised myself entirely in the position I now find myself in today, but given a replay, I would act in the same manner for the same reasons. My devotion to Divine Mother Isis is what called me to her Temple. I pledged my Spirit in service to Her at my 0=0 initiation, and it was a pledge for life. With every day from that first day, I have lived my perception of the Great Work through continuing my studies and participating in Temple and community projects with a joyful heart ... and the rewards continue to nourish my soul.
By way of explaining the seeds of my spirituality and my reasons for remaining at Isis Temple (apart from my Hawaiian way), I offer this excerpt from The Way Of The Disciple, by Clara M. Codd (1963), at pp. 195-197, to wit:
"There is only one to whom the aspirant must be entirely faithful, whose leading he must follow unconditionally ad wholeheartedly -- if he can but hear it -- and that is the Voice of his interior Divinity, the doorway to That which The Voice Of The Silence calls alaya, the Master-Soul, the universal Soul.
But to be able to hear it, and not to mistake the voice of his own passions, desires and wish-fulfilments for the Divine mandate, that is the point. If once the "voice" speaks and we have "heard," we must be utterly faithful or it will not speak again. But, it may be asked, should not the aspirant obey the Master? Very rarely does an Adept give a direct order. "Learn," wrote the Master K.H. to Mr. Sinnett, "to be loyal to the idea, rather than to my poor self." ("The Mahatma
Letters to A.P. Sinnett," transcribed by A.T. Barker [The Theosophical Press, 1923], at 323-4.)
The power to "hear" really means the development of the intuitional spiritual perception which again means the awakening to consciousness of the divine nature in man.
To the man who is wholly in earnest and is willing to give his life to the quest, no compromise is possible. It is all or nothing. This is the meaning of the Sixth Beatitude of the Christian "Noble Eightfold Path." "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." To be pure in heart is to be absolutely wholehearted, dedicated to the great quest with every fibre of one's being, and consciously, or unconsciously, turning in that direction at every moment of time. We "seek" with the intelligence and the pure heart that one day we may rise into the world beyond the intelligence.
The search is within, the way is long, but faithfully adhered to, it will carry a soul through many lives and deaths. That divine consciousness is called by Light on the Path the Song of Life, and the aspirant is told to listen to that Song. We do not listen with our physical ears, but with the delicate, slowly awakening responses in our souls. We are told to look ever deeper and deeper into ourselves, and to look intelligently into the hearts of men, for intelligence is impartial and all things are to be understood. But not until the bonds of the personality, all its likings and dislikings, all its prejudices and frustrations are loosened, and the consciousness has learned to identify itself with the Eternal One within and can thus stand apart from the personality, will understanding, and power to guide it, come.
So the first step is to seek, and to seek with the fresh, natural, uncluttered, unselfish mind. To seek is always to find. No man can take a step towards the divinity within himself, without that Diviner Self taking steps towards him. By selfless love and adoration is he found, never by personal grasping of the desire for personal stature. No man can add one cubit unto his stature. Only the Grace of God can do that, the Grace of God which is the true source of Wisdom, insight, perfect action. This is the explanation of the words of St. John: "he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (I John 3:9)
The disciple upon the path strives to understand all life, its obscure meanings and its natural path of development. Many religious communities practice self-examination. That is well if the spirit of self-absorption, little-self absorption, is not brought about. Our minds and hearts and bodies are but the developing instruments of our true self, to be held as a subject of grave experience and experiment. But, they are not truly us, though we have for so long completely identified ourselves with them. Now we must loosen these bounds. It is all life that we seek and not our little bit."
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For those who genuinely seek to learn that they may serve the Brotherhood of Man, there are already so many questions you want answered through your search for the Truth through Knowledge ... all I'm asking you to consider is this ray of insight -- which focuses on the last pillar of Light, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE -- into the meaning of answering The Call.
'Amama 'ua noa ...
Let it fly!
