Words and dreams on the initiatory path
by Athos A. Altomonte
© copyright by Esonet.it – Esonet.com

This article has been inspired by the impulses that often tie up candidates in the fondness for their ideals. The ideal assumes then the characteristics of a Totem. Therefore the totemic vision is the most common deceit of the candidate, who is left alone to direct his emotional impulses; in actual fact he keeps vivifying his personal self, gratifying it in its convictions.

‘There is true Knowledge. Understand that it is this:…'

‘Easier said than done' , popular wisdom; ‘Chatter doesn't cook rice' , oriental wisdom.

When I was little, in every sense, I was attracted by epic, mysterious and dramatic writings. In these myths the hero reached his goal after overcoming trials where he won thanks to his loyalty, intelligence and courage… and the help of some mysterious divinity. And whilst reading, I sloppily learnt the presence of the divine.

And this is when I wanted to understand the divine, but the divine lives in a super-sensitive sphere defended by death.

But what is death, I wondered. Actually, I wondered what is the so much talked about ‘life after death'.

Everything seemed to revolve around three elements: man (the hero), the divine, life and death.

I started wondering: yes, but how do you understand … the divine, …life, …death?

And I found out that everybody talked about it but nobody ever said what we should do to reach the divine, the life and death that I wanted to ‘touch'.

In these readings, although wise and wonderful, I learnt that after so much literary outcry, words died out and the representation died with them; all that was left was imagination. But I knew that fantasy is not a reliable tool to for our whys. And I, alone with my thoughts, repeated to myself: yes, it is all wonderful, but how can we understand, how can we really know?

I learnt that it is not a good idea to dwell upon words, because they are only small pieces of a mirror that reflects realities far away from them and from those who look at them. And I was left with the question (act of introspection) how to do it?

I learnt to use the strength of my questions, because they led me to understand that behind the question there was the answer. Then, when the effort of the question became true mental tension, a state of need arose, that could move the conscience, activating abilities that would be otherwise dormant.

Therefore I thought that the keystone was tension, drive, therefore impulse. After all re-awakening as well is an action, an inner activity, perhaps, but still an action.

And if this too was ‘moving whilst staying still'!

I understood that to admire beauty, goodness and fairness was a static and devotional attitude, useless to reach the goal. To fall in love with the ideal is perhaps useful to the candidate but to reach it is the Path of the Disciple.

The candidate ‘searches'…, the Disciple ‘apprehends and comprehends' and the Initiate ‘uses and directs'.

In order to reach the initiatory and spiritual ideal we must carry out the project that is subject to a condition: the fulfillment of the personal work is obtained only by concretely applying what we have learnt through the esoteric education.

To apply effectively what we have been educated for ( the Disciple learns, he doesn't make up) is the initiatory Path.

The initiatory Path is the segment that leads to the goal, but it is essential to recognize it, since we can't want what we don't know or don't understand.

The initiatory Path is applicatory as well as transforming. Indeed, by moving inside (the so called top) towards the nucleus of our conscience we transform ourselves, looking more and more like what we are trying to reach , which we are part of as much as it is part of us.

We can convey our attention on two elements which are not only words: will and action.

Will and motion are not emotional aspects but pure energy, like the thought.

Thought, will and intelligent action characterize a superior mind. Whilst commotion, admiration and fondness for beauty, goodness and fairness are only sources of hope. But hope for what?

Emotions can, perhaps, tint an ‘intention' with beauty, goodness and fairness, but they can never move the intention itself.

Intention is an idea in the embryonic stage; we must let it grow giving it wisdom and intelligence.

But in order to create the idea and give it a concrete form we need the strength of action and will.

To create an idea and to concretize it with goodness, beauty and fairness is a generating act that expresses Divine qualities. The human maker is then reflected in the Divine. The Divine is reflected in the fulfillments (materializations) that are a vehicle for the triad goodness, beauty and fairness , but these elements must all be present at the same time.

Let's imagine a fulfillment (a work) lacking a component. A beautiful but unfair action, or fair but ugly, or evil and unfair but beautiful (in history of man the latter is the most common instance).

Let's build intentions and tint them with the emotion we ‘like the most'. But once the little personal self is gratified, instructed on intentions which don't belong to it, let's set out on the Path of learning, transformation and fulfillment. Otherwise we remain trapped in the dream. And beautiful dreams, even amorous and spiritual ones, are the subtlest deceit of what the orient calls Maya, Illusion. Let's rely on the concreteness of a fulfillment. Only by achieving something ‘harmonious' (see Law of Harmonics, cosmic and individual) we have the insurance that we are not dreaming, mumbling about goodness, beauty and fairness whilst the shadow of evil hangs and rules on every action of the real world.