Foreign Foreign Occultism by Dion Fortune narrated by Matthew Schmitz 9. group karma in occult societies a high initiate of the western tradition once said to be two things are necessary for safety and occult work right motives and right Associates and anyone who has had experience of practical occultism knows how true this is some writers
Declare that good intentions are sufficient for safety in occult studies but experience proves this to be far from the case the man who relying on nothing but the strength of his aspirations invokes the highest is safe but the man who having read something of magic and Alchemy starts to experiment
Is not safe a little knowledge is a more dangerous thing in occultism than anywhere else the solitary worker depending on aspiration and meditation and unguided saved by his intuition although his progress may be slower is in a much better position than the blind follower of a blind leader
Students of esoteric science have always tended to ban themselves together into Caravans for the purpose of taking the golden Journey to the Samarkand of their dreams but before they leave by the desert gate they would do well to know something of the character of the master of the Caravan and their fellow
Travelers and they can no more afford to ignore the character of these latter than they can afford to ignore their guide the psychology of the group mind is only just beginning to be understood by Orthodox science but it forms the basis of much occult work and has been used in
The mysteries from time immemorial ritual depends upon two things for its validity the proper contacting of the Unseen powers and the formation of a group mind on the physical planes that is why the master Jesus declared that if two or three be gathered together in my
Name there am I in the midst of them and why the church will not permit the Eucharist to be celebrated unless two or three be present a group mind is not the same thing as a group Soul a group soul is the undifferentiated Mind stuff out of which individualities are specialized it is
Primitive and belongs to the past but a group mind is a thing that can only be built up after individual Minds have been developed one might also Define it as a super complex a constellation of coordinated ideas and sold by an emotion which is shared by many minds and
Therefore transcends any individual one among them one may conceive of the group soul of a race as lying deep down below subconsciousness but one may conceive of the group mind of any organized body of people as an oversoul a vast brooding artificial Elemental potent for good or
Evil under whose light or Shadow each individual member of the group carries on his life the influence of a group mind is incalculable but little understood it must suffice to say that whenever anyone joins any organization he comes under the influence of its group mind and the closer knit and more highly
Emotionalized the organization the stronger its influence over its members therefore it behooves us to be very careful what groups We join for there are but few Souls who can maintain themselves Untouched by group influence let us also remember that whenever we join a group we shoulder our share of
The group Karma whatever has gone on in the past leaves its mark behind it if the group can point to a long and Noble line of just men made perfect by its discipline the group mine shares by its own light and confers a benison on all who are privileged to share in its
Influence but if it has backed debts to pay off such as the karma generated by a holy Inquisition or a phase of debased phallic worship the initiate will find that he is called upon to do his share in the payment of these debts just as the inheritor of an encumbered estate
Has to consent to his income going to pay off the mortgages the student must always remember that until he has advanced further in knowledge than those with whom he is associated he cannot hope to escape the influence of the group mind they have formed it will do one of two things
Either insensibly to himself it will tune him to its Viewpoint and vibrations or it will more or less forcibly eject him and the preliminary processes that lead to such an adjustment for occult incompatibility of temperament are unpleasant for all concerned therefore it is much better to keep away
From the wrong group than to go in and come out a Setter even if a wiser man you may think that you can go into a society and receive its good and ignore its evil but believe me you cannot its tone will influence you unknown to
Yourself a change so subtle that you are insensible to it will be going on in your Consciousness that to which you at first took exception will become a matter of indifference to you the power to discriminate between the finer shades of right and wrong will be blunted and
You will find yourself floating with the current although you had determined never to get in out of your depth remember that it is always better to be alone than in Bad Company and that you need never fear that your occult progress will be by a sacrifice made on the altar of principle
Advanced occultists know the meaning of what is called the tainted sphere and it was the custom in the past to close down and disband any order that allowed its sphere to become tainted and to raise its temples to the ground and sold the sight thereof with salt so seriously did
The old initiates take the question of an astral taint the Brethren would disband going to far countries to escape the pursuing influence of a debased group mind and would do no occult work nor pursue any occult study till the period of purification had been worked out the principle of following is not
Sufficiently used in occult work it is the only possible thing to do when matters have gone wrong in the inner Plains an exorcism will dispose of entities but it will not reconstruct the soul they have obsessed and the soul in such a powerless condition will attract to itself Seven Devils worse than the
First every time it Ventures into occult work until the process of its purification be completed an esoteric society that has any scandal in its midst ought to take every precaution to prevent its sphere becoming tainted by the influences thus brought into it although it may give compassion to the
Delinquents it should require them to withdraw from association with any of the Brethren until their purification is accomplished and in open Lodge should condemn the error though sending thoughts of compassion and Brotherhood to the Brethren who are expiating it if this be not done if the Scandal be
Hushed up or condoned it will assuredly taint the sphere the only thing that will clear it is the group reaction of horror and repulsion not to the Sinners but to the sin The Sinner is never to be condemned but helped to rise again to the Statue of
Manhood in Christ but there must be no sentimental condemnation of the sin and the calling of a spade by its proper name has a very salutatory effect on those who seek to idealize The Irregular one thing is quite certain if these same type of trouble keeps on breaking out in
Any society especially of these scandals involve different people each time it means that the sphere has become tainted and if that is the case there is only one thing to do close down scatter the Brethren and let the ground lie fallow for anything from a year to seven years
According to the seriousness of the trouble and when reconstruction takes place let it be in a new Temple with new robes symbols Jewels or whatever may be the material accessories acting just as if plague had ravaged the society as indeed it has upon the inner planes
The member of an order or fraternity is not infrequently called upon to combat spiritual evil in high places and I would give him one word of advice when so-called never attempt to fight the magician with magic unless you are of a higher degree than he is
Put up the sword and invoke the Christ turn upon evil the scorching flame of Pentecost the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit but to The Sinner always come as a physician and overcome his wrongdoing by healing him of the weakness that tempts him to sin in fighting black occultism of any sort
And such combats are by no manner of means uncommon always like The Aviator try to get the upper air of your antagonist if he fights with the weapons of the human mind meet him with the power of the Divine Spirit never let the fight degenerate into an unseemly
Scuffle on his chosen plane transmute a force into its opposite by means of a realization of the true nature of force as derived from God see the true spiritual man behind the mask of the personality and never lose sight of it even in the fiercest moments of the
Struggle with the evil that the personality manifests be still and know that I am God is the attitude of power it is a refusal to react that is the strongest armor unfailing compassion and unfaltering Fidelity to the right will win any battle in the long run let us learn in
All times of difficulty and distress to trust the Masters to invoke the Divine Law and to await its working I remember well an experience I had in the early days of my occult work an ethical problem presented itself in the group I was training and I had to decide
Whether it was better to allow the transgressor to remain in the group in the hope of a possible redemption or to say there are certain things which are incompatible with occult work and if you do these you must go it was a difficult problem I was very
Reluctant to take a step which might result in pushing a soul out into the darkness and equally reluctant to risk having the sphere of my group tainted in my perplexity I laid the problem before the Masters the still Small Voice came through to the inner Consciousness and
Said invoke the sacred name of Jesus and let that which cannot abide depart this I did with extraordinary results the person concerned seemed unable to endure the sound of the name it appeared to produce an unendurable exasperation and the problem was speedily resolved by a voluntary withdrawal the mantric
Effect of the use of the Sacred name of Jesus is such that anything impure seems unable to withstand its vibrations and has to take refuge in flight this name is the Supreme word of power of the West when used with knowledge when any moral evil has to be dealt with
In a group The Power of the name of Jesus is a universal solvent when confronted by such a problem do not attack it with rebuke but constantly keep before the eyes of the transgressor the ideal of the Divine Life lived in Galilee and say look at this and see how
Such an action Compares with it one of two things will happen either the delinquent will be humbled and regenerated or cast forth as if by an explosion by the persistent sounding of the vibrations of that name Let It Be Remembered however that it is only possible to use that name of power
If we ourselves are attuned to the Christ Consciousness if there is that in us which is incompatible we too shall react to it we can only let loose that Force upon a soul when we ourselves have risen above any personal reaction to wrongdoing when we honestly desire not
The death of The Sinner but rather that he shall turn from his unrighteousness and live but there are times when for the sake of others an evil condition has to be put out of a group and though it is no man’s Province to pass judgment on his brother
He may have to act as the instrument of Justice the decision and sentence however should always be left in higher hands let those therefore who are confronted by that problem follow the advice that was given me and invoked the sacred name of Jesus and let that which cannot abide depart
No injury can be done to any innocent person by such a method of dealing with the problem if he has the Sparks of regeneration in himself they will be blown into Flame the name of Jesus is inimical to nothing but impurity and Evil invoked that name
Upon a man or a movement and let it divide the Bones from these sinews for it is sharp as a two-edged sword foreign
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