Volume 10, Issue 8, page 7

By ROY EUGENE DAVIS
HAT. I$ï.INITIATION? How is it experienced? And how can we go about
being initiated? The very word
causes us to pause with anticipation while visions of all that
the word implies float in the
mind's eye.

To be initiated means to be invited
into a heretofore inaccessible place -- a
society, a secret group, a level of awareness. It is an indication that one has
passed some boundary line and is free to
move into new and larger areas of expression. We are concerned with moving
into a new level of awareness. Thus initiation is a birth in consciousness,
which is something different from "change
of heart " or a "change of mind ". It actually means a new viewpoint, a new and
clearer perception of truth.

We receive initiation into the mysteries of life when we are ready, and this
means when we are able to confront the
facts. Being ready has nothing to do with
passing tests to anyone's satisfaction.
Being ready means to be able to come to
the point where we are willing to surrender our little viewpoint in order to move
into the larger one, where we find release instead of limitation, light instead of darkness, everything instead of
nothing.

Many persons of superior intellect are
,cynical in their attitude concerning the
. desperate students who seek light thru
,t some mystical initiation. Many desperate
o students, unfortunately, cannot receive
the true initiation because of their teno Sion, their rigid beliefs or their inability to intuitively perceive the subtle
things of life. Others, wanting some outer
sign, seek to be accepted into the various "secret" orders which cannot deliver
anything except solace for weary hearts.
w The trappings which abound in these
w "secret" orders strike an emotional chord
p4 within and give the illusion of authority.
p4 I have no real argument with these
w "secret orders" for they are doing a work
pQ that I do not feel led to do in educating
cc the masses with superficial instruction
and in offering some temporary security
m to lost souls who need a haven from the
.J4 storms of life in order to catch their
H wind and once again march on. I like to
feel, however, that when they do feel the
urge to march on, to experience the true
awakening, a way will be ready for them.
7 There are degrees in our awakening but
they are not conferred upon us by "masters"
or celestial educators. We break thru
these layers of self-wrought illusion until we come to the pure light of truth. I
once read a book written by a man who obviously has great mental power and is very
learned, with degrees from many accredited schools. However, along with his degrees, he listed, "Master the fifth, of
the Great White Lodge". While I feel for
this man in his earnest quest, I must say
that if he has been granted this degree
or title by anyone in Europe or the Or- -
ient, he has been duped. There is no formal "white lodge" and there are no such
degrees to be passed out.

True, there are those illumined souls
who have been referred to as the "White
Brotherhood" but this is a term to signify a communion of spirit and in no way
is to be confused with the designs and
fanatical organization created by pretenders. They have no secret handshake,
no secret word, no mysterious rites, for
they have long risen above such shallow
forms. An organization that purports to
dispense "secrets" for a fee is either a
fraudulent operation or it is headed by
misguided persons -- however sincere they
may be. Sincerity does not take the place
ofinsight.

Can we experience the initiation on our
own or must someone help us? Usually,
someone who is in turn awakened, acts as
an "awakener". This is merely the Infinite
Intelligence working thru natural law. It
is interesting to read where we are to be
initiated in an astral experience, or in
a dream by a visiting light-being, but
why not accept the same experience in
this world? How much more practical it is
-- how much more real! It is quite possible
one can be initiated in a dream or in an
astrally-projected condition, but it is
very rare. I have heard of people receiving direction while in a dream state
from some illumined souls, either on this
plane or recently passed into the astral realms. The danger in depending upon
this sort of experience is that it leads
to fantasy.

Remember our basic rule, that when we
are ready for any experience, it happens,
and it happens according to plan -- the way
the Infinite works it out. When we are
able to accept the awakening, we meet the
right person who will act as an "awakener". A further value to this personal
contact is that after we receive the in-,