I was chatting to a friend recently about her deepening involvement with Vajrayana Buddhism and whether she should take the initiatory step of formerly taking refuge. Her dilemma was whether to “enter the stream” of the tradition or simply continue to benefit from the techniques being taught. For me this highlighted some questions that I’ve been musing on with regards the nature of what initiation is and how it may (or may not) be of benefit.

That awkward moment when you realise you’ve forgotten the password…

Arguably, the moment we direct our will and intention towards spiritual or psychological change, we are undertaking initiatory work. From such a perspective each moment in daily life can become an opportunity for transformation. However valid such an approach, as someone who chooses to utilise the tools of ritual and other magical technologies I believe that such change can be more actively pursued and intensified. But why go to all this bother? What is it that I’m really hoping to gain through this investment of time, energy and money? Why not just spend more time surfing? What follows are the beginnings of some answers:

1. Knowledge.

Wizards have always loved books. Checking out the work of Owen Davies we can see that by owning books and even possibly knowing what’s inside them, the magician acquires prestige and thus power. Times really haven’t changed have they? A quick scan of my friends on Facebook tells me that most of us love weird tomes, the more expensive and obscure the better! Rather than wanting to debate the merits of the current trend in talismanic publishing, I’m more interested in what it might represent in relation to people’s search for (cue spooky sound effects) “initiated knowledge”.

As we seek to explore the deeper aspects of both ourselves and the universe, it’s understandable that we should seek expertise in navigating these occult realms. Whatever the credentials and affiliations of such authors, are there real limits to what can be conveyed magically through the written word alone? As many of us spend more time typing, texting and liking, it’s easy to dismiss the idea that certain wisdom can only be conveyed via direct relationship. The Kabbalistic maxim “from mouth to ear” for me conveys something of the person specific tailoring that most deep engagement with a tradition seems to entail. In the context of psychotherapy, Carmel Flaskas speaks of the importance of being “Witnessed”- a sense of being truly seen by the other. There is something profoundly transformational about real interpersonal connection-perhaps even more as we seek to develop soul. This may be about the sharing of some great wisdom, but it might be as much about real presence whilst having a beer together.

2. Collective Identity.

Even for those of us fortunate enough to be part of a regular coven, lodge or working group, it may well be that the majority of our practice is carried out in a solitary context. This may feel fitting given the degree of consciousness needed in order to strike out on a magical path, but for many of us such isolationism rarely sustains the project. However a specific tradition expresses its collectivism, for me one of the key components to initiation is that it is into a community.

Within the Buddhist tradition “sangha” or the community of practitioners is one of the three treasures (along with the Buddha and dharma). This is a key recognition that for a spiritual path to be sustainable it needs to have a sense of the collective. The parameters around a community will vary from tradition to tradition-some may emphasise ascent to a core set of ideas e.g. Thelema, others may emphasise either adherence to a type of counter-cultural tribalism (some Chaos Magickal groups adopting this pattern). Whatever the social glue that emerges during the life of a tradition, what seems to be important for people giving their allegiance to such systems is the sense of trans-personal purpose in feeling the weight of the groups history, its current egregore/group mind and the potential teleos often connected to its role in some sort of aeonic unfolding!

As someone who has worked within several initiatory traditions I recognise both the strength and potential danger connected with stepping inside the “inner court” of their processes. The Kaula Nath tradition that I’ve worked within for the last ten years is a path that emphasises the connection between tribal identity and initiation (one of the primary meanings of Kaula being clan). Such initiatory families can be a source of support, security and necessary balance, but they can also reflect the less helpful aspects of family life. All families run to scripts-we rely on often unspoken principles and roles in order to create a sense of certainty and continuity. In and of themselves such scripts are not necessarily negative, but what happens if we want to try something new, or re-negotiate our role within the tribe? Along with John Byng-Hall I’d agree that the litmus test for the health of any group seems to be whether we are permitted the reflective space to name the scripts and improvise new ways of being.

3. Direct Transmission.

The late Georg Feuerstein highlighted that in the tantric tradition, initiation could take many forms varying from prolonged preparation and elaborate ritual to the lightning flash of the guru staring into the core of ones being. While the advent of skype etc. might make cyber-initiations a useful tool if travel is not possible, for me there is something both potent and fundamentally congruent about initiation taking place in the flesh. For a child to be healthy in early life it needs to be held and truly seen by its care giver-should the needs of the spiritual new-born be any less? Whether our initiation is into the group-mind of an Order or the familial lineage of a guru, it seems that the most powerful transmissions occur via the direct activation of the body, mind and emotions.

For those of us who’ve spent more than their fair share of time lost in the spiritual supermarket, the location of a teacher or a well-balanced tradition can feel like the goal itself rather than the beginning that it actually represents. Any group or guru worth their salt should come with a health warning-if they don’t make at least some effort to put you off I’d be worried. A good friend likened initiation being like spiritual dynamite! This seems to be in keeping with Feuerstein’s observation “the guru’s work with disciples is both a demolition job and a rebuilding.” Indeed! As someone who has sought and undergone a number of initiatory processes, they definitely accelerate a process of change. Be careful what you wish for!

SD

Sources

John Byng-Hall Re-writing Family Scripts (Guilford Press 1995)

Owen Davies Ordinary Magic (Hambeldon Continuum 2007)

Georg Feuerstein Tantra (Shambhala 1998)

Carmel Flaskas Family Therapy Beyond Postmodernism (Brunner-Routledge 2002)

Geoffrey Samuel The Origins of Yoga and Tantra (Cambridge 2008)

Check out enfolding.org

Maggie Thatcher died this morning. The news is everywhere, facebook and mainstream news channels, websites galore. It is over twenty years since she ceased to be Prime Minister, leaving Downing Street in tears. Why does anyone care?

The place she occupied in the national psyche has been extraordinary. The list of changes she set in motion, from removal of union power and providing help to those in need, to enforced private funding of what many had fought for decades to put under the control of the Government, has altered our society of today beyond description.

Whether it would have been any better without these changes, is something we will never know. However her legacy of sticking to stern unswerving principles did no favours to those who would have preferred discussion, compromise, a wider consideration of the effects of policy based purely on short term evaluation of economic cost to the state, or other values driving policies (with due consideration of their monetary feasibility).

So her existence as the figurehead of the end of Society (whose existence she famously denied) places her as the face of uncaring politics.

I find this particularly important, as politics since Thatcher has centred on the image she (and her publicity team) created. Blair and Cameron alike came to rule by moulding themselves in her image.

Media stereotyping creates simplistic charicatures

As a teenager I was appalled at the way the Falklands War was used as a media frenzy to allow the tories to win the election when they had failed the country so badly. I was only young, and felt strongly that all that flag waving did not seem informed (tho tbh I didn’t know much myself). The result of that war for me was a deep loathing of the Union Jack, and those who used it. Hating one’s own country of origin is not good for the soul…

Now, older and a tad wiser, I suspect that the most critical influence she and her regime had, was in the way the financial industry was deregulated back then. By encouraging the criminally callous mindset of money before all else, the newcomers to the City back then set up a system where wheeling and dealing was the new standard, rather than one where at least the façade of investment in deals likely to pay off in real terms was the norm. Capitalism has many faults but the regulation changes increased the pressure to trade swiftly and without compunction, as did the example Thatcher set to the business world of heartless iron will, of explicitly encouraging the viewpoint that money should rule people, not serve.

Her name evokes so much response, that to know the person who embodied this thinking has drawn their last breath, releases some deeply held tensions. Whether celebration or respect for the dead prevails in your household this week, things feel different without her.

Lovely picture from the Daily Mail today

So, does her death free us at last from this spell of admiration for collecting profits regardless of long term consequences?

The emotional release at knowing she has gone cannot be underestimated. As a nation readjusts to life after Thatcher, we reflect upon what differences she made to our lives today. That is why this is a matter of interest to those who think magickally; whatever one’s views, this readjustment in the cast of the nation provides an opportunity to see that people, as role models, can and do affect how we collectively think, feel, and how we behave.

By telling us that the only alternative to the (admittedly fairly rubbish) practices of the Labour government of the 70s was the extremism of privatisation and harsh cuts, the rhetoric she began echoes loudly to this day in our media and the corridors of the Houses of Parliament.

With the wicked witch firmly out of the picture, does our democracy have an opening for a different type of leadership, a different system of governance even, that relies upon intelligence and compassion instead of a ‘strong image’?

As we set out upon the road to the future, paved with the primroses of good intentions, I have no faith in those wizards behind the curtains on the other side of the throne room either.

Stepping away from a narrative so embedded in the national consciousness, takes a different kind of strength. Putting down the resentment of all these decades, or the worship of the Baroness’ preaching, both require a look at the world with fresh eyes, lest we blindly follow/reject whatever path (left or right?) we are offered. Always remember that a landscape can in fact be travelled in infinite ways.

NW