Answer to question of August 1, 2008

Answering your question directly at this point would be a disservice to you, because it would deprive you of the experiences necessary to succeed. Franz Bardon’s writings are intended for our spiritual development, not our physical development. Therefore, if his writings are read with an immature physical intellect, which is subject to physical laws, e.g. coming into being and dying, and which applies to all of nature and everything physical, when a person dies the physical intellect dies as well. His writings and for that matter all spiritual writings have to be read with the heart, the spiritual intellect, which possesses the necessary maturity and knowledge. Everything in existence was first a thought by the spirit. But there is one more thing: the passive reader must turn into an active doer by following the instructions, otherwise, you will lack the understanding and stop and start the exercises and never progress.

Answer re passions:

The opposite of virtue is passion. The true meaning of passion is suffering, namely, when we follow our passions the consequence is suffering. A passion is never positive, no matter in what context we use it.

The Fate of Speculators and Profiteers

In 1847, Austrian mystic Jakob Lorber recorded various works through the Inner Word about our present times. This piece concerns speculators and profiteers.

Everywhere there is fruit in such abundance, the crops are overabundant, and the vineyards are so laden with grapes that we can expect a plentiful harvest. Despite these abundant blessings, there is a horrible trend in profiteering rearing its ugly, hellish head. These profiteers buy this year’s grain harvest at a high cost to maintain the high price and to sell the old supplies for an exorbitant price. In the future, this maneuver will create an artificial shortage of grain and thereby keep the price as high as possible. Does God no longer have for these true devils of profiteers any flashes of lightning or plagues? How long will He test His patience with these speculators and profiteers?

Lorber writes that flashes of lightning would have very little effect in this case, and the plague would affect the innocent as well as the guilty. And if God cursed the earth because of a few scum from hell, then immediately the conditions on earth would be as they were at the times of Noah and the times of Lot.

However, God will do something very particular to all profiteers and speculators. He shall give them a reward which will surprise even Satan and his angels. Whosoever laughs now in his abundance and wealth, while the countless poverty-stricken do not know where they should be begging for their bread, shall weep in a short time in such a manner of which this world has never seen. This event shall be indescribably more devastating for speculators, profiteers, realtors, barons of industry, buyers of large properties [developers], sellers and owners, all the various builders and large-scale planners and moneychangers, than flashes of lightning, plagues, and war!

The torch of God’s just wrath is already in the ground, and with an ocean of fire His wrath shall quench His old thirst for vengeance! The hellish brood, this ancient brood of vipers, shall feel who He is, the long forgotten God! This brood which ignored and completely denied the Father for so long, and now day by day denies Him more and more will have no choice but to tolerate the eternal almighty Judge, but in a way that hell and the world has never seen. But God shall not tell you how and when, so that He can easier and more dreadfully break into the houses of the above-mentioned offenders as a merciless thief, robber, and murderer at night, under the cover of darkness.

Behold, for flashes of lightning they have invented lightning conductors, for the plague they have antidotes and other effective remedies, and war is waged with the pen and with negotiations behind closed doors, but against God’s judgment on earth there is no antidote, except for the prayers of those who believe in Him.

Reply to Igor of July 15, 2008:

You should be highly commended for putting your thoughts on paper. In Initiation into Hermetics Franz Bardon mentions a diary in which to record all your positive (virtues) and negative characteristics (passions). After recording the characteristics, you should read, examine, and carefully study what you wrote in the blog, because it is pregnant with all the answers you are seeking. Reread the statements you made in the diary and determine which are positive and which are negative. As an example, if you commit your thoughts in a letter, reread it after a while, and you will read something in the letter which is negative which you did not mean to be negative. You mentioned the law of cause and effect. If we cause a chain reaction because of things we have done, that too is a necessary learning experience. The key is to not continue on that path of negative thinking, a practice which can be achieved over time. And the time element depends on the maturity of the student — each person progress at his or her own level. Bardon’s work in the initial chapters is a tremendous study in self-examination, and the exercises of the Mastery of Thoughts will prevent any future complications. Also, by the time a student reaches step VIII he should receive his personal teacher. Bardon’s caution about being careful what you think is merely a well-meant reminder, because at that point the student will have attained the necessary experience. At this point, you are way ahead of yourself. There is a vast difference between philosophical and practical experience. Follow the instructions in the book. Most students initially mingle their own ideas, which are mostly based on passions, with the material in the Bardon books. This too is a growth experience.

There is a vast difference when a person does something [negative] in Step I of Bardon’s system vs Step VIII. The Bardon method of Hermetics is a step by step personal growth system, and when the novice student reaches Step VIII, which can take a lifetime, he will be able to control his [negative] thoughts and not concern himself too much with causing harm to others. If we curse someone, it is also crucial to determine within oneself whether that act was intentional or unintentional.

Ask yourself the following questions:
Am I following the instructions in the book, or do I follow my own? Should I develop my passions and eliminate my virtues? Or should I develop my virtues and eliminate my passions? Is fear a passion or a virtue? Would you fear someone that loves you? Or would you fear someone that hates you? Is selfishness a passion or a virtue?

The opposite of love is hate, of life is death, of light is darkness, of order is disorder, etc.

For example: If someone says: “I hate war!” What is he saying? Is he telling the truth? What kind of a character does he have?
If someone else says: “I love peace!” What is he saying? Is he telling the truth? What kind of a character does he have?

When starting with the exercises we should investigate and meditate on our negative characterizes, because we cannot eliminate something we are not aware of. And once we learn what these characteristics are, we must not feed them. You must gain the knowledge of your negative and positive characteristics in order to deal with them effectively. Developing your virtues and eliminating your passions will give you the energy and knowledge to be successful in your development. The more you find out about yourself on your own, the better you will feel. Try to find the answers on your own, for it is very rewarding and it will bring joy and happiness into your life. Practice finding answers — it gets easier in time. You will only find joy or blissfulness in your virtues.

Question By JJW of Salt Lake City, July 2, 2008

"I have a question concerning the astral body: All practitioners agree that one must develop the ability to function on this plane to make any meaningful progress on the Path. Bardon is the first initiate I've encountered who mentions the danger of being physically touched or disturbed while in this state. A book I read recently by the UR Group provides excellent instruction on astral work but is silent about any danger of being touched (so far as I recall). If this danger is real then one has to wonder why other practitioners/writers do not to mention it. This is problematic for anyone who doesn't live alone and cannot absolutely guarantee physical isolation during astral work. Is there any way to protect oneself against such disturbances or to minimize the harmful effects of disturbance? (Apparently one can even be killed if physically touched while working in the astral body). Thanks for considering my question."

ANSWER:
When the student exactly follows the instructions in Initiation into Hermetics that he is able to leave his physical body with his astral body at will then he has reached the level of maturity in his development and gained the knowledge and expertise to protect himself. You must remember that a great deal of knowledge and expertise is gained through the exercises, but it is it absolutely necessary to read Initiation into Hermetics over and over, because with every step forward or backward the student gains invaluable new insights and experiences.
However, there are books that contain exercises that promise astral travel in a very short time, but the majority who follow these instructions will fail. Although some might succeed, they are in danger of severing their astral matrix, which is the connection between the physical and astral body, because by just concentrating on astral travel they are lacking the necessary spiritual development and ability to protect themselves, which can be compared to a two-year-old child flying a jumbo jet. Whosoever follows these instructions is out of control, whereas when you follow the instructions given in Initiation into Hermetics you are completely in control, and there is absolutely no cause for concern nor will the student be in any danger. All books by Bardon are based on his personal experiences and are all based on universal principles. The reason that other authors do not know that the astral matrix can be severed is (1) the information provided by them is not based on personal experience but is only a compilation of knowledge, or (2) they are not actually astrally traveling but imagine that they are.Reading all the Franz Bardon books before starting your exercises will answer many questions that will arise in the future, but never start your exercises unless you know the theory thoroughly by heart.

Reply to Igor’s Comments of June 21, 2008:

Every student experiences what you experienced regarding quiet surroundings while doing the concentration exercises. The disturbances are inevitable, and they can be your greatest enemies or your greatest teachers. The simple answer to this occurrence is that these are forces which are trying to prevent you from succeeding with the exercises, and it is up to you to decide whether to consider them a challenge to overcome or an obstacle that you cannot overcome. In other words you can make them work for you or against you. Welcome them and you will overcome them; if they annoy you or stop your concentration exercises then they have become the victor and you the loser.
The solution to overcoming these problems is given in Step I of Magical Schooling of the Soul in Initiation into Hermetics. Through serious and lengthy introspection you will find the cause for these annoyances in your own negative characteristics, and once you have turned these predominant negative characteristics into virtues, these kinds of interruptions will no longer affect you. It is worth your effort, not just for these exercises, but also for all future exercises. The soul is key to your success, but also the cause for your failures.

Answer to Belgrade re: Sexual Abstinence. May 18, 2008

Franz Bardon’s statement about not refraining completely from eating meat and sexual intercourse, only applies to that particular level of development in his books on Hermetics. Franz Bardon made that concession at that stage of the development, because abstinence is one of the most difficult passions to control. However, as the student progresses and requires more energy for the exercises in order to achieve results, he will find that sexual intercourse has two poles, one negative and the other positive. The negative pole consumes energy and is therefore a passion, whereas, the positive pole is a virtue and provides energy. Sexual intercourse that is based on passions such as desire, lust and pride will rob the student of all the energy to progress. As far as the Lorber writings are concerned anything that is done with pride and all the other passions is a sin, everything that is done without pride is not a sin, pride being the worst of all passions. Sexual intercourse which is based on love, the highest of all virtues, is completely unselfish and has only one purpose, procreation. We hope this answers your questions.