My initiation to the astral planes or the masonic ritual to the first grade?

What i am about to reveal is a personal secret and still mysterious for me. I am posting inside the secret society forum because i think here i will get more adorable answers than in the metaphysics board.
I am looking for oppinions, answers and questions from others so please read this and give it to me...

Allright,
for the short introduction, a littlebit about my early spiritual jurney.
I started to study spiritual and occult knowlege at the early age of seven, when i was kinda drafted to this knowlege as something i have forgotten and needed to know about...
Everything began with a dream.
A nightmare that kept me awake and afraid for about a month in summer holidays over here in germany. As i was a fascinated reader since i´m four, i started to search for books in my local library about dreams. Mainly there have been books about the meaning of dreams and the symbols of the subconsciousness (re:Freud & Co)...
But one title of a book in another blackboard gave me the feeling that there is something inside that will fit my needs, namely to control and stop this bad nightmare...
It was Carlos Castanedas "The art of dreaming"...
This book influenced my jurney very much as i tried the first goals out and learned them very quick.
In another book i read "coincidently" short before about Robert Monroes studies at his institute into astral travellings and the inducing of the "Focus 10 state" ( the body is sleeping but the spirit is awake).
And i did not only read this, but i tried it for myself to prove that this was no bs fantasy of the writer of this special book.
Tho the groundstone was layed for me to go on into "mastering my dreams" (i had alot of discussions about this words and definitely i don´t mean the mastering but the jurney to it...)
I came forward really quick, maybe because i wasn´t as much influenced as a child than a teen or grown up...
Quickly i learned how to control my dreams and could do alot of stuff there...
It was like i was awake 24/7 but in two very different realities. Only the point of waking up was a special mark between this two states. And you don´t know how much i learned about my subconcious mind at this time...
But enough.
I wanna make a jump now to the purpose of this thread.

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When i was about fourteen (after seven years of "dreamworks ...ha!") i got an incident that bothered me very deeply. Before that time i was mostly interested into natural magic and gaia bond actions and tried alot of this stuff, but i never had even an idea of secret societies like the masons or the OTO or Golden Dawn and else... (okay i heard of the GD and the Druid Society but couldn´t imagine what they did and do...)
One night i started my dreamsession as usual, but this time i was inside my room.
I stared down to my sleeping body and was amazed and also a bit frightened about it, but as i read about OOBEs i was more fascinated that i could induce it also.
I started to look out of my window and focused on a green stripe in the middle of the street in front of my window. Usually, i knew, i would focus and get into another dimensional reality or float over to the object i focused. Normally this happened very quick but now it was like i was even aware of the movement itself. It was more concious!
Now standing at the green stripe in the middle of the street i was thinking about to fly as i did before in my dreams. But this time i was much more aware of it or it felt so. I really had the feeling of flying!
Interestingly i noticed that the street i was living in, when i started to hover, started to deconstruct and became a more natural place, like it could have been in former times when no human had arrived here.
At this moment i was mostly amazed by the feeling of flying and so i did loopings and free fall like a birds first fly.
Up there in the heavens i saw a huge clearance in a deep forest down on earth. My focus brought me there in milliseconds.
I was standing at the edge oft the forest up on a hill. Like the light of the fullmoon the whole scene was enlightned in silver - grey colours, without seeing the moon.
Down the hill, at the other side of this huge clearance, there was a building.
It looked like a small and open greek-style temple with four to eight white marble-like pillars in a circle, holding a round ring out of the same material on the top of them.
I felt kinda attracted to it, tho i did the zoom automatically and stood in front of the entry.
It was an amazing building. I looked up and down the pillars moved my view to the left and right and saw that there was an inner circle out of smaller pillars hiding the center of the temple.
Suddenly there was a venus-like woman with red hears and a lovely, nearly naked body behind me. She made signs to follow her. So i got to her and she took my hand. Together we went into the inner temple center.
I was stunned by the simplicity of this building without walls but only pillars and the ringed roof and stared up.
But then i saw the woman standing in a circle out of black and white checkered tiles beside a wonderful wooden table. On the table there was a big opened book, candles and an oil lamp.
At the right side of the table there where two smaller, manhigh pillars standing in the middle end of the circle, without having any constructional reason.
In the next moment i was on my knees in front of the women near the table. She was holding the huge book and read something i couldn´t understand. I seemed to agree but i really cannot remember what was spoken...
Suddenly i felt a hit on my backhead. Black...
I woke up instantly (it seemed so...) and was now standing in front of the two small pillars next to the red haired women. She holded my hand and ment to me to stride through the pillars.
It was a strange, energizing feeling but nice.
Now i realized that there was a upwinding spiral staircase. Out of a feeling i went up and landed on another plane.
It was very wide and seemed empty, like a desert, but soon i saw some rocks and mountains.
The women was there again and guided me through the planes by flying around...

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From this moment i was able to come to this plane instantly and visited it often, nearly every night.
I learned a lot of stuff there but real life circumstances led me to forget it for a long time...

Many years after this i realized the connection to the masonic lodges and their rituals. I was stunned!

What do you say?

Peace, love and light,
let u guide by higher i

Jim

Not to interpret your experiences for you (as it is best for us to Meditate on our experiences of the Internal Worlds); however, we'll point out that many people who are interested in the Occult, Astral Projection, etc., are not aware that there are essentially two ways to awaken: Positively and negatively.

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” - Daniel 12:2

In parenthesis:

"Indeed, we are not talking about eternal damnation or endless condemnation. Unquestionably, eternal damnation does not exist, since every punishment—as serious as it may be—has to have a limit, beyond which happiness reigns. So, in this sense, we radically differ from the clerical orthodoxy." – Samael Aun Weor

Samael Aun Weor described in some detail the differences between the Internal Initiations of the White Lodge and the Black Lodge, in the following two works:

The Perfect Matrimony and The Revolution of Beelzebub

About the Masonic Lodge of the Astral Plane:

Posted by Tamahu in another thread:

"Through the 33 canyons, we pass through the chambers of the great Masonic Lodge of the Astral Plane.

"The external chambers are the Minor Mysteries, and the internal chambers are the Major Mysteries.

"The disciple must learn the Masonic salutes from his own Inner Being. "The Internal Master" must teach them to him."

- Practical Astrology by V.M. Samael Aun Weor

Emphasis on the last quote in my previous reply, because I'd like to add that it was not meant to imply anything about your experiences in particular; because as was said, only you can know the truth in regard to them.

And not to get too dogmatic here either, I just thought that it would be helpful to point out some things that are often ignored by many aspirants of occultism, particularly in regard to the teachings of the more popular lodges, the latter of which do not seem to currently be fulfilling that which was their original purpose.

Anyway, Conscious Astral Projection is said to be a fairly basic, yet necessary, skill for many occult works; so it sounds like you have developed to some degree a skill which often takes aspirants many weeks, months, or years to develop.

Already mentioned that i myself, am learning/attempting to grown spiritually.

Everyone that has experienced or is familiar with astral projection speaks about "light" and such. What about the 'dark' aspect? I have no read anything in depth about this. I am not looking to be part of, nor contribute to anything evil. But i personally feel that i need to understand the bad, just as well as the good, to be able to see the whole picture and understand what i come across in astral projection attempts.

You have become very informative IRIE since i put up my original post yest! I will be following you from now on as i need guidance,education,understanding, and someone to 'bounce' things off of.

Originally posted by RadiantVibration
Everyone that has experienced or is familiar with astral projection speaks about "light" and such. What about the 'dark' aspect? I have no read anything in depth about this. I am not looking to be part of, nor contribute to anything evil. But i personally feel that i need to understand the bad, just as well as the good, to be able to see the whole picture and understand what i come across in astral projection attempts.

What you are asking about here is precisely what part of my first post in this thread specifically addresses, in depth (see the links posted in the said post).

reply to post by RadiantVibration


You´re pretty welcome and thanks!
I hope you will have a read into my thread series down in my sig...
To your question about the bad side of the astral realms:
I know that this is rarely mentioned but i have encountered it so much that i can tell you a lot about it...
Since i have begun with astral travel i see an increasing of the bad intended energies/entities "up" there.
If you have a look into my series into the part about the "pic+ will thing" you will understand how your consiousness works (inside and outside!) and you will see how much options you have.
I don´t know how far you are but one of the most important things i say to newbies is...
PROTECTION!
There are so many ways you can do this i couldn´t write into this post... But...
First understand the main rule how the conciousness itself works and you will have everything what you need to work with!
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Another very important subject i always tell novices is the "opening of the third eye"...
Very much people come to me with this issue and i always ask them if they really want it.
Outthere is so much to see and to experience it will let their minds explode! And if they have a "too worldly view" they will surely go mad about it!
I always pack out storys i was personally confronted (or sometimes even involved...) with, where the scholar learned it very quick (mostly without developing other spiritual aspects into their advancements) and they started to see things they really never wanted to see or know!
And this list grows longer and longer...
I don´t want to put them out now as again this storys could fill many threads.
But be warned by what i wrote and what Tamahu posted above!

If you want to know something in more detail feel free to ask!
Thats why i´m here...

Peace, love and light,
let u guide by higher i

Jim

Ive been to a lodge on another plane before too, during a half-dream/half-astral-trip. But I dont know what it means. Maybe it doesnt mean anything. But those checkered floors are pretty.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Yup!
This temple was the most amazing i have ever seen!
My oppinion is that this just normal archaic symbolism what was energized and manifested (or better say astralized?) through aeons of travelings...
I think the masons applied the rule "as above so below" and brought this knowlege into their lodges to get an earthly connection to the astral world...
Just my oppinion...

Originally posted by JimIrie
"I don´t know how far you are but one of the most important things i say to newbies is...

PROTECTION!

"But be warned by what i wrote and what Tamahu posted above!"

Indeed.

Here are some protection methods:

Prayers

Home and Altar

The Gnostic Home

Defense for Spiritual Warfare

Advice:

Practical Steps to Liberation

"To conquer fear, the surest antidote that I have found is prayer. Prayer is an amazing magical feat. I mean real prayer, not just recitation. Prayer where, with your heart, you call your God, your Being, until that connection is established. And really that connection is up to you, because your Divine Mother, your Being, is always with you. And if you feel disconnected, it is because of you. God is always there, especially when you are serious about your spiritual work, you are serious because God is pushing you with a spiritual inquietude. That impulse to awaken is your Being pushing you. So if you do not feel connected to God, it is because something in you is not connected; it is not God. I know I have heard so many times, “Well God doesn’t listen to me,” or “God doesn’t talk to me.” It is not that God is not talking to you, it is that you are not listening.

"So prayer, especially the Lord’s Prayer—there is amazing power in that prayer—or the Gayatri mantra, different prayers depending on your background. If you have a relationship with a religion, any religion, there will be a prayer in that religion that will bring you close to that sense, that feeling, of connection. And that can evaporate fear. There is great power in that.

"So that would be my recommendation when fear is strong. Remember your Being. Pray. And this especially happens out of the body, in the astral plane. Fear is a huge obstacle, and the surest antidote is prayer. As soon as you feel that fear, you pray to God, “Please my Mother, my Father,”—whatever prayer you want to use, even if it is just intuitive—“be with me, guide me, help me, show me.” And when it is sincere, the fear evaporates."

See also the book On Fear by Jiddu Krishnamurti.


And this (free online) book:

Conquest of Fear by Swami Sivananda

I think the masons applied the rule "as above so below" and brought this knowlege into their lodges to get an earthly connection to the astral world...
Just my oppinion...

In some masonic ritual there is talk of "the lodge above", referring to the lodge of the afterlife. I forget which ritual, you`ll have to google it.

And another interesting fact lays within the difference between the masonic ritual and what i have seen there...

You know what i mean?

The hangman´s noose and the blindfold they get during the ritual...

Originally posted by JimIrie

You know what i mean?

No I dont. But maybe someone will.

Apparently when I make links into buttons, the button-links do not work for anyone except for me.

So are the non-button links that are posted within the blue "off-site content" boxes, in this post, working?

reply to post by JimIrie


For the record, it's not a "hangman's noose". It's called a Cable Tow. These are ropes that are used, not to hang people, but to moor boats to a dock, which keeps them from floating away. Masonry teaches that it's simply symbolic of the ties that one has to the Craft, and more importantly, the Brethren.

Frankly, I don't see the similarities that you speak of, aside from the mentioning of pillars and checkered floors. Maybe if you could elaborate a bit more, it might help me to see what it is that you're talking about.

TheBorg

reply to post by Tamahu

I don't think astral projection is occult in nature, we go every time on the astral plane when we dream, we are just not aware of it. Lucid dreaming is a way, a platform to go AP to become self aware.

There is nothing occult about AP, it comes natural with the body. You don't chant anything, you don't call on any entity, you don't need any objects, no spells, no numbers or special words. It's natural.

I take it if you are still able to dream you may try to AP. What is strange is that some can project in the physical plane that we are on, I find that disturbing since they can spy on people.

Someone may come and prove me wrong and show me AP is occult.

reply to post by pepsi78


Well, we have to understand things in context. You would be correct in that astral projection is natural and that we do it every night. Samael Aun Weor wrote about this and pointed out that it is completely absurd when people say that astral projection is dangerous. Because we already travel in our astral body every night when we go to bed. So how could it be dangerous, if we already do it naturally every night anyway?

The occult or esoteric aspect is related to the methods for becoming Conscious of our astral projections. Just because we do it naturally every night, does not mean that we are conscious of it. So we have to work (such as with the Key of SOL) in order to be conscious of it; and it is said that we can receive help in doing so as well. "God helps those who help themselves".

In the Dream Yoga online course for example, it is written that we can invoke, in the name of Christ, Morpheus, who is an aspect of our own Being. Or we can invoke the Apostle Philip to enchant our astral body, or utilize various Mantras, or work with the elementals (plant or animal) such as the cricket and the sound ("the Anahat Sound; or still, small voice") that it makes (i.e. get a cricket cage as to keep a cricket in our bedroom), etc.

It is also good to keep a dream journal, and to perform the methods for remembering our dreams and astral experiences. Samael Aun Weor wrote that if we eat citrus fruit with honey and almonds for breakfast, that it will help us to remember our astral experiences. And we can also invoke the Maiden of Memories, etc.

reply to post by Tamahu

You don't have to invoke anyone. Invoking is occult indeed, or any "special" practice.
Anything within your body is natural the way it functions, basic meditation for example to slow down your mind, feeling anything in your body is also natural. If you had any objects like to do, to place them in a way for example, things to say, then it would be occult, I would stay away from them.

I would say the key is to calm your mind and your self to make your mind clear enough to sense your self the way you would not normaly do.

This Includes:
Diet food.
Physycal excercise/workout to work out the mind and get it in a relaxed stage, like your body sweats and it's worked out, same with the mind.
Natural herbs to help develop the mind and relax it "no drugging"


I noticed the more clear the mind is the more dreams are lucid and with practice you can wake up in them.
I can picture this like a water pound without any waves, picture seeing in the water at the bottom of the lake because it's so clear, the same with the mind.

For example just remind your self of some things daily, no specific things, this could be memories of you doing something, or repeat looking at something in the house, and then think before going to bed about waking up in the middle of the dream Because your trained your mind to repeat things, you would place a recall on your mind to wake up. No invoking anyone, just mind training, natural.


I would say, that in the state I am right now I have a very loud mind, agitated, it would take me a lot to calm it down. But it gets you with day to day routine, doing stuff, study, agile mind.

I would say those that use occult practice are in danger of becoming something else.
I would stay away from invoking anything.

You're right, we don't have to invoke anyone. Invocations are taught as useful tools however.

When we ask the Divine for help, we are Invoking aspects of our own Being. This is related to how the Buddhist Tantras state that when we die physically (see also the two links posted at the bottom of this post), we must, as a disembodied Consciousness, Consciously see all of the Visions of the Angels, Gods, Buddhas, etc. as aspects of the Nature of Mind (Sems-Nyid), in order to attain Liberation in the Bardos.

Awakening the Anahata (Heart) Chakra with the practice of Kundalini Yoga, and Being in tune with our own Being through Meditation (Concentration (Shamatha) and Imagination (Vipassana) are also very helpful, if not indispensable, for Conscious Astral Projection.

In order to know if what we are invoking is negative or positive, we have to be Chaste, Meditate regularly, and always Invoke in the Name of Christ. And also it is best to utilize the already-mentioned protection methods.

And as you've said, we should get enough exercise, eat well, abstain from intoxicants, etc.

About herbs. They can indeed help as well. Nevertheless, consider that it is not only the dead body of the plant that does the healing or glandular stimulation, etc. It is the Elemental Intelligence of the plant–under the command of our own Being and Elemental Advocate–who performs the work.

Introduction: Occult Medicine and Practical Magic

"What about you, ingenuous botanists, who have profaned the plant kingdom by converting it into products of pharmacy? Did you achieve the decimation of the sicknesses of humanity?

"Stubborn botanists, charlatans and ignorant deceivers, how is it that you assassinate the medicinal plants in order to cure with their remains!

"Do you not realize that the plants are the physical bodies of the elemental creatures of Nature? Do you not understand that no plant or animal cadaver can cure? Do you believe that life can be animated by dead substances?

"Do you not know, botanical researcher, that it is not the plant that cures, but it is the elemental of the plant which does so, and that each plant is the physical body of a creature of Nature?

"Listen to me, until now you have done nothing but profane plants as well as animal and human cadavers! So tell me, which one of you knows how to command life? Which one of you botanists, vivisectionists of plants, knows in depth the occultism of plants? Which one of you knows how to handle the elementals of plants?

"Simply, each plant organism is the body of an elemental of Nature. Therefore, it is not the plant that cures. It is the elemental of the plant, its mantras and the healing which is performed incessantly that cures.

"Whosoever wants to officiate in the great temple of wisdom has to know how to command the elemental creatures of the plants. The one who wants to command life has to do the same thing.

"The elemental of a plant furiously reacts against the herbalist who tears apart its physical body. Therefore, this wounded elemental not only does not cure, but moreover, it harms, because the vitality of the plant is psychologically altered with the anger or with the terror inflicted upon it.

"The elemental of each plant has its own ritual, mantras and its hours in order to deliver itself to the doctor who knows how to command it with love and impose upon it with tenderness.

"The eminent Master Paracelsus has expressed in his Fundamento Sapientia the following:

“There are two types of knowledge. There is one Science and one medical Wisdom. The animal comprehension belongs to the animal man, but the comprehension of divine mysteries belongs to the Spirit of God within him.”

"While medical science is inventing certified medications which are incessantly changing as quickly as women’s fashion, there exists a very ancient medical wisdom that has its origin based upon the first foundations of the world and that has never changed its formulae.

"Divine wisdom is preserved in sanctuaries that are far away from this false, materialistic civilization. This medical wisdom is zealously guarded by the Masters of wisdom in secret places which are inaccessible to the “merchants of the temple.”

"This archaic medical wisdom can cure (with exact formulae) all sicknesses, even the so-called incurable ones. Leprosy, syphilis and cancer become as insignificant as a child’s game before the tremendous power of the Gnostic doctor who commands life.

“Gnosis” is the name of this ancient medical wisdom which from the dawn of creation has never changed its formulae, because these formulae are exact as the Pythagorean tablets. In these formulae, science, mysticism and royal art are in communion within a divine connubial.

"These formulae have their foundation in Elementotherapy, which is the “royal art” of Nature that teaches us how to handle the elemental creatures of plants. These elementals were known in ancient times by such names as Dryads, Hamadryads, and Fauns."

These plant elementals that are commanded by the Gnostic doctor are the “Dussi” of Saint Augustine, the “Fairies” of the Middle Ages, the “Doire Oigh” of the Gaels, the “Grove and Maidens” of the Irish, and the “Anime” of the wise Gnostic brothers who are our brethren Indians from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta (Colombia)."

– Samael Aun Weor

Here are instructions for: How to Bless Plants, for anyone interested in Elemental Magic.

About herbs. They can indeed help as well. Nevertheless, consider that it is not only the dead body of the plant that does the healing or glandular stimulation, etc. It is the Elemental Intelligence of the plant–under the command of our own Being and Elemental Advocate–who performs the work.

It has nothing to do with elemental...
It's the alkaloid, the chemical ingrediant that is in the plant.
Drinking tea of specific plant will induce an effect stated about the plant, not only that but the plant is dry, it will produce the effect regardless if it's dead or alive(fresh). In general herbal tea is dry. I have made my way with various plants, beats taking made made chemical medicine, there is a plant for everything. As you address
this it's very intresting because I look upon becoming a herbalist. (not a criminal)

Plants can cure cancer, I have seen them work for real. It's the real deal.
Why do you think they want to ban plant selling and herbal shops across europe, big pharma is loosing money.

I figured that the more we stay connected to nature the better.
I'm not Tarzan in the jungle but we need the nature more than anything.
Plants is what makes nature look alive the most, I would say color green is associated with safety, energy and life.

"What about you, ingenuous botanists, who have profaned the plant kingdom by converting it into products of pharmacy? Did you achieve the decimation of the sicknesses of humanity?

"Stubborn botanists, charlatans and ignorant deceivers, how is it that you assassinate the medicinal plants in order to cure with their remains!

"Do you not realize that the plants are the physical bodies of the elemental creatures of Nature? Do you not understand that no plant or animal cadaver can cure? Do you believe that life can be animated by dead substances?

As far as the stated above of your quotation, mother nature would say otherwise, "eat from me all you want" all the green you like, and give up meat eating. It seems almost like a funny story what you say of, of creatures of the plants, never herd this one before.

Consider that perhaps the alkaloid is only a physiochemical extension of the Elemental Intelligence of the plant. Intelligence is within everything in Nature. It seems that we have even gotten the word "Nature" from the Khemetic word Neter. The Neteru (plural of Neter) are the Divinities, the Sephiroth, Elemental Gods, etc.

And yes, we may take plants from Nature in abundance, as long as we put them to good use, and as long as we Bless them.

Eating meat is no crime, if it is in moderation and as long as we do our best to get our meat from sources which are as cruelty-free and as humane as possible.

This is in relation to the Common-Cosmic Trogoautoegocrat Law.

Meat provides for us the Agni or Tejas Tattva that is the source of the Fire Element. This is why the Tantrayana or Vajrayana schools of Buddhism allow the eating of meat.

There was a Gnostic lecture (on the Rune Perth) where it is stated that when we consume meat and then Transmute the sexual energy that results from it (whether with Chaste Sexual Magic or Pranayama), that we are actually helping the evolution of the Monad of that animal. Although if we eat meat and then fornicate (i.e. waste the energy) instead of transmuting it, we then do not help the evolution of that animal's Monad in any way.