On Initiation

Peter Mark Adams

They are rightly called initiations for we have thus learned the first principles of life1

We commonly use the word initiation for any situation or circumstance that triggers profound personal change and transformation. In this sense initiations are an integral part of the process of living itself. More usually, however, we use it to designate situations that are deliberately engineered to both activate and facilitate profound personal change and transformation. Such initiations are usually embedded in some larger social context, such as a community ritual. The ritual provides the framework that integrates the private experience with the day to day life of the community. Most rites of initiation, or rites of passage2, are used to facilitate transitions between social roles, such as that from child to adult. They may also be used to mark entry into social groups and secret societies which have their own rites, codes of dress and behavior. There are, however, a further set of rites of passage in which the initiation process triggers profound healing and transformation on the part of the initiate. Such rites are undertaken not so much for the benefit of a community, but for the initiates own immediate benefit. We can call such rites higher rites or rites of spiritual initiation in order to distinguish them from the more socially orientated rites of passage. In doing so we recognize that such rites also play a

1
2

Cicero, On the Laws, II 14 Von Gennep (1909) Rites of Passage

positive role within a community, but their primary purpose is to effect healing and transformation in the individual.

The last 30 to 40 years have seen a major shift in both the availability and accessibility of such rites. At one end of the scale we find the many popular varieties of hands-on healing and spiritual development practices that involve an initiation process for their activation. At the other end of the scale we find the deeply esoteric initiatory traditions of Indo-Tibetan higher yoga tantra that are now available to mass audiences worldwide. In addition, spiritual tourism has made many traditional shamanic forms of initiatory experience, such as those of the South American Ayahuasqueros, accessible to a global audience. Not since the days of the GrecoRoman Mysteries the great rites of spiritual initiation that were prevalent throughout the classical world over 2000 years ago has the idea and practice of initiation been so popular and so widespread!

And yet sources of reliable information about initiation have entirely failed to keep up with this renewed interest in and experience with these rites. One reason for this is the continuing practice of vows of secrecy both in relation to the process and the experiences that it gives rise to. The main reason for enjoining such secrecy is that it helps to safeguard the potential for each person to experience the rite in their own unique way, uninfluenced by conventionalized expectations. In addition certain signs or symbols may be seen or received during a rite that are consistent with its known history and which therefore serve to confirm its validity.

The rites of passage of different cultures and in different ages continue to be studied within the disciplines of psychology, anthropology, archaeology and classical studies. But of that essential ingredient, the extraordinary experience3, they have little, if anything, to say, the gap between pure observation and the experience of those involved in the real proceedings remains unbridgeable4. And we can add, even when put into words, the extraordinary experience still seems too incredible, too far fetched for rational, secular tastes in any age! The present work has been written with the hope of bridging the gap between scholarship and the reality of the experience. It is not a work of psychology, anthropology, archaeology or classical scholarship although I try to give all of these disciplines their due, but nor is it couched in the allusive green language of the esoteric traditions the oblique diction of the initiate. By drawing upon multiple sources I have sought to make the experience as transparent as possible, given my own somewhat limited exposure to a range of initiatory processes.

In approaching this material we need to accept that certain fundamental beliefs, predispositions and attitudes will be challenged. Reality, as a great physicist once said, is not only stranger than we imagine it to be, it is stranger than we are capable of imagining it to be. The beliefs that most affect our ability to understand the phenomena of higher initiation cover four areas: the nature of reality, the nature of consciousness, the nature of the self and the role of energy in managing the dynamic potentialities of consciousness. Since all of these points are

3 4

Burkert, Walter (1987) Ancient Mystery Cults ibid p.91

covered in detail with their related scientific research in my earlier works5, I will merely summarize the main points here:

The Transmission of Energy

A current of high frequency initiatory energy can be received spontaneously, as grace or baraka, or as the result of a deliberate act of initiation from a higher source. An initiatory current will tend to manifest most of the following characteristics:

Purposive Specific in terms of its source Specific in terms of its use and mode of operation Work cooperatively with an initiator who facilitates the grounding of the energy Require commitment on the part both of the initiator and the aspirant Facilitate access to altered states of consciousness Establish a lasting bridge or connection between the source of the energy and the initiate

On the surface, the transmission of energy may be accomplished through:

Adams, Peter Mark (2013) The Healing Field: Energy, Consciousness and Transformation

Simple gestures (as in yogic shaktipat) Simple rituals (such as the Reiki initiation or diksha) Elaborate ceremonies, as in the ancient Mysteries and Indo-Tibetan tantric rites

Initiations vary greatly in terms of the degree of power transferred and hence in their impact upon the recipient. For their part, the recipients response will depend upon both their sensitivity and their preparedness. The impact of such initiations can range from:

1. The gentle experience of a pure and purifying energy, such as that which accompanies initiation to the Reiki energy, to 2. An experience of personal transcendence, such as that which accompanied the ancient Mystery rites, to 3. An experience of enlightened bliss, such as that which accompanies initiation to the highest Indo-Tibetan yoga tantra

The initiations themselves serve a variety of purposes:

For healing and inner purification To attune a person or group to a healing energy so that they become empowered to either use or pass on that healing energy in turn

To convey the direct experience of spiritual illumination

To attune a person or group to an energy source that can then be invoked to support and facilitate the process of yogic development

Transmissions are typically effected in a number of ways, for example, by:

An accomplished yogi using their own energy A lineage of trained initiators who facilitate the transmission of a specific frequency range of energies. In such cases the initiators act as intermediaries to conduct the energy to the recipients they do not originate the energy themselves.

Such higher spiritual initiations involve the direct transmission of energy from a higher source (higher intelligence, saint, enlightened or ascended being or deity). The initiation can be delivered simultaneously to thousands of people at a time with no dilution or diminution of effect triggering intense ASC involving direct spiritual realizations and profound insights.

Such initiations are typical of the Indo-Tibetan higher yoga tantra or deity yoga. Similar rites, known as the Mysteries, were pervasive throughout the classical Mediterranean world for at least 3,000 years until suppressed by the Christian Emperor Theodosius I in the 4 th century CE. These highly respected institutions attracted many of the greatest minds, generals and politicians of the day. The laws governing the rites enforced the strictest secrecy regarding the process and procedure of the Mysteries a secrecy that was respected throughout the thousands of years that they were practiced and which has lasted down to today.

The Ancient Mysteries

Happy is he who, having seen these rites, goes below the hollow earth; for he knows the end of life and he knows its god-sent beginning6

The ancient Mystery schools of the classical world provided initiation in the name of a whole range of deities: Dionysus, Isis, Demeter, Mater, Mithras, Hekate, and many more. The initiation ritual was modeled on the characteristic myth of the deity in question. These myths echoing themes underlying shamanic initiation the world over dealt with dismemberment, death, descent into and return from the underworld and the renewal of life after death. A first hand account of the ASC induced by initiation into the Mysteries of Isis has been provided by Apuleius7

I approached the frontier of death, I set foot on the threshold of Persephone8, I journeyed through all the elements and came back, I saw the sun at midnight, sparkling in white light, I came close to the gods of the upper and the nether world and adored them from near at hand.

The phrase I saw the sun at midnight has been compared to descriptions of certain mystical states such as Dhyana attained through yoga. It is indicative of a certain level of spiritual

6 7 8

Pindar, Fragment 102 Apuleius Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius also known as The Golden Ass (trans. Robert Graves) The goddess and queen of the underworld

illumination, albeit temporary, conferred by the Mystery initiation. The association of the experience with that of dying I approached the frontier of death is, as we have seen, also typical of the highest states. For there appears to be a profound parallelism between the process of dying and that of spiritual illumination such that in a famous passage Plutarch describes the process of dying in terms of a mystery initiation:

The soul suffers an experience similar to those who celebrate great initiations ... Wandering astray in the beginning, tiresome walkings in circles, some frightening paths in darkness that lead nowhere; then immediately before the end all the terrible things, panic and shivering and sweat, and amazement. And then some wonderful light comes to meet you, pure regions and meadows are there to great you, with sounds and dances and solemn, sacred words and holy views; and there the initiate, perfect by now, set free and loose from all bondage, walks about, crowned with a wreath. 9

The third element characteristic of the Mystery initiations is the, at first sight, bizarre claim to have seen and worshipped the gods directly,

I came close to the gods of the upper and the nether world and adored them from near at hand.

Plutarch cited in Burkert, Walter (1987) Ancient Mystery Cults p.91-92

It is little wonder that European scholarship has been fascinated by and frustrated with the topic of the ancient Mysteries for the last two hundred years! Given the clues embedded in these various quotations, I suggest that the mechanism of transformation tha t underlay the mystery rites involved a two step process:

A rite of personal purification and dedication that prepared the initiate mentally, physically and emotionally to undergo the initiation rite

A process the symbolic enactment of the deitys characteristic myth that activated a high level field of energy. It was immersion in this field that accounted for many of the characteristic experiences reported during the process of initiation.

Any purposive, symbolic enactment can create an energy field a knowing or Morphic field that demonstrates intensional qualities. Ritual enactment triggers a parallel process but one of far greater strength and generality. When this field is intense enough it shifts consciousness in the direction of healing and integration. The characteristic period of dread that preceded the emergence into the light is paralleled by the dark night of the soul that accompanies all higher realizations. The experience of high levels of energy relativizes the lower self experienced as dying and opens the way for higher illumination.

Although mystery rites were celebrated in favor of various deities throughout the ancient Mediterranean world perhaps the most famous were those celebrated every five years at Eleusis just outside Athens in honor of the goddess Demeter and her daughter, Persephone.

The rite consisted of two phases: a ritual purification in the spring, that constituted a prerequisite for the main rite conducted in the autumn. The rites were practiced from at least the 7th century BCE until their suppression in the 4th century CE a period of over 1,000 years. There is both archaeological and linguistic evidence10 for the possibility that the rites were a continuation of those practiced as far back as the Bronze Age. Due to the strict rule of secrecy that covered the rites and which such was the respect with which they were held was honored for more than a thousand years, little evidence exists to help us to understand what the rites consisted of. Though we can now make a reasonable conjecture as to how they gave rise to hope, even in the face of death itself. Speaking of their initiation into the mysteries of Eleusis some thirty years before, a friend of Ciceros wrote,

nothing is better than those mysteries. For by means of them we have been civilized ... we have learned from them the fundamentals of life and have grasped the basis not only for living with joy but also for dying with a better hope11

10

Cosmopoulos, MB. Mycenaean Religion at Eleusis in Cosmopoulos, MB. (editor) (2003) The Greek Mysteries:

The Archaeology & Ritual of Ancient Greek Secret Cults

11

Cicero, On the Laws, 2.14.36

by means of them, we have been civilized

One of the main claims made for the importance of the Mysteries within ancient societies was that they were central to sustaining civilization itself. Why this should be so becomes clearer when we consider the role of sacred initiation rites in the life of a traditional community. One rite in particular is worth considering, the initiation rite of the Bwiti religion of West Africa. Briefly, the practitioners of Bwiti conduct a rite of passage that reinforces the ties holding their community together, strengthens their relationship with the ancestral spirits and spirits of the natural world and provides a direct experience of the divine. The rite extends over three days, involves the whole community at certain stages and employs a powerful entheogen called Iboga. The rite follows the traditional three stage process that characterizes most rites of passage separation, liminality and reintegration or aggregation. The middle stage of the rite is designed to morally purify the candidate in order to prepare them to meet the powerful spirits of the forest. This is accomplished by triggering a process of recalling all of the significant events of ones life up to that point. The significant fact about this recall, however, is that these events are recalled not from the ordinary self-centered perspective, but from the perspective of the people most affected by them. People who have undergone the rite have testified to its powerful impact on their moral outlook it naturally civilizes the raw components of personality by making us acutely aware of the consequences of our actions.

Regarding sacred initiation rites the view of modern classical scholarship is that,

the gap between (ourselves) and the experience of those involved in the real proceedings remains unbridgeable12.

But it is only unbridgeable to the extent that we refrain from undergoing the necessary purification and transformation of our own being and fail to seek out contemporary contexts in which valid initiation still confers an experience of the divine. As we have seen throughout the course of this book, the walls separating the sacred from the profane, the mundane from the numinous are never too distant for us to reach nor too high for us to overcome.

An Initiation
During my initiation I experienced a bright light. It was of such intensity that I could make out very little but I distinctly sensed the presence of a number of figures within the glare. I felt as though they surrounded me and embraced me. I was drowned in a sense of shared unity, acceptance and love. I stayed as long as I could and then felt myself slowly falling back to normal consciousness and reality. As I returned to myself I was overcome by a great sadness and sense of loss. As though I had fallen from a state of grace a state of shared and fully realized bliss, back into gross matter. I dont know how long this experience lasted but it must have been for some considerable length of time for when I returned everyone else had long finished and left me there, seated alone.

12

Walter Burkert (1987) Ancient Mystery Cults p.90-91