Last night at the Open Full Moon ritual, I encountered one of those strange ethical dilemmas that make me think for hours on end...without coming to a satifactory conclusion. You know the type. In this case, I was easedropping...I am a writer and I cannot help doing so...plus I just got done talking to this person about Golden Dawn.
Without going into details, the bottom line in this case is a conflict of needs. One person's needs are in direct conflict with another person's needs. This brings up the whole "How do you figure out who's needs are more important?" dilemma.
In this case, there would be no way to be able to have both people as members. One of them has to lose...that is how much of a conflict there is.
Fortunately for me, I do not have to really worry about this dilemma. There is a Trump in play here. One of the people is already a member; the other person is only an applicant.
It may not be fair, but the needs of a current member outweighs the needs of a potential member. It does not matter how valuable the applicant could be; it does not matter what they bring to the table; the Trump stands. It does not matter how useless the current member is; it does not matter what they don't bring to the table; the Trump stands.
Of course, this may not be true of all lodges. This may just be a reflection of the lodge culture that I came up the ranks in. Maybe in a system where only the Co-Chiefs have any say in the matter, the more valuable person would win.
(Please note that this applicant may or may not be more valuable than the current member; it does not matter; the Trump still stands either way. I have my own opinion who is the more valuable person, but that does not matter; the Trump controls what will happen in this decision. It could be my own needs involved, and it would not matter; the Trump would still be in play.)
Bottom line is that lodges are supposed to serve their membership. It is not the potential membership that they work for, but rather those who are already in the fold.
Now some people will call this unfair. After all, this Trump is enforced by the voting process of the lodge which is controlled by the current active membership of the lodge...enlightened self-interest would so kick in here. This is just one of the more darker aspects of how lodge culture works.
Someone can scream all they like that the system should serve the needs of everyone. But it doesn't and probably can't. We are bound by no law that says our membership should be open to everyone...and in this case, I am glad of that because there would be no way to meet the special needs of both parties. Sad, but true.
Showing posts with label membership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label membership. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, January 5, 2009
FAQs of realisations for those who want to join a working GD group
Occasionally, one recieves a posting from an online discussion group that is just too good not to share. This is one of them. It was written by Nick Farrell, who is a fellow writer; he is also a lodge officer for a group in Europe (I think it is in Europe). It is his response to some of the applications that his lodge has been getting lately. If you would like to see and comment on the original posting, it is on the Golden Dawn Group, an yahoo discussion group.
A brief FAQ of realisations for those who want to join a working GD group
1. It is better to work on the basis that a group should not accept you. If it does you are either lucky or the group is suspect. "I would never trust a club which would admit me as a member," Groucho Marx
2. It is not what the group can do for you it is what you can do for thegroup.
3. Do not ever aspire to be 'an adept' or seek 'enlightenment' from a group. These are things you do on your own and could never be recognized by a group even if you attain it. Real aspirations for joining a group are personal and often very small.
4. Real teaching is what you get when you are ready to receive it. It is never put on paper. Lessons, etc. are only guides to real teaching which must be found by yourself. Intellectual knowledge is a tool to real knowledge, passing an exam is no indication of evolution any more than passing your written driver's test means you can drive a car.
5. No one in the GD is above the grade of Neophyte. Those who tell you their grade to impress you are lying. Generally the higher the grade, the bigger the liar... anything beyond the veil is probably trying to sleep withyou.
6. Real magicians are unimpressed by people claiming they are high grademasons.
7. GD leaders should be unimpressed by what grades you got in a different esoteric school.
8. Group leaders are unimpressed by people trying to show how clever they are. Knowing that a particular astral plane is coloured pink is not the same as going there. Sharing intellectual information is like listening to someone informing you about a place because they have read about it in Wikipedia.
9. Esoteric Groups are about daily work: intellectual and practical.
10. In joining a GD group, leadership is not impressed when you tell them that you have been doing loads of pentacles and hexagrams and inner order work daily. This is because people who brag about that sort of thing generally have not been doing them properly, have been largely unchanged by the experience and suddenly can not do a basic meditation daily when they are required to.
11. Esoteric Schools do not owe you anything. Theoretically they are not supposed to notice you.
12. Who are you anyway?
A brief FAQ of realisations for those who want to join a working GD group
1. It is better to work on the basis that a group should not accept you. If it does you are either lucky or the group is suspect. "I would never trust a club which would admit me as a member," Groucho Marx
2. It is not what the group can do for you it is what you can do for thegroup.
3. Do not ever aspire to be 'an adept' or seek 'enlightenment' from a group. These are things you do on your own and could never be recognized by a group even if you attain it. Real aspirations for joining a group are personal and often very small.
4. Real teaching is what you get when you are ready to receive it. It is never put on paper. Lessons, etc. are only guides to real teaching which must be found by yourself. Intellectual knowledge is a tool to real knowledge, passing an exam is no indication of evolution any more than passing your written driver's test means you can drive a car.
5. No one in the GD is above the grade of Neophyte. Those who tell you their grade to impress you are lying. Generally the higher the grade, the bigger the liar... anything beyond the veil is probably trying to sleep withyou.
6. Real magicians are unimpressed by people claiming they are high grademasons.
7. GD leaders should be unimpressed by what grades you got in a different esoteric school.
8. Group leaders are unimpressed by people trying to show how clever they are. Knowing that a particular astral plane is coloured pink is not the same as going there. Sharing intellectual information is like listening to someone informing you about a place because they have read about it in Wikipedia.
9. Esoteric Groups are about daily work: intellectual and practical.
10. In joining a GD group, leadership is not impressed when you tell them that you have been doing loads of pentacles and hexagrams and inner order work daily. This is because people who brag about that sort of thing generally have not been doing them properly, have been largely unchanged by the experience and suddenly can not do a basic meditation daily when they are required to.
11. Esoteric Schools do not owe you anything. Theoretically they are not supposed to notice you.
12. Who are you anyway?
Monday, December 10, 2007
Purpose of Golden Dawn, and who should be allowed in
One of the things I occasionally ponder is what type of people should be in Golden Dawn and the Orders based on its material.
I am not sure if there is a legitimate answer to this question, or rather a universal answer to it. Each of the Orders that I have experience with had their own answer to the question. In fact, I believe that everyone you ask will give a different answer.
For instance, what is an acceptable reason for joining Golden Dawn? Most would say that one should have a desire to further one’s spiritual development. And most incoming members seem to think that is the only acceptable answer.
If you believe that the only acceptable answer is spiritual development, then you will probably believe that I shouldn’t be a member. Spiritual development was the farthest thing from my mind when I joined the Order; it has remained a low priority for me, though I must admit some spiritual growth has occurred despite my lack of interest in it. I joined Golden Dawn because of the material covered; I was already studying the material--why not do it inside the Order. There was also the issue that I like magic, the little known science of using the human mind to access dimensions that are normally inaccessible to us. To say that I have issues with power would be putting it mildly. In my defense, I remind you that I am the oldest of eight kids, and grew up really poor--a lack of an education and resources has made me a deep reservoir of self-interest. And if magic allows me an edge that I would not otherwise have, so mote it be. For many people, this attitude should bar me from the company of upright souls; the members of the lodge that brought me into the system had no problem with my reaching for power--a fact that would cause many people to say that particular lodge was not really a Golden Dawn lodge.
People are welcome to their opinion. People’s views of Golden Dawn are varied; and there is a Golden Dawn based Order that fits whatever views one chooses to have.
If you think that Inner Order Golden Dawn members should be paladins of virtue and self-sacrifice, there exists an Order for you. If you think that Golden Dawn should be strictly for Christians, then there is an Order for you. If you believe that Jews and Wiccans should be allowed into Golden Dawn, then there is an Order for you. If you like to be told what to do, allowing someone else to control your life, then there is an Order for you. If you are the independent type that wants to chart your own course, then there is an Order for you. If you believe that Thelema should be taught in Golden Dawn, then there is an Order for you.
No matter what you believe Golden Dawn is about, there is an Order that fulfills those conditions, (or at least, claims to fulfill them). This is why it is so hard to decide who should or should not be in Golden Dawn, or for that matter, which group represents what Golden Dawn is really about.
In many ways, it is like the differences of opinion that exist about the real purpose of Freemasonry. There are some who consider Freemasonry nothing more than a social club and networking organization; there are others who consider Freemasonry to be a school of esoteric symbolism. Either camp can find evidence of their case in one or another Freemasonry lodge.
The same holds true for Golden Dawn. My advice to people interested in Golden Dawn is to shop around. I would also suggest being patient; some of the best Golden Dawn groups are small and extremely hard to find. Just because a Golden Dawn based Order is visible and easy to find, and claims to be legitimate (and sometimes the only true Golden Dawn), doesn’t make it so. It also does not mean that it is the best group for your needs. Do not be afraid to take some time (maybe even years) to find the perfect Golden Dawn group for you. After all, you probably would not want to join a Golden Dawn group that would be willing to have me as a member, now would you?
I am not sure if there is a legitimate answer to this question, or rather a universal answer to it. Each of the Orders that I have experience with had their own answer to the question. In fact, I believe that everyone you ask will give a different answer.
For instance, what is an acceptable reason for joining Golden Dawn? Most would say that one should have a desire to further one’s spiritual development. And most incoming members seem to think that is the only acceptable answer.
If you believe that the only acceptable answer is spiritual development, then you will probably believe that I shouldn’t be a member. Spiritual development was the farthest thing from my mind when I joined the Order; it has remained a low priority for me, though I must admit some spiritual growth has occurred despite my lack of interest in it. I joined Golden Dawn because of the material covered; I was already studying the material--why not do it inside the Order. There was also the issue that I like magic, the little known science of using the human mind to access dimensions that are normally inaccessible to us. To say that I have issues with power would be putting it mildly. In my defense, I remind you that I am the oldest of eight kids, and grew up really poor--a lack of an education and resources has made me a deep reservoir of self-interest. And if magic allows me an edge that I would not otherwise have, so mote it be. For many people, this attitude should bar me from the company of upright souls; the members of the lodge that brought me into the system had no problem with my reaching for power--a fact that would cause many people to say that particular lodge was not really a Golden Dawn lodge.
People are welcome to their opinion. People’s views of Golden Dawn are varied; and there is a Golden Dawn based Order that fits whatever views one chooses to have.
If you think that Inner Order Golden Dawn members should be paladins of virtue and self-sacrifice, there exists an Order for you. If you think that Golden Dawn should be strictly for Christians, then there is an Order for you. If you believe that Jews and Wiccans should be allowed into Golden Dawn, then there is an Order for you. If you like to be told what to do, allowing someone else to control your life, then there is an Order for you. If you are the independent type that wants to chart your own course, then there is an Order for you. If you believe that Thelema should be taught in Golden Dawn, then there is an Order for you.
No matter what you believe Golden Dawn is about, there is an Order that fulfills those conditions, (or at least, claims to fulfill them). This is why it is so hard to decide who should or should not be in Golden Dawn, or for that matter, which group represents what Golden Dawn is really about.
In many ways, it is like the differences of opinion that exist about the real purpose of Freemasonry. There are some who consider Freemasonry nothing more than a social club and networking organization; there are others who consider Freemasonry to be a school of esoteric symbolism. Either camp can find evidence of their case in one or another Freemasonry lodge.
The same holds true for Golden Dawn. My advice to people interested in Golden Dawn is to shop around. I would also suggest being patient; some of the best Golden Dawn groups are small and extremely hard to find. Just because a Golden Dawn based Order is visible and easy to find, and claims to be legitimate (and sometimes the only true Golden Dawn), doesn’t make it so. It also does not mean that it is the best group for your needs. Do not be afraid to take some time (maybe even years) to find the perfect Golden Dawn group for you. After all, you probably would not want to join a Golden Dawn group that would be willing to have me as a member, now would you?
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