Every Real Man has realized all the possibilities of the human condition, but each one has done so in a way which is typical of him alone, and which differentiates him from all other Real Men. If that were not the case, how could there be room, in our world, even for beings who have not achieved that level? ~ Rene Guenon in letter to Evola

The first stage in esoteric teaching, the “Lesser Mysteries”, comprises everything related to the development of the possibilities of the human state. These possibilities transcend the activities of our ordinary life. The roles we play, such as family, occupation, and so on, are the fields of activity in which further development is made possible. Developing whatever talents we might have through education — the arts, science, sports, watching TV, and so on— may constitute the field of action that prepares us for higher possibilities, some obviously, better than others.

A fortiori, the search for powers or secret knowledge is fruitless, if not disadvantageous, from the esoteric perspective. These include:

• Fascination with vast conspiracy theories
• The search for psychic powers of all types
• The desire for mystical experiences
• Obsession with manifesting material objects
• Channeling higher beings
• Seeking secret knowledge of some sort
• Relying on psychedelics for spiritual experiences

The common element is the focus on the corporeal and/or psychic worlds rather than the strictly spiritual part of oneself. Rene Guenon provides this admonition:

[Psychic powers] are in fact a distraction in the rigorously etymological sense of the word. The one who lets himself be absorbed by the many activities of the corporeal world will never center his consciousness on higher realities, nor consequently develop within himself the corresponding possibilities. This will be all the more true for one who goes astray and disperses himself in the incomparably more vast and varied multiplicity of the psychic world, with its indefinite modalities. ~ The “Rejection of Powers”, Perspectives on Initiation

This is not to deny the possibilities of such manifestations, which may arise as side-effects of mystical evolution. Nevertheless, our higher possibilities are not tied to any specific talents or abilities, since they are the principles which make those actions possible. From higher to lower, these are:

• True Will
• Consciousness
• Real I

The attainment of these faculties completes the evolution of the possibilities of the human state, lifting the being to the Primordial State. Boris Mouravieff summarizes this succinctly:

It is by this evolution that animal man can overcome Adam’s Fall, can become a spiritual man, and so be initiated into divine wisdom.

Then he is prepared for the Greater Mysteries.

Obstacles

Many are called but few are chosen. ~ Matthew 22:14

Here we encounter some immediate obstacles that prevent or discourage seekers.

Unnecessary

People believe that already have those faculties of a True Will, Consciousness, and a Real I. Hence, they don’t see the need for esoteric training. They become more interested in phenomena.

Explicit knowledge

This type fails to understand the distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can be communicated through the written or spoken word. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, cannot be communicated in that way. It is more like “knowing how” rather than in knowing. Tacit knowledge comes only by doing.

Like riding a bike or learning to swim, one has to actually do it. Reading a book about biking or swimming won’t do it for you. Tacti knowledge is more effective if there is a guide, but most people are satisfied by reading or hearing theories about biking or swimming.

Hard work

We can buy food for others; we can cook a dish with this food; we can serve it once it is cooked; we can cut it up; we can even act as if to put the food inside the mouth, as we do for a child or sick person. But at this point, each of us must make the necessary effort to swallow the food for ourselves; this cannot be done by anyone else. ~ Gnosis I

Few people have the stamina or discipline to perform the exercises that transform explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge.

Self-knowledge

When we close our eyes in an attempt to meditate, we are amazed to discover a boiler factory inside of us. ~ Joel Goldsmith, The Art of Meditation

Meditation is sold today as an absolute good, that will relax us, lower blood pressure, and so on. However, if done properly, many, who believe that their inner life is nothing but Sunshine and Lollipops, are shocked to witness the “boiler factory” of irrelevant, fearful, or anxious thoughts that cast doubt rather than certainty.

It takes effort and persistence to get past that point.

Inequality

This teaching is the hardest to accept:

Among several persons who receive an identical teaching, each one understands and assimilates it more or less completely and profoundly according to the range of his own intellectual possibilities, and in this way selection, without which there could be no genuine hierarchy, comes about quite naturally. ~ Rene Guenon, Man and his Becoming according to the Vedanta

Higher Centers

As mentioned in The Descent of the Absolute, the Emotional Center (animal soul) and Intellectual Center (intellectual soul) are divided into lower and higher centers. As we are born, the higher centers are undeveloped and are therefore only virtual. Esoteric training starts with the proper awakening or development of the higher centers.

Since our untrained emotional life is so erratic, mastery over the expression of the emotions is imperative in order to make further progress.

The Higher Emotional Center is located in the Heart, the seat of our Real I, the Sun center of our being. The Higher Intellectual Center is located at the level of the Head, the seat of consciousness.

Objective Art

The first step in the in the development of the higher emotional center is to mitigate the effects of negative emotions. That opens up some space for more subtle emotions to manifest. Aids in the process include objective art, myths, and symbols. The focus of personal art is on the personality of the artist, while objective art is the reflection of higher ideas. The following passage refers to why, according to Plotinus, a sculpture is more beautiful than the block of stone from which it was carved.

The real question is, why is the sculpted stone more beautiful? “The matter did not have this form, but it was in the one who thought, and before it came to the stone; but it was in the craftsman, not insofar as he had eyes or hands, but in that he shared in art” (Enneads V.8.1.16–19). If the sculpted stone is more beautiful than the lump, this is because thought, or idea, is more evident in it. The distinctive beauty of the sculpture, as opposed to the lump, is the form that it has received through the artist’s work, which is an image of the form existing as pure thought-content, or idea, in the artist’s mind. Consequently, the form, that is, the beauty, that renders the sculpture pleasing to behold is first and more truly in the artist’s mind, as the paradigm of which the sculpture’s beauty is an image. ~ Eric Perl, Thinking Being

Myths and Symbols

The purpose of Myths and Symbols is to reach these higher centers, the higher emotional and higher intellectual centers respectively. The attempt to understand myths and symbols by the lower mind will result in misinterpretation.

Sexual Sublimation

Sexual energy can be redirected to the higher centers, which is the means to produce results.

This consecration is produced by the sublimation of sex. Thus the circle closes itself. Each manifestation of life starts by a sexual act; at the end of the cycle, the activity of the sexual centre is manifested once more, but on a higher level, that of the higher centres, the level to which — by its nature — this centre belongs. ~ Gnosis I

Ultimately, individual and group work will be replaced with Hieros gamos or polar couples. Since each one of the pair has a different way of knowing, their shared experiences enhance each other.

The means … is to work as a couple. We must believe that in the new era which approaches, this method will be favoured more and more, will be protected, and will eventually become obligatory. However, for this esoteric work to be completed successfully by two people, it is essential that the two beings — man and woman — are integrally polar.