It should be clear that the theory behind the use of enthogens for spiritual “enlightenment” is deeply flawed. It assumes that such enlightenment involves a particular experience, or set of experiences, that are somehow to be distinguished from all other experiences. This idea comes from the confusion of the psychic and the spiritual. ~ Rene Guenon, The Reign of Quantity Continue reading
Because of time constraints, Alexander Shepard was unable to post this piece himself, but has given us permission to reproduce his notes on the New Age as counter tradition. Rene Guenon writes of it: As for the counter tradition, we can still only see the preliminary signs of it, in … Continue reading
There are two competing spiritual attitudes, and often they are confused because they seem to deal with the same subject matters: metaphysics, spirituality, and so on. Yet there is a fundamental dichotomy, so divisive, in fact, that mutual conversation is barely possible. The New Ager is comprehensible from the Traditional … Continue reading
The next question is “who desires, initiates and brings about the change.” If the world is phenomenon, then the “who” must be outside phenomenon, that is, noumenal, not a “thing”. The “who” is the constant in every act of consciousness, which is in perpetual flux. As such, it is not part of the world, but rather the silent observer of all that is. This is unobservable to scientists, who must necessarily deal with phenomenon. For the philosopher, it can only be an issue for debate, ultimately unresolvable. But for the metaphysician — and this is what distinguishes him from the philosopher — it as a definite and knowable state. In Tradition, this state has been called, inter alia, the Unmoved Mover, the Observer, True Will, or Atman. Continue reading