Initiation from Problems on the Path of Return by Mark Stavish, M.A. in Vol 3 No 1 of Caduceus.

“In our ‘becoming’ the alchemists claim, we realize that we are in many ways self-created beings. Much of what we do, are, and experience, we are directly or indirectly responsible for, despite our cries to the contrary. We are as the golden adepts say, a ‘son of his works’.” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “The effects of pathworking are to greater or lesser degree well documented. Once the basic concepts of what each sphere represents in terms of psychological elements on the Tree of Life is understood, then the links which they form are realized either through ritual, mythological metaphor, meditation, or a combination of the above. However, in the rush to realize magical powers, altered states of awareness, celestial beings, and interior worlds, one of the most significant and important facts of pathworking and all magical work in general is often overlooked.”
  2. “The works of the Italian Renaissance hermeticist Marsilio Ficino are of immense value, in that they bridge the gap between psychology and magic to a great degree. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to obtain, and deal with a style of kabbalah stylistically different from the more famous modern schools, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and its off-shoots. Some of Ficino’s insights will be considered as well.”
  3. “However, as Ferrucci states, journeys into the Inner Worlds are not without their own dangers, even into the higher ones. ‘Intense spiritual stimulation may bring inspirations, but may also penetrate directly into the lower conscious, where it throws light on and excites demons, instinctual energies, forgotten memories, and so on. These then tend to rise to consciousness, causing all sorts of trouble to the surprised conscious personality. When the demons are thus aroused, the contrast between different sides of our nature is felt with particular intensity.'”
  4. “As the self (created by the world and our response to it) is progressively undone and reconstructed so that it may identify to greater degrees of efficiency with the Self, conflicts arise and are resolved. When Self and self become, even if momentarily, a functioning conscious unit, then the opportunity for even greater influx of Light, Life, and Love come through turning our attention to the realms of the super conscious (Keter). This however, would constitute the Work of the Paths above Tiphareth, and the 13th Path in particular, as part of the Middle Pillar exercise.”
  5. “The fundamental premise behind Psychosynthesis is that we must first construct, purify, and then surrender our sense of self (ego) if we are to realize our spiritual nature as expressed in transpersonal and humanistic psychology. We posses within us several overlapping and interpenetrating fields of awareness.”