C. Agrippa here adds the following instructions, copied from Boethius:—”The guides on the road to perfection are Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the means to attain this object are Purity, Temperance, Self-control, Chastity, Tranquility of Mind, Contemplation, Adoration (Ecstasy), Aspiration, and Virtue.”
Franz Hartmann, In The Pronaos of The Temple of Wisdom
The reason should transcend every interest of the body and its desires; it should seek to know the universe through contemplation and abstraction, as it is to the mind, not just as man might perceive it through the senses alone.
Ralph M Lewis, The Conscious Interlude
Sabazius has posted a particular story of Thelema and Prison Ministry over on his blog at “DRW” which may be of interest.
“While in prison awaiting his eventual execution, Wallace turned to contemplation of his crimes and their ramifications, and, as a result, began to study philosophy. His studies led him to Thelema, and this led him to begin corresponding with O.T.O. some time around 1997 e.v., or a bit before. He was a prolific, avid correspondent. He corresponded with one of our E.G.C. bishops on a regular basis for many years, and later also corresponded with a number of other volunteers in our Prison Ministry program. In his correspondence, he proved to be a highly intelligent, literate, articulate, and perceptive individual, who identified himself as a Thelemite and felt changed by his acceptance of the Law of Thelema. In his correspondence, as well as in an interview before his execution, he acknowledged full personal responsibility for his crimes, and expressed remorse over having committed them.” [via]
The Deeper Symbolism of Freemasonry from The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst.
“Upon self-scrutiny, too, i.e., upon entering into that ‘porchway’ of contemplation which like a winding staircase leads inward to the Holy of Holies within himself, he realizes that difficulties and obstacles placed in his way are utilised by the Eternal Wisdom as the necessary means of developing the latent and potential good in him, and that as the rough ashlar can only be squared and perfected by chipping and polishing, so he also can be made perfect only by toil and by suffering.” [via]
The Deeper Symbolism of Freemasonry from The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst.
“After purification come contemplation and enlightenment, which are the special subjects of the second degree. Aforetime the candidate for the Mysteries, after protracted discipline and purification enabling his mind to acquire complete control over his passions and his lower physical nature, was advanced, as he may advance himself to-day, to the study of his more interior faculties, to understand the science of the human soul, and to trace these faculties in their development from their elementary stage until he realizes that they connect with, and terminate in, the Divine itself. The secrets of his mental nature and the principles of intellectual life became at this stage gradually unfolded to his view.” [via]