Spirit

It is often stated on our website that our school puts the greatest emphasis on actual practice and direct experience, instead of simply theoretical knowledge and the development of opinion. In the divine science of theurgy there is much to learn and study, it is true; but in the end, only direct experience can ever serve as the vehicle which carries the aspirant towards God. In order to create the proper conditions required to cause these experiences, spiritual practice (called “askesis”) is required.
Ideally, spiritual practices should be learned directly from a teacher who has accepted you as a student. Therefore, we must always strongly encourage our readers to seek tutelage under the guidance of an instructor, even if that guidance is not with us. No general course of instruction or list of techniques, no matter how great or thorough, is ever a replacement for a living teacher who can observe the progress of the student with spiritual eyes and the wisdom of personal experience. Even the basic course of practice to be given in this article is only a cornerstone, rough and unspecific. It is general enough that, for the majority of readers, it should work sufficiently. Each practice given here is foundational, and must be practiced in some form or another in any legitimate spiritual path. None the less there will be some who find it very difficult to pursue and maintain even so simple a routine without the direct guidance of a teacher.
The purpose of this article is not to replace a teacher. The purpose, instead, is to provide the reader with a beginning practice routine that will introduce him to the concept of daily meditation, and familiarize himself with the practices which are essential to any true path. That way, whether the reader should decide to pursue theurgy or some other system, the experience gained from these practices will assist him in producing results wherever he may go. In other words, these practices do not replace a