Initiation is the process that marks the unfolding of the stages of Self-realization. It is an awakening by degrees to the full blossoming of our true nature. As we travel along, we outgrow the way we were, die to the old, and come into a more authentic or enlightened state. And most assuredly, there will always be resistance and various signs of discomfort at the onset of every new level.

Letting go of the familiar is a threatening ordeal for most members of our species that calls for surrender and a willingness to live for a while in the void. Students of Initiation refer to this as “hanging in the dangle.” Admittedly, this is never a comfortable state of being. Initiation is the constant process of synthesizing the knowledge of our human experience with our inherent divine wisdom, which brings us a calm sense of knowing. Every time we take an Initiation, which only occurs in one’s psyche, we will see life from a wider, more realistic point of view.

As we grow through stages of Initiation, we “age” in wisdom and maturity. This maturation will never come to us by simply memorizing dogma and creeds; it is an arduous experiential willed endeavor that requires years of committed exploratory effort. As we undergo these stages of awakening, we develop a continuity of consciousness, and the rewards are great.

This self-willed process begins when we start wondering, “Who am I?” “Where do I come from?” or “What is the meaning of my life?” “What is the purpose of Humanity?” “What is our ultimate goal?” We deepen beyond the ordinary way of living and stand at the time-honored doorway to the Fifth Kingdom in Nature, the Archetypal Kingdom where our identity shifts from believing we are “just human,” to knowing we are unique embodied spiritual souls. And these awakening souls, the Gnostics believed, are that convocation Jesus recognized, mentioned in the original New Testament, who bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.