Desire and the Inner Quest

[yezida]

[More from my ongoing project]

People write to me periodically about the problems in their communities with people wanting initiation into this or that, and there not being enough initiates to go around. I wrote a whole article for Thorn Magazine (no relation!) on this subject regarding the opening of the Mystery in all of its variety and glory.

Comments

Validation

[ext_209052]

While I don't think it is necessary to have outside validation, there may be times it is called for. But I agree wholeheartedly that there is a big "now what" after it is achieved. It may all be a game of balance. I would rather fly with a pilot who has his license than one who has not achieved his or her license. I think each of these should be taken on a case by case basis perhaps. Sorry just thinking aloud!

[elflet]

Interestingly, this article What Makes a Great Teacher? says the same thing from a different point of view:

Superstar teachers had four other tendencies in common: they avidly recruited students and their families into the process; they maintained focus, ensuring that everything they did contributed to student learning; they planned exhaustively and purposefully-for the next day or the year ahead-by working backward from the desired outcome; and they worked relentlessly, refusing to surrender to the combined menaces of poverty, bureaucracy, and budgetary shortfalls.

These teachers are making positive changes in people's lives. It makes me want to be that kind of dedicated teacher for myself (first) and then for others.

[yezida]

I look forward to reading the article. Thanks!

[swansister]

My love of learning has led me to pursue my bachelor's degree. I just love learning about new things. This desire to learn is also the greatest impetus for my spiritual endeavors.

Every since I can remember, I have wanted to learn! My favorite toy as a child was actually my books.

[psy]

A couple years of my life and a lot of money went into grad school. And in the year and a half since I've finished, I can truly say that the benefits I have received that I can directly track back to that experience have paid for it several times over. Not just the degree. Not just the validation. But the experience itself. It was deeply satisfying and pushed me. I'm pondering more school... I don't care much about the validation at this point. But I also wouldn't turn it down

[yezida]

I'd be interested to hear what you think about my article in Thorn magazine...

Am stuck in an airport right now. Will see if I have the internal bandwidth to tackle your question later. It is complex.

Ins and Outs

[psy]

What is initiation? I think there's more than one way to consider it. Most of the conversation seems oriented towards a ritual - a culminating ceremony by which a community recognizes an individual as "one of us"... and so they do act as "Credentials." Take the typical graduation ceremony. It's an "outer" thing, and it has a place in communities. It says that the individual is bound to a set of expectations, a contract if you will - purporting that those initiated share a common body of knowledge

[chemalfait]

here's what it is, here's what it means:
http://yezida.livejournal.com/216363.html
Initiation isn't like a degree or certificate, it's about a commitment.
Pure and simple it is a statement of will and intent. It is a personal commitment made to oneself before the gods, ancestors, and initiator.
It should be more than just a blip, or a blurb.
Thorns poem illustrates it beautifully.

[morrigandaughtr]

My education has taken a very different tack than I originally thought it would. When I was younger, I thought I wanted a college degree but it turns out that for my chosen vocation the better education has not involved college at all.

It's interesting how much of my original desire was about validation (99%). Faced with validation versus practical process, though, I think I made the right choice.