The Adept
The most radical and far-reaching experiences and techniques to practice which lead one towards liberation can be found in magical training. It is the reason why many magical traditions end up being so obscurantist and pedantic - some people find the discovery of the magical world-view to be such a shock to their habitual perceptions that they immediately set about crafting security blankets of belief, traditions and other systems of denial. Unless they become Buddhists - in which case the only way forward is to learn to deal with the new insights and emotions.
The magical adept thus becomes a threat to most magical orders, traditions and religions because they can see what everyone else is missing. They can see the imposture of priesthoods and of politicians and of the so-called gurus and their cults.
The adept cares nothing for hierarchies for their own sake. She cares little for positions of leadership or social power, unless such ephemera can further the goal of showing other individuals how to become adepts in their right. And in such cases, the game of leadership is played only to show others the nature of that game and its true purpose (if such can be said to exist).
The difference between an adept and someone else is that the adept recognizes their situations as being to a large degree chosen. You can be sure that, whether rich or poor, religious or not, hedonistic or ascetic; or any combination - the adept is there by choice. This last statement is a useful criterion by which to judge a magical adept from a magical-oriented person or student. Also, some magical or "occult" people reach a certain point, then stop growing. The adept is always growing, learning, studying and practicing awareness.
It doesn't matter whether anyone else recognizes the adept as such, unless the adept herself feels such recognition could only further her aims. The adept is immune from the neurotic wounds caused by chasing after either negation or validation. The adept validates her own existence if she should feel it necessary - since existence is its own validation.
Fluidity and relativity is the track that the adept operates from. Those two things become the recognition of the way existence unfolds itself. Adepts can be found everywhere, if one chooses to look for them; but among a crowd, an adept will be indistinguishable from anyone else, unless of course they choose to be distinctive.
-Irreverend Hugh, KSC
Spokesperson for the Justified Ancients of Mummu
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