Critical Thinking & Standards in the Occult

Em Hotep, friends and readers... 

(A text of critical thinking, different camps of the occult scene, and standards to that very same scene...) 

The occult scene is in various respects, in so far as that a very public approach is taken, greatly nuanced but with many pitfalls of misunderstanding, weakening teachings of erroneous pretenses to wisdom, that can usurp the unquestioning intellect of the adherent into a frivolous cesspool of false teachers and approval seeking followers that vie for attention, both alike in that respect. Slaves of ego posing as masters of enlightenment and victims of lesser agendas falling prey by enslaving themselves to ego and weakness but sometimes also to the more misguiding influence of predatory teachers...

On one end we have the fluffs of the occult, promulgating their basic and superfluous teachings, promoting it as being of occult genius, while on the other end we have the powerless and magickally devoid filth of cultish groups that seek the exploitation and manipulation of its followers by a severely lost spark and having fallen prey to their own delusions of grandeur. In between this range is found a lost horde of misguided individuals that don't critically think for themselves, either too weak or inept to follow through with a singular self-generated thought in all actuality, though they might believe themselves to be original and authentic in their automated behavior of being included in the reactive herd. In such cases - responding to tides of influences outside of themselves with a blindness of memetic stupidity and the worship of false authorities festering its rot within their unthinking brains and non-critical judgement, and being swayed by their likes, dislikes, moods and whims, controlled by foreign programming of a society in spiritual decay and a culture in shambles of lost principles - it speaks for the charade of an unfortunately large portion of the contemporary public occult scene that's forgotten to venerate its very own essence as cherishing its sacredness upon the altar of spiritual liberation and a selfless observation of nature in its tides flowing unseen in between realms, but that has now been defiled upon the corruption of desired power in the appeal of status and an undeserved following; ego taking a hold of the show and running its pitiful business of superficiality and grave misunderstanding. 

However, this grim and depressing view of lost ignorance by far does not comprise the entirety of the occult scene, as this is merely one axis of the equation that also contains another axis in a counterbalancing and more evolved, necessary reality. While this was showcasing two undesirable extremes in between how ignorance manifests itself, from innocent and unaware to self-inflicted and predatory, the new one we'll introduce is an axis of the honesty and enlightenment of the genuine seeker of the mysteries. On one end we have the honest and humble beginnings of a sincere and sufficiently aware student while on the other end we have the rewards reaped from such a student's most dedicated efforts, study, patience and commitment. 

There's a factor involved in both of these axes that can determine the trajectory of either, to potentially turn one from the other, being the critical thinking aspect of the student or seeker in general; the ability to discern truth from falsehood, questioning claims and statements, evaluating their sources as well as their different reasons for being made - their why's and how's - but, so, also knowing what is the deeper reality behind its veils of illusion. That critical thinking and discernment in general is certainly a necessary tool in the arsenal of any educated student, inside or outside of occultism; but so much more relevant and necessary in the occult domain that hides such unforeseen dangers of various pitfalls posing themselves to the minds, psyches and lives of individuals, not just within but outside as well - and from there being able to sow its seeds of corruption to one's garden of thusly hindered growth if such note of caution is left unheeded and one is not careful enough to think and act with judicious discernment, adequate sensitivity and keen awareness. 

This, actually, by a little jump of purpose as to the discussion of standards in the occult scene, leads us on to this next point and toward such notions that anyone, irrespective of who they are, can just publish an occult work of relevance by appearing on the occult scene and making bold claims, which are utterly flawed and unreasonable but believable by sadly too many in the first axis of the two aforementioned, namely that of ignorance. There's an apparently growing, yet unspoken, and perhaps not always so openly recognized, need in this scene of the occult for there to be a sort of standard as to any would-be published occult work, discerned by the knowledge and awareness of educated and wise practitioners bearing a culture of higher occultism, in absolute freedom but also in open critique and polemics, as this boils down to a thoroughly shared effort of amelioration, under which fire dishonest or undefendable works, in any honest sense of the word, perish to the burning flames of a genuine scrutiny of truth and from its ashes rises the phoenix of a higher occult culture. This, rather than blindly and unquestioningly lauding false teachers on the pretense of their wisdom without any judgment of real or experienced insight and leaving them unchallenged which can drown so many in the gravely muddied waters of ignorance, not the least of which would be themselves but also others in a surrounding effect, to the muddied sea bottoms of stagnation and spiritual decay. So, rather then, that withholding idol worship and blind praise to the cautious effect of a critical appraisal and enacting of self-questioning to the effect of making up for a missed understanding or lack of seeing would be to a greater benefit in the way of critical discernment, the edification of an authentic path of wisdom and a more responsible avenue of promotion to those who're genuine in their works and truthfully of a distinct higher quality that should epitomize the occult, instead of directing that promotion to the vain worms of attention-seeking, money-grabbing and dishonest schemes that have unfortunately become so popular on the occult scene today and posing as the real deal while delivering no solid proof of enlightenment but their very own wishful thinking, ego and deceit... 

Tread carefully on this journey and see by the lucidity of awareness in a self-questioning and generally questioning spirit of curiosity, in learning and growth, in wisdom and understanding... for these are in part and parcel among the first and foremost essential hallmarks of a student of the mysteries or an initiate seeking the cosmic path under the stars and the fire to light the night in the flames of illumination...