Traditionalism as a Way of Life

Initiating the Process of Initiation

Written in honor of the passing of Charles (Cologero) Salvo this date two years ago, and to his honorable legacy and life.

Introduction

“To know and not to do is not to know” - Wang Yangming

When we speak of one who is a Traditionalist, does this mean just one who intellectually upholds values rooted in tradition, and who investigates religions and symbolism from such a framework – or is a certain manner of being and practice included in this term as well? If it is merely a theory and tool for the use of academics in the department of religious-studies then have we not only circumscribed the definition of the “Guenonian Scholastic” which Evola critiqued? If it followed though that the only “Action” or “Praxis” to be involved for the Traditionalist is left to the political ground one would have a hard time explaining the “riding of the tiger” of Evola as a solution in the time of Modernity, and it also wouldn’t leave room for the cultivation, purification, and elevation of the soul – which is the true meaning of initiation and the inner sciences found in the varying forms of Traditional Civilization. That such “Action” as described by Traditionalism relates to initiation and the soul will now be explored in different manners in which this path can be journeyed for any of those who feel called (and who seek escape from the mindset of Modernity, by rising above it). While all of the practices to follow will be ones that can be found in different forms of Tradition, the expositors of these practices will sometimes be figures from the broader Hermetic current – both since this is the “Form” in which Guenon was trained before his discovery of the Vedanta, but also due to Evola’s positive engagement with the “Current” of Hermeticism (especially as is seen in his writings for the UR Group).

Self-Knowledge

The first method for the one pursuing initiation and a life in accordance with the ways of Tradition is that of “Self-Knowledge”. Besides just being the famous Delphic Maxim of “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν”, this is truly one of the pillars of traditional knowledge along with being the place from which one begins. If one does not understand their own character, temperament, patterns-of-thought, and actions then one will not know if they are making progress in purifying their soul, and they will also be living in a state of “sleep” or “mechanical-ness”. When one is beginning the process of learning about themselves the advice of the figure Gurdjieff is of great value in this topic, especially in how he distinguishes the difference between “self-observation” (which are atomic observations done as a “constatation” or the doubling of attention to the object of thought and the consciousness of oneself) from “self-remembering” (which is a brief moment of mode of consciousness caused from repeated and habitual self-observation, or in circumstances of a unique character which can “shock” one into such a state for a brief moment). For learning in-depth the differences between these two I highly recommend the videos of Richard Ruach on Self-Observation and Self-Remembering, and which he conveys in an insightful and equally comedic manner which is characteristic of his channel and material. In addition to the practice of self-observation – which is especially useful when noticing patterns in one’s thoughts, to see what event or action causes a particular thought or “thought-loop” to emerge in one’s mind – the systematic studying of one’s actions and habits with these being written down into a book (as is suggested by Franz Bardon as the making of two “soul mirrors”) is of particular use in seeing the predominant faults and virtues of the soul and then working specifically on the weaknesses by trying to remedy or rectify them.

Reflecting the Logos - or, Living-Thinking

In addition to the advice we have received from Gurdjieff the next step we should add is in learning how to think in a manner which is “living” or what can also be called the Hermetic practice of Contemplation. The easiest (and safest) way to begin with this step is to follow Rudolf Steiner’s Six Basic Exercises (which were the foundation upon which his Spiritual Science was established upon, with all other spiritual exercises and advice being supplemental or in addition to these six). The first of the Basic Exercises is the concentration upon a simple man-made object such as a pencil, pen, button, or something similar for a period of 5 minutes (to begin with). In this exercise one is only allowed to concentrate and think about this object, and in thinking about it one’s thoughts must be “ordered” in how one thinks on the topic – to have a familiarity with Goethe’s writings on Morphology helps, since in such an exercise one is creating a “morphology” or is seeking to get to the “Urphänomen” of the object by going through in one’s mind the various “categories of thought” which could relate to the object such as the; matter, form, the inventor, the reason for the object’s existence, how it was made, how the materials for the object were acquired, the impact of the object on history, and etc. The person who goes through these questions in an ordered manner and not randomly, is learning how to concentrate properly, and with further practice one will even be able to notice the “flow” of one’s thinking, especially when one reverses the order of the thinking and reviews all which was thought during the time of contemplation while still in this state of observing the “flow” of thinking (this awareness of the “flow” of thought is a necessity to pick up in this exercise and will only be further strengthened with the other 5 exercises and further work on this one). When one starts to discover “depth” to this “flow” of thinking one is learning directly about the “living-thought” which Evola’s friend Massimo Scaligero wrote about, such a “living-thought” is also in Scaligero’s view the inner meaning of Steiner’s work The Philosophy of Freedom and such an experience of this “living-thought” can be had by reading that work with the same level of attention and concentration which one gives to the 1st exercise itself. After the first month of this exercise one is then to move on to the next exercise which is focused on strengthening the will, the month after that one follows with one focused on the “feeling” of the soul, and the three to follow in the next three months relate to harmonizing these three faculties/powers of the soul (thinking, willing, and feeling) together in an organic manner. Evola himself gives a commentary on the 6 exercises in the 3rd volume of the writings of the UR Group, which is helpful for the Traditionalist seeking Evola’s understanding of these exercises and why he saw them as being foundational for any initiatic practice.

The Intentional Use of Time

The next step and one which is closely related to the first of self-knowledge, is the conscious use and awareness of one’s time. Alongside viewing Time itself as being a providential gift given by God (as Marcus Aurelius described it) or even viewing Time as something along the lines of an “Suspension-of-Eternity” (as how the great Catholic-theosopher Franz von Baader understood it), the main focus of this section is learning to review and modify our own use of time. A nightly review of our day is an important practice which most initiatory schools require (and if this is done “backwards” chronologically instead of forwards this would also be following the recommendations of Steiner, since such a use of the reversed nightly examen would allow better for the feel of the “flow” of thinking when examining one’s day). With repeated use of this practice we learn to see in what ways we waste time, make proper use of time, and also hone our ability to act in the future in a manner which is aware and not “asleep” or just “going through the motions” (which is how we can fall into patterns of having our days become something of a “loop” with them all being repetitions and with no Providence breaking in through such automatism and thoughtlessness). Alongside examining one’s actions at the end of the day, making a plan for the next day (with both things to commit to action, things to omit, and obstacles which may occur tomorrow and how you will overcome then) one can also expand the practice of the review by adding in a “weekly review” at the end of the week, a monthly one, and even a yearly one if so desired. If one is working on a particular virtue or is trying to overcome a certain vice the adoption of a practice like the “particular examen”, as was popularized by St. Ignatius of Loyola, would also be of benefit and would be a brief midday review of all one’s action in regards to the virtue or vice in question in particular, in addition to one’s more thorough review at night (and which covers all the other vices/virtues, since this one wouldn’t be narrowed in on eliminating/enhancing one). One can also create a greater connection to the rhythms of time if they observe such a thing as a liturgical calendar, along with celebrating the events and patrons of each day, month, and season for one’s religion or tradition, along with spending time observing the change in the physical environment with these cycles and reflecting upon how these relate to the person or event being celebrated in this moment of time. This would be how one practically takes awareness of and lives what would be such a thing as the Traditionalist notion of Time and its cycles.

The Presence-ing of Being

Finally we come to the practice which encapsulates the basic initiatory practices, this is summed up in the idea of “concentration-without-effort” or of “turning-work-into-play”. In this practice – which is a hermetic form of meditation – one learns to contemplate upon a symbol, idea, or text. In this meditation one finds the place in which action and passivity converge, or what is a “active-passivity” as the higher synthesis of the two (and not merely the concatenation of the two as separate). A practice one can perform for this is in the observation of a set of ikons while being aware of the presence of those represented, and while silently observing from around 20-60 mins (one can do less or more, but this timezone is a normal amount for a lot of followers of this activity), when observing one is praying a short prayer like the Lord’s Prayer or Jesus Prayer, and they breath in a natural manner (not in a controlled manner such as “box breathing” for a count of 4). This activity is formulated in its broad principles of “concentration-without-effort” in the writings of Valentin Tomberg, while the specifics and finer details of this has been brilliantly detailed and explained by the Christian Hermeticist and online personality of Scott Mannion. If one doesn’t have ikons such a similar practice can be done with a drawn dot on a wall and other similar exercises which can be found even in more normative initiatic schools. After one has practiced this for a bit and starts to experience some of the phenomenology relating to such a rectification of the soul and its faculties, one can then perform such a practice upon a passage of a holy text in one’s mind (such as the opening of Genesis, Ezekiel’s Vision, the Gospels, or even the Apocalypse — detail regarding meditation on these can be found in the works of Paul Sédir) or upon a symbol or idea that is explored by those involved in such Hermetic matters (such as John Michael Greer’s description of how one could go through the Tree of Life in an systematic manner in one’s time of meditation in his Paths of Wisdom work). When meditating in this manner one is seeking to do so in a manner which explores the “Depth” of the subject, and not to analyze in a merely cursory or “Broad” manner that happens to remain to the surface-level or rational understanding of the subject. During such a time, since one will be trained in the phenomenology of silence by this point, one will be able to “pick-up” on what such symbols and Being speaks or presences to your soul, since one isn’t viewing the symbol or even the world as just one of dead objects.

Conclusion and Final Suggestions

It has now been explored what “Praxis” or “Action” would be for one who is seeking to live in a manner which is in accordance with Tradition. While this hasn’t been an exhaustive list of every type of spiritual exercise, practice, or method which could be followed – it has at least been a brief introduction to some primary ones to set a person down such a road if they hadn’t known of these ways previously. By introducing one to these “categories of lived-tradition” one will be able to pick-up and spot further ones in other texts and authors once they start to practice these and have habits of them formed in the soul. These practices shouldn’t be seen as a “religion unto themselves” or as supplanting and abrogating the exoteric forms of religion, instead these should work in harmony with them for those practice them, in addition to seeking a life of virtue. The esoteric in addition to being the interior of exoteric religion, is also the “Depth” that exotericism itself serves as a protector and guardian of. Those who seek to remove the veils of exotericism to “bask” under the solar rays of a purely esoteric religion may wish to take Henry Corbin’s warning to heart that esotericism, when removed from it’s exotericism, ends up becoming its own form of exotericism. I pray that such an introduction to these practices has been of use to any readers, regardless of their novicedom or mastery of these practices, and that this helps serve the purpose of showing Traditionalism as a “Way of Life” (albeit in a higher manner than even Pierre Hadot conceived possible in his view of Philosophy), and may show how this may be done even those now and without a school or group to join and who seek such a path of the inner way.