Obstacles along the way

As we are told in the Asetian Bible, 'the most important goal in life is to devlop the Self', and as we know already, this can be a difficult and lonely journey, which I am sure some here will have experienced on some level.

Invariably, doubts begin to manifest along that journey - usually at points where things appear to be positive - and of course, these barriers are to be expected, and go towards creating that individual and personal path, and catalyst for evolution itself.

It is in overcoming these obstacles that we become closer to the reality of our True Self, and enable ourselves to take steps towards lifting the veil of our forgotten past.

So, I would like to ask, which obstacles have you come up against?
How did you cope with them?
What have you learned from them?
Do you feel that those obstacles were necessary in advancing your understanding, or have they hindered you further?

I appreciate these details may be too persoanl for some to share, but my aim is in finding some correlations/patterns with those primarily studying Asetianism.

There is no growth without adversity.


Maxx

Ahriman speaks . . .

Yes,,,,there was not enough room to put all my names on the birth certificate, But since it was in a Catholic hospital in El Paso, Texas in this life travel, I had plenty of hair on the top of my head to cover the 666. Growing up, my nickname was Damien. I look forward to forming my secret police in this country in the very near future.........and expanding from there.......Look forward to meeting many of you in the future........

Ankhhape, you yourself have created an obstacle in hijacking my thread with a pointless jab at Maxx...Why?

Sorry, perhaps Elendor would so kind as to delete my trivial drivel?

Pardon, also, Mi Lady.......Lucifer begs your forgiveness.

Maxx

Talibah this is a good post, despite the chitchat in between. I am sure that the obstacles along everyone's path, and not just Asetians and Asetianists, are many and incredibly diverse, making it almost impossible to draw a map of possible obstacles. Each has different lessons to learn, just like each has different traits and qualities. However, there is one obstacle that I believe must be common to most Asetians born far from the Family and to all other Asetianists seeking their path to enlightenment. That obstacle is distance. Distance creates a set of other obstacles from within itself, like illusion for example... people being far from other more experienced Asetians will fall in the wrong paths, as part of the learning experience, will in believe the wrong things, will have doubts and see things not as they should be seen. They will fall and fall again until themselves alone and by their own abilities learn to recognize the truth and balance themselves up to the true path. I see that as one true initiation, a slow one, through the overall process of growth and development in life. I find those hidden initiations and mysteries much more deep and important than the bells and whistles that Victor talked about in his post in the Off Topic section. People tend to fantasize magick and metaphysics, driven by what feeds their ego, but the purest of magick, its beauty and mystery, comes from the simpler things, and things that we cannot truly see or show off in a I-can-do-this-and-you-can't-la-la-la-la type of conversation. We are all here to learn and evolve, even the Asetians and the Sethians... so don't believe in people that talk as if they know it all and the others know nothing. Those are the ones that have the most to learn among us all. We all must grow, and the lack of direct answers and guidance by the Asetians serves us a purpose, a purpose that would make us stronger and far more powerful in the end, if what you seek is to serve Aset and the Family.
Let me know what you think, Talibah.

Sorcerers refer to this as 'The Dark Night of the Soul' and it comes with every plateau of learning and each plateau becomes that more difficult to overcome yet that much more rewarding.

True, Ankhape. Though the concept "dark night of the soul" should be credited to San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross), a Catholic priest from medieval Spain. It describes, as you say, the situation of self-doubt and resulting feelings such as emptiness, loneliness, apathy and hopelessness that appear at certain points of "ascension" towards evolution and which must be dealt with becoming stronger every time. Though he was Catholic, he was also quite a follower of secular principles and traditions such as Greek philosophy.

More info here

As to myself, I have experienced this several times. The strongest, darkest one of all was just 2 years ago. Since then, I have been firm on this new Path.

I will elaborate more on this, when I have the time. It is a great question, Talibah.

That's a poem, the phrase is way older than that . . . stop reading Wiki and listen to your elders! LOL

Ankhape, I'm sure you are much more and better informed than me.

I did not find this out on wiki, by the way. I just put down the url as a reference to what I'd said. Yes, it's a poem but it's inspired on the concept you spoke of.

I've taken my time to respond to this, because I didnt want to scribble out a multitude of muddled thoughts, so excuse me if they still sound a little empty and unformed.

Jonathan, I agree completely with what you have said, and whilst distance is a very definite obstacle, I also think that some of the greatest barriers one comes up against reside purly within the individual themself. Their mindset, their wilingness to let go of social conditioning, and to develop the ability to see further beyond the horizon of their own self-imposed limitations, all contribute towards how easily they can stray from a true path, onto a futile one.

We are all well aware of how many forks in the road can be presented to us, and how easily one may at first appear to be more attractive than another, when in fact it leads nowhere. As you rightly say, it is in learning the difference between them, their subtle differences, that allows one walking the path to differentiate between truths and falsehoods.
But it is also my belief, that these obstacles evolve with time, to match the level of the individual, creating harder and harder barriers to navigate.

Syrianeh,

I am only kidding (I wouldn't listen to me if I were you)


Em hotep,
Ankhhape

Em hotep, Ankhhape

I want to comment that without personal struggles and conflict, I would never be a better person. More specifically, I would not be the person I am today and would have been robbed of these experiences had I not persevered. I am glad I challenge myself and continue to look forward. I know so many people that are 'left behind' in the sense that they think their life has reached it's limit. I would like to think my growth is limitless, in the scheme of things.

The first thing I find is that in my coming to terms with the challenges in my life I have separated myself from many. Although I have come to find common interests in others that may not necessarily have any metaphysical interests, it took years to not think so highly of myself or to be so hard on myself. (to be honest, I'm still too hard on myself sometimes)

I coped with these many issues by knowing, undoubtedly, that I could get through them, somehow. I want to be a better person. I want to know the truth. I want to help others. I want to serve a higher purpose. Those are some key, driving motivations that I personally hold.

My life as it stands currently has been struggling with an old personal obstacle, and while it may not have anything to do with the metaphysical it is still important. Such as dating, and love. When you can have what you want, why would you hold back? Because I know that to have what I want, there is a cost, and some times I am not willing to pay that cost. In a most recent case, the potential loss of a friend through using him. I decided to, through my deep longing to have love and romance, ask permission.

I didn't get what I wanted at the time, but I actually did, in a way - I learned to be stronger and better than who I was before.

This post may not be as organized as I would have liked, but it's what came to mind, fresh and clean. I hope it helps and that my sharing of information is useful.

kameetrei wrote:This post may not be as organized as I would have liked, but it's what came to mind, fresh and clean. I hope it helps and that my sharing of information is useful.

No, it was actually a nice post. Very insightful. Thanks for sharing your view.

Em Hotep,

I do not know how old this post is but I wish to comment none the less.

First of all, I would like to say: Jonathan, your original post spoke clearly and deeply to me. I couldn't agree more. Various points you spoke about, I can relate to.

Well, enough wasting time, I will get on to the meat of the discussion. An obstacle that has hindered my growth has been my ego. It has served as a dark and blinding veil before my eyes. Through delusion and self deceit I have allowed myself to become stagnant. However, because of some very good friends, and some strong self reflection, I was able to remove the veil. I can now see clearer than before. Things that did not make sense to me before, were suddenly clarified. I am not saying that I won't have to wrestle with my ego in the future, my journey and struggle has only just started, but I do know that I have taken a step in the right direction.

I agree with you Jonathan entirely but especially when you state that magick isn't just about the bells and whistles. There is a deep beauty in understanding the self, achieving one's goals and surmounting obstacles. I also believe that without this process of realizing who one truly is and understanding the self and dealing with one's own personal demons, one can not TRULY practice magick on a deeper level.

Forgive the rant, but I believe topics like this are jewels in the forum. They serve as anchors to ground those who are blinded by the shine of the 'bells and whistles' of this community.

Good find Neb! Good thread, and I too really enjoyed Jonathans post on the previous page for it is so very truthful and well said. Thanks for opening up and sharing Neb. That happened alot here in the past, but doesn't happen so much now.

Will try to post more here later.

Thank you N, sometimes I just look around the forum for old posts that need a little dusting...

I feel as though I needed to share my thoughts because although talking about metaphysics and magick is important in the forum, it is also important to value the growth of the self. This is a very good topic that can be expanded in time.

That was an honest, bright and generous post and I too thank you for sharing this. It reflects to no small degree my own evolution, and I'm sure others will relate just as well.

It is exactly 2 years since I first opened this thread...how time files!
But I believe it is as relevant today as it was back then, despite how many have come and gone since.

I would like to ask; are your opinions about the obstacles we face still the same? Have any of you even given them much thought? I think it would be interesting to see what we all think about this subject now.

Personally, I believe the obstacles I thought I would come up against - like distance, time and resources - never really presented themselves much. However, I do feel that the true obstacle, discovery of the Self was a far more problematic barrier which I had not given full consideration to.
The fact that honesty and openness is as important as being able to find the right book to read never really occured to me....Do any of you feel the same, and if so, how have you handled this?

I really do believe that honesty and being open about how we feel and how the actions of others affects us is a vitally important part of learning more about ourselves. Introspection is fantastic, if you already have yourself figured out, otherwise input from others is - I think - a welcome addition to whatever your personal studies may be.

I might be wrong, and may be presuming too much with this post, but we are a mature bunch here, and I am certain no one will take offense to what I have said. Certainly, none is intended

I am looking forward to anything anyone wishes to share.

Talibah wrote:Personally, I believe the obstacles I thought I would come up against - like distance, time and resources - never really presented themselves much. However, I do feel that the true obstacle, discovery of the Self was a far more problematic barrier which I had not given full consideration to.
The fact that honesty and openness is as important as being able to find the right book to read never really occured to me....Do any of you feel the same, and if so, how have you handled this?

I really do believe that honesty and being open about how we feel and how the actions of others affects us is a vitally important part of learning more about ourselves.

You made very good points, Talibah. I find the lack of honesty one of the hardest things to deal with, but also one of the most common occurrences. Dishonesty reflects a problem deeper than just lack of character. Sometimes being open about something, especially when it is a subject hard to deal with, may show more accomplishment and balance of the Self than the knowledge of a thousand books or eloquent speeches. Thank you for bringing this up.

Greetings,

I followed this topic since its beginning but I never comment. I'll do it now and i want thank's to Jonathan about posts. It was very good.
I do not think much about obstacles, i think more in constantly improve myself.

The obstacles I have come up against are many. However I feel the biggest ones are the thoughts of wanting to change my life. Wanting to become more, but never really taking action. The other was that my daily life was always getting in the way. So it never seemed like I was putting in enough energy into what I wanted to get out of life and evolve. I got tired of hearing other people say the same as me but nothing big ever really did happen.

At first I did not cope with them. I just kept saying I will do it tomorrow. Then the depression set in and nothing was getting done. I eventually got to a point where I had enough. So, I meditated a lot on the subject then decided to change everything. I went through my whole house 4bed/2bath-5 acres, 3 cars, etc.….And what I ended up with in the end was 2 bags. It’s amazing what is really important in life when you actually decide to go through it. I left all assets, keys, and paperwork on my table and literally walked out the door and ever looked back. (Someone will be happy when they find out it’s all abandon…lol) Got my passport and moved from Arizona to England. I have been here since Feb.

I think some of the things I have learned from this is that no one ever tells you in life that sometimes it’s good to just up and leave! I have learned how life doesn’t have to be so complicated and full of material goods that you don’t need. I have evolved more than I could ever imagine. And couldn’t be happier.

They were definitely necessary in advancing my understanding of life and how to improve on them. It is very hard at times. But the harder it is the more I want to push myself.