Reflections on the journey.

The past few days I have found myself questioning "how I got here." After a lot of deep soul searching and personal recognition I have come to the conclusion that we are each given specific variables in life that we must identify and engage. As we engage them we understand them, as we understand them we concur them. How did I get here? A lot of damn hard work and dedication to MYSELF. The second we stop serving ourselves is the moment that we give away our right to sovereignty.

Truth be told I was not expecting by any means to have the life I have now. When I look back at my life I remember believing that I knew myself, my motivations, my drives, but in retrospect I was just as lost and confused as everyone else. I believe I am fortunate to have learned what to date has been the most valuable lesson yet- Trying to understand how the outer world works is a million times more difficult than understanding how I work. Primarily because the outer world is always shifting, always changing. Once I was able to take a step back from the rat race and look inside I was able to understand how I (key word) fit into the world around me, or should I say how the world around me fit into my own inner world. When I figured that out I was able to consciously influence the world around me, even more importantly I was able to do this from a place of authority.

I believe the big theme is gnosis. We all have a personal gnosis even if we do not understand it and it's variables. The trick in life, especially in becoming empowered ,is to define and establish our own gnosis. In my religion we believe that the establishment of personal gnosis is the first act in the evolution of our souls. We believe that if we stop looking through the chaos of the outer world and begin searching through the inner variables we can find not only our own sense of self, but the divine spark which makes us... well God.

We have this habit of placing others above ourselves, and this is seen especially in religious dogma. God, then Guru, then myself, or God, then Shepherd, then flock. By the acceptance of this very pre- established gnosis we are giving our authority away. How did Jesus become JESUS? How did the Guru become the Guru? How did the ascended master become an ascended master? They established their own gnosis. They looked at their tools owned them. They looked within and applied these tools, and in doing so redefined the terms in which they worked, they developed new tools and then shared those with whoever may stumble into the room with a willing ear.

In The Living Temple of Diana we approach every situation as if it were an opportunity to discover a part of ourselves that was previously uncharted territory. We create the rules for our own existence, understanding actions have consequences. Sometimes these rules are in direct conflict with the cultural norm, or sometimes these rules are in conflict with current beliefs. But when we engage them, study them, and redefine them we are creating a base for ourselves that creates our own gnosis.

Gnosis = Knowledge, and knowledge is power. To quote Gloria Steinem, "Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself." We must always choose to seek our own knowledge, because then we are discovering our own power. This power can never truly be shared as it is unique to us, but we are able to search for this together and help others explore the tools to discover the power within themselves. (i.e. We can not GIVE power (gnosis), but can only facilitate the cultivation of it in others.)

To bring this back full circle- The road to power is the road to self exploration which must never be taken for granted. As we search the inner realms of consciousness, subconsciousness, and id we become aware of pieces of us that we never knew were there until that moment. Within that moment we seize our power. This can be applied to any portion of our lives be it in love, career, or school. After the discovery of the unknown we discover the known, and like God Herself ( The Goddess ) it was within the whole time. Inner exploration lends to the ability of the individual to discover a personal gnosis that allows one, when engaged, to become just as powerful as God, ultimately making us Gods ourselves.

As in Valiente's Charge of The Goddess- "If that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without...."

Life may never lead us to where we thought it would. In my case life took me to places that rendered me with the ability to know myself in ways that I previously never thought possible. I know that I grew from being a dis-empowered boy from rural Brown County, Ohio to a strong man with a solid understanding of my own potential. No one can give me that, I had to discover it.