what exactly is the process of initiation as it relates to spirituality

someone said that we all must go through a process of initiation. what did he mean?

No idea really...it is a journey not so much a rite of passage......pain is involved at different points but I have never experienced it as an initiation......

Initiation is a tribal ideal, and is possibly severely lacking in today's culture... yes, I believe it is.

I'm not sure of the idea of a spiritual initiation, as you are always spiritual and there is no need to initiate a certain set of tools to deal with the world. And no need for preparation as you are always prepared.

[Baile]

Hi jturk. Initiation is spoken about in a number of esoteric texts. I've read as well that Jesus was performing initiations on his disciples, when he brought Lazarus back from the "dead" for example (brought him back from his initiation trace). I can find you some reading sources if you're interested. What you'll generally find is most will simply say our daily lives are our initiation. That's true to a degree, but from a historical and esoteric perspective, there's more to it than that.

In a formal initiation there is a tacit agreement of dedication, usualy the real dedication preceedes the inititation, initiation being a formalisation between two or a group. In that, one has support of another or a group.

Informaly, i think the basics are the same, an internal dedication, and because it's less formal, the dedication is more genaric, usualy to some self discovery or experience or logic that determines what ones lifeforce will be devoted to. Then there are those who make no consciouse dedication but grow into it by reason of intentional focus.

There are pros and cons to both formal and informal initiation.

take it for what you want, but here is a shaman of the Amazon who was given a mission to come out of the jungle as a spiritual messenger for his tribe.

it's just information. as for myself when i am doing well spiritually i tend to get more psychic and in tune with nature.

now for the information

....I asked the question, "What about their science on planet Earth. They are making the machines,
computers, airplanes and technology?" They said to me, "Well they are learning, because they are still, .
. . The technology on the planet Earth is mentally retarded technology. They think they are civilized.
They think they are on top of the world.” Of course, they don't say this based in pride. One master said to
me "What do you think about what they are doing, the trips to the moon, to Mars?" They say it is a
violation of the cosmic law. They said that when a society grows in the spiritual culture, as they grow in
the initiation, the keys are given, the secrets to make their own cosmic ships, but that technology is only
to be learned in the spiritual culture. To make interplanetary trips is totally holy, totally sacred. In that
way we will travel, everybody can travel in the universe. But to travel by only being a mentalist, and
using only the intellectual level is a little bit dangerous, they say. So it is a violation of the cosmic law....

...Anytime if they want, they can take over the planet Earth. They don't do it, because if they do, they will
lose their initiation. Why would they lose their initiation? It would be violating the law of free will. We
can fight all these wars between countries and ourselves, or use atomic bombs. This is our free will. This
is our reality. We cannot complain, because we want the easy life, not meditating, not practicing the
spiritual culture. If someone wants to dominate first the material world before the spirit, it doesn't work.
We need to be spiritual first, then dominate the material. So this is the way they work to dominate
nature....

...Darwin says we are descendants of the monkey, but in the Inca culture we say the monkeys are the
descendants of man. Because of the ego the monkey lost their faculty and power. They have a smaller
head, smaller brain, big hands, full of hair. They are degenerated man. The monkeys are the guardians of
the inferior dimensions. There is an initiation to go through here too, to eliminate, to kill the monkey
part of the self, and not to be a monkey...

...If we have poor people, it is because we are also poor spiritually. In the ancient times Inca Wiracocha said,
"We prefer to be rich spiritually. That is our riches.” To be rich with the Father/Mother God is the only
capital there is to get into the superior world. That's very important. To be rich in the spiritual path, we need
to do lots of work with the initiation to ascend so as we work we ascend. As we ascend, everything is given.
Everything is given. Do not worry if you are poor. Often it is good to be poor materially, because we can get
more reflection, more meditation, more reflection, more ascension, more enlightenment....

....We don't need to be Masters to teach. We don't need to be perfect to share and teach others. When we already
understand a little bit, we can teach others, we can be already an example. We can be sharing the little that
we know. That's good work, and what the Masters count. As we pay all our karma, Dharma is the result.
Everything is given back. There are two kinds of Dharma, spiritual and material. With material Dharma you
get money. You get a good job. The universe gives you all the material things, which is also good. However,
the best for the Masters is the spiritual Dharma, the ascension, the initiation in the great mysteries to become
Masters. The biggest heritage we can take from one to another lifetime is the wisdom of the Father and
Mother, love of the Mother. Not even the Gods take can that away from us. When we die, we can lose the
house, maybe we lose the auto, we can lose many things, even our spouses and children, whom we love so
much. Still, we don't lose the wisdom of the Father and the Mother, love, because that continues to the next
lifetime, growing bigger and bigger. This is very important to know, to grow with the good work. So the
karma is negotiable now. We are learning how to negotiate that karma....

there's more but meh if you want it i'll post er for ya.

basically, the more you grow in Love and awareness and proving your purity of heart, the more that you are trusted with spiritual knowledge and thus you are given knowledge someway, somehow. it is said not to ask for too much knowledge for once you do and receive it, it's required by spiritual law to practice and never forget the lessons from that day forth.

anywho just my two cents