The Law of Acceptance

Accepting that you have the power to make yourself more physically, psychologically and spiritually strong.

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment of a twelve part series on the training of the Octagon Society, Order of Spiritual Alchemy. Previously we have discussed the three preliminary laws, to get at and excise the detritus of trauma etc in preparation for the preliminary laws. The Law of Acceptance is the first of eight primary Laws, to get about the work of intentionally building the life you want, of strengthening the self and opening up and expanding consciousness. Links to the previous installments can be found at the end.

A quick primer on the background, as there are a lot of new subscribers since I started this series. Spiritual Alchemy is the turning of the dross of trauma, the proverbial lead of emotional and spiritual damage, into the gold of emotional, psychological and spiritual strength. The Octagon Society is officially about 150 years old, anecdotally about 600 years old, but it was defunct for the better part of the last couple of decades until it was brought back to life by John Michael Greer. The number of members world wide would not fill a small meeting hall; there has not been a gathering of members in living memory. There are no dues, people are asked to pay $80 when they finish the training. You are then considered a spiritual alchemist as long as you continue to do the work of spiritual alchemy. There are a handful of people, the guardian counsel, who manage the non-profit, but no one is paid. As spiritual training goes, Spiritual Alchemy is a bit like intense self-psychoanalysis, according to Greer some of the most challenging work he has ever done, as well as some of the most rewarding. I am the Chief Guardian of the Octagon Society.

The Law of Acceptance is the beginning of the primary laws of the Octagon Society training. Previously we have discussed the preliminary laws of Blame, Shame and Guilt. The preliminary laws are designed to burn away the lingering effect of emotional and psychological damage that has been holding you back from the life you want, holding you back from recognizing that you have more power than you know, designed to open one up to the fact that one’s life can be changed intentionally for the better. All that is required from this point is that you are aware you can change, that you intend to change and that you believe in yourself.

The first point of the Law of Acceptance is to accept that a bad thing(s) has happened to you. That seems self evident, how could we not be aware that a bad thing happened to us? But think about covid policy, how many people have come to recognize how very damaging and pathological the policy response was - masks, lock-down, worse than useless experimental jabs mandated - and yet the vast majority of people want to move on, not think about it, pretend almost as if it didn’t happen, as if that will restore “normality.” But abusers don’t stop abusing, most likely, the more they get away with it the more abusive they become. America is acting like if we just ignore the abuse it won’t happen again. Covid policy did not end, it opened the floodgates to experimental mRNA manipulation for every illness under the sun. It entrenched a bureaucracy dedicated to nothing else but censoring free speech. The World Health Organization is secretly attempting a global power grab, to centralize pathological pandemic mandate-power, with the consent of a great many people in American officialdom. The corollary of this is, in the abused, is acting like the abuse is not abuse at all. There are no shortage of covidians who still act as if covid is lurking around any corner indoor or out, like we all should resume covid protocols to make them feel safe, or in the case of Professional/Managerial management, making them feel powerful - as if the answer to technocratic abuse is to give technocrats more power.

As above, so below. As in the macro, so in the micro. America has a psychology and a spirituality in the macro like each citizen in the micro.

The Law of Acceptance dictates, we can only heal from the harm if we fully acknowledge we were harmed and the abuser or abuse is still a problem. Accepting that we have been harmed does not in any way mean the abuser is absolved, it simply means we open our eyes to the harm, the detail of it, acknowledge the harm, that the abuser will continue to harm, that we might move on with our life, the abuser having no more power over us. In respect to covid policy and the jabs, it is encouraging at least that so few people continue to take the jabs - as of mid-October, only 7mil of 330mil Americans, or 2%, and probably a lot of those, as in nursing homes, hospitals and universities, it was mandated.

As for America being abused as a nation, it is instructive to separate America from the Federal government and affiliated institutions public and private. In that sense, America is The People, the Federal Government and affiliated Institutions public and private the abuser.

But of course it is not just the State that is the abuser of America and it’s citizens. In the micro, at the individual level:

“The Law of Acceptance has eight separate steps which are to be practiced in order to qualify for advancement to the rank of 1/8. Those steps are:

1. Acceptance of your father as he is and was

2. Acceptance of your mother as she is and was

3. Acceptance of your children, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and cousin(s) as they are and were

4. Acceptance of your aunts, uncles, grandparents, great uncles, great aunts, and all your ancestors as they are and were

5. Acceptance of your spouse, lovers, friends, fellow students and fellow employees as they are and were

6. Acceptance of your enemies and antagonists as they are and were

7. Acceptance of all other persons and things whatsoever as they are and were

8. Acceptance of yourself, your mind, body, attitudes, beliefs, intentions health and actions as you were before and as you are now

In the men’s circles I have been a part of, many a man’s lingering wounds start with Dad.

For our purposes the term “father” refers to the male person who contributed most to your childhood. This may be your biological father, a step-father or other male figure. It may include other men or be a combination of several men. If this is the case, you may want to do this task for each of them.

Your father, whether he is currently dead or alive, is a human being complete with strengths and weaknesses. He is a product of his environment and his heredity. He is a product of the prejudices and biases of his own parents and the society in which he grew up. He was and still is imperfect and he made and may still be making many mistakes.

Your father may or may not have loved you. He may or may not have done his best for you. He may or may not have meant well. He was and is a human soul in the midst of the give and take of existence, and the way he behaved toward you was part of his own journey through life. His choices and his mistakes were all products of who he was at the time.

Your first task is to sit quietly, become comfortable, take a few deep breaths and write down as many things as you can about your father. List the things he said and did that made you feel bad and explain these feelings. List the things he said and did that made you feel good and explain these feelings. Write it all down. This is your first task.

The second greatest source of wounds for most men in my experience, is mom. I imagine that is the case for most women too, mom and dad as the source for a lot of wounding. The work of Spiritual Alchemy is to sit down and work through every thing on this list, starting with Dad and working through to the end.

The Law of Acceptance reminds us, we cannot expect anyone else to change. They are who they are, the only change I can affect is my own behavior, my own response to the behavior of others. The best we can hope from others is that they might be inspired to change, recognizing the change in you. In regards to covid policy, censorship etc, we cannot hope with any logic or reason that technocrats are going to stop trying to control us, or even that they are going to become less pathological over time, as long as they are in power. The only thing to be done, whether it is Dad or Mom or technocrats, is to accept that abuse has happened, accept it either continues to happen or the fact that it did happen in the past still effects me now, and accept that I have the power to make myself more emotionally, psychologically and spiritually strong and resilient, that I can no longer be abused.

The point is not crystal clarity right away. The point is, abuse creates a posture, settling in the body de-forming it, literally forming the brain according to the abuse; the only thing that can change that is, a change in consciousness, taking a long hard look at the abuse that has formed you and continues to form you, and breaking your figurative chains to it. It should be no surprise to anyone that abuse is inter-generational, the sins of the father become the sins of the son and the daughter. The effects of abuse become “normal” over time. No adult is required to suffer abuse, we always have a choice about how to deal with it.

The Law of Acceptance seems timely just now, as we are being prepared it seems for WWIII. That we had two previous world wars, also the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, might have taught us that war is abuse of the highest order, that it is in the immortal words of General Butler, “a racket.” One might think anyone in the media posturing for more war in the Middle East or Ukraine should have to divulge investments in the Military/Industrial Complex, but they never do. The only power any of us have about this is to not buy it, not get caught up in it, not support it, not complying; put in a more positive light, to make oneself emotionally, psychologically, spiritually resilient, re-forming your body and mind in the posture of the self you want to be.

John Michael Greer attached a commentary to the end of the Law of Acceptance, some things to consider as you work through the Laws of Spiritual Alchemy, if you are serious about delving into this work. He describes a very simple breathing exercise that is helpful; so much starts with the breath. Suffice to say, it is challenging work, it is good to give yourself some quiet time, a quiet place, at a set time, to be efficient and make it less demanding.

Finally, it is easier to understand the Law of Acceptance, if you accept that the Divine loves you unconditionally.

Begin by accepting the fact you are an individualized expression of the Divine. Expand this acceptance to include all other people, places and things because we are all individualized expressions of the Divine.

Call [on] the Divine and ask for Divine influence in your life to overcome your pain and suffering. Ask the Divine to ease your pain and help you to accept yourself just as you are – a child of the Divine under Divine care and guidance.

Turn the other people, places and things over to the Divine and ask for Divine intervention into those things and your own pain because of those things. Release these people, places and things into the care of the Divine and ask the Divine to help them for the greater good of all concerned.

Lean on the Divine; but ultimately, it is up to you to take charge of your destiny.

Introduction

Preliminary Lessons:

The Law of Blame

The Law of Shame

The Law of Guilt

Primary Laws:

0/8 The Law of Acceptance