The Law of Strength

The life you want can be yours

[note to readers: This is the tenth 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, blame, shame and guilt, to get at and excise the detritus of trauma etc in preparation for the primary laws, thus far discussed, Acceptance, Happiness, Joy, Peace and Forgiveness, 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.]

Sometimes I have made the argument that modernity is designed to neuter the masses. There isn’t much question, whatever the conceits of this modern age and the benefits of technology, on balance we are not as strong or healthy as our forebears. Who wants to make the argument that we are stronger, physically, spiritually and mentally, than the precolonial Indians of the American plains, the Vikings, pre-colonial Zulu, the warriors of the bronze age, samurai, Homo Sapien generally, prior to civilization building? The average American in 1850 ate healthier and was more literate than we are today. Whether you are talking about the office jockey, the denizens of Walmart or your typical social justice zealot, there really is not a legitimate argument that modernity has made us all-around stronger, not even on average, not even close really, mentally, physically and spiritually.

Crazy Horse did not suffer from imposter syndrome

What was that you said about being at the mercy of circumstances? - Sitting Bull

The argument for modernity is often that more of us are living longer. See the inmates of zoos, compared to their wild relations; living longer is not necessarily living better. Never mind in the era of mRNA jabs, more of us are not living so long, life expectancy in America going down precipitously.

The whole history of civilization is a tension between elite and the masses. In any war, the single most important factor as to who wins, is almost always who has the greater numbers. The masses never seem to grasp this, that they could overwhelm the elite in a day, any given day. That is a bit harder now, we are so overweight, out of shape, chronically ill, distracted, divided. Still, if the masses could only see the power of numbers….

But that kind of strength is not the focus of this article. Whatever modernity is, it does not define me. I define myself, I have the power to change, I have the power to imagine, intend and will a thing into being. I have the power to chose the life I want and pursue it until I have it.

Sportsball, in comparison to riding horses while shooting arrows at targets, is surely the preeminent example of the neutering of the masses.

What’s that, you say? Our overlords are laundering our money while escalating towards nuclear war? Millions of military aged men are pouring across the border? Elections are being stolen? Kids are being groomed? Crime and inflation are at record levels?

I don’t care, my sportsball team made the playoffs! That’s all that matters!

How To Root for Pro Sportsball

Not everybody is lazing around in front of the TV of course.

We used to do this:

But the Law of Strength is not about talking about how weak we are compared to how humans have been in the past, or even the strongest among us now, but about the strength that is our birthright for being human. Strength is much more than physical strength, there is strength of character, strength of intellect, strength of spirit. It is what comes form being tested, from testing oneself, from setting intentions and following through, pushing one’s boundaries, desiring always to learn.

If you have been following along in this Spirtual Alchemy work, you have at least contemplated the turning of sadness into happiness, fear into joy and anger into peace. You have at least contemplated the power of forgiveness, of others and of the self.

The Law of Strength in the Octagon Society training is considered the Second Gateway.

An old Masonic symbol of the gateway to the Tree of Life

Our physical self can experience these three states of peace, joy and happiness; and it can also experience sadness, fear and anger. Our Spiritual Self does not experience these three negative emotions of fear, anger and sadness. Nor does it experience any combination of these three negative emotions.

This is the Secret of the Second Gateway. Once we understand that in our spiritual state we’re above and beyond the duality of creation which we experience here on Earth, we begin to understand the alchemical process. That process is one of bringing our Spiritual Self down into our physical self so we can experience Heaven on Earth, so we can create the Philosopher’s Stone, so we can experience the spiritual life and our Spiritual Self while residing in the physical.

At the same time, the alchemical process is also one of raising our physical self up to our Spiritual Self. As a result of both bringing down our Spiritual Self and raising our physical self, we become integrated as a spiritual and physical being. We’re able to live in both the Spiritual World and the physical world simultaneously.

The Law of Strength is the ability to pursue the life you want, unencumbered by fear, sadness and anger, truly becoming a spiritual being planted firmly in the physical. We still feel emotion, we are simply not controlled by emotion, we have the ability to consciously, alchemically transform negative emotions into joy, happiness and peace, so that becomes the default state. True strength is physical, intellectual and spiritual strength. That does not mean I have the be the strongest, stronger than any other in any aspect, it means I can become my strongest in every aspect of my being.

One must be strong, the keeper of the Tree of Life is a good deal stronger and more terrifying than this.

Other traditions have it, the Tree of Life is a map of the self

I have the power to change anything about my life. The corollary to that is, I have no real power to change anyone else. Strength too is learning to let others make their own choices, focusing instead on what I can change about myself. Changing the self intentionally for the better encourages others to do the same.

• We can change our awareness

• We can change our intentions

• We can change our attitudes

• We can change our focus

• We can change our belief systems

• We can change our sadness to happiness

• We can change our fears to joy

• We can change our anger to peace

There are eight steps in this stage of the training. There is more elaboration and discussion about each step on the Law of Strength web page. One can begin to see, this work by definition causes one to think more consciously about one’s life and decisions, which necessarily facilitates and increases all-around strength.

1. Step One is to decide what you’ll do to become more aware of your own thoughts, ideas and feelings about yourself and the people in your life. Your first task is to write these things down. Your second task is to decide how and when you’ll do each of these things.

2. Step Two is to decide what your intentions are and will be regarding all the major facets of your life. Your first task is to write these down. Your second task is to decide which intentions you plan to change and when you plan to implement these changes.

3. Step Three is to write down an inventory of your attitudes toward people, places and things. That’s the first task. The second is to decide which of these attitudes you plan to change and how and when.

4. Step Four is to write down an inventory of the things you focus on now. Then create a list of things you want to focus on and assign a date for completion of that goal.

5. Step Five is to take an inventory of your major belief systems and determine what you believe about the people, places and things in your life. Then decide which of these belief systems need to change and assign a date for that change to occur.

6. Step Six is to take an inventory of the causes of any remaining sadness in your life. Then decide if, how and when you’ll change anything to create more happiness in your life.

7. Step Seven is to take an inventory of the causes of any remaining fears in your life. Then decide if, how and when you’ll change anything to create more joy in your life.

8. Step Eight is to take an inventory of the causes of any remaining anger in your life. Then decide if, how and when you’ll change anything to create more peace in your life.

There are any number of forces in this world that/who would prefer I be weak. Weak people are easily controlled, pushed around, ruled. People who are mentally, physically, spiritually strong rule themselves, are not easily controlled, pushed around or ruled. But more than being sovereign, what do I want in this life? What do I want, but do not have? What do I want to be? Whatever it is, I have the strength to at the very least make the attempt. I have the strength to ever make myself stronger.

Do the work and the Strength you want will be yours.

Introduction

Preliminary Lessons:

The Law of Blame

The Law of Shame

The Law of Guilt

Primary Laws:

0/8 The Law of Acceptance

1/8 The Law of Happiness

2/8 The Law of Joy

3/8 The Law of Peace

4/8 The Law of Forgiveness