I can’t guarantee it’ll happen to everybody, and maybe my perception is deceiving me, but every time I listen to a Manly P. Hall talk it ends ups solving a personal problem. Somehow it touches on something I’m struggling with. It’s never obvious from the topic or the title, in this case: I’ve been complaining to myself about not having an ideal space to meditate in. My neighbors are too noisy and nosey, the walls are not thick enough and to top it off, since it started raining there’s a mosquitoes invasion.
In the video after the jump, the legendary Canadian scholar told me about some temple in Tibet that makes the apprentices monks meditate under a huge bell that they keep ringing – Ring Ding Dong/ Ring-a-ding ding ding dong -, the objective being to develop “a complete indifference to interruption”. The absolute quietude has to be internal. Since another sage informed me the idea is to work with what you have, I’ll use the constant noise and blood sucking instead of said bell and go from there. Let the battle begin.
Anyway, to some of us Manly P. is a beacon of hope and a calmed voice in a sea of screams and desperation. To others, he was a Freemason, thus bound to secrecy to the organization, thus cannot be trusted. According to the official story he joined the order in 1954, already a middle aged man, and was recognized as a 33° Mason in 1973. Since your instincts are the only thing you should trust, I urge you to listen to him and decide for yourself if what he says rings true for you or not.
The talk’s title is “Esoteric Alchemy – The transformation of attitudes”, as opposed to the mere transformation of metals and the materialistic approach to the science. It’s absolutely fantastic and you shouldn’t miss it, but since hearing someone speak for an hour without video or anesthesia is a pretty daunting activity, I took the liberty of digesting it for my beloved audience. Below you’ll find S&E’s Companion Guide, it divides the talk in broad topics and includes several key quotes and notes.
May it help the wanderer (you) return home.
Samples and Examples 