It has been a while, I have not written new material for some time, so here I am putting pen to paper again.
I thought I would never again mention or write about the time that I spent under the auspice of Opus mentoring. I must say that as time goes on and I seem to face worldly challenges of all sorts, I have come to understand the importance, the discipline, and the ethos and more so modus operandi that surrounds Opus in all its facets.
Whilst some time ago I had written and maybe raised an eyebrow or two, as revealing any information that was entrusted to you by a selective organization is foolhardy at best, today I write with more maturity and a newfound admiration towards the mentoring that was attributed to me during that time. Yes, today we have different paths, and we propagate a different message, but still, the seams of my foundation are solid because of my mentors in the Occult but also because Opus happened to be there at the very beginning at a time when those seams were falling apart.
Some might say that Opus employs extreme measures, a strict undertaking of a mind program that makes the weak of mind pass water as soon as the very mention of disciplining the self is mentioned.
Part of the journey one undertakes in Opus is the understanding and implementation of corporal mortification. One might say that these measures are a bit extreme but let me tell you, life is extreme.
So why corporal mortification? Surely what advantages can there be in punishing oneself to redeem whatever sins one might have engaged in? For those in Opus, it is a way to purify the mortal fetch, to push one's spirit to a point of redemption through pain. Mad you might say… but honestly it works… not that you redeem your sins or you make peace with whatever divine being you give credence to…
It’s the healing through pain that does the trick, it’s the pushing of one's mortality to the point of feeling pain shoot through one’s soul… a pain that is unexplained as one can only understand it by experiencing it.
“I pommel my body and subdue it”, “I drive my body and train it.” Two phrases summarize the frame of mind behind the practice of flagellation, one that will take the practitioner to newfound levels of pain, endurance and the rebuilding of the soul’s threshold in overcoming trauma.
There have been many a moment when life has taken a dig and tested me far beyond what my mental and spiritual capabilities should have been able to endure, yet here I am, still able to stand firm and strong whenever adversity crops up and tests your constitution to its very core.
And it is at these times that I look back and recall with vigor the times that flesh and spirit were put through their paces to train the mind in being able to withstand storms that by far should render one insane.
For all of that, I am grateful, for compiling me in a way that I could withstand adversity, loss, and setbacks … solidifying the spirit through recognition of pain and through bypassing that same pain and turning it into strength.
Ain Soph Aur - Patrick Gaffiero