The Halls of Initiation

In the Wisdom Teachings, “Hall of Ignorance”, “Hall of Learning” and “Hall of Wisdom” are the symbolic names given to the three major stages through which every human being passes during the Earths experience. More specifically, these Halls are three areas of awareness (and three corresponding levels of energies) that every one needs to master. In the ancient Records of Wisdom these Halls are represented, among others, by the following drawing:

The Hall of Ignorance

We enter the Hall of Ignorance with our first incarnation as a human being. This Hall leads us through the many incarnations in which we usually experience a continuous process of attachment and detachment, of gathering and discarding. All the time during these experiences we are, even though unaware of it, attempting to build a living temple through which Divinity can manifest in the midst of Creation — this living temple is our own being.

This Hall receives the name of Hall of Ignorance because those who choose to enter it must do so fully blind of their true nature — ignorant of their true divine essence. The building process in this Hall is, therefore, always done through a continuous sensed dissatisfaction and ceaseless change.

We leave behind the Hall of Ignorance during that incarnation in which we consciously begin the Spiritual Quest.

At the end of this Hall of Ignorance there is a temple that we must consciously enter. It is known as the Temple of Appropriation. In it we pass through the expansion of awareness that is described as the First Initiation.

This temple is called the Temple of Appropriation because during this initiatory experience the me in us (i.e., the little self, the personality, the one we call the I) reorients itself towards the life of the Soul, appropriating thus the Spiritual Path or Path of Return. During this transformation of the me in the Temple of Appropriation, the Soul no longer remains as a passive onlooker, as it had been the case during most of the incarnations through the Hall of Ignorance. The Soul now seizes this opportunity provided by the me, and in a dynamic way It begins to take control of the life and affairs of the personality.

The Hall of Learning

We enter the Hall of Learning once we are fully and steadily reoriented towards the life of the Soul; that is, when we have left behind the narrow-mindedness, the lack of discrimination and the spiritual blindness that are usually seen in all the beginners on the Spiritual Path. During the experiences undergone in the Hall of Learning, the me in us, for the first time in eons, is ready to be taught by the Soul — it is ready to learn to call to its creator, the Soul, and to obey its promptings. By learning to obey the Soul, the me for the first time gets a real glint of its destiny — to become an instrument and a medium for a higher energy, the energy of Soul.

At the middle point of the Hall of Learning there is a second temple where the most important test of all the incarnated lives as a human being is experienced.

Many choose to delay their entrance into this temple overwhelmed by the demands of this test; yet, sooner or later, we all must consciously enter its grounds and dare to pass this test. The temple in this Hall is called the Temple of Acquiescence. In it we pass through the expansion of awareness that is described as the Second Initiation.

This temple is called the Temple of Acquiescence because during this initiatory experience, once and for all, the me in us accepts its divine origin and the authority of the Soul. For eons, the Soul had been waiting for this opportunity, and wasting no time It acquiesces to the call of the little me beginning thus to unleash the spiritual, divine resources that are the natural lot of the total human being.

Obviously, these events ask of us a great adjustment in our personality life before we can pass onto the next Hall. It is for this reason that the Temple of Acquiescence is located in the middle point of the Hall of Learning and not at its end.

It is needless to say that the dreaded test of the Temple of Acquiescence is the test of Love. This test asks of us to become a true embodiment of Love in all respects and at all times.

The Hall of Wisdom

We enter the Hall of Wisdom when our personality life, for the most part, no longer obstructs the radiance through us of the Love and Light of the Soul seeking to illuminate the dark alleys usually found in the world of humanity. In other words, when our entire life truly becomes a loving act of co-creative participation in the Divine Plan.

Entrance into the Hall of Wisdom is the natural result of our successful adjustment, in our personality life, to the authority of the Soul and to the influx of spiritual resources during the last stage of the Hall of Learning.

At the very entrance of the Hall of Wisdom there is a third temple. It is known as the Temple of Enlightenment. It is a temple that has an entrance but no end, walls or boundaries. Shortly after we enter into this Temple, we pass through the expansion of awareness that is described as the Third Initiation.

This temple is called the Temple of Enlightenment because during this initiatory experience the light of the personality (i.e., the faculty of intelligence focused upon the mind) blends with the Light of Soul (i.e., the faculty of Love and Wisdom) creating a new light: the Light of Spiritual Being. As we can see, both aspects of the incarnated human being, personality and Soul, come together, each contributing to the creation of something greater. This coming together gives the final touches to the long task begun by the Soul at its first human incarnation — the task of creating a Living Temple for Divinity to manifest in the midst of Creation.

Besides the Third Initiation, the Hall of Wisdom also provides experiences for other Initiations, but in the present we are in no position to be concerned about them. Regarding this subject, the Teachings only say one more thing. They say that for these other Initiations also there are temples: temples made of Fire instead of Light.