Inner Temple: Meditation 5

I have worked with this material in my published writing from the 1980’s to the present day, and have taught it in my Inner Temple Traditions InnerConvocation classes to many students. My introduction to it was in the 1970’s, as I describe shortly.

As with much of the Inner Temple Traditions InnerConvocation material, this visionary form has many historical and esoteric precedents. It has been taught in the older magical lodges for generations, and is found in various presentations in many mystical and magical traditions. There are parallels in Christian and Islamic mystical practices, and in Jewish and Sufi Qabalah. There are also significant parallels in Buddhist tradition, which are described later in this Introduction.

Some of my older generation mentors were especially involved in this method of spiritual communion, which they invariably linked to the inner Order of Melchizadek. Sadly this noble and ancient concept has been ruthlessly trivialised during the last 20 years or so, especially in the New Age movements, but its spiritual origins are still valid, no matter what has been done with it in public.

My introduction to this theme and to the power of the Sanctuary before the Void was in 1974, when instructed to go into a physical temple/sanctuary and meditate, under the guidance of the late Ronald Heaver, while visiting him in his home. I have described my meetings with Heaver at his home near Glastonbury on another page, in part one of this Inner Temple Traditions InnerConvocation Form 5 (click here).

In Ronald Heaver’s sanctuary, a small very plain building with an eternal flame burning, I came into the Sanctuary before the Void. Heaver later questioned me very strictly on what I had experienced, and gave me a number of teachings regarding the Order of Melchizadek. A few years before, I had received similar insights and material from W G Gray, but Heaver brought an especial authority and inner contact from the Order of Melchizadek. W G Gray regarded Ronald Heaver as a “senior officer”, using both British military terms, and those of the formal Lodge. He accorded Heaver great respect.

The Sanctuary in esoteric tradition

While I often use the phrase “Sanctuary before the Void” another term for this collective of advanced spiritual consciousness that is found in many sources is the Chapel of the Elders. Unfortunately for us today, this term may have some religious connotations that people are uncomfortable with, especially as the same theme can arise in various types of fundamentalism. However, what we are concerned with here is spiritual reality, not political religion. The “elders” are not ancient bearded males, but a focused convocation of highly advanced consciousness, often appearing to the inner senses as priests and priestesses, from many sources and traditions, but beyond all cultural religion. They are transhuman beings, a subject that I have discussed in several of my books (including Living Magical Arts and Advanced Magical Arts published in 1987 and 1988, and The Miracle Tree published in 2003).

In a very broad sense, the spiritual power here is similar to that of the Bodhisattvas in Buddhist tradition. These are beings of intense spiritual awareness that remain in conclave at the very threshold of the Void, and are especially involved in mediating Compassion and Transformation. The purpose of such mediation, such dedication, is to consciously radiate spiritual powers out towards the many manifest worlds…including our own planet Earth.

We can detect and attune another parallel presentation in the Rosicrucian Vault, in which the elders are described as “sleeping” under an eternal light, guarding certain texts and sacred truths, which will be disseminated to the outer world. The Rosicrucian tradition is founded on Germanic/Teutonic faery tradition, with many Faery, UnderWorld, and Sacred Sleeper motifs, but fused creatively with a powerful protestant Christian initiatory impulse, plus images and practices from the ancient Mysteries of the classical world. Thus it is not surprising that a fusion of three powerful spiritual impulses should constellate around the Vault or Chapel of the Elders.

In our Inner Temples work, we are primarily concerned, as is right and proper for us, with planet Earth, and with concepts of service, compassion, and spiritual regeneration. The Sanctuary before the Void, also called the Chapel of the Elders, is a means whereby we can work towards such service.

Origins of this text and spiritual practice

This spiritual “place” is sought by many mystical and ritual traditions, so my claim is to my own teachings and texts over the last 18 years or so, from 1987 to the present year, and not to the overview or concept, as this is a universal spiritual source. I have had the honour of communicating this spiritual presence, of the Sanctuary and the Elders, to hundreds of people over the years, and the deep privilege of sharing this with, and originally learning it directly from, a lineage of Western Tradition masters in the outer world during the 1970’s. My mediation of this aspect of the Inner Order was received direct from my teachers, through the initiatory transmissions that are handed on only by specific Touch, and supported by “whispered wisdom”, the line of teachings that are given by the master when the initiate has proven that he or she has truly entered the Sanctuary. This lineage is said to extend for thousands of years in historical time, and there are many recondite traditions and teachings associated with it.

My intention has been to make this, along with my other Inner Temple Traditions Inner Convocation workings, simple and accessible, and to offer ways of coming into the presence of the “Elders” that assist in our spiritual growth and transformation. At a later stage, after coming into their presence, we can discover the tasks and spiritual work that are allocated to us in the Sanctuary before the Void. This advanced level cannot be communicated by a written text, but is transmitted direct.

The Chapel Of The Elders/The Sanctuary Before The Void

Be Still, stilling Time Space and Movement. Chant OAI, if you are familiar with this method of stilling awareness.
Affirm the sacred directions: Above, Below, East South West and North, and Within.
Light a candle flame on your altar to embody the celestial fire manifest here on Earth.
(here you may use the Library empowered vision, which is our Form 4, as a means of accessing the chapel). Or you may proceed to (5) below
Sense see and feel that you pass through a door of flame that opens from the candle flame, and down a long corridor. (You may do this from within the Library if you wish, as in (4) above). Your sense of this corridor is of soaring arches with glimpses of stars beyond. Let your sight rest upon the sacred candle flame as you do this.
Build strongly before you the image of an ornately carved low door. Sense see and feel that you knock three times upon it. (At this point you may physically knock or gently stamp your foot here, which is a traditional practice at spiritual thresholds). The door opens, and you pass within.
First you perceive the altar at the far end of the Sanctuary: there is a simple flame burning upon a large altar. Beyond the altar is the Void, out of which all Being comes.
Next you sense, see, and feel, that there are many others in this chapel or sanctuary. Their presence may be felt more than seen. These are the elders or highly advanced priestesses and priests of many spiritual traditions that work here ceaselessly before the Void. Come into a silent communion with them. (Pause and be still here)
Now you are invited to pass to the altar, and stand with the Void behind you, and the altar before you. (If you have set up a simple altar in the outer world, take this position behind your candle flame, if possible. If necessary, rehearse this movement before you do the inner form, so that you are familiar with it).
Be Still, stilling Time, Space, and Movement. Sense how your inner Stillness allows the Infinite Potential behind you to flow through you. In your inner vision place your hands palm downwards upon the altar. (If possible do this in the outer world also).
To you now comes a Priest or Priestess from the assembled Elders, and he or she places their hands over yours. Be still, and commune in Silence now.
(after the Silence) be aware that you are in the Sanctuary before the Void, and that you may return here in your dreams, visions, and meditations. Form a clear intention in your mind that you are here in service to spiritual awareness, to the evolutionary forces of the Inner Temples, and that you ask nothing for yourself alone.
Sense see and feel now that the elder removes his or her hands from yours, and you pass around the altar to stand before it, facing into the chapel (do this physically if you can, with your altar and candle flame behind you). Sense see and feel the many beings that gather here.
Pass out of the Sanctuary before the Void, between two lines of priests and priestesses to your right and to your left, and then through the door. Be aware that you carry the spiritual power out into the outer world. (You may return to the Library, Form 4, at this stage if you wish, before returning to outer awareness)
Return to your outer awareness, sensing the Sky above, the Land below, and the Directions Before, Behind, Right and Left. Gently put out the candle, and close your working with the Sanctuary before the Void, the Chapel of the Elders.

(Write any notes or sensations or experiences if you wish, before doing anything else).

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This basic method has been taught to many people in my Inner Temple groups, and has been practiced in various forms, for many centuries. Therefore it has considerable psychic impetus and a deep imprint in the collective consciousness and the etheric (sub-lunar) mantle of our planet. It leads us to a real state of shared consciousness, which in turn will mediate, through us, transformative and regenerative spiritual power from the inner dimensions to the outer. Use it sparingly, and after each communion, allow time for the inner powers to manifest in your dreams, visions, and meditations.

NOTE: this text is strictly copyright © R J Stewart 1987-2005. Any use of the whole or part of the text without permission is strictly forbidden and is illegal. For copyright permissions, contact RJ Stewart.

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Last Update:

May 19, 2005