Initiation of baptism (Esotericism)

The liberating experience associated with this initiation is that of freedom from the control of the emotional nature and the selfish sensitivity of the lower self. The individual becomes aware of a vision of the possibility of transcendence which is communicated through the symbolism of purification. There is a vision of a higher focus and his place in the larger whole begins slowly to reveal itself. A new creativity and new goals become the immediate focus. There is a deep dissatisfaction with things as they are and a recognition of the failure of old modes of activity employed. Their continued use, for lack of greater insight, results in intense personal suffering. The person recognizes that his emotional nature, his lower psychic faculties are arrayed against him. In this way he is freed from glamour, illusion and distortion. The group begins to mean more to the individual than himself.

The second initiation in the tradition of western esotericism.