a refuge for SACRED FOLK
You've known for a long time that you're different. You care too much, you think too deeply. Your skin recoils at the very thought of violence. As the world around you jockeys for the usual things - money, status, sex - you yearn for more subtle pleasures, the crescendo of a perfect song, the taste of an exquisite peach, a blissful evening spent drying herbs with your best friend. You can't help it. You're just not like other people.
As the years pass and you grow ever more disillusioned with the state of affairs on Earth, you begin to toy with the idea of becoming a monastic. And yet something holds you back. You're not ready for a monastery, and even if you were, would it be the right place for you? You don't want to be cloistered away from society and everything you know and love. You may already be married, or have children you love and cherish. Or you may deeply cherish the idea of having a partner. You may be a creative person who can't imagine a life without your easel or laptop. Or you may relish the idea of having a career.
If only the world paid more attention to the soul's instincts. Millennia ago, during the time of the ancient Egyptian priesthood, high priests and priestesses served in positions of great power and influence throughout Egypt. They were judges, administrators, educators, merchants, and scribes who participated fully in Egypt's economy. They also married and had thriving families.
Three times a year, an Egyptian high priest or priestess would be called to service in the temples. They would shave her head and body, don the long flowing tunic and jewelry of a priestess, and enter the temple for a month or two in order to serve the community. While there, they would purify themselves by bathing in the temple pools several times a day and fasting frequently. They would also immerse themselves in meditation, yoga, breathwork, ritual, channeling and scripture study. Finally, they would serve as a counselor to the public and to the ruling class, often engaging in tantric and energy healing as well as psychotherapy.
The ancient clergy would have found the idea of taking permanent refuge from society to be repugnant and absurd. And, deep down inside, most of us feel the same way. Priests and priestesses should be pillars of our society, family men and women who lead the world. Even in the Christian tradition, saints like Teresa of Avila lived in cottages in the woods filled with art, painting huge canvases and writing exuberant treatises on life and faith.
You can join them. You don't need a candlelit ceremony or a smoke-filled church to devote your life to the Divine. You can take your vows in front of our community and your gods, and commit your life to healing, service and personal growth. With the help of our resources and support, you can live an exuberant life of meaning and joy. Start today!