The Course of Study
I have long felt it desirable to expand and deepen the relatively simple material presented in the Ardue Temple. But I also recognised the need to present internally consistent course material of high quality in a sensibly paced progressive order; and I was simultaneously deeply conscious of my own incompetence to do it alone.I was therefore astonished and extremely grateful to discover that this task had already been undertaken nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, and that all I had to do was re-present it to the Internet virtually unchanged. The first instalment was presented in September, 2004.
A seminar is a group of students working together under the guidance of a teacher. The Editor of this site intends to participate more as a student than as a teacher. He will call in aid other teachers whose writings will be used as background and guidance, but hopes that readers will participate actively and thus learn from each other.
On this site, therefore, the seminar may be thought of as an educational interface between the Temple and the World. Material will be digested by the imaginative faculty of the individual student and tested against the sounding-board of intuitive psychological truth.
The question will be the principal supplementary instructional technique. It is hoped that in seeking their own answers to questions, students will consult not only their own experience of life and living but will also search out what other individuals at different times and in different places have recorded about their own experiences. Skill in the intelligent use of the Internet will be found to give access at minimal cost to a wealth of educational material beyond the fondest dreams of the library users of previous generations.
Readers accustomed to the "examination culture" currently prevalent in the UK will be relieved to know that questions will be asked solely to encourage (or provoke) students to inquire more deeply into certain aspects of life and thus add value to their personal lives. Answers need not be communicated to anyone — but may optionally be posted by readers to the Ardue Mailing List for the benefit of other students. Whether or not you choose to publish your thoughts and findings, it is hoped that your deliberations on questions raised in this forum will help you to make timely and satisfactory responses to the questions and problems you encounter in everyday life.
The books on the "shelves" of the Temple Library will constitute the main works of reference. Other, more recent, works will be recommended as aids to keeping "up to date". But this is not an "academic" exercise. The ideas suggested directly or indirectly by the contents of these pages should be reflected upon in the light of the reader's personal experience so as to become assimilated into a coherent personal philosophy. "Degrees" will mark significant steps in the student's consciousness of personal progress and will be conferred by the student in person when he or she feels ready.
From time to time, exercises will be suggested for developing the student's powers of observation and reflection.
The virtually infinite resources of the Internet are, of course, also available.
I have also removed the section formerly set aside for General Feedback.
No application for admission will be refused, but members will be expected to conduct their correspondence in accordance with the Guidelines which will be posted at intervals.
Once you are a member, address your posts to ardue@yahoogroups.com. Only members will be able to read your messages, and there is little likelihood that participation will make you a target for unwanted SPAM.
Seminar
Readers are, of course, free to treat this offering in any manner they think fit. But I hope that at least some few will see in it an opportunity to conduct an ongoing Internet seminar. The word is derived from the Latin seminarium, meaning a seedbed. The intention is to sow and fertilise seeds which may germinate and eventually bear fruit in the consciousness of the individual student.
Object
The Ardue University therefore seeks to introduce a few key concepts and use them to construct a secure base from which readers may conduct their personal explorations of the wonderful Universe of which they are part and to whose further development their lives in the world may make small, but not insignificant, contributions. It is intended as an interface to facilitate transfer of the fruits of quiet contemplation in the Temple into energetic action in the physical and social worlds.
Facilities
The principal resource will be the "Lectures" of the "Higher" Masonic Degrees, which will be posted at monthly intervals. These will focus students' attention, and act as "centres of attraction" for any other material the student cares to assemble around them. Supplementary Lectures on related subjects may be posted from time to time.
Development
Experience over some fifteen months has shown that readers have little or no desire to participate in the kind of ongoing seminar I originally envisaged. I have therefore decided to discontinue the section set aside for "Reflections" and to replace it under the heading of Hermetic Philosophy with a series of lectures based on the system of study attributed to G I Gurdjieff. I hope readers will find this additional resource both stimulating and helpful in acquiring a better understanding of themselves and of the Universe.
Mailing List
Readers are still invited to help each others' development by posting questions or comments about anything they read on this site. This may be done via the Ardue Mailing List, to which admission may be sought by sending a blank e-mail to ardue-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.