CLEARING / CLEANSING

Clearing is an Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes ordinarily performed by Individuals upon themselves to produce a Clearer State within. This Sacrament includes various Operations often referred to as Meditation, Centering and/or Grounding. This Sacrament may be performed by any Member to enhance Her/His Conscious Spiritual Evolution and improve Her/His functioning on any and all Levels of the Fields of Matter, Mind and/or Spirit. Some of the specific applications appertaining to this Sacrament are called Cleansing, of which one instance is an Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes ordinarily performed by one or more Officiants or Celebrants with the intent of restructuring the Energy Flow of Persons, Places and/or Objects so that the resultant Energy Flow of the Person, Place and/or Object is all in one direction for a Celebratory Working or other Purposes. In some circumstances there is the additional purpose of removing negative and/or mundane energy from Persons, Places and/or Objects. In the example of Auric Cleansing, the Process may be performed by any and all Celebrants on and for each other before a Celebratory Working. The Auric Cleansing Process ordinarily consists of channeling energies through the hands of the Celebrant or Celebrants who are performing the Cleansing, where the hands are moved over the Person, Place and/or Object to be Cleansed, sometimes touching but often only interacting with the Energy Fields around the Person, Place and/or Object to be Cleansed.

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CONSECRATION

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by an Officiant, Officiants and/or Celebrants upon Persons, Places and/or Objects delineating their Dedication To and/or Preparation For Specific Sacramental Acts or Processes. Such Acts ordinarily consist of Cathexis and Verbal Affirmations of Consecration and may include the making of various Symbolic Gestures, which have become Sacred to our Tradition. This Sacrament also includes the Statement of Intent at the beginning of a Working, whether single or series; the Statement of the agreed upon Intent is considered to Consecrate the Working to that effect.

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NEGATIVE CONFESSION

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed among Officiants, prior to a Working to Cleanse their Total Fields of Being and Becoming (Physical, Mental, Spiritual and any other components) from anything which might detract from their peak functioning within the Working, at their chosen type of Officiation. There is the further function of Consecrating their Total Fields of Being and Becoming (Physical, Mental, Spiritual and any other components) to this Workings Success, to which they have pledged themselves. In our Tradition this is usually done by one Officiant kneeling in front of another Officiant, placing Her/His hands on the Heart Chakra of the other Officiant, reaching a calm centered state and either silently or aloud enumerating Her/His Actions that are causing concern (which has led them to request assistance in initiating this sacrament) perhaps incorporating the Ægyptian model of I Have Not Done . . ., until the Officiant feels that the Process is finished.

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WORKING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes including Effectuation of Will, performed by any Celebrant or group of Celebrants focused on particular (clearly delineated and if multiple Individuals are involved, agreed upon) Spiritual Goals. Often such Workings are focused upon the achievement of the Ultimate Potential Perfection of the Individual and/or Individuals participating. In the case of The Great Work, the Goal always either is, or contains as a resultant: Conscious Spiritual Evolution specifically. Celebratory Circles (the most fundamental type of Working performed by the Temple) are a specific type of Working, in which a Group of Celebrants join together to Commemorate a specific Holy Time and/or Work for a specific Goal or Goals. Most frequently applied among the other Categories of Workings is that of Workings of a Divinatory Nature.

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CATALYZATION

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by Officiants and Celebrants, to awaken within one or more other Celebrants a further state of development. Officiants especially are performing the Sacrament of Catalyzation when participating in the directing of a Celebratory Working, Circle or other. All Celebrants perform this Sacrament, conscious or unconscious, to the extent of their experience, ability and intent. Catalyzation is characterized by the provocation or precipitation of an increase in the rate of Conscious Spiritual Evolution in Celebrants for whom the Catalyzation is performed.

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ANNOINTMENT

An Act performed by any Celebrant upon Her/Himself or any other Celebrant with the intent of acknowledging the Divine Essence within the Individual. In a Celebratory Working such Acts ordinarily consist of the placing of a Consecrated Oil or other Consecrated substance on another Celebrant's Forehead or Her/His own, while making silent or verbal Affirmations and may include various Symbolic Gestures, which have become Sacred to our Tradition. Annointment may also be performed on any of the other power points on or about the physical body. Annointment is considered in the Temple context to have an effect of encouraging the component parts of the Individual to increase alignment.

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COMMUNION

A Process or Series of Acts wherein a Merging with an Aspect or Aspects of the Divine Force of this Cosmos is both symbolized and actualized. For example: an Earth-Mother Communion, wherein a Merging with the Mother, on the part of the Celebrants is effectuated.  This Process is usually facilitated by one or more Officiants (ordinarily a Priestess or Priestesses). In the SaltWater type of Earth-Mother Communion, the visible trappings of the procedure often consist of mixing Consecrated Salt and Consecrated Water in a Consecrated Vessel, which is then ReConsecrated as a complete Substance and passed around the Circle offering to all Celebrants at a Celebratory Working, an opportunity to Commemorate and Reaffirm the Relation of the Individual to  as the Mother of the Human Species. Celebrants have the opportunity to Speak and Partake, simply to Partake or to Pass along the Chalice. In place of or in addition to the Water and Salt of this Communion, SpringWater and Bread, Wine and Bread and/or other symbolic substances may be used.

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EVOCATION / INVOCATION

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by an Officiant to become an Open Vessel for the Divine Essence of this Cosmos. This process when performed at a Celebratory Working, ordinarily consists of standing before an Altar, Evoking and Communicating with Her/His Eternal Self the Desire to Manifest a Facet of the Divine Essence, whether in a specific Tradition or the Facet that She/He will one day be continually. This Process may also include Invoking or asking for Assistance from any of those Individuals who have Gone Before (Attained Translation through one or more Gateways between Planes), and with Whom the Officiant's Essential Nature has Resonance. Some of the Forms this Evocation and/or Invocation may take are Ecstatic Trance, Centering, Grounding, Dance, Chant, Dream, Song, Stimulation of the Senses, and Visualization.

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MANIFESTATION / SHOWING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by an Officiant in Becoming a Vessel Filled with the Divine Essence of this Cosmos, usually for the purpose of those Divine Forces having a more direct and numinous presence in the Working. When performed at a Celebratory Working this Manifestation Process ordinarily consists of Incarnating for that duration a Facet of the Divine Essence, whether from a particular Tradition or that Facet that She/He will one day be continually. In less formal settings or in everyday life this Showing Process may consist of existing as an Actualized Avatar, with the object of showing others that such a level of existence is possible on the material plane. In our tradition this is sometimes referred to as Being in a Process of  .

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BUILDING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by all Celebrants for the effect of gathering and increasing Physical, Mental and Spiritual Energies to be directed at one or more specific Stated Goals. At a Celebratory Working this process is ordinarily led by one or more Officiants, proficient in Working with the Spiraling Energies (often characterized as Feminine), such as when a Priestess Leads the Celebrants in the Dance of Life and Weaves the Built Up Energy into a Pattern that will Enhance and Multiply the Strength of that Energy, perhaps while making silent or verbal Affirmations along with various Symbolic Gestures, which have become Sacred to our Tradition. Some of the Forms this Building may take are Dance, Chant, Artistic Creation, Song, Stimulation of the Senses, and Visualization.

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SENDING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by all Celebrants for the effect of directing and propelling the Built up Physical, Mental and Spiritual Energies at one or more specific Stated Goals. At a Celebratory Working this process is ordinarily led by one or more Officiants, proficient in Working with the Emanating Energies (often characterized as Masculine); such as when a Priest takes up a Bow after a Building Dance and fires an Arrow (in a Symbolically ascertained Direction) to Direct and Propel the Energy to the Stated Goals of the Celebratory Working, while making silent or verbal Affirmations along with various Symbolic Gestures, which have become Sacred to our Tradition. Some of the Forms this Sending may take are Declaration, Signalization, Piloting, Canalization, Affirmation, Breath, Quieting of the Senses, and Visualization.

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CHAOSIZATION

A Work performed by a large group of Members emphasizing the value of Play as a Growth Tool, coordinated by an Officiant (if possible a Chaoist) but usually focused on one Individual, with the Purpose of enabling that Individual to surmount plateau difficulties and promote Spiritual Tachytely (Rapid evolution tending to result in quick differentiation and fixation of new types). Never to be undertaken lightly, the Sacrament of Chaosization must be requested by the Member and any and all persons for whom She/He has physical, financial, emotional, mental or spiritual responsibility. When performed in the Temple context, Chaosization must be recommended by the Body of Catalytic Officiants and performed under the Ægis of, and with the agreement of the Council of Elder Officiants. Chaosization involves Creating an Experiential State of Ergodicity (Field of Potential, resultant not determined or determinable until actualized by interaction with the observer, with the additional modifier that in the manner of a hologram the nature of the whole is contained in, and may be usefully studied within each component part) as the Individual's Environment. The Motif of the Art of Applying this Sacrament is to expose the Individual upon which the Working is Focused, to various seemingly unrelated stimuli with the Desired Effect of forcing Her/His Eternal self to push the Boundaries of Consciousness into hithertofore unexplored territories.

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CHRYSALIZATION

A Work usually performed by a large group of Members, coordinated by a panel of Officiants, ordinarily focused on one Individual to aid them in a Spiritual Passage of Attainment. Such Act, Acts and/or Process or Series of Acts must be requested by the Individual, recommended by the Body of Catalytic Officiants and enacted under the Ægis of, and with the Agreement of the Council of Elder Officiants. The Work consists of a Process or Series of Acts that enfold the Celebrant being Chrysalized in a Saturation Experience, by Exposure to and Immersion in a particular set of Stimuli from an extremely well researched, particular extant Tradition or Product of Archetypal Construction, incorporating the Goal, that the Individual upon whom the Sacrament is focused, experiences an Entelechical Epiphany (Intuitive Potential Actualizing Awakening and Manifestation of Inherent Divinity) and  (a Passing Through & Moving Beyond while assimilating the essence) of one of the Gateless Gates or the Membraenes between Levels of Existence.

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LETTING-GO

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes directed by one or more Officiants for the purpose of Aiding an Individual or Individuals in releasing Attachment to Persons, Places, Objects, Ideas and/or Plans from which the affected Individual desires, or Individuals desire to be Free of Attachment. In some cases the Process may also entail an Act, Acts and/or Process or Series of Acts facilitating an Actual Release of a previously ineffectual Sending of Energy which had been ineffectual due to not being released to go about its purpose, in a prior single or group Working.

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HEALING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed by one or more Officiants (including Healors, Sensators, and/or Sortors if possible) to benefit an Individual's Physical, Mental, and/or Spiritual Well-Being or Becoming. Such Process ordinarily consists of Pouring of Life Energy both from and through the Officiant(s), into the One being Healed, so that Her/His Eternal Self may use the Life Energy to rebalance the forces and correct any difficulty being experienced on any and all consciousness levels by the One being Healed, whether Physical, Mental and/or Spiritual.

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AFFIRMATION OF ORDINATION

Formal Written and Archived Declaration of Extant Fact, often upon completion of a specifically designed Working to indicate the Temples Affirmation that an Individual Aspirant is Authorized to Officiate at Garden of Life Celebrations, Workings and/or Functions; to Administer Garden of Life Sacraments that require an Officiant and to perform any and/or all of the other functions, duties, rights, responsibilities and/or operations of an Officiant of Garden of Life. Within the Doctrine of Garden of Life is the Belief that True Ordination occurs within the Individual, however, the Temple does Affirm and Certify the Accomplished Fact.

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AFFIRMATION OF CLASSIFICATION

Formal Written and Archived Declaration of Extant Fact, often upon completion of a specifically designed Initiatory Working to indicate the Temples Affirmation that an Individual has attained a specific goal in Consciousness Development. Within the Doctrine of Garden of Life is the Belief that True Achievement of Levels of Initiation occurs within the Individual, however, the Temple does Affirm and Certify the Accomplished Fact. The Council of Elder Officiants will oversee the Structuring of Initiation Ceremonies for each of the Twenty-Three levels recognized by Garden of Life. The Office of Accreditation shall have the responsibility for considering and recommending requests for Initiations. The Council of Elder Officiants shall have the power to grant requests and/or nominations for an Individual to receive any of the Initiations and Affirm and Certify such Accomplishment. The Office of the Archives and the will keep copies of Members Initiation Certificates in their respective members files.

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ACCREDITATION

Accreditation is defined (within the Temple) and characterized by the final stage of Formal Written and Archived Declaration acknowledging either an Attainment by Individual Members or Garden of Lifes assessment of the Value, specifically Spiritual Value, of Persons, Places, Objects, Ideas, Systems and/or Processes. The Office of Accreditation processes both Accreditation of Ordination, Initiations and Classifications, and Certificates of Joining, Perfectioning, Passage, and/or other Celebration of Individual or Household character. The various preliminary phases of such process: suggestion and/or promotion of anything specific to be Accredited are included within the scope of the Sacrament. Garden of Life Accreditation must always be at the unanimous approval of the current Sitting Members of the Council of Elder Officiants, and must be delineated in specific language. Accreditation must always be in the Positive case of recommendation of Study or Perusal, and never in the Negative case of prohibition of Study or Perusal. Most generally this Sacrament is applied by issuing Statements of Accreditation as to the Spiritual Value of various Cultural works and Artifacts, for example: Literature, Visual Arts, Theatre, Poetry, Personality and Others. Systems of categorization may be developed for processing these Statements, with an emphasis on clarity. The Establishment and Creation of Charters are a special case of Accreditation, including specifically those for the Temple Offices, Glades, Orders, Enclaves, Guilds and Garden of Life Assemblies (in various Geographic Locales outside the originating area). The recognition of Individuals and/or any and/or all of their Contributions to the Æternal Conversation of Civilization is an important case of Accreditation. In these instances revolving around Individuals, categories may be developed to simplify the process of referring to such Accreditations but should in no case be allowed to obscure the Essential Individuation of such Persons. Accreditation of Garden of Life Doctrinal Statements, Position Papers, and/or Council of Elder Officiants Constative Utterances is integral to the performance of the Office of Accreditation. All Garden of Life originated publications shall be issued with Statements of Accreditation. Ordinarily the Accreditation Process consists of Announcement at a Temple Celebration, with a Certificate of Authentication entered into the Archives.

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PASSAGE

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes which consist of a designed Rite of Passage performed to Acknowledge and Celebrate the transitions in (Field of Life), from one sentient life-cycle stage into another. Such Process is usually performed by a group of Celebrants led by one or more Officiants, but which may be performed by any Member on the Currently Active Membership Role on Her/His own Progeny or Joined Ones if necessary. In the Temple these are not determined by physical ages but by the Individuals actual attainment of that stage. In our Tradition this Process is recommended to be performed at the transitions of  to  to  to  to  to  to  to  to  to  .

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PERFECTIONING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes performed which ordinarily both dedicate the One to be Perfected to Her/His Own Ultimate Potential Perfection, and acts as Rite of Passage into the Temple, claiming the Individual Becoming Quintessentially Perfected, to Membership in Her/His Tribal unit and the Garden of Life. Such Process is usually performed by a group of Celebrants led by one or more Officiants, but which may be performed by any Member on the Currently Active Membership Role on Her/His own Progeny or Joined Ones if necessary. In our Tradition this Process is recommended to be performed as soon after physical birth as practicable (and can be done at any time at the Individual's request), and in approximate three year intervals until the Rite of Passage to  is performed.

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JOINING

An Act, Acts, a Process, Processes and/or Series of Acts and/or Processes achieving Unification of Fields (in explication this reference is to an Entity's Field of Individuation which includes all of the Individual's aspects and component attributes: Essential, Intrinsic, Peripheral, Chronometric, Synchronometric, Durative, Inchoate, Established, Corporeal, Æthereal, Physical, Mental and Spiritual) between Individuals. Formal written declaration of such extant fact may be entered into the Temple Archives, often upon completion of a specifically designed Celebratory Working (Affirmation of Joining Celebration) to indicate the Temple's Affirmation: that Members are Joined in the Eyes of the Temple, and henceforth to be treated as a Household. This declaration is referred to as a Certificate of Joining. Neither the Certificate nor Celebration should be called a Joining, as that term properly indicates the actual experience of the Individuals involved. The Temple may set forth in the ByLaws the types of Joining Celebrations ordinarily performed. The Sacrament must be requested by all Individuals directly involved, and there is a required counseling period, before a Joining Celebration will be held, during which such requestors must converse with Officiants of the Temple, as to their intentions and desires for the Joining. Within the Doctrine of Garden of Life is the Belief that True Joining occurs within the Individuals involved, however, the Temple does Affirm and Certify the Accomplished Fact.

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SWAN SONG

An Act, Acts and/or Process or Series of Acts performed by and for a Celebrant, which ordinarily consists of a pre-enactment of the Celebrant's desired Memorial Service which may be held after the death of Her/His current physical body. Such Act may be scheduled at the Celebrant's desire, however, it should not be held until there is a reasonable expectation that She/He is near the end of Her/His current incarnation cycle. It should ordinarily be done only once for each Celebrant, and should be as accurate a portrayal as possible.

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ASSISTING IN THE TRANSLATION OF PLANES

An Act, Acts and/or Process or Series of Acts to aid an Individual in the navigation of the various levels between the Planes of Existence, after passage from the material plane. Such Act is usually performed by Celebrants led by one or more Officiants, at the request of a Member and/or an Individual or Individuals from the Member's Household, which ordinarily consists of performing a specifically designed Celebratory Ritual.

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