RealPagan
The Dweller on the Threshold
Within each of us exists a thing we like to call the Dweller on the Threshold. If you understand
the process of spiritual evolution to be like walking through a door,
the Dweller on the Threshold is the bouncer who is there to keep you
from walking through that door.
Now, it's not malicious. It's not doing this because it's evil - it's just content. It likes you just the
way you are, warts and all. Truthfully, it has some measure of control
over you (as you'll see in a few moments), just enough to keep you just
the way you are. It's desires can be thought of as circuitious: it wants
to keep you just as you are so it can keep control over you, so it
exerts control over you to keep you just as you are.
(It is also not an external entity, mind. It's part of you. We all contain within us multitudes.)
The Dweller on the Threshold is a personification of the intellectual fear
that keeps us from interacting with Deep Mind. In a very real way, the
Dweller on the Threshold is there to prevent us from accessing our magic
and our gods, as it is the inherent human fear of transformation and
change.
The Dweller's finest tools are our fear and our low self-esteem. When we become stronger people through the initiatory
crucible of the Craft, we weaken the hold of the Dweller on us, prying
its fingers away from the passage to the Deep Mind. Thus, the Dweller
fights those situations where we bypass it and begin to touch Deep Mind.
The Dweller usually works in four stages. Through our time in the Craft, we
move through these stages. It is important that you come to recognize
when the Dweller is at work. These stages are:
- Embarrassment: I feel stupid. This stage is the most common among new witches. Our culture tends to
be devoid of ritual, or even if we come from a society that still uses
it, ritual is normally something someone else does. This is the moment
where you realize how "ridiculous" you look, standing there in robes,
with a bunch of other robed people, drawing things in the air with your
knife. - Resentment: This is stupid. This is another early Dweller reaction. Rather than being turned
inward, however, it is externalized: you find all of this stuff you're
doing to be utter nonsense, and you can't for the life of you figure out
why you're participating. It's stupid, it's silly and it's juvenile, a
bunch of adults getting together to play make-believe. - Enervation: I'm tired; I'm in pain. Once the stages of embarrassment and resentment have been pushed
through, this is the most common one: a feeling of low energy. It may
manifest as bodily pain (particularly in those with chronic issues) or
simply feeling too tired - the thought of ritual is just exhausting or
unappealing. It often manifests as the urge to "just spend some time
with one another, instead of bothering with ritual." - Apathy: I'm bored. One of the latter stages of the Dweller's attempts to derail spiritual
progress is boredom or apathy. It starts to seem like you do the same
thing, all the time. Ritual has become rote, with no feeling in it. The
Dweller actually takes advantage of the urge to delve deeper into
spirituality by creating the illusion that what you're doing now is
actually blocking your spiritual progress, creating the desire to run
off and find something new, when in truth, we delve deeper through
continued and disciplined use of our praxis. You don't dig a deeper hole
by moving from spot to spot; you have to stand in one place and keep
digging there.
experienced witches. It has access to every single one of our talents
and skills - even our magic. On those days where it seems like
everything in the world around you is conspiring to keep you from doing
the Work you planned to do that evening, it might be worthwhile to take a
careful look to see if there is some internal desire to just forget
about it and not do it that is radiating outward and affecting your
environment. Stranger things have happened.
Ultimately, it is awareness of the Dweller that allows us to defeat it. Addressing our
desires to remain stagnant, to just "get a little rest right now" with
discipline and discernment are the only means of overcoming them, and
pushing through.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Oakthorne on
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Your Dweller is a force for stability. It works to prevent change - ultimately, it "likes you just the way you are." In many ways, the Dweller works to help us achieve normalcy and stability.
The downside of this, however, is that the Dweller also tends toward stagnation.
Now, the Dweller seeks to use the tools that we give it. For most people, this means the things that impact how we behave: things like guilt, fear of ridicule, self-loathing. It will also use other tools, including a witch's own magic, to take whatever steps necessary to keep radical transformation from happening in the Self.
We all have a Dweller, but as we begin to practice magic, seek spiritual development, and/or immerse ourselves in the initiatory crucible, it gets more active. We're facing down the possibility of greater change through these mediums, so the Dweller fights it harder, generally by using the four approaches above: Embarrassment, Resentment, Enervation and Apathy.
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Permalink Reply by Leisha -- Back Home on -
To add on to what Oak posted, the Dweller doesn't want you getting hurt, and anything unknown means you might get hurt. So doing something like starting a course of spiritual study that might change you means that you could get hurt, so it will fight you on that. Getting married might get you hurt, so it will fight you on that. Going to school might hurt you, so it will fight you on that. On the other hand, it will also try to keep you from going down a dark alley in an unfamiliar town, taking a trip on roads you don't know when there's bad weather coming, experimenting with drugs, and so on. When you push through and make change, the Dweller will shift its idea of what is familiar and safe. In the last example, about experimenting with drugs, once you're an addict, the Dweller will try and keep you as an addict, because who knows what could happen if you stopped--it is familiar and therefore safe in the mind of the Dweller.
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Oh! Now I get it! Thank you both for taking the time to explain it :)
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Permalink Reply by MJ on -
***Just a Thought***
As adults, it is easier to see how the Dweller plays a role in our lives. Often, childen (especially teens), are faced with the same four factors of: Embarrassment, Resentment, Enervation and Apathy. They are quick to want to grow-up, yet often, lack the ability to deal with the Dweller. They are easily sidetracked from their goals, or infact, can't even make realistic goals, due to the presence of the Dweller. In the school setting, teachers witness their behavior in such roles as: the "Class Clown", the "Teacher's Pet", the "Jock", the "Nerd", the "Trouble Maker",and various other forms of titles. Within each of these, the outline of acceptable behavior is outlined, and must be adhered to, in order to maintain the title. In fact, there are some,that never outgrow these titles, even after reaching adulthood. Pushing to make a positive change, is not easy, yet, how often do we say, "grow up".
Wouldn't life be vastly different for all, if the dealing with the Dweller, was as simple as growing older....
Blessings, MJ)O(
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Permalink Reply by XOXO888 on -
Wow! oh I really like this post, it puts a lot of things into perspective for me : )
Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by Jet Piston on -
Oakthorne wrote: "Truthfully, I don't actually know if this is ubiquitous to BTW..."
I've never heard of it, so I'd have to say it is not. Interesting, though.
-Jet
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Permalink Reply by Guinevere on -
Your post makes me think of Eckart Tolle's book "A New Earth" that talks about the Ego, that constant voice in your head that prevents you from being present in your own life and actually living it.
I like the imagery of the Dweller. It makes it a little bit easier to give a face to my Ego.
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