Greetings from Xyphokonic Order and Ordinance. Welcome back on this Sacred Day. As we’re still deep within our elongated discussion of the Lord’s Xyphozon, today we’ll talk about Self-Purification, its general purposes, what circumstances must be required to be able to purify yourself, some methods to purifying yourself, and the basis for those methods. Let us begin.

Self-Purification Is the act of purging one’s body, mind, and soul of tainted energy, theigrited energy, or other forms of corruption by managing the balance between Unhinged Grievance and Shackled Misery and by cleansing the body of impurities. Spirituality, this is preluded by the Sacred Prayer of Self-Purification before conducting the action(s) necessary to begin the Purification.

All spiritual beings aside from the Lords and their Archangels and Angels have some varying level of corruption in them that circles through their very being; Corruption is still a force spawned by one of the 10 deities, after all, and can permeate through all of existence just as any other deity’s power can. The key is to manage its flow and to purge as much corruption as possible to prevent the rapid decay of the soul or to succumb to immorality.

In more ancient times, some physical practices were taken to push away corruption from the body and purifying it, and while the reasoning has morphed over time due to the advancement of science and knowledge, the practices still have merit and intrinsic value to them. One of these beliefs was that cleansing of the body through bathing would shed corruption from the body. This is how it became a Xyphoist custom to always bathe and be clean before entering a House of Worship to pray or before scheduled praying at the home/in general. Bathing not only sheds dirt and grime from the physical form, but it offers a time where one can be vulnerable to the world and to be in a serine state; this is the ideal time to reflect on Life, to empty the head, to resonate with the Cosmos, etc.

Along with bathing, other forms of hygiene are regarded as actions one can take to purify themselves. The Xyphokron mentions the upkeep of “gnarls or furs” from the body save for that on the head; we understand this to mean the trimming or shaving. In the past it was believed that the stench often clinging to body or facial hair was corruption. Obviously, we now know this to simply be bacteria consuming sweat, but the advice to keep shaved or trimmed on the face and other parts of the body still promotes good hygiene for those who wish to partake. The general practice of taken care of the physical body itself can not only keep the body in good standing but uplift the mood as well. Generally speaking, in modern times, this has lead to the unofficial custom of Xyphoites shaving before entering the House of Worship in conjunction with bathing, or at least keeping a nicely-kept, short beard for men. It’s not necessarily frowned upon if one does hold a long beard or heavy facial hair, but the practice of doing so is a definite outlier in Xyphoist customs. The hair on the head, however, is specifically mentioned to be perfectly okay to be grown out as long as one desires.

Not engaging in the regular indulgence of intoxication, whether that be from consumable or inhaled substances, digital addictions, etc is also naturally a part of keeping corruption adrift from the body. Habitual Intoxication is an Immoral Act within the philosophy specifically because it puts the Self in turmoil and allows it to be controlled by corruption.

Along with this, caring for one’s mental state is a crucial part of Purification. A sound mind is one more adept at keeping corruption from taking hold. This is where Unhinged Grievance and Shackled Misery come in play the most, and why the balance between these two is key. Corruption takes advantage of an ill-kept mind and often makes those inflicted commit harmful actions against themselves or others. This is why the Ordinance has identified the greater access to mental health and rehabilitation services as one of its major focuses and goals in the future Sacred Hill Project; we believe that the mental health crisis humanity faces has led to much of the suffering we experience daily—both on a small scale but also on a global scale.

This methods have been identified as some actions that we can take to purify ourselves of corruption and continue our goal of mitigating worldly suffering for others and Maintaining the Equilibrium. Through the act of Self-Purification, we offer ourselves a chance to shed unjust corruption and continue forward. It should be noted that Self-Purification does not work on those who commit willful acts of immorality and are therefore tainted or evil. As mentioned before, there is no forgiveness to evil, only Divine Punishment. Unlike some divergent philosophies, particularly ones attributed to the Theigriet himself, you cannot wash away your willful sins by repentance. This is merely a convenient excuse to continue acting on your evil and being given a pass to your own guilt of it. Such a concept doesn’t exist in the Xyphoist Philosophy.

—kyX, jzX