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  • Commentary 21: Prayer with Practice Discussion “Public Action”

    Greetings from the Order and Ordinance. This will be the last Prayer w/ Practice entry for this period of Auvriile. Last we met, we talked about personal action to take as a Xyphoite to ward off corruption and be in alignment with Xyphoist Philosophy. Today we will talk about actions a Xyphoite should take in public life to both remain consistent with our philosophy and to also aid in Maintaining the Equilibrium. No haste, let’s begin.

    We’ve already talked specifically about the use of wealth as a tool for humanitarian aid, and we’ve talked about how we address theigritism publicly, now we can go over some general actions that signify public action and life as a Xyphoite. One of the main actions is simply the action of being private with our faith and identity as Xyphoites. Often, you’ll see people of divergent beliefs adorn themselves in symbols of their beliefs, or they will openly talk and even preach of their believes; Xyphoites do NOT do that. Preaching and Proselytizing are immoral actions, as we’ve talked about many times, and but symbols that brazenly showcase our faith are means of promoting ourselves and our ways, which is an unnecessary part of faith. This isn’t some sort of competition to see which religious belief is the better team; we don’t need to wear a team jersey to be faithful and to follow our philosophy, so adorning ourselves with the Xyphokonic Sigil would be silly and arbitrary while also potentially be seen as preaching or proselytizing. This extends to speaking about our philosophy to those that don’t ask about it. Brining up your faith in casual conversation in public is part of that sin of preaching and proselytizing.

    Xyphoites will also respect the spiritual liberty of others and the autonomy others have over their own paths in life. We aren’t going to go around telling other people they can’t believe in divergent faiths; we also expect this in return, and will not tolerate being stopped in our own personal practice of our philosophy within our Sacred Grounds. We are will defend our faith if we are attacked over it, but attack against us must first follow, and defense is key over aggression whenever possible.

    We should refrain from narcissism or obsession in Self. Nothing clouds judgement and good action than being self-absorbed. It’s quite easy as humans prone to Hubris to fall into that hole, but carrying around a morbidly self-obsessed attitude is almost certainly going to lead to a path of bad actions that will cause suffering to those around you.

    Going along with self-obsession, humility and humbleness, moderate application, and modesty in personality are key. Well not giving up on yourself and being meek, always remaining grounded and kept in well-order is crucial to being able to calmly and adequately uphold Xyphoist Philosophy. No one here is invincible, nobody here is divine, we are all mortals in this world and being reminded that the Cosmos can wipe us of this existence just as soon as it ushered it in is tantamount. With the suffering that inflicts this world, those who have the privilege to even read these commentary from a digital source are already in a place of extreme comfort compared to much of the human population on this planet alone. We, as Xyphoites, should remain grateful for what we have been offered or have acquired, and should work to mitigate worldly suffering so that others too can experience this level of safety and order. Stability is the enemy of Deceptuary, and the Order offers its namesake as a way to ward off his foul ambitions. Every bite of food is cherished, every roof that shields off a storm is cherished, every breath taken is cherished. It could be worse, and it could be your last, it could the be last time you see another enjoy these gifts; cherish it while you are able to, for we as Xyphoites understand that Death is eternal, inevitable, and companion to aid in the spiritual cycle, and part of what makes LIFE what it is.

    We hope these discussion on Xyphoist action were helpful in forming the bases of how we should conduct ourselves in life as Xyphoites. We have given basic actions in these commentary, and all other action stems off of this and what is already within the Xyphoist Philosophy. Remember, Prayer without Practice is nothing but Preaching, and we do not PREACH. We DO, we ACT, and we EMBODY the Prayer in our ACTION. Have a Sacred Day.

    —ruX

  • Commentary 20: Prayer with Practice “Personal Actions”

    Greetings from the Order and Ordinance. Today, we continue our series called Prayer w/ Practice and will talk about actions we, as Xyphoites, should take on our personal lives to remain pure and free of corruption. These actions align a lot with some of the goals of Project Sacred Hill. Let’s get into it.

    Care for the vessel itself is the start. While we recognize much of the physical purification of the body was based on ancient understanding of health and hygiene, most customs have nevertheless remained helpful to do. Cleanliness is a key part of those customs, and so keeping the body well-kept and clean is seen as a means to ward off corruption. Applying modern understanding, we can conclude that keeping yourself together physically is a goal-orientated motivator to keeping other parts of your Self together. Xyphoites will clean themselves, bathe or shower, shave their faces, wash or brush hair, and keep themselves in clean and neat order prior to conducting any type of Prayer. Putting yourself in a clean physical state helps to mentally prepare yourself. As they sometimes say “if you look good, you feel good” and Prayer is about feeling secure and well in yourself so you can give your spirituality to the Cosmos and begin helping others.

    Linking to that, mental health is tantamount to Xyphoist Action. Maintaining one’s inner Equilibrium is the key means of warding off corruption. A broken mind will lead to broken action. This part is a key goal of the Sacred Hill Project, aiding and giving better mental healthcare to those who would otherwise be without it. We can readily witness a global mental health crisis and can recognize just how many issues could be resolved through better access and care for mental instability.

    We, as Xyphoites, MUST care for our Minds. Doing so through the management of Unhinged Grievance and Shackled Misery—the management of raw emotional response versus muted sacrifice—is a tool we can utilize to keep our minds in check. A Xyphoite should not let the fear of their own head consume them. We shall confront our inner demons and our scariest thoughts, accept they are part of us, and seek help if we need it. Do not fear that which is you; Confront it. If such mental state is causing you distress, seek help for it. The lack of action on your own mental state will most-likely end up consuming you. That is the corruption we seek to ward off.

    Working off mental health, we directly move to some of its major consequences or poor decisions taken from it—specifically the habitual abuse of substances. Starting off, the Habitual use of Excessive Intoxication by physical or ideological substances is an Immoral Act. To elaborate better: using something that can be or is definitively harmful to the body or mind as a means to “escape” the mental or physical troubles of our world in such excess that it actively harms yourself or others around you is immoral. You not only give into corruption but you often let it hurt the lives of those around you by your corrupted actions.

    The most obvious examples are drug addictions, from hard drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin,  all the way down to legal substances such as alcohol. We are pragmatic and realistic, and understand that its impossible to fully expect all of humanity to avoid every drug or substance all the time, as some of these are legal already, and we aren’t going to force or stop anyone from using them, but we do privately plead that humanity relies less on these substances—especially the harder ones—and actively plan to aid and one-day open our own secular rehabilitation facilities to help those with addiction issues who have decided they want to change.

    It’s important to say that, since we are realistic, we understand substances such as alcohol, marijuana, tobacco etc. are mostly legal in use, are used regularly by people without them being habitual and excessive, and therefore also recognize that, in a lot of cases, that recreational but not abusive use is NOT immoral in itself. Nobody is going to be tossed into divine condemnation for having a drink at a bar or smoking a joint, but the rampant abuse of these substances will mostly lead to unfortunate results and we do not condone the use of those substances in such manners.

    Working of this, the use of ideological or otherwise physical substances unrelated to drugs is also included. People will often attach themselves to extreme ideologies and ideas as a means to find that same level of mental security or escape. People will often using physical actions such as over-exercising, eating disorders, or other types of self-harm or bodily strain to cope with mental hang-ups. In many cases, even the use of digital media, such as addictions to sexual imagery, overuse of digital mediums as TV, games, social media etc. can be substances that psychologically intoxicate the mind.

    Now, to be clear again, we are not saying if you play games or watch movies or even watch adult content that you are immoral and worthy of divine punishment, but like all addictions, we recognize that addiction is not limited to drug use. Watching how we act and what we use as crutches to escape from inner pain is KEY to maintaining our personal lives, and we should put everything on a moderate use. A Xyphoite will maintain their vices, and not let themselves be consumed by them. There is no shame in human faults, there is no need for guilt to push you, but there is also no happiness or stability in intoxication—only drowning in it.

    —ruX, kyX, jzX, whX

  • Commentary 19: Prayer with Practice Discussion “Actions regarding Theigrits”

    Greetings from the Order and Ordinance. This week we continue with our Prayer with Practice Discussion and talk about how a Xyphoite should act or respond in cases of open theigrited action against them or others. Let’s begin.

    To start, we must first look at what the Lords themselves decree on the issue of theigrits and their action, and we can start by looking at those trusty seven major immoral actions a Xyphoites should never break. Immediately, we can recognize that Preaching and Proselytizing, using any such unwarranted belligerent force, and particularly attempting to administer punishment based off of morality to those not following Xyphoist Philosophy are all adamantly immoral actions. It would then be obvious that applying those decrees to the case of theigrits who are simply existing in their normal state—that hell-bent on serving Deceptuary’s ill-found desires—will warrant perhaps an internal dismissal and a talking of from within Sacred Grounds, but not action taken against these entities unless naturally war was declared against the Order and Ordinance directedly and Kurathmas declared. We are humans, we are not divine beings, and we are certainly not Lord Kurakku, so we shall not usurp His power of Divine Punishment.

    So, what does a Xyphoite do if they are the victim of an individual theigrited attack or are in the presence of such an active attack? Deter it. Defend yourself, protect yourself from any such attack without attempted to retaliate out of moral vengeance. In the case of witnessing such attack, step in and defend the victim. Shield them, offer help, or trying your best to use the institutional tools around you to insulate them from such attack whenever possible without propping your religious motivation as the reason. You are not acting as a savior or than acting out of those deeply held convictions. Offering defense for yourself or help to others doesn’t require having to disclose your reasoning for as the demand for action itself is so ingrained and empathetic behavior in general it simply coincides with Xyphoist Philosophy regardless.

    When it boils down to it, we as Xyphoites know the age-old tale regarding the actions and existence of theigrits and those who commit Great Acts of Theigritism and why we wouldn’t need to aid in their eventual downfalls anyway: “Theigrits will inevitably destroy themselves.” Trust that they don’t need our help in tripping into their own grave, our job is to mitigate the suffering caused by the corruption they spread, and any direct confrontation only takes place if we as an Order and Ordinance are directly maligned by any such nefarious entity wishing to declare war against said Order, and that action is called into fruition by the Arch-Hayles Grandurate with the declaration of Kurathmas.

    —ruX, jzX