I took this idea long ago when I was studying Spanish poetry related to the Renaissance Mysticism (which appeared when Phillip II decided to close our frontiers to the rest of Europe in order to protect Catholicism from the Reform) and decided to apply it in my day-by-day; the Three Ways. It's useful when it comes to simplify, test yourself and feel realized.

1 - Purgative way: it leaves everything that is not completely necessary apart. This stage is often described as a fire that burns everything from the past. You can picture it also as "emptying the cup", "breaking down the previous structures", "cleaning your soul"... Any case, it's about making place for the new life, a point where to start again. Settle any debt you have, break any dependent relation you might have and end with your commitments: free yourself from the old life.

2 - Illuminative way: fills yourself with new habits, new knowledge, new ways. It's a time to make a stop, decide where you want to go and try out what you're capable of. You would settle the basis of a new life: get into a volunteering group, join a sports club, get an appealing job, read more,... And, this stage will test you out: see if you can stay focused to your goals and try not to fall again into the old life.

3 - Unitive way: once you've reached your goals, you should feel accomplished. Filled. It's real difficult to explain (even Mystics books say so), language lacks of words to explain it even vaguely.

Mystics liked to compare this with the cycle the phoenix suffered: once it's too old it burns in flames and from the ashes, a little chick is born.

It's some kind of method to seek the meaning of your life and work for it to reach the final stage. The possibilities are infinite depending on what your goal is (I for example use it to get out of monotonic periods and just build up a new lifestyle).

However, and just like many things in that period, the Three Ways were meant to meet God.

So when I thought again on those texts, the idea of applying it to find Eywa was just tempting. The first stage will be always the same (freeing oneself from the old routine, old habits), yet the others would be focused on the search for a more caring, natural and pure lifestyle.

I'll let that up to you, this is not a strict method: everyone is different and will find different ways to reach what they look for.

The only important thing here is to know where you want to go.

i'd actually like to know how many epic posts you can do after reading some books

leading a natural lifestyle is something that would be hard to get used to most of us, because we are already used to the "everyday life" , but you always can start with something , for me that natural lifestyle means living by using what you have around you (and of course not living in a city)

nice thread once again Zenit

Thanks Tzmukan. Just remember it's all about where you want to go: when or how you'll arrive is just a matter of time.

Everyone is given a key to their soul, all you have to do is find it

Like you said Zenit, everyone is different in where they look, and what for. A very inspirational post, thank you.

Hmm, very interesting indeed.

Although I believe it would be incredibly difficult to break all the bonds of the previous life as, no matter how hard you try, you will always have knowledge of it. (Having been born into and lived within 'our' system during the crucial development stage of life.)