Group Review: Λεύκωσις: The Rough Stone and the Living Statue

I'll share my notes and understading here.

So for me, we start with learning that we have many factors that influence our lives, but the master arranges everything to fit his evolution of self.

To start, the birth of a human is the process of stones coming together and through proper cleaning and purification, we become the marble. To chisel is hardly ever gentle. This is a distinction after the "smoothing over" of purification. To really purify ourselves beforehand is of utmost importance. And so I quote from the page:

"The sculpting of the self is, first, a work of removal."

Moving on to another quote:

"A virtue practised once is a statue untied."

To be absolute here, virtue is practiced and maintained lifelong. The chisel never chips, it strikes onto the stone half-hearted, without making a difference. As long as you actively continue to work on yourself, you are truly to connecting to Zeus and the Gods here.

Perceptions, mentalities, psychological reasonings influenced by society, mass religion and culture can have one, to an extent, chisel the statue unknowingly for better or for worse. The current era unfortunately is set up for worse. But it does make one wonder where the world could be with Zevism as a powerful positive influence on the world, and the natural sculpting most humans would fall into.

Moving on, don't be afraid of difficult things, as any advancements made to overcome them is power and order created within you. How many times has High Priest Zevios Metathronos used the comparison of going to the gym to become stronger. It's so simple and universal to see any test of life as just another weight to carry and train with, a new exercise to perform, and a new PR (personal record) to reach. Either way, you compete against yourself, and your opportunity to be the victorious one is always there and present.

So the more you do, the more you become, and the more confidence you have to perform even more. Do something "slightly more" than you usually do each day, and maintain it. When it no longer feels uncomfortable or as a heavy load, do "slightly more" again and repeat this cycle. This is self training, and prepares the body and soul for any future life difficulties.

Don't pressure yourself to be in a rush for perfection. All you need to do is start. Start slow if you have to, but never stop for too long. Maintain a steady build, as consistently as you can.

But maybe the most important revelation for me. Sculp yourself, and through your character proven by actions, the God in you begins to shine. The Gods are revealed, through you. This really places me in a state of wonder and awe.

When it comes to losses and failures being conduits for growth, I'll share a short example of having gone through loss. The losses in my love life led me to have the character that attracted my current wife to me. I was cheated on in my younger years by women I thought were the love of my life. I've had "crushes" laugh in my face because of "embarrassing acts" I did to even slightly elicit an attraction from them. I remember I had a first date where I was asked to smoke weed with her (mind you, I was already free from doing any of this) but because I didn't want her to potentially be uncomfortable, I smoked.

Of course, this led to a very awkward interaction and all chances with her were blown. Skipping a few months ahead I had another first date with a girl I had a feeling wasn't the smoker type, but because she thought I smoked, (I used to give out this vibe apparently), she asked if I wanted to smoke. I really liked her, so with a little bit of backbone and especially not to completely ruin my chances I told her, "I don't think we're going to need to do that."

This led to one of the greatest days & nights of my life, and we're happily together to this day. 11 years later. I'm reminded now to state we need to believe in ourselves, just as much as we believe in the Gods, and act on this.

Moving on to the meditative practices shared in the Temple, the act of protecting yourself, in order to properly continue working on yourself, is already an act of sculpting on its own. To those who clean and protect their auras everyday, it's interesting to notice how much one changes because of this consistent practice.

"be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant excellence and prosperity."

So noticing this prayer is written more than once on this page to tune in the mind and acknowledge the blessings of the great work. I can also connect another quote from the Philosophical Page titled "Noble Speech," and start the prayer with: "Great is Zeus... and be gracious ect,.." I started this short prayer today upon waking.

So now, be objective in this process and see the work as an act of love for yourself while removing what is unhealthy. Here, I can also connect a quote from Astarte's ethics from Love and Hate: "Love yourself to grow, but hate the aspects of yourself that you must improve upon, so you can love yourself all the more!"

Take inspiration from others, but trust in yourself, to become an improved version of yourself. This applies to the confidence I mentioned above, because confidence and trust can go hand in hand. And of course, there's a fine balance between work and rest. Do your best to find that balance and if you fail, you start again. Now with more knowledge and experience.

To finish off here, the protective power of your Guardian Daimon really starts to manifest through you. This is the transformation at the summit and from there, more power is given to the powerful as more wisdom is given to the wise.

Thank you NG Lucius Invictus for starting this discussion.

I may not be so advanced, I am still in the alchemical chaos. Yet there is one lesson that has been consistently hammered into me: repetition.

Sometimes, we think we have finally understood a lesson, only for another trial to appear on our path. For so long, I found myself stuck on the virtue of Freedom and the Fall. But with time, I began to understand what was being asked of me, especially when I reflected on the words concerning freedom:

“One is free to listen, or not to listen. To apply knowledge, or not to apply it.”

I began reflecting on the countless times our High Priest has urged us to act, to put knowledge into practice rather than merely understand it intellectually.

But there is something that follows the Fall: resistance, pain, trials, and errors. There is destruction, the weight of confronting our past actions, and the difficult process of making peace with what we have done. At the same time, we are trying to cultivate positive habits, develop the virtues we need, and become the people we aspire to be.

Yet even in this pursuit, we sometimes discover that we have not created enough space within ourselves for the very qualities we are trying to cultivate. Old patterns remain. Resistance resurfaces. We stumble, reflect, learn, and begin again. And so the cycle continues.

It was only when I began to turn inward, to reflect and observe myself more consciously, that I started noticing something I had previously overlooked: even in the midst of all this chaos, there is a shape taking form.

Perhaps the repetition is not merely a lesson being hammered into me, but an invitation to embody what I have learned. Perhaps understanding is only the beginning, while application, through trial and error, is where the real work unfolds.

I may not yet be where I desire to be, and I may still have much to unlearn, rebuild, and reconcile within myself. But I am beginning to recognize that transformation does not always announce itself through immediate clarity or visible progress.

Sometimes, it reveals itself through the very struggles we once believed were holding us back.

And so, I will continue to observe, to reflect, to apply, and to correct myself where necessary.

The chaos may still be unfolding, but the work must continue.