This was posted on FB by Robert Prince:
The awakening of Frater Progradior (Frank Bennet).
“It is now five days since I received the experience which I am now about to write down clearly and in full. I have now been able to comprehend to some extent the import of what occurred on the night of the 19th of August 1921.
It was Friday morning when the Chief of the Abbey, the Beast 666, asked me if I would go for a swim with him and Leah, his bosom companion. I was not anxious to go, not being a good swimmer, but I consented to go with them. It was a glorious morning, no wind, the sea was a beautiful indigo blue, shading to a pale green, as it came near the shore. We undressed, and sat down for a time in the shade of a rock. It was while we sat enjoying the beauty of skay and sea, that the Beast said to me, ‘Prodradior, I want to explain fully and in a few words what initiation means, and what is meant when we talk of the Real Self, and what the Real Self is’. And in a few short sentences he explained the whole thing in a way that my consciousness seemed to expand there and then. We all entered the water, the Beast and Leah went out for a swim; but I found myself almost faint, and could only paddle about in the water. The words of the Beast still rang in my ears, and would not leave me for an instant. I returned to shore and dressed in the shade of a rock, and waited until the others returned.
After a short time they returned, and I asked the Beast to repeat to me again what he said before we entered the water. Reluctantly he did so, then remained silent and walked back to the abbey with his companion. I followed with the weight of his words sinking deeper and deeper into my consciousness.
I tried very hard for some time to get the meaning of what he said, but my mind would give it no solution. At seven that evening I went to Pentagram as usual, feeling nothing unusual. And after the ceremony, four of us sat talking while we drank our coffee. I got very interested in the conversation, and began to explain the principle of the subconscious mind and, what the subconscious mind was, and how it was most important to get in touch with it. We talked on until 11 pm.
I changed into pyjamas and got into bed, but felt no inclination to sleep. The idea of the words of my teacher, the Beast, would persist in my mind. I tried to shut them out, but the more I tried, the more persistent they became, until my head felt like it was about to split. I rolled and tossed upon my bed in agony, and the pain became greater and more acute, so that I could bear it no longer. It was 3 am, and the bed was wet through with perspiration; and so was I, but I did not know it then. I leaned out of the window to get some air, for I felt suffocating; and my head felt as if something within was swelling and increasing, until I felt as if it must soon break. I had to hold it with both hands, the pain was intense.
The room was too cramped, there was no air. I must get air, or I should go mad. I went outside, still holding my head, which still seemed to increase in size. I walked upon the hard, rough mountain paths without feeling them. And the more I struggled, the greater the pain in my head became, and it was in this desperate struggle that somethin within my said “breathe deep,” which is what I did, and at once became much calmer. As I breathed deeper and fuller, the calmer I became until I became conscious that I was walking in bare feet on the hard sharp stones and thorns, and I was cold and wet. My head became less painful, and it seemed as if instead of something breaking, it was closing in, and at the same time enfolding something.
I returned to my room; and now my mind was still, but absolute blackness pervaded my whole being. I looked at my watch: it was now 3:30 am, and I soon fell asleep. All next day I was very perplexed, in fact very miserable. I could not read or enjoy anything, and was glad when night came again. I retired early, about 9:30 pm And as the night before, the words of the Beast came again to my mind, and the same dull pain in the head. This time I watched the process without any fear, or any struggle. I kept quiet and still, and as I became quiet the pain decreased and a calm deep peace spread over my being. I became aware of some great force coming over me; my mind became alert and keen, but there was still that deep blackness that was in my mind the night before.
The words of the Beast came to me again, and I began to analyze them, and see what they meant. And my mind began to work on them without any effort, and I could see the full significance of the truth of what he said. For at that moment all became radiant and beautiful, my consciousness expanded to touch the inner world of realities – my mind had come into contact with some inner center of my being, which was God. Many things which had been difficult, and almost impossible, now seemed easy. My mind worked on solving many problems, and the real meaning of a Magical ceremony, which I wrote out the next day. I eventually fell asleep in peace, and rose the next morning feeling a new being. Everything was filled with new Life, Love, Liberty, and Light.
Love is the law, love under Will
Frater Progradior
