Curriculum

Preparation for the Great Work of the Templars takes place during the first three years of active Templar Research Institute membership. During this period the member is presented with study materials and fraternal assistance designed to facilitate self-enfoldment and the discovery of his or her personal mission within the larger mission of the Templars. During the first year of membership, Templars observe a traditional Period of Silence.

While in this Period of Silence the new Templar Research Institute member may participate fully in General Council Meetings, but during temple meetings must restrict his/her questions to him/herself by recording them and any inner responses s/he may receive in his/her Templar Journal. During each of the three years of preparation each member receives eleven Cahiers (Handbooks) for a total of 33 over a period of 33 months. These are designed to assist the student in coming to an understanding and recognition of those unconscious factors which impede mastery of the Soul and its attributes.

“The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one’s life.” —Dalai Lama

Year One

In addition to eleven Handbooks which introduce the new member to his or her unconscious processes.

During the course of the first year the new member is also encouraged to research and find a name which is meaningful to him or her as being representative of the nature of his or her quest.

The Templar Moral Code, What is the nature of Soul, Exploration of The Lost Word from different Traditions, Attributes of AUM, Attributes of Soul, Western vs. Eastern Moral Commandments, African Esoteric Doctrines, Exploration of Sacred Writings, Chivalry, Vital Life Force in Foods, use of the Pendulum, the meaning of the pentagram, Incarnation and Reincarnation, Inductive Reasoning, Sensory Preferences and how they develop, implications of Sensory Preferences to Public Education and to Esoteric Studies, Personality Types and Traits, Temperaments of Jungian Psychology, Observing Functions of Soul, The Mind-Body-Soul connection, Levels of Mind, The Five Alchemical Elements in Templar Doctrine, Qabbalistic Aspects of the Human Constitution, Egyptian Mystery Practices, Akashic Records, Stress from a Psychological and Physiological Point of view, the Autonomic Nervous System and its association with glands and hormones, the role of Ego, Sacred Geometry, Sacred Architecture, The Dark Night of the Soul, the Relation between the Dark Night of the Soul and Jungian Psychology, Archetypes and their manifestation in the Psyche, Man’s five fold structure and the doctrine of three bodies in five sheaths, Jungian Archetypes, the Spiritual Quest, the Tarot as a Mirror, Psychic Principle vs. Psychic Identity, Elemental Initiation Rites, Pineal and Pituitary Gland Functions, Psychic Centers and Chakras, What Is Energy, the Aura, Spiritual dimensions of Health and Healing, the Affects of Negativity on Adrenal Gland Functioning, and the Effects of one’s Sense of Identity on his/her Physiology and Biochemistry.

Year Two

Commitment to
Honor,
Integrity, and
Valor; to
Altruism,
Loyalty and
Rigor,
Yielding, while doing for others as I would have others do unto me

During the course of the second year of membership, in addition to a new series of Handbooks designed to develop the “Intelligence of the Heart”, the member is encouraged to research and develop a personal Chivalric Code of Honor . The nature of this Code must be such that it calls forth from the member his or her finest sentiments without, at the same time, negating the necessary rigors of life in this world. He or she is then given pointers as to how best to use his or her Code of Honor as protection against the slings and arrows of life. The following serves as an example of a personal Code of Honor.

Hermetic Doctrines, An Exploration of the Emerald Tablet, the Emerald Tablets of Thoth, Ether, Vital Life Force, Space and Time, Templar Work in the Third Millennium, Meditation and Meditation Posture, The Subconscious, Unconscious Phase of Mind, the Ego and the Ba, the Nothingness or Silence or Void, Atlantis, Great Halls of Amenti, Ancient Land of Khem, Egyptian Priesthood, Thoth in Americas, the Mayas, Initiation into the Mysteries, the Fall, Good and Evil, Forest of Illusion, Letting Go, the State of Grace, Freedom from Desire and Bondage, the Bardo State, the Veiled Presence, Mindfulness, Transmutation, What is an Initiate, Great White Lodge, Brothers of Light, Sacred Place of Worship, Tree of Life, Wise Old One Archetype, along with further exercises.

Year Three

During the course of this third year, the member receives a series of Handbooks which are designed to foster the marriage between the head and the heart. At the end of this series the member is encouraged to convert his or her Chivalric Code of Honor into a personal Coat of Arms. This personal Coat of Arms, henceforth, will become his or her personal Badge of Honor, the symbol of his or her spiritual commitment to himself or herself. Once rendered, this personal Coat of Arms is registered and as such its uniqueness would be protected from duplication by any other member.

Mutation Theories, Finding the Holy Grail and Keys to the Grail Quest, Qabbalistic aspects of the Crucifixion, Greek Mysteries, Healing from an Alchemical Perspective, the Personal Chivalric Code of Honor, The Three Divisions of the Human Body and the Universal Doctrines Associated with Them, Tibetan Chakra and Energy Doctrines, Tarot, Law of Attraction, Ida and Pingala work in relation to Kundalini and the Sushumna, Qabbalistic Associations with Energy Channels, Polarizing Energy with Breath, Symbolism of the Templar Cross in it’s Universal Aspect, Autonomic vs. Parasympathetic Nervous Systems in their Qabbalistic Aspects, mantras and mandalas and vowel intonations, Alchemical Doctrines, Karma, More Jungian Work, The Laws of Compassion, Breathing in Relation of Aromatherapy, The Chamber of Initiation, Knighthood and its Significance, the Marriage between Soul and God.