The Temple Within refers to the inner place of prayer, meditation, imagination, and other spiritual work that we all have within us. It is this place, deemed the Temple, that individuals throughout the ages have used to connect with their ancestors, loved ones who have passed, higher spiritual deities, the universe itself, and so on and so forth. Furthermore, it was this inner-space that the shamans of the ancient world worked with, utilizing this inner spiritual connection to expand their creative minds and propel the evolution of human consciousness forward.

The Place of Connecting with the Divine

When you connect with the Temple Within, you become the priest or priestess as you become the mediator between the divine forces of the universe and the physical-mundane world you exist in. That is what a priest is, defined as the mediator between God and Man, furthermore, by entering the Temple Within, you remove the middleman and become the mediator yourself.

This is a place many spiritual people go to without even considering it a temple at all. Everytime you close your eyes and pray, meditate, visualize, or so forth, you’re entering into this inner-world (or Other World as many ancient cultures referred to it as) that is your own place of connection with the universe and the divine forces that permeate it.

From an archaic standpoint the other world is the realm the shaman journeys into to connect with different spirits in order to then bring back wisdom to the tribe. This concept of the Other World is the same as the Temple Within, the Other World is simply an understanding of the vastness of the inner-world, whereas the Temple refers to our ability to bring order to this chaotic dream land and create a space that is safe and comfortable for us to connect with ourselves and the divine forces of the universe.

Jesus Advocated for the Temple Within as have many Spiritual Teachers

Mathew 6: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven… And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Another verse from the New Testament reads:

1 Corinthians 3 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Both of these passages in the New Testament recognize spirituality as an internal process that deals with knowing and connecting with God in a way that can’t be accomplished by simply going to a building of worship or projecting yourself as a person of God.

The Temple is given life by the Spirit of God not the wood used to build its physical form.

The physical church, or temple, is still a Holy Divine Concept, however it’s nothing more than a symbolic anchor, anchoring the conception of a holy place into physical reality. Furthermore, the collective belief that this place is spiritual makes it so.

The Temple is filled with the Holy Spirit of God (All) which dwells within each and every one of us. The way to connect with this spirit is through the Temple Within, however, it can “fill” a building if and when those who build and or acquire the building decide to do so through ritual, prayer, or simply thinking of it in such a manner.

We project God and spirituality into the world in a way that some might critique as a form of active imagination. The reason I’m not afraid to speak of it in terms such as imagination is because I understand just how truly powerful the imagination is. The use of the imagination gives one the ability to master an array of tools and techniques that can help them live the best and truest life they possibly can.

In a more metaphysical way, however, by simply imagining a building as being Holy and Divine, you tap into a spiritual power that allows you to interact with it as such. Rather than imagination, some might prefer to think of it in terms of belief. By believing the Church is Holy one makes it so. This is nothing short of a superpower, made clear by the fact that programming other’s beliefs and their imagination is something that countless have gone to great lengths to accomplish for the sake of power and control.

Furthermore, the spiritual tools, made possible only through the use of one’s imagination, makes up what has been understood throughout the ages as Magic. Magic, sharing the same etymological root as ‘Imagination’, traces its roots back to the Magi of old. These Magi were not simply concerned with manipulating reality but understanding it. For this reason, the Magi were the individuals who traveled into the inner-world for the sake of attaining knowledge of themselves and the universe, just as their ancient shamanic ancestors did.

For this reason, I believe the Temple Within to be the most foundational tool of magic and spirituality, allowing one to harness their imagination and control their inner world. By doing so, one can then communicate with it and attune themselves with God (the universe) and the other forces that have been seen as spirits and entities that dwell within this inner, other world.

The Temple Within is the first spiritual-magical tool, or technique, that one needs to master in order to become their own priest or priestess and communicate with the inner divine forces of spirituality. This is something that has been known and taught by many spiritual leaders, however, it’s far less effective to teach people how to communicate with God and far more profitable to act as the gatekeeper. This doesn’t mean that all teachers, preachers, and pastors are bad. It does mean, however, that no human being should ever feel as if they need someone else to connect with God and the other divine forces of the universe. Rather, all true mediators should make it their mission to bring the people into union with God and the divine forces themselves.

The Doorway to the Temple Within

The Doorway allows the Temple to remain sacred as you can open and close it at will.

This Doorway has been understood for centuries as what is known as a Magic Circle. The concept of a Magic Circle is nothing more than a circle you draw, with your imagination, around yourself and your work space. It further helps to have a set of words you use to direct the drawing, sealing, opening, and concealing of the circle. The acts of doing such cements in your mind the idea that working within the circle is truly sacred, helping to establish a connection with the divine that can be tapped into whenever you would like.

Furthermore, the Key to the door is more than a use of words (which simply creates a trigger for the mind in a way that allows it to dial into the inner-world, producing a flow like state of consciousness). Rather, the Key exists as what the Druids of the past understood as the Wishing Rod or Magic Wand. This magic item, made by hand from wood, symbolizes a connection between the individual and their imagination as they endow the wand the same way one would a church, making it Holy and bringing it to life. While this aspect is a topic for a later discussion, the Wand itself is foundational as is the Magic Circle, as they are the Door and Key to the Sacred Temple Within. Together, they help replace the need for a Church, or physical building, while producing the same spiritual and psychological effects.