Tenets To Be Observed – 2nd Stone

O.R.D.E.R.

Orient Towards Physical Proficiency, Prioritize Fitness If Lacking

For those not familiar with the “OODA Loop”, it is a decision-making process. It is most often used to train for quick decision-making but can also be applied to long-term planning. The cycle of the OODA Loop is to Observe-Orient-Decide-Act.

You always observe your given environment or situation before orienting yourself in the correct direction, deciding on the action, and then acting out said action. That last part is very important but just as important is the direction in which you decide to orient yourself.

It is no coincidence that the word “Orient” is used in this tenet. We use the word orient because although physical fitness is a wonderful goal, we all know the usual rate of success for the majority of the population. Having a vague goal of physical fitness is not enough. We know this. We all must consistently reevaluate our position in the world whether it be physical prowess, fitness level, or general status.

We must regularly set aside time to confirm that we are at least facing the correct direction which will carry us towards success in this particular area. One of the Degrees within the 3rd Stone of the VéRúnian Order recommends frequent intermittent fasting. This is important as a mental exercise but can also greatly assist in cutting unnecessary fat.

Fasting will not cure a lack of musculature or agility. There are of course several amazing programs out there to tackle those aspects. The best programs start low and progress upward just as you will throughout the path of The Order. If you are unsure as to which program to start within the ways of strength training or agility, reach out to a brother or sister on a similar path for suggestions and directions. They will be glad to assist in orienting you towards the correct starting position.

Respect the Past, Honor Your Ancestors

The common phrase is that “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it”. I would say that the reverse is true as well, that those who forget the successes of the past are doomed to never receive the same rewards (or will at least struggle much harder to reach them).

Each generation should be learning from their environment and the world. Learning from their mistakes. They should be passing these on to the next generation through stories, legends, and regular talks around the dinner table. When you speak to the next generation and attempt to convey some nugget of wisdom or inspiration please remember this: It is wonderful to share your own stories and what you have learned from experience, but don’t forget those lessons that your parents told you or even your grandparents before that.

We don’t leave much when we pass from this world. We don’t leave much behind except our names, stories, and the legends of our lives as well as our deaths. We can respect the ancestors who came before us by telling their stories and keeping them alive through word of deed. If we are unfamiliar with these stories we should make a point of researching the past. We should then make sure that once the stories and records are recovered, we do not lose these again but pass them on to the next branch of the tree.

Your next generation might not need to work as hard as you did. They may not need to sacrifice as much as your grandparents. It is important that we still communicate the depths to which those sacrifices were made. The next generation needs to understand the importance of maintaining (at a minimum) the achieved status gained by such sacrifice as opposed to squandering it carelessly.

It seems important to remember that each branch of your ancestral tree, going back thousands of years to the beginning, each of those ancestors survived at a minimum, long enough to reproduce. That in and of itself is an achievement.

This is especially true if we trace back to where we consider the population as having real tribal societies. Back to the Viking age of course, and even further, we should look and consider. This was before adequate ships were invented to travel to distant lands and every community or family had to survive with what they had.

Your ancestors likely fought through freezing winters and a severe lack of food. Despite this, each branch of the tree lasted long enough to pass along its DNA. Miraculously, you are alive. It is amazingly improbable that each of us is as well-fed or healthy as we all likely are.

Even as adults, each of us will sacrifice. We will go through hardships. It is infinitesimally easier to overcome obstacles or power through these hardships when we keep everything in perspective. We previously discussed how each action is a linear progression within a cycle and that each cycle is but part of a larger cycle. When we keep this in perspective we realize that despite our sacrifices or struggles, while hard or even insanely difficult, our people have fought similar dragons before. Giants and monsters have been conquered and put to death throughout all of history, these are the legends of your ancestors!

Overall humans are a tough bunch. We are a hardy and adaptable creature. We know that we are capable of incredibly amazing things but occasionally need a reminder or a push in the right direction. So, remember your ancestors. Honor them. Give thanks for their sacrifices! When you imagine their strengths to accomplish the things that they did, imagine that strength flowing through you… because it is.

You may not be as chiseled or had a hard enough life to have made that even necessary and you likely didn’t get fit as an automatic consequence of your struggle (as your ancestors would have experienced). This does not mean that you are incapable of the same feats of strength. It only means that to fully honor your lineage and those who came before you, you should strive to follow the First Degree of the 2nd Stone. Achieve physical fitness, attempt to maintain it, and prioritize if it is lacking.

What else do we mean by honoring the past? We honor the past by attempting to preserve it in every way that we can. Given the Principle of Expanding Encompassment, you are obviously not obligated to fight for and preserve the heritage or monuments of every culture in every corner of the globe. At the least, you should strive to defend and preserve your own.

We believe this extends to books of knowledge and information. These are books that contain the knowledge of peoples, history, and cultures. In the case of preserving documents and literature, it should be thought that all cultures apply. The history of the world is so interwoven that we want to see the full picture. Books, digital documents, and pamphlets take up so little space that this shouldn’t be a burden for most communities as long as there is ample space.

In the case of books and documents, it would be ignorant and ridiculous to imagine that one would not gain more knowledge by studying every culture and subject possible. You should be most well-versed in your own culture’s history, after all that culture is what led to the product of you. Wherever you can you are urged to preserve written documentation and histories of the world as well as general educational material and scientific discovery.

It would be best not to lose these pieces of data if the world as a whole were to suddenly turn to turmoil and collapse.

Destroy Not Needlessly, Nurture Your Environment

A person should tend to the oak if they want to live under it.

~Egil’s Saga, c.71

This tenet should not require much in the way of clarification or explanation. We all know that the environments in which we reside, work, and play are extremely important and should be cared for.

Many humans reject or ignore this task. It is easy to see how this likely came about when you delve into the “normal” family environment in which most people are now raised. It is especially easy to observe in large cities. Everyone in the city has a specific job, but because of the large population included in the word “everyone”, no one knows who does what. No one knows who does what but they do know that it is all someone else’s job. This is how items get tossed to the ground instead of properly disposed of, someone else will pick them up.

I would only ask that before you champion causes in this vein that you sufficiently research the topic. There is a lot of false information flying around and you can lose sight of the actual culprits. Large companies and corporations as an example. There seems to be a campaign of disinformation to convince the average citizen that they themselves are to blame for the pollution, although this is patently false. The numbers do not show this. Unless we can come together as a community to prevent these companies from polluting so heavily we may not have a hope on a global scale to enact much in the way of change.

The Order teaches the value of immediate family, of the tribe. Within that, we can make a difference. Regardless of the level of your influence, you will find that you feel better simply by taking part in the endeavor to take care of your environment. It may not be completely altruistic, but most things are not. Do this for your family and your future lineage. Teach your children to do the same. The cause is noble if you believe it to be so.

Respecting the environment is a simple tenet to follow. If it requires much clarification, you may be on the wrong path to begin with. One important note, however, is that the environment is not only the outdoors. Your environment is also your “natural” environment, wherever you happen to naturally find yourself. Aesthetic is important. No one can feel calm and focused in a trash heap of a room. Most cannot successfully work in an office with 40 piles of paper strewn about in unorganized shelving.

Respect the outdoors and your natural environment, however, don’t forget to tidy up your own space mentally and physically first.

Expose Hidden Corruption, Reject Ideals Not Held

As universalist “accept everyone” approaches to religion and society has expanded throughout cultures in every corner of the globe, it becomes heretical to stand-up for noble virtues and to self-police your community or judge your fellow man. It seems blasphemous because we don’t actually belong to the same culture as the majority of individuals surrounding us. As a matter of fact, it seems to be the goal to slowly erase any differentiating culture or identity starting with the majority view of each area (so as to not appear insensitive).

Be kind to friend and kin, and reward not their trespasses against you; bear and forbear, and win for yourself thereby long enduring praise of men.

~Volsunga, c.21

It is easy to observe within religions that believe love is the one and only policy that they need to follow. Of course, most of the mainstream religions did not start this way. Their beliefs have slowly crumbled over time. By the way, leading with love and acceptance? This may have worked swimmingly when your small community was literally the only group you might interact with for years.

There were rarely long-staying guests from out of town before the invention of advanced travel. A visitor might be vouched for by relatives and even if not, they would quickly know if they had crossed any lines. Even in those later days as travel increased, you still knew your community culture and which behavior was tolerated. A misbehaving guest would likely be reprimanded and corrected.

As each of these religions now tries to keep up with the modern era, it seems like a competition of acceptance. “What strange new debauchery will society dream up that we can lovingly accept into our hallowed halls of observance?” This slippery slope has grease poured on it every month, year-after-year until the whole congregation and community end up at the bottom of a deep, dark, hole.

 A note here about “acceptance”: It can be agreed upon by rational beings and even most theists that basic respect towards others is welcomed by all. Those among us with good sense do not advocate for the harming of people who are different than us without provocation. The issue with the mainstream, especially “western”, ethics, is the idea that everyone can be welcomed into any congregation or community with no issues arising. In a free world where all choices are voluntary, any group should be allowed to have their own space if they are able to sustain it. This means the inclusion of the freedom of exclusion.

It is also important to note that mutual respect does not equate to the allowance of just any behavior. You should consider all ideas and situations that occur in your community but reject the corrupt and debased actions of the few who wish to tarnish all that is good. Do not allow the slow penetration of evil into you or your family’s good virtue.

You can find the strength to reject corruption. If you lack the numbers, remember the alliances that have been formed throughout history to conquer invading forces. Sometimes you must side with others who only see eye-to-eye with you on a single issue. Temporary alliances are just as strong as any other as long as the association is broken after the victory has been achieved.

Respect Autonomy, Defend Honorably

Best it is, for man’s words to seek peace when it is possible.

~Heitharvega, c.35

In your day-to-day life within modern society, you will come across many living creatures and entities. Defenseless creatures that offer no threat shall be respected and allowed to continue unimpeded by hand or tool.

Pay no mind to the jabs and verbal cuts of those outside the family, kindred, group, or tribe to which you claim loyalty. There is no honor to be had in that fight. An insult is not always a threat if administered by an outsider or one of lesser standing and honor. A fully formed threat or one from within your group should be addressed to determine the legitimacy and escalate as required.

An insult is not always a threat if administered by an outsider or one of lesser standing and honor.

One who worships or holds true threatening ideals is still your enemy. Those who threaten your personal autonomy and freedom are initiating aggression even when not stated. Keep in mind, however, that they may not warrant immediate defense or attack.

Attacking entities that fall within that category requires strategy and effort which will often lead to a large-scale struggle. Your honor and personal goals will decide whether a preemptive offensive is launched or delayed.

Personal autonomy, or freedom of the self, is incredibly important to The Order. In its most basic form, this tenet simply means that human interaction should be voluntary at its core. To violate this without cause is to violate basic morality.

There is much debate amongst the philosophers of the world as to the true nature of ethics and morality in regards to the human-animal, perhaps this will always be the case. If we can’t inherently agree that you and I shall have control over our own actions and in what we do to our own bodies, then perhaps you should continue on to whatever path you choose to take philosophically (as this one is not meant for you).

There are of course voluntary contracts you may have agreed to and in a truly free world, these are important. This is why The Order also values oaths and binding words over many things in this world. Your word is your bond.

The governments of this world have, of course, have already stolen your autonomy and freedom of choice. Even if you desired to leave their controlled areas, you have very little choice in where you might go. Men and women have been arrested for simply living in the wilderness and catching their own fish to survive. We’ve also seen compounds and places of refuge for communities being razed to the ground; this included women, children, and all. These authorities have claimed every square inch as their own.

The remedy in my mind would be to continue to buy-land and carve out areas of your own. Discover others that share your values and principles and gather often. You would, of course, need to have a strong majority in an area or have a strong public backing to be truly left alone in a given area.

Those who do believe in absolute ethical principles such as these are not likely to receive praise, not in this day and age where everything seems to be allowed with the right “justifications”.