The word "occult" comes from the Latin "occultus", meaning "hidden" or "secret". Unfortunately, in our society, the common stereotypes associated with this word are both misleading and fantastical, but they do represent the essence of what the journey for occult knowledge is truly about. It can be comical for those who have come to understand this to witness the ridicule from friends, family, and the public toward the pursuit of esoteric knowledge. Those who have not begun the path of self-introspection and have not realized that there is hidden information and unseen worlds are known as "unbegun" to those educated in the esoteric realm.

"Esoteric" comes from the Ancient Greek "esōterikós", meaning "belonging to an inner circle". Originally, the term referred to the secret teachings of Greek philosophers, versus the public or "exoteric" ones. When we put the words "occult" and "esoteric" side by side, it implies hidden or secret knowledge belonging to an inner circle.

However, this knowledge is not simply about memorizing teachings and practices; it cannot be understood through logic alone. It requires the incorporation of symbols, psychology, human perception and consciousness, quantum mechanics, science, literature, human anatomy, mathematics, and more to truly practice discernment of the culmination of what you have learned in the occult world.

One example of this hidden knowledge is alchemy. Many people think alchemy is solely about turning base metals into gold, but that is only one of the four systems of alchemy. The main reason that dimension of this wisdom was taught to people was because if the public or church knew what alchemy really is, they would have been killed for heresy. 

The Philosopher's Stone, which is the achievement of changing lead into gold, is actually an allegory for the ascension of the practitioner's consciousness. It is a map to raising one’s perception to the point of extra sensory perception and beyond. To truly understand this hidden knowledge, you must decipher all the variables in alchemy and understand their meaning in the psychological, spiritual, or metaphysical sense.

The end goal of this alchemical process is the ascension of the alchemist's soul into a god-like being, but only under the true and only God. Many occult and esoteric researchers believe in an "All" or that we are all connected to the One, despite the different names for their God.

In conclusion, the universal truth is undiscovered as far as we know, and everything is a constant study without true knowledge upon it. The hidden message in occult and esoteric knowledge is not just about gaining knowledge, but also about self-exploration and self-awareness. The universal truth is not "out there", but hidden within us.