At a certain point in my life, it seemed as if a whirlwind picked me up, spun me around and plunked me down in a foreign land. I didnt know where I was, but I knew I could not go home the way I had come. I tried to find people to trust and guide me, but it seemed as if paths crossed but did not go along together for long. I had questions, and ideas and no one to share or care with, so it seemed. I had a Vision and heard a Voice, and though I wanted to have a teacher hold my hand, and walk with me and guide me I never had one, in the physical.
I did the only thing I could, dedicated myself to following that Vision and Voice that I heard with in my heart. Some would say I put a spell on myself, and others would say I opened my heart, and still others would say I learned to follow my True Will. We can be our own best teachers, if we learn to trust ourselves. My teachers came to me in a hundreds of faces, in thousands of books, and millions of moments. Once I put trust that I was being guided, and that some force/ entitiy / divine will / source what ever you wish to call It I have been taken care of, so to speak.
While an initiation and dedication to a living breathing person/ group is often the best way to progress, if one cannot secure this, I see no reason why a covenent and oath made with yourself and your Heart should not be done.