Gnostic Wisdom

A Little History Once upon a time I typed out the following text verbatim from an old flyer that was amongst some of the old papers stored away in the cupboards of the Gnostic Centre that I attend. The objective of Gnosis “The mission of Gnosticism in this age is to deliver the method and means for the work of the realization of the inner Man in each one of us; the attainment of this transcendental objective depends on our cooperation with the Being. The divorce between science and art, philosophy and mysticism has provoked the deterioration of this generation. We don’t appreciate the poetry of nature, the harmony that emanates from the universe, and so human relations have become cold: our heart is unmoved by human suffering. The Gnostic teachings are based on the communion between science, art, philosophy and mysticism; they seek to rescue the highest values of the human being in order to be able to comprehend th...

A Little History Once upon a time I typed out the following text verbatim from an old flyer that was amongst some of the old papers stored away in the cupboards of the Gnostic Centre that I attend. Sorry I am not sure who wrote it in the end. Gnostic Anthropology “Anthropology is, in the modern age, the best means to study man and his origins, what man himself is, and the imprint he has left through culture. Anthropology has two fields of investigation: one inquires about the origin of life through its theories of evolution, the laws of heredity, the scale of geological time and through the human races, and is called physical anthropology; the second field deals with man, the prehistoric culture of the old and new world, family, society, religion, magic, art and language, and is known by the name of cultural anthropology. We also find a great variety of auxiliary branches that complement the previous ones. Anthrop...

A Little History Once upon a time I typed out the following text verbatim from an old flyer that was amongst some of the old papers stored away in the cupboards of the Gnostic Centre that I attend. Sorry I am not sure who wrote it in the end. Introduction The four pillars of Gnosis are Science, Art, Philosophy and Religion or Mysticism. Gnosis as Science “The method of Gnostic science is experimentation or the objective knowledge of things. Its object of study is the universe and all that exists. It utilizes scientific meditation and other vehicles for the experimentation and direct observation of the object of study. Gnosis studies things in themselves, beyond their three-dimensional aspect. It studies hermetic (Gnostic) anthropology, which is completely different from official (materialist and evolutionist) anthropology. Gnostic science studies cosmogenesis and objectively knows the origin of worlds, sun...

Introduction The consequences of identification with pride are varied but one definite one is an increase in the strength of the general fear that we have, and this often goes unnoticed. Notice that the people who have a lot of pride also have a lot of fear. If for example we jolt people, are rude and insulting we end up fearing social engagements and activities especially where there are people present who may not like us or maybe rude with us just as we have been rude with them or others. This post is dedicated to explain why pride increases fear. Why? Because pride causes one to make errors with something very important, fundamental, deep, innate and intrinsic within our physical, psychological and spiritual nature, and something is fairness and balance. When we act unfairly or unjustly we affect that very intrinsic balance within us and the results of having that inner scale affected of course has varied effects but the common one is a kind of separation, rebell...

Introduction The consequences of identification with lust are varied but one definite one is an increase in the strength of the general fear that we have, and this often goes unnoticed. This post is dedicated to explaining why. Why? Because lust causes one to make errors with something very fundamental, deep, innate and intrinsic within our physical, psychological and spiritual nature, and something is sexuality. When we misuse that function of sexuality we affect that very intrinsic nature or force within us and the results of having that force affected within us has varied effects but the common one is a kind of disassociation from oneself in our three natures, physical, psychological and spiritual. That disassociation is a kind of distance from ourselves, which most certainly includes our Being, and that disassociation is a kind of unbalance and of course to get back to balance we have to make some efforts or if we do not make those efforts voluntarily we incur a...

Introduction The egos that have a self in their name, such as self-love, self-importance, self-esteem, self-worth, self-compassion, self-consideration, self-merit, etc. are all branches of pride. Branches of Pride They are branches of pride because pride is all about the sense of balance. Pride is in fact the part of the essence of our inner Real Being that is devoted to expressing the dignity and majesty of the Being as well as restoring balance. Pride comes out particularly strongly whenever there is a relationship of some kind. This is because balance can only exist or only comes into play when there are two or more parties. Balance is not relevant when there is only one thing. Relationship with Ourselves As their name suggests, because they have a ‘self’ in their name they are all about the relationship with ourselves in a certain area. For example, with self-love it is about the love relationship with ours...

What About Helping the Planet and Others? The teachings of Gnosis may be synthesized or boiled down to three factors, with one of the three factors being ‘sacrifice for humanity’. Here, the sincere gnostic works to help humanity, doing works of charity where and when possible, though more importantly helping one’s fellow man by passing on the knowledge that will help him or her out of their suffering. As society is the sum of the individual, society or the planet as a whole can only change once the individual changes. The work of spreading the light that will help each willing individual to transform him or herself into a wiser and more compassionate being will undoubtedly help society and therefore the planet. The People who Study Gnosis what are they Like? The people who study Gnosis generally come from all walks of life. There are young and old people and people of many different nationalities and backgrounds cu...

Do I Need it? If you want a different and more spiritual type of a life then you need something that will help you. However, if you are not interested in a different kind of life then no, you don’t need Gnosis or any other knowledge for that matter that will help you to change. How Will it Help Me? Any knowledge is useful and helpful. The problem for us humans is to be without knowledge, so studying Gnosis will direct you towards self-knowledge and that knowledge will help you in many different ways. Firstly and most importantly it will help you to modify the causes of your pains and sufferings. It will allow you to modify the way you act and therefore change the many events and circumstances of your life. With self-knowledge will come control over your psychology and with control over one’s own thoughts and emotions comes the elimination of so much anxiety, fear, awkward circumstances and mistakes that we often make. Furthermore applying Gnosis will show much about you...

What Tradition do we Follow? We follow the Gnostic tradition that Gnostic Master Samael established and left behind. Who is Samael Aun Weor? The Venerable Master Samael Aun Weor, was a contemporary Latin-American philosopher born in 1917. Throughout his life, Samael Aun Weor focused relentlessly on the rigorous and practical application of the knowledge and techniques devoted to the search within oneself. Samael Aun Weor wrote a great number of literary works using the framework composed of these four subjects: psychology, philosophy, anthropology and science. His style as a writer has a great synthetic power and for this reason, in some social circles, he is known as the "Master of the Synthesis". His main literally works are; “Revolutionary Psychology”, which contains the science of self-knowledge; The “Perfect Matrimony”, which contains the Mysteries of Fire related with sexuality; “The Secret Doct...

Is Gnosis a Cult? No, and the reasons why are that those who study Gnosis at the advanced level, at least in the Gnostic Society, only attend classes once or twice a week lasting two or two and a half hours maximum. They receive the Gnostic knowledge and it is entirely up to them to apply or not apply what was presented in the class. A Gnostic student can leave Gnosis at any moment, there is nothing stopping them. We have the policy of not interfering with the circumstances of anyone of the student’s lives. If students ask for help we are happy to give advice in accordance with the Gnostic principles and values. Freedom is given to the student to evaluate the advice given and apply it or not, according to their own discretion. The only commitment that we ask, is of those who have decided to seriously study Gnosis is that when they can, they be regular in attending classes so as not to fall behind in the flow of study, and students give a reasonably regular donation, of an amo...

What About Personal Change and Transformation? This is the heart of Gnosis. Among many other things Gnosis may be described as being the knowledge of transformation.  The goal or aim of Gnosis can not be achieved without a change in the person that studies Gnosis, unless that is, one has already achieved the full unfoldment of the Gnostic end. However, that is extraordinarily rare and besides a person like that would not need Gnosis. Getting to back to the point, and being very honest with ourselves if we really yearn for a different life, one with less suffering, one with spiritual or esoteric insights, and one that is dignifying and edifying, then we will come to the conclusion that we have to change.  To experience that we are not capable of, or be anything that we are currently are not, requires transformation. If we change internally our outside physical life will change as well. What Does Gnosis Say About Suf...

What is the Aim of Gnosis? The aim of Gnosis has always sought to provide humanity with knowledge, keys and techniques for the full development of human and spiritual potential. The signpost of Gnosis has always pointed within, the goal of Gnosis is to direct the human being to the Divine spark that lies within everyone and from there to begin the ‘work’ of inner transformation, so to once again unite with one’s particular inner individual spark. Will Gnosis Satisfy the Sincere Spiritual Seeker? If you are someone who has searched and searched and has become tired of so many theories, then as they say “you have come to the right place”. Gnosis is for those who are tired of theories and who want a practical knowledge that has a path that produces tangible and perceivable changes in themselves. It is said in the Gnostic teachings that Gnosis lives in deeds and withers in abstractions.  There are two doctrines, o...

What does Gnosis say the Truth is? The Gnostic teachings say that the truth is that which is unknown from instant to instant. They also say that the Truth is that which is experienced by one’s consciousness and if one decides to describe it, one can never quite convey it exactly as it was experienced. The Gnostic teachings also say that the truth is something that liberates and frees. It is something transformative and when a truth is apprehended by a person it has the inherent power to transform the person. The Gnostic teachings also say that no effort is required to know the truth. The most opportune moment for us to know the truth is when our mind is quiet. Is Gnosis Verifiable? Gnosis as it is taught is something that can be verified, it is not something that requires you to believe. One axiom of Gnosis is ‘to know is better than to believe’. Gnosis is very practical and is something that only lives in dee...

Introduction to Excerpt I found this precious passage from the book “Secret Teachings of All Ages” by Manly P. Hall. It is a version of the dialogue that occurs between Adam and the tempting serpent of the tree of the science of good and evil. We know from Master Samael that that tree is sexuality. Manly P. Hall says that it most likely comes from an ancient Egyptian ritual. It is here Adam after so much suffering, trials and tribulations tries to enter the Garden of Eden, from where he was banished, only to face the guardian of the tree of the science of good and evil which is the tempting serpent of Eden. They then have the following really precious dialogue. It is quite a long excerpt, so to save time jump to the part highlighted in grey. Excerpt In this ritualistic drama--possibly derived from the Egyptians--Adam, banished from the Garden of Eden, represents man philosophically exiled from the sphere of Tru...

Relationship Between Sensation and Emotions There is a strong and intimate relationship between sensation and emotion. Emotion makes all the difference. Emotion turns the sensations into desire and that is where the trouble for us begins. Desire When there is desire or some kind of unpleasant feeling in our body such as a pain there is always an interpretation and a mental dimension added onto the sensations being felt. That is where our problem lies. Mind Interprets The first thing that our mind does is interpret the sensations as either good or bad. Within our psyche are very strongly embedded meanings to those sensations. Those meanings are tied into emotion. The interpretations mean something and depending on what they mean we will feel something in our emotional centre. What we feel of course will be something in line with the meaning that our psyche or egos give to that interpretation. What We Can Feel...

Three Types There are three types of anger. They are anger of the body, anger in the word and anger in the mind. Body This is an interesting one, it is really two fold, in the sense that it is when we get angry and carry out angry or violent actions, for example, we slam a door, thump a wall etc. etc. The other part of it is, when the body is irritate for example when we are tired, or hot or sick or hear a loud noise or a certain noise that causes an unpleasant nervous sensation in our body. Word This is quote easy as well, it is simply the expression of anger in our word. That is we shout, scream, insult, accuse, blame, justify, swear, attack etc. All either using an aggressive tone or perhaps not using an aggressive tone or rhythm at all. Mind This is when we are angry in our mind and very present in our mind are violent images and the voice in our mind, which we use to think is vociferating very loudly and i...

Didactic There exists a didactic or an order in which face the various egos that we need to work on. This means that we can not get proper access to work seriously on different egos until one ego is overcome. For example if one does not overcome lust one can not really get to work properly on self-love, self-importance and attachment to self-image etc. This didactic tends to repeat constantly in our life. For sure the best, easier said than done is to attack these egos to move through the required level of work to get to work on the next ego that our Divinity, the Typhon or the Law want us to work on. Also the more we fail the more we have to keep repeating the cycle. End (729).

Exercise - Ten Minute Timer If one acquires a 10 minute timer, I really like the old fashioned sand timers and one dedicated one to observing their thoughts for 10 minutes and being very vigilant to not allow oneself to get identified and carried off with any of the thoughts. This exercise done constantly and regularly strengthens our will and our concentration and sharpens our self-observation. Gradually we should also increase the time from 10 to 15 and then to 20 and later to 30 minutes. Benefits We really need a sharp sense of self-observation to see the thoughts that cause our egos to react. Without a sharpened sense of self-observation we are too slow in the work of dissolving the ego, because we simply don’t catch the initial thoughts of the ego that make it to react. We miss its protest, its concepts and its beliefs. Without concentration we can not meditate on the ego and apply ourselves to observe the...

Errors Exposed Sometimes we are told to work on ourselves. Our errors are pointed out to us so clearly and irrefutably that we just can’t justify or dismiss them. These are good moments, for our work, even as embarrassing as they maybe they are good moments that we have to take quick advantage to change. Otherwise the motivation and impetus will wear off soon and the reason to work on ourselves will move the back in our priorities. It is also good to break the concept that we don’t need to work on ourselves and that we are already quite well ‘worked’ and don’t have too much to drastically fix up. It is also a tremendous reality check as well. End (727).