Gnostic Esoteric Study & Work Aids

Imagine This Imagine you have in your right hand a freshly picked lemon. It is a beautiful specimen of a lemon. Wonderfully aromatic, you smell fresh citrus with a hint of the sweet jasmine like scent of lemon blossoms. It is firm to the feel and as you dig a small part of your thumb finger nail into its skin it releases a little of the fragrant oil. You then take the lemon and cut it in half and straight away you sense the acidity of the juices that flow from the sliced lemon. Then taking one half in your right hand you unreservedly bight into it! What Did You Feel? We most likely may have winced. Made some sort of an expression on our face and we may have even vocalised that yah expression out loud. We could have even felt our teeth getting sensitive anticipating the acidic juices or our stomach tensing and bracing itself for the impact of receiving the sharply acidic bits of lemon flesh. All the while ...

Mental Projections at Night When walking at night in the pitch black, the projections from our own mind can make us so uneasy that we get shivers up our spine, look behinds us and all around and then start running. We Believe Them The reason why we get scared is simply because we believe or give them credibility. When we ask ourselves whether they are true or not and we see them for what they are: mind projecting and not reality we can conquer them and attain a peaceful, trusting meditative state. Meditate Outdoors at Night Alone To conquer these mental projections coming from fear we can do something: meditate outdoors alone at night. Observe that our “I’s” of fear begin to project someone creeping up behind us, aliens abducting us, a serial killer, a king wave, a mermaid, a shark (if we are at the beach), a weirdo asking questions, a snake, a rapist, a monster, a ghost, a demon etc. etc. Triumph Comes Simpl...

In Essence it Means… In summary, it means to give the right thing the major portion. The right thing varies and depends ‘where we are coming from’. That is, it depends on our point of reference or point of view. The right thing is what gives the right results. The right result is what brings balance, harmony, order and victory of the light over the dark. That is the trick y pint we must chose our reference point and discern the right thing based on that reference point. For a gnostic the reference point is the work, the path and the inner Being. End (2209).

The Victory of the Work Mainly Consists in Persistence We may fail many times when working on an ego. We get identified, we say something, we do something that we were determined not to do. The triumph of these big, fat, strong egos comes with persistence, repeatedly trying until we triumph. Plus, the work is not done in a few years but in over a long time, a life time or more. This is good to bear in mind. Not to slow ourselves down but to know the points through victory is obtained. Victory is obtained though persistence and in the long run. Mind you there are small victories that may come to a person in a sprint, but this is not the norm. End (2207).

The More we Know and Understand the More Fear Decreases If we are scared of something, such as flying, medical procedures, surgery, hospitals, death etc. studying it, knowing more about it and meditating on it so as to understand it more deeply helps a lot to remove the irrational layers of fear that we and leave the more normal and common layers that require more effort of insight and comprehension to remove. This is how we end up converting a fear into a speciality strength of ours. Every weakness if a strength in potential. End (2207).

Thinking we Have Time Means a Lullaby When we think that we have time for the work or that some magic moment will come where we will get serious means we sit down and fall asleep. Maybe this is a bit hard to see at times, but just check it out within yourself. As soon as you kill the idea of having time and of waiting for something magic and fictitious to happen, notice how you work. You work like you don’t have a tomorrow and your intensity of working increases doesn’t it! End (2206).

If not Now then When? The future will be now and if we are not use to working right now, we will not work in the future either. Now makes the future, and so working now means we will work in the future! End (2205).

The Old Ways Where Men Called Upon the Gods Those were the times when men respected and called upon the Gods for their council and help. Those times are fast disappearing now. It is really only the Gnostics or those that practice esotericism that can keep that alive. That of calling the Gods starts within oneself, with self-remembering and trust in the God dwelling within. Then with that recognition of Divinity, respect and trust alive for our own God can we more sincerely and consciously call upon the Gods. There once was the time of the Gods but since a long while ago it has been the time of men. That is the time where real men, the masters, the initiates helped humanity. But there were times when the Gods helped humanity directly. Above a wonderful painting by Angel Fernandez Luna-Padin. End (2204).

Heropass is Time Here begins a few posts on time. This is a very important subject and one which is worth knowing about so as aid us in reaching a certain level comprehension about it, so that we can better orient our lives and spiritual work. Excerpts The following excerpts come from Gurdjieff’s book: “Belzebub’s Tales to His Grandson.” First Point – Heropass or Time Has no Source of Arising Heropass "Thus, my boy, Time or, as it is sometimes called, the 'Heropass,' is unique in having no source on which its origin depends, and it alone, like "divine Love," always flows independently and blends proportionately with all the phenomena present in all the arisings in any given place in our Great Universe. No Source for its Arising "Meanwhile, simply remember this: since Time has no source of its arising, and its presence cannot be precisely established, as can be done for all other phenomena in every cosmic sphere, Objective Scienc...

A Didactic to Wake Up 1.) Know that you are nothing that you have inside of yourself. 2.) Separate your attention from the subconscious. 3.) Focus your consciousness. 4.) Give everything the right proportion. 5.) Connect our consciousness to reality. This post is about step 4.) – giving everything the right proportion. There is really so much to see in this one step. It has really profound implications. In fact, you will see that it is the cause of identification, and it is the precise point where we lose ground to the ego. It is also the key to not identifying with some particular egos such as pride and lust. What Does it Entail? Taking impressions and events with the right value. Taking impressions and events with the right centre of the human machine. Assigning the right approach to deal with the impression and event. Giving the right amount of attention to impressions and events. Giving the right amount of energy to impressions and events....

Any Moment Self-Remembering In the face of any moment in our day, we can remember the Being in us. We have to do this as often as we can to make the essence in us more and more active. The more often we make it active the more it becomes part of our nature. The more automatic or natural it will become. Special Moments There are special moments of the day which lend so easily to remember the Being in us. These are sunrise, sunset, in front of the vast ocean (all five oceans connect and form one ocean), looking up at the night sky and finding a star that twinkles at you. Such moments are special as they are cosmic and they bring a glimpse of a kind of sacred terror that perceives the realness, the power and the smallness of our condition, to our awareness. This helps us to intensify our work. End (2202).

Truth is It is Us That Should Do This and That People should do this and that comes from the expectations generated from our own ethics and philosophy which are not necessarily the ethics, considerations, views, values of others. This we must understand. Saying others should do this and that is about us. Saying that people should do this and that is about knowing ourselves via turning around what we say to ourselves. Truth So, the truth is that we should do what we think or say that others should do. Because it is our philosophy. People just do what they have inside them to do and that maybe wrong or right. That is the reality they do not necessarily follow our ethics, philosophy etc. especially when they do not know what our ethics, expectations and philosophy is. End (2200).

Then Try this When we are in an uncomfortable situation, which could be every time we go to our Gnostic centre or to work, or while at lunch with work colleagues or at any number of the many social engagements we are required to attend, try this instead of unwillingly activating the “I’s” of fear, fear, vanity, jealousy, arrogance, control, self-importance etc. Steps 1.) Remember the Being in you. 2.) Ask the Being to manage the flow of events for the best outcome. 3.) Trust in the flow that will unfold and act naturally. 4.) Relax into your natural normal self and let go of the worries related to the situation. End (2199).

Dedication, Loyalty and Constancy Pay Even though we already have a cat, this very constant and determined female cat for more than three years appeared at the back door meowing every morning and night. It has been relentless, everyday it has appeared there until eventually after many efforts to get rid of it, its loyalty and persistence in the face of constant rejection won our hearts and now days she gets fed more than she can eat everyday and receiving some kind words a scratch and pat or two. The same applies for us, the qualities of dedication, constancy and loyalty open doors that to us were previously closed. If a cat can do this with a power superior to it then we too can do the same with the Masters and the Being. Happy Garden is Good for Mental Healing and Special for Runes and Meditation Just that plants themselves exude a kind of radiation that is happy. Such radiations are so helpful for our mind and...

Two Faced is not Unity We usually present others with an agreeable face but behind their back we treat them with another face which is disagreeable. It is really our pride on both accounts that does this. The agreeable face of pride wants to be thought of positively and wants to receive agreeable impressions and so it presents with an agreeable face. One the other hand pride and the ego in general likes division, factions, conflicts and opposition so it presents this face behind the back of the person we are duplicitous with. For unity we need to bring both faces together and when we do that we do away with the pride there involved. Unity dissolves pride! Bring Both Faces Together into One Face That is easy to do actually. We just stop complaining against the person behind their back and bring the negative yet valid points about the person into the open and present them respectfully to the person. We don’...

When we Love Working When we love working to free and shed light within our psyche, and we enjoy being with our consciousness, and focussing our consciousness on our consciousness, and on other things within ourselves and outside of ourselves, the need and or desire for entertainment slips away. The new of the consciousness brings feelings of awe, wonder and excitement, and profoundness of our consciousness brings us feelings of the sacred, the timeless, the connectedness with the vast mystery of the cosmos. Entertainment a Compensation for What we Lack from our Consciousness That is really what we are seeking out of entertainment those emotions or feelings. Looking within we may find that entertainment in the form of movies, shows, books, games is about substituting what we have lost from not being in contact with our own consciousness and essence. Therefore, the more contact one makes with one’s essence and con...

Look at a Tree We see that when a tree grows it has to extend its roots deeper into the earth to find extra moisture and nutrients to make its new growth possible. Growth or movement upwards is connected to growth or movement downwards in trees, and believe it or not within human beings. Why you may be asking. The answer is by the law of duality and by the fact that we also have a tree like structure (tree of life) within our inner constitution. That's the Why of Major Scandal and Great Redemption This explains to us very clearly why there are those cases of highly spiritual people that all of a sudden go very astray ending in scandal.  As they were ascending they were faced the deepest and strongest parts of their abyss, and they were simply overcome.  This also explains to us those cases of those who were leading very degenerated lives and after some special happening in their life they turned everything around to lead a very spiritual life.  ...

Observe that No Ego Connects to the Fact that we are Working on Ourselves Observe that when an ego is about to manifest, it within its own processes, for example,  does not say: "Oh I am or we are working on ourselves and so I should really get angry should I?". In fact scanning through all of our observations of when the ego reacts in us, we see that no ego connects to the reality that we are working on ourselves.  The ego just simply does not connect to reality, that is to our reality, to the reality outside of ourselves  - our environment, and to the reality of others (as much of it as we can possibly know). Role of our Essence It is the role of our essence to remember and connect to the reality that we are working on ourselves. It is always our own essence that connects to reality. The reality within ourselves and the reality of the environment and the reality of others. The ego does not help the essence in this regard, and it is a mistake to ...

Knowing the Cause When one has found the egos that have caused one's fall and many of one's graver and gravest errors in this life, we must work on those egos. As we repeat errors due to the Law of Recurrence the causes of the errors in this life are the same as the causes of the errors in previous lives. Personal Advantage The personal advantage of working on the egos that caused our fall in the past and the many errors of this life and therefore past lives is that a certain feeling of security comes to the person. Makes Sense This makes entire sense that one should feel this. Because as it is these egos that cause our fall and bring upon us all sort of misfortune and karma and distance us terribly far from our inner Being. So decreasing the strength of the causes of these errors brings a naturally as a consequence of doing this work a feeling of security as the possibility of falling, failing, committing errors is decreasing.  Karma By working on ...

We Say: Why did I wait so long! That is what naturally and spontaneously comes to tell ourselves when we make a serious effort to die in ourselves and we get the first glimpses of the feelings of peace and freedom that are there within us without that ego. If we have been delaying things we say to ourselves: Why Why was I delaying? The work is NOW! End (2192).

Give Love when Love is Missed Always the remedy to ill that we feel when we lack love or want love is to give what we lack to ourselves and others, and that love that we give ourselves and others returns to us in many other ways. Question of Touch, Massage etc. There is this common question that people ask, and it is about that of touch, massage in the practice of Alchemy and that of sensuality between the couple practicing the Alchemy. People ask this question because they feel that they are missing that, they lack that and perhaps some may feel that they need it. Obviously to feel that one needs that is something that warrants working on, becasue one will be alone one day and then the completeness of one's happiness will not be one's own, it will dependent on another person. I am not saying here that touch massage etc. is wrong I am wanting to put forward a remedy that may be of use. When someone lacks or needs that touch etc. what one may really be wa...

We Often Overlook… We often overlook the fact that everything breathes in and out, expands and withdraws. We often think that human bodies and the bodies of creatures, the oceans, the seasons, the moon, the empires of history etc. as breathing in and out, expanding and contracting, growing and shrinking, waxing and waning etc. and this is correct, but everything else that is alive also breathes in and out, expands and contracts. This includes love. All that Has Life Breathes Among the many other things that are alive we have such things as sexuality, comprehension consciousness, death, balance, law, light, wisdom etc. all that has life expands and contracts (basically all the cosmic rays have life of course, all our Monads give them that life). This fact that things expand and contract, means these things that these living things are elastic. They are elastic and malleable. They have an elastic border which means that they can not always be the same. ...

Introduction Our comprehension is elastic, we can read something one day and just not get it. But give another couple of months the same passage that made you feel confused comes alive and fills you with inspiration. Here is one of those for me this week. What I understand is that the Christic force that abides everywhere in the universe is the spirit of fire. The special spiritual force of life that gives physical fire that we all know pretty well, its vitality, force, energy and great devouring and fusing power. Excerpt “The astral signature of the fire is what counts and that is the Chrestos. If we strike a rock with sharp iron, we will see the sparks fly; this is the living fire. It is the Logos, the Chrestos. The Chrestos is crucified in this great creation; it is the fire, the cosmic fire. Yet it is not the common and ordinary fire, but rather the fire of the fire, the flame of the flame, the astral signature of the fire. That fire incessantly burns with...

Transmuting is an act of love towards oneself and one’s Being. Because one is through one’s transmuted energy sends life which itself contains love to the higher centres of our constitution, where the dwelling pace of love is, our essence in our mind and our Being in our heart. How can it be otherwise? How could sending life and light not be love? Obviously the opposite of transmutation is mistaken and not about loving ourselves nor our inner Being. Even a simple HAM-SAH practice is to love ourselves and our Being. This love is felt more tangibly and intensely when we transmute with love for the energy and love for one’s Being. Obviously one would also find love and appreciation for the body that one has because it allows us the sexual energy and the way to transmute it. End (2188).

Powers All the powers that a person can have come from their inner Being, from one or another part of their own inner Being. As soon as the magician forgets that, that his/her powers come from his/her Being, the magician will begin to use these powers for him or herself. This is the start. Initially this may not generate negative results or errors but if any of the “I’s” of the magician intervene or for that matter the “I’s” of any other person intervenes using those powers for eh purposes of any “I” then that magician starts to go astray and consequently darkens. Those geniuses of evil (great fallen angels) as Master Samael puts it, were all white. Their powers come from the white, though these white powers became inverted with their fall and with their descent into evil. You Think this is Not for You But it is You may think that you are not magician and have no powers but think again. Your word is true ...

Causes and Will Will in each human being is the power to create a cause in our causal dimension which cascades down into our mental, astral, vital and physical dimensions to become an effect or a result. Will is about planting a seed in the fertile grounds of our causal world which later grows and matures into thoughts, feelings, words and actions which then becomes effects, circumstances, results and more effects and circumstances. Mystical Death in the Causal We can work with the causal dimension of ourselves when work in mystical death. The causal aspect of the ego operates before we think. It is the intention, the wanting, the will good or bad that determines the thoughts. It is the causal seed present in our own causal world that gives rise to the thoughts, feelings, words and actions of that ego. Know that causal seed and you will understand the whole process of why that ego produces those thoughts and feel...

Introduction Before I go on, I would like to say that the whole question of time can be solved and also synthesised with this one phrase: work now and work as if today were your last day. If anything just remember the SCAWN meaning: S top C omplaining A nd W ork N ow. Below are some points that I wish to develop for a talk on the theme of Time. In the posts for next week I will expand on these points. A Mental Construct As Master Samael says human beings have created time based on the repetition of events. Such as dividing the gap between two successive sunsets into 24 hours. What really exists is the repletion of events not seconds, minutes and hours. Some Quotes From the Buddha: “The problem is that you think you have time.” “Time waits for no man.” Characteristics of Time Time is round. Life is only ever now. The future is now. The past is now and now is now. All three blend into the one n...