Today we are going to be talking about the basic structure of the person, and the idea of salvation within the mythic structure of Neo-Sethianism. We will be covering a lot material that may be very foreign to you. If you have questions email me with them, and I will do my best to address them. Some of these issues may be addressed in due time in this course. If that is the case, I ask for patience. Thank you.
At this point (more because of time constraints than anything else) I will not be giving scriptural references for these definitions.
We begin with a definition of Gnosis
Gnosis:
Gnosis is the process whereby a subject comes to know an object through experience of that object. For example, I may know the ins and outs of baseball, but I do not have Gnosis of baseball, unless I have experienced the ins and outs of the game through participation in the game.
Having Gnosis of the Self is indicative of the active, conscious participation within the whole of ones being. Having Gnosis of God is indicative of an active, conscious relationship with God.
Another way we can describe the process of Gnosis, is as the process of bringing the full content of the Pneuma, the Psyche, and the Soma into the direct awareness of consciousness. We call this process, awakening.
Next, let’s talk about basic structure of the person from the Neo-Sethian perspective. There is a diagram on the blog that gives a basic hierarchical illustration of the structure of the person. Now, keep in mind that any model is incomplete, and imperfect. Each model serves a purpose.
Hyle is a Greek word that can be translated as material, or stuff. We will use this term for pure body. This is the machine. This is what remains when the Soma, Psyche, and Pneuma have departed at death. It is from the Hyle that instincts arise. Through the Soma, the Hyle is influenced by and influences the soul.
Soma is a Greek word that means body. We will use this term to indicate the enlivened body. This is the term that is often called the “animal soul.”
The Inferior Veil is our term for the place within the soul where the Psyche and the Soma are in many ways intertwined. This is the place where the Soma has direct, almost automatic influence on the Psyche.
The Psyche is the soul. The soul has many, many layers and levels. It is a complex function of the individual, and it is where the majority of the work is done. Prior to the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, the psyche is a prison. After the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, the psyche is a wonderful tool. It is in the Psyche and the Soma where we experience God as Essential.
The Nous is the Mind of Christ; it is the intellect of the Spirit. It extends into the whole of the individual. It is the crown of the soul, and it needs to be unified with the soul’s focus of awareness.
The Superior Veil is the boundary between the Spirit – Self and the deepest reaches of the soul. It is here that the Spirit and the soul are so intertwined as to be almost interchangeable.
The Spirit – Self is the home of the individual Spirit. This is the Spark of the Divine; it is the Spirit – Self that makes us the Seed of Seth. This is the place where we experience God as Transcendent. This is another name of the Autogenes, after the Unification of the Father and Mother.
Pneuma is pure spirit. There is no individuality here. This is the place of the Great Unknowable Spirit. This is God beyond even transcendence. It is the Pneuma that makes it seem as if the Spirit – Self is infinite.
Now we need to identify some aspects of our experience of God.
God the Father is also called the Great Invisible Spirit. This is the experience of God as transcendent. This experience of God is best described by the negative theology of the Secret Gospel of John.
God the Mother is also called the Shekhinah (the Presence of God; not to be misunderstood as the Baptism or Infilling of the Holy Spirit). The Mother is also called Barbelo. She is experienced as the Ultimate Ground of Being, and the “Great Womb.” A very basic and common example of this experience of God is when you touch something that is living and you feel the life of that thing.
God the Child is also called the Autogenes. Autogenes is a Greek word that means “self generated.” The Child is the natural and effortless product of the full unification of the Father and the Mother. The Autogenes is the Spirit-Self after the experience of God as Transcendent is unified with the experience of God as Essential.
The Aions (also called the Greater Aions) are the many qualities, levels, and states of being that arise out of the interaction of the Soul with the various experiences of God.
The Archons (also called the lower Aions) are elements of ignorance and limitation. Prior to the Infilling and Saturation of the Holy Spirit, these are the cosmic rulers determined to maintain control over our lives through the exercise of fate and destiny. After the infilling and saturation of the Holy Spirit, these rulers become tools and foci for the expression of the qualities and states of being. Your fate and destiny become a focus for the expression of the Spirit-Self, rather than a limitation of the Spirit-Self.
The Demiurgos or Half-Maker / Craftsman is a function, not a being. Prior to the correction of the psyche that comes from the process of salvation, the Half/Maker is the ignorant Ialdabaoth. He represents the choice of ignorance in the face of truth, which is madness. He represents the imbalance of a reactionary psyche. This is a psyche with limited and weak awareness; an awareness that has yet to be unified with the Nous. After the unification of the awareness with the Nous, the Autogenes plays the role Craftsman. He acts as corrector and redeemer of the soul. At this point, you become the Craftsman, you are the Demiurgos – because you are now aware of the work of correcting your own soul.
Okay, there is some basic vocabulary. Now, let’s get into the basic mythical structure of salvation within Neo-Sethianism.
There are two modes of salvation; Salvation as a Gift, and Salvation as a Process. Salvation as a Gift is the Correction or redemption of the whole of existence which occurred prior to the actual manifestation of anything. This is also a continual process undertaken by the Autogenes as the Anointed One; continually maintaining the balance and evolution of the whole of existence. What this means for us, mythically, is that we come into the world redeemed. We come into this world in right standing with God, or Righteousness. This is an immature righteousness, however. It is Salvation as a process, which is the “working out your own salvation through fear and trembling,” that produces a mature righteousness.
Once a level of psychological maturity has been met, when Awareness has fully formed as the focal point of the consciousness, then Salvation as a Process can begin in earnest. It is important to remember, however, that the process has been going on since birth.
Salvation as Process truly begins with the Baptism in the Essential. This is actual experience of being immersed in the Essential experience of God. This is the return to the Womb, out of which we are re-born, or Born Again. Usually this type of Baptism is necessary prior to the ascent to the Father. However, this is not always the case. It is possible to ascend to the Father without prior descent within the Mother. This is not advisable, however.
To ascend without prior descent is dangerous. The Transcendent experience of God without the understanding of the foundation of material existence (which we find in the return to the Womb) can actually reinforce elements within the soul that are unbalanced, and destructive.
This process of Baptism in the Essential is also called, “the Death and descent into Hades.” Rising out of this process is called “Resurrection.”
The next step in the process is called “Ascent to the Father.” This is the climb through the Heavens of the Depths of the Soul, which is usually guided by a Mediator (often in the form of an angel).
The completion of the Ascent to the Father is called, “The Mystery of the Bridal Chamber,” which is also called the Union of the Mother with the Father. This is the act of bringing the experience of God as Essential into Union with God as Transcendent. This is most often experienced as ecstasy, and will often include symbolic courtship, marriage, and consummation.
The Union of the Father and Mother is its own process. And in this process there is an experience of Immersion in the One, or Great Unity, where there silence. This is the experience of divine silence within the unified God. Once the process is complete, then the Autogenes comes forth. This is a mark of distinction, since the Autogenes is the fully Unified Mother and Father – which is experienced as a completely new mode of being. The immersion in the One also includes the first step of Anointing and Saturation in the Holy Spirit. This is the point of Enlightenment.
I need to pause here and define the Holy Spirit for you. There is a Hebrew term Ruach HaKodesh. This is the term for the Holy Spirit, but this is distinct from the Shekinah. It is important not to confuse these terms. The Shekinah is the experience of God as Essential, while Ruach HaKodesh is the state of being called Enlightenment. This is the first step in the Baptism and Saturation in the Holy Spirit.
Once this process of anointing and saturation has completed within the Spirit – Self, the Autogenes beings the process of descent. This is the Autogenes as Christos, the Anointed One, the Redeemer. This is the point where our perspective, the place where we view life from, has fully shifted from a Somatic perspective, to a Pneumatic perspective.
As the Autogenes descends through the Heavens of the Soul, he anoints and saturates everything he comes into contact with. This is called Chrism. The initial move in this process is the full unification of the Nous with the Awareness.
Periodically in this process, the Autogenes will need to return to the Pneuma, or the state of Pure Spirit. This is the continual process of repentance; the changing of direction, also called continual return.
Now… there comes a point when the Christ has reached the Soma in fullness. Once this occurs, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit has reached a place of completion. It must be noted that this is also a continual process. This whole thing is a continual process. There are always new layers and new levels in which the whole of this process must be experienced. This is the meaning of the statement, “I die daily.”
But once the Autogenes emerges, and the Nous is unified with the Awareness, there is a continual awareness of the perspective of the Spirit in matter. Which means that you only have to complete this process once to reach enlightenment. This new perspective never goes away. This is what I call, “Swimming in the Ocean of God,” or “Living Prayer.” This is what Paul called, “the Life of Prayer.”
Once the Baptism of the Holy Spirit has reached a state of completion; then comes the Baptism of Fire. Even in the state of Enlightenment, this is not a pleasant experience. This is the process of the breaking and transformation of those things within you that do not support the process. If you have not explored and reconciled those parts of yourself that you have rejected about yourself, this process can be very uncomfortable. Because it is here where even the Devil is redeemed. This can be called the process of purification. At this stage, this is the work.
So, this is a brief description of the process of salvation from a Neo-Sethian perspective.
Remember, this is a continual process. You are always interacting with both internal and external stimuli. This interaction creates new complexes and levels of growth which require the whole process again. But… the more you do it, the better at it you are. This is the work of Salvation.
There is more to it… But this should serve as an introduction to the Vocabulary and structure of Doing Gnosis.
Okay…
There are a few things to keep in mind as you embrace this process.
DO NOT moralize the process. If you moralize this process you will inevitably condemn your-self at some point during the process. This will reinforce the aspects of your soul that are unbalanced, and destructive. So, give yourself Grace…..
This process is not as difficult as it might sound. Give your-self grace, and get out of your own way. We have placed the ideas of enlightenment and Gnosis on a pedestal. We need to bring these ideas back down to earth. The process is natural. If we surrender to it, and support it, it will occur with a minimum of discomfort. The more we resist it, the more painful it is.
And finally, for most of this process you will not have peace of mind. Every stage of this process will disturb something within you. This discipline is designed to stir the waters of your soul. All those things that have settled will be brought to the surface. A lot of things that you have dealt with on one level, you will find yourself dealing with on a whole new level.
You will learn to compensate for the disturbance. But true peace of mind, will only come with the Holy Spirit.
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