Chicago Gnosis Podcast

Gnostic Mysteries of the Bible | Alchemical Nativity of the Magician Christ

Christ was a divine magician (from the Persian magoosh, magushan, or high “priest”), demonstrated by his self-mastery and command over the elements (transforming water into wine, walking on water, healing the sick, etc.). His transformative abilities were also symbolized by the principles of alchemy: the transformation of base metallic substances (negative psychological qualities) into superior gold (elevated spiritual consciousness). Such mutations constitute the central tenet of spiritual rebirth, for by perfecting the creative sexual energy, an average or degenerated person can be born again as an enlightened sage (John 3:3-5). For these reasons, the Nativity was and is celebrated by gnostic magi: true priest-kings who worship and strive to resurrect Christ within their being. See how through the writings of Samael Aun Weor and an explanation about the esoteric symbology of Christmas.

Resources and References:

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/alchemical-nativity-of-the-magician-christ

Guided Practices | Preliminary Exercises for Meditating on Melchizedek

This guided practice accompanies How to Meditate on Melchizedek. Learn how to prepare the body, heart, and mind for meditation, for by entering the eight steps of Raja or Royal Yoga, meditators can receive divine help from the mysterious Master Melchizedek. To learn more, you can reference the following resources:

• Chicago Gnosis Article and Guided Practices: Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek
• Glorian Publishing: Melchizedec Practice

 

 

Introduction to Gnostic Studies | How to Meditate on Melchizedek

On any Saturday the 13th, meditators can concentrate upon, visualize, and receive special spiritual help from Melchizedek: a mysterious Biblical figure representative of the earth’s divine intelligence. The guest instructor provides the necessary practical skills to perform this meditation, so as to perceive, understand, and apply wisdom gained from interacting with this figure. For extensive information on this topic, you can also reference the following resources:

• Chicago Gnosis Lecture Notes and References
• Chicago Gnosis Article and Guided Practices: Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek
• Glorian Publishing: Melchizedec Practice

 

The Way of the Bodhisattva 02 Bodhichitta: Liberation through Enlightened Compassion

"There is no loftier mission than to approach the Godhead nearer than other mortals, and to disseminate the divine rays among mankind." —Beethoven to Archduke Randolf when composing the Missa Solemnis

Learn about the rare and impactful nature of bodhichitta: the joyful attitude that selflessly loves, serves, and redeems humanity. See how through the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, whose masterpiece embodies the compassionate spirit of enlightenment, the state of ultimate reality, and the happiness experienced by those freed from confusion and suffering.

Resources and References

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/bodhichitta-liberation-through-enlightened-compassion

4th Movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (YouTube) with English Lyrics

Lyrics to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

The Way of the Bodhisattva 01 Introduction

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
―Shantideva

Compassion and generosity are the hallmarks of the most elevated souls, fully manifested within beings like Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Moses, and all the prophets. The amazing fact is that such beings were once like us: filled with greed, envy, resentment, and all of the psychological contaminations and defects that make us suffer. What is also empowering is that we have the potential to become like these enlightened masters, whom in the east are known as bodhisattvas: "the essence or incarnation of wisdom," the latter word indicating Prajna in Sanskrit, or "vis-dom: the power of vision / perception." The equivalent Hebrew term is Chokmah חָכמָה, signifying Christ in the mystical Kabbalah.

The essence of genuine spirituality is kindness, selfless service, and comprehension of the root nature of all existence: the unsurpassed wisdom of emptiness, Prajna, Śūnyatā, or uncreated light of the Kabbalists, denominated in Gnostic terms as Khristos, Christ. Christ is not a human person, but the intense, primordial root energy of boundless compassion for suffering beings trapped within cyclic or manifested existence. This divine force, the emptiness of enlightened cognizance, sustains all of the universe and sacrifices itself by entering within those practitioners who are properly cultivated and prepared through the great perfections or paramitas, the trainings, principles, or qualities of awakened consciousness within Tibetan Buddhism.

Learn about the path of enlightenment through a gnostic exegesis of Shantideva's seminal Mahayana text, The Way of the Bodhisattva, and how the enlightened mind / heart of wisdom, bodhichitta, can be developed within the practitioner of any denomination, religion, or tradition.

This lecture introduces Shantideva's text, the purpose and contexts of its composition, and its practical application within the art and science of meditation. The lecturer also explains how the mystical kabbalah and the gnostic tradition of Samael Aun Weor can elucidate the esoteric nature of this scripture.

Resources and References:

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/introduction-to-the-way-of-the-bodhisattva

Spiritual Awakening | Guru Yoga in the Aquarian Era

The Age of Pisces was defined by a conservative adherence to lineage and tradition, since the deepest spiritual knowledge was never written down, but secretly transmitted from master to disciple. Only initiated candidates could receive tutelage under the auspices of a qualified adept, whereby the mysteries of esoteric religion were discreetly communicated from mouth to ear. While an effective model in the previous era, such guru yoga is obsolete today, given the prevalence and intensity of problems associated with degenerated traditions and misguided leaders. It is more safe and reliable to engage in the Aquarian dispensation: freely distributed knowledge, the development of spiritual autonomy, and self-reliance on the teaching, not blind obedience to a teacher or group. The Aquarian influence encourages both community and independence, supported through personal verification of any teaching. This is also without disregarding the value of qualified initiates and the sacrifices they have made for the spiritual evolution of humanity. See how through an exploration of an esoteric holiday (October 27th, 1954) known to gnostics as the Advent of Samael, as well as some direct warnings Samael Aun Weor made about the dangers of following terrestrial and “spiritual” personalities.

Resources and References:

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/guru-yoga-in-the-aquarian-era

Initiation and Levels of Spiritual Development (FAQ)

The Major Mysteries (Book)

Seeking the Master: Teachers and Students (Lecture)

Who Is a Master? (Article)

Gnostic Meditation 08 Working with the Master Melchizedek

Celebrate both the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur: Oct. 2nd) and an upcoming Gnostic holiday (Saturday, December 13th) in relation to the spiritual Master Melchizedek. Discover how to atone for one’s defects and receive divine blessings from this enigmatic initiate on any day, but especially every Saturday the 13th at the 13th hour (12 - 1 pm). To learn more about this event, you can reference the following resources:

Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek (Article)

Gnostic Meditation (Course)

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/working-with-the-master-melchizedek

 

The Secret Teachings of Opera | The Sacred Feminine, Redemption, and Temptation of the Gods in Mefistofele (Act IV and Epilogue)

After tragically failing Margherita, Faust longs for the perfection and beauty of Ancient Greece (Arcadia, the prelapsarian world of Eden) where Mefistofele transports him to administer a more subtle, daring, and intense temptation: that of remaining in the lower heavens of the gods (initiates of the superior worlds). There in the bliss of Nirvana, one easily forgets the sorrows of humanity and the hopes for final liberation (in the Ain Soph). While demons provide temptation in the inferno or Klipoth of kabbalah, Lucifer—the trainer of spiritual initiates—also tempts masters on the path to perfection by offering solace and comfort within the higher dimensions, so as to deter them from ultimate advancement to more elevated esoteric degrees. Even attachment to the sacred feminine (Helen of Troy, the spiritual soul and beloved of Tiphereth) can impede one from supreme self-realization, whereas renunciation of heaven (virtues and mystical powers) is the requisite for transcending all obstacles on the initiatic path. In the denouement of this opera, the significance of temptation, redemption, and transcendence is clarified: for only by giving up what Faust loves most is he able to achieve something higher. See how through his triumph over Mefistofele (desire, ego, Shaitan) and his induction into the conscious circle of self-realized and perfected masters (within the Solar Absolute).

Resources and References:

https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/the-sacred-feminine-redemption-and-temptation-of-the-gods-in-mefistofele-act-iv-and-epilogue

The Secret Teachings of Opera | The Fool, Lust, Insanity, and Pain of the Ninth Sphere in Mefistofele (Act III)

Margherita (the trapped and conditioned feminine consciousness), has lost her reason due to Faust’s abandonment and the death of her (divine) mother, since the sleeping potion had deleterious effects. Driven to insanity, the distressed Margherita, having born Faust’s child, drowns it in a pond to spite her absent lover. Faust is driven by remorse to seek her in the bowels of a prison with the help of Mefistofele, who provides the key to the initiatic mysteries and the means to unlock wisdom from the well of the world, the bottomless pit or abyss where knowledge must be found, discerned, and consciously integrated. Such a descent into the lower worlds is a common trope within mythological narratives, whereby the warrior (human) soul (Tiphereth) must face the terrors of hell and redeem the fallen consciousness (Sophia) from perdition. Such allegories reflect what Samael Aun Weor called the Ninth Sphere, the transformed and divinely-inspired sexuality between husband and wife who conquer desire and practice alchemy, chastity, or sexual transmutation. However, such a path is fraught with pain and hardship, since lust is difficult to extirpate, and “Bitterness”—(which defines many marriages)—“lies in the (alchemical) cup of even the best love: thus it arouses longing for the Superman; thus it arouses your thirst, creator (alchemist)” (Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra). Learn how to transmute the pain of the Ninth Sphere through a study of the 21st Arcanum of the Tarot, known as the Fool in conventional decks, whereby Margherita, the Essence trapped in our defects or ego, can be liberated towards the higher worlds of the initiatic path.

Resources and References:

• https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/the-fool-lust-insanity-and-pain-of-the-ninth-sphere-in-mefistofele-act-iii
• https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-9-the-hermit
• https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-21-transmutation
• Boito - Mefistofele: Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San Francisco Opera House

The Secret Teachings of Opera | Seduction, Black Magic, and Witches’ Sabbaths in Mefistofele (Act II)

Through the gifts of his newfound diabolic companion, Faust recuperates his vitality and youth, capitalizing on his new abilities in the effort to seduce Margherita, a beautiful but naive young woman from town. To assist in the magician’s sensual escapades and dangerous liaison, Mefistofele provides him with a sleeping potion to drug Margherita’s mother and therefore avoid detection during the lovers’ tryst. The couple declares their love despite the rocky foundations of their infatuous and hastened affair. Afterward, the devil transports Faust to the top of a dark (and bald) mountain (sparsely populated by trees) to partake in a Witches’ Sabbath: a Satanic ritual characterized by discordance, chaos, violence, lust, and power. Such dramatizations reflect the tremendous reality of and relationship between seduction and black magic: how the passionate fulfillment of lust and desire are the gateway to spiritual destruction and the development of egotistical powers. While modern people laugh and mock such metaphysical phenomena as the consequence and cause of blind fear, superstition, and ignorance, the truth is that such symbols demonstrate how anyone who cultivates lust with mystical devotion ends up as a demon, a being divorced from the eternal but awakened with powers in, of, and for evil. Such powers are driven by selfishness and produce terror and pain, emotions that are so masterfully depicted in Boito’s terrifying music and choruses in this act. Learn how to conquer lust and to comprehend the essential nature of witchcraft, sorcery, and the machinations of the Black Lodge (the congregations of infernal entities) so as to enact spiritual self-defense and the protection of our spirituality from dark forces.

Resources and References:

• https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/seduction-black-magic-and-witches-sabbaths-in-mefistofele-act-ii
• Boito - Mefistofele: Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San Francisco Opera House
• The Eternal Tarot, Arcanum 18: Twilight