Chicago Gnosis Podcast

Gnostic Gospels 08 Possess Your Souls

Mainstream Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emphasize the reality of an immortal soul. However, Jesus of Nazareth indicated that within us are many souls, which must be possessed through patience (Luke 21:19). The gnostics present a more nuanced perspective on this issue, in that immortality is not guaranteed, but must be earned through precise methods. See how through a gnostic scripture known as “The Three Forms of First Thought.”

Guided Practices: Simple Observation Practice with Two Plants

How to utilize the faculty of self-observation to connect with the wisdom of nature and divinity. To perform this exercise, you will need two plants of any two distinct varieties.

Resources

• Simple Observation Practice with Two Plants PowerPoint

Guided Practices: Meditation on Melchizedek

Learn how to commune with the spiritual intelligence of the Earth, known in the Bible as Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20) and in the Qur'an as "a servant from among Our servants" (Surah 18: "The Cave"). The Sufis refer to him as Khidr, "the Green One," since he is the divine consciousness of the globe, its forests, mountains, abundance, and life.

This meditation can be performed any day and time, but has special significance and potency on any Saturday the 13th of the year (from 12 pm to 1 pm, the thirteenth hour). This is because the forces of Melchizedek intensify on this date and are deeply related with the thirteenth arcanum of the Eternal Tarot, signifying mystical death of psychological impurity and the immortality of the soul. By connecting with this incredible initiate and divine being, we learn how to enter, sustain, and complete the path of initiation.

Resources

• Melchizedek Meditation PowerPoint
• Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek Article
• Glorian's Melchizedec Practice

Gnostic Gospels 07 Temptation and Redemption

Spiritual life is realized through comprehending and overcoming temptations. Rather than avoid challenges that lead to genuine growth, serious practitioners can take advantage of the worst situations to catalyze their awakening. Both the kabbalistic and gnostic traditions describe this process through mastering five types of soul. They also clarify that such qualities have to be created, developed, and perfected through practical works. Learn how through a gnostic scripture called “The Reality of the Rulers," an alternative narrative of the Garden of Eden.

Guided Practices: Ham-Sah Pranayama

This is the first in a series of guided practices where students can apply Gnostic methods for spiritual transformation. Ham-Sah Pranayama is an essential technique for conserving and elevating creative energy from the sexual organs to the mind and heart. When the consciousness is empowered by sexual energy, it has greater activity, potential, and strength to perform the spiritual work. Learn how to perform Ham-Sah Pranayama and apply it for as long and as often as you need. We recommend starting with 15 minutes and building up your practice as you gain momentum and stamina.

References and Resources

• Ham-Sah Pranayama PowerPoint
• Lecture by Samael Aun Weor: The Conquest of the Illuminating Void
• Chicago Gnosis Practices

Gnostic Gospels 06 The Spirituality of Sex

The Gnostics were revolutionary and provocative in enough ways to incur the wrath of the established Church. The most notable reason includes their views on the sacrament of marriage. Such controversial groups understood that the spiritually-transformed sexual act could raise the fallen Sophia (the wisdom of an awakened consciousness) to the heights of Pleroma (the direct experience of divine reality). See how through an explanation of the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip.

Gnostic Gospels 05 Initiation, Revelation, and the New Age

The gnostics represented the path of divine reunion through mystical symbolism. Those candidates who had proven their maturity within the ancient mystery schools were initiated into the secret teachings of Esoteric Christianity, whereby they could decipher and apply the meanings of such abstract scriptures in their individual, spiritual work. The Gospel of Thomas communicates the nature of sacred revelation and its psychological requisites: the purification of the consciousness in striving for the highest reality. Discover the basis and nature of initiation in relation to the New Age of Aquarius for which the Gnostic Gospels predicted and foretold.

Gnostic Gospels 04 Our Divine Potential

The Gnostic Gospels teach that we are presently a seed that can blossom into an angel. A prophet, saint, or perfect being is not the product of theories and beliefs, but practical spirituality. Discover how to develop and master your divine potential through three mystical sciences: kabbalah (the Tree of Life), alchemy (the Tree of Knowledge), and psychology (as taught in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas).

Spiritual Defense 04 How to Be a Gnostic Priest

A real priest is a magician, from the Indo-European root mag or Persian magush: an initiate who masters his or her own psychology and the inferior elements of nature. Magic, therefore, is the ability of the consciousness to influence the inner and outer cosmos, either with purity of mind and harmony with superior law, or with animal desire in violation of divine commands. Develop power as a magician over your own inner universe and benefit humanity through the three disciplines of the Gnostic priesthood: ceremonial, elemental, and sexual magic.

Gnostic Gospels 03 Know Thyself

All religious and spiritual movements emphasized the importance of self-knowledge for developing a personal relationship with divinity. Rather than rely on convoluted theories or convictions without evidence, aspirants of any tradition can develop experiential wisdom of mystical truths through the application of practical techniques. See how through an examination of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Socrates’ daemon in the Apology, Samael Aun Weor’s explanation of spiritual inquietudes, and the famous Greek maxim of Delphi: “Gnothi Sauton” or “Know Thyself.”