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Free lectures on spirituality, religion, mysticism, meditation, psychology, kabbalah, alchemy, tantra, sacred sexuality, runes, dreams, astral projection, kundalini, yoga, the Bible, and more. From the Gnostic Academy of Chicago, a non-profit organization.
Episodes
Saturday Aug 15, 2020
Saturday Aug 15, 2020
"And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you [for the cause of Allah] and the patient, and We will test your affairs." —Qur'an 47:31
The spiritual path is realized through psychological work upon the lower soul: nafs, defects, vices, or egos. By comprehending desires, the practical meditator develops genuine effort to affect profound transformations, defined by states of vivid intensity, clarity, awareness, and serenity. In this way, the consciousness wages a holy war against the internal causes of suffering, solely equipped with the weapons of intelligence, patience, equanimity, and compassion.
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Saturday Aug 08, 2020
Saturday Aug 08, 2020
Repentance, as the first state and station of the spiritual path, is the doorway to enter genuine knowledge of divine reality. Rather than constituting a stale moral code to adhere to through blind obedience, repentance is the conscience and remorse of the consciousness when recognizing its own faults. Through acknowledging mistakes, the meditator can practically work towards their elimination from the psyche, so as to achieve internal purification and clarified perception of the truth.
Resources and Reference
Saturday Aug 01, 2020
Saturday Aug 01, 2020
Divinity's presence is personal, conscious, and intimate to each practitioner. While some have experienced glimpses of their innermost Being, few know how to practically develop and sustain such profound states on a daily basis. Meditation is the direct perception of reality without conditions, yet to maintain and deepen such a connection requires that the meditator abandon forgetfulness, distractions, and dreams.
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Saturday Jul 25, 2020
Saturday Jul 25, 2020
Everything in nature functions in accordance with rhythms, tempos, ebbs, and flows. The same with the consciousness. Through concentrating one's attention on internal states and expanding one's awareness of external phenomena, meditators learn to access a significant range of their conscious potential. By comprehending how consciousness can both focus and amplify our understanding, we establish a foundation for overcoming the psychological causes of affliction.
Resources and References
https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/contraction-and-expansion
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
"And by the night as it closes in, and by the dawn when it breathes..." ―Qur'an 81:17-18
Breath is an essential dynamic in every mystical tradition, especially Sufism. By combining breath with spiritual longing, aspiration, and conscious love, the practitioner elevates solar or creative forces from within one's sexual organs, up the spine, to illuminate the mind. In this manner, meditators master the three types of soul in the Qur'an, so as to acquire perfect serenity and illumination.
Resources and References
Saturday Jul 11, 2020
Saturday Jul 11, 2020
"The best act of worship is watchfulness of the moments." ―Al-Wasiti
Meditation is based upon alert novelty, awareness, watchfulness, vigilance, and directed attention in the moment we find ourselves in. Without comprehending our psychology from instant to instant, it is impossible to experience the fruits of meditation: serenity, transformation, and the internal states of liberation.
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Saturday Jun 27, 2020
Saturday Jun 27, 2020
Sufism describes varying levels of direct experience and contemplation of divinity. While stations are the result of inner effort and initiatic work, mystical states, profound experiences, and the ecstasies of the soul result from divine blessings. Learn how through an explanation of Kabbalah and the testimonies of the Sufi masters.
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Saturday Jun 20, 2020
Saturday Jun 20, 2020
There exist infinite degrees, qualities, or levels of consciousness, defined within Sufism as the stations in the spiritual path leading to divine realization. Through profound works of meditation, practitioners can permanently establish themselves within these higher degrees of being, known within universal gnosticism as initiations. Discover how to enter and travel the path through an exploration of the Tree of Life and the Sufi scriptures.
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Saturday Jun 13, 2020
Saturday Jun 13, 2020
The state of meditation is experienced when spiritual principles and divine laws are fulfilled. Similarly, meditation can only be understood through the harmonious balance of daily study and practice. See how through a profound exploration of the Qur'an and the three forms of certainty, the steps for acquiring genuine, experiential wisdom, and the means to recognize such states within one's life.
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Saturday Jun 06, 2020
Saturday Jun 06, 2020
The science of meditation is based upon observable facts: what we can verify through repeatable experimentation and practice. Discover the foundations for how to study, approach, and experience the state of meditation. This lecture explains the three levels of meditative instruction within Sufi schools, the path of ethics, as well as the psychological qualities of genuine realization and spiritual conduct from the prophetic tradition.
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