Newest Episodes
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Morality, Ethics, and Gnosis
Where does morality come from? Is it an empty pipe dream imposed by society and adopted out of a sense of guilt and terror of hell? Or is there another way of arriving at virtue without relying on guilt and fear? This episode contrasts an atheistic, scholastic view of morality with authenitc, gnostic morality. In this episode, we look once again to the Tao Te Ching, verse 18, and trace virtue’s fall from grace to hypocrisy.
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The Infancy Gospel of James: Mary and the Birth of Jesus
This episode is a Christmas treat for your enjoyment. I am sharing an alternative nativity story of Jesus from The Infancy Gospel of James, one of the books that didn’t make it into the Bible. This book is not particularly gnostic; it is more along the lines of a fable of the birth of Jesus.
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Mud Up, Spirit Down
This episode shares a couple of basic concepts from Cyd’s theory of everything called “A Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything.” The idea that kicked it all off was a phrase that came to me: “Mud Up, Spirit Down.” What does that have to do with toruses? Or fruit salads? How on earth does any of this tie in to Gnostic studies and the Nag Hammadi? And why should we care?
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The Fall: Who, what, where, how, and why
According to Gnostic cosmology, the Fall was not instigated by humans. It was most definitely not when Eve handed Adam an apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The Fall occurred way before that. Way before humans. Way before the creation of heaven and earth. In fact, according to Gnostic cosmology, the Fall is what kicked off our material instantiation and set the stage for this universe to come into being. Here’s what happened.
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Gnosis and the Tao, Verses 1 and 31
Abstract thought on the part of the Pleroma defined creation prior to the Big Bang. In our universe, we are only able to recognize objects and concepts we have named.
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Gnosis and the Tao Te Ching, v. 21, 4, & 48
In Gnostic terminology, the Tao spoken of by Lao Tzu refers to the Father. The principles of organization that have informed our universe since the moment before creation refers to the Fullness of God. Non-being refers to clearing your personal Unit of Consciousness of egoic memes and karma to reveal your truest Self. Non-action refers to allowing the Fullness of God to direct your actions for the greater good.
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The Three Orders of Power and the Demiurge
The Demiurge is great and powerful. It is the god of this universe, identified in the Old Testament as Yahweh. But there is a higher…
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The Anti-Christ
The anti-Christ is to be found within the oft repeated mantra that we can take care of each other and build a better tomorrow without God. That more and more powerful governmental and corporate entities will satisfy our needs and give us that Paradise on Earth that will dispel hunger, climate change, and poverty for the betterment of all. That we can live forever through technological manipulation. That we deserve everything we desire. Kinkier sex. Fancier food. More stuff dropped on our doorsteps by Amazon. That these will make us happy. That this will bring fulfillment. This is the spirit of the anti-Christ.
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Ego’s Shroud
The Ego protects us from the world. The Ego collects our experiences and memes and holds them on its surface. From the outside, it looks to our neighbors as though we are only our Ego because the Ego is opaque, and it hides our internal, eternal spirit.
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As Below, So Above: Inferring the Transcendent
If we start with the premise of a singular consciousness that pre-exists everything that came after it, then we can follow the genesis of our universe from that consciousness step-by-step. In today’s episode, we are going to map aspects of our human personalities onto the Gnostic Gospel to see what we can infer about ourselves down here below and about the forms of consciousness above.
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One Gnostic God; Many Inhabited Worlds
If 5.3 trillion planets are thought to support life, how many of them would recognize the Gnostic Gospel? This episode offers a form of logical proof that the universe must be teeming with Second Order Powers sent by the Pleroma–enough to counter the Demiurge.
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Centering
This episode looks at “centering” from several perspectives. What is centering and why do people do it? Learn how to center using toroidal flow–a consciousness-studies favorite. You can also center using the sign of the cross and the Lord’s Prayer.
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Escaping Fundamentalism, Part 2, with Adrian Charles Smith
Continuing our discussion of fundamentalism in all its fractal forms with my gnostic friend, Adrian Smith. Learn how manufactured fear and demonization of the other drives us into the clutches of the powerful few where we look in vain for salvation. These saviors put on a face of piety and pretty promises, but their motivation is always power–the more power over your life, the better.
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Escaping Fundamentalism with Adrian Charles Smith, Part 1
In this interview, gnostic author Adrian Charles Smith shares his intimate understanding of fundamentalism as a fractal pattern that permeates all institutions, from literalist churches to Progressive politics. An ex-pastor and lawyer, Smith defines fundamentalism as possessing the form of law yet lacking the spirit of truth, and its methods are ever the same, no matter where you find it.
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Whence Arises Consciousness? Part 2: AI and Robotics
Is there a qualitative difference between life forms and the potential consciousness of computers and robots? Why is it that “meat” levels up to make more complex, conscious assemblages, whereas “mud” can’t rise above its molecular level aggregations? Hint: perhaps it’s the difference between the Demiurge and the Pleroma.