You're Almost There...Don't Go Now...
Anytime you start to try something new, it can be exciting and challenging. Especially when, at first, everything seems to be a great combination with your spirit.
This is contemporary Gnosticism. Many are attracted to its elements because the word is used so much by so many people. This is another reason it's entirely difficult to ground down an exact definition and outline for modern Gnosticism. Many people are attracted to it from different sources - notably those who have actually misused the word Gnosticism when representing themselves.
One of the scary things about entering into something new is that when it's not exactly what you were expecting, we retreat. I've seen many people who are attracted to Gnosticism because they've heard of Sylvia Browne or Samual Woer using the word to describe their particual set of beliefs. Once they learn how laughable their brand really is compared to true contemporary Gnosticism, they retreat back into their "safe zone," for fear that they have absolutely no idea what is going on - like they will be judged for being crazy.
This should never be the case. I was actually initially attracted to Gnosticism through Sylvia Browne's words, which was my direct quest to seek a higher knowledge of the Divine. As I explored the religion further, I realized (a) how different it really was from what Sylvia said it was, and (b) how in love with it I really was.
Many don't initially understand the many layers of interpretation that follow through the myths and allegories of Gnostic folklore. And trust me, there are plenty of places on the web and through scholarship that claim all sorts of obscene things about the Gnostic religion and its practices, but at the core root of it, there are all these different routes the knowledge can and does go. It is more broad than people have ever really given it credit for, and I think that's a travesty.
Gnosticism is more than a religion with a set of beliefs. It's more than a liturgy. It's more than the myths that they use to teach. It's more than the word itself.
It's not UFO worship, or some sex cult, or some occultic pagan group of Satan worshippers. It's figurehead is not some psychic lady that can tell you what your grandmother is doing in Heaven.
It IS the active, consistant approach to seeking out gnosis, and using that particular experience by applying it to life. The gnosis is what frees us.
All else is conjecture, and should not taint the purity of gnosis.
posted by Joe Daher @ Tuesday, February 13, 2007
3 comments
3 Comments:
Amen Brother! I spent most of yesterday Googleing the word "gnostic" and I found some truly horrifying things. People take the word to mean anti-orthodoxy. To some this is a good thing, to others a very bad thing, to very few of us does it refer to a tradition in which gnosis is paramount. It's an interesting time to be a gnostic.
I have no qualms with anyone introducing the ideas of Gnosticism to anyone. But what you find in most places is a hijacking of the word altogether in order to advance specific agendas.
I'm quite pleased both of us can be apart of something that can help spread the word of what gnosis is, was, and forever will be.
I can absolutely identify your message here. I too first became aware of "gnosticism" through Sylvia Browne. As I learned more about what she taught, though, I realized that it wasn't for me. I didn't delve deeper at that time, and it has only been recently that I began actively trying to learn more and understand what Gnosticism truly is.
I have only scratched the surface yet, but your words ring so true. It's really excellent to have resources such as your blog and others for insight that offer that extra piece of understanding and knowledge to someone who is just beginning on the path.
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