Gnostic Insights

Part One of my interview with fellow Gnostic, Scott Smith. We discuss Scott’s pragmatic gnosticism and his books, “God Reconsidered: Searching for Truth in the Battle Between Atheism and Religion,” and “The Soul of Your Pet: Evidence for the Survival of Animals After Death.” Scott is a much-published freelance journalist who specializes in travel and business articles. He attends the Ecclesia Gnostica Church in Los Angeles and has appeared many times on Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio. Scott’s understanding of Gnostic history and practice is extensive.

You can read more about Scott at his “God Reconsidered” facebook page.

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Pleroma is a Greek word for “all that which is contained within a body or organization.” The Pleroma of the Fullness of God is the Pleroma we most often refer to in connection with Gnosticism. The Pleroma of the Fullness of God is the sum total of all the individual characteristics and powers of the originating consciousness of the Father as manifested in the monad known as the Son.

But there are other Pleromas, too. In this series, we have heard about the Pleroma of Logos and the Pleroma of the Demiurge. We have also heard about the Pleroma of the Christ.

It turns out that every entity, with the exception of the originating Father and Son, is not only part of a larger Pleroma, it is itself a Pleroma that contains a host of smaller entities. We are all fractals of the Fullness and we are all nested iterations of the same fractal consciousness. We are all nested within larger Pleromas, and we have the Pleroma of our body within us.

Confused? Here’s the explanation…

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Free will is at the core of our being. It was the free will of Logos that caused him to leave the Fullness and fall. It was the free will of the restored Logos and the Totalities that created the Second Order Powers. And it is the free will of the Powers, by way of our Aeonic inheritance, that directs ours lives here below. It is our own free will that causes us to forget about the Father and the Fullness of God from which we come. It is our own free will that allows us to bow to the rule of the Demiurge and dig our own graves. Because of the nature of free will, we turn to an outside source to assist our remembrance and salvation. This Aeon is known as the Christ–the Son of the Father’s will and of the good pleasure of the ALL.

“And so the Aeons of the Fullness, everyone individually and all of them collectively, gave glory in unison to their Father, while praying for help for the deficiency. They brought forth one that combined every attribute of the ALL, manifested in the image of the Father of whom they had been thinking when they gave glory and prayed for help. This one was called the Son of his will and of the good pleasure of the ALL. It is the knowledge of the Father who wished to become known. It is also described as holding authority vested in him from the beginning and the power needed to execute it. … The Aeons not only produced a singular fruit reflecting the Father, but that fruit also reflected their own individual countenances and aspects from their positions in the Hierarchy of the Fullness.”

In other words, we each have a one-to-one relationship with a fruit that comes in the image of each of us. We are able to recognize the Savior because it fits us and has our face. “In this manner, they went forth in a form that consisted of many forms, so that the one whom they were going to help should see those to whom he had prayed for help, as well as the one who brought it to him,” verse 87.

When the Tripartite Tractate speaks of forms consisting of many forms, this refers to the nested fractal hierarchies of our space that makes up all of the normal matter of our universe. Our universal unit of consciousness, the Holy Spirit of the Fullness of God, is continually pouring in information, values, love, and coherence. The Christ came into the world to redeem all of creation through his body and his blood, literally because his body and his blood instantiate the entire Fullness of the ALL. Redemption comes not only to those of us on Earth, but also to the Fullness above and to Logos in particular, the Aeon whose fall brought creation into existence. Each redeemed Second Order Power is unshackled from the ties that bind it to the material world, and in this manner, the creation of the Demiurge loses power to the Fullness.

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This episode continues Chapter 14 of my new book–A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel According to the Tripartite Tractate. In this chapter and podcast episode, we look at the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi, and the New Testament of the Bible to show their essential similarities.

Both the Tripartite Tractate and the Book of the Dead assure us that even those people who have fallen so far in their lifetime as to commit seemingly unforgivable sins will be forgiven if they turn to the clear light of the Father upon death. We carry the Fullness of God within us and, according to Gnostics, we can remember our gnosis and find redemption and salvation through the Christ by simply remembering it. At any time you recognize the Hell you are in, you can always turn your eyes upward to escape torment, even from the 14th bardo of “Hell.”

“As for the servants of the evil , though evil is worthy of destruction … the Church will remember them as good friends and faithful servants” and “will produce for them angels as guides and servants” the helpful deities of Tibetan Buddhism… “just as Christ [did] his will which he brought [forth and] exalted the greatnesses of the Church [and] gave them to her,” the Third Order Powers forming the Pleroma of Christ, “so will she be a thought for [these]. And to men he gives [their] eternal dwelling places, in which they will dwell, [leaving] behind the attraction toward the defect, while the power of the Pleroma pulls them up in the greatness of the generosity and [the] sweetness of the aeon which pre-exists.”

“Know thyself” was an important maxim in ancient Greece. “Know thyself” refers to big S Self. Knowing your Self puts you in alignment with the Fullness and the Father. By mining your gnosis now, and meditating upon the Father, the Son, and the Christ, you prepare your Self to transcend death before you cross over.

Thanks to our new subscribers and followers–and welcome to Gnostic Insights! As I said last week, A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel is finished and will soon be ready for immediate limited release to my listeners–I’ll let you know next week how to obtain your copy. The book has also been accepted for publication through a Christian publisher, but it won’t be ready for release for many months as it goes through their pre-publication process. I wonder what the editors will make of it!

Many thanks go to those of you who have contributed donations toward this podcast. I appreciate you very much. Remember, I am happy to hear about your gnostic journey and to answer any questions you may have as you discover your gnosis. No question is too big or too small!

Onward and upward!

This week’s episode presents the first half of Chapter 14 from my new book, A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel. You may purchase a copy of the book through my GnosticInsights.com website or all the usual places.

This week’s episode reviews the parallel wisdom of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Tripartite Tractate surrounding the mystery of death. In Tibetan Buddhism, one’s experience immediately after death affects your karma and the memes you will carry forward into the next life. If your life has been noble and righteous you will experience a positive bardo populated by helpful deities. If your life has been carnal and egoic, you will find yourself bouncing around from one hellacious bardo to the next on your way toward your next incarnation.

We Gnostics do not need to pass through layers of Hell in order to find redemption. Remember that the figure called the Christ has brought redemption to all of us. Jesus the Christ is our personal diety in our Western Gnostic tradition. So you don’t have to feel as though this is some sort of pagan ritual where you have to find a God of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and pray to them. That’s not necessary, just like we don’t need to memorize names of Aeons or ritualistic incantations and practices in order to become enlightened or to know God after death. None of that is necessary.

All you need to know, if you wake up some day and find yourself in a bardo of the afterlife, is remember the Father and remember the Fullnesses, remember the Son and the Christ, and that memory will pull you in the upward and onward direction. So what I would recommend is that continually, as you are living this life day-to-day and hour by hour, think upon and remember the Fullness and the Father, or think upon and remember the redemption of the Christ and how it frees you from the delusions and attachments of this world.

Part two of Overcoming Death will follow next week. We are nearing the end of this review series. Remember, you can always find the entire series at gnosticinsights.com under the tab called “A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel.”

Onward and upward!

photo credit Karen Giese, April 2023

This week’s episode is a continuation of Chapter 13 from my new book–A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel. You may want to listen to last week’s episode before listening to this week’s.

We are looking at the 3-part nature of us Second Order Powers. Most people would agree that we have a psychological part and a physical part. Spiritual people add a spiritual component. This episode examines how exactly the psychical and spiritual parts of us are brought into communion with the molecules of our bodies. In other words, this episode is about the process and flow of consciousness into matter. We humans are part of “those of the remembrance” who enter this realm at conception and are required to adhere to that demiurgic, molecular level.

In Gnosticism, we say that we humans, and all other Powers, are fractals of the originating consciousness of the Father by way of the Hierarchy of the Fullness. If you have been following Gnostic Insights for any period of time, you probably know this by now. We are “those who belong to the remembrance,” and we “reproduce the likeness” of the Aeons. This is another way of saying that we are fractals of the Fullness—we “share the names with which they are adorned.” By “names,” we are talking about the characteristics of those Aeons, not merely their titles. In Jungian psychology, these names would be called archetypes; in Platonism, these names would be forms. The names represent the position, place, function, and duties of the Aeons—which are all of the archetypal patterns that make up our universe.

This episode offers an explanation of the philosophical and spiritual pitfalls of transhumanism. Can our units of consciousness be downloaded into a computer matrix? If it could, what would that metaverse look like, and would you want to live there?

As always, I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment using the “Contact Us” form at gnosticinsights.com

A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel will be published this month. I am initially offering a black and white version of the book to keep the cost down and affordability high. After that one is published, I will go on to issue a full color, deluxe, second edition. So, stay tuned!

This week’s episode takes a sneak peek into Chapter 13 of my upcoming book, “A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel.” Chapter 13 is about the way ethereal consciousness came to create physical matter and how this consciousness interfaces with that matter. This chapter is ground zero for consciousness studies–providing a logical framework for the flow and process of consciousness—how it was in the beginning, and how it instantiates down here.

Let me begin by saying, once again, that everything is a fractal. A fractal is a geometric form where things look very much the same at larger and smaller scales. We humans, and all other Second Order Powers, are fractals of the originating consciousness by way of the Hierarchy of the Fullness. This is why I always begin with the Father, the Son, and the Fullness of God with its Pleroma of Aeons, because we are fractal emanations of that same Aeonic consciousness.

We are “those who belong to the remembrance,” and we “reproduce the likeness” of the Aeons. This is another way of saying that we are fractals of the Fullness—we “share the names with which they are adorned.” By “names,” we are talking about the characteristics of those Aeons, not merely their titles. In Jungian psychology, these names would be called archetypes; in Platonism, these names would be forms. The names represent the position, place, function, and duties of the Aeons—which are all of the archetypal forms that make up our universe.

The Aeons are called the images, and we are their representations. In other words, we are fractals of the Aeons of the Fullness of God. In A Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything, I refer to these fractals as “units of consciousness.” Those units of consciousness carry forward the Son’s One consciousness, as well as their particular self-aware identities—their names. Even though the word does not appear in the Tripartite Tractate, I have defined those names as the Aeons’ Egos, because everyone’s ego is a unique designation of the one who bears it.

This episode looks at the cravings that have taken you over and how to rid yourself of them, whether those cravings are for sex, drugs, social media, or whatever other forces are binding you. Here you will find practical advice from the Gnostic Gospel that enables you to rise above compulsions you would like to kick to the curb.

Someone accused me of being “provincial” a while back. Yep. The road is wide that leads to destruction, and the way is narrow that returns us to the Fullness Above. Faith is not a weakness–it’s a blessing and a beacon.

We are fractals of that loving consciousness and so our lives truly resonate to the Fullness of God. All else is delusion and distraction. All else leads to feelings of loss and abandonment. When you embrace values of the fallen world that is ruled by the Demiurge and his archonic gang, you are brought down and enslaved. The only way out is to repent and renounce those forces. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” It’s time to drop those pernicious memes and embrace the values of the Fullness instead.

Every virtue of the Fullness of God is countered by a vice that is its shadow. Vices pull us down; virtues lift us up.

Our worldview, or ideology, is the larger frame through which we view the world. We humans are built to make sense of the world around us. When things don’t make sense, we feel puzzled, lost, even frightened or depressed. We humans all need to believe in something—anything. I would say it’s in the nature of us Second Order Powers, because we were created as reasonable beings. A worldview is the scaffolding upon which we hang our observations and expectations. It is a very big framework because we need to be able to make some sense of the world in order to discern our reason for living.

One person will look at a given set of facts and come to a conclusion based upon their ideological memes; while another person may look at the same facts and come to a completely different conclusion and course of action. This is no surprise, because everyone has a worldview that filters incoming and outgoing energy and memes. A fascinating thing about ideologies is that most people are not even aware that there is such a thing as competing ideologies. Their own ideology is what is called “naturalized,” which means that they hold it so deeply that they do not recognize it as an ideology and that there may be other valid points of view. They don’t realize that their own worldview shapes and filters what they see and the options open for their behavior. They think that those who disagree with them are wrong, crazy, or evil.

Please feel free to use the Comments form at gnosticinsights.com I love to hear from you with comments and questions. Let’s get this gnosis going!

Our universe is populated by fractal echoes of the Father’s primordial consciousness. We are singular expressions of that originating consciousness. Our units of consciousness are made up of two parts–the Self and the Ego. The Self portion of our unit of consciousness is identical to everyone else’s, because the Self is a fractal of the Son’s unit of consciousness. So, what makes me different from you?  The difference between us is based on a few simple principles.

First and foremost, each of our Selfs is an almost identical fractal of the Fullness of God, and the Fullness of God is an emanation of the Son’s consciousness. But, as is the case with DNA, although our master pattern is identical, not every facet is activated to the same extent in everyone, and the facets that are activated are turned on in different relative strengths. These facets of the Fullness are what we call the Aeons of the Fullness. Each Aeon represents a particular talent, name, function, power, and so forth, of the Son. If you imagine that golden pyramid I use to illustrate the Fullness, our unique personality reflects a slightly different pattern overlaid upon those glowing, golden balls. It’s like a stencil overlaid on top of the fractal Fullness—each one of us has a slightly different stencil obscuring the Fullness that allows a unique pattern of lights to show through.

Our particular, personalized pattern of Aeonic traits formed each of our individual identities from our inception. We are all unique Second Order Powers reflecting our own Aeonic inheritance. This was determined in the Aeonic realm, prior to any physical instantiation. This individualized pattern and place is the beginning of our Egos. Egos are all different, whereas our Selfs are all the same.

You could call this core personality our heavenly or Aeonic inheritance, and that includes our originating Egos. Even the Aeons have Egos, but their Egos are not in the least bit self-centered or narcissistic, whereas our human Egos are self-serving because that is the job of Ego—to take care of and serve needs of the material body. It is the Ego that interacts with others and the with the world. This function of Ego is self-serving but not inherently bad, naughty, or evil. Even Aeons have Egos. The Aeon’s Egos simply identify their names, positions, ranks, and duties in the Hierarchy of the Fullness. It is their Ego, or self-identity, that differentiates the Aeons of the Fullness from the pure beings of thought known as the ALL.

In the hierarchy of the Fullness of God and similarly, within the Pleroma of our bodies, we have every single type of unit of consciousness derived from the Hierarchy of the Son, from the cells on up through our governing Self unit of consciousness. Our governing Self sits on the top of our personal hierarchical Pleroma. We are all fractals. Within my body there are countless fractals of the Fullness of God, and each one of them is doing its job to keep me alive and walking around, because they are operating according to the Simple Golden Rule of reaching out and holding hands with their neighbors, and working together with information, with coherence, and with love to work for the betterment of all. 

I appreciate your dedication to gnosis. If you appreciate these messages, please consider donating to Gnostic Insights to help cover its expenses. I do not personally profit from these proceeds. Thank you!