Way of the Hermit

S2E21: Gnosticism Epilogue


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In this Season 2 finale, David and Gene synthesize their entire journey through Gnosticism, revealing how the four texts they covered create a complete initiatory system for spiritual awakening.

After exploring the Perennial Philosophy through Freemasonry's "Key to the Mysteries" in Season 1, they discovered what that key unlocks: the suppressed wisdom of Gnosticism - teachings so dangerous to institutionalized religious control that possessing these texts once meant execution. This episode traces the path from spiritual sleep to enlightened awareness through:

  • The Secret Gospel of John's cosmic blueprint of consciousness,
  • The Gospel of Thomas's paradoxical wisdom designed to short-circuit dualistic thinking,
  • The Trimorphic Protennoia's first-person autobiography of the Universal Mind discovering itself, and
  • The Thunder, Perfect Mind's paradoxical declarations that shatter all notions of separation.

David and Gene map these texts onto the ancient Gnostic initiatory framework using the symbol of a point within a circle with:

  • Hylics identified with the material world (the circle's edge),
  • Psychics identified with mind and emotion (the radius line bridging matter and spirit), and
  • Pneumatics who have achieved direct knowledge of their divine nature (the center point).

Each text addresses a specific stage on this journey from identification with the body to recognition that individual consciousness is not separate but rather the One Universal Mind experiencing itself through countless perspectives.

The ultimate revelation? The Thunder, Perfect Mind's closing promise echoes The Gospel of Thomas's opening declaration: those who find this wisdom will not taste death, for they recognize themselves as the deathless consciousness that animates all life. 🪶

Deep Dives:

  • Gnosticism, Freemasonry and Gnosis
  • Gnostic Christianity
  • Secret Book of John
  • The Gospel of Thomas
  • The Trimorphic Protennoia
  • The Thunder, Perfect Mind

Chapters:

  • 01:15 Introduction
  • 01:48 Review
  • 07:33 The Secret Gospel of John
  • 10:21 The Gospel of Thomas
  • 12:22 The Trimorphic Protennoia
  • 16:10 The Thunder, Perfect Mind
  • 19:19 Gnosis Reborn
  • 21:42 Neophyte: Hylic
  • 23:34 Seeker: Psychic
  • 25:37 Knower: Pneumatic
  • 28:13 Cultural Convergence
  • 30:42 Conclusions

Resources:

  • Gnosis.org - The Gnosis Archive
  • The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
  • The Red Book: A Reader's Edition - Carl Jung
  • Jesus and the Lost Goddess - Freke and Gandy
  • Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell - Bernardo Kastrup
  • The Case Against Reality - Donald Hoffman
  • Irreducible - Federico Faggin
...more
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Way of the HermitBy Dr. David Brown & Gene Lawson

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