Chicago Gnosis Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Gnostic Academy of Chicago
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.
New guest lecturer!
Many people often turn to spiritual practice when dissatisfied and disillusioned by materialism. However, they may not know where to start when confronted with the abundance of information out there, or, after practicing for some time, do not get the results they hoped for. In this lecture, we will discuss the fundamental factors required for spiritual development, addressing different practices that can affect the seven levels of our being, thereby awakening our consciousness.
Karma is the law of cause and effect within every dimension of nature. However, while people study this divine law within diverse religious and philosophical traditions, they often ignore how our common use of sexual energy determines many deleterious outcomes for ourselves within the domains of life, society, profession, relationships, and spirituality. See the logical consequences of Rodolfo and Mimi's unresolved disputes, unbridled lust, and adultery through the contraction of an incurable and fatal sickness, the fate and fruit of our current humanity's former actions.
Act II builds on the suspense and burgeoning relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, newfound neighbors and bohemian lovers in the Latin quarter of Paris. Their spark of divine love is juxtaposed with the contrasting passion and suffering of Marcello and Musetta, the latter whose adulterous liaison serves as the locus of lustful competition, jealousy, and spite. Such destructive tendencies are representative of our collective humanity's consequent obsession with carnal desire and adultery, symbolized in Revelations as the scarlet whore who entices the multitudes with false prophecy and blind promises that lead to intense affliction. See how spiritual initiates like Puccini warned against following blind passion and the ways to recognize salvation within oneself: the path of chastity or sexual purity within the perfect matrimony.
While revered throughout the world for its impassioned arias and romantic motifs, La Bohème conveys troubling messages regarding the nature and trajectory of modern living, particularly concerning sexual relations. Discover how Puccini, a Masonic initiate, encoded within his supercilious and compulsive characters a profound warning to those who would seek to enter the spiritual path. By flirting with presumption, indulgence, and desire, the opera's characters enter the wide and broad gate that leads to disaster; see how to avoid the pitfalls of contemporary existence so as to enter the straight and narrow way that leads to spiritual life, and which few actually find (Matthew 7:13-14).
After demonstrating maturity, ethics, and integrity in the probationary path, candidates of initiation are granted the opportunity to advance in greater degrees of spiritual development. Through a perfect matrimony, a couple can strive, overcome, and develop themselves in the beginning stages of mastery. See how through its moral, psychological, and esoteric requirements, accompanied by mystical revelations, experiences, and celebrations within the higher worlds.
While alchemy, kabbalah, tarot, and psychology have developed as distinct traditions throughout history, they share profound roots within the esoteric mystery schools of antiquity. Rather than forming a new age hodgepodge or vague constellation of disparate belief systems, these principles convey the multifaceted nature of spiritual practice and divine realization from different angles, constituting a unique body of experiential knowledge known in Greek as γνῶσις gnosis. Therefore, properly prepared individuals can utilize these insights for interpreting the highly symbolic, mystical, and alchemical art of opera, whose composers were often Freemasons initiated into the secret allegories and disciplines of the ancients. This lecture explains some of the spiritual traditions behind Puccini's La Bohème, which will serve for future viewings and discussions on its gnostic symbolism, especially in relation to creative energy (alchemy), character representations and archetypes (kabbalah), predictive, prophetic, and pragmatic implications (tarot), and the path of internal transformation (psychology).
Learn and celebrate how one individual changed the world.
References from Glorian Publishing* Who is Samael Aun Weor? (Articles and Resources) * Samael: The Fifth Angel (Course) * Get Spiritual Strength Through Blessed Food and Drink: Have Eucharist at Home
All of the principles outlined in this course point towards a specific goal: divine realization upon the inner path of spiritual initiation. By mastering our psychology, sexuality, and sufferings in daily life, we become radically distinct individuals characterized by the highest ideals, embodied by humanity's greatest luminaries and prophets. This final lecture reviews three principles for entering, walking upon, and mastering the spiritual path, whereby a common person becomes an enlightened individual: the birth of virtue, the death of desire, and selfless service for humanity.
Guest lecturer!
Amidst the complexities and difficulties of life is a simple truth: every action produces related consequences. While true in physics, this dynamic is even more profound in relation to our behaviors, mindset, social interactions, and psychology. See how to affect genuine spiritual change through an introduction to five mystical principles, described in the East as karma and in the West as the divine law. Learn also of common pitfalls, antidotes, and anecdotes for lasting personal transformation, as well as how inspired action can produce the longed for changes we seek in our daily lives.
After working with energy, the consciousness becomes inflamed and awakened. However, this type of birth is only one side of a spiritual equation. The rest of the work necessitates the comprehension and death of psychological contaminants like anger, lust, and pride. By directing energy towards the purification of the mind, it becomes possible to be fully rid of repetitious and harmful internal states, thereby enacting lasting, profound, and radical change. See how through a practice known as retrospection meditation.
We perceive with more senses that mere sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Rather than exclusively depend upon empirical data, it is possible to explore, with psychological senses, the roots and origins of numerous internal states. While openly denigrated by modern society, the faculty of imagination is actually the means by which to investigate non-physical or metaphysical phenomena such as thoughts, feelings, and desires. Through understanding five forms of imagination, it becomes possible to distinguish reality from illusion, the truth of cosmic being from the clever machinations our own mind. Learn also practical techniques to develop positive forms of imagination for the awakening and liberation of self.
Ever wonder why New Year's resolutions don't work? While we might will something, it may not come to fruition because we lack energy, enthusiasm, and consistency for accomplishing it. Likewise, without proper spiritual force, we will not have the inspiration, comprehension, and zeal for overcoming resistance. Learn how to conserve and harness energy for the awakening of your spirituality, specifically through exercises of pranayama, chakra work, and sacred sexuality.
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other." ―Matthew 6:24
Examine your life. Whom do you serve most from moment to moment? Is it your unconditioned consciousness, or desires? By understanding our psychological states, it becomes possible to intuitively choose what superior actions to embody and follow. In this way, we willingly engage in selfless behaviors for the well-being of our communities.
All religions and mystical traditions speak about divine reality. But how do we experience it? Likewise, how do we cultivate it daily, from moment to moment? Discover the basis for remembering divinity, what it entails, and how to cultivate such a relationship through practical techniques.
By comprehending and eliminating our defects, we produce the awakening of the consciousness within dreams. This is the sacred return of the soul to divinity within this very life, without needing to physically die. We can competently navigate the higher worlds, the internal dimensions, and receive direct guidance from the Being through profound meditation and spiritual practice: (see Dream Yoga and Astral Travel).
On every Saturday the 13th, we can perform the Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek, supplicating to the genie of the Earth to guide us in the path of mystical death. Such a process radically awakens the disciple during the normal hours of sleep, so that the soul can personally converse and commune with divinity with joy, inspiration, and spiritual healing.
Critiques and explanations regarding divine sexuality. See the following references to Glorian Publishing:
Courses* Evolution of Sex * Kabbalah of Genesis * Meditation Essentials * Samael, the Fifth Angel
Books by Samael Aun Weor* The Major Mysteries * The Perfect Matrimony
Lectures by Samael Aun Weor* Questions About the Path: The Wisdom of the Being * Questions of Importance to Women
The basis of understanding reality is direct perception. While contemporary science accepts sensory and conceptual means of apprehending truth, the ancient mystical traditions taught that the awakened consciousness possesses superior faculties beyond the limitations of individual subjectivity and personal bias. Rather than imprison oneself within a sensual or believing mind, it is possible to awaken a third type: the inner that knows how to perceive and comprehend states of being beyond subjective materiality. By developing the inner mind, we come to experience and witness our true nature.
The proper use of sexual energy can empower us to attain the highest spiritual potential, though we must be aware of the dangers that the misuse of this energy can cause.
Our current psychological state is not unitary, but aggregated within varying levels of density. Another analogy is a spectrum or gradient marked by two extremes. The lowest qualities of being are attributed to affliction, confusion, pain, ignorance, and a whole constellation of destructive behaviors, characterized by complexity, problems, and all their concomitant sufferings. As hinted by the great mystical traditions of antiquity, superior states of being relate to spiritual awakening, serenity, and religious experiences of divine reality. Discover how to identify, discriminate, and understand various forms of perception through four states of consciousness: sleep, dreams, wakefulness, and spiritual illumination, so as to master one's complete potential.
The foundation for experiencing the most fundamental truths of human and divine reality lies within the field of psychological self-observation. By watching our thoughts, feelings, and impulses, it becomes possible to discover who and what we really are, not from any theory, theology, or belief system, but direct perception: the basis of real faith.
Practical advice for Gnostics who seriously wish to preserve their chastity. To learn more about how to end masturbation, see the following resources and references:
Articles by Glorian Publishing* Daily Life on the Path: Home and Altar * What is Pranayama?
Books by Samael Aun Weor* Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic * Magic of the Runes * Magic of the Runes: Practice for Willpower (Rune Dorn) * The Perfect Matrimony * Sacred Rites for Rejuvenation
Lectures* The Mantra of Christ: Om Mani Padme Hum (Glorian Publishing) * Meditation Essentials (Glorian Publishing) * Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation (Gnostic Meditation Course) * Runes Course (Glorian Publishing) * The Transmutation of Sexual Energy: Ham-Sah Pranayama (Samael Aun Weor)
Scriptures* Siva Samhita: Preserve the Semen
TEDx Talk Video* The Great Porn Experiment: Gary Wilson (TEDx Talk)
Videos by Glorian Publishing* Does Porn Affect Spirituality? * Get Spiritual Strength through Blessed Food and Drink * Melon Seed Remedy for Nocturnal Pollutions * Our Father: The Prayer to the Lord * Seven Sacred Runes Practice
The truth about drugs, perception, awakening, and obstacles to spiritual enlightenment.
Take advantage of the crisis to spiritually awaken.
Recommended Sources for Meditation and Spiritual PracticesAlchemy Techniques for Married Couples* The Perfect Matrimony * The Mystery of the Golden Flower
Dream Yoga Exercises* Astral Projection and Dream Yoga (Glorian) * Clues for Astral Projection * Dream Yoga (Book) * Dream Yoga and Astral Travel (Course) * Mantras for Astral Projection
Jinn Science* The Yellow Book
Mantras and Prayers for Protection* The Divine Science * Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic * Klim Krishnaya Instructional Video * The Major Mysteries * The Microcosmic Star Instructional Video
Meditation Courses and Resources* Gnostic Meditation * Guided Practices * Mantras and Pronunciations * Meditation Essentials * Sufi Principles of Meditation
Pranayama for Single Practitioners* Christic Egyptian Pranayama (and other exercises) in The Yellow Book * Kundalini: The Sacred Fire of All Religions * Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation * Ham-Sah Pranayama
Runes* The Magic of the Runes * Runes Course * The Seven Vowels Instructional Video
Sacred Rites of Rejuvenation* Book * Yoga for the Aquarian Era (Lecture)
An esoteric key for transforming our daily lives and practical tips for how to apply it.
It is possible to know the breadth, depth, and complexities of humanity by exploring our own psychology, since each individual is a reflection or microcosm of the external world. Conventional wisdom also encourages conformity to society while acknowledging its possible costs: the end of originality, the loss of beauty, the corruption of innocence, and the weakening of virtue. By identifying three constituents of psychological experience (consciousness, defects, and personality) in relation to specific events, it becomes possible to awaken our true nature, modify our personal experiences, improve our relationships, master our full potential, and produce positive results within all domains of our life.
Develop your spiritual life and receive divine aid from Melchizedek every Saturday the 13th.
Resources* Chicago Gnosis Article * Chicago Gnosis Guided Practice * Glorian Publishing Guided Practice
Every candidate for spiritual initiation must enter a probationary period known as the Minor Mysteries, so that divinity can prove his or her sincerity, willingness, and caliber. This is in preparation for greater spiritual advancements (the Major Mysteries) within the path of the perfect matrimony. Discover the challenges, qualifications, and means of successful candidates in the probationary path.
Determine the authenticity of a spiritual teacher or teaching from your own experience.
Resources* Meditation Essentials (Course) * The Perfect Matrimony (Book) * Types of Spiritual Schools (Lecture)
Learn what the science of meditation is and the reasons for practicing it.
Lectures on Meditation* Gnostic Meditation * Gnostic Psychology * Meditation Essentials * Sufi Principles of Meditation
Guided Practices* Guided Practices
Genuine spiritual life is direct experience of religious truths. The basis of all mystical traditions is personal verification of divine reality. Therefore, the Gnostic tradition as a locus of practical spirituality leaves beliefs and theories behind. Explore resources on how to awaken such potentials within oneself:
Videos* Chicago Gnosis | What is Gnosis? * Glorian Publishing | What is Gnosis? Knowledge is the Key to Liberation from Suffering
Courses* Introduction to Gnostic Studies * Fundamentals of Gnosticism
Membership* The Gnostic Church | Article
Navigating Our Site* Where to Start?
More from Glorian Publishing* Knowledge is Power
May the light and peace of divinity reign within your heart!
This lecture builds on controversial gnostic motifs in Transcendent Betrayal in The Gospel of Judas. By rebelling against one's own false notions good and evil, the initiate recognizes and submits to divine will even when it is contentious, scandalous, and displeasing. Therefore, mystical revolutionaries transcend incipient beliefs and hypocritical sanctimony to perform that which is truly good, even when it is inconvenient and misunderstood.
How to begin practicing and applying the principles of the Gnostic tradition of Samael Aun Weor.
References and Resources:
Pranayama for Single Practitioners* Christic Egyptian Pranayama (and other exercises) in The Yellow Book * Kundalini: * The Sacred Fire of All Religions * Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation * Ham-Sah Pranayama Lecture * Ham-Sah Pranayama Practical
Alchemy Techniques for Married Couples* The Perfect Matrimony * The Mystery of the Golden Flower
Mantras and Prayers for Protection* The Divine Science * Esoteric Medicine and Practical Magic * Klim Krishnaya Instructional Video * The Major Mysteries * The Microcosmic Star Instructional Video
Meditation* Gnostic Meditation * Meditation Essentials
Runes* The Magic of the Runes * Runes Course * The Seven Vowels Instructional Video
Spiritual Rituals for Strength and Healing* Healing Emotional and Spiritual Pain * Spiritual Strength through Blessed Food and Drink
Sacred Rites of Rejuvenation* Book
Ways to Serve* Volunteer for Glorian Publishing
Gnostics utilize kabbalah for its profundity, accessibility, and synthetic power. When consciously utilized, kabbalah becomes incredibly practical for interpreting diverse religious symbolism, creation stories, and the development of the soul. Contrary to popular assumption, the tree of life is not merely a Jewish paradigm, but an essential, eternal, and universal representation within all cosmologies and mythologies. A continuation of Kabbalah: The Legacy of the Initiates, this lecture will explore the mystical significance of divine life in the kabbalistic tree, the ten sephiroth (spiritual emanations), and how specific Hebrew letters, words, and names relate to aspects of being, Hinduism, Arthurian legend, Nordic runes, Tantric Buddhism, and much more.
Book, course, and lecture sequence recommendations for students new to gnosticism.
Books* The Dayspring of Youth * Fundamentals of Gnostic Education * Gazing at the Mystery * The Great Rebellion * Introduction to Gnosis * Karma is Negotiable * Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
Introductory Courses* Beginning Self-Transformation * Dream Yoga and Astral Travel * Fundamentals of Gnosticism * Gnostic Kabbalah: The Tree of Life * Introduction to Gnostic Studies * Spiritual Awakening * The Sufi Path of Self-Knowledge * To Thine Own Self Be True
Intermediate Courses* Cultivating Virtue, Conquering Vice * Gnostic Anthropology and Cosmology * The Gnostic Gospels * Gnostic Meditation * Gnostic Psychology * Practical Initiation * The Secret Path of Initiation * Spiritual and Mental Health * Spiritual Self-Defense * Sufi Principles of Meditation * The Voice of the Silence
Advanced Courses* The Eternal Tarot of Alchemy and Kabbalah * Gnostic Mysteries of the Bible * The Secret Teachings of Opera
“The pupil must regain the child-state he has lost ere the first sound can fall upon his ear. The light from the ONE Master, the one unfading golden light of Spirit, shoots its effulgent beams on the disciple from the very first. It’s rays thread through the thick dark clouds of matter. Now here, now there, these rays illumine it, like sun-sparks light the earth through the thick foliage of the jungle growth. But, O Disciple, unless the flesh is passive, head cool, the soul as firm and pure as flaming diamond, the radiance will not reach the chamber, its sunlight will not warm the heart, nor will the mystic sounds of the Akasic heights reach the ear, however eager, at the initial stage.” —The Voice of the Silence
This sacred scripture provides a didactic teaching on the essence of spiritual practice: dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (comprehension, ecstasy), which was practiced within the most ancient schools of mysteries and presently within gnostic institutions founded by Samael Aun Weor. Learn how to initiate, sustain, and perfect the stages of meditation, so as to experience the highest reality and end the psychological causes of suffering.
A brief, guided relaxation practice to open the doors of imagination (perception of non-physical imagery) and psychological introspection (the internal analysis of oneself). By combining deep breathing with the study of the mind, practitioners can access a state of meditation (the in-depth understanding of any perceived phenomenon).
All living beings from the inferior kingdoms have an elemental soul, including plants. Elementals of the plant kingdom are innocent, chaste, and powerful, since they have not left their paradisiacal state and retain their ability to consciously influence nature. The elemental of the aloe is exceptional for spiritual healing, protection, past life recall, and meditation. By learning to ethically command the elemental of the aloe, the initiate receives divine aid, the empowerment of a superior level of being, and the moral edification of others.
Resources:
- PowerPoint for Elemental Magic of the Aloe
- "Elemental Magic of the Aloe" from Igneous Rose by Samael Aun Weor
A brief meditation on the nature of spiritual perception and personal reflection. Through visualizing light and deep breathing, we relax the mind, heart, and body. By raising creative energy up to our midbrow then down to the heart, the consciousness stills negative emotions and awakens the higher faculties of the soul: sublime compassion, serenity, wisdom, and understanding.
In the final stages of the path, the spiritual master is purged of all impurity through intense ordeals. To reach perfection, such bodhisattvas are always tested because they must pay all their debts before the divine law. They must suffer for having betrayed the heavenly kingdom, since every resurrection is preceded by death. Likewise, Attila faces poison and the sword (symbolizing a terminal, karmic sickness) before he can reach the heights of self-realization. Divinity conspires against the bodhisattva’s ego through Uldino (the voice of conscience), Ezio (the Tree of Knowledge), Foresto (the elemental forces of the Being) and Odabella (the sword of Kundalini). Discover how every master completes the spiritual work through the last two acts of this powerful opera!
Upon taking the direct path to liberation, the warrior bodhisattva Attila must face conspiracy, plots, and intrigue. The elemental forces of the Being (Foresto) and the Kundalini sword of divine justice (Odabella) plot his (psychological) death. Karma besets the initiate at every step, for the barbarian king must confront his weaknesses and conquer his ego. However, due to pride, Attila will not bow to divine intercession until his path to Rome (amore, love) is barred by Pope Leo (the Lion of Judah, the Intimate Christ, the terror of love and law). Discover how Attila (Tiphereth, the human soul) receives oneiric premonitions and must learn to fulfill divine will (Kether, the supremacy of God).
Giuseppe Verdi was a Freemason who encoded the spiritual path of kabbalah, alchemy, and initiation in his operas. In this seminal work, Attila—the warrior of the spirit—must conquer the kingdom of Rome (amore, love) within himself for the redemption of the psyche. However, his pride, anger, and ego are very alive. All defects must die for the spiritual master Attila (Thelema, divine will) to become perfect. Discover what happens to a warrior bodhisattva, an incarnation of the Martian Christ, upon taking the direct path to the Absolute, the contexts, requisites, obstacles, and dramas symbolized in Attila's choice to conquer Rome.
Kabbalah, the esoteric or mystical dimension of Jewish thought, embodies universal principles reflected within the heart of all great religions, particularly Judaism and Christianity. While expressed through Hebrew scripture, narrative, folklore, law, and prayer, Kabbalah conveys spiritual truths applicable to all of humanity, simultaneously elucidating conventional Jewish traditions and the path of personal, divine experience.
Many Westerners lack a fundamental understanding of their social, religious, and philosophical roots. Likewise, many Jews and Christians have distanced themselves from the mystical origins of their traditions. This is why Kabbalah is sometimes referenced as the Yoga of the West, for it offers a form of practical spirituality best suited for our modern dispensation. Discover how through the writings of Dion Fortune and Samael Aun Weor.
The Divine Mother is referenced in every great world religion and mystical tradition. She is not some external, foreign figure, but a representation of our innermost divinity. The Egyptians venerated and invoked Her by many names, particularly Isis and Nut. This guided practice will lead you in a simple, beautiful, and profound prayer to your internal divine feminine, finalized with the sacred Egyptian mantra: O AO KAKOF NA KHONSA. Through prayer, vocalization, and meditation, we commune with and deeply realize Her compassionate presence in our lives.
Resources
- The Divine Mother (Lecture from Beginning Self-Transformation)
- "The Sacred Cow" from The Three Mountains (Samael Aun Weor)
The creation and perfection of the soul is a lifelong work of art. However, to attain such spiritual realizations, the individual must learn to awaken, develop, and master their complete potential through specific means. Through fulfilling the requisites of meditation, the consciousness begins to perceive its true nature and understand the reality of divinity. See how through the four pillars or foundations of Gnosticism: science, mysticism, art, and philosophy. Many thanks to our guest lecturer who made this event possible!
"Three Halls, O weary pilgrim, lead to the end of toils. Three Halls, O conqueror of Mara, will bring thee through three states into the fourth and thence into the seven worlds, the worlds of Rest Eternal. If thou would'st learn their names, then hearken, and remember." ―The Voice of the Silence
Enclosed within the opening stanzas of The Voice of the Silence is a profound teaching of the four states of consciousness within Gnostic Psychology. Learn the fundamental make-up of cognizant experience, the ephemeral states of conditioned, sleeping consciousness, as well as the awakened state of alert perception and its unification with the Innermost: our divine being.
Initiates explain that the physical brain is not the mind nor the originator of thought. The brain is a vehicle, the intermediary between internal psychological processes and physical life. Initiates also demonstrate how the mind is a form of matter, energy, and perception within subtler dimensions of nature. This is most evident when we dream within the fifth dimension, either in the famous Theosophical astral body (कामरूपा kama rupa) or mental body (मनस् manas), the latter which grants us the capacity to think.
However, when the mental body becomes sick, physical illness is the outcome. The mind or mental body is a useful instrument when it is healthy, strong, and aligned with divinity. But when it is sick or depleted of vital energy, it cannot operate optimally, nor serve in the spiritual work.
The mantras S M HON help heal sicknesses of the mental body. In combination with professional treatment, the mantras S M HON can help alleviate symptoms of mental illness, since they transmute sexual energy into the mental body and procure its regeneration. Be mindful that these mantras only work in combination with chastity, meditation, and deep psychological work upon the ego. Through the conservation and transmutation of sexual energy, these mantras radically empower the consciousness, allowing it to control, balance, and heal the mind.
Resources
- Mantras for Mental Healing PowerPoint
The Rune Laf (ᛚ) is the rune of life, laughter, joy, and hope in the spirit. It is also deeply related with the sexual energy, since the power of generation, creation, creativity and life is in sex. On the 27th of each month, you can awaken and greet the morning sun, performing this rune to receive special assistance with any spiritual, emotional, or psychological problem. By relaxing the mind, heart, and body in this posture, you can pray for divine aid, experience profound insights, and receive inner strength for your spiritual work.
Resources
- The Rune Laf PowerPoint
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness (בַּמִּדְבָּר be'midbar), Prepare ye the way of יְהֹוָה (Iod-Chavah, Jehovah), make straight in the desert a highway for our God (אֱלֹהִים Elohim). Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of יְהֹוָה shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of יְהֹוָה hath spoken it." ―Isaiah 40:3-5
What is the Voice of the Silence according to the kabbalistic teachings? It is the Christ, Logos, or Word (דָבָר dabar), our profound, innermost divinity who can be accessed through the path of meditation and initiation. Learn how to experience the Word (דָבָר dabar) through traversing the wilderness (בַּמִּדְבָּר be'midbar) of life. By transforming our daily sufferings through the path of initiation, we can in turn enter into the development and experience of the truth within our consciousness, becoming true, enlightened human beings endowed with cognizance, insight, and divine love. This lecture explains the kabbalistic, alchemical, and psychological contexts for interpreting The Voice of the Silence, especially through the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and Samael Aun Weor.
Learn about runic yoga, an ancient mystical practice encoded within the Nordic alphabet (Futhark ᚠᚢᚦᚨᚱᚲ). By imitating the runes with our bodies, utilizing sacred sounds, prayers, and visualization, we assimilate Christic energy. The Rune Fah (ᚠ) initiates this sacred language, since it is the creative fires of divinity permeating nature. Through this rune, we accumulate the solar light of the Father within the marvelous laboratory of our bodies and psyche, thereby transforming ourselves into experts of spiritual judo.
This lecture was given during a gnostic meditation retreat from the tradition of Samael Aun Weor. By uniting serenity and insight within various spiritual exercises, meditators directly perceived their own true nature. Such a process is beautifully encoded within the first and most recited surah of the Qur’an (Al-Fatihah: The Opening), which synthesizes the entire Tree of Life. By meditating on this map in relation to these famous verses, initiates can access divine reality within themselves, here and now.
Tonglen (Tibetan: "giving and taking") is an exceptional practice within Mahayana Buddhism. Meditators can visualize, assimilate, and transform another person's illness through conscious love. Afterward, the practitioner sends the patient light, love, and healing at no cost to oneself. This exercise is complemented by the Biblical or Aramaic mantra Talitha Cumi (Mark 5:41), whereby the Christic force of enlightened compassion radically expedites convalescence and spiritual empowerment. By healing others, we gain divine favor.
Resources
- Tonglen Meditation with Mantra Talitha Cumi PowerPoint
Mainstream Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emphasize the reality of an immortal soul. However, Jesus of Nazareth indicated that within us are many souls, which must be possessed through patience (Luke 21:19). The gnostics present a more nuanced perspective on this issue, in that immortality is not guaranteed, but must be earned through precise methods. See how through a gnostic scripture known as “The Three Forms of First Thought.”
How to utilize the faculty of self-observation to connect with the wisdom of nature and divinity. To perform this exercise, you will need two plants of any two distinct varieties.
Resources
- Simple Observation Practice with Two Plants PowerPoint
Learn how to commune with the spiritual intelligence of the Earth, known in the Bible as Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20) and in the Qur'an as "a servant from among Our servants" (Surah 18: "The Cave"). The Sufis refer to him as Khidr, "the Green One," since he is the divine consciousness of the globe, its forests, mountains, abundance, and life.
This meditation can be performed any day and time, but has special significance and potency on any Saturday the 13th of the year (from 12 pm to 1 pm, the thirteenth hour). This is because the forces of Melchizedek intensify on this date and are deeply related with the thirteenth arcanum of the Eternal Tarot, signifying mystical death of psychological impurity and the immortality of the soul. By connecting with this incredible initiate and divine being, we learn how to enter, sustain, and complete the path of initiation.
Resources
- Melchizedek Meditation PowerPoint
- Spiritual Practice with Melchizedek Article
- Glorian's Melchizedec Practice
Spiritual life is realized through comprehending and overcoming temptations. Rather than avoid challenges that lead to genuine growth, serious practitioners can take advantage of the worst situations to catalyze their awakening. Both the kabbalistic and gnostic traditions describe this process through mastering five types of soul. They also clarify that such qualities have to be created, developed, and perfected through practical works. Learn how through a gnostic scripture called “The Reality of the Rulers," an alternative narrative of the Garden of Eden.
This is the first in a series of guided practices where students can apply Gnostic methods for spiritual transformation. Ham-Sah Pranayama is an essential technique for conserving and elevating creative energy from the sexual organs to the mind and heart. When the consciousness is empowered by sexual energy, it has greater activity, potential, and strength to perform the spiritual work. Learn how to perform Ham-Sah Pranayama and apply it for as long and as often as you need. We recommend starting with 15 minutes and building up your practice as you gain momentum and stamina.
References and Resources
- Ham-Sah Pranayama PowerPoint
- Lecture by Samael Aun Weor: The Conquest of the Illuminating Void
- Chicago Gnosis Practices
The Gnostics were revolutionary and provocative in enough ways to incur the wrath of the established Church. The most notable reason includes their views on the sacrament of marriage. Such controversial groups understood that the spiritually-transformed sexual act could raise the fallen Sophia (the wisdom of an awakened consciousness) to the heights of Pleroma (the direct experience of divine reality). See how through an explanation of the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip.
The gnostics represented the path of divine reunion through mystical symbolism. Those candidates who had proven their maturity within the ancient mystery schools were initiated into the secret teachings of Esoteric Christianity, whereby they could decipher and apply the meanings of such abstract scriptures in their individual, spiritual work. The Gospel of Thomas communicates the nature of sacred revelation and its psychological requisites: the purification of the consciousness in striving for the highest reality. Discover the basis and nature of initiation in relation to the New Age of Aquarius for which the Gnostic Gospels predicted and foretold.
The Gnostic Gospels teach that we are presently a seed that can blossom into an angel. A prophet, saint, or perfect being is not the product of theories and beliefs, but practical spirituality. Discover how to develop and master your divine potential through three mystical sciences: kabbalah (the Tree of Life), alchemy (the Tree of Knowledge), and psychology (as taught in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas).
A real priest is a magician, from the Indo-European root mag or Persian magush: an initiate who masters his or her own psychology and the inferior elements of nature. Magic, therefore, is the ability of the consciousness to influence the inner and outer cosmos, either with purity of mind and harmony with superior law, or with animal desire in violation of divine commands. Develop power as a magician over your own inner universe and benefit humanity through the three disciplines of the Gnostic priesthood: ceremonial, elemental, and sexual magic.
All religious and spiritual movements emphasized the importance of self-knowledge for developing a personal relationship with divinity. Rather than rely on convoluted theories or convictions without evidence, aspirants of any tradition can develop experiential wisdom of mystical truths through the application of practical techniques. See how through an examination of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Socrates’ daemon in the Apology, Samael Aun Weor’s explanation of spiritual inquietudes, and the famous Greek maxim of Delphi: “Gnothi Sauton” or “Know Thyself.”
Many great spiritual traditions emphasize the importance of physical, moral, and psychological cleanliness. Through maintaining bodily, emotional, and mental health, individuals establish greater serenity and stability within various domains of life: the social, economic, professional, familial, and personal. By cultivating positive energy from spiritual practices like meditation, we can enhance and enliven our level of being for the betterment of self and other. Likewise, we strengthen and protect our psyche from psychological contagion, characterized by harmful internal states and negative external influences.
There are many things a competent investigator of the internal worlds can do. Learn how to invoke a master, visit temples, explore other planets, investigate the hell realms, conjure demons, practice white magic, manifest divine powers, overcome ordeals, study the Akashic Records, negotiate your karma, prophesy the future, remember past lives, receive divine teachings, and more.
Going to a dream dictionary is not enough to provide clarity. Instead, students often become perplexed when relying on contradictory explanations and subjective readings rather than their own consciousness. While numerous books about dream interpretation exist, genuine understanding of our inner experiences arrives when we practice meditation.
As the science of acquiring information beyond our ordinary senses, meditation teaches reliance upon divinity and spiritual facts. Rather than confuse oneself through a multitude of conflicting ideas about dream symbols, practical meditators do not need others to decipher their unique, subtle, and idiosyncratic visions. Dream interpretation establishes a deeply personal relationship with divinity, which is why dependency on others to unveil our inner life is unnecessary and counterproductive. With enough meditative training, one gains enough intuition, confidence, and certainty in the truth of their perceptions.
As dream yogis develop familiarity with astral projection, dream recall, and awakening consciousness, there remains the difficulty of interpreting experiences. Practitioners must know how to discriminate what they perceive, the spiritually real from the illusory ego, through three spiritual parameters: Imagination (perceiving a dream), Inspiration (recognizing dream symbols), and Intuition (comprehending their meaning).
Since divinity communicates through the language of parables, interpreting dreams also requires a profound, practical understanding of the cosmic laws upon which they are based: philosophical and contrary analogies, correspondences, and numerology. By meditating upon these factors in combination with the psychological impression of a dream, one acquires insight into its significance.
Ever have recurring dreams? There are ways to recognize and utilize them to spark your awakening. Internal experiences do not have to occur sporadically, but can be deliberately initiated and sustained. Likewise, there exist methods to consciously return to a dream that has just occurred. By relying on our inner divinity and a repeating dream symbol (unique initiator element), we can activate mystical states in an intentional and lasting way.
Many people dream at night, but do they remember? Learn practical techniques to remember any dream, why dream recall is important, and how to record your deepest spiritual experiences, thereby cultivating a rich internal life.
All religions directly teach the need to awaken yet are indirect regarding how. Discover the Key of SOL: a practice for amplifying, clarifying, and strengthening the consciousness. Through developing self-awareness in daily life, one transfers this same skill during the unconscious dream state. Learning how to question one’s immediate states, environment, and locale allows for conscious recognition that one is dreaming. In this manner, one opens the doors of investigation to spiritual realities beyond the body.
Despite applying spiritual exercises, many individuals struggle to achieve conscious astral projections. Rather than dismiss the practices as ineffective, students can identify hindrances to their dream yoga discipline and learn to systematically address them. By identifying common obstacles to astral projection and applying their remedies, practitioners can eventually learn to consciously astral project at will.
World religions emphasize the potential of sacred sound to empower spiritual action. Through harnessing energies activated through the divine verb, we can consciously facilitate the process of astral projection and intentionally experience the dream world with lucidity, familiarity, and ease.
While we astral project every time we sleep, are we conscious of the process? Just as our body naturally performs many functions without our intervention, we likewise enter the world of dreams every night without intending it. Through proven and effective techniques, take advantage of the delicate transition between wakefulness and dreaming, thereby transforming a mechanical process into a conscious one. By training our perception to maintain mindfulness while our body rests, we can investigate the higher dimensions with full lucidity, serenity, confidence, and control.
Just as there are different types of people, there are different types of dreams, which originate from the malfunctioning of the five psychological centers: intellect, emotions, movement, instincts, and sexuality. Learn how to comprehend and transform the processes of dreams to awaken consciousness within the internal worlds.
Identifying the causes of dreams is crucial for awakening consciousness within the internal worlds. Learn why dreams occur through a profound study of the Essence (soul), ego (defects), and personality (cultural identity). Dreams also occur due to different types of internal perceptions, known in some spiritual circles as imagination or clairvoyance. By comprehending why we dream, it becomes possible to modify our psychological states and to develop cognizance beyond its current limitations.
To pursue inner esoteric development, spiritual aspirants seek to become "hermetically sealed" from the world. Many struggle to balance this psychological isolation with worldly responsibilities and relationships. Through examining the mysteries of Arcanum 9, this lecture explores why "The Hermit" is an essential spiritual archetype for living a healthy life and navigating social relationships.
Despite its advancements, modern science still lacks essential knowledge regarding the processes of sleep and dreaming. Contrary to scientific theories, dreams do not originate from the physical brain since this is only one aspect of our entire psycho-biological and spiritual constitution. While science ignores where we go when we dream, ancient mystical traditions explain that the consciousness travels within the different dimensions of nature rather than remain in one’s physical body. Dreams are not merely activities of the brain but are living experiences within the internal worlds. Discover where we dream through a profound study of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life: a map of our multidimensional reality.
Every spiritual tradition speaks about enlightened beings who have passed far beyond ordinary consciousness by mastering their full potential. As a result of tremendous inner work, they no longer dream, but live continuously awake in each moment, during sleep and even after death.
By transforming our automatic, unconscious behaviors in the physical world, we learn to overcome such mechanical habits and mental projections in the world of dreams, thereby discovering the objective reality of the higher dimensions. Through psychological training, we learn to cease dreaming and become conscious citizens of the cosmos.
Although it might seem incredible, the reason why we do not objectively perceive the internal worlds is due to our psychological conditioning. Likewise, what little we do experience of dreams is filtered or obscured by our own subjective perceptions. Even though we assume we are awake, in reality we are always dreaming, since our mechanical ways of reacting to daily life merely reflect our unconscious tendencies manifested in sleep.
The question becomes: what exactly are dreams? How do we become aware of them in the moment? What practices allow us to experience realities beyond the body? By transforming our consciousness in the vigil state, we expand our perceptual range and no longer travel unconsciously throughout the astral world.
The intricate study of dreams is the experiential investigation of nature’s multidimensionality. In the astral plane (eternity or oneiric universe), one is governed by different laws, including elasticity, teleportation, and levitation, whereby the soul can fly through walls, explore distant lands, and freely travel throughout space. However, directly perceiving these higher realities, internal dimensions, or "heavens" depends upon training our consciousness, so that it awakens during physical sleep and even after death.
Discover the facts and fictions of astral projection, lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences, awakening consciousness, and dream interpretation.
"To change one's life is really to change one's own reactions towards it." —Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of the Dialectic
Trauma is a process that causes the consciousness to become trapped in conditioned reactions, repetitive thoughts, and painful emotions. Spiritual methods of healing can empower us to become free from the prison of suffering through profound meditation and superior actions. Through this work, we can study the reality of our own life experience to comprehend the causes, effects, and remedies of trauma.
Rates of mental illness are increasing in our contemporary society. While modern medicine can address physical concerns, many patients seek comfort in spiritual traditions for mental and emotional wellbeing. Despite the historic divide between psychology and religion, more mental health professionals are recognizing the value of integrating spirituality with treatment. By complementing professional help with Gnostic techniques such as meditation, individuals can actualize, develop, and sustain a state of inner equilibrium despite personal obstacles.
All religious traditions speak about the need for cultivating virtue and conquering vice. Yet what are the practical techniques to do so? Discover how to master the science of meditation for deep and lasting personal change.
While sex is abundantly discussed and showcased in our contemporary society, few people understand the mysteries of chastity. The secret of this mystery was captured almost two thousand years ago in the Acts of Thomas, whose language, drama, and narrative encodes an esoteric teaching regarding divine or upright sexuality. Through the writings of Samael Aun Weor, we can elucidate this practical knowledge for achieving purification and reunion with divinity.
Since their discovery, the Gnostic Gospels have challenged millennia-old beliefs, assumptions, and theories about Christianity’s foundations. Gnosticism, the esoteric or hidden knowledge of Christian dispensation, offers revolutionary perspectives for understanding Christ and the role of personal, experiential knowledge of divinity. Learn how to approach these enigmatic scriptures and interpret their cryptic symbolism through the codes in which they were written: Kabbalah and Alchemy.
Many profess that humanity is in a new age, yet few have capitalized on its revolutionary energy for the benefit of others, demonstrated by the universal prevalence of moral, psychological, and social decay. This divine zodiacal influx has the potential to transform, yet one must be educated and dedicated to specific disciplines for its direction and mastery.
Awaken this spiritual force through Aquarian Yogas: Mantra (sacred sounds, chakras, and powers), Raja (royal meditation), Jnana (scriptural study), Bhakti (devotion, prayer, and worship), Karma (selfless service), Kundalini (sacred sexuality), Nordic (runes), and Yantra (Tibetan rites for rejuvenation). Through accumulating and transmitting the Aquarian influence, we empower our spirituality and positively impact our communities.
“The balanced and harmonious function of the three brains results in the saving of vital values and, as a logical consequence, the prolongation of life.” —Samael Aun Weor, Fundamentals of Gnostic Education
Learn how to use the experiences of your everyday life to grow spiritually. This lecture covers practical approaches to developing self-observation by working with the three brains.
Discover the qualifications and practices of a genuine spiritual warrior: one who identifies, comprehends, and eliminates inner vulnerabilities, realizes selflessness, and embodies unwavering compassion for those who suffer―especially one’s enemies.
There are many ways that negative forces can inhibit, impede, and block our conscious development. However, there also exist numerous proven and effective methods for nullifying such obstacles. Discover the ways that we sabotage our own spirituality, but more importantly, how to preserve it against specific types of psychic aggression from both within and without.
"The best weapon that a human being can use in life is a correct psychological state." ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
A foundational outline of how to spiritually protect yourself for those beginning to seriously practice the Gnostic work.
Resources Mentioned in this Lecture:
- Mantra for Protection: Klim Krishnaya Govindaya Gopijana Vallabhaya Swaha
- The Conjuration of the Four
- The Conjuration of the Seven
- Invocation of Solomon
- Fons Alpha et Omega
- Spiritual Protection with the Microcosmic Star
- Daily Living on the Path (Home and Altar, Incense, Pentagrams, etc.)
- Natural Remedy for Nocturnal Pollutions
- A Gnostic Prayer Book
- The Gnostic Store
- Defense for Spiritual Warfare Course
While global crises intensely afflict humanity, there exist proven and effective practices for the transformation of suffering into penetrative wisdom and lasting happiness. Such methods were taught within the heart of all great meditative and spiritual traditions. Learn how to experience freedom from psychological conditions of mind, not only to elevate your level and quality of being, but that of others.
The path of meditation culminates in the direct experiential knowledge of divine love. Through familiarization with mystical ecstasies, the practitioner learns how to subsist within the Being: a continual and unfaltering state of remembrance and the omniscient perception of our multidimensional nature. This is the degree of masters, initiates, and prophets, which beginners can sample and taste when they learn to abandon the conditioning of the egotistical self. By studying and witnessing the highest aspects of the Tree of Life, we gain faith in our true identity and state with inviolable conviction, “There is no god but God!”
Divinity communicates through the language of symbols, metaphors, and scriptural allegories. However, the methods to interpret and decipher such codes are found within the study and application of three essential principles: Imagination: the perception or awareness of non-physical imagery, Inspiration: the joyful recognition or unveiling of divine symbolism, and Intuition: the contemplation or witnessing of its meaning. Discover how the Sufis and Gnostics practically advance within these three degrees of inner mystical experience.
Many people attempt meditation but are not able to discriminate what they perceive. Fortunately, there are extensive teachings and traditions that explain the degrees of meditative certainty: how one knows what is known based upon repeated, verifiable, and sustainable facts. Learn how to master the power of insight into specific problems, situations, and conditions of mind, gaining confidence in truth born from experience.
Realizing the most elevated truths is based on recollecting the divine presence within. While elusive, mysterious, and perplexing to the mind, remembrance of divinity possesses distinct qualities and characteristics that are unique, definable, and recognizable to the consciousness. Not only that, but there are proven techniques to deepen these inner states. Learn how through the Sufi and Gnostic wisdom.
Internal equanimity and suspension of thought is the prerequisite for meditation: a state of perception that is inaccessible to ordinary senses. When the mind is silent, serene, and receptive, the consciousness awakens to its authentic divine reality. To acquire experiential knowledge of heavenly mysteries, the body, heart, and mind must be put to rest while our Essence, the innate capacity to perceive, gains greater stability, penetration, and focus upon its object. In this way, the consciousness stabilizes, sustains, and understands the significance of any given phenomenon with lucidity.
All meditative traditions emphasize the necessity of spiritual retreat: temporarily leaving behind the distractions of modern society to cultivate a rich internal life. This is with the express purpose of developing enough stability of concentration and clarity of perception so as to effectively deal with the problem of suffering. Through studying and applying effective techniques and the principles of meditation, the practitioner learns how to refine and perfect their spirituality.
“Whosoever wants to die in the Lord must wash their feet in the waters of renunciation.” —Samael Aun Weor, The Aquarian Message
To ascend to higher levels of being, meditators must renounce inferior behaviors that produce the conditioning of the consciousness. To experience internal states of liberation, spiritual practitioners should fulfill the causes of their fruition: virtuous actions born from comprehension and understanding. Renunciation is the key to mystical aspiration, since it signifies the abandonment of suffering’s causes and the embodiment of genuine religious principles through adherence to divine law.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Everything in life is in a state of transformation. Just as the human body provides life through digestion and breathing, the consciousness needs to transform different impressions, experiences, and psychological reactions to develop intelligence. The Essence derives spiritual nourishment through comprehending the causes of affliction, which is only achieved through revolutionizing our perception in the present moment.
All great religions and mystical traditions symbolize the divine feminine throughout innumerable myths, narratives, and symbols. Regardless of the name, culture, or language, She is the divine force of universal compassion with one express and unique purpose: the liberation of Her child (the consciousness) from suffering. Discover how to practically work with your Divine Mother to achieve genuine freedom from the ego.
Heaven is not only a higher dimension, but a psychological state of being. According to every great religion and meditative tradition, liberation is achieved only through actions and the inner rebellion of the soul. Discover the three factors for awakening consciousness, a spiritual revolution against suffering and the animal ego.
All of nature is governed by karma: the law of cosmic causality. The same with the development of the soul. To achieve self-transformation and awaken our complete conscious potential, we must enact the causes for its realization. Learn how through the five principles of karma within the Buddhist and Gnostic traditions.
Sound, vibration, and music are sacred vehicles for the transmission of divine energy, which meditators effectively utilize to experience serenity and awaken consciousness. Through a variety of exercises, including runes, pranayama, and mantras (sacred sounds), we accumulate spiritual force to enliven different energy centers (chakras) of the vital body, thereby accelerating and catalyzing profound inner transformation.
Every action in life requires energy and application of will, down to the smallest molecules, atoms, and particles, to the most complex sentient organisms. Practical meditators learn to harness different modalities of energy within their body, heart, and mind, so as to empower the development of their full conscious potential. When energy is directed by intuitive action, we awaken virtue and achieve liberation from suffering.
Understanding reality through clear perception is a fundamental power of the practical meditator. However, this faculty, known as imagination or clairvoyance in spiritual circles, can either be liberated, free, and pure, or conditioned by egotism, negativities, and desires. Discover the nature of spiritual vision in its multifarious forms and its essential role in the path of self-transformation.
Consciousness is the capacity to perceive, yet perception can be conditioned or unconditioned, based upon its use or negligence. The psychological science of introspection seeks to liberate consciousness trapped within conditions in order to perceive reality in its direct and clear form.
Learn about four distinct states of consciousness as taught by Plato in the Allegory of the Cave (from his monumental philosophical text, The Republic). Such an allegory, usually interpreted as a symbol of acquiring philosophical knowledge and intellectual understanding of the truth, represents the path of the soul's liberation from the darkness of ignorance, superstition, theories, beliefs, and suffering, towards the heights of genuine spirituality, freedom and wisdom, symbolized by the sun or Solar Platonic Logos: the absolute divinity within every sentient being.
Human beings do not merely possess a single brain within the cranium, but within the heart and spinal column as well, since in esoteric psychology, a brain is a psycho-physiological machine that processes energies of different modifications. Just as the mind has its nervous systems and basis within the material, cranial matter, likewise the heart (the seat of emotions) and the spinal column / sexual organs (the seat of instinct, movement, and sexuality) possess their own forms of intelligence we must become familiar with. By comprehending our human organism: mind (thought), heart (emotions), and sexuality (desire and attraction), we can learn to use the machinery of these three brains for our individual self-transformation and growth.
The microcosmic human being is, in his turn, a solar system in miniature, a marvelous machine with various distributed nets of energy that are in distinct degrees of tension...
The human machine (as any other machine) moves under the impulses of the subtle forces of Nature. The secret agents that move the human machines are first the cosmic radiations and second the pluralized “I.” ―Samael Aun Weor, The Narrow Way
The body, heart, and mind possess tremendous forms of intelligence and power that remain in a potential and inactive state. Learn how to activate this latent intelligence within the human body, consciousness, and nervous systems through study and practical works. When we comprehend how the machine of our mind, heart, and body function, we can use it for the free development of the consciousness in obedience to intelligence and will. This lecture elaborates on the previous discussion of self-observation, explaining the structure and dynamics of our psycho-biological machine: intellect, emotions, movement, instinct, and sexuality, as well as how our sense of self relates to these five centers.
"To change is the best; however, we must begin by being sincere with ourselves. We need to make a psychological inventory of ourselves in order to know what we have in excess or what we lack.” ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
Our internal states shape our exterior life. By becoming acquainted with the numerous conditions of our internal, psychological world, we can modify them in order to awaken the free and natural state of consciousness: compassion, empathy, wisdom, serenity, cognizant love, and happiness for others. Through liberating the consciousness of its egotism, faults and obscurations, we can then penetrate, with the eye of awakened, spiritual perception, into the true knowledge of life's mysteries. However, all of this is based on directing conscious attention, not reacting mechanically to life in a passive, unconscious manner.
The first, kindergarten step to awakening to our essential nature begins with observing ourselves. By directing our attention with full consciousness and will, we can discover what psychological elements within our interior universe produce suffering and conflict. Therefore, by observing the conditionality of our psyche, we can modify it. Only by learning to observe and eliminate our faults can we produce radical, fundamental, and permanent change, and thereby experience the awakening of our true spiritual and divine potential.
"We all know that we have within ourselves that which is called ego, I, me, myself. Unfortunately, the Essence is completely imprisoned, absorbed inside the ego, and this is lamentable. To dissolve the psychological “I,” to disintegrate its undesirable elements, is something unavoidable and non-excludable. This is the meaning of working upon oneself...
"...Unquestionably, the Essence shines within ourselves when our psychological “I” has died. The liberated Essence confers upon us inner beauty. Perfect happiness and true love emanate from such a beauty. The Essence possesses multiple senses of perfection and extraordinary natural powers. When we die within ourselves, when we dissolve the psychological “I,” we can then enjoy the precious senses and powers of the Essence." ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
Discover the fundamental makeup or machinery of our internal, psychological constitution: the essence (soul or consciousness), ego (defects, vices, errors) and personality (language, habits, name, race, customs, culture, etc.). By learning about what makes us mechanical beings, or intellectual animals (from the Latin anima, meaning soul), we can therefore strive to make profound changes through developing the capacities and potentiality of the consciousness. By overcoming the mechanicity of our life, we can experience, in a state of alert novelty, the purpose of our existence: the manifestation and realization of our true identity.
"It is not irrelevant to remind our readers that a mathematical point exists within us. Unquestionably, such a point is never found either in the past or in the future. Whosoever wants to discover that mysterious point must look for it here and now within oneself at this exact moment, not a second earlier, not a second later. The two horizontal and vertical lines of the Holy Cross intersect at this point. Thus, we find ourselves from moment to moment before two paths: the Horizontal and the Vertical.
"It is apparent that the Horizontal path is too base; it is traveled by my buddy and everybody, by those who are juvenile and those who are senile. It is evident that the Vertical is different; it is the path of intelligent rebels, of revolutionaries.
"When one remembers oneself and works upon oneself, when one does not become identified with all the problems and sorrows of life, it is a fact that one is traveling along the Vertical path." ―Samael Aun Weor, Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
Learn about the basis for true spiritual change: psychological rebellion. Real change is produced through cognizance of our inner faults and rectifying them through meditation. By identifying and removing the causes of suffering within oneself, it becomes evident how one might modify one's daily circumstances, the repetition of sufferings, comedies, and tragedies, so as to acquire genuine serenity and the happiness of living.
Humanity, in an unprecedented and terrifying manner, has precipitated itself upon the path of war, conflict, and destruction. People are continually oppressed by problems that are difficult to address or resolve, resulting in a world-wide bankruptcy of morals and a lack of solutions for our greatest sorrows.
Despite such widespread and overwhelming affliction, there are proven remedies for the alleviation of suffering and our daily despair. Such methods were given to humanity by all the teachers, prophets, and illuminated beings from our most ancient and venerated traditions, which, due to ignorance, have been misinterpreted and misconstrued.
Learn about the foundations for true spiritual and internal change, why we experience pain, and what we can do to help humanity. By comprehending who we are, why we suffer, and where we stand psychologically, we can learn to enact the change we wish to see in the world. This is facilitated through proven, effective, and scientific methods, free of beliefs, skepticism, or unbreakable dogmas. Since the world is a reflection of the individual, by changing our ways of being, our level of being, we in turn can attract more positive influences within our life.
"The student is not ready until he seeks truth and honesty in all things." ―M, Lord God of Truth Within
A lecture on the importance of cultivating sincerity in our approach toward understanding Truth. Learn how to apply practical methods to generate the personal honesty necessary to overcome obstacles of confusion and self-deception in your spiritual work.
"Search for knowledge (the Lost Word) even in China and maybe you will find it in the great Tartar.” —Sufi Proverb
The people of Peking seek the Lost Word: Calaf, the name of the unknown Tartarian prince in exile, whose secret encloses the wisdom of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tree of Life, and the appellation of the sacred name of God: Hashem. If Turandot's people do not discover his name, they will be executed at dawn by her decree.
To have the right to marry the divine princess and achieve the intimate Self-realization of the Being, the Prince must undergo the temptations of the soul within the darkness of the infernos. Yet he can only be successful if he remains faithful in his love for Devi Kundalini (Turandot) and the secret of his name.
“Be thou faithful unto [Divine Mother] death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” —Revelation 2:10
Learn the mysteries of the three mother letters of Kabbalah: Aleph, Shin, and Mem, the three riddles that Calaf must solve in order to have the right to marry the divine Shekinah (Turandot). She is the heavenly Kundalini power that can take him from exile and destitution to the spiritual heights of inner realization. Yet to do so, the Prince must risk his life upon the path of initiation and willingly endure the funereal trials of the thirteenth arcanum of the tarot. If he conquers Turandot's ordeals, the Prince will qualify and enter the kabbalistic mysteries of the Name, Hashem, which is the incarnation of Christ within the initiate.
Princess Turandot of China will only marry a man of noble blood who successfully answers three riddles. If he fails in any, he must submit his head to the axe.
Puccini's masterpiece has captivated many admirers, since its most famous aria Nessun Dorma, "No man shall sleep," is one of the most recited around the world. However, humanity does not understand that this opera is a profound teaching of alchemy, kabbalah, and Sufism, since Puccini was a Freemason well versed in Middle Eastern mysticism.
Learn how he encoded the mysteries of kabbalah (the Tree of Life) and alchemy (the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) in the first act of his opera. By studying these two esoteric sciences, students can interpret the drama of this sacred work and learn how to enter the path of initiation.
The secret teachings are not only profound and subtle, but beautiful and complex, especially in the way they are depicted through opera. This lecture will introduce you to some fundamental principles behind any operatic work, specifically the esoteric sciences of kabbalah and alchemy: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Music is highly mathematical, and since kabbalah is the science of numbers and symbols, the initiates of the mystery schools used music and drama to instruct students in the path of initiation. Discover how and why!
"The Guardian of the Threshold of the mind is similar to the smoke of the flame. The Guardian of the Threshold of the mind is a terrible demonic creature. It lives by reacting against the exterior world with waves of pleasure and pain, with waves of likes and dislikes, and with waves of hatred, envy, greed, slander, selfishness, etc." —Samael Aun Weor, Igneous Rose
The first ordeal that the candidate for spiritual initiation must overcome is the Guardian of the Threshold. Through meditative understanding of the nature of the mind, emotions, and will, we can conquer the false self within us, allowing the light of the inner spirit to shine.
The path of initiation has been cited throughout all the world's great religions and mystical traditions in allegorical form. However, the key and method for entering it has never been revealed until the publication of The Perfect Matrimony in 1950.
This key is sexual alchemy: the science of harnessing our creative potential to empower our noblest, spiritual aspirations. Just as the sexual force has the power to create physical life, it also can give birth to our spirituality, as Jesus taught in parables to Nicodemus, "You must be born again."
Discover the secret teachings of Jesus: how to enter the straight and narrow gate that leads to life, and that few find (Matthew 7:14). Learn also how to enter initiation through the wisdom of Buddhism, Kabbalah, Alchemy, and the Judeo-Christian Bible.
Throughout history, serious spiritual aspirants have sought to enter the most sacred, divine mysteries, but to do so requires conscious efforts and sacrifices. Initiation is dependent upon the qualities of the heart, verified through the intimate internal experiences of the soul. However, before we can pass the threshold of the mysteries, we must prepare our minds, hearts, and bodies to become a living temple for our Innermost: the divine spark of spirit that seeks to be known and developed within the depths of the true human being.
"Christ taught three ways in order to reach union with the Innermost. When he was preaching to the multitudes, when he was mystically exalted, he showed us the way of Ramakrishna, Kempis, and Francis of Assisi. This is the path of Anthony of Padua and Theresa of Jesus. This is the Mystical Path. When Christ was walking with Magdalene, the repented prostitute, when he was among publicans and sinners, fishermen and wine drinkers, he showed us the Gnostic Path. When he retired to the solitude of the desert for forty days and forty nights, he then taught the way of Oriental Yoga." ―Samael Aun Weor, Igneous Rose
Jesus of Nazareth taught unto humanity these three different ways or aspects of one path, in accordance with his own life, that lead towards the divine: the way of the Mystic, Gnostic, and Yogi. The mystic cultivates the heart, the yogi develops the mind, and the Gnostic elaborates the full capacity of the consciousness through the power of tantrism and sexuality. Learn how Christ embodied and exemplified these three different aspects of the "straight and narrow gate that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14) and how we can follow in his footsteps in a practical and didactic manner.
The Judeo-Christian Bible is replete with profound symbolism, most notably the mysteries pertaining to the anointment of prophets and kings. This lecture explores the esoteric meaning of anointment through oil (Hebrew: שֶׁמֶן shemen, semen, or creative sexual energy) and how this spiritual force aids the sincere practitioner of any religion towards psychological purification and redemption. This lecture also explains the Gnostic Gospel of Philip, the Book of Genesis, the anointment of Jesus before his Passion by the woman of Bethany, as well as the coronations of King Saul and King David in the Old Testament.
The Bible is deep, intricate, and mystical. Its psychological teachings, moreover, offer insights into how to practically develop our complete spiritual potential. Through its allegorical narratives, the Torah and Gospels depict the soul’s inception, struggles, and redemption. By comprehending the Bible’s cosmological dramas and its characters’ symbolic roles, aspirants can learn how to enact lasting inner change and procure the alleviation of humanity’s suffering. Discover how through the stories of Cain (the ego), Abel (the Essence or soul), Nimrod and the Tower of Babel (the personality), and Christ (our divine Being and legitimate identity).
Christ is a universal principle within all religions, not only incarnated within Jesus of Nazareth, but Quetzalcoatl, Krishna, Buddha, Moses, and all masters properly prepared through initiation. Just as the Spring sun resurrects nature, likewise Christ, the cosmic solar energy of divine intelligence, resurrects spiritual life within the soul through the mysteries of Easter. Discover how through an explanation of Kabbalah, sacred sexuality, and Ishtar’s descent into the underworld.
"I died as a mineral and became a plant, I died as plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was Man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying? Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar With angels blest; but even from angelhood I must pass on: all except God doth perish. When I have sacrificed my angel-soul, I shall become what no mind e'er conceived. Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence proclaims in organ tones, To Him we shall return." ―Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi
This lecture discusses reincarnation, the law of karma, and the manifestation of the divine in accordance with practical, spiritual works. Learn how the soul migrates through its many experiences throughout different forms of matter, energy, and consciousness, and what laws we need to work with in order to escape suffering. This lecture also discusses the manifestation of the soul [psyche] as depicted in Gnosis, Greece, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Kabbalah, and many other scriptures and texts.
Esoteric science begins where empirical science ends: through the objective development of spiritually-illuminated consciousness. This is in order to investigate mystical phenomena as cited throughout Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and other religions. Learn about perception, time, the spatial sense and the science behind conscious investigation, the laws governing the multidimensionality of the cosmos, and the role of science's enigmatic ether. This lecture refers to the writings of Albert Einstein, the 14th Dalai Lama, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, and others, discussing various modes of cosmic energy known as Akasha and the Tattvas (elemental principles) of nature.
All scriptures and spiritual traditions allude to the longed-for goal of Self-realization: the return to divinity through conscious works. However, such references remain elusive to the animal intellect, which only understands literal interpretations and blind adherence to the dead letter. Without applying practical techniques for the development of the soul, aspirants close the doors to the complete actualization of religion (from the Latin religare: "reunion"; or the Sanskrit yug, the root word for yoga).
The spiritual path has also never been revealed to the public in its entirety, but was only demonstrated through the profound symbolism of scripture: the internal language of divinity. This lecture concludes the twenty-two major arcana with an explanation of the three mountains: the distinct stages of the path of initiation; and exegeses of the Qur'an, the Bible, and the writings of Samael Aun Weor. You will also learn how the gnostic esoteric work is sealed through the succession of the prior arcana and the mysticism of the Hebrew letter Tav, allegorized by the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad: the Seal of the Prophets (Khātim an-Nabīyīn).
All the great mystical traditions speak about the dangers of the initiatic path, how it is easy to have esoteric knowledge while lacking discretion, foresight, and wisdom. Many followers of spiritual and religious groups fail to truly enact the principles of their scriptures, thereby resulting in tremendous suffering, conflict, and ignorance.
These people are known as pharisees, fanatical adherents to the dead letter of religion who lack a comprehensive, experiential understanding of what their traditions teach. Such individuals in every spiritual teaching embody the terrible reality of the Fool, the Bohemians of the Tarot who believe they possess the totality of true knowledge when they only know a fraction of it.
This arcanum depicts the tragedy, failure, and downfall of the initiate who, while close to the end goal of Self-realization, does not know how to maintain chastity, thereby transforming him or her into a lunatic or follower of egotistical, mechanical nature. Discover the warnings of this arcanum through the works of the prophets, the Qur'an, the Sufis, Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the kabbalistic Zohar, and the mysteries of the Hebrew letter Shin.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are based upon belief in resurrection, yet its spiritual reality is not realized nor understood by the uninitiated. Only those practitioners of the direct path, the revolution of the consciousness, can hope to achieve the heights of resurrection: the culmination of profound psychological works and the complete annihilation of the animal ego. When the "I" is eliminated, the Being resurrects within the purified soul, which rises from the grave of Klipoth to enter the heavenly realms.
This card synthesizes the victories and struggles of the previous arcana, which liberate the soul through mystical experiences and payment of one's karma. When the self dies, the consciousness escapes and resurrects within the higher regions of nature. Learn how through a profound study of mummification, astral and jinn experiences, the famous Day of Judgment within the Qur'an and the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the fall of Count Zanoni during the French Revolution, the three types of resurrection within the writings of Samael Aun Weor, the mysteries of Osiris within Freemasonry, and the Kabbalistic mysticism of the Hebrew letter Resh.
After overcoming terrible battles against negative forces in the previous arcanum, the sincere student develops light and eradicates the causes of suffering. By conquering the mind, the consciousness experiences genuine happiness and liberation. This is the esoteric significance of inspiration: the compelling force of enthusiasm, joy, and perseverance in the spiritual work.
This arcanum is deeply related to the powers of transmutation, for to in-spire the vital air is to take in the solar forces necessary for one’s development. The creative energy generates the virtues of contentment, serenity, certainty, and joy, for by breathing in prana and mixing it within one’s seminal system, the alchemist elevates the soul and aspires towards the heights of redemption. Learn how through a profound study of the sacred Kaaba: the philosopher’s stone of the Muslim initiates, Richard Wagner’s Parsifal and Siegfried, the parable of the Wedding Garment in the Christian Gospels, the Hebrew Psalms, the esoterism of the Hebrew letter Quf and the Arabic Qāf, the story of Cain and Abel, Prophet Muhammad’s revelation of the Holy Qur’an through the Angel Gabriel, and Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Every aspirant on the path of self-realization must encounter and battle negative forces, both within themselves and within the internal dimensions. This eternal struggle is represented in every spiritual tradition by the confrontation between good and evil, the struggle of the soul against the animal mind, desire, defects, sins, etc. This arcanum also warns of diabolic entities who fight to pull initiates from the spiritual path, so as to enter submerged devolution within the infernal worlds.
This lecture explains the mysteries of spiritual war, the conflict between consciousness and ego, the Greek myth of Cerberus, the nine submerged realms of Dante's Inferno, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path according to Aquarian Gnosticism, a Zoharic commentary on the Book of Genesis, and the symbolism of the Hebrew letter Tzadi.
Through consistent discipline, practitioners of the spiritual path learn to overcome great dangers, traumas, and obstacles in their daily life. As students work on the comprehension and elimination of the ego, they experience great joy, enthusiasm, and inspiration, since the disciple, according to Samael Aun Weor, comes to experience divinity and therefore love the gnostic esoteric work above all things.
Hope is the result of alchemy between priest and priestess. Through the sexual power of the Divine Mother Kundalini, initiates give birth to the radiant star of Bethlehem, the Venustic Initiations and the incarnation of the solar dragon of wisdom: the Intimate Christ. This lecture explores the mystical Sufi sayings on the nature of hope, the Greco-Roman myth of the birth of Venus-Aphrodite, the four types of women within esoterism, the Nativity of Christ, the seven primary astrological influences within life, and the mysteries of the Hebrew letter Peh.
The path of initiation is filled with dangers both within and without. Those disciples who want to consciously return to divinity and achieve the Self-realization of the Being must vigorously defend their spirituality against the temptations of the black lodge and the animal ego. This is accomplished through studying, understanding, and confronting this dangerous arcanum within oneself.
People who begin the spiritual path but do not conserve and transform their creative energies lose their soul; they become fulminated towers punished by the ray of divine justice. Learn how to defend yourself against failure in the path through the application of the the Key of SOL (Subject, Object, Location), which is the method to awaken consciousness during the dream state. You will also learn about the transformation of impressions as taught by the Persian Sufi Al-Hujwiri, the Qur'an, and the teachings of Jesus. This lecture concludes with a kabbalistic explanation of the Hebrew letter Ayin, the Biblical Tower of Babel, and the myths of Samson, Delilah, and Heracles.
Religions have taught us to believe that the devil is some extemporaneous, historical personage whom we must despise in accordance with dogma and superstition. However, such a caricature fails to represent the essential wisdom of temptation and the spiritual role it plays in the development of the soul.
Discover the genuine significance of Lucifer, the “bearer of light” within sexual alchemy and the perfect matrimony. He is part of divinity that provides rigorous ordeals, sufferings, and difficulties in life so as to help the consciousness acquire self-knowledge. Without temptation, there is no possibility for redemption and spiritual development. Therefore, rather than denigrate this mysterious force and shadow of the Platonic Logos, it would be better to comprehend his necessity and role in the mysteries of initiation.
This lecture explains the symbology of Typhon Baphomet through the writings of the Bible, the Qur'an, and Samael Aun Weor. You will also learn about the Hebrew letter Samech, the ouroboros or serpent devouring its own tail, a representation of the Christic energy, the Angel Samael, and the power of Lucifer within the Zohar.
Building off the prior arcanum, temperance or psychological equilibrium is achieved through the radical death of desire. By comprehending and eliminating secret faults, the consciousness gains balance, inner strength, equanimity, and serenity. In this manner, the disciple knows how to create and fully perfect the soul.
This card illustrates the principles of the alchemical science, the mixture of two divine substances within the perfect matrimony to form the mighty elixir of long life: the fountain of eternal youth sought after by medieval alchemists and philosophers. Learn how to develop temperance via the three esoteric arts: transmutation (alchemy), transformation (Jinn Science), and transubstantiation (Gnostic Unction, the Eucharist). These teachings are explained in accordance with the Fifth Day of Genesis, Surah Al-Nur ("The Light") within the Qur'an, the Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad, and his revelation through Angel Gabriel. You will also learn the esoterism of the Hebrew and Arabic letter Nun, a reference to the sexual seed and its germination into the perfected human being.
Humanity fears death, the unknown. Likewise, the number thirteen is considered unlucky, especially within Western culture. Despite the superstitions surrounding this subject, the thirteenth arcanum contains tremendous truths about the spiritual nature of death that are essential to study and experience within oneself.
People fear death and extinction, believing it to be an end to the self. However, all great mystical traditions teach that in order to experience the new, the old must die. Therefore, why fear the inevitable? What if there is a way to prepare for physical death, to learn to live with more consciousness and responsibility, as each great religion teaches in its core?
Learn how to prepare for death here and now through the comprehension and elimination of the animal ego. By undergoing the Buddhist Annihilation, the destruction of one's internal defects, the student liberates consciousness and awakens to the internal worlds, which people visit not only during death, but in the normal hours of sleep. This lecture explains the mysteries of physical and mystical death in accordance with alchemical art, the Fourth Way of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, Kabbalah, the Book of Genesis, the four rivers of Eden, the four ethers of Yesod, the Kabbalistic letter Mem, and the controversial Gospel of Judas.
The work of the apostle is characterized by profound works in alchemy, meditation, and sacrifice for humanity. Through selfless service, the apostolate experiences all the beauties and sufferings of the path of initiation, from adulation and praise to condemnation and persecution. While the initiate suffers tremendously for the benefit of others, he or she learns to transform and endure tribulations through patience and the perfect matrimony.
Discover how to develop the pure potentiality of the spirit through the practical work of the apostle, which encloses the Great Arcanum, the Kabbalah, and the mystical wisdom of the twelve zodiacal powers. This lecture discusses the spiritual path in relation to the Tree of Life with its respective cosmic laws, the alchemical science of transmutation, the transformation of energy, the twelfth key of Basil Valentine, the creation of the solar bodies, the three forms of tantrism, gnostic astrology, the Zohar, and the esoteric teachings of the Hebrew letter Lamed.
The alchemical science and art of the spirit reside in how the student controls creative energy, which can be channeled through the consciousness or within animal desire, egotism, and defects. The force of persuasion is both social and intimate―sexual energy can empower conscious action, individual liberation, and selfless service for humanity, or that very same force can be harnessed within a matrimony to overcome the diabolical qualities of the lower self.
Tranquility and kindness are much more crushing forces than anger. Through alchemical knowledge, the gnostic couple, in a profound meditative state of serenity, dominates the passionate and conditioned elements of the psyche for the benefit of others. Discover how through teachings within the Bible, the Qur'an, the Zohar, and the writings of Samael Aun Weor. This lecture also explains the kabbalistic mysteries of the Hebrew letter Kaf and its Arabic equivalent.
The mechanical laws of nature govern the present psychological state of humanity―for both good and ill. By transcending the forces of nature and their subsequent influence on the mind, the initiate enters the higher mysteries: states of unconditioned, blissful consciousness free from the limitations of matter.
Discover how mother nature functions through the law of evolution: birth, progress, development, and growth; and the law of devolution: death, regression, destruction, and decay. Our full, conscious potential is only developed by revolutionizing ourselves against lunar (mechanical) influences, suffering, and our animal inheritance. By comprehending and annihilating the lunar ego, the soul or essence awakens to its solar (divine) nature and solves the mystery of the sphinx, the fundamental question of our gnostic studies: "How do I become a true human being made into the image of God?"
This lecture discusses the esoteric significance of Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," and the writings of Dr. Arnold Krumm-Heller (Master Huiracocha) and Samael Aun Weor. Learn also about the tenth Hebrew letter, Iod, and its kabbalistic relationship to the Biblical and Quranic story of Joseph, a symbol of the mysteries of Yesod.
Every disciple who follows the path of sexual and moral purity encounters solitude and psychological suffering, which must be comprehended in order to be transformed into understanding and wisdom. The fundamental precept of the ninth arcanum is initiation into the higher mysteries, achieved by reverence, remorse, recognition of one's errors, and awakening consciousness. The number nine also signifies the genesis of the soul through the power of sexuality, otherwise known on the tree of life as the sephirah Yesod or the ninth sphere.
Learn the basic requirements for achieving initiation, the way of repentance and comprehension in meditation. This lecture discusses the hermetic wisdom of the serpent in Genesis, the Zohar, and the kabbalah, including the esoteric meaning of the ninth Hebrew letter: Teth. Discover how the consciousness can return to divinity with objective knowledge as taught in the Sufi writings of Aishah al-Bauniyyah and the ninth Surah of the Qur'an. The lecture concludes with the mysteries of the Kundalini, the path of initiation, and the self-realization of the Being alluded to in Beethoven's ninth symphony.
The eighth arcanum hides many mysteries essential to kabbalah and alchemy: the different levels of consciousness and the scientific work with creative energy. Discover how the holy eight, the sign of the infinite and sacred tantrism, applies to the mystical science of the Tree of Life ["the tree of lives," otz ha-chaim] and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil [otz ha-da'ath tob ve ra, which can also be translated as "the tree of knowledge of purity and impurity"].
This lecture explores alchemical and kabbalistic teachings within the Books of Genesis and Revelation, the Zohar, and the Qur'an, extending the prior discussion on the solar and lunar ways, the right and left-hand paths mentioned throughout Islam. Discover how Genesis hides alchemical instruction for solar initiates, especially through the temptation of the serpent, and how Eve, Chavah, "the mother of the living," represents the spiritual power of sexuality. The eighth letter of kabbalah, Chet encloses the mysteries of life, Chai'ah, which are the marvelous synthesis of the previous arcana and Hebrew letters Vav and Zayin.
Spiritual development is based on struggle, effort, challenges, and difficulties, primarily in how the consciousness learns to comprehend and eliminate egos, defects, vices, and errors. This is a spiritual war mentioned throughout the conflicts of the Bible and the Qur'an, how the Innermost, our spirit, commands, conquers, and overcomes the obstacles to His Self-realization.
Discover the principles upon which the spirit triumphs over animality, desire, egotism, and conditions of mind. This lecture explores the mysteries of the seven planets of the alchemical and kabbalistic traditions, the seven archangels, the seven chakras, the seven lower Sephiroth, bodies, and initiations of the Tree of Life, the seven notes of the musical scale, and how the number seven, the law of organization, applies to the spiritual work. You will also learn about the symbolism of Eve's creation from Adam's rib in Genesis, as well as the Zohar regarding the seventh letter of Hebraic Kabbalah, Zayin, the latter representative of the feminine creative energy, sword or Kundalini within any adept or angelic being.
To arrive at complete knowledge of divinity, the soul must undergo specific trials and temptations, symbolized by the Sixth Arcanum of the tarot. The disciple must confront, in a state of equanimity, insight, and dispassion, the undesirable elements he or she carries within the psyche. Such egotistical elements come in the form of pride, anger, greed, gluttony, laziness, envy, and most of all, the capital defect of lust. Sexual desire is the original sin that expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, the primordial blissful state of the consciousness. To return to Eden, one must enter through the same door one left: sexuality. It is not by renouncing sex that one can overcome lust, but by learning to work in a perfect matrimony to transmute selfishness and desire into conscious love.
This lecture explores alchemical and kabbalistic teachings within the Zohar, especially the significance of the Hebrew letter Vav, its representation as the spinal column, and its appearance within the first verse of Genesis: (Bereshit Bara Elohim At Ha-Shamayim Vey-At Ha'aretz): "In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth."
Discover the mysteries of Da'ath, alchemical knowledge, as defined through serpent mysticism: the positive brazen serpent that healed the Israelites in the wilderness and the tempting serpent of Eden. You will also learn about the initiatic significance of the seven days of Genesis; the symbolism of the Menorah, the seal of Solomon / Star of David, and the left / right hand paths in the Qur'an; the relationship between alchemy and abstinence as explained in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra; as well as the hidden meaning of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, particularly the famous first movement.
The law of causality is present in every level of nature, from gross materiality to the heights of the psyche and spiritual abstraction. This law has been known as karma in the East (from the Sanskrit karman: action and consequence). The Judeo-Christian tradition has referred to this law as the Torah: the divine law of balance and equilibrium that serves as the basis for every mystical tradition.
Spiritual life is based upon laws and the implementation of their causes. Therefore, learn how to develop superior action to pay karma. By performing selfless service and struggling for the spiritual well being of others, we obtain our own peace and happiness, thereby overcoming the mechanicity of suffering. This indicates that karma is not a blind law, but is managed by superior beings and can be negotiated in accordance with the qualities of the heart. This lecture also explains the esoteric symbolism of the gnostic pentagram, the Hebrew letter Hei and the significance of Abraham's meeting with divinity in Genesis, as well as how to negotiate with divinity and pay one's karmic debts.
The Emperor of Tarot and Kabbalah represents our inner spirit, known as Chesed: "Mercy" in Hebrew, the fourth Sephirah or sphere from the top of the Tree of Life. Our inner spirit, divinity, or particular God, is perfect, yet he longs to acquire self-knowledge, unity, and integration of the inferior parts of his psyche, represented by the four elements: air (Netzach / mind), fire (Hod / emotions), water (Yesod / vitality) and earth (Malkuth / physicality). This feat of religion (religare: reunion) is based on will (Tiphrereth).
Our psychology is a kingdom or empire that needs to be ruled and ordered by the will of our spirit, the Innermost. Learn about the three mother letters of Hebraic Kabbalah and their esoteric relationship to gnostic psychology, the etymological, alchemical, and kabbalistic significance of the sacred Tetragrammaton or four-lettered name of God (Iod-Chavah) in mystical Judaism, an explanation of the opening verse of Bereshit (Genesis), the creation of the solar bodies, and the fourth way teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, particularly the paths of the fakir, monk, yogi, and the psychologically equilibrated human being.
The trinity constitutes an important aspect of many world religions and reflects the generative laws of divine nature. The number three is the synthesis of the previous two arcana, how the masculine / affirmative and feminine / receptive forces combine and reconcile into a perfect unity, the neutral / synthetic principle, to create physical and spiritual life. As above, so below.
Just as human beings cannot create children without masculine and feminine principles, likewise individuals cannot generate the completely perfected soul without the help of a matrimony. Learn how the number three relates to gnostic psychology through the study of the three brains, the three types of soul within the Kabbalistic tradition (Nephesh, Ruach, and Neshamah), and how the three primary forces of nature mentioned by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky: Affirmation, Negation, and Reconciliation, work within the consciousness. A profound study of the three primary forces of nature aid the practitioner in developing creative comprehension: profound understanding that is based on the creation and development of the soul.
For creation to emerge, the unity (masculine, positive, or projective force) unfolds into a duality (the feminine, negative, or receptive force). Just as divine nature is initiated and formed through these two principles, likewise the human being must work with both the sacred masculine and sacred feminine in order to advance spiritually. Every priest (representative of the Divine Father) requires his priestess (reflective of the ineffable feminine or Divine Mother Kundalini) in order to perform works of high magic.
Discover how the High Priestess constitutes the eternal feminine through which any magician acts, specifically through the work of the Cubic Stone (Yesod or sexual magic in Kabbalah) through the alchemical tree of knowledge (Da'ath). This lecture draws upon a variety of sources, including the Muslim / Sufi tradition through unveiling the mysterious Preserved Tablet, Mother of the Book, and Book Concealed within the Qur'an, a direct reference to the secret book of the tarot. Likewise, this lecture explains the meaning of the sacred cow in Hinduism and Islam (Surah Al-Baqarah), as well as the meaning of the Hebrew letter Beth, Bethlehem, and the Merkabah: the solar bodies mentioned by Samael Aun Weor, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Zoharic commentary on the first line of Genesis.
Every cosmos, whether macrocosmic (universal) or microcosmic (within the human being) is based upon divine, eternal laws, the latter being systematically represented within the tarot. The Magician is the divine masculine principle that initiates any endeavor, specifically in relation to the path of initiation: the induction into a higher way of spiritual being and the complete development of one's true human potential.
Learn how to become a practical magician: a being who fulfills the divine will for the benefit of others. This is accomplished by harnessing one's creative energies and conquering the lower, conditioned, and negative qualities of one's psyche. A magician is capable of consciously controlling the elements, not only physical, but energetic, emotional, mental, and volitional as well. The Magician of the First Arcanum therefore represents our own inner divinity who must command our interior universe, but for Him to do so, we must learn to cooperate so as to be a suitable vessel for Him.
"Blue time or rest therapeutics [retrospection meditation] has basic rules without which it would be impossible to emancipate ourselves from the mortifying shackles of the mind." ―Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of the Dialectic
The culminating lecture of this course provides definite, scientific methods for perceiving, understanding, and eliminating the causes of suffering. Learn how to perform retrospection meditation: the review, study, and transformation of internal psychological conditions. Through this practice, the meditator can experience genuine liberation, the beauty of comprehension, and the blessings of divinity.
"[Al-Jurayri] said that whoever does not establish awe of duty and vigilance in his relationship to God will not arrive at disclosure of the unseen or contemplation of the divine." —Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
Continuing the discussion on spiritual insight, this lecture outlines the path of meditation in accordance with Sufi mysticism and the three fundamental stages of initiation: imagination, inspiration, and intuition. Through imagination or perception of internal imagery in meditation, one arrives at the unveiling of psychological and spiritual symbolism. The practitioner is then inspired, longing for the precise significance of such experiences. When these symbols are fully comprehended in their application to daily life, the meditator arrives to the state of witnessing and contemplation of the divine.
"For the wise, to imagine is to see." ―Samael Aun Weor
"The key to success in worship lies in meditative reflection (fikrat)…whoever persists in such reflection in the heart will behold the invisible realm in the spirit. Whoever contemplates God through keeping watch over the thoughts which pass through his heart will be exalted by God in all of his outward deeds." ―Dhu'l-Nun al-Misri
Upon attaining serenity of mind, the practitioner of meditation must develop and rely on developing the penetrating power of insight, known in some circles by the term clairvoyance (clear vision) and vipassana (special insight). The Gnostic tradition denominates this faculty as imagination, the ability to visualize and imagine conscious imagery in order to directly perceive the object of meditation and arrive at spiritual understanding. This lecture explores the Sufi writings of Al-Qushayri and the five types of clairvoyance (or imagination) within Gnostic psychology.
When you lack the elements of serenity, Even if you meditate assiduously, You will not achieve concentration Even in thousands of years. —Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
Tibetan Buddhism has outlined nine fundamental stages for arriving at a calm, balanced, and serene mind, known in Sanskrit as Shamatha or Calm Abiding, a state of concentration marked by its perfect equanimity and effortlessness to maintain. This lecture explains the path of these nine stages of concentration, from a wild and chaotic mind to one that is perfectly under one's control, in accordance with the writings of Tsong Khapa, the Dalai Lama, and other scriptural writings.
The true nature of the mind is equanimity, a profound state of silence that is actualized through our use of energy: psychological, emotional, and sexual. Prana is the basis of physical and spiritual life, synthesized and highly condensed within the sexual creative energy. It is the power that grants the sincere meditation practitioner the capacity to silence the mind and to develop strong concentration, so as to lay the foundation for genuine meditation. This lecture discusses Swami Sivananda's classic text Kundalini Yoga, the nature of energy in relation to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and the mystical writings of the Sufis, how to work with pranayama and control of the breath, the sexual basis of prana or energy, and its necessity for entering the initial stages of true serenity and meditation.
"Let’s ask God to help us to self-control: for one who lacks it, lacks His Grace. The undisciplined person doesn’t wrong himself alone–but sets fire to the whole world. Discipline enabled Heaven to be filled with light; discipline enabled the angels to be immaculate and holy." ―Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi
A continuation of the study of ethical discipline, this lecture elaborates on the interdependent nature of all things: how mind, sentiment, and action, in all levels of nature, produce either happiness or sorrow. Our actions, both invisible and visible, have consequences, and it is by learning how to be ethical that we in turn place the appropriate causes in motion that will affect our spirituality, and therefore cause it to flourish. A profound study of Buddhism, Sufism, and Hinduism, this lecture explores the writings of Swami Sivananda, Samael Aun Weor, the Bhagavad-Gita, and The Risalah: Principles of Sufism by Al-Qushayri.
Genuine meditation begins with the foundation of discipline and ethical principles: kindness, patience, mercy, compassion, and the restraint of the mind's tendencies towards negative behaviors. Through cultivating rich spiritual values, we in turn develop peace, harmony and equanimity. By reflecting upon the causes of our suffering, we can change it. This in turn produces the ability to investigate and gather internal information for ourselves through silence and contemplation. This lecture outlines the eightfold path of Yoga as taught by Patanjali as well as psychological teachings from the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and The Odyssey of Homer.
"In general, it is to the measure of one’s alienation from one’s own ego that one attains direct knowledge of one’s Lord… I heard Abu Ali al-Daqqaq say, 'One of the tokens of the gnosis of God is the achievement of deep awe and reverence for God. If someone’s realization increases, his awe increases.' And I heard him say, 'Gnosis requires stillness of heart, just as learning requires outward quiet. If someone’s gnosis increases, his tranquility increases.'" ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
The highest spiritual realizations cited throughout the world's major religions are accessible to advanced practitioners well established within the most profound esoteric disciplines. Those who were prepared to work with the most expedient method for spiritual awakening were delivered the key from mouth to ear: the science of sexual knowledge, known in Arabic as marifah, alchemy or Allah-kimia: "to fuse with God," otherwise referred to as gnosis in Greek and Da'ath in Kabbalah.
Building off the prior stages of ethical conduct and conscious love taught in this course, this lecture elaborates on the secret path and methods for knowing the most elevated, divine realities, especially as demonstrated by the exemplary life of Prophet Muhammad. Learn also the Arabic Kabbalah and Tree of Life, the three stages of religious practice and knowledge, the Sufi writings on witnessing the divine, the science of certainty within the Holy Qur'an, and the esoteric significance of Al-Miraj: the Ascension or Night Journey of the Prophet.
From the heart of the lovers, blood flows like a vast river. Our body is the windmill, and love, the water. Without water the mill cannot turn. ―Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Hidden Music
Ali ibn Ubayd said, “Yahya ibn Muadh wrote to Abu Yazid, ‘I am intoxicated with how much I have drunk from the cup of love.’ Abu Yazid wrote back to him, ‘Someone else has drunk the oceans of the heavens and the earth and his thirst is not yet quenched. His tongue is hanging out and he is asking, 'Is there any more?’" ―Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism, Al-Qushayri
The blossoming of spirituality and the development of the consciousness is founded upon divine eroticism and the creative sexual energy: the most potent force available in the universe. This lecture elaborates upon the spiritual, symbolic, and erotic language of the Sufis, or how the soul achieves unification with the divine through the union of husband and wife. Learn also about the secret meaning of the Wedding of Cana, Jesus' instructions to Nicodemus regarding the second / spiritual birth, and the teachings of Bacchus / Dionysus through Mozart's Opera: The Abduction from the Seraglio.
"Iradah, the will to find God, is the beginning of the path of spiritual travelers, the first title given to those who are determined to reach God Most High. This attribute is only called iradah because will is the preface to every undertaking. When the servant does not will, he does not carry out." ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
"Know that the foundation and rationale of struggle or striving (mujahadah) is to wean the ego from what is familiar to it and to induce it to oppose its desires (passions) at all times." ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
In order to arrive at genuine spiritual attainment and knowledge of divinity, the sincere practitioner of any religion must engage in and maintain an esoteric discipline (riyadah). This is accomplished through the development and application of conscious, unconditioned will. Through submission and obedience to divine ordinances and by striving against the lower passions, conditioned elements, and egotistical drives of the mind, one thereby, based on the law of cause and effect, learns authentic spiritual and psychological conduct, the basis of true spiritual life.
“Al-Wasiti was asked about the practice of remembrance and said, ‘It is leaving the enclosed court of unconsciousness for the vast space of contemplation through the power of fearing Him and the intensity of loving Him.'” ―Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism
Learn about the nature of soul or consciousness: the capacity to perceive thought, feeling, will, impulse, sensation, spirit, and beyond. This lecture discusses the three types of soul mentioned in the Qur'an, as well as the practice of self-observation and remembrance of the divine, the objective and subjective states of perception in accordance with Sufi and Gnostic psychology, the four fundamental states of consciousness taught by Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave in The Republic, the Greek myth of Perseus and Medusa, the Hebraic Kabbalah / Tree of Life and its varying modalities of energy, and more.
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." ―Daniel 12:2
Awakening is a popular term used in spiritual circles, but what does it really mean? Rather than rely on vague, incongruent, ambiguous and self-contradictory explanations, it is best to rely on one's own conscious experience in conjunction with the scriptures. This lecture explores the basis of genuine spirituality: positive awakening through the soul's liberation from suffering and its subsequent development of virtue, and its opposite: negatively awakening through strengthening the conditions of the mind and the deepening of pain.
"Knowledge is obligatory only in so far as is requisite for acting rightly. God condemns those who learn useless knowledge (Kor. ii, 96), and the Prophet said: 'I take refuge with Thee from knowledge that profiteth naught.' Much may be done by means of a little knowledge, and knowledge should not be separated from action. The Prophet said: 'The devotee without divinity is like a donkey turning a mill,' because the donkey [intellectual] goes round and round over its own tracks and never makes any advance." ―Al-Hujwiri, Revelation of the Mystery
"A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey." ―Traditional Sufi Proverb
Learn how intellectual and spiritual knowledge must be combined with practice in order to elevate one's level of being and way of life. Comprehension is based upon the harmonious balance of knowledge and being, whereas ignorance results from the lack of communion between these factors. See how through a study of various scriptures from the Sufi, Buddhist, and Gnostic traditions.
Allah says, “I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation (mankind), then made Myself known to them, and they recognized Me.” ―Hadith Qudsi
Marifah is Arabic for knowledge of divinity and universal principles, the actualization or experience of the truth within oneself. This lecture is the first in a course on self-knowledge, how to acquire personal understanding of the divine through the application of psychological, spiritual, and practical works. Learn how the highest wisdom, known amongst the Sufis as Marifah, is manifested through comprehension of the psyche, the mind, emotions, and our willpower, especially as explained within the esoteric writings and heart of the Muslim tradition. You will also learn about the Kabbalah, Tree of Life, and the nature of spiritual ascension to higher ways and modes of consciousness or being through knowing oneself completely.
“Wherever we direct our attention, we expend creative energy.” ―Samael Aun Weor
Energy is fundamental to physical and spiritual life. Learn about the different gradations of energy in accordance with the Hebraic Kabbalah: the Tree of Life, and how these different forces relate to different spiritual paths and the harmonious development of the soul. This lecture refers to the Fourth Way teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, the esoteric writings of Samael Aun Weor, the Gospels, and the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, specifically his esoteric book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and his analysis of the paths of the Fakir, Monk, Yogi and Gnostic.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the πνεῦμα [pneuma: spirit], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh [through the ordinary sexual act]; and that which is born of the πνεῦμα [pneuma: spirit, through tantra] is πνεῦμα [pneuma: spirit]. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The πνεῦμα [pneuma, wind] bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the πνεῦμα [pneuma, spirit]. ―John 3:5-8
Tantrayana, Dzogchen, and esoteric Christianity teach the secret path to liberation and the birth of the soul through harnessing the most potent force available in the universe, a power that resides within our sexual glands. The enigmatic instructions of Jesus to Nicodemus, "You must be born again," constitute a sexual problem, since no birth within any part of the cosmos is a mere matter of belief, but is accomplished through sexual union. This lecture explains the purpose of tantra or sacred sexuality: how to create the soul or solar bodies, the famous "Wedding Garment" (Matthew 22) worn by those purified beings in the superior regions of great nature. Discover also the nature of enlightened mind within Tantric Buddhism, known in Sanskrit as bodhichitta. This lecture elaborates upon the qualifications of spiritual birth in relation to the Gospels, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the Epistles of St. Paul.
Consciousness has the capacity to perceive not only the appearances of things, but their innate, hidden, and spiritual nature. By awakening the consciousness, the practitioner transcends superstition, theory, and belief, developing genuine faith in divinity and certainty through one's experiences.
There are three distinct aspects of mind: the Sensual, Mystical, and Internal, the study of which is essential for advancing on the path of meditation. Learn how to develop and experience your full conscious potential through practical works, so as to perceive reality beyond illusory forms, philosophical fallacies, and mistaken beliefs. This lecture explains the three minds of gnostic psychology through the writings of Immanuel Kant, Master Morya, the New Testament, the Qur'an, The Odyssey and Samael Aun Weor.
"In mental dynamics we need to know how and why the mind functions as it does. Unquestionably, the mind is an instrument that we must learn to use consciously. But it would be absurd for such an instrument to be efficient for us if we first did not know the how and why of the mind. When one knows the how and the why of the mind, when one knows the different functionalisms of the mind, then one can control it. Thus, the mind becomes a useful and perfect instrument through which we can work for the benefit of humanity." ―Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of the Dialectic
You will learn advanced principles of meditation and the means for developing true comprehension of the causes of suffering. By dominating the mind and understanding its multiple, mechanistic forms, the meditator can overcome his or her conditioning and acquire a revolutionary consciousness. Through the development of self-knowledge, one knows how to profoundly serve divinity and humanity with efficacy, skill, and wisdom. See how through teachings from Buddhism, Kabbalah, Islam, Alice in Wonderland, and Greek mythology.
Every spiritual teaching possesses a body, soul, and spirit. However, not all students have been initiated into the inner, spiritual teachings of their religion, regardless of their convictions. While public religion constitutes the most basic, exterior form of knowledge (the body of the doctrine), so there is a secret, heart doctrine in the depth of every great tradition provided by the great guides of humanity. Yet unfortunately, many reject the existence or power of this heart doctrine due to superstition, fanaticism, and exclusivity, the blind belief that one already knows when in reality one does not.
Each level of instruction, whether introductory, intermediate, or advanced, provides necessary guidance and wisdom about one's psychology that cannot be skipped or ignored, but must be mastered within oneself. In this lecture you will understand this basic structure of every mystical tradition, especially that of Buddhism, Judaism, and Sufism. This lecture also explains the difference between belief and actual faith (direct, living experience of the truth) through the writings of Samael Aun Weor, the Bible, the Tantras, the Zohar, and the Sufi scriptures.
Perception and comprehension are fundamental characteristics of genuine intelligence. Through seeing and understanding the psychological causes of suffering, one can proceed towards their cessation, thereby developing lasting states of happiness, compassion, serenity, love, and beauty. These qualities, while in potentiality, can only be accessed and realized when we practice the principles of meditation. Learn how through the Four Noble Truths, the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the transformation of impressions, concentration and visualization exercises, the eternal tarot, and Homer's Odyssey.
Afflicted with great sufferings, egotism, and ignorance, people long to acquire answers to their greatest problems. Many people would like to know divinity and directly receive inner guidance, yet lack the methods to achieve this purpose. While divine intelligence manifested within the consciousness of all the world's great saints, messengers, and prophets, students of religion fail to recognize how to achieve those same spiritual heights and speak face to face with divinity through applying specific procedures.
According to Samael Aun Weor, "To pray is to talk with divinity." Learn how to pray, what it entails, and how it applies to the science of meditation. By learning how to pray, to communicate with divinity in meditation, we receive new knowledge and solutions to daily living.
We can also produce a radical, psychological transformation by working with Devi Kundalini, the divine feminine within the depths of the consciousness. She is the spiritual power that can eliminate egotistical conditions of mind once they have been comprehended in profound meditation. Through the death of one's defects, the consciousness is liberated. Prayer to the Divine Mother, therefore, radically transforms and empowers the soul. See how through the teachings of Samael Aun Weor, Swami Sivananda, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Sufis, and the Tree of Life.
Consciousness is not only the capacity to perceive physical phenomena, but psychological and spiritual realities as well. An essential function of awakened perception is discrimination: comprehension of what is real from what is illusory. Likewise, many spiritual schools refer to this faculty as intuition, a form of knowing without the need for intellectual deliberation or reasoning―to understand the truth of something without the need to think. Intuition can also be referred to as the voice of conscience: a hunch, sense, or whisper in the heart that identifies how certain behaviors or actions are positive or negative, real or false.
Our inner states determine our existence. Therefore, knowing our defects in meditation is fundamental for genuine change. Conscience or conscious judgment is the ability to distinguish between beneficial and harmful psychological states, so as to arrive at understanding and elimination of the internal causes of suffering. By following the voice of intuition, inner judgment or conscience, the meditator strengthens their connection with divinity, performs upright action, and learns to destroy mistaken conditions of mind: the ego, the myself, the "I." The result is genuine serenity, insight, and freedom in practical life.
The term dialectic signifies "the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions." To perceive reality as it is, one must go beyond mere subjective rationalism, theories, or ideas by awakening consciousness from its state of distraction. In order to gain genuine self-knowledge, the meditator must discard mistaken concepts and beliefs in order to directly observe, within him or herself, the psychological conditions that produce suffering.
Discover the foundation for every true inner revolution: the dialectic of the consciousness, or the means of investigating any phenomena of nature. Through serenity and insight, the meditator gains comprehension of the internal causes of suffering, thereby arriving at their elimination. This lecture discusses the nature of comprehension in relation to the Greek mysteries, Sufism, and the writings of Samael Aun Weor, specifically the precise methodology for understanding and annihilating the ego, thereby arriving at true liberation of the soul.
Consciousness is the ability to perceive, yet few comprehend how consciousness has the capacity to expand, grow, and develop beyond its present limitations. The natural state of consciousness (or soul) is liberation, happiness, contentment, peace, compassion, joy, etc. Yet due to our mistaken actions, we have conditioned the consciousness in egotistical elements of greed, pride, laziness, lust, envy, hatred, gluttony, and all our defects that create suffering for ourselves and others.
To realize the bliss, light, and freedom of the awakened soul, all conditioning and limitations must be observed, comprehended, and eliminated. By observing oneself and energizing the consciousness, one learns to comprehend negative psychological states, their origin, and their cessation. Learn how directed attention, self-observation, and inner remembrance of the divine aid the meditator in developing the pristine light of spiritual cognizance. You will also learn about a map of consciousness, the Hebraic Kabbalah or Tree of Life, which diagrams every level of matter, energy, and perception within oneself and the universe. Through self-observation, conservation of energy, comprehension of faults, and the elimination of egoism, the practitioner awakens from psychological slumber and experiences true serenity, insight, and illumination.
A concise introduction to the nature and purpose of meditation through Padmasambhava's Tibetan Book of the Dead: “The Introduction to Awareness" or “Natural Liberation through Naked Perception.”
Meditation is an exercise to develop consciousness to its full potential. Awareness and directed attention are the basis of meditation, especially as described by the originators of every genuine religion. This lecture outlines the three vehicles of any spiritual school, their methodologies and meditative disciplines, while comparing esoteric Buddhism to the Hebraic Kabbalah: the Tree of Life. You will also learn the profound dynamics and interdependent relations of spirit, consciousness, will, mind, emotion, energy, and matter.
Gnosis is the conscious experience of fundamental truths without reliance upon concept, theory, or belief. By expanding the potential range of our perception, the Gnostic student verifies the essential principles within every religion and spiritual tradition. Discover the practical purpose of Gnosticism: the application of effective techniques for transforming suffering and acquiring personal knowledge of the divine.
Many of us sense that nowadays religions are missing something critical, and the surprising truth is that this is due to traditions having rejected sexuality instead of comprehending its true purpose. When humanity either represses or indulges in sexual desire, the outcome is suffering, because this volatile force, the true source of our creative expression, must always act. How we use sexuality determines our life. Discover the divine purpose of sexuality, how to transform the most potent energies we possess for the empowerment of our spirituality. Rather than becoming a source of shame or blind passion, sex can serve towards the redemption and liberation of the soul.
Comprehension of karma is the critical foundation for our spiritual development. As we understand the law of action and consequence in our own life, we open the door to comprehending this law throughout the rest of nature. Discover the practical steps you can take today to maximize the positive effects of each moment of your existence.
Life and death are two sides of the same thing. For our soul to live, our egotism must die. Learn about the importance of psychological death for spiritual life as well as practical ways to achieve it.
The individual is a seed, an embryo with the potential to develop into a fully enlightened being. This can only be accomplished, however, through actualizing the proper conditions and precise methods for its development. Discover the three essential spiritual sciences that lead towards the perfection of the human being: Hebraic kabbalah, medieval alchemy, and spiritual psychology. See how through an explanation of well-known myths and stories, including the Bible and Pinocchio by Carlos Collodi, whose meanings have eluded scholars, but are comprehensible to the practical meditator and awakened consciousness.
"It is clear that at each moment we have to become more and more independent from the mind. The mind is certainly a dungeon, a prison where all of us are prisoners. We need to evade that prison if indeed we want to know what liberty is; to know that liberty which does not belong to time, that liberty which is not of the mind." —Samael Aun Weor, The Revolution of the Dialectic
Meditation is the science of liberation from suffering. By comprehending how the mind limits, conditions, and produces affliction, the meditator can access true states of serenity, bliss, and contentment. This lecture explores some essential dynamics for beginning meditators, such as the distinct difference between consciousness / perception and mind / thought. You will also learn techniques for developing concentration and awakening consciousness within practical, daily life.
"It cannot be asserted emphatically enough that the Doctrine of the Many Selves is 100 percent Tibetan and Gnostic in origin. It is not at all pleasant to find out that within each person lives hundreds and thousands of psychological people." —Samael Aun Weor, The Great Rebellion
Esoteric psychology reveals that the causes of suffering originate from the ego, which, contrary to popular belief and modern studies of mind, is multiple, not unitary. The many "I"s continually battle for control of our mind, emotions, and body, producing all the sorrow and afflictions of life. This lecture explains scriptures and myths that illustrate the doctrine of the many "I"s and teach us how to overcome this internal multiplicity to attain true individuality, serenity, and lasting happiness.
Divinity cannot be known except through the innate faculties of the consciousness, which religions have designated soul, buddha nature, or the seed of enlightenment. Through nakedly perceiving our own psychological limitations, we open the doorway to genuine spiritual experiences and the awakening of our complete potential.
"Man, know thyself, and thou shalt know the universe and its gods." —The Oracle at Delphi
Self-knowledge is essential to every religion, spiritual path, or mystical tradition. Yet while such systems explain the need to know oneself and thereby gain access to the divine mysteries, they often do not provide practical techniques for how to achieve such a goal. Learn how to know your true identity through the practices of Self-observation, Self-remembering, and the Key of SOL (Subject, Object, Location) in order to discover the truth in a radical and revolutionary way.
"The revolutionary psychology of the gnostic movements, in a clear and precise manner, makes an in-depth distinction between the ego and the Essence. Only the beauty of the Essence manifests through the child during the first three or four years of life. Then, the child is tender, sweet, and beautiful in all his psychological aspects. However, when the ego begins to control the tender personality of the child, then all the beauty of the Essence begins to disappear and the characteristic psychological defects of every human being bloom in its place." —Samael Aun Weor, Fundamentals of Gnostic Education
This lecture explains how consciousness, personality, and ego function in the teachings of gnostic psychology. When we understand, through experience, the true unconditioned nature of consciousness, we can begin to distinguish it from the conditioning of ego that causes suffering. By going beyond the terrestrial personality (from the Latin persōna, signifying a "mask"), the consciousness can work upon and transform the self. This lecture explains essential practices for developing spiritually, so that you can experience the full awakening and liberation of consciousness.
The four paths to immortality refer to three common spiritual paths and the fourth way of conscious equilibrium. You will learn about the three brains or energetic centers within the human being and how these relate to common approaches to spiritual development. The discussion of the fourth way, the path of balance, will relate to direct observations of our personal psychological imbalances and predispositions. Finally, you will learn about a practice through which you can study imbalanced states and transform them into the psychological equilibrium necessary for conscious awakening.
In its purest form, philosophy signifies the love (philos) of wisdom (sophia), a Greek term denominating the experience of the truth within the innermost depths of the soul. Etymologically, this term points towards the relationship of the consciousness with the divine, a distinction ignored by modern philosophical systems. Genuine philosophy is the soul's ardent inspiration, knowledge of and connection to the Innermost, the Being, the spirit, a feat achieved through transcending and transforming the mind, placing it at the service of the divine. This methodology contrasts with mere scholasticism, theories, concepts, and the sophistries of universities, which only use the intellect to be clever and theorize. Rather than seeking to play with the intellect, it is better to go beyond the mind in order to know the spiritual realities beyond the limitations of matter.
Learn how the fourth and final pillar expresses the mystical science, wisdom, and art of the complete human being: an individual who is fully aware and manifesting the spiritual truths contained within the universe. Through loving the divine and placing the intellect at the service of the spirit, we can in turn gain genuine philosophical knowledge based on our own experience.
"The ancients knew these powers so well, that, while concealing their true nature under various allegories, for the benefit (or to the detriment) of the uneducated rabble, they never departed from the multiple object in view, while inverting them. They contrived to throw a thick veil over the nucleus of truth concealed by the symbol, but they ever tried to preserve the latter as a record for future generations, sufficiently transparent to allow their wise men to discern that truth behind the fabulous form of the glyph or allegory. They are accused of superstition and credulity, those ancient sages; and this by those very nations, which, learned in all the modern arts and sciences, cultured and wise in their generation, accept to this day as their one living and infinite God, the anthropomorphic 'Jehovah' of the Jews." ―H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, Volume I, iv. “The Four Elements
Art is an expression of consciousness; therefore the level of being of an artist is expressed through his or her work. The great artists of humanity have always been profound mystics and apostles who taught how to unite with divinity through their music, writings, and paintings. Unlike modern art that is divorced from spiritual principles, ancient and classical forms of art embody the highest ideals attainable by mankind, and only those who awaken consciousness can recognize such divine principles within great literature, sculptures, etc. The mystery schools of Universal Gnosticism disseminated their secret knowledge through the veils of allegory, symbolism, and artistic mediums, so as to evade persecution and provide their knowledge to other initiates without openly giving away their secrets.
Learn how esoteric mysticism, science, and philosophy were taught within ancient art forms: sculpture, poetry, drama, theater, opera, classical music, and more. This lecture explains hidden teachings given by Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and other classical composers, as well as through the mystical dances of the Sufis, the architecture of the Egyptians and Mayans, and more.
Learn the three factors that define true spirituality within any tradition and the foundations upon which our full human potential is actualized. As one of the four pillars of the Gnostic Tradition, genuine mysticism is defined as closing the mind's eye towards sensuality, hatred, ignorance, and egotism, thereby opening the doors to spiritual insight. To be a mystic, one who knows the hidden, divine mysteries, one must comprehend the secret causes of suffering within the psyche. Through specific training, the soul can learn to investigate the hidden truths contained within all religions, practically and definitively, through transforming the mind's attachments, cravings, desires, and afflictions. By changing ourselves, we can change humanity.
This is specifically accomplished through the application of three factors: the birth or genesis of the soul, death of psychological impurity, and selfless service for humanity. As taught in the writings of Luke, we learn to become true mystics by denying our egotistical impulses, bearing up the cross of alchemy, and sacrificing for others through following Christ's example.
This lecture explores teachings from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, the famous second birth that Jesus taught to Nicodemus, psychological and allegorical verses of the Qur'an, the writings of Manly P. Hall, Samael Aun Weor, and more.
"…As the dawn of physical science broke into glaring daylight, the spiritual sciences merged deeper and deeper into night, and in their turn they were denied. So, now, these greatest masters in psychology are looked upon as “ignorant and superstitious ancestors”; as mountebanks and jugglers, because, forsooth, the sun of modern learning shines today so bright, it has become an axiom that the philosophers and men of science of the olden time knew nothing, and lived in a night of superstition. But their traducers forget that the sun of today will seem dark by comparison with the luminary of tomorrow, whether justly or not; and as the men of our century think their ancestors ignorant, so will perhaps their descendants count them for know-nothings." ―H. P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled: Chapter II, “Lost Arts”
Modern science, focused upon the investigation of material phenomena, lacks effective methods for knowing the hidden, spiritual roots of existing things, precisely due to the fact that such mystical principles can only be apprehended by conscious perception beyond the limits of physical matter. Whereas the methods of empirical investigation end at the limits of materiality, Gnostic science begins where physical science leaves off: through the awakening and development of consciousness. It is by cultivating the ardent faculties of the soul that one can obtain the mystical apprehension of fundamental truths. The direct cognizance of the intelligent blueprints of nature is therefore born from the scientific procedures beyond the reach of the five physical senses.
Learn how the ancient schools of mysteries, whether from Rome, Chaldea, Persia, Tibet, India, etc., secretly cultivated a profound, hidden, and superior knowledge rejected and ignored by present day scientific dogma. You will also learn how the modern Gnostic tradition is based upon the study and application of three esoteric sciences: Egyptian الكيمياء Alchemy, Hebraic קבלה Kabbalah, and Greek ψυχολογία Psychology or dialectics. This lecture introduces these three sciences in accordance with the doctrines of Plato, Nietzsche, H.P. Blavatsky, Samael Aun Weor, and other philosophical and esoteric writers.
Throughout history, the Gnostic tradition has flourished in all parts of the world in accordance with the language, customs, temperaments, and idiosyncrasy of specific cultures. Gnosis, the essence of spiritual experience, has manifested through the actions of all the greatest saints, prophets, yogis, philosophers, and luminaries of mankind, whose traditions span all continents and profess the legacy of their authors: how to change fundamentally within one's being in order to alleviate suffering for oneself and for humanity.
Learn the fundamentals of Universal Gnosticism: the prerequisites for actualizing our most intimate potential, the need to change psychologically in order to know the truth, and the different ways such transformative knowledge has been presented throughout both Eastern and Western traditions. This lecture specifically examines excerpts from the Judeo-Christian Bible, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Qur'an and Sufi writings, and the Buddhist scriptures.
You will also learn the four pillars of Gnosticism: science, mysticism, art, and philosophy, and how they constitute the fundamental depth of all the most ancient mystery schools. Through an etymological analysis of the terms science, mysticism, art, and philosophy, you will also learn how these pillars constitute an integral teaching: how to unite with the divine through practical works.