Wisdom From Forgotten Gospels, PT. 4

[Guest guest]

James Bean e mail: jamesbean

Gnostic Links: /links/spiritualawakening

 

 

WISDOM FROM FORGOTTEN GOSPELS, PART FOUR (LAST PART),

 

By James Bean

 

Copyright December 1997

 

THE PROCESS OF AWAKENING

 

Valentinus in the Gospel of Truth (one of the books found near Nag Hammadi,

Egypt) teaches that souls are brought to spiritual awakening through

a Power which comes from beyond this world. He describes the heavenly

Father calling out to all souls in creation. As souls hear their name

being called, they respond to the divine Voice, experience mystic rebirth

or transformation, and begin to follow the Sound of this Voice back Home

again. In the Hymn of the Pearl (a Gnostic parable found in the Acts

of Thomas in India) a cosmic letter was sent to a forgetful soul slumbering

is a distant land. Upon reading this letter from Home, the soul remembered

who he was again and the purpose for which he had been sent to this world.

The Odes of Solomon describes Christ as a heavenly Messenger standing

on a lofty summit and uttering his Voice from one end of the to the other,

rousing souls from unconsciousness. Gnostic scriptures record that many

Masters, Prophets and Apostles have incarnated in this world for the

purpose of verbally delivering the message of awakening to humanity.

Valentinus advised his disciples (students, initiates) to serve humanity,

contributing to the evolutionary process of awakening by being instruments

or channels in the world. " Happy is the one who has opened the eyes of

the blind. Speak the truth with those who search for it. Make firm the

foot of those who have stumbled and stretch out your hands to those who

are ill. Feed the hungry, give repose to those who are weary, raise

up those who wish to rise, and awaken those who sleep. " (Master Valentinus,

the Gospel of Truth)

 

As long as we sleep the sleep of oblivion, we will not be likely to hear

when we are called. Awake, we may hear ourselves called to attention

by the soft-spoken Voice of the Spirit. In order to hear this inner

Voice and gain spiritual perception, masters and mystics instruct us

to, " Be still and know that I am God. " (Psalm 46: 10)

 

When our noisy ego-thoughts come to an end, then, in the silence of meditation

we hear the Voice of God speaking in our souls. Some type of contemplative

spiritual practice (meditation, listening) is absolutely essential if

one is to experience awakening and awareness of the spiritual world.

The Apostle Peter said to his disciples in the Acts of Peter, " Give

ear; withdraw your souls from all that appears but is not truly real;

close these eyes if yours, close your ears, withdraw from actions that

are outwardly seen; and you shall know the reality of Christ and the

whole secret of your salvation. " ( " The Other Bible, " Willis Barnstone,

Harper Collins) When the soul awakens, it's eyes and ears begin to open;

it starts to perceive spiritually; it becomes a Gnostic -- one who knows

the reality of God, the heavenly realms, and it's own true identity as

a child of the living Father. It has progressed from Faith to Knowledge.

 

 

Meditation is a kind of temporary " death " to the outer world of the five

senses as well as outer images and thoughts. When one fasts from the

world and enters into this kind of sabbath-rest, it becomes possible

for the soul to begin to perceive something of the Other World that it

inhabits. The soul's spiritual senses begin to perceive in the heavenly

realms. One becomes progressively more and more receptive to the heavenly

Sound and Light with the eyes and ears of the soul.

 

NEVER GIVE UP

 

Saying Two of the Gospel of Thomas describes the steps and stages of

the spiritual journey: " Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds.

When he finds, he will become troubled. After he becomes troubled, he

will be astonished, will rule over all things, and he will enter into

Rest. " We seek and continue seeking out the truth; the Gnostic never

gives up this quest. Upon finding the path, we put it into practice;

we live our truth. This may be troubling at first. The caterpillar becomes

the butterfly -- the death of the old, the beginning of the new. But

night gives way to dawn....and ASTONISHMENT! Prayer turns into astonishment

and wonder at the appearance of the Light of the Godhead, for all the

chambers of the heart are filled with Light. The soul discovers that

it is a Light inhabiting a Kingdom of Light. Valentinus: " When the Father,

who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with

Light. And so a person who has such a heart is called 'blessed,' for

that person will see God. "

 

For countless ages, souls have described their experience of God's Light.

I'll conclude by sharing a quote from the medieval German mystic Mechthild

of Magdeburg on the wonders of contemplation and spiritual perception:

 

A Light of utmost splendor glows on the eyes of my soul.

Therein have I seen the inexpressible ordering of all things,

and recognized God's unspeakable glory -- that incomprehensible

wonder -- the tender caress between God and the soul.....

the unmingled joy of union, the living love of eternity

as it now is and evermore shall be. ( " Flowing Light of the Godhead " )

 

 

WISDOM FROM FORGOTTEN GOSPELS///

 

 

 

 

 

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