THE FOG – Waking up to violence
It has been said that we become like the thing we love. As we study our culture we can’t help but notice that we are in love with violence. It is the basis for both our fears and insecurities. Our entertainment is saturated with violence which numbs the mind. The culture of violence is constantly being fueled by the culture of greed. Violence is the life blood of a military industrial complex. Violence and greed have become the quintessential heralds of ignorance.
We must all wake up to violence and to do so we must ask for gnosis. However, to understand what we are asking for we need to go back and unearth the oppressive religious attitudes of the early church fathers. In doing so you will discover that history has not been kind to Gnostic’s. Much of what we know of Gnosticism has been given to us by the very people who tried to extinguish it through cleansings and inquisitions. This is why Gnosticism today looks very different from the Gnosticism of the past. If you want to understand Gnosticism and how it is the antithesis of greed and violence then just ask a Gnostic. Not the individuals who are its oppressors. Read its gospels, study its teachings and you will discover how diverse the voice of Gnosticism is. Its voice can be heard through many great minds such as Plato, Plotinus, Jung, Einstein, and St Paul just to name a few. It has been said that St Paul was the teacher of Theudas who in turn was the teacher of Valantinus (100-160 AD). In the 2nd century Valantinus came close to gaining the support of a conclave which elected the successor to the Bishop of Rome. This gives us an indication of how integrated Christianity was in its original and pure form before it was seized by Constantine. Even more shockingly, as you study the life and times of Jesus you may also uncover a Gnostic teacher. In doing so you may well discover that Gnosticism is a viable option with the potential to supplant an oligarchic status quo.
Today there are still many adversaries of Gnosticism. There are always apologetics quoting the same ill-informed and outdated rhetoric from the past. I would compare them to the creationist of today who still refute evolution and believe the world was literally created in seven days. To show you how informed Gnostics of the past were try reading the Gospel of Philip, the Gospel of truth or the Letter to Flora written my Ptolemeus the student of Valentinus. As you search deep into the spiritual message of Gnosticism you may discover that they address the Catholic Church’s denial of married clergy, the ordination of women, birth control and homosexuality.
Violence has constantly been perpetrated without mercy against the great chain of being. The damage and trauma that have been sustained to the minds and psyche of individuals, groups and the biosphere is incomprehensible. Whether it be the Darwinian Theory of Evolution, the Gaia Hypothesis of Lovelock or Teilhard De Chardin’s Global Consciousness of the Noosphere, we all have to wake up to new knowledge ecosystems.
New world views must be gently massaged. Old human constructs of the mind must be replaced. The struggles innately expressed by various Occupy Movements must continue to mature beyond a spontaneous desire for change. Collectives like Occupy must develop grass root minds of their own. As the dominate political culture continues to become more invested in the pursuit of hegemony, the collective mindfulness of Gnosis will naturally transform a defiled democracy into a Noocracy representing social groups or society as a whole.
As the old systems become aged they will have a natural death. However they will not fall away quietly. But they will fall away. Hopefully this evolution will happen before too much damage is done to Mother Earth and life as we know it is changed forever.
Addiction is born of greed and violence. It lacks the true intimacy of Gnosis. In many cases addicts don’t stop their destructive behaviors until it kills them. Sometimes they wake up and change occurs. Knowing this Gnostic’s must become the change they want to see in the world. Gnosticism is more than a name. It is more than an ancient Christian sect. In today’s contemporary world Gnosticism is becoming synonymous with the way, the truth and the life of Christ.
The way forward is through Gnosis. Through the truth of Christ consciousness. And this truth will introduce us to the good life. A futurehood ushered in by balanced and healthy global communities. Gnosticism has been waiting to makes its presence felt in new and loving ways. It has chosen now to make its reappearance. Please don’t persecute it any further. Open your hearts, minds and souls to its saving grace. There is no reason to fear true Gnosticism. There is no need to reinvent the world’s wheel. Let’s just replace a flat world view with the loving merits of a Gnosticism reborn for today.
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