Dear Miguel, I intend also doing written answers to your questions, for
the record of course. As to how much of each individual question one
can go into a one hour radio program I have no idea - your field not
mine :- ) But written replies, as I say, for the record, can presumably
go into more detail. I will send the written answers as and when done -
and depending of course on how long each question demands and how much
detail is required for each. So, here is the first one anyway.
Answer to Question One Miguel.
What is the difference between gnosis and a mystical experience?
It is both well known and well documented that people have experiences
which do not fall into the category of those which can be analysed by
the scientific methodology the conscious experience of existing is
itself one of them; and the scientific methodology cannot find
consciousness anywhere in the physical universe other than within
us, and which cannot be got at by objective methods of analysis. You
can scan the brain but you will not find ME. But, I AM. It is
axiomatic.
There are however standard types of experiences which we all more or
less agree on, such as a tree, rain, sunshine et al thus common
daily consensus experience. Of those experiences which do not fall into
that category a recognised umbrella name is simply that of
`Anomalous Experiences', and there are a whole range of
different types. But they can more or less be broken down into two sub
headings Psychic Experiences and Mystical Experiences. I have
described the differences and how I personally define them in the book.
One of the best places for Americans to check this out is an
organisation, originally based in New Bern North Carolina called The
Exceptional Human Experience Network, or EHEN for short, they also have
a website of that name for those who may be interested in checking it
out. It is a par excellence resources for initial investigations into
this. One of the major Ladies of the organisation is still alive, and
her name can be found there on the website. Dr S.V.B.
Those listed under Psychic Experiences cover a whole variety of
different experiences comprising both width and depth of them also; and
of course frequency of occurrence of such cognitive events. They are
well documented throughout all human existence since written
communication came on the scene. They even include Near Death
Experiences, out of the body experiences, they also cover such things as
the hallucinations of drunks and drug addicts, et al. Seemingly negative
archetypes, but they have positive effects even if they are bad
experiences and most of which are not of course. Some psychic
experiences are very profound and are deep archetypal symbolic
structures; and they alone can change somebody's life. But mystics
are not really interested in them. I am, but for academic reasons only.
The other type, and which are far and away less common, I (and others)
call Mystical Experiences. These fall into two very distinct types of
experience and albeit that they are both related in that they are of the
same basic thing and relate to the same phenomenon within our inner
system of dynamics the Essential Nature of BEING. One type is
recognised (even by academia) as being called Introverted Mystical
Experiences, and the other type is called Extroverted Mystical
Experiences. Once again I explain the difference between them in detail
in the books called Psychognosis and the Dignity of Man and also in the
latter one called The Mystical Gnosis Event and the Human Situation
and both of which are free and can be downloaded in a few seconds
from the internet if anyone is interested and thousands of people
are so it seems.
But now I can come to your specific question
.
There is one particular type of very deep Introverted Mystical
Experience and which has been made mention of since human records
existed, and people still have this same experience today. I had it
spontaneously when I was twenty four; it lasted for about three hours
one evening. During my lifetime I have met about fourteen living people
who claim to have had the identical experience, one of them at the age
of two. There are no doubt quite a few living ones, and it is plain
enough that many have had it in the past. But it does seem to be very
rare per capita of any given population. It is also plain enough that
throughout all human time and different cultures this event has been
called by many names. A few being thus
The Mystic Death and
Resurrection Event (one has to die from normal worldly experience to
have this event and the personality {temporal ego} also). Another
is The Mystical Reunion Event, and has been called thus for obvious
reasons. Another is The Paradise Event, or Touching Eternity; (a
perfection where time does not move for the observer, the I AM thing );
and once again for obvious reasons. The last one I will mention here is
The Ground of Our Being Event. The reason being is that during the
experience one KNOWS that this is the place, this level of being, this
realm, this dimension of Mind, is where you and I come into cognitive
awareness of existing, and as an individualised conscious phenomenon. Or
the I AM ME thing. Primordial Consciousness. Other cultures and
languages would obviously have their own names for this experiential
event, and I can only speak English one language is problematic
enough for me to try and cope with and get my head around and use it to
any effective measure.
However, to the core of your question
This event itself is NOT the
GNOSIS. THE GNOSIS is what you KNOW and UNDERSTAND during that
experience. Gnosis is not the realm itself or dimension of mind in which
it takes place, but it is part of WHAT takes place there the
KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING. This Primordial and Eternal knowing (Gnosis)
has also been called The Perennial Wisdom, at the very base of our
being, and would apply to any cognitive life form anywhere in existence,
for we are all made of the same stuff at root. This is what I am in
essence, or metaphysics (protophysics really by the way; for it is
before physics and presumably again after it). Both the realm in which
this knowing takes place, and the knowing itself, is, whilst there, and
also from hindsight, is known to be that part of our self which is a
manifestation of THE LIFE FORCE itself. (Psychognosis). One cannot deny
it whist there but we sure can question it and analyse it when we come
back into `normal' daily rational type consciousness. (you
cannot think there). It is our own bit of the stuff which is ALIVE and
KNOWS that it exists. Hence the age old saying Know Thy Self, or
Gnothi Seauton. We cannot KNOW what we are NOT until such time that we
KNOW what we ARE. This experience redeems that knowing and
understanding of what we are and where we come from. IT does NOT reveal
WHY we exist that comes later in another type of experience.
The latter experience, (twenty years later in my own case) is equally as
profound but very different, and which is an ultimate Extroverted
Mystical Experience, and which I call the Consummatum Incarnate Event,
it reveals the extant phenomenon of what WE ARE NOT and our existential
relationship with it. It is seeing the world as one has never seen it
before, and the part you and I play in it. WE liberate LIFE itself in
that event. Tis very mysterious, wondrous, awesome and mind-blowing.
When this takes place there is another UNION (not the inner mystical
transcendent reunion as previously mentioned) which takes place on
earth, in time and space. And this experiential event brings everything
together in one glorified mystical union on earth the ultimate
dance of creation in the unity of the relationship between the `I
and Thou' (that which I AM and that which I AM NOT) in time and
space. This experience fulfils the Essence of LIFE itself whilst
incarnate in time and space. Thus, all this is both Transcendent and
Imminent and all joined up there is no alienation of the parts. Or
as Religionist like to say, Paradise has been fulfilled on earth.
The IMPLICATION (not knowledge in advance) is that it is perhaps the
next step, stage, level of being, in the evolutionary unfolding of the
human mind within the parameters of the unfolding of the implicate order
of existence and the life force itself. But, as I say, for me at least,
that is only an implication. And I am not really interested in
implications I am interested in what I have to live through in the
here and now. I am a pragmatist you see. Sufficient unto the day are the
problems thereof :- ))))) And today I have to eat and pay bills as well
as live with what I have known thus far. In experiential terms we are
self evidently not all at the same place at the same time. They can
argue with that until green and yellow smoke comes out of their
nostrils; but it is so :- )
But we are not talking about religious and doctrinal beliefs here, I am
talking about stuff that happens and that we experience and live with on
a daily bases once known by experience; Depth Psychology, Physics and
Metaphysics and the purpose of LIFE and its place in the scheme of
things. I have no religion, no beliefs about things, I talk of what
exists for Consciousness to experience and become conscious of and what
I KNOW of it all so far which is not much as yet. And that is it.
As far as I am concerned the connection with the word GNOSIS only came
about for me fifteen to twenty or so years back when I discovered an
ancient text which said
. "Those who have not known their SELF
have known nothing; but those who have come to know their SELF have
simultaneously come into the knowledge of the deepest depths of the
all".
I wrote that twenty years before finding it in an ancient text. Whoever
initially said that KNEW what he or she was talking about. That
particular text (there are others in other places) happens to call it
Gnosis. I call it Psychognosis The Knowledge of SELF. (I coined
the term originally back in about the late sixties or early seventies;
but did not use it in a book for the first time until about ten years
ago; although I had mentioned it to some folks by letter and telephone
in those days on occasions). But a rose is a rose by any other name.
Things do not have names until you and I give them one. One could call
it BEER for all I care but it would not do much good for human
communication. But we sure do drink both well one literally and
one metaphorically speaking :- ) Drinking from the cup of life
experience and the wondrous mystery of LIFE and BEING deep within us
all. So, that is it. We get what we get. Simple really albeit all
very amazing and mysterious stuff. But, then again, all life is.
Best wishes, hope this has made some sense to another hearing it. But to
know it one has to be there to live it to KNOW it. Other than that one
just has hearsay of it; and hearsay is not Gnosis, it is hearsay. Seems
that millions of people call themselves Gnostics these days. I do not
call myself that; I call myself Dick or Richard. But I have been called
many things by many people over the years not all of them good
things :- ) My favourite which creases me up is Merlin :- ))) Tis the
name of a wild predatory bird on Exmoor :- ) Also that funny git with a
pointed hat whom it is said roamed around these parts of Somerset in
days of old, when Knights were bold and ladies were well, Ladies
the good old days :- )
I am just an ordinary guy, who, like some, have had some rather
extraordinary spontaneous experiences; that is all. I did not seek any
of this out. It just happens along. In life stuff happens, and one has
to live with it, like it or not. I am not complaining; tis fine by me.
But from day one of my existence here I have always asked questions, and
sometimes answers come - Eureka - right out of the blue so to speak.
Probably something to do with cause and effect and reaping the effects
of what we sow ;- ) If you do not ask questions then you do not get
answers. Seems to work. And life and existence sure does FORCE us to
ask questions does it not so why the hell should it not also
supply the answers to them? Well, it DOES. Nothing really amazing about
that is there. It would be an odd existence which forces us to ask
question to which there were no answers. Some human beings may be
crazy, but life and existence is not :- )
One of the most basic perennial questions in all the time of human
existence has been and still is - What am I ? Life, existence, presents
us with a direct inner personal experience which reveals what that IS -
thus supplying the answer to it. Or redeeming what has always been
there, and ours, from the beginning; but which has been removed from our
awareness at birth for some reason (which we will not go into on this
question). So, getting that knowledge, wisdom, gnosis, understanding,
back again during a lifetime - is what some call gnosis and I call
psychognosis; and others call it by other names. Some call it redemption
:- )
The question then becomes, how much can we really on conscious
experience? The answer to that is simple - it is all we ever get, and
no matter where you exist or when. For without consciousness and the
experiences which come via it we would not even be aware of existing,
even if we did exist unconsciously - as in dreamless sleep or oblivion.
But, this is not something to be believed, for it is like air. We do not
have to believe in air, or have some kind of faith in it; we just breath
it in and out. And this gnosis understanding is just something you live
with when you have got it. You cannot deny it for it happens, you have
been there, know what it is like, know what it reveals and know the
effects of it - and we live those effects here and now - not when we are
dead, but whilst here, and all the days that remain to us here. For
simplicity one could say that it is like being called home (the best
name for it) during a lifetime to regain the understanding of what we
are. Why do such things happen spontaneously? Well, it is obviously
needed here, or it would not happen. Nothing is for nothing. Neither is
it a free lunch; for it costs dearly in the effects which it has on the
knower - leastwise whilst we exist on this world anyway.
So, it seems to me that these followers of an ancient religion called
Gnosticism (not my thing at all but good luck to them) seem to dwell on
things which are said to have been said in history. But I simply talk
about the experiences which life has presented me with, and to live
with. The irony is that others I have met affirm the self same thing.
But not many per capita of the population. So, according to the
conventional thinking of science, psychology, religions, and academic
philosophy, we are weirdo's :- ) So be it. I do not mind at all; for it
is good and I love life dearly - every atom and blade of grass of it.
Tis mine you see, and nobody can take it from me.
