“Now I make ready to go downstream to the Abode of Light, that Wisdom and Truth may be carried to the appointed place under the everlasting stars and there made secure to men in generations yet to grow up in the Light. They will be seen in generations to come.

“I shall go on the Wings of the Sun before the retinue of the Breaker of Heads. I am one acknowledged as pure of hands and shall be with those who serve under the head of the Great One.

“My name henceforth, shall be Hemnetar, and I shall not eat of fish or beans until I come to the place appointed to fit my station. I shall wear linen, and my sandals shall be made of grass, so that none shall perceive my greatness. I will hide great things within my heart, and a bridle will hold my tongue in check.

“I shall pray among the empty hearted, but my prayers will not be as theirs but as those offered in the days of our fathers, who sat in silence two hours beforehand. Now, the marks are changed by the hypocrisy of men.”

-The Kolbrin Bible (MAN:29:12-15)

Downstream to the Light

The author of this chapter of the Kolbrin Bible (the book has many authors) says he is making ready to go downstream to the Abode of Light. The Abode of Light is Heaven, so we can assume that this writer is elderly and preparing to leave the physical world of matter. It is a standard metaphor in spiritual writings to refer to the movement of Light as flowing like a river of water, so I believe the writer is saying that he will return to the Source of the Light, although that would be upstream, not down.

Generation Yet to Grow

The author seems confident that there will be future generations that “grow up in the Light”. It is possible that a few generations did grow up in the Light after this was written, but it wasn’t long before people turned more and more to the pleasures of the material realm and grew denser and denser material bodies. Fortunately for us, we have the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us now to help us all awaken to and grow up in the Light. Naturally, the forces and beings of Darkness are fighting against us, which is why we are seeing such polarization of people into those of Darkness who believe in anger, hate, greed, and bigotry as virtues, and those of Light who see Love, Wisdom, Truth, and Humility as the true virtues, as has been taught in all real religions and mystery schools throughout the ages.

On the Wings of the Sun

Even when this book was written thousands of years ago, spiritual people were careful about what they said in public or wrote in books to prevent the people of darkness from learning things they should not know. So when the author says he will travel to Heaven “on the wings of the sun,” we can interpret this as meaning that he will reach those higher levels of consciousness with the help of the Light of the Spiritual Sun.

My Name Shall be Hemnetar

It was a common practice in the past for people to choose a new name when they developed their spiritual Self. That is what I think the writer is talking about here. As for the name, “Hemnetar,” I can find no meaning for it, though It may have had one in the language of the author. Few people follow this practice today.

Wear Linen and Grass Sandals

The writer says he will wear linen and sandals made of grass so that “none will perceive my greatness”. It seems that wearing linen and grass sandals was something the poor people of that age would do. This seems to imply that the author wishes to hide his material wealth, but I think he is using this description symbolically. What he means is that he will act like the materialists around him to hide the fact that he has developed his spiritual faculties to a high degree.

“The perfect majesty is at rest in the ineffable light, in the truth of the mother of all these, and all of you that attain to me, to me alone who am perfect, because of the word. For I exist with all the greatness of the spirit, which is a friend to us and our kindred alike. Since I brought forth a word to the glory of our father, through his goodness, as well as an imperishable thought, that is, the word within him, it is slavery that we should die with Christ, with imperishable and undefiled thought. This is an incomprehensible marvel, the writing of the ineffable water, which is the word from us: I am in you and you are in me, just as the father is in you in innocence.

“Let us gather an assembly together. Let us visit that creation of his. Let us send someone forth in it, so that he may visit the thoughts in the regions below. And I said these things to the whole multitude of the great assembly of the rejoicing majesty. The whole house of the father of truth rejoiced that I am the one who is from them. I reflected upon the thoughts that came out of the undefiled spirit about the descent upon the water, that is, the regions below. And they all had a single mind, since it is from one source. They ordered me, and because I was willing, I came forth to reveal the glory to my kindred and my fellow spirits. For those who were in the world had been prepared by the will of our sister Sophia because of her innocence that has not been uttered. And she did not ask anything from the realm of all, nor from the greatness of the assembly, nor from the pleroma, when she previously came forth to prepare lodgings and places for the son of light and the fellow workers. She took materials from the elements below to build bodily dwellings from them. But having come into being in an empty glory, they ended in destruction in the dwellings in which they were. Since they were prepared by Sophia, they stand ready to receive the life-giving word of the ineffable One and the greatness of the assembly of all those who persevere and those who are in me. I visited a bodily dwelling. I cast out the one who was in it first, and I went in. And the whole multitude of the rulers became troubled. And all the matter of the rulers as well as all the powers born of the earth were shaken when they saw the likeness of the image, since it was mixed. And I was the one who was in the image, not resembling him who was in the body first. For he was an earthly man, but I, I am from above the heavens. I did not refuse them even to become Christ, but I did not reveal myself to them in the love that was coming forth from me. I revealed that I am a stranger to the regions below.

“There was a great disturbance in the whole earthly area, with confusion and flight, as well as in the plan of the rulers. And some were persuaded, when they saw the wonders that were being accomplished by me. And all those fled, those of the race that descended from the one who fled from the throne to the Sophia of hope, since she had earlier given”

-The Second Treatise of the Great Shem

The Perfect Majesty

The Perfect Majesty is God. It might be said that God is “at rest in the ineffable light.” but it is more accurate to say that God is the Light. Shem is saying that he exists within the Light of God and he is perfect because of “The Word.” Shem is apparently a Christ. It may be a reference to Jesus or to some other angelic being who came to Earth as a Christ.

Spirit is Our Friend

Shem says Spirit is “a friend to us and our kindred,” which is saying that spirit is a friend to all. You might say that Spirit cannot be a friend to murderers, despots, etc. but it is. Spirit is a friend to all because it offers all an opportunity for eternal life in the Spiritual World. Of course, those who do abhorrent things such as murder will not be able to go to Heaven, but that doesn’t change the fact that Spirit is a friend to all.

A Single Mind

The Angels of God all think alike since they all serve God. In a sense, they are all a part of God, so they are all of a single mind which is the mind of God.

Gather Together

Shem says “Let us gather an assembly together.” Some people who consider themselves spiritual disagree with that. They thing we should all develop our spiritual Self alone. While to some degree, they are correct, there is also much that can be gained by being part of a group and developing with the group. One benefit is that the members help guide each other as they develop. Another is that they can protect each other from the forces of Darkness.

Empty Glory

This part of the quote seems confusing because we generally read of Sophia (Wisdom) as a good thing, but here Shem is associating her with something that isn’t so good. He had Sophia creating material dwelling places for those who have fallen to the realm of Matter. But Shem says those dwellings were destroyed because they had no Glory in them. I think he is telling us that the things of matter are not important, and while we need them while we are in a physical body, we should avoid getting too attached to them.

“Because they do not know the Father of all, who was revealed by him alone who came and who knew him. It remains for us who have been counted worthy of the knowledge of both of these to provide you with an accurate explanation of the nature of the law and of the legislator by whom it was ordained. We shall draw the proofs of what we say from the words of the savior, which alone can lead us without error to the comprehension of reality. First, you must learn that the entire law contained in the Pentateuch of Moses was not ordained by one legislator, I mean, not by God alone; some commandments are Moses’, and some were given by men. The words of the Savior teach us this triple division. The first part must be attributed to God himself and his legislating, the second to Moses—not in the sense that God legislates through him, but in the sense that Moses gave some legislation under the influence of his own ideas—and the third to the elders of the people, who seem to have ordained some commandments of their own at the beginning. In some discussion with those who disputed with the savior about divorce, which was permitted in the law, he said, ‘Because of your hardheartedness Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife; from the beginning it was not so.’”

-The Letter to Flora

Three Sources of Law

If you have been in Cosolargy for some time, you are aware of the teachings of Cosolargy regarding the three sources of law, which are a little different from the three sources listed in the quote. The quote lists the three sources as God, Moses, and other humans. In Cosolargy, we see the three sources of law as God, Nature, and Man. We are also taught that God’s Law is supreme, nature’s law is second to God’s law, and man’s law is the lowest in the hierarchy.

God’s Law

God’s Law is supreme, especially for those who wish to have an immortal life in Heaven. The forces and beings of Darkness try to convince us otherwise, but they lie. Some people will have to learn this the hard way.

Natures Law

Most of us are familiar with some of the Laws of Nature. Gravity and inertia are good examples. We can create machines that allow us to overcome the Law of Gravity to some degree, but we cannot simply declare that gravity doesn’t exist and make it so. The same is true of other natural laws. Some think that the Laws of Nature are superior to the Laws of God, and even God must obey those laws. That is simply not true. God can change the Laws of Nature anytime he wants to. We should also note that the Laws of Nature apply to the physical universe only. The spiritual universe has completely different laws, and those are the Laws of God.

Man’s Law

Laws created by human agencies are the lowest level of the three, though you would not know this by the laws that humans pass. Many of Man’s Laws defy the Laws of God, yet that doesn’t really change them. We are all still obligated to live by the Laws of God. So Man can pass laws that allow killing of other people under certain circumstances, but that doesn’t change God’s Law that forbids such killing. Man can cancel the old laws that made Sunday a day dedicated to God, but that doesn’t change the reality of it. Man can pass laws allowing some people to keep others as slaves, but that doesn’t change the Law of God that forbids it.

Likewise, humans cannot pass laws that cancel or change the Laws of Nature. Men can write a law that says there will be no gravity on Friday, but that won’t change the reality. Humans could write a law that says we can live indefinitely as physical beings, but that will not change the nature of birth, growth, and death.

Hierarchy of Law

So we must all remember that there is a hierarchy of laws, and we must follow that hierarchy. God’s Law is supreme, followed by the Law of Nature, and then the Laws of Men.

“Should you who possess everything not know yourself? If you do not know yourself, you will not enjoy what you own. But know yourself and what you have enjoy.

“The perfect human can neither be restrained nor seen. If they see him, they can stop him, so there is no way to grace but to put on the perfect light and become perfect. All who put on that garment will enter the kingdom. This is the perfect light. We must become perfect before leaving this world. Who is rich and has not thrown it off will not share in the kingdom but will go as imperfect into the middle. Only Jesus knows where that will end.

“Now we have the manifest things of creation. We say, ‘The strong are they who are held in high regard, and the obscure are the weak who are despised.’ Contrast the manifest things of truth: they are weak and despised, whereas the hidden things are strong and held in high regard. The mysteries of truth are revealed, though, in type and image. The bridal chamber remains hidden. It is the holy in the holy. The veil at first concealed how god controls creation, but when the veil is torn and things inside are revealed, this house will be left desolate, or rather it will be destroyed. But the whole inferior godhead will not flee from these places into the holies of the holies, for it cannot mix with the pure light and the perfect fullness. Rather, it will be under the wings of the cross and under its arms.”

-The Gospel of Philip

Knowledge of Self

It doesn’t seem possible to many people that they don’t know themselves, but the fact is that most of us only know part of what we truly are. We generally know little about our spiritual Self, and not as much as we think we know about our physical self. For example, most people don’t know the health conditions of all the organs of their body. Nor do they know the fastest speed they can run or the heaviest weight they can lift. We might know the fastest speed we have run in the past, but we would probably run even faster if a bear were chasing us. Likewise, we may know the heaviest weight we have lifted under normal circumstances, but there are plenty of stories of people showing what is considered superhuman strength in an emergency, such as when their child is trapped under a car. As for knowledge of spiritual matters, most of us only have opinions on such things, not known facts gained by awakening and developing our spiritual Self.

Put on the Perfect Light

I think it is misleading to say that we should put on the perfect Light as if it is a garment that we wear on the outside only. In actual fact, when we are exposed to this Light, and learn how to take it in, it permeates every part, every organ, every cell of our physical body and our spiritual body as well. The Perfect Light is the Light that comes from God and reaches us through the intermediary of the Spiritual Sun. We might say that in a way, the Spiritual Sun is like a window between Heaven and Earth.

Philip says “ We must become perfect before leaving this world.” That is not exactly true, and probably not even possible. What is true is that we must start the process of becoming perfect by awakening and developing our spirits as much as possible while we are still in the physical world. Then the process can continue after the death of the physical body until we do reach perfection.

The Strong and the Weak

Philip tells us that the worldly people think that those who are “held in high regard” are considered strong, while those who are not are considered weak. He then tells us that in reality, the truth is often just the opposite. Those who have great power and esteem in the physical realm are generally weak on the spiritual side, while those who are spiritually strong, are not held in high regard in the physical realm. But the spirit is eternal, while the physical is temporary, so one who spends his life gathering esteem and wealth on the physical plane is gathering a treasure of shadows. The one who practices love, humility, and seeks eternal truth is the one who is ultimately strong in an eternal way.

“Each one will speak concerning the place from which they have come forth, and to the region from which they received their essential being they will hasten to return once again and receive from that place, the place where they stood before, and they will taste of that place, be nourished, and grow. And their own place of rest is their fullness. All the emanations from the father, therefore, are fullnesses, and all his emanations have their roots in the one who caused them all to grow from himself. He assigned their destinies. They, then, became manifest individually that they might be perfected in their own thought, for that place to which they extend their thought is their root, which lifts them upward through all heights to the Father. They reach his head, which is rest for them, and they remain there near to it as though to say that they have touched his face by means of embraces. But they do not make this plain. For neither have they exalted themselves nor have they diminished the glory of the Father, nor have they thought of him as small, nor bitter, nor angry, but as absolutely good, unperturbed, sweet, knowing all the spaces before they came into existence and having no need of instruction. Such are they who possess from above something of this immeasurable greatness, as they strain toward that unique and perfect One who exists there for them. And they do not go down to Hades. They have neither envy nor moaning, nor is death in them. But they rest in him who rests, without wearying themselves or becoming confused about truth. But they, indeed, are the truth, and the Father is in them, and they are in the Father, since they are perfect, inseparable from him who is truly good.”

-the Gospel of Truth

Our Origin

Our Origin is not in the physical world. Our physical body originates here, but our true Self originated in the Realm of Spirit. And since time doesn’t exist in the spiritual realm, we existed as spirits long before we descended into the physical realm. As the quote says, the spiritual realm is the home of our essential being which is our spirit.

Hasten to Return

Some of us hasten to return to the spiritual realm, not by dying, but by living the Way of God. When we reach that realm, even for brief moments, we are nourished and grow. When we absorb the light of the Spiritual Sun, our spirits do grow and reach higher levels of consciousness.

Emanations From the Father

The emanations from God have been given different names, including Grace, God’s Word, God’s Wisdom, etc. All these emanations come to us through God’s Light and that comes to us through the Spiritual Sun. This also seems to refer to the creations of God, the Angels of Light, and the Spirits of humans.

Immeasurable Greatness

Those who partake of God’s immeasurable greatness by absorbing the Light of the Spiritual Sun do not go down to Hades when they die, but up to higher and higher dimensions until they reach the highest level where they become one with God, one with The All. They do know truth and wisdom and are not confused by the opinions of men. When you have received Truth and Wisdom directly from the source, you cannot dispute it.

“There are moments in the lives of all of us when we catch glimpses of a life—our life—that is infinitely beyond the life we are now living. We realize that we are living below our possibilities. We long for the realization of the life that we feel should be.

“Instinctively we perceive that there are within us powers and forces that we are making but inadequate use of, and others that we are scarcely using at all. Practical metaphysics, a more simplified and concrete psychology, well-known laws of mental and spiritual science, confirm us in this conclusion.

“Our own William James, he who so splendidly related psychology, philosophy, and even religion, to life in a supreme degree, honored his calling and did a tremendous service for all mankind, when he so clearly the fact that we have within us powers and forces that we are making all too little use of—that we have within us great reservoirs of power that we have as yet scarcely tapped.

“The men and women who are awake to these inner helps—these directing, molding, and sustaining powers and forces that belong to the realm of mind and spirit—are never to be found among those those who ask: Is life worth living?”

–Ralph Waldo Trine

Glimpses of a Higher Life

Many of us do have glimpses of a higher life. Some don’t, but still feel there is something missing from their life. Wealthy people are never satisfied, so they keep trying to become more and more wealthy without realizing that it is something other than material wealth that they yearn for. We do recognize that we are living below our potential and most of us want to improve. Unfortunately, many don’t know how, and governments certainly are not going to help. People who awaken their spiritual faculties are less easily controlled by governments and businesses, so governments are not going to promote any form of real spiritual development. Some are promoting simple form of meditation, but only because that has minimal effect on our spiritual growth, but does make us easier to control and manipulate.

Powers and Forces

There are force centers with us that are also called chakras. These force centers do have the potential to contain great power and energy, but in most of us, they are very weak. They need to be charged with energy to function fully and the best way to do that is by taking in sunlight at or near dawn. The physical sun will charge the physical centers of the body and the Spiritual Sun will charge the Spiritual centers of the Spirit.

I Have recently been watching an old BBC television series called “Wizards VS Aliens”. In this series, an alien spaceship is hiding near our moon and trying to get to wizards on Earth. The aliens have discovered that they can extract the energy of magic from the wizards and feed on it. In a couple of episodes, we see wizards that have had the magic sucked out of them, recharge by facing the sun at dawn. At least they got the idea of power and energy coming from the sun correct.

The Men and Women Who Are Awake

As the quote says, it is true that those who are awake to their spiritual Self do not ask: “Is life worth living?” They know for certain that it is, just as they know that there is an afterlife. They also know that they must prepare for this afterlife now, while they are still in a physical body and in the physical world. To believe that you can suddenly awaken your spiritual faculties at the moment your physical body dies is like believing that you can wait until the ship you are sailing on is sinking to start taking swimming lessons.

Personally, I really find it strange and sad that so many people today speak of being “woke” as if it is a bad thing to be avoided at all costs. I guess they like walking around in a spiritual coma.

“The gospel of truth is joy for those who have received from the Father of truth the grace of knowing him by the power of the word, who has come from the fullness and who is in the thought and the mind of the Father. This is the one who is called the savior since that is the name of the work that he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the Father. For the name of the gospel is the revelation of hope, since that is the discovery of those who seek him, because the realm of all sought him from whom it came. You see, all was inside of him, that illimitable, inconceivable one, who is better than every thought.

“Ignorance of the father brings error. This ignorance of the father brought about terror and fear. And terror became dense like a fog, so no one was able to see. Because of this, error became strong. But she worked on her material substance vainly, because she did not know the truth. She assumed a fashioned figure while she was preparing, in power and in beauty, the substitute for truth. This, then, was not a humiliation for the illimitable, inconceivable one. For they were as nothing, this terror and this forgetfulness and this figure of falsehood, whereas established truth is unchanging, unperturbed, and completely beautiful. For this reason, do not take error too seriously. Since error had no root, she was in a fog regarding the father. She was preparing works and forgetfulnesses and fears in order, by these means, to beguile those of the middle and to make them captive. The forgetfulness of error was not revealed. It did not become light beside the father. Forgetfulness did not exist with the father, although it existed because of him. What exists in him is knowledge, which was revealed so that forgetfulness might be destroyed and that the father might be known. Since forgetfulness existed because the father was not known, if the father comes to be known, from that moment on forgetfulness will cease to exist.”

-The Gospel of Truth

The Gospel of Truth is Joy

More accurately, Truth is Joy because we have been so trapped in the illusions of matter that having the Truth revealed to us is indeed a joyous event. Some may not see it that way initially because it will contradict many of their long-held beliefs, but eventually, they will see the joy in knowing the truth. The Father of Truth mentioned in the same sentence is, of course, God. God is the Father and Mother of all Truth, Wisdom, and Divine Knowledge. It is this truth and knowledge that was the goal of all great mystery schools and Gnostic schools, and it is achieved by reaching the highest levels of consciousness.

The Savior

The quote goes on to say that the Gospel of Truth is the Savior sent by the Father, so it is more than the written text from which the quote came, it is also a reference to Christ. Most of us know Jesus as Christ, but others have been Christ in different places and times, such as Buddha, and Quetzalcoatl.

Ignorance Brings Error

Gene Savoy, Sr. taught us that the only real sin was ignorance because the only way one could do wrong is to not know the Truth regarding God and the afterlife. So he would agree that ignorance brings error, especially ignorance of God which is the type of ignorance being referenced in the quote. Socrates also said: “The only good is Knowledge and the only evil is ignorance”.

Terror and Fear

Terror and Fear are indeed products of ignorance. Hatred and prejudice would also fall into that category. Indeed, nearly all forms of negative thinking and behavior is the result of ignorance of God and Truth.

Error Became Strong

Yes, error did become strong. When millions believe the same falsehoods, those falsehoods control their behavior making error strong. We see this in business and politics today, perhaps more than ever before. And the error makes us forget even more the truth regarding God and Heaven. But the good news is that a small number of people are awakening to the truth, and more will do so in time.

“I am first thought, the thought that is in light. I am movement that is in all, she in whom the realm of all takes its stand, the firstborn among those who came into being, she who exists before all. She is called by three names, although she exists alone, since she is perfect. I am invisible within the thought of the invisible one. I am revealed in the immeasurable, ineffable things. I am intangible, dwelling in the intangible. I move in every creature. I am the life of my afterthought that is within every power and every eternal movement, and in invisible lights, and within the powers and angels and demons and every soul in Tartaros, and in every material soul. I live in those who came into being. I move in everyone and I enter them. I walk upright, and those who sleep I awaken. And I am the sight of those who dwell in sleep. I am the invisible one in all. I counsel those who are hidden, since I know the whole realm of all that exists in it. I am numberless beyond everyone. I am immeasurable, ineffable, yet whenever I wish, I shall reveal myself. I am the head of all. I am before all, and I am all, since I am in everyone. I am a voice speaking softly. I am from the beginning. I am in the silence that surrounds every one of them. And the hidden voice is in me, in intangible, immeasurable thought, in the immeasurable silence. I descended into the underworld and shone down on the darkness. I poured water. I am hidden in radiant waters. I gradually dawn on all by my thought. I am weighed down with the voice. Through me knowledge comes. I am in the ineffable and unknowable. I am perception and knowledge, uttering a voice by means of thought. I am the real voice. I cry out in everyone, and they recognize it, since a seed lives in them. I am the father’s thought, and through me came the voice: the knowledge of everlasting things. I am as thought for all. I am joined to unknowable and intangible thought.”

–Three Forms of First Thought

First Thought

In the conventional Bible, the first thing God says is, “Let there be Light.” In this Gnostic scripture, it says that this was the first thought, the one that created Light and the one that created the movement that is in everything.

Firstborn

The quote goes on to say that this first thought was the firstborn of all those who came into being. While that may be true, in a way, we must remember that spirits and souls were created and exist outside of the limits of time and space, so they are all ageless and eternal. The New Age types who are always talking about “Old Souls” don’t seem to grasp this truth. No soul is older than any other soul because age is meaningless in a realm where time doesn’t exist. It is also curious that the quote refers to this firstborn as “she” rather than “He”. The conventional male-centered churches would have us believe that God is in three persons, and all three are male, but then there would have to be another god for females to exist. So God has both male and female aspects, as he created both sexes.

I Awaken Those Who Sleep

The First Thought which is Light does indeed awaken us. Specifically, the Light from the Spiritual Sun awakens our spiritual faculties and develops them. This can happen automatically to a small degree, but if we intentionally look to the Spiritual Sun, with love, peace, and humility, it will happen to a much greater degree and have a much greater effect.

Perception and Knowledge

When we awaken and develop our spirits with the Divine Light, we do gain greater perception, wisdom, and knowledge. Not so much knowledge of the material world, but knowledge of the permanent realm of Spirit. That is the most important knowledge to have. Those who concentrate on learning about the material realm are like the person who stops to pick up pennies, not knowing that a treasure of gold coins is up ahead. We in Cosolargy seek the higher levels of consciousness where the gold of Truth, Wisdom, and Knowledge are found.

“The prophet Samuel mourned for King Saul, though he knew well that God had rejected him and his issue from being kings in Israel: this was because of his pride, and because he did not obey God and the prophet who spoke in His name. We may also read in the Gospel, that the disciples of our Lord pleaded with Him for the Gentile woman of Canaan, to send her away, that is, to do unto her that which she desired; for she cried after Him. So likewise I might say that we must mourn for all such deceived persons who think themselves to be kings or queens in Israel; for they believe themselves to be lifted up above other good people, into a lofty and God-seeing life. And yet they are proud and wittingly and willingly disobedient to God and the law. Like as Saul rents the mantle of the prophet Samuel, they endeavor to rend asunder the unity of the Christian faith, and all true doctrine and virtuous life. Whoever persists herein, they are separated and shut out from the Kingdom of Eternal Contemplation, just as Saul was shut out from the Kingdom of Israel. But that humble woman of Canaan, though she was Gentile and a stranger, had faith and hope in God, and so she received grace and health. For God exalts the humble, and fills them with grace and all virtues, while the proud remain empty of all good.”

–John of Ruysbroeck

Mourned for Saul

I think Ruysbroeck is trying to teach us here that we should treat all people the same: the Godly and the ungodly, the honest ones and the crooks, the rich and the poor, etc. He specifically talks about this with mourning, but I believe he means for us to take it in a broader sense. In other words, we should mourn the passing of anyone we love, and we should love everyone. We may not like how some people behave, but we still have to love the person because it is the only hope for them to change and become worthy people. When you hate people, you send negative energy toward them and that energy helps block them from changing.

Because of Pride

Pride is something we need to generally avoid if we are trying to develop our spiritual faculties. There are occasions where we should be proud of our real accomplishments, but many people are proud when they have not accomplished anything, or have accomplished things that are meaningless, or even bad, in the eyes of God. We have people who are proud that they have thousands of times more money than the average person, and they continue to seek more. Greed is, and always will be, wrong. There are people who are proud that they have been promoted to a high position in a corporation that sells tobacco, weapons, or other things that harm people. God does not see such activities as reasons to be proud.

Kingdom of Eternal Contemplation

I don’t think that title needs explaining. It is an obvious reference to Heaven. It should be noted, however, that even in Heaven those who have reached that level of consciousness do not sit around contemplating all day. They work on helping others in the fallen realm of matter to rise up to higher and higher levels until they too reach Heaven. As I have said before, we should not wish for the departed souls to rest in peace, because resting is not what Heaven is all about. It might be better if we wished them to live on in peace, or to do God’s work in peace.

The Humble Woman

Ruysbroeck did not randomly choose to refer to the woman of Canaan as “Humble”. He knew that having humility, the opposite of false pride, is important for those of us seeking to rise to higher states of being. If we don’t have humility, it is likely that we won’t see any need to change what we are already. Also, without humility, we are prone to take credit for all of our spiritual success, when the credit should go to God, who sends us the Grace, Light, and Wisdom needed for such growth. We do have to seek it out and work for it, but it still comes from God.

“The father is the One who beholds himself in the light surrounding him, which is the spring of living water, and provides all the realms. He reflects on his image everywhere, sees it in the spring of the spirit, and becomes enamored of his luminous water, for his image is in the spring of pure luminous water surrounding him. The father’s thought became a reality, and she who appeared in the presence of the father in shining light came forth. She is the first power who preceded everything and came forth from the father’s mind as the forethought of all. Her light shines like the father’s light; she, the perfect power, is the image of the perfect and invisible virgin spirit. She, the first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory among the realms, the glory of revelation, she glorified and praised the virgin spirit, for because of the spirit she had come forth. She is the first thought, the image of the spirit. She became the universal womb, for she precedes everything, the mother-father, the first human, the holy spirit, the triple male, the triple power, the androgynous one with three names, the eternal realm among the invisible beings, the first to come forth. Barbelo asked the invisible virgin spirit to give her foreknowledge, and the spirit consented. When the spirit consented, foreknowledge appeared and stood by forethought. This is the one who came from the thought of the invisible virgin spirit. Foreknowledge glorified the spirit and the spirit’s perfect power, Barbelo, for because of her, foreknowledge had come into being. She asked again to be given incorruptibility, and the spirit consented. When the spirit consented, incorruptibility appeared and stood by thought and foreknowledge. Incorruptibility glorified the invisible one and Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being.

Barbelo asked to be given life eternal, and the invisible spirit consented. When the spirit consented, life eternal appeared, and they stood together and glorified the invisible spirit and Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being. She asked again to be given truth, and the invisible spirit consented. Truth appeared, and they stood together and glorified the good invisible spirit and its Barbelo. Because of her they had come into being. This is the father’s realm of five. It is: the first human, the image of the invisible spirit, that is, forethought, which is Barbelo, and thought, along with foreknowledge, incorruptibility, life eternal, truth. This is the androgynous realm of five, which is the realm of ten, which is the father.”

-The Secret Book of John

Beholds Himself in the Light

The Father who is the true God does behold Himself in the Light because he is Light, and He is the Spring of Living Water, which is an allegorical reference to God’s Grace and God’s Word which flows out from Him like water flowing in a river.

He Reflects on His Image

God doesn’t care about physical bodies or anything material, except as something defective that needs to be repaired. God cares only about spirits, so he reflects only on spirits, and since all spirits come from God and are made in His image, He is always reflecting on His own Image by observing spirits everywhere.

The Father’s Thought Became Reality

God doesn’t create by carving things, painting them, or molding them on a potter’s wheel. God creates simply by thinking of something. As soon as God thinks of a thing, it becomes real. Since our spirits are created in God’s image, we also have that ability to some degree, but few of us are able to use it because we lack belief in such abilities. That is probably fortunate since most people don’t have the wisdom to use the ability to create. There is also the problem of conflicting thoughts. While thousands may be wishing for warmer weather, thousands of others wish for cold. Such conflicting thoughts tend to result in no change happening, which is why manifesting rarely works.

God Creates Barbelo

I think the being called Barbelo in the quote probably represents the first Angel created, although it isn’t clear. The quote isn’t very clear on who it is, but does give her great power. I thought she might represent Sophia or Wisdom, but the quote has Barbelo asking “the invisible virgin spirit” for various gifts and powers, so that sounds more like Sophia. Or it could be that Barbelo is Sophia, and the Invisible Virgin Spirit is the female aspect of God.

The First Human

Things Get even more confusing when Barbelo asks for Truth, and Truth appears, but as a separate entity. It is not clear what being the quote refers to as the first human. What is important, though is to understand that the first human was a spirit. A pure spirit with no physical body. Physical bodies came later when the false god created the realm of matter.