The I is the Supreme, except it does not know it. The apparitions of a dazzling and unbearable light strike the soul immediately after the separation from the body, with the experience of the real nature of the soul itself. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Absence as presence: the resurrection and exaltation of Christ
When the Divine Light penetrates the soul, it is united with God as light with light. This is the light of faith. Faith bears the soul to heights unreachable by her natural senses and faculties. Meister Eckhart — Resurrection and faith are a critical matter for Christians; especially in this … Continue reading
Octad
The Octad is a short chapter. Iamblichus continues his march through numbers noting that all men, without exception, count 1-10. The empiricist says this is because they have 10 fingers, and the Hermeticist says “why do you suppose that is?”. In any case, it is not impossible to conceive attempts … Continue reading
The Sane Man believes in God
L’uomo sano crede in Dio e nella libertà del suo spirito. Anche senza rendersene conto, presuppone l’uno e l’altra, in ogni suo atto e in ogni sua parola. A cominciare dall’idea medieval, che è poi l’idea classica or greca, di Dio come esse quo maius cogitari nequit o essere perfettissimo … Continue reading
Chefs, Connoisseurs, and Consumers
It is the chef who creates the argument. The reader is unaware of the outtakes, i.e., the text that didn’t make the final cut. He usually misses the technique hidden within the text and may only be dimly aware of the true purposes of the chef. It is not to satisfy the connoisseur. Continue reading
The Western Tradition Reviewed
In which we review some prior posts on the western tradition and demonstrate the inner continuity from the Vedics through the Greeks to the Medievals. We also articulate the essence of idealism and the nature of the priest. We have several times pointed to the three great Indo-European civilizations: the … Continue reading
Dining with Dung Beetles
People feel compelled to argue for their respective positions in the usually vain attempt to “convert” another to that point of view. Yet, that is, in most cases, more difficult than convincing a dung beetle to change his diet. Continue reading
Plotinus: The Peak of Pagan Wisdom (II)
“There is no God who fights for those who are not in arms.” This is the cornerstone of every warrior morality; and it carries back to the concepts explained above about the identification—from the metaphysical point of view—of “reality”, “spirituality”, and “virtue”. The cowardly cannot be good, “good” implies a soul of a hero. Continue reading
Plotinus: The Peak of Pagan Wisdom
BE, ENDURE, become a CENTER. Through “ascesis”, through “purification”, through what Plotinus himself will now make explicit. You have heard of “solar way”. This is its secret. Separated from those with disordered need, yearning soul, and confused look — more ‘non-being’ than ‘being’ — they are attracted to the invisible worlds. Continue reading
The Road to the true West
We will return to the Number 8 & Iamblichus, very soon. The Inklings are well-known to Christians, and greatly lauded; unfortunately, very few are interested in the more profound portions of any of their work. Gornahoor has already pointed out that CS Lewis ultimately held a reductive view of the … Continue reading