and directing his gaze from now, on towards beauty as a whole, he should turn to the great ocean of beauty, and in contemplation of it give birth to many beautiful and magnificent speeches and thoughts in the abundance of philosophy. ~ Diotima to Socrates in Plato’s Symposium
Diotima was a prophetess and philosopher. In the Symposium, she explains the ladder of love, which comprises the following stages.
- In youth one Is attracted to the physical beauty of the other.
- At this stage, the spiritual beauty of another person is more important. Therefore, love is now directed towards this person because of her moral, intellectual, and spiritual qualities.
- The beauty of knowledge itself becomes the focus. This is the love of Wisdom, or philosophy.
- Ultimately, one reaches the appreciation of Beauty apart from any individual, to consideration of Divinity, the source of Beauty, to love of Divinity.
If Diotima is speaking as a philosopher, those stages make sense. But not if she is speaking as a prophetess of the future since precious few manage to get beyond the first stage. However, in the timeless realm, the notions of past, present, and future are relative. In the Future of Prophecy, Saint Gregory the Great, explains the three tenses of prophecy: future, present, past:
prophecy is not a matter of prediction, but rather of revelation. That is why there can be a prophecy of the past and the present; prophecy uncovers hidden truths, truths concealed by time or by present circumstances. He writes: “Prophecy is present when something is concealed, not by the spirit, but by the absent Word, which however is laid bare by the Spirit.”
Sibylle has done her own experiment in making the past present, through the act of remembering. She had been working on those memories for a long time and until recently never figured out what to make of them. Suddenly, their meaning was revealed to her. That is how she became Sibylle.
You can find her experience in the New Decameron at Immaterial Intimacy and Material Catastrophes.
As you try your own experiment, notice the extent that you have contributed to the events of your life, whether out of ignorance, by accident, or deliberately.
Thank you, this helps the Mind see that Freedom is the only route with Love and the focus must be taken away from the Body, the Signs, and even Seeing itself. Thus the great love is able to emerge.