{"id":6233,"date":"2013-04-08T23:55:17","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T03:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gornahoor.net\/?p=6233"},"modified":"2021-04-08T00:30:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T04:30:43","slug":"personal-revelations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/?p=6233","title":{"rendered":"Personal Revelations"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post will address some of the more common questions that readers have asked me.<\/p>\n

Do you Blog full time?<\/h2>\n

With the massive amount of all original content, new translations, not to mention the distasteful duties of a webmaster, maintaining a full-featured web site may look like a full time job. But, no, it is a part time affair on top of the normal duties of holding a job, running a household, and so on. However, my energy level is decreasing and it needs to be a full time job, or else it will terminate. There are associated expenses to pay for web hosting and research materials from Europe. Please consider responding to the poll questions at the end for suggestions about defraying expenses.<\/p>\n

There is a convention among Hermetists to not earn a living through the Work. Back in the day, the Hermetist would have held a job like a horse trader, or a street artist that would give him cover as he traveled from town to town on market day or other festivals. Since books were expensive and bulky, he would carry around the teachings encoded in diagrams or mandalas. These were portable and could be copied by the students. Eventually, some of them were incorporated into the Tarot deck. Along with the oral teaching, they served as a condensed digest of the work until the teacher\u2019s next visit.<\/p>\n

What does Gornahoor mean?<\/h2>\n

Gornahoor is simply a title of respect like sir, mister, or sri, although it is reserved for a three-brained being.<\/p>\n

Are you Eastern Orthodox?<\/h2>\n

Several people have assumed this. Obviously, for more than 1000 years Rome was Orthodox and Orthodoxy was Roman. So I don\u2019t recognize the schism, as it is the period prior to the Reformation and the Renaissance in the West that is of the most interest. Furthermore, I would (figuratively) agree with this quote, at a time when Constantinople, rather than Athens, was the center of the East:<\/p>\n

\nConstantinople remains to this day a monument of ancient wisdom, the home of letters, and the citadel of philosophy. No Italian can pretend to be educated unless he has studied for a time at Constantinople. ~ Aeneas Sylvius<\/strong> (1551)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What religion do you follow?<\/h2>\n

With few exceptions, a man ought to follow the exoteric religion of his nation, as it is the creation of its ethnic soul. People, even those who claim to be close to \u201ctradition\u201d, today treat their religion as a commodity, all sitting on a shelf, with the consumer choosing one based on his personal peccadilloes. They may complain because they don\u2019t like what the produces has provided them. That is the passive attitude. Once it is understood that it is a reflection of the spirit of a people, the choices looks much different. I don\u2019t have time to go into this now, so I am reserving it to some future discussions on the idealistic philosophy of Giovanni Gentile. It may make things comprehensible.<\/p>\n

What is called \u201cTraditional Catholicism\u201d, or Rad Trad, is not the same thing. Rad Trad really goes back to the Council of Trent, which is hampered by its need to address the false claims of the Reformation. Thus, too, its spirituality is primarily influenced by the post-Tridentine saints from Spain and France. Not that this is bad in itself, but it is necessary to remain further back in tradition.<\/p>\n

Despite the prevalence of Guenon\u2019s works in our time, at least in certain circles, it is astounding how poorly understood he still is. Exoterism and esoterism are of different orders and, as such, are incomparable. This is lost on a lot of readers who attempt to find a connection or correspondence between exoteric dogmas and esoteric teachings. This shows up in two ways. The first are those orthodox believers who are concerned that some dogma may be transgressed. The worst ones are those who try to \u201cprove\u201d that Christianity, which for us can only mean the Roman\/Orthodox synthesis, is not \u201ctraditional\u201d or \u201cesoteric\u201d. Of course, the exoteric is not esoteric, and the latter has never been fully revealed to the public at large, who would either misunderstand it or ignore it altogether.<\/p>\n

As Guenon reassures us:<\/p>\n

\nA truly initiatic tradition cannot be heterodox; to quality it as such is to reverse the normal and hierarchical relationship between the interior and the exterior. Esoterism is not contrary to orthodoxy, even orthodoxy construed simply in the religious sense; it is above or beyond the religious point of view, which is obviously not at all the same thing.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That there have been conflicts between the two perspectives in the past has been due to completely other factors. More recently, Valentin Tomberg is firm in his insistence that he has no intention to challenge any established dogmas. I concur with that.<\/p>\n

How can a university graduate believe such things?<\/h2>\n

There is more than a millennium of very sophisticated thought behind the teachings, reaching up to the stunning synthesis of Thomas Aquinas. As Thomas Aquinas himself admitted, the way he understands church teaching would be quite different from that of the typical believer.<\/p>\n

As he points out, dogma demands the \u201cfree consent of the will\u201d. Obviously, only a free man can grant such consent. A dogma is an internal constraint, not external, and it is a point of view. The bulk of humanity chooses their opinions and points of view with very little self-reflection; dogmas, on the other hand, required much reflection, detachment, and loyalty to one\u2019s tradition.<\/p>\n

Most men would object: can you prove it is true (like the Greeks), or can you give me a sign (like the Jews). But then the choice would not be free, it would be compelled. Think about this a little bit and you will see it is true. Furthermore, few things can really be proven true and signs can be interpreted in opposite ways.<\/p>\n

Since the free man transcends all points of view, he can choose the one most appropriate for him.<\/p>\n

Why the Fedeli D\u2019Amore?<\/h2>\n

Obviously because it provides an open example of an esoteric current. Unlike a Reghini or a Rossetti, Guenon points out that the Fedeli d\u2019Amore were not heterodox for the reasons given. An intriguing point is the role that Medusa played in their symbolism. Now Dante was initiated by the Sicilian troubadours and Medusa to this day is on the flag of Sicily. A couple of years ago, a group tried to change it to something less pagan, but they were rebuffed.<\/p>\n

Without further explanation, catholic means universal, the one and only tradition. It is the new Israel, i.e., the totality of initiates, or the chosen people. In Guenon\u2019s words,<\/p>\n

Has not the name Israel been employed to designate the totality of initiates and who possess the universal language that enables them all to understand each other, that is, the knowledge of the one tradition that is concealed beneath all its particular forms?<\/p>\n

That is exactly what Tomberg says about the method of depth. Hence, Dante really means the Church is teaching the universal tradition and he is not opposing it as such. Those who see things differently, are most likely restricted to the horizontal, profane plane.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s love got to do with it?<\/h2>\n

Amor is Roma spelled backwards and may be related to the occult name of Rome. Some, unfortunately, see A-mor as anti-Rome rather than as its mirror reflection.<\/p>\n

When an esoteric writing does not make much sense, that is probably because you are missing the deeper meaning. Clearly, Dante\u2019s crush on Beatrice exceeds all normal bounds. Yet it is that awakening of eros that provides the energy and impetus for the spiritual climb. That might not help you, if you have never experienced a real love for a woman, or are not even capable of imagining such a thing.<\/p>\n

The novice to the Fedeli d\u2019Amore had to write a love sonnet. That would be a good homework assignment, especially if you could sublimate that feeling to the Divine Sophia. Remember this is quite a different feeling from that associated with watching Internet porn. The least serious sexual sin is intercourse between an unmarried man and woman; solitary pornography does not satisfy that and can only result in unnatural acts. There are sound reasons for this.<\/p>\n

However, don\u2019t think that accumulating sexual experiences is an acceptable substitute. When you get old, you remember none of them. Instead, you become obsessed with the ones you let get away, or the acts you never got to try. It is far better to be obsessed with the rebis to achieve the spiritual marriage which is the primordial state.<\/p>\n

The echoes of that tradition of Amore can be found in the tradition of Neapolitan love songs, although much secularized. However, is you need help capturing that feeling, try listening to Core N’grato<\/em> by Giuseppe di Stefano<\/strong><\/a>. Unfortunately, such emotions are often wasted on a woman, who only gets so passionate when shopping.<\/p>\n

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How can Gornahoor generate income<\/strong><\/p>