Kimetikos: Redemption of the Gnostic Self
I’m going to be using the blog as a sounding board for some explorations into a system of “internal alchemy” inspired by the Gnostic Secret Book of John (Herein referred to as SJn). This is related to recent posts on the Ego, and also owes a great deal to discussions between myself and Tim Boucher. It should be emphasized that I do not think that this is something the Gnostics who wrote and used the SJn historically did. Rather, it’s a modern method of Gnostic theory and praxis based on experiment and syncretism. So remember: inspired by, not created by, the Classical Gnostics. I’ll be quoting from Gnostic texts rather heavily, so I thought I should clarify this.
I’ve chosen to call this method “Kimetikos,” or kimetics, after the Coptic word for “motion” or “movement,” as used in the Gospel of Thomas (Saying 50, for instance: 50. Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where have you come from?’ say to them, ‘We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the evidence of your Father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is motion and rest.’”) It’s related to the similar word in Greek, “kinetics.” The motion will consist of a series of movements and contemplative exercises, through which the practitioner will be able to achieve certain results. Underlying inspirations also include Buddhism, Reiki, Polarity Therapy and the teachings of Gurdjieff.
Here are a few of the ideas, on which I’ll be expanding. These are far from fleshed out, and more for my reference than anything else, but feel free to drop thoughts and such in the comments.
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1. Each human has a “doppelganger,” or counterfeit spirit.
2. This doppelganger is generated by the Demiurge, or False Ego, and consists of the Archons as listed in the long version of SJn.
3. The true Self, which contains the Spark of the Divine, is occluded by the doppelganger.
4. Discovery of the true Self may result in gnosis.
5. One way to discover the true Self is by redeeming the Archons of which the doppelganger consists.
6. The redemption of these Archons transmutes them into Aeons, which also redeems the doppelganger and transforms it into the Divine Twin. This is encoded in the Gnostic myth of the Twin: Thomas.
7. That this process is encoded in Gnostic myth underscores the connection between the salvation of the Self and the salvation of the World of Forms. The Archons are both micro- and macrocosmic, internal and external; the human is a fractal expression of the entire universe.
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More later….
Motion Lotion said,
The motion will consist of a series of movements and contemplative exercises
What about the “rest” part - motion and rest? That should be incorporated if that’s going to be your founding quote. Easy to answer: meditation, contemplative practice, time for your mind to incorporate and adjust to lessons learned, etc.
, through which the practitioner will be able to achieve certain results.
What “certain results”? That doesn’t give the potential user much of an incentive to try! It’s like going to a car dealership and you’re expecting to be like, “This car is awesome! It drives so fast and you’ll totally get laid!” And instead he just says, “This vehicle will help you achieve certain results…” Huh? I know it’s in the early stages, but like you said: sounding-board!
4. Discovery of the true Self may result in gnosis.
Again, I know you’re trying to not be too bombastic, but if it only “may result in” then I only “may” be interested in it. Either tell me (lie to me!) that it WILL result in gnosis, or else give me a promised result which is NOT a lie. Say: “This exercise will help you break bad habits” or something like that which is much more reasonable, etc.
I do not think that this is something the Gnostics who wrote and used the SJn historically did
This is NOT sexy! The ancient Gnostic sects, part of what’s so cool about them is all the speculation, romance, drama and intrigue. That’s why the Da Vinci Code was such a success: it only billed itself as fiction (thereby side-stepping many ethical/authenticity issues), but then let you run wild with speculation and intrigue.
Another way to phrase this might be something like (and this needs to be polished):
“Mythic Movement” - that is, it is based upon the myths, and it recognizes within its own self that it is invented whole-cloth, and it is accepting of it. Know what I’m trying to say here?
+Thomas said,
JP
This is exciting stuff.
I’ve been poking around in this same area for some time.
Are you familiar with Christopher Hyatt’s “Undoing Yourself?” I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds like some of what he is doing might be relevant to this line of thought.
What is the relationship between Reich’s “armoring” and your doppleganger?
+TL
Donald Donato said,
Great stuff. I’ve also spent some time on these questions. #5 is of particular interest. Have you read Steiner’s thoughts on this? He was convinced of the doppelgänger phenomenon, and that it can be weaker or stronger depending on many variables (including physical things, nutrition, etc). Also, on motion and rest-exercises, are you up on Eurthmy? We have an excellent program here locally. It addresses both movement and contemplation. Well worth a try. #7 is vital…no pun intended. I’ll try to give a run down of these ideas as they relate to what I’ve managed to glean.
JP said,
Tim: Good thoughts. Like I said, this is all still in the “sounding board” stage, so we’ll see what happens. I got your e-mail, too, and think your ideas are pretty rad. More later…..
Thomas: Thanks! Not terribly familiar with Reichian theory, so I can’t answer your question. As to Hyatt, yeah, I’ve read a bit of his work, but something about him has always kinda set me off.
Donald: Not familiar with Eurthmy, but sounds pretty interesting. I’ll check it out!
Thanks, all!
Donald Donato said,
Sorry, that’s Eurythmy - with two “y”s. It’s a little like Tai Chi.
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