Chicago Gnosis Podcast

When you lack the elements of serenity, Even if you meditate assiduously, You will not achieve concentration Even in thousands of years. —Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment Tibetan Buddhism has outlined nine fundamental stages for arriving at a calm, balanced, and serene mind, known in Sanskrit as Shamatha or Calm Abiding, a state of concentration marked by its perfect equanimity and effo...

The true nature of the mind is equanimity, a profound state of silence that is actualized through our use of energy: psychological, emotional, and sexual. Prana is the basis of physical and spiritual life, synthesized and highly condensed within the sexual creative energy. It is the power that grants the sincere meditation practitioner the capacity to silence the mind and to develop strong concent...

"Let’s ask God to help us to self-control: for one who lacks it, lacks His Grace. The undisciplined person doesn’t wrong himself alone–but sets fire to the whole world. Discipline enabled Heaven to be filled with light; discipline enabled the angels to be immaculate and holy." ―Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi A continuation of the study of ethical discipline, this lecture elaborates on the interdepende...

Genuine meditation begins with the foundation of discipline and ethical principles: kindness, patience, mercy, compassion, and the restraint of the mind's tendencies towards negative behaviors. Through cultivating rich spiritual values, we in turn develop peace, harmony and equanimity. By reflecting upon the causes of our suffering, we can change it. This in turn produces the ability to investigat...

"Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition are the three obligatory paths for the initiation. We reach these ineffable heights by means of concentration, meditation and samadhi. Whosoever has reached these ineffable heights of intuition has converted himself into a master of samadhi." ―Samael Aun Weor, Igneous Rose Despite their elusive character, mystical experiences possess three distinct, eternal...

"In general, it is to the measure of one’s alienation from one’s own ego that one attains direct knowledge of one’s Lord… I heard Abu Ali al-Daqqaq say, 'One of the tokens of the gnosis of God is the achievement of deep awe and reverence for God.  If someone’s realization increases, his awe increases.'  And I heard him say, 'Gnosis requires stillness of heart, just as learning requires outward qui...

From the heart of the lovers, blood  flows like a vast river. Our body is the windmill, and love, the water. Without water the mill cannot turn. ―Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Hidden Music Ali ibn Ubayd said, “Yahya ibn Muadh wrote to Abu Yazid, ‘I am intoxicated with how much I have drunk from the cup of love.’  Abu Yazid wrote back to him, ‘Someone else has drunk the oceans of the heavens and the...

"Iradah, the will to find God, is the beginning of the path of spiritual travelers, the first title given to those who are determined to reach God Most High. This attribute is only called iradah because will is the preface to every undertaking. When the servant does not will, he does not carry out."  ―Al-Qushayri, Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism "Know that the foundation and rationale of struggle...

“Al-Wasiti was asked about the practice of remembrance and said, ‘It is leaving the enclosed court of unconsciousness for the vast space of contemplation through the power of fearing Him and the intensity of loving Him.'” ―Al-Risalah: Principles of Sufism Learn about the nature of soul or consciousness: the capacity to perceive thought, feeling, will, impulse, sensation, spirit, and beyond. This l...

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." ―Daniel 12:2 Awakening is a popular term used in spiritual circles, but what does it really mean? Rather than rely on vague, incongruent, ambiguous and self-contradictory explanations, it is best to rely on one's own conscious experience in conjunction with the...

"Knowledge is obligatory only in so far as is requisite for acting rightly. God condemns those who learn useless knowledge (Kor. ii, 96), and the Prophet said: 'I take refuge with Thee from knowledge that profiteth naught.' Much may be done by means of a little knowledge, and knowledge should not be separated from action. The Prophet said: 'The devotee without divinity is like a donkey turning a m...

Allah says, “I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation (mankind), then made Myself known to them, and they recognized Me.” ―Hadith Qudsi Marifah is Arabic for knowledge of divinity and universal principles, the actualization or experience of the truth within oneself.  This lecture is the first in a course on self-knowledge, how to acquire personal understanding of...

Spiritual development is based on self-mastery, including that of the mind and heart. While the intellect is a useful instrument, it must serve divinity and not the other way around. This is accomplished through awakening intuition: the ability to comprehend without needing to think. Explore how through the writings of Samael Aun Weor, Morya, the Sufis, and the Upanishads. Resources and References...

“Wherever we direct our attention, we expend creative energy.” ―Samael Aun Weor Energy is fundamental to physical and spiritual life. Learn about the different gradations of energy in accordance with the Hebraic Kabbalah: the Tree of Life, and how these different forces relate to different spiritual paths and the harmonious development of the soul. This lecture refers to the Fourth Way teachings o...

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the πνεῦμα [pneuma: spirit], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh [through the ordinary sexual act]; and that which is born of the πνεῦμα [pneuma: spirit, through tantra] is πνεῦμα  [pneuma: spirit]. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The πνεῦμα [...

Consciousness has the capacity to perceive not only the appearances of things, but their innate, hidden, and spiritual nature. By awakening the consciousness, the practitioner transcends superstition, theory, and belief, developing genuine faith in divinity and certainty through one's experiences. There are three distinct aspects of mind: the Sensual, Mystical, and Internal, the study of which is...

"In mental dynamics we need to know how and why the mind functions as it does. Unquestionably, the mind is an instrument that we must learn to use consciously. But it would be absurd for such an instrument to be efficient for us if we first did not know the how and why of the mind. When one knows the how and the why of the mind, when one knows the different functionalisms of the mind, then one can...

Every spiritual teaching possesses a body, soul, and spirit. However, not all students have been initiated into the inner, spiritual teachings of their religion, regardless of their convictions. While public religion constitutes the most basic, exterior form of knowledge (the body of the doctrine), so there is a secret, heart doctrine in the depth of every great tradition provided by the great gui...

Perception and comprehension are fundamental characteristics of genuine intelligence. Through seeing and understanding the psychological causes of suffering, one can proceed towards their cessation, thereby developing lasting states of happiness, compassion, serenity, love, and beauty. These qualities, while in potentiality, can only be accessed and realized when we practice the principles of medi...

Afflicted with great sufferings, egotism, and ignorance, people long to acquire answers to their greatest problems. Many people would like to know divinity and directly receive inner guidance, yet lack the methods to achieve this purpose. While divine intelligence manifested within the consciousness of all the world's great saints, messengers, and prophets, students of religion fail to recognize h...

Consciousness is not only the capacity to perceive physical phenomena, but psychological and spiritual realities as well. An essential function of awakened perception is discrimination: comprehension of what is real from what is illusory. Likewise, many spiritual schools refer to this faculty as intuition, a form of knowing without the need for intellectual deliberation or reasoning―to understand...

The term dialectic signifies "​the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions." To perceive reality as it is, one must go beyond mere subjective rationalism, theories, or ideas by awakening consciousness from its state of distraction. In order to gain genuine self-knowledge, the meditator must discard mistaken concepts and beliefs in order to directly observe, within him or herself, ...

Consciousness is the ability to perceive, yet few comprehend how consciousness has the capacity to expand, grow, and develop beyond its present limitations. The natural state of consciousness (or soul) is liberation, happiness, contentment, peace, compassion, joy, etc.  Yet due to our mistaken actions, we have conditioned the consciousness in egotistical elements of greed, pride, laziness, lust, e...

A concise introduction to the nature and purpose of meditation through Padmasambhava's Tibetan Book of the Dead: “The Introduction to Awareness" or “Natural Liberation through Naked Perception.”  Meditation is an exercise to develop consciousness to its full potential.  Awareness and directed attention are the basis of meditation, especially as described by the originators of every genuine religio...

Perception has many levels, factors, domains, and dimensions. By identifying, verifying, and clarifying different types of experience, spiritual aspirants can access their true nature, unfiltered, unconditioned, and unafflicted by suffering. Learn how to differentiate the spiritually real from the illusory self through a deep study of gnostic psychology: the relationship between the soul (psyche)...