Models of Reality
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And I think this was present in the first two centuries of Christianity and it’s a central theme of Christ and his disciples, this birth into human consciousness of the Christ principle of the soul, of the divine. And then, as you know, in the early years of the church the bishops made a decision to ban esoteric practices and it got lost. It’s still present in some of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity but it was banned by the church, they wanted worldly power rather than spiritual experiences and then the Inquisition finally delivered his death blow. There were the Cathars and people who had some of these esoteric practices.
the Sufi say you have to be a bit crazy to go here, it is about the complete transformation of the human being, it is about the awakening into human consciousness of the consciousness of the soul: ‘ I am he whom I loved, he whom I loved is me’.
…Now, to be clear: If you read the Katha Upanishad, written two-and-a-half thousand years ago, it tells you about it. And it tells you how to bring the soul, the Atma, into consciousness…the Masters, the great ones — those who look after the spiritual destiny of humanity — have given practices and techniques to enable this to happen. And it could be found in ashrams in India. There were the Cathars and people who had some of these esoteric practices.
…and yet it is interesting because when many of the spiritual traditions came to the West in the 60s and 70s this inner core of teaching was passed over in most cases.
The Journey of the Soul — Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
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The central issue that has preoccupied me since childhood concerns what is real and how to get clarity on it. It’s not as easy as some think. All the systems, all the religions, philosophies and common cultures seem to lead us astray. They seem partial and contradictory, they’re full of admonitions and stern precepts, at least on this side of the world, that seem constructed to prevent spiritual clarity. We’re left with a lot of confusion as a result.
We live in a culture that actually cultivates confusion because it is so focused on power and material concerns. Disregarding the real spiritual nature and needs of existence has created a civilization that is built on sand. It’s a house of cards…
