The First Mystery

Rossetti_maryIt came to pass then, when the First Mystery had finished setting forth these words unto the disciples, that he said unto them: “Who hath understood the solution of these words, let him come forward and say it in openness.”

Mary again came forward and said: “My Lord, concerning these words with which Pistis Sophia hath sung praises, thus thy light-power prophesied them through David:

Mary interpreteth from Psalm cii.”‘1. My soul, praise the Lord, let all that is in me praise his holy name. My soul, praise the Lord and forget not all his requitals. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy sicknesses; Who redeemeth thy life from decay; who wreatheth thee with grace and compassion; Who satisfieth thy longing with good things; thy youth will renew itself as an eagle’s.’

“That is: Sophia will be as the invisibles who are in the Height; he hath, therefore, said ‘as an eagle,’ because the dwelling-place of the eagle is in the height, and the |164. invisibles also are in the Height; that is: Pistis Sophia will shine as the invisibles, as she was from her beginning.”

It came to pass then, when the First Mystery had heard Mary say these words, that he said: “Well said, Mary, blessed one.”

Sophia is led to a region below the thirteenth æon and given a new mystery. It came to pass then thereafter, that the First Mystery continued again in the discourse and said unto the disciples: “I took Pistis Sophia and led her up to a region which is below the thirteenth æon, and gave unto her a new mystery of the Light which is not that of her æon, the region of the invisibles. And moreover I gave her a song of the Light, so that from now on the rulers of the æons could not [prevail] against her. And I removed her to that region until I should come after her and bring her to her higher region.

“It came to pass then, when I had removed her to that region, that she again uttered this song thus: She continueth to sing. “In faith have I had faith in the Light; and it remembered me and hearkened to my song. It hath led my power up out of the chaos and the nether darkness of the whole matter and it hath led me up. It hath removed. me to a higher and surer æon, lofty and firm; it hath changed my place on the way which leadeth to my region. And it hath given unto me a new mystery, which is not that of my æon, and given unto me a song of the Light. Now, therefore, O Light, all the rulers will see what thou hast done unto me, and be afraid and have faith in the Light.’

This song then Pistis Sophia uttered, rejoicing that she had been led up out of the chaos and brought to regions which are below the thirteenth æon. Now, therefore, let him whom his mind stirreth, so that he understandeth the solution of the thought of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, come forward and say it.”

Andrew came forward and said: “My Lord, this is concerning what thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David: Andrew interpreteth from Psalm xxxix.”In patience I tarried for the Lord; he hath given heed unto me and ear unto my weeping. He hath led up my soul out of the pit of misery and out of the filthy mire; he hath set my feet on a rock and made straight my steps. He hath put in my mouth a new song, a song of praise for our God. Many will see and be afraid and hope in the Lord.'”

It came to pass then, when Andrew had set forth the thought of Pistis Sophia, that the First Mystery said unto him: “Well said, Andrew, blessed one.”

GRS Mead, Pistis Sophia, Chapter 74

Secret Signs for Soul’s Revival

‘Hermes watches, like a hermit
Shrouded by the cap of Hades,
Lest should be revoked his permit.
‘Time to heal’, he vows; she heard this.

‘‘Lord and Brother, how I love thee!’
Smiles Queen Isis, burning brightly,
‘You have framed the night with pagans,
Set them in our skies, quite nicely.

‘You have made such fitting fates for
These, the ones who stole our thunder,
Yet I heard the one forgotten
Part, the silver-quickening wonder.”

‘Lord of charm, the cunning Hermes
‘Touched your pride and so discreetly:
Whilst the sun of life is fettered
All his children grow up freely!

‘‘Thus, Apollo’s light shall profit
Those who measure seasons, cycles.
I, alone, shall not reposit
Secret signs for souls’ revival’.

Hear the Voices of Cosmic Consciousness

“The ‘I’ is the member of the human being that continues from incarnation to incarnation. The result of each incarnation continues to live in the ‘I’, …forming what is often called a ‘string of beads’ in Indian symbolism, of which the individual ‘beads’ are the ‘I’ being of various incarnations, while the ‘string’ represents the continuity of consciousness from incarnation to incarnation. Thus the ‘I’ being of former lives lives on and represents the ‘inner’ past that is inseparable from an individual. This miracle of healing indicates a power that affected not only the present but also past ‘I’ being – the ‘I’ that passed through death with the responsibility for the previous life course.
‘I’ consciousness of the past, which preserves its activity from the previous incarnation and in which many human beings live and act, is called consciousness of the ‘dead’ in the Gospels, and those who live under the ‘I’ impulse of the past are simply called ‘the dead’. Thus, healing the paralysed man involved more than merely the present ‘I’; the ‘dead’, in particular, heard the ‘voice of the Son’ and experienced a conversion in his past consciousness. ‘For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will’ (John 5.21).

These words of Jesus Christ have a direct connection with the healing and refer to it. And words that follow express it even more clearly: “Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5.25). True, only a few of the dead had heard this voice – a fact expressed, for example, in these words: “let the dead bury their dead.” (Luke 9.60).

This is the fundamental challenge to which we must respond if we wish to gain spiritual hearing. It is a summons to conquer ourselves again and again and, shutting out all personal impulses, repeatedly listen in silence to the voice of conscience. The sounds that the spiritual world uses to speak are moral and spiritual voices, not fixed ‘vibrations’ for the purpose of being caught by a sensory organ. Those voices can be heard only after the soul has adapted to the voice of the conscience; those who are prepared to follow dictates of conscience without hesitation are thus prepared to hear the voices of cosmic consciousness.

Valentin Tomberg, Christ and Sophia, The Signs and Miracles in John’s Gospel

Dark Light of the Soul

We often experience things that come up in the internal-external dialogue to be divided into opposites such as good and bad, God and the devil, us and them, confusion about moral stance and so forth.

The person may have thought that he or she knew exactly his or her standing in terms of ideologies, morals, the world, and religion. It becomes apparent, during this process, that what we thought we knew has been primarily according to our ego’s stannce. The opposites in dialogue may suddenly pull us into  new territory where we experience tremendous indecision.

The now indecisive and floundering ego may become identified with both sides of the opposites, which creates quiet a confusion. Splitting, which entails some psychological part of dissociating from consciousness, may arise as a defense mechanism.

Beneath the splitting, dissociation and repression that can accompany creative depression is frequently a “core of madness” that must be uncovered. We feel “mad” owing to the degree of chaos and the loss of equilibrium that our ego is experiencing as its “known” perspectives are challenged.

In this dual identification, it is as if the ego decombusts. Everything is being canceled by its opposite in the dialogue, creating an indecisiveness that is one of the primary symptoms of the depressed condition. In this state of ambivalence, in wh ich everything is canceled out, one may feel like one has fallen into an abyss.

In this void or abyss, we feel as if we were dying, accompanied by bursts of intense anxiety around conflicting thoughts and values. We may feel we haev regressed back into the interpersonal field of parents and family. In the “black hole” of the abyssal experience, conflict can often take on a rather paranoid form. The clash of forces can feel as if one is in an ideological, spiritual, or cultural collision, not just with our former personal ideals and values, but with the entire collective consciousness.

Because dissociation may be occurring on a collective, cultural level, certain individuals may be depressed, not only because of developmental traumatic and intrapsychic factors, but also because of the sensitive and uncanny nature of some individuals to have a large psyche and soul that is more attuned than some of the rest of us to the collective unconcsious.

Certain persons have access to a depth of unconscious material and, with discernment, may find that their psychic imagery is running parallel to the dissociation or splitting of their culture. Crucially, there is an important cultural factor here. The healing nature of this phenomenon is an ego re-organised in relationship to the Self.

Any individual who evolves into a healthy ego Self relationship inevitably has the potential to contribute a great deal to culture and society. If our society pathologises such episodes only during which a reordering process is occurring within the individual, we miss the impact of the unconscious material not only upon the individual and his or her growth, but also the potential for this individual’s healing to have a positive ripple effect upon the immediate culture and community.

Karen Wood Madden, Dark Light of the Soul

Cosmic Conscience

The “I” is the member of the human being that continues on from incarnation to incarnation. The result of each incarnation continues to live in the “I”, forming what is often called a “string of beads” in Indian symbolism, of which the individual “beads” are the “I” being of various incarnations, while the “string” represents the continuity of consciousness from incarnation to incarnation.

Thus, the “I” being of former lives lives on and represents the “inner” past that is inseparable from an individual. This miracle of healing indicatees a power that affected not only the present but also the past “” being – the “I” that passed through death with the responsibility for the previous life course.

“I” consciousness of the past, which preserves its activity from the previous incarnation and in which many human beings live and act, is called consciousness of the “dead” in the Gospels, and those who live under the “I” impulse of the past are simply called “The dead”. Thus, healing the paralysed man involved more than merely the present “I”; the “dead”, in particular, heard the “voice of the Son” and experience a conversion in his past consciousness. “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will (John 5:21).

These words of Jesus Christ have a direct connection with the healing and refer to it. And words that follow express it even more clearly: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John, 5:25). True, only a few of the dead had heard this voice – a fact expressed, for example, in these words: “Let the dead bury their dead.” (Luke 9:60). This is the fundamental challenge to which we must respond if we wish to gain spiritual hearing. It is a summons to conquer ourselves again and again and, shutting out all personal impulses, repeatedly listen in silence to the voice of conscience.

The sounds that the spiritual world uses to speak are moral and spiritual voices, not fixed “vibrations” for the purpose of being caught by a sensory organ. Those voices can be heard only after the soul has adapted to the voice of conscience; those who are prepared to follow the dictates of conscience without hesitation are thus prepared to hear the voices of cosmic conscience.

Christ and Sophia, Valentin Tomberg