Sophia, Mary Magdalena & the divine human being E-Book

Johannes Slacik

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 276

Beschreibung

To listen to your heart and live your true self is a venture presenting sometimes a challenge in our fast paced and performance oriented everyday lives. This book offers a sound discussion based on religious-philosophical wisdom, gnostic scriptures, the gospels, the Nag Hammdi scrolls and the antique Greek archetypes bringing forth the eternal tension between the human ego and his soul. For that, Mary Magdalenes gospel shows the seven inner forces and how to overcome those. The Anthropos-Method was consequentially developed presenting a path of spiritual integration towards a divine human being, the child of mankind. Based on many examples, personal experiences and antique wisdom, a practical methodological guide shows how to discover your divinity and realize your self for a joyful and healthy life.  This book is a present for all readers. Regina Auer, Editor It is a wonderful collection of valuable content. For me, a must have. Karin Labner, Awareness-Coach

Leseprobe

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart

This book came into being mainly because my wife Manuela recognized my heart’s desire and gifted me with a very special book, “The Red Book” by C. G. Jung. This massive, meaningful work was ultimately the keystone of my religious-philosophical deliberations. This insight into Jung’s personal experiences helped me to understand the crucial concepts of a spiritual integration of the soul. Thank you, dear Manuela, for your empathy, support, and most of all your love.

At the same time, I would also like to thank the following people who, with particular enthusiasm, read my book on a test basis and gave me feedback: Dr. Tanja Wolf, Mag. Regina Auer, Karin Labner, Dr. phil. Harald Fellier. I thank you all very much for your time and your valuable suggestions from the reader’s point of view, which contributed greatly to the improvement and completion of this book. Thank you.

Above all, I would also like to thank Astrid Eisner, my mother Pauline Slacik, and Tobias Keil (novum’s editorial department), who took on the detailed review of the manuscript with outstanding dedication. Thank you for your intensive collaboration on the comprehensibility of the style and readability of this book. Last but not least, I would also like to thank Ms. Zachs at novum for the consistent and good supervision.

Finally, with deep appreciation and gratitude, I thank Dr. phil. Harald Fellier for the many hours of astrological introduction and the intensive exchange that came with it.

A heartfelt thank you to all of you!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

1. I

NTRODUCTION

2. A

NTHROPOSOPHY

, G

OSPELS

, B

ELIEF

S

YSTEMS AND THE

P

HILOSOPHY

2.1. The Anthropos Model

2.2. The Kabbalah and its astrological connection

2.3. Mary Magdalene and the Seven Forces

2.4. Taoism

2.5. Logos, Psyche and Sophia

2.6. Analogy with psychotherapy

3. T

HE WAY OF THE SOUL

3.1. Plato and the immortal soul

3.2. Socrates and his ethical beauty

3.3. C. G. Jung and his experiments

3.4. F. Nietzsche and the Übermensch

3.5. Taoism and the Secret of the Golden Flower

4. T

HE SUBJECTIVITY TO THE SPIRITUAL INTEGRATION OF THE SOUL

4.1. Archetypal behavior as a model of cognition

4.2. Ancient Greek (Roman) Archetypes

4.2.1. Ares/Mars

4.2.2. Aphrodite/Venus Taurus

4.2.3. Hermes/Mercury Gemini

4.2.4. Selenium/Luna/Moon

4.2.5. Helios/Sol/Sun

4.2.6. Hermes/Mercury Virgo

4.2.7. Aphrodite/Venus Libra

4.2.8. Hades/Pluto

4.2.9. Zeus/Jupiter

4.2.10. Chronos/Saturn

4.2.11. Uranos/Uranus

4.2.12. Poseidon/Neptune

4.3. A life with all the parts - ups and downs

5. D

EADLY SINS AND VIRTUES

-

THE REAL MEANING

5.1. The fallacy of the ego

5.2. The Seven Forces Reflected

6. T

HE PATH TO THE SOUL

-

TOWARDS THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUSNESS

6.1. The place of the soul

6.2. The purity of the heart

6.3. Mental and pathological phenomena along the way

6.4. The ladder to paradise

6.5. The Interior Castle

7. C

OLLECTED INSIGHTS

7.1. Practical methodical guidance or the Alchemy of self-realization

7.2. Challenges and wonders

7.3. Cosmic Indifference, the Language of the Soul and the Personal Life Task

EPILOGUE

Appendix

Recommended reading

Abbreviations

Bibliography

PROLOGUE

The knowledge about the (re)integration of the soul of the human being has been available in its entirety since Antiquity. This makes it all the more surprising that thousands of years later we are still searching for ourselves and questioning the meaning of life. Reflecting on philosophy and religion as well as life and its phenomena has always appealed to me. On my journey to self-revelation and a liberated self-determined life, I found ancient writings and gnostic wisdom, including gospels and belief systems, which thousands of years ago already revealed the exact same insights that I was consciously and unconsciously seeking. In this book I was able to compile these insights, unify them and make them available as a model and practical guide for modern wo/man. As a way for the spiritual integrating of the soul.

To be able to write about the soul and the redemption of the soul requires some background knowledge, substantial reflection and original insights of one’s own. Everyone experiences their soul and the state of their soul differently. All the more important is the examination of old knowledge and new as well as personally gained insights in order to be able to make generally valid statements regarding the individual spiritual integration of the soul and the path of self-revelation.

The journey to one’s own soul is exciting and at the same time invigorating. It is inspiring and insightful, but it is also arduous and sometimes even draining. Today, the spiritual integration of the soul can only be achieved with some consistency and perseverance, because the patterns and beliefs our culture teaches us in childhood sometimes stubbornly get in the way of a happy and redeemed life. Occasionally, or even frequently, we also get in our own way. Personal transformation takes a good deal of strength and nerves, and the will to change must be great to finally transform and make it happen.

This book, called “SOPHIA - The divine human being” (sophia from the Greek word for wisdom) presents a path of personal transformation towards the spiritual integration of the soul in order to finally be able to live as a “holistic human being”. It brings together revelations and wisdoms that should help interpret this knowledge for one’s individual access to the soul and thus to recognize one’s own soul. It leads us through a journey grounded in the philosophy of religion, a journey to wisdom that has not lost its power, even today. This book successfully unifies these commonalities epistemologically from the theosophical and anthroposophical viewpoint, both of which explore the holistic, supersensible or divine in wo/man in seemingly opposed directions, and in doing so compiles knowledge.

Theosophically, knowledge is presented in a structured and comprehensible way, and can therefore be generalized. Anthroposophically, subjective insights are experienced and reflected upon individually, and awareness of one’s own higher self can be attained. As a result of this world view and unification, grounded in the philosophy of religion, this book presents the Anthropos Model, which visualizes the dynamics of the holistic or divine human being. Through an explanatory model of the Greek archetypes, a practical guide for modern wo/man can be derived from the wealth of knowledge and ancient oriental wisdom. In short, this book can help you, dear reader, to recognize your own self through a spiritual integration of your soul.

The sum of revelations from old wisdom and knowledge from my many reflections and conversations about phenomena of personal behavior, beliefs and patterns, allowed me to recognize in a moment of epiphany the meaning of life as well as how we can actually find and live this meaning for ourselves in this life. I found my meaning of life and this book helped me once again to understand and undertake the journey to myself, to my soul, and the spiritual integration of my soul, my divine self. May these insights also help you and support your very personal path to your self.

Johannes Slacik

1. INTRODUCTION

Man knows more than he understands.Alfred Adler

Before the spiritual integration of the soul can be addressed, we must first define what the soul is, or at least what is understood by it. Many religions and philosophies give explanations and definitions, and despite different points of reference (such as Alfred Adler’s approach, which anchors the soul as spirit versus body, or Freud, who recognizes the superego in the soul, or Plato, who ascribes immortality to the soul in the sense of Socrates) there are also commonalities. The soul is the origin of our self, taking a liberal view of Plato’s philosophy, the teachings of Jesus Christ and C. G. Jung’s insights. The “self”, as C. G. Jung put it, is equivalent to the concept of the soul as used in this book. Accordingly, the soul or anima is something supersensible, intangible, yet comprehensible, subconscious and is, in essence, the self from which we were born. Here the term points to something supernatural, eternally existing, which lies far from all that is physical or material, and accordingly cannot be confused with anything physical. Some authors such as the psychologists Alfred Adler, C. G. Jung, and Theodore Flournoy, but also Goethe or Nietzsche, ascribe “God-likeness” to the soul or the spiritual condition. Some gospels, such as the Gospel according to Thomas (3) or according to Luke (17:21), also point to “the divine in you.” In this sense, Far Eastern wisdoms like Buddhism and in particular Taoism are also receptive to this divinity in oneself – in the self.

If we now consider the self – our soul –, then the question inevitably arises as to the meaning of our existence, what the soul wants, i.e., the self that is embodied in us here on earth, and how we can ultimately satisfy the requirement of spiritual integration of the soul in order to be happy. How can we be true to ourselves in our daily lives and realize ourselves despite the difficulties and challenges of everyday life? To realize our self means to realize our soul – to give expression to our soul.

Many ancient writings, wisdoms and reflections have already dealt precisely with this core issue of wo/man. Thus, the wisdom of Jesus Christ, transmitted through the gospels of his apostles, also aims at living a happy life. He also taught us how to achieve this. Unfortunately, the Church, with its pronounced and millennia-old claim to power, took away many, of the texts and the wisdom that already existed in society at that time. Knowledge was systematically abridged, withheld and even completely erased from published writings, including the Bible. Many texts were burned and the preservation of texts was sometimes even punished by burning at the stake. Knowledge is power and politics, and some religious leaders, such as all historical popes or agakhans in Islam, know this and have reacted to it since Antiquity.

The sum of the old wisdoms disappeared and what remained were texts with only half their original expressiveness and half-truths. No-one can make sense of them, let alone use them to improve their life. There were some prophets and spiritualists who did not need these texts and the wisdom hidden in them to discover the same knowledge with similar results, such as Marguerite Porete, Francis of Assisi or Teresa of Ávila. Some of these historical figures were burned at the stake by the Inquisition, some hid and lived and taught in secret. For teaching was important to these people. Those who have grasped and comprehended such all-encompassing wisdom must teach and make their contribution to redeem the world, one would hope. If we should all be one and belong together, then the wise wo/man must teach the ignorant in order to care for the common good of all and thus, in turn, for their own good. This would be in line with the principle of self-preservation and, more abstractly, follow the love of the soul.

History hands down to us insights and wisdoms, which are guidance and help us interpret our individual access to the soul and thus to recognize the soul once again. I say “to recognize again” because we are before birth, and also still as babies, one with our soul, and because this connection, according to neurological and psychological research, detaches at a certain degree of consciousness of one’s self within the first six to 15 months, so that we can live consciously with our senses. Without separation from the soul, life in earthly consciousness becomes impossible. For in the space of the soul everything is One and everything is eternal and interconnected. There is only what C. G. Jung and other psychologists of his time described as the collective unconscious. This means that the soul, our soul, our self, feels infinitely at ease in this state, but cannot express itself and de facto cannot live.

However, the reintegration of the soul is as crucial as the separation from it. Here, there are two possibilities: 1) Through death we return to our original state, allowing a reconnection. 2) Through an increase in consciousness, which we achieve through much reflection, meditation, discipline and of course awareness, and with which we can recognize our original spiritual condition, a reconnection becomes possible. For it is only through this reconnection that we are able to recognize who we really are and what we should experience or do here on earth. But this means a change of consciousness in our lives. Jesus said: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). Happiness in this life, so to speak, lies in our self, in our soul ... and access to it is available only to ourselves ... within us.

The religious-philosophical journey that sets the framework for this book describes the path of spiritual integration of the soul. On the one hand, from the perspective of theosophy, which approaches occultism as an epistemological, spiritually structured foundation. On the other hand, the theosophical world view is extended by the clearly more recent anthroposophical perspective, in order to be able to grasp the holistic, i.e., divine human being theoretically and practically. The collected insights and personal experiences described in this book ultimately help to show and describe the theoretical guidance in a way that is practical and can be implemented in today’s life choices.

However, theosophy recognizes these occult phenomena and specifies, differentiates and structures insights thus acquired, but specifically in the respective cultural and linguistic context. And it is exactly with regard to this issue that various religions differ from each other, because most cultures and languages interpret and describe occult messages and insights differently. The starting point of the development of religions is therefore theosophy. However, Christianity and Islam are most differentiated in the interpretation of theosophical findings and clearly depart from theosophy in their own dogmatic religion. Here it can be seen that the structural interpretation of theosophy has its limits when compared to occultism. But precisely at the point of interpretations, where theosophy splits into religions, one can also re-unify the religions and find common denominators and epistemological phenomena to elevate the consciousness of wo/man in a generally valid way.

If you have not yet closed this book, then accompany me on this religiousphilosophical journey to your own self and learn of a possible way to access your soul. In addition, this book provides, after explaining in-depth the theoretical framework and reappraising of the topic, a practical methodological guidance in the form of a so-called alchemy of self-realization, in part based on ancient wisdom, my accumulated knowledge and many personal experiences as well as the experiences of my clients.

At this point, let me offer another recommendation for reading: If the following pages should seem too theoretical to you, then you can begin the book with the aim-focused chapter 6, “The way to the soul” or with the practical chapter 7, “Collected insights”, and put the cart in front of the horse, so to speak! This will allow you to understand the theoretical foundation and epistemological considerations as the second step and may make the topic more understandable.

In addition, I have left in this book a thread of literature for those who wish to make up their own minds and undertake the laborious study of the philosophy of religion.

1 See Rudolf Steiner (1912; unchanged reprint 5th edition 1993).

2. ANTHROPOSOPHY, GOSPELS, BELIEF SYSTEMS AND THE PHILOSOPHY

Basic knowledge of ancient philosophies and wisdoms, many of which are also found in gospels and some of which were eventually integrated into holistic belief systems, are ultimately essential in this framework as we embark on this religious-philosophical journey toward soul integration.

In many oriental and Far-Eastern texts, a personal liberation of the earthly path of suffering by raising consciousness was already mentioned and epistemologically or epistemologically discussed. Thus, for example, the Kabbalah – a Jewish esoteric philosophy recognized until today – is a self-contained theory that provides detailed instructions on how to elevate one’s consciousness in order to finally find the “divine in oneself”. The Kabbalah thus belongs to the circle of the inner perspective, which Pythagoras called “esoteros” in his time. In his opinion, the inward view needs the same attention and mindfulness as the circle and the outward view, “exoteros”. The latter is today strongly institutionalized and, grounded in Aristotle, applied in science and, for most of us, in everyday life. Here, we already encounter the separation between an understanding of a tangible view outward, i.e., everything we can perceive and observe, and a difficult-to-grasp view inward, which we can hardly observe, but rather only gradually understand through reflection, mediation, and practice.

Thus, in addition to Kabbalah, Buddhism and Hinduism in its ancient Sanskrits and Upanishads convey the idea of journeying inwards and overcoming human, carnal bounds. In particular, Taoism also offers apparently clear instructions on how to find serenity and tranquility in life, which is also often called “the secret of the Golden Flower”. But the esoteric circle is also home to the Gospels, and thus not only parts of the Old Testament, but also the entire New Testament. Pastors, rabbis, monks, and other scholars of theology or religious studies present themselves and are all regarded as caretakers of the human soul. They are mediators of an image of wo/man that fits their respective religion or denomination, and therefore contact persons for the reflections of inner experiences. As we know from the secluded and modest world of monks, their main orientation, besides communal life, is the meditative examination of oneself and the divine.

This is exactly what all the writings from antiquity tell us. For example, the instructions of St. John Climacus, who in the 7th century created a remarkable treatise named “Ladder to Paradise”, which is still read and practiced today and is also explained in more detail in this book in chapter 6.4. Giving 30 steps, he provides detailed instructions for the ascension to paradise. However, the ascension illustrates what, in my opinion, is only a conditionally correct metaphor. In order to receive the divine while we still exist as human beings, there is no need for ascending, such as to heaven, but for an integration ... which happens here on earth. In the Gospel according to Thomas, Jesus already taught, “Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.” (Th 113) What is the use of divine knowledge if one is no longer here, but resurrected? It is not a matter of going to heaven, but of recognizing heaven on earth, or heaven in you, as Anselm Grün, the famous German Benedictine monk, describes it on the basis of the wisdom of the desert fathers. And this addresses an integration. If we learn to see earth and heaven as one, we will also recognize how beautiful life is and that we hold in our hands everything needed to lead a happy life.

Let us briefly take Genesis as an example and remember how Eve, together with Adam, bit into the apple of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, the former paradise. God clearly said that this was forbidden. But stop. If our soul did not eat from the tree of knowledge, we would still be in the soul state and unable to live and express ourselves. This story serves as a metaphor for the beginning of life, of our being as we know it, along with duality (that is, female and male).2 But this very realization was forbidden. What reason could there be not to be incarnated on earth, but to remain as a soul in the One? We would be eternally divine, but also miss the chance to live with all our senses. The incarnation of the soul is intentional, evolutionary and unstoppable, because it is the way of the soul. In this respect, it is questionable why God would want to prevent this instead of supporting it, even if it is only a metaphor. The integration of heaven on earth illustrates, by way of metaphor, the process of bringing together at least two parts, for example the human and the divine or, in other words, Yin and Yang or the feminine and the masculine or shadow and light. These metaphors are well known, and yet we do not live them as an integration of heaven on earth. In other words, in most cases a piece of understanding is still missing, in order to implement this realization and to adopt this attitude. In the sense of the elevation of consciousness, the word ascension is, of course, quite fitting and would suffice as a metaphor.

Ultimately, however, it remains the call that we must come to terms with ourselves and our own divine through meditation in order to reach this divine state. Texts such as those by the 13th century Frenchwoman Marguerite Porete, or all the Gnostic Gospels and texts from the third to seventh centuries, as well as the books by St. Teresa of Ávila, the 16th century contemplative master (as Caroline Myss, the best-selling author of mysticism describes her), also point to a possible elevation of consciousness and in some cases serve as practical guides. Decoding ancient writings or translating them into modern German is difficult enough in itself. While some text passages are understandable, relatively clear and comprehensible even in today’s everyday life, other parts of the texts seem strange, coded and difficult to grasp. For example, some parables of Jesus Christ from the Gospels according to John, Matthew, Mark or Luke in the Bible are not always clearly understandable, even incomprehensible. It seems more like a secret language and language of metaphors. Thus, it takes much time to deal with these texts and writings, and even more time to then understand and reflect on them. Reflection, however, is truly the luxury of human evolution and, finally, thanks to the neocortex or cerebral cortex, the mind is mature and capable of reflection.

Yes, of course, this all sounds like a lot of work and time, which no one has these days. Most people are not monks or apostles. In this respect, today, the challenge par excellence is to recognize one’s path, to listen to one’s heart, to go at one’s own pace and to take one’s own path in life. Who knows where one’s path will lead? Life brings so many circumstances, hurdles, challenges and distractions that we often do not even recognize who we are in this life and what our task is, let alone that we have too little time and leisure to listen to ourselves and to deal with our self, our soul.

Therefore, it is more crucial than ever that we learn to listen to our soul and heart in order to be able to be happy, including “now” on earth, and to live a contented life without having to wait for redemption in death. This book should facilitate exactly this journey to the heart and the soul, to find access by means of ancient and relevant wisdoms and discover their abundance in a collected form that is clear, vivid, understandable, simple and thus hopefully comprehensible. In addition, links are established that should make it possible to recognize these religious-philosophical text passages as a whole and for a largely unified theoretical construct. The considerations and reflections written down here are meant to represent, in their sum, the journey to one’s own soul and thus to the self in an understandable fashion, and to point out a so-called “heart process” step by step. Doing so should allow everyone in today’s time-scarce world to build up an understanding for the divine in himself/herself in a quick and comprehensible way and to find access to the divine with all its resources and answers.

2.1. The Anthropos Model

Out of the Greek anthrop grew what is known today as the science of anthropology (the study of wo/man), which deals with the conditions, circumstances and adaptations of wo/man living with people. In the religious-philosophical view, the superior, god-like anthropos represents the same human being that Nietzsche presented in his book “Thus spoke Zarathustra”. This godlike human being, gazing into the heights, is shown comprehensibly and logically by anthroposophy (human wisdom), which explains the entire existence of the human being. According to Rudolf Steiner, it is not a speculative philosophy, but a fully conscious sensual development, in the sense that wo/man forms her/his self through spiritual realizations and recognizes her/his soul, her/his source of origin. This results in a deeper spiritual understanding and physical experience, an outlook which is also reflected in Platonism. The experience of spiritual realization, however, requires a necessary but complicated journey of the soul. A higher, supersensible consciousness would have to be unfolded, according to Steiner.3

Without such a consciousness, the integration of the soul and reconnection to one’s self would hardly be possible. This is, of course, a highly individual and subjective process and requires spiritual self-education with respect to the soul. Thus, in anthroposophy there are no dogmas or guidelines like those preached by religions. Moreover, the statements in this book are to be understood under consideration of human individuality. What I show here is a generally valid concept, which, however, must be individually adapted to each human being. The sensual-spiritual level of anthroposophical presentation thus opens up to us our own individual alchemical journey to highest self-realization, recognizing our being and our divinity.

According to this understanding, the God-like human being is a holistic human being. In other words, the anthropos is fully human and fully God. According to the gospels of Miriam Magdalena as well as Phillip, or according to some writings from the Nag Hammadi library or the Codex Berolinensis Gnosticus 8502, this is the desired state according to Christ – a state in which wo/man becomes immortal, can, as it were, resurrect and is thus redeemed from the sufferings of this world. The divine consciousness facilitates personal liberation from the constraints and diseases of the world and lets us realize ourselves. Healing is possible in this state. C. G. Jung also produced the same insights in his self-experiences and shared them with the world in his Red Book. In order to explain and illustrate the journey towards anthropos, some religious and esoteric approaches and ideas as well as their philosophies are presented here, holistically, as a single concept.

The Anthropos Model shown here in Figure 1 is my view of the holistic human being and corresponds to such a holistically viewed linkage in what we might call “the first degree”. Do not fear, no new religion is being created here. However, a certain degree of unification establishes an epistemological approach that provides the chance to comprehend everything in everything. Many ways lead to Rome, and nevertheless everything is Rome.

Figure 1: The Anthropos Model: feminine and masculine divinity as a unity for the anthropos.

In order to understand Figure 1, a detailed explanation of the terms and symbols is required, before the philosophical considerations that support these symbols can be dealt with in detail. Thus, the outer circle in the diagram represents the endless divinity: the everything and the nothing, which together are also called the original state. The circle thus symbolizes the eternal, the unity; but it also symbolizes the interconnection, the connection between, for example, above and below or inside and outside. Here, let us remember the saying from the Kabbalah, which is in fact the esoteric idea of Hermes Trismegistos, that above everything is like below or that everything small is like everything big. Moreover, shamanism posits the same idea.

Everything in the circle is attainable and symbolically already represents a part of our “being”. This circle is a two-dimensional graphic illustrating the above and below and their vertical connection. But the circle is actually a sphere and therefore three dimensional along the vertical as well as the horizontal axis. Later chapters will elucidate why this illustration is important. For now, the top symbolizes the divine, and the bottom symbolizes the human. The dashed inner ring indicates our consciousness and our ability to receive the divine. It represents a bridge between the human and the divine through consciousness. Through this bridge of consciousness, we can eventually rise above ourselves. This inner ring contains what appears to be a star, two interlocking triangles - a symbol of femininity with the apex pointing downward and thus symbolizing fertility and conception; and a symbol of masculinity with the apex pointing upward and thus symbolizing fertilization and procreation. Here, too, the symbolism of the above and the below is reflected in the small. This star is also known as the Star of David in Judaism and symbolizes the relationship between God and wo/man. This symbolism shows that it takes both parts to be able to be a whole human being, namely the female as well as the male part in us.

The spirit also consists of the mind, which also has a memory and is able to absorb conscious and unconscious as well as knowledge from our ancestors and to understand or mentally process. It is this mind