Way Gnosticism

This basic contemplative practice has proven effective in movement towards the awakening experience in its practitioners. It should by no means replace similarly effective practices which have already been established by the practitioner, or effective practices which are components of the practitioner’s chosen spiritual community. It is offered as a possibility that has worked.

Establishing a Meditation Space. First, find a space where you can meditate. If you can help it, it should not be in your bedroom or kitchen or dining room or any area that has some other ‘purpose.’ If possible, devote an entire room or closet to meditative practice. If not possible, just make sure your space is clean and uncluttered and quiet, as the mind tends to reflect its external surroundings. It does not have to be completely sound-proof, just attempt to avoid loud noises or distractions. You may find it helpful to have some sacred imagery in your space– images of favorite spiritual leaders, candles, rosaries, a small altar or shrine, etc.– but even a bare room will do the trick.

When you have established your ‘space,’ make it distinct from the other areas within your living quarters by doing a ritual of some kind every time you enter or leave it. I use a small holy water lavabo and make the sign of the cross when entering or leaving. You might also ring a bell or kneel or say a small prayer. The idea is to distinguish this space from the rest of your house by creating an invisible border, which will help ground you and allow you to exist independently of the rest of your house during your meditative practice. If you cannot have a room or area set aside for this purpose, or if you are practicing outside, you can make do with visualizing a “border” between your sitting place and the surrounding environment, perhaps a circle or a square, and then acknowledging the division when you cross over the border.

Begin your meditative process whenever it works best for you. Some people have great success meditating early in the morning, but I find I get too sleepy. Start by crossing the border into your space, and then begin the session by ‘addressing’ the Limitless Light. Face the East and visualize a soft pink light filling the room or area, like the color of strawberry iced cream (this comes from Philip K. Dick). You are notifying the Pleroma that you are going to attempt communicating with it directly.

Preparing to Meditate. Now sit in a meditation posture. Full or half lotus are fine, but I prefer kneeling. Kneeling during meditation gives me the same energy as kneeling during prayer– you are becoming a Sophianic, receptive element, recognizing your role as an open and passive receptacle for the divinity within. Kneeling represents submission to the All. Of course, it can also be incredibly uncomfortable. Some people prefer this discomfort, as overcoming or ignoring it can be very illustrative, but I like to kneel on a cushion and place a wedge pillow between my calves and my butt. One can face the East, the direction of light and the rising sun, or the South, the direction of Wisdom, though the North and West are avoided in many spiritual traditions.

No matter your preferred position, POSTURE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! In fact, one might say that one’s posture is more important that one’s position. You can actually injure your back with incorrect posture. Slumping forward can also make you drowsy. To assist you in correcting your posture, picture a taut string descending from heaven attached to the crown of your head (where the soft spot was when you were a baby). When the string is pulled up taught, the head should be tilted slightly forward and the spine should be straight. Press the tongue to the roof of your mouth. Your eyes can remain open or closed; closing your eyes makes it more likely that you will fall asleep. If you find a meditation position too painful, to the extent that you are concerned about injury (or are concerned about aggravating injuries incurred earlier in life), you may sit in a chair or lie on the floor.

Next, rest your hands lightly on your thighs. Take a few deep breaths, and you are ready to begin.

Meditation. Begin breathing slowly and steadily. Focus on your breath. There is no need to “count” your breaths, just allow them to flow naturally into one another. Breathe from the diaphragm, not the chest– your stomach should move in and out and your chest should remain still. Now, shift your awareness to a spot two inches below your navel. If it helps, make a spot at that point with a magic marker before you begin (this seems funny, but it works!). As you breathe in, mentally say the word “Christos” (pronounced KRĪSH-tos) As you breathe out, mentally say the word “Sophia” (pronounced so-FĪ-ya). In, Christos, stomach rises, out, Sophia, stomach falls. Christos, Sophia. Focus on your spot and repeat these words.

Invariably, thoughts will begin to arise and your mind will begin wandering. When you notice that your mind has begun wandering, say to yourself, “thinking,” return your awareness to your spot and begin again with Christos, Sophia. No matter what sensation arises other than your Christos, Sophia and your spot, acknowledge it and move on. If you have an itch that distracts you, think, “itching” and move on, return your awareness to your spot and your breathing. If it does not go away, scratch it, but say “scratching the itch” and return to your spot and your breathing. If you find yourself slumping, say “slumping and straightening” and pull the imaginary line taught. Continue in this way, simply being, acknowledging all thoughts but letting them pass away.

You will find, after a while, that the instances of “thinking” etc. are fewer and fewer. You are opening an inner gate and cleaning your inner stables, so you might have some thoughts that are utterly mystifying. No matter how unusual or bizarre the thought, let it pass away as soon as you are aware you are thinking it. You might think, “I’ve always wanted to kill so-and-so,” but do not be amazed; it is just a thought. Just say “thinking” and return to your spot and your breathing. Your mind might be muddled with problems stemming from work or your social life. Do not attribute the thoughts with any value, simply say “thinking” and let them fade away, returning your awareness to your spot and moving on.

Distractions During Meditation. Perhaps the most common distracting thought is the tendency to think, “this is really working, I’m doing it, my mind is empty!” It is very irritating to find one’s self thinking these thoughts! But, one should not become irritated, one should simply say, “thinking” and return one’s awareness to the spot, Christos, Sophia.

Sooner or later, after a week, a month or even a year, you might start experiencing “visions,” hearing sounds, experiencing inner light shows. They might be utterly profound; you might see the Queen of Heaven in all of her radiant glory revealing the Keys of Wisdom. You might hear the answer to a question you have had for some time. Your experiences might be incredibly bizarre– I remember once I had an intense vision of a giant, spinning head of Mao Tse-Tung, and I still have no idea what to make of that!

It is good to have these experiences, because they mean you are progressing, but once again, they are not what you are after. You need to keep pushing beyond these visions, say “having a vision,” or something similar, and return your focus to your spot and your breathing. Most likely you will find yourself amazed by the experience and you will think, “wow, a vision, this is amazing!” If this happens, acknowledge it is happening and return to your spot and to your breathing.

There is another common pitfall of regular practice. Soon after you feel as though you are progressing– it could be days, weeks or months– you will have a relapse. You will not be able to concentrate. Sitting quietly will become uncomfortable. It will be as though all of your progress was for nothing. This is not unusual or worrying– just keep at it! Eventually this will pass and you will be back to your normal level in no time.

If you practice in this way, your goal is Awakening. Your goal is not being told what awakening is by the Queen of Heaven– it is the DIRECT EXPERIENCE. Your goal is not to have wild visions, no matter how interesting or insightful they are. If you are simply interested in having visionary experiences, there are far easier ways to go about doing so. Everything that happens to you while meditating save awakening is a valueless distraction and should be seen as such. It is not something that you will think or imagine or be told, it is an actual experience you will have, you will absolutely know it when you have reached that point.

Wisdom Meditation. Another way to gain great insight into one’s self via meditative practice is through the use of what we will refer to as “Wisdom Meditation.” In this process, we employ text from scripture to gain inner wisdom and unlock our own mysteries.

Begin the session in the same way you begin the insight version– same posture, same string attached to the head, etc. Only this time, have a particular “case” in mind. By “case” I mean something like a question or riddle that cannot be solved using regular knowledge. Any of the Sayings in the Gospel of Thomas will do; for the beginner, I suggest Saying 42: Jesus said, “Be passersby,” but find something that works for you. It does not have to be from Thomas, but Thomas is already formatted as such, so it is a good place to start.

Now begin meditating with a few deep breaths, once again allowing your breathing to fall into the normal, natural pattern, breathing with the diaphragm. Once this has been established, begin mentally repeating the thrust of the case to yourself. There is no need to include the introductory “Jesus said”s, but one might repeat “Be passersby,” or even “pass by.” Try to reduce the case to its essence and allow it to become a mantra.

Repeat the case with each breath. Do not attempt to analyse the case using logic; allow the case to become a mantra that floats on the surface of your outer thoughts while keeping your inner thoughts still. This is more difficult than Insight Meditation, because it is goal oriented. Once again, if you find your mind wandering, simply say “thinking,” and return your awareness to your repitition of the case. If you have an itch, or a pain becomes so intolerable that you need to adjust your position, then do it– nobody’s walking around above you with a whacking-stick! Just say, “itching,” or “moving position,” do not give these actions any value, and return to your repitition of the case.

In traditional Zen, koan practice is done with the assistance of a teacher who can validate or deny one’s conclusions. Unfortunately, most Gnostics do not have that luxury, so one will need to decide for one’s self when one has stumbled upon a solution to a particular case. Generally speaking, however, the solution to a case will produce an “AHA!” moment– like a lightbulb or exclamation point has appeared above your head. These little “AHA!” moments are also a kind of gnosis. With insight meditation, awakening arrives like a bucket of cold water being poured over one’s head. With wisdom meditation, awakening arrives like a cool spring rainfall.

There is more of a danger of spiritual egoism connected to wisdom meditation. Once one has “solved” a few cases, one begins to think that one is “progressing.” This is not so, however; solved cases simply “are.” Someone solving cases is not climbing some kind of ladder or advancing to “expert” level in Trivial Pursuit, she is simply solving cases and activating that internal spark of divinity.

Ending a Meditation Session. One should stop meditating when one is satisfied, sleepy or too distracted. There is no real set amount of time to continue practicing, and there is absolutely no reason to force one’s self to sit for a long time if one does not want to do so. Try starting with ten minutes a day, and gradually increase that time as you see fit. You will find at the beginning that those ten minutes seem like they take FOREVER, but stilling the mind also stills the mind’s perception of time, so eventually one reaches a point where one finds that a meditation session has lasted for two hours even though one feels as though it is only been fifteen minutes.

When you are ready to stop, bring your awareness back to your eyes and sit quietly for a moment, coming back into your “waking” awareness. Then stand, facing the East, and stretch, getting any kinks out. Close with a short prayer. When you leave your meditation space, do not forget to “cross the threshhold.”

Finally, it is very helpful to keep a journal of your experiences, even if it is just, “sat for five minutes, got bored, stopped.” Record any thoughts or sensations you found particularly interesting.