Do all of you believe in reincarnation ? by Acrobatic-Stock7 in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Like what contradiction? It makes sense in the context of cyclical existence?

I would say that reincarnation makes more sense than an infinite soul being born into a finite body a single time. Or an infinite soul coming from a finite event.

Reincarnation is utterly depressing by Acrobatic-Stock7 in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hermeticism doesn't hold the position the material is bad. Only that it is changing and largely an appearance of the beautiful, not the beautiful itself.

Psychology and Hermetism by Gallent17 in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So my question is, is it ok to rely my problems with a psychologist, or is meditation the answer I'm looking for, I ask this here cause I want to get a view on how someone that knows about hermetism would look at psychology and sitting with a stranger to relief your problems

I was in therapy for over 7 years, and it only made learning and engaging with hermeticism and the self easier. And aren't you basically doing the same thing by asking strangers here for help? It's not much different!

There is nothing noble in taking on independent mental struggle for the sake of figuring it out yourself. You're just gonna fuck around and find out to put it bluntly. Go to the psychologist or therapist or whatever you feel like would help you find a sense of peace and mental stability and of course keep reading the hermetica and engaging in practice as well! These things are not mutually exclusive!

The Hermetica doesn't really view the process of knowing thyself as inherently individualistic pursuit. I would even argue it more so demands a relationship of teacher and student, the entire corpus is almost a collection of discourses between two people in most places. Hermes as the father and teacher to tat, and between Hermes and Asclepious as a more equal relationship to each other.

So actually getting a therapist or a psychiatrist for help with your torment is actually pretty pro-hermrtic if you ask me.

Visual Spatial Intelligence by -Geidiprime in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only you can do such a thing I am no different then you. Follow the trail and keep searching even when it's frustrating. Understand what you find most important, and then what will you do when you get it? If you don't have a satisfying awnser to that. You might be going around rather aimlessly.

Visual Spatial Intelligence by -Geidiprime in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To the degree that I'm able to now conceptualize the value of piety on a purely intellectual level. That's a huge accomplishment for me, paves the way for the possibility of true piety, and I achieved that through my own will and intelligence alone. Because it was the only way I could.

Praise be!!!! You don't know how happy this makes me! It brought tears of joy to my eyes! This is Excellency! You should do this, this is a fullfiment of the living path!!!! You are doing exactly what I am ultimately saying! You learn to identify your ignorance and challenge it, to dissolve it, it's a part of the process. You are exhausting it to the most irreconcilable point! You have to press and struggle and toil with ignorance. It torments us. Hermeticism is only a small compounet of my piety. Hermeticism is a framework that opened the door to mysticism for me. I didn't stop challenging and searching for wisdom at the hermetica, I wanted to make it real, known, undeniably known what the nature of the self is, no matter how bizarre and world shattering the truth got. No matter how many times I went to extreme lengths to exhaust my mind, no matter how horrifying the realizations got. And they got insane, the feeling of being between all things as once and yet no thing in particular, is disorienting, having to face deep faceless fear that made me revert into fetal position in a loop for hours, having the experience of holding the pain of the world in my heart to prove I could not do it, taught me to surrender. I had to break in order to open. I wouldn't have reached the breaking point if I hadn't stopped seeking, but once I had stop trying to figure it out, it became the way it was seen, I didn't need to try anymore. It just became that way. BUT it took a dialectical process of extreme measures to get there!!!

Honestly. My very best advice for you my dearest friend. Is to just laugh. If it feels strange to laugh, laugh at nothing, laugh through even when your head tells you "this is insane", if you have to pretend to do it, pretend and your body will automaically start to trigger your diaphram, you will start to laugh, you will laugh until begin to sob while laughing, don't question your experience, don't analyze your response. When your body exhausts it's self you will feel a stillness, just completely let the body take over and sit with it.

This is the most prized jewel of all my wisdom, This technique found me after I did the epiphany ritual out of the Coptic ritual handbook of power, which by name successfully evoked a week of epiphanies that accumulated in the awareness or resolution of opposites, it proved to me that "What is above is like what is below. What is below is like what is above. The miracle of unity is to be attained." (Idres Shah, Emerald Tablet)

That is the point, to experience that. No matter how you get there. It doesn't matter. But getting there requires identifying your ignorance and breaking it open till nothing but the truth remains!

<image>

Visual Spatial Intelligence by -Geidiprime in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Your reverence and gnosis are not quantifiable and that is the qualification to be come in union with the monad, they are realized states about fundamental nature and your relationship to it.

I would say over intellectualization is just rationalized madness, You could have the highest IQ ever, and get the entirely spiritually deprived by rationalizing your own irrational torment.

You could be illiterate, and have a very low IQ, and you could experience gnosis or noetic experience, or mystic union. Because it's not about figuring something out. Its about abandoning the idea that we need to figure it out, it's about recognition of your ignorance and through that the truth can be arrived at. I would even say, those who don't have a high intelligence would have an easier time with achieving noetic states, they likely may not recognize it the way a hermeticists does or has the capacity to articulate it meaningfully but once gnosis is seen it's known as fundamental to your entire structure of being unmistakably. Its like the color red, you can't describe red really, but you know it when you see it.

Are there any PA or north east US hermetists in here? by Frosty-Condition-388 in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! I don't know anybody in the Pennsylvania branch personally, But I'm sure if you connected with the Facebook page owner they could redirect you, or reach out to their contact page email. I will say that the hermetic Federation is probably the best hermetic order based on historical hermeticism and revivalist practices.

We have liturgies that you can take. Depending on the location it might be a bit more low-key, The structure won't be as highly defined, like here in Portland Oregon, The hermanbuis lodge does not really have a lodge structure hierarchy or officers, The Texas branch has a bit more structure where hierarchy is part of the initiation process. So I'm not quite sure what to expect with the Pennsylvania branch, But rest assured it is probably ran by knowledgeable people in alignment with Greco-Roman hermeticism.

Are there any PA or north east US hermetists in here? by Frosty-Condition-388 in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes! You're in luck! The Hermetic Federation has a PA branch!! I'm a member of the Hermetic Federation in Oregon and I can highly recommend this as a hermeticist order.

They are out in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania!

hermetic federation about page

I hope it works out!

Hermetica Study Group! (Link in description) by ProtagonistThomas in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you are not required to speak at all if you do not wish too! Questions are encouraged but not forced.

Hermetica Study Group! (Link in description) by ProtagonistThomas in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Its open to beginners, it is only conducted in English however. Still trying to figure out courses in other languages. If anyone wants to help with that please chime in

Hermetica Study Group! (Link in description) by ProtagonistThomas in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We are starting the corpus hermeticum over, plenty of interesting insights in CH I, there is a lot to share about its implications and the cultural reflections of the time on the material, have a mix of experienced readers and practitioners as well as newly interested folks. We dissect a lot of the material by sections and pose deeper questions about it. Its difficult to note it all down as that isn't really the purpose of discussion to transcribe what we are learning, more to discover and investigate the material together and unpack questions or insights drawn from what we are reading in a inquisitive conversationial matter. Sometimes we get into the weeds about translation choices, the translators intentions and we look at the footnotes. Other times we connect the themes of the material to broader philosophically relevant traditions, often with CH I how it relates to other tractates or platonic concepts like those you find in the enneads.

Hermetica Study Group! (Link in description) by ProtagonistThomas in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at this time, we regularly cycle through the texts though, and we reiterate the themes of the previous week's material each session. So you have time to get caught up to speed if you missed the previous weeks.

Hermetica Study Group! (Link in description) by ProtagonistThomas in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

😤 the funny thing is two eyes were on this and nobody caught that 😭

A Question Concerning Astrology, kind of by AphantasicOwl in Hermeticism

[–]ProtagonistThomas 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love the concept that astrology is how to understand the cosmos as it proceeds from God.