December 2019 – Ascending Path

Reflecting on the Year and Movement Forward

When we do the inner work, it’s always good to evaluate how we are doing. This can be done daily, weekly, monthly, and also annually. It can be really interesting to look back over the year, seeing how things went, because we then see ourselves in the spiritual work in a larger time-frame than one day or a month. When we look at things from this perspective, we are aware that we don’t have that much time in a lifetime inside which we could realize our spiritual work, understanding that each

27Dec

In Search of the Miraculous (book review)

In Search of the Miraculous is a book written by a Russian philosopher and esotericist, P.D. Ouspensky, and was published towards the end of his life in the 1940’s. The book consists of recollection of conversations and talks by Gurdjieff, whom Ouspensky met while coming back to his hometown in Russia from one of his trips in Asia, and in general the part of Ouspensky’s life that he spend studying under Gurdjieff’s guidance. In that first conversation of theirs, when they first met,

23Dec

Winter Solstice and the Birth of Christ Within

Yesterday was the winter solstice, an auspicious time of year when energies of nature are suitable for reflection and meditation in order to arrive to an insight or knowledge that a seeker is after. Winter solstice is a time that ancient cultures of the world have celebrated and have aligned to it many of their sacred sites (or aspects of them) such as the Karnak temple in Egypt, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Glastonbury Tor in England etc. The winter solstice carries a deep significance because

19Dec

Spiritual Transformation Described in Egyptian Book of the Dead

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a wonderful compilation of ancient texts that describe passages of the deceased through the process of death. It is known that the ancient Egyptian culture had a lifestyle that revolved around preparation for what will come after the physical body dies. In that sense those people have placed a great emphasis on leading a life that is just, compassionate, and that will move them towards attaining wisdom. Many also struggled to completely break free of the

16Dec

Postponing the Inner Work

If we would talk to people who have spiritual longings about the need for the inner work, many would agree that it would be beneficial and even necessary to reach self-realization. At the same time, however, many feel that they are not ready due to their circumstances in life, that they need to place their full attention on their family, job careers, or some projects that they are working on. It’s also not uncommon for those who have been doing the work for some time and have failed in it,

09Dec

“Watch and Pray” – A Gnostic Meaning Behind Jesus’s Words

“Watch and pray” is something that Jesus said several times in the Gospels, and many people have reflected on the depth of what he meant by it. In itself, this is a profound teaching, because it explains what in the Gnostic system of teaching is known as the “First key to awakening”. Jesus said: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (from Mark 14:38)

05Dec

A Practice Connecting to Beings of Light

The practice that I will describe here is a simple one, though quite powerful and profound. It is using principles of prayer, but it enhances it because it also involves invocation, visualization, pure intention, and sharp focus, in order to connect to beings of light. Such beings have through history been known by many names, such as angels, divine beings, seraphims, archangels, devas, higher beings, etc. People from many different religions petition to them when they are praying, though

01Dec

The Way of Nature and the Way of Spirit

There is a popular thought that the path of nature and the path of spirit are one and the same; that if we follow the natural ways of life, we will be on the right track towards the divine. I have also seen similar things mentioned in some ancient texts, though without clarification about its meaning, which probably contributed to how this is thought about today. Even though the way of nature is ‘overseen’ by the way of spirit, the way of spirit is different than the way of nature.

Archive: December 2019