Monday, February 13, 2023

God Beyond Religion: Poemandres, Father, Word, and Spirit

1.  “And I do say: Who art thou?”

“He saith: I am Man-Shepherd (Poemandres), Mind of all-masterhood; I know what thou desirest and I'm with thee everywhere.” ~The Corpus Hermeticum, Translated by G.R.S. Mead, Section, Poemandres, The Shepherd of Men

It is my intention to examine the Corpus Hermeticum because I think it is a foundational explanation of reality.  One of the problems that is encountered in giving credence to the Hermetica is that Christian orthodoxy has relegated Hermeticism to a recent invention and a rehashing of neo platonic thought. This is largely due to King James and Isaac Casaubon. King James wanted to rid the kingdom of Hermetics and Casaubon gave him the ammunition. However, the ability to read hieroglyphics proved that Casaubon was not entirely correct and while it is true that the Hermetica is a product of Middle Platonism, the first to third century CE, it is highly likely that Platonism was built upon the foundation of Hermetic teaching.

Also, while Hermeticism was accompanied by the superstitions of the age it was introduced, it gives by far the best explanation of the nature of reality and creation than any other western idea. It tells the story of the source God and the word/logos God’s only begotten son. Here is where orthodoxy misunderstood and led people astray from Jesus real mission and message. The Word, Logos, was the mind of God and it was given to humanity as a gift. This word, logos, reason is consciousness. It is why we can say that we conscious human agents are in the image of God “Imago Dei.”

Here is how Hermes expressed it in Poemandres: “But All-Father Mind, being Life and Light, did bring forth Man co-equal to Himself, with whom He fell in love, as being His own child; for he was beautiful beyond compare, the Image of his Sire. In very truth, God fell in love with his own Form; and on him did bestow all of His own formations.” ~Hermeticum G.R.S. Mead pp 6

It is clear here that humanity/mankind are the offspring of deity. That is why John wrote in the first chapter of his gospel that “The Word,” not Jesus, but the word was always in the world. It was because reason was always in the world. The world was created of and by consciousness. Itis important to recognize that this hermetic principle was present in philosophical thought long before John’s gospel was written. It was known to Plato and the Stoics. It was written about by Philo of Alexandria prior to the writing of John’s gospel. This does not in any way diminish the mission and message of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus did not claim to be God in the flesh any more than anyone else. He just introduced the sure knowledge that he was, as we all are, the incarnation of the Logos. It was this understanding and message that allowed Paul to say that Jesus was the firstborn of many siblings. Awakening to this realization is what created a “new humanity.” It brought into reality through metaphor the new heaven and the new earth. This is why Eckhart Tolle’s understanding of a new heaven and earth is far more correct than orthodoxy’s.

This is an integral and strategic part of the upward spiral of spiral dynamics. The expanded awareness of this happens from age to age. Paul explained that Jesus understood what Hermes wrote. He realized that while he was equal with God, it was not a reason to exploit it, but instead in entering the earth plane he emptied or forgot the concept with the purpose of awakening to the reality. Am I putting Hermes above Jesus? Absolutely not. Both became aware of the same thing. Both taught essentially the same thing. Many did not understand Hermes, and likewise many, probably most, did not understand Jesus. Orthodox dogma is proof of that. However, we at the beginning of a new age are beginning to awaken to this reality. We are beginning to realize who we really are and what Power we possess. Next, we will look at what Jesus actually meant in what is written in John chapter three.

 

 

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