S2E20: The Thunder, Perfect Mind - Part 2 Of 2 Way Of The Hermit podcast

S2E20: The Thunder, Perfect Mind - Part 2 of 2

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In this concluding episode on "The Thunder, Perfect Mind," Gene and David navigate the profound paradoxes of one of Gnosticism's most enigmatic texts. The voice of Barbelo - divine consciousness itself - speaks through declarations that shatter conventional understanding: "I am godless, and I am the one whose God is great," "I am control and the uncontrollable," "I am peace, and war has come because of me." These aren't riddles to be solved intellectually, but invitations to experiential awakening. Each paradox forces a confrontation with the persistent question: who is the "you" that experiences both honor and scorn, shame and shamelessness, closeness and distance?

The discussion reveals how these thunderous statements point toward non-duality and the illusion of separation. David and Gene explore how the text functions as a mirror reflecting the entire human condition - the consciousness that remains constant while experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions and circumstances. Drawing connections to the Hermetic axiom "as above, so below," Egyptian mysteries of Maat's judgment, and Bernardo Kastrup's philosophy of consciousness, they demonstrate how ancient wisdom anticipated modern understandings of the nature of reality itself.

The episode culminates with the text's most radical teaching: "What is inside of you is what is outside of you... it is visible and it is your garment." This obliterates the final duality between self and world, revealing consciousness as the underlying substance of all existence. The text promises that those who stop identifying with "fleeting passions" and temporary forms will find their "resting place" where they "will live, and they will not die again" - a Gnostic vision of awakening to our undying essence. 🪶

Deep Dive:

The Thunder, Perfect Mind

Chapters:

01:15 Introduction
02:00 Review
06:22 God and Godless
09:35 Shame and Shamelessness
12:12 Forward to Childhood
14:53 Honored and Cursed
17:12 Mind of God
20:34 The Substance
22:57 Sin and Self-Control
25:47 Knowledge of Her Name
29:06 As Within, So Without
31:38 Finding Rest
34:38 Conclusions

Resources:

The Thunder, Perfect Mind - translated by George W. MacRae
Thunder - translated by Willis Barnstone
The Thunder, Perfect Mind (reading by Maevius Lynn)
Gnosis.org - The Gnosis Archive
Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A Straightforward Summary of the 21st Century's only Plausible Metaphysics - Bernardo Kastrup
The Big Chill (1983) - Nic Interviewing Himself Scene (YouTube)
Emerald Tablet of Hermes
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
The Red Book: A Reader's Edition - Carl Jung
Jesus and the Lost Goddess - Freke and Gandy