Wow I remember when there was 13K subscribers, congratulations bro! ❤ I know it's a herculean endeavor, but can we do a series on the history of magic from around the world with the major discoveries (Temples, papyrus ect) & practices developed over time? Your series on the development of the Kaballa was amazing, thanks. 3300-3200 BCE: During this period, in ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerians developed a complex system of magic and divination. Clay tablets such as the "Burning of the House" ritual text demonstrate the use of spells and rituals for protection, healing, and exorcism. 3200-3100 BCE: Egyptian civilization emerged during this period, and magical practices played a significant role in their culture. The "Hymn to the Nile" and "Pyramid Texts" contain references to spells, incantations, and rituals for communication with the gods and protection against evil forces. 3100-3000 BCE: Ancient Egypt continued to develop its magical traditions. The "Coffin Texts" and "Book of the Dead" provide insights into spells and rituals performed during funerals and the afterlife. Magical amulets, such as the Eye of Horus, were also prevalent during this time. 3000-2900 BCE: In ancient Mesopotamia, the Akkadians rose to power, and their magical practices focused on invoking and appeasing deities through rituals and offerings. The "Incantations of Ishtar" and the "Enuma Elish" are examples of texts that reference magical practices during this era. 2900-2800 BCE: The Old Kingdom of Egypt witnessed the development of royal mortuary cults and the construction of the Great Pyramids. Magical spells and rituals were employed to ensure a smooth transition to the afterlife for pharaohs. Pyramid texts and magical inscriptions found in tombs shed light on these practices. 2800-2700 BCE: In ancient Sumer, the city-states of Ur and Lagash thrived, and magical practices were integrated into religious ceremonies. Cuneiform tablets, such as the "Rituals of the Moon," detail the use of divination and prayers to the gods. 2700-2600 BCE: During this period, the Indus Valley Civilization (in present-day Pakistan and northwest India) flourished, but our understanding of their magical practices is limited due to the lack of deciphered texts. Archaeological discoveries, including seals and amulets, suggest the existence of magical beliefs and rituals.
This is not only one of the most content-rich channels anywhere, but this particular episode contains some truly perceptive and intellectual probings on ancient texts and ideas and the whole context of how these even came to be in existence, materially. We are today, not just inheritors of the ideas themselves, AND the books (or some of, and some fragments of) but privileged to have such people as Dr Justin Sledge convey them to us in his authentic scholarly style - and brain-power, let's be honest here!
I’m glad someone can enjoy his channel, as I find his voice absolutely mind numbingly mundane and boring. I can hardly get through any of the videos due to such a monotone humdrum voice. Definitely not a teaching voice. These were the kind of Professors that were indirectly the reason so many students randomly failed… only no one could pinpoint it. Everyone is SLEEP in the class. Proof that everyone brilliant isn’t made for teaching. 🗣️😴📚
@@DrLauraRPalmer Whaaaaaa! You prolly want to suggest Dr Ammon Hillman then, right? With his meth-infused surfer-stoner style that has recently gone right off the rails. LOL
Your channel is helping me become a healthier person! One thing I absolutely hate to do is working out. To make it more tolerable, I started listening to your videos when I'm exercising, it helps me take my mind off how much I hate doing it. Thanks for your fantastic content!
Favorite. Episode. Ever. I've been stuck in this rabbit hole for a while now, but this synopsis style video covering so much at once (while really only talking about a single barely recognized object) is fantastic. It gives a sense of the whole exactly in the way I think you inteded it to (for myself at least). Quite a "Gnostic" experience, thank you. Cant wait to get some HWA merch! Still debating if I wanna wear a shirt with a demon mirror on it - but maybe... hmmm... treasure...
This guy is such a pleasure to learn from. The very best kind of philosophical/religious/what have you teacher. The kind that, while having his own beliefs, is happy to help you learn all aspects of these topics that there are, so that you can make your own conclusions and find your own way. If only all leaders of the spiritual side of life taught like this. 🙏
I think this has been one of your most rewarding episodes lately. I've been struggling with the longer episodes, and a bird's eye view like this makes it really worthwhile. Thanks as always.
The idea there's enough of an audience for this subject to have merch available makes the young philosophy major/OTO initiate/Elaine Pagels's lecture bootlegger in me's heart soar.
Appreciate your honesty in admitting that many of the Nag Hammadi texts are virtually incomprehensible to us today. The only thing we can be sure of is that there are esoteric meanings and phrases embedded in them that were only known to a select few at the time, and are well beyond recovery by us. To think that moderns are going to be able to decipher everything and explain it all is hubristic to the extreme.
I'd state that the bible itself is largely incomprehensible to us today . Which accounts for the numerous interpretations for what the actual message that was meant to be conveyed. Literal, figurative, metaphor of this or that, mystical , psychological, astrological, and so on and so on.
Gnosis is simply knowledge but not the same as men see it (truth is in the eye of the beholder) the knowledge is TRANSFORMED to the individual through a new mind he knows differently. The mind of the true God knows differently to the mind of man (gods). Our true fundamental sin is missing the mark of that mind. All of reality is known differently with a new processor (mind) of the data coming into us. Many people I observe take the nag hammadi texts at face value literally as the form they are presented in, the problem they got there is how they know is faulty, so this "secret" knowledge isn't known to them because their sin hasn't gone, their sin/error is missing the mark of the truth. This is the same problem in any religion the overwhelming "multitude" take things in a carnal way, in each religion an elite class knows differently, a mystical way of knowing not "after the flesh", the remission of sin has happened to them. "This is how Gnosticism and mysticism came into existence in early and medieval Christianity, Sufism in the Islamic religion, Hasidism and Kabbala in Judaism, Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism, Zen and Dzogchen in Buddhism. Most of these schools were iconoclastic. They did away with layers upon layers of deadening conceptualization and mental belief structures, and for this reason most of them were viewed with suspicion and often hostility by the established religious hierarchies. Unlike mainstream religion, their teachings emphasized realization and inner transformation. It is through those esoteric schools or movements that the major religions regained the transformative power of the original teachings, although in most cases, only a small minority of people had access to them. Their numbers were never large enough to have any significant impact on the deep collective unconsciousness of the majority. Over time, some of those schools themselves became too rigidly formalized or conceptualized to remain effective." ~ Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth Salvation is the result of being saved from the god that we are, the god of this world (which each individual must overcome, their own ego) Look carefully in the the first chapter of genesis, God there is plural... Gen 1:26 ASV And God (H430) said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. H430 search Original: אלהים Transliteration: 'ĕlôhı̂ym Phonetic: el-o-heem' BDB Definition: (plural) rulers, judges divine ones angels gods It's secret knowledge in as much as it's hard for men to quiten there own minds from the perceived form and so they can't see what's hidden in PLAIN sight (blinded by the ego), the briain is constantly assembling reality to us, this is where the demiurge is. Joh 8:14-16 ASV 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 Yea and if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. Jesus knows differently to how man knows, man goes by form/flesh, the form of reality, not the immaterial substantially reality itself... it's the gods role to give form to the formless (the true God is formless)... 2Co 4:4-6 ASV 4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. darkness is simply the unmanifested, unlimited potential, the all, no name/title can describe.
But who cares. The general idea is the personification of wisdom, it also have a very interesting comparison to Heraclitus, and obvious has an anti-idolatry Platonic perspective.
If you didn't have me at "vendetta cannibalism" you DEFINITELY had me at "physical forensic recreation" (My special interest is forensic reconstruction of textiles)
Wow, the hits just keep coming with this channel. I love the balance, smarts and humour Justin invokes to bring these ancient texts alive. Tbh, I doubt I would 'spend' my time indulging in these obscure, though often mesmerising and thoroughly stimulating videos if it wasn't for this mans verve. No blowing of smoke up the ass intended. My regards as always.
Thank you so much for videos like these. I'm a religious person, but it's incredible to me that modern mainstream Christianity can be content with so little in terms of texts and resources they draw from. We're really missing out.
I know so many other people of faith that I just want to tell them," keep reading the scriptures,but don't let that be the only book you read!". Our libraries hold 1,000s of years worth of the thoughts of the finest minds humanity could offer,but so few go there.
You can see your passion come out when talking about the codex. Excellent. It is as if they have all the information but struggle to make sence of it and so disagree about how the mind, body, soul connect. Excellent.
I’ve just read Thunder: Perfect Mind, from the Nag Hammadi, and I am struck that it reminds me of the writings of Rumi… And also, that unlike Rumi, which comes across in a very loving, compassionate and uplifting tone, this writing feels as though it’s carrying a warning to pay attention. Although, that could be the way it was translated, I suppose. i’ve had the nog Hammadi for years I must confess have not read the entire thing, but many of the pieces that I have read really speak to me of the eternal nature of our existence. I also love how the feminine is so prominent in these writings. Thank you for this very stimulating channel!
Finally someone on the same quest to learn & expand their paradigm..i appreciate your aquired knowledge/vocabulary & your elevated thinking, it goes well with your physical display of a quest for original/influencial knowledge. Thank you for sharing your analysis & information.
Wow. I've watched and enjoyed hours of this channel. This episode feels like a treat for having grappled with all the various schools and forms of thought about the mind and the soul that have been presented. The context, the richness of imagination across space and time, the painstaking labor of transmitting these thoughts; all of this filtered through the vicissitudes and sheer madness of human history. Exciting, invigorating, exquisite!
As usual, thank you for these wonderful and above average videos 😁 My interest in Crowley began in the 1980’s when my parents took me to an anti-rock music seminar. I went logically from Crowley to the word “Gnostic,” and grabbed a copy of the Nag Hammadi library (a large tan paperback) in my 20’s. Now, being in my 50’s, I applaud your work which helps keep my curiosity alive ‘n’ kickin.’ 👏
Good call including the construction/handling history into. I thought about the monks hiding the books in the sand in the back of my mind throughout the video.
I have this wonderful woman mentor, I call her my Hippy Godmother, which she hates because she says the hippies were the ones in the park smoking weed while she was studying philosophy and spirituality... But I find it incredible that so much of what she refers to as "the Ancient Wisdom Techings" coincide so completely with actual ancient wisdom teachings... especially books and manuscripts which were either not yet discovered in her time or which she (and those who taught her) may never have had access to before the advent of the internet. *She's 76 and doesn't even know how to use a computer. But she knows things mentioned in these texts... and that, I find astonishing!!!
Good day to you Dr. Sledge. I would like to once again thank you and everyone else for creating this channel. I really appreciate the work you do and that you're willing to do this for free. I wish I was in a better financial situation so I can throw a ton of money your way to help you keep going.
@@chrishigh3858 how about you give for me. I'm already forced by my government to financially support religions that I want wiped from the planet. If you can convince them to stop stealing from me to finance their religion, than I can help support him. But till that happens, when someone openly admits that they are not in a good financial situation, don't badger them and make them feel worse. Seriously, that's exactly what JW's do and I F*ing hate it. And now all you've managed to do is piss me off, and show that you have learned absolutely nothing from Dr. Sledge
Petitioning The Divine to bless you beyond reason. Namaste, and a deeply sincere 'Thank you" for all of your work. I am particularly happy that I worked out the correct pronunciation of 'Nag Hammadi' before internet/youtube could help us. Continue as you are, soldier. =.D
I think you’d love the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz if you haven’t already read it. It deals directly with a lot of the topics about why we copy and how do we assign value to what we copy. 16:42
Thank you for this wonderful work Dr! As a rebuilding Christian, I have found it necessary to study all aspects of Christianity (as best a layman can); and have decided to deep dive into Gnosticism, which this video will surely help with.
in either a Heidegger or Wittgenstein book i read, there was some sort of anecdote to the effect that texts are like oranges: its best for you to enjoy extracting the juices, rather than having someone else break it down to the bare elements and present you with dry, barebones orange remains. it can be very fascinating to revisit things we were first exposed to as kids, and see how really juicy they are in hindsight.
@@beepboop204 indeed, experiences are generally best understood personally, the same can be said with knowledge and textual study. I have to get around to getting a full collection of the Nag along with a more accurate collection of the complete Apocrypha (nobody ever includes the full collection of Enoch).
@@Dank-gb6jn at least as someone with autism amongst other issues, ive found it best to look at things as being inter-subjective, human level experiences. but yes, as much as quantitative statistics are valued by your modern sort of mind, its important to afford at least some space to qualitative experiences. sometimes its about the journey, not about arriving instantaneously at the destination.
Superb treatment of this particular codex of the Nag Hammadi Library! It's precisely this sort of thing that needs to be asked more: why are the texts we have in certain manuscripts there, why are they in the order they are, what motivations might have gone into organizing entire volumes, and so forth. I've touched on it lightly in some of the things I've published in relation to Irish material, and hope to do more of it eventually (the "To Do" list for academic things in my case is pretty extensive currently, alas!). On a separate note: I look forward to working with you in the near future, and would love to just chat for a bit at some point, if you'd be available and interested in doing so!
These esoteric videos are tantalising indeed. I have been watching them for quite some time in hopes of finding clarification on the relationship between knowledge, belief and faith, having reached one conclusion to date: faith is choosing to believe in the absence of knowledge. I believe a re-examination of your older videos is in order. Something fruitful to pursue while awaiting your next video. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting! (And a look at your Patreon page is overdue.)
Excellent as always, I may have to take you up on that challenge to read Codex VI with a beginner's mind, sounds like an intriguing endeavor. Gotta say though the Julian comment seems anachronistic, in contrast to his predecessors he made a point of never violently suppressing Christians or banning their books, he just banned them from teaching Christian theology using classical works, which might've made them reeeeeee but it certainly wouldn't have caused a Nero or Antiochus-like loathing found in earlier works. Julian employed Christians and took them on campaign with him, he had contemporary shade thrown on him for his apostasy specifically and for his perceived barbarity in reinstituting sacrifices but on the whole he was remarkably tolerant to Christianity given his pet project of undermining their influence in the Empire.
i bet for people around my generation, Gaahl and bands like Wardruna and Heilung have done more to inform peoples ideas about neopaganism than your Alistair Crowleys or Anthony La Veys. its crazy that back in 2008 i did a presentation for university about the political ideologies of black metal, before you had alt right or otherwise neopagan/neofascist people all over the internet, when it was a total fringe thing to present. crazy stuff!
I always learn something from every one of your episodes. That vendetta cannibalism was one of today’s takeaways is surprising, and strangely satisfying.
Actually, living in 3D requires that a spirit/soul consume something in order to live long enough to experience the separation from Divine. So when the last supper offer was "Eat this bread, for it is my flesh... Drink this wine, for it is my blood" is true for us all...
Reading thunder perfect mind was a profound experience that would not have been mine without you making it accessible to me. I agree on your statement of reading it aloud and would go one further to implore one to sing it as a hymn. Thank you!
The Nag Hammadi texts were originally in Latin, Translated to Coptic later on. They resonate with me strongly because they were discovered in 1945, the same year Hiroshima and Nagasaki hit my favourite spiritual country, Japan. 🗾 FYI. Thanks for your expose, Jewish Gentleman. :)
As always, I learn something from these videos. Thanks, Dr. Justin! I'd be interested in seeing you do something on Paracelsus as a physic more than his alchemy - a little I know is that he was fairly "holistic" in his approach and supported the idea of specialization for physics.
Man, you're recent vids are great. Your past ones are fantastic too,but this last batch is packed with inspiring info. I am on vacation. I went to the Jewish quarter of Gerona. And the "Kabbalah Garden" these. Amazing history there.Your channel got me into all of this!
That was amazing as always and thanks to watching this channel for a while i do have the texts of Codex VI laying around here somewhere so i know what im doing this afternoon.
Just read Thunder: Perfect Mind for the first time and it struck me as very proto-Nietzchean… so maybe, backwards in time, very Heraclitean. It works in contradictory and suggestive aphorisms to work towards a vision of grandeur - what’s distinctly different is that thunder perfect mind is more Platonist/ transcendental, while Heraclitus and Nietzche are (to be kinda reductive) immanent philosophers
Soul had to be burdened at least with the fear of a sword to experience ITs true Divinity yet I see the pleasure and freedom as you again amaze us with your lecture and I thank you for the knowledge and laughs 🙏🏻
Coming back now that I have obsessively listened to a performance of thunder perfect mind for awhile. You're right to describe it as highly as you do. It's shockingly resonant with modern discussions about the subaltern subject. 'Why do you despise my fear and curse my pride?" Is basically the central question of post colonial studies.
For fun, I subtracted 1468 from 1965 (our entry into the Aquarian age) which = 497 - 4, 9, & 7 each have attributes of significance... Thank you Dr. Sledge for another excellent episode. Cheers from Seattle! 🍻
Great video, as always, the poem recommendation was spot on. But I can't help hearing "as one does" in the John Mulaney voice, and now I just want to hear him read "and he later revealed himself to be Jesus, you know, *as one does*"
i’ve passed on to my most trusted philo-theo people this link. Very nice, engaging, and i was moved (?!) yes; wisdom of the scribe who / saw letters / saw words of wisdom / losing sight or hand control over time. The grace of the sands affects me. Ty
Thunder Perfect Mind has fascinated me since i heard it on a commercial. I was floored when I found out how old it was . It hurts to think of all the treasures that turned to dust or ash. One reason book burning makes me sick. Everyone should get a lead tablet and write their favorite sayings on it , then bury it. I do fear we will only be known for Internet memes
Of course the people didn’t deserve to know, even though we have ears! I love to sit down with you and talk about this stuff. Nobody talks about it in the manner you do not really. You are right when you say miracle. Those books are ours and they were put here for us and I hit them away so me and you have to make sure the people that have ears here and I use ears referring to intuition of course because that’s all that there is is the inside.
The section on Plato’s Republic immediately set off tarot alarm bells in my head which I totally was not expecting. The cards the chariot and strength both deal with using will to guide passions, but it has a slightly different take. Instead of both being controlled like a chariot, it seems that the lower passions are controlled, and the higher passions are tamed with patience ( the woman either taming or riding a lion depicted in the strength card). Very interesting stuff
Greetings goodman, It has been a pleasure to watch your content. I feel like I am engaging in a conscious deliberation, both with you and myself. It presents both challenge and intrigue. So I thank you kindly for sharing. There is a topic of history which I am very interested in; the creation and use of palimpsests. I wondered if you might ever consider doing a video on such things? Are there ancient forms of such things? And what are some of the most significant or lesser known? Very interested to hear your perspective on these documents. Thanks again for the content, see you on the next one! Regards and Good Health.
Really appreciate all the attention paid to the material circumstances of the text, as in the Hermetic/Neoplatonist anthology. We need to understand how these books were used to understand the how the ideas in em had any meaning to their users.
It's funny that only after becoming a antiquarian book collector / dealer has this aspect of understanding books become very clear to me. Having the antiques volumes in hand has given me this insight that I was otherwise lacking - the materiality of the book clearly has an impact on the ideas contained within it. It's a concept that should have been obvious to me but shows another avenue in which pure academic treatment of this material can end up missing the mark. Hope you're well, friend!
@@TheEsotericaChannel yes I really .think anybody who is interested in medieval or ancient books should touch them and learn the methods for their production etc. Practical knowledge is a thing. I've been great enjoying the gaming culture up here in Seattle where I moved two years ago. Been getting back to making shows hope to get you on soon.
16:37 It is also possible (as was often the case in later history) that certain manuscripts or folios were coppied by commission in that an individual or institution desired a copy and perhaps also paid for it. It makes sense that these texts weren't simply copied for the edification of those who already owned or housed them but for the transmission of knowledge to others.
BTW, I love your inclusion of current slang and phrases. Kinda has a playful flavor like Hofstadter’s GEB. Language is just so fun! Thanks for keeping a potentially dry subject good ‘n’ juicy! Humor makes any subject sweet. 👍
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i think about you and Irving Finkel way too much, respectfully
When a video on Joachim of Fiore?
Where can one see scans of these fragments? Everything I google is like 3 pixel resolution makes it impossible to read...
Wow I remember when there was 13K subscribers, congratulations bro! ❤
I know it's a herculean endeavor, but can we do a series on the history of magic from around the world with the major discoveries (Temples, papyrus ect) & practices developed over time? Your series on the development of the Kaballa was amazing, thanks.
3300-3200 BCE:
During this period, in ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerians developed a complex system of magic and divination. Clay tablets such as the "Burning of the House" ritual text demonstrate the use of spells and rituals for protection, healing, and exorcism.
3200-3100 BCE:
Egyptian civilization emerged during this period, and magical practices played a significant role in their culture. The "Hymn to the Nile" and "Pyramid Texts" contain references to spells, incantations, and rituals for communication with the gods and protection against evil forces.
3100-3000 BCE:
Ancient Egypt continued to develop its magical traditions. The "Coffin Texts" and "Book of the Dead" provide insights into spells and rituals performed during funerals and the afterlife. Magical amulets, such as the Eye of Horus, were also prevalent during this time.
3000-2900 BCE:
In ancient Mesopotamia, the Akkadians rose to power, and their magical practices focused on invoking and appeasing deities through rituals and offerings. The "Incantations of Ishtar" and the "Enuma Elish" are examples of texts that reference magical practices during this era.
2900-2800 BCE:
The Old Kingdom of Egypt witnessed the development of royal mortuary cults and the construction of the Great Pyramids. Magical spells and rituals were employed to ensure a smooth transition to the afterlife for pharaohs. Pyramid texts and magical inscriptions found in tombs shed light on these practices.
2800-2700 BCE:
In ancient Sumer, the city-states of Ur and Lagash thrived, and magical practices were integrated into religious ceremonies. Cuneiform tablets, such as the "Rituals of the Moon," detail the use of divination and prayers to the gods.
2700-2600 BCE:
During this period, the Indus Valley Civilization (in present-day Pakistan and northwest India) flourished, but our understanding of their magical practices is limited due to the lack of deciphered texts. Archaeological discoveries, including seals and amulets, suggest the existence of magical beliefs and rituals.
Can you do one on the picatrix?
Vendetta cannibalism sounds metal as heck
oh yeah.
V for Vendetta. C for Cannibalism.
@@Nebulouslystarlight C for Chris. V for eVans?
What’s really metal to me is his name!❤
Needs to be a band name
"...reveals himself as Christ. As one does." Priceless!
This is not only one of the most content-rich channels anywhere, but this particular episode contains some truly perceptive and intellectual probings on ancient texts and ideas and the whole context of how these even came to be in existence, materially. We are today, not just inheritors of the ideas themselves, AND the books (or some of, and some fragments of) but privileged to have such people as Dr Justin Sledge convey them to us in his authentic scholarly style - and brain-power, let's be honest here!
I wholeheartedly agree. I am fascinated by this research.
I’m glad someone can enjoy his channel, as I find his voice absolutely mind numbingly mundane and boring. I can hardly get through any of the videos due to such a monotone humdrum voice. Definitely not a teaching voice.
These were the kind of Professors that were indirectly the reason so many students randomly failed… only no one could pinpoint it. Everyone is SLEEP in the class. Proof that everyone brilliant isn’t made for teaching. 🗣️😴📚
@@DrLauraRPalmer Whaaaaaa! You prolly want to suggest Dr Ammon Hillman then, right? With his meth-infused surfer-stoner style that has recently gone right off the rails. LOL
@ I’m not familiar with him, but he sounds like he might not put me straight to sleep! Maybe he’s just what the Dr ordered. 🤭
Your channel is helping me become a healthier person!
One thing I absolutely hate to do is working out. To make it more tolerable, I started listening to your videos when I'm exercising, it helps me take my mind off how much I hate doing it.
Thanks for your fantastic content!
That's great - I dream up many scripts working out !
Favorite. Episode. Ever.
I've been stuck in this rabbit hole for a while now, but this synopsis style video covering so much at once (while really only talking about a single barely recognized object) is fantastic. It gives a sense of the whole exactly in the way I think you inteded it to (for myself at least).
Quite a "Gnostic" experience, thank you. Cant wait to get some HWA merch! Still debating if I wanna wear a shirt with a demon mirror on it - but maybe... hmmm... treasure...
SAME
Ditto.
This is my primary study right now, too. Very intriguing (but confusing) stuff..
@hara3435 Ah yes, the holographic universe. Gnosticism: Digital Edition!
Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out (^_^)
This guy is such a pleasure to learn from. The very best kind of philosophical/religious/what have you teacher. The kind that, while having his own beliefs, is happy to help you learn all aspects of these topics that there are, so that you can make your own conclusions and find your own way. If only all leaders of the spiritual side of life taught like this. 🙏
He's part Beast from Xmen
The teacher from Ferris Bueller
Anyone? Anyone?
And part Merlyn
I think this has been one of your most rewarding episodes lately. I've been struggling with the longer episodes, and a bird's eye view like this makes it really worthwhile. Thanks as always.
The idea there's enough of an audience for this subject to have merch available makes the young philosophy major/OTO initiate/Elaine Pagels's lecture bootlegger in me's heart soar.
Appreciate your honesty in admitting that many of the Nag Hammadi texts are virtually incomprehensible to us today. The only thing we can be sure of is that there are esoteric meanings and phrases embedded in them that were only known to a select few at the time, and are well beyond recovery by us. To think that moderns are going to be able to decipher everything and explain it all is hubristic to the extreme.
I'd state that the bible itself is largely incomprehensible to us today . Which accounts for the numerous interpretations for what the actual message that was meant to be conveyed.
Literal, figurative, metaphor of this or that, mystical , psychological, astrological, and so on and so on.
We might be able to get future AI to translate such texts for us
Gnosis is simply knowledge but not the same as men see it (truth is in the eye of the beholder) the knowledge is TRANSFORMED to the individual through a new mind he knows differently. The mind of the true God knows differently to the mind of man (gods). Our true fundamental sin is missing the mark of that mind. All of reality is known differently with a new processor (mind) of the data coming into us.
Many people I observe take the nag hammadi texts at face value literally as the form they are presented in, the problem they got there is how they know is faulty, so this "secret" knowledge isn't known to them because their sin hasn't gone, their sin/error is missing the mark of the truth. This is the same problem in any religion the overwhelming "multitude" take things in a carnal way, in each religion an elite class knows differently, a mystical way of knowing not "after the flesh", the remission of sin has happened to them.
"This is how Gnosticism and mysticism came into existence in early and medieval Christianity, Sufism in the Islamic religion, Hasidism and Kabbala in Judaism, Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism, Zen and Dzogchen in Buddhism. Most of these schools were iconoclastic. They did away with layers upon layers of deadening conceptualization and mental belief structures, and for this reason most of them were viewed with suspicion and often hostility by the established religious hierarchies. Unlike mainstream religion, their teachings emphasized realization and inner transformation. It is through those esoteric schools or movements that the major religions regained the transformative power of the original teachings, although in most cases, only a small minority of people had access to them. Their numbers were never large enough to have any significant impact on the deep collective unconsciousness of the majority. Over time, some of those schools themselves became too rigidly formalized or conceptualized to remain effective." ~ Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
Salvation is the result of being saved from the god that we are, the god of this world (which each individual must overcome, their own ego)
Look carefully in the the first chapter of genesis, God there is plural...
Gen 1:26 ASV And God (H430) said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
H430 search
Original: אלהים
Transliteration: 'ĕlôhı̂ym
Phonetic: el-o-heem'
BDB Definition:
(plural)
rulers, judges
divine ones
angels
gods
It's secret knowledge in as much as it's hard for men to quiten there own minds from the perceived form and so they can't see what's hidden in PLAIN sight (blinded by the ego), the briain is constantly assembling reality to us, this is where the demiurge is.
Joh 8:14-16 ASV 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 Yea and if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
Jesus knows differently to how man knows, man goes by form/flesh, the form of reality, not the immaterial substantially reality itself... it's the gods role to give form to the formless (the true God is formless)...
2Co 4:4-6 ASV 4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
darkness is simply the unmanifested, unlimited potential, the all, no name/title can describe.
But who cares. The general idea is the personification of wisdom, it also have a very interesting comparison to Heraclitus, and obvious has an anti-idolatry Platonic perspective.
If you didn't have me at "vendetta cannibalism" you DEFINITELY had me at "physical forensic recreation"
(My special interest is forensic reconstruction of textiles)
the meme potential is strong. and shirt potential.
@@beepboop204 I need this as a hoodie **yesterday**
thank you good doctor.
Dr., dude, thanks.
Esoterica at his finest!
Says the guy blowing the F up! Congrats, brother!
Thanks! You’re awesome!!
You too - thanks !
Thank you for this set of summaries in particular and for this channel in general.
May all of the obfuscated texts be revealed to you 🙏 out of the darkness, into the light.
Appreciate your work.
Amen, Shalom, and Namaste! I second this emotion!
Send all the books
Love the use of William Blake's art. One of my personal favorites, and a great match for this content.
Wow, the hits just keep coming with this channel. I love the balance, smarts and humour Justin invokes to bring these ancient texts alive. Tbh, I doubt I would 'spend' my time indulging in these obscure, though often mesmerising and thoroughly stimulating videos if it wasn't for this mans verve. No blowing of smoke up the ass intended. My regards as always.
I could hear you talking about Nag Hammadi library for hours... I'm really glad you made an other great video on this topic !
Thank you so much for videos like these. I'm a religious person, but it's incredible to me that modern mainstream Christianity can be content with so little in terms of texts and resources they draw from. We're really missing out.
That's an interesting perspective you have. Are there any texts or ideas from outside the mainstream you've integrated into your beliefs?
I know so many other people of faith that I just want to tell them," keep reading the scriptures,but don't let that be the only book you read!". Our libraries hold 1,000s of years worth of the thoughts of the finest minds humanity could offer,but so few go there.
@@FretnesButke And the few writings that made in into canon got there by politics more than spirituality
You can see your passion come out when talking about the codex.
Excellent.
It is as if they have all the information but struggle to make sence of it and so disagree about how the mind, body, soul connect.
Excellent.
I’ve just read Thunder: Perfect Mind, from the Nag Hammadi, and I am struck that it reminds me of the writings of Rumi…
And also, that unlike Rumi, which comes across in a very loving, compassionate and uplifting tone, this writing feels as though it’s carrying a warning to pay attention. Although, that could be the way it was translated, I suppose. i’ve had the nog Hammadi for years I must confess have not read the entire thing, but many of the pieces that I have read really speak to me of the eternal nature of our existence. I also love how the feminine is so prominent in these writings.
Thank you for this very stimulating channel!
Finally someone on the same quest to learn & expand their paradigm..i appreciate your aquired knowledge/vocabulary & your elevated thinking, it goes well with your physical display of a quest for original/influencial knowledge. Thank you for sharing your analysis & information.
Wow. I've watched and enjoyed hours of this channel. This episode feels like a treat for having grappled with all the various schools and forms of thought about the mind and the soul that have been presented. The context, the richness of imagination across space and time, the painstaking labor of transmitting these thoughts; all of this filtered through the vicissitudes and sheer madness of human history. Exciting, invigorating, exquisite!
Brilliantly stated
I just really love what you do bro. Grateful for all your hard work. 🤙
As usual, thank you for these wonderful and above average videos 😁 My interest in Crowley began in the 1980’s when my parents took me to an anti-rock music seminar. I went logically from Crowley to the word “Gnostic,” and grabbed a copy of the Nag Hammadi library (a large tan paperback) in my 20’s. Now, being in my 50’s, I applaud your work which helps keep my curiosity alive ‘n’ kickin.’ 👏
How did learning the Nag hammadi help you in these 30 years of life???
Good call including the construction/handling history into. I thought about the monks hiding the books in the sand in the back of my mind throughout the video.
I have this wonderful woman mentor, I call her my Hippy Godmother, which she hates because she says the hippies were the ones in the park smoking weed while she was studying philosophy and spirituality... But I find it incredible that so much of what she refers to as "the Ancient Wisdom Techings" coincide so completely with actual ancient wisdom teachings... especially books and manuscripts which were either not yet discovered in her time or which she (and those who taught her) may never have had access to before the advent of the internet. *She's 76 and doesn't even know how to use a computer. But she knows things mentioned in these texts... and that, I find astonishing!!!
Another amazing video! Thank you Dr. Sledge!
Fascinating discussion... Don't know I'd ever considered the editing & collection of the texts before, thank you for bringing it up.
Thank you, Dr. Sledge for your wisdom and knowledge and for your videos. ❤
Awesome!!!!
Thank you Dr Sledge for yet another informative and entertaining episode. Keep up the good work!
Good day to you Dr. Sledge. I would like to once again thank you and everyone else for creating this channel. I really appreciate the work you do and that you're willing to do this for free. I wish I was in a better financial situation so I can throw a ton of money your way to help you keep going.
damn decent of you
Likewise!
i’m a patron and … gotta cut XPN oh dear, to afford
giv just a little.
@@chrishigh3858 how about you give for me. I'm already forced by my government to financially support religions that I want wiped from the planet. If you can convince them to stop stealing from me to finance their religion, than I can help support him. But till that happens, when someone openly admits that they are not in a good financial situation, don't badger them and make them feel worse. Seriously, that's exactly what JW's do and I F*ing hate it. And now all you've managed to do is piss me off, and show that you have learned absolutely nothing from Dr. Sledge
It was a great deep dive into the historical records! Great video!
Athanasius "look at me I am orthodoxy now" made me laugh 😂😂😂😂
Petitioning The Divine to bless you beyond reason. Namaste, and a deeply sincere 'Thank you" for all of your work. I am particularly happy that I worked out the correct pronunciation of 'Nag Hammadi' before internet/youtube could help us. Continue as you are, soldier. =.D
Thank you for your work
I think you’d love the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz if you haven’t already read it. It deals directly with a lot of the topics about why we copy and how do we assign value to what we copy. 16:42
My favourite Dr/ Rabbi / wizard / 👍🏻 Always love to see a new video.
I like the way this guy narrates everything.
Thanks!
damn decent of you, good sir
Truly unusual and wonderful content. Haven't heard or seen anything like this since Bill Moyer and Joseph Campbell. I am a fan!
Fascinating, I always appreciate when you touch on gnostic themes. Thanks as always.
Thank you for this wonderful work Dr! As a rebuilding Christian, I have found it necessary to study all aspects of Christianity (as best a layman can); and have decided to deep dive into Gnosticism, which this video will surely help with.
in either a Heidegger or Wittgenstein book i read, there was some sort of anecdote to the effect that texts are like oranges: its best for you to enjoy extracting the juices, rather than having someone else break it down to the bare elements and present you with dry, barebones orange remains. it can be very fascinating to revisit things we were first exposed to as kids, and see how really juicy they are in hindsight.
@@beepboop204 indeed, experiences are generally best understood personally, the same can be said with knowledge and textual study. I have to get around to getting a full collection of the Nag along with a more accurate collection of the complete Apocrypha (nobody ever includes the full collection of Enoch).
@@Dank-gb6jn at least as someone with autism amongst other issues, ive found it best to look at things as being inter-subjective, human level experiences. but yes, as much as quantitative statistics are valued by your modern sort of mind, its important to afford at least some space to qualitative experiences. sometimes its about the journey, not about arriving instantaneously at the destination.
You're on fire in this one. Fantastic work
Bedankt
Superb treatment of this particular codex of the Nag Hammadi Library!
It's precisely this sort of thing that needs to be asked more: why are the texts we have in certain manuscripts there, why are they in the order they are, what motivations might have gone into organizing entire volumes, and so forth. I've touched on it lightly in some of the things I've published in relation to Irish material, and hope to do more of it eventually (the "To Do" list for academic things in my case is pretty extensive currently, alas!).
On a separate note: I look forward to working with you in the near future, and would love to just chat for a bit at some point, if you'd be available and interested in doing so!
Love everything you do Dr!! Your channel is my favorite :)
These esoteric videos are tantalising indeed. I have been watching them for quite some time in hopes of finding clarification on the relationship between knowledge, belief and faith, having reached one conclusion to date: faith is choosing to believe in the absence of knowledge. I believe a re-examination of your older videos is in order. Something fruitful to pursue while awaiting your next video. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting!
(And a look at your Patreon page is overdue.)
Ive been enjoying this channel for about a week and your work is very much appreciated ! Amazing channel
So excited for this
Excellent as always, I may have to take you up on that challenge to read Codex VI with a beginner's mind, sounds like an intriguing endeavor. Gotta say though the Julian comment seems anachronistic, in contrast to his predecessors he made a point of never violently suppressing Christians or banning their books, he just banned them from teaching Christian theology using classical works, which might've made them reeeeeee but it certainly wouldn't have caused a Nero or Antiochus-like loathing found in earlier works. Julian employed Christians and took them on campaign with him, he had contemporary shade thrown on him for his apostasy specifically and for his perceived barbarity in reinstituting sacrifices but on the whole he was remarkably tolerant to Christianity given his pet project of undermining their influence in the Empire.
I was not expecting an extremely metal history lesson to be the intro to this video
You must not have been around here long ;)
i bet for people around my generation, Gaahl and bands like Wardruna and Heilung have done more to inform peoples ideas about neopaganism than your Alistair Crowleys or Anthony La Veys. its crazy that back in 2008 i did a presentation for university about the political ideologies of black metal, before you had alt right or otherwise neopagan/neofascist people all over the internet, when it was a total fringe thing to present. crazy stuff!
@@TheEsotericaChannel not long enough it seems, I was expecting all the hardcore stuff to wait until you dug into the texts themselves
@@beepboop204 eluveitie and moonsorrow were my intros 🤘
Awesome teaching today!!! Thanks, Justin! ✌️🦄
This was such a good vid. I share all content, thank you Dr.
I always learn something from every one of your episodes. That vendetta cannibalism was one of today’s takeaways is surprising, and strangely satisfying.
delicious snacks for food for thought
How did the murderer describe the heart he ate? "strangely satisfying."
Actually, living in 3D requires that a spirit/soul consume something in order to live long enough to experience the separation from Divine. So when the last supper offer was "Eat this bread, for it is my flesh... Drink this wine, for it is my blood" is true for us all...
Reading thunder perfect mind was a profound experience that would not have been mine without you making it accessible to me. I agree on your statement of reading it aloud and would go one further to implore one to sing it as a hymn. Thank you!
The Nag Hammadi texts were originally in Latin, Translated to Coptic later on. They resonate with me strongly because they were discovered in 1945, the same year Hiroshima and Nagasaki hit my favourite spiritual country, Japan. 🗾 FYI. Thanks for your expose, Jewish Gentleman. :)
Greek, not Latin.
Love the metaphor of the gravity well to model the range of concerns documented in the codices.
.
As always, I learn something from these videos. Thanks, Dr. Justin! I'd be interested in seeing you do something on Paracelsus as a physic more than his alchemy - a little I know is that he was fairly "holistic" in his approach and supported the idea of specialization for physics.
Thanks for this, totally love this episode ❤😊 had a couple of good giggles too 😂😅
A fascinating subject and great video. Thank you for posting.
Man, you're recent vids are great. Your past ones are fantastic too,but this last batch is packed with inspiring info. I am on vacation. I went to the Jewish quarter of Gerona. And the "Kabbalah Garden" these. Amazing history there.Your channel got me into all of this!
Not even 5 minutes in and we have already broached heart eating, cannibalistic blood feuds.
Im intrigued.
thats why this stuff goes so good with black and death metal! and those horror-core rappers too
That was amazing as always and thanks to watching this channel for a while i do have the texts of Codex VI laying around here somewhere so i know what im doing this afternoon.
Just read Thunder: Perfect Mind for the first time and it struck me as very proto-Nietzchean… so maybe, backwards in time, very Heraclitean. It works in contradictory and suggestive aphorisms to work towards a vision of grandeur - what’s distinctly different is that thunder perfect mind is more Platonist/ transcendental, while Heraclitus and Nietzche are (to be kinda reductive) immanent philosophers
And he reads his own comment to full release
Amazing video as always dr great work
He is very interesting. I have stepped through the veil of this knowing and found my spirit resting there.
Dr sledgehammer at it again striking down the hoards of the profane with his malleus gnosis.
Freaky line up with dreams I've been exploring. Thank you for your upload 🖖🏽❤️
Gender is a grift 😂😂😂 I simply love your commentary. So educational and so entertaining!
3:35 sounds like a scene from Indiana Jones
Excellent and interesting presentation as always!
Needed this today, thank you!
Love your videos!
Soul had to be burdened at least with the fear of a sword to experience ITs true Divinity yet I see the pleasure and freedom as you again amaze us with your lecture and I thank you for the knowledge and laughs 🙏🏻
Wow!!
Thank you
Thank you. I appreciate your perspectives
Coming back now that I have obsessively listened to a performance of thunder perfect mind for awhile. You're right to describe it as highly as you do. It's shockingly resonant with modern discussions about the subaltern subject.
'Why do you despise my fear and curse my pride?" Is basically the central question of post colonial studies.
For fun, I subtracted 1468 from 1965 (our entry into the Aquarian age) which = 497 - 4, 9, & 7 each have attributes of significance...
Thank you Dr. Sledge for another excellent episode. Cheers from Seattle! 🍻
Had I known the word "quire," it might have helped me with many tricky Scrabble hands.These videos are great; thank you.
Great video, as always, the poem recommendation was spot on.
But I can't help hearing "as one does" in the John Mulaney voice, and now I just want to hear him read "and he later revealed himself to be Jesus, you know, *as one does*"
i’ve passed on to my most trusted philo-theo people this link. Very nice, engaging, and i was moved (?!) yes; wisdom of the scribe who / saw letters / saw words of wisdom / losing sight or hand control over time.
The grace of the sands affects me.
Ty
Thunder Perfect Mind has fascinated me since i heard it on a commercial. I was floored when I found out how old it was . It hurts to think of all the treasures that turned to dust or ash. One reason book burning makes me sick. Everyone should get a lead tablet and write their favorite sayings on it , then bury it. I do fear we will only be known for Internet memes
Of course the people didn’t deserve to know, even though we have ears! I love to sit down with you and talk about this stuff. Nobody talks about it in the manner you do not really. You are right when you say miracle. Those books are ours and they were put here for us and I hit them away so me and you have to make sure the people that have ears here and I use ears referring to intuition of course because that’s all that there is is the inside.
The section on Plato’s Republic immediately set off tarot alarm bells in my head which I totally was not expecting. The cards the chariot and strength both deal with using will to guide passions, but it has a slightly different take. Instead of both being controlled like a chariot, it seems that the lower passions are controlled, and the higher passions are tamed with patience ( the woman either taming or riding a lion depicted in the strength card). Very interesting stuff
Greetings goodman,
It has been a pleasure to watch your content. I feel like I am engaging in a conscious deliberation, both with you and myself. It presents both challenge and intrigue. So I thank you kindly for sharing.
There is a topic of history which I am very interested in; the creation and use of palimpsests. I wondered if you might ever consider doing a video on such things?
Are there ancient forms of such things? And what are some of the most significant or lesser known? Very interested to hear your perspective on these documents.
Thanks again for the content, see you on the next one!
Regards and Good Health.
"look at me i'm orthodoxy now!" hahahahahahah I LOVED THAT! Your humour is excelent!
Hello Justin! May all go your way.
Really appreciate all the attention paid to the material circumstances of the text, as in the Hermetic/Neoplatonist anthology. We need to understand how these books were used to understand the how the ideas in em had any meaning to their users.
It's funny that only after becoming a antiquarian book collector / dealer has this aspect of understanding books become very clear to me. Having the antiques volumes in hand has given me this insight that I was otherwise lacking - the materiality of the book clearly has an impact on the ideas contained within it. It's a concept that should have been obvious to me but shows another avenue in which pure academic treatment of this material can end up missing the mark. Hope you're well, friend!
@@TheEsotericaChannel yes I really .think anybody who is interested in medieval or ancient books should touch them and learn the methods for their production etc. Practical knowledge is a thing. I've been great enjoying the gaming culture up here in Seattle where I moved two years ago. Been getting back to making shows hope to get you on soon.
Of course, I'd enjoy that! Great to hear from you !
My goodness, this makes me worry about an electronic failure being worse than the burning of The Great Library.
16:37 It is also possible (as was often the case in later history) that certain manuscripts or folios were coppied by commission in that an individual or institution desired a copy and perhaps also paid for it. It makes sense that these texts weren't simply copied for the edification of those who already owned or housed them but for the transmission of knowledge to others.
Best episode yet!!
Thanks again.. sharing with the simple mind here makes it really worthwhile, if I may say so myself... and I may :) believe me
Thank you 🎉
Another great one on your behalf, I am lapping it up.
Please give us more of the same calibre 👍.
Thank you for introducing me to this, so interesting!!!
I feel like Vendetta Cannibalism should be on one of the t-shirts or coffee mugs in your merch store now. 😅
BTW, I love your inclusion of current slang and phrases. Kinda has a playful flavor like Hofstadter’s GEB. Language is just so fun! Thanks for keeping a potentially dry subject good ‘n’ juicy! Humor makes any subject sweet. 👍
Keep thinking about the codex's name like a Mel Brooks bit. "Nag Hammadi? What's Nag Hammadi?" "Nothing's Nag Hammadi with me."