The Gnostic Church of L.V.X. is proud to present our first of what we hope will be a regular service; our Rosicrucian Mass exclusively presented by our donors and produced by Nadia Goodwin. In an effort to show off the Genius of our congregation, each month, we hope to present sermons by various congregants, as they share their own Gnostic experience. And this month we’re proud to lead the way with Joshua Burns and his knowledge lecture: On Not Knowing.
Please see the mass video below, and the notes used to deliver the sermon below that.
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Sermon Notes
On Not Knowing
1. A phrase at glance that makes no sense.
1A. Not Knowing is simply existence, without the curse of desire
2. This idea can be both simple and complex.
2A. Simple: You listen to music on shuffle and randomly find a new song you like.
2A1. Music strikes meaning to us on a subconscious level. Be in tune, or off key.
2B. Complex: When you start to pay attention, you will often see your thoughts reflected back in things you never expected. Like thoughts echoing in a locked temple that you are trapped in.
2B1. I often question the possibility that my is a conspiracy in this way. [Examples]
3. Synchronicities help us to let go of ourselves; they bring us a sense of overwhelming serendipity.
4. I like this term Die Daily – Not a literal death but a letting go .
4A. Exactly like – idea of death causes alarm and fear, as we tend to view death in negative terms. But if we let go of that assumption, we find a deeper meaning.
4A1. The nature of consciousness wants to control its outcome. We constantly watch others and are filled by worry and fear, but we watch because we need to know. Or so we think
4B. It is Through Gnosis, we come to terms with our own “death” and enter our resurrection. Daily.
5. Still, we have entered this age of information, which is such a gift, yet it has seemingly cursed us to an obsession with knowing answers right away, and an obsession with always being right, when sometimes it is rather ok to accept simply not knowing.
5A. Sometimes we become entrenched in social media, pleasing others, desiring to be something more than we are. But this brings I and others farther from ourselves, and in truth, we don’t always need to know what others are up to.
5A1. When we stop breathing so heavily onto the glass, the fog clears and for a bit we can see out the window.
6. There is a quote from Aleister Crowley, “Free from the lust of result.”
6A. To me this means, without being pretentious. Without knowing the ending, nor having a fetish of figuring it out.
6B. Some people are content shutting themselves up out of fear of rejection. They assume they already know the outcome. But even negative outcomes are only negative in that moment.
6B1. As an example, Once I spoke up during a meeting, and I was praised by my bosses for inspiring others to speak out as well.
6B2. Another time, I spoke up and was fired for being juxtaposed to people’s feelings. But in the end, that firing led to me finding a dream job. Hold that thought.
6B2a. When I was in college at a fraternity, I couldn’t think of an interesting fact, so I said “I hate country music.” Eleven years later, I live in Nashville, city of country music. Where I got fired.
6B2b. It just so happens my best friends from that fraternity had moved here by chance. We got fired within the same month for similar reasons. We ended up finding a job at the same exact company… “I hate country music”
7. Gnosis isn’t some esoteric secret hidden away to unlock the ancient wisdoms. Gnosis is, to quote Crowley again “Pure will unassuaged of purpose.”
8. There is a term in Hinduism “dhyana,” which means a deep form of concentration.
And this is much like not knowing, but it is also the ultimate knowing, by seeing outside of your own self, you suddenly see yourself, but also experience yourself from an outside point-of-view.
8A. The word seems spooky and mysterious but in reality, This is something simple that you can practice in trivial situations like standing in line, or just having fun in general. Concentration can be a form of meditation much like letting go, Dying Daily. I realize that waiting in line is not an inconvenience at all, but an experience that I am but also am apart of.
9. There is a school of thought, Adlerian psychology, which proposes that much of human suffering is caused by feelings of inferiority stemming from our judgement of others.
9A. Like standing in line, Being in public , out and about with others, being a part of “a society” can be sometimes a strain our egos.
9A1. Because we are afraid of what others might thing, afraid of not knowing.
9A1a. We have an opposition to control or destroy what we see as oppositions to our own identity.
9A1a1. That judgement is the opposite of “not knowing.
9B. A quote from Alfred Adler – “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.”
9B1. Of course, we will never be able to get along with every single being. Reality is no utopia. There is no such thing as perfection.
9C. Life is rather wabi sabi ( a Japanese term which means to find beauty in imperfection).
10. Still we can choose to listen with empathy. Void of presupposed judgment And when we do so, we each learn more about the world around us, and thus our greater selves.
10A. It is through this will toward gnosis, our ability to “not know”, that we are able to move ourselves AND OTHERS forward.
11. Some of the best days are when I encounter strangers and make them smile.
11A. Some of the things I anticipate are the most disappointing.
11B. Some of the things I never expected, are the most reveling and impactful.
12. When I accept these facts, life no longer becomes a burden, but an adventure, a challenge to forget about what I think I understand, and discover what is Not Knowing.
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