I appreciate your patience for the silence in this feed. As the new year begins, I will have plenty to share... and that is what I am working on in the silence. I am putting together a 12 part guide called, How to be the Modern-Day Mystic. It will provide monthly teachings that include an Intro to Mysticism, then a class on how we are (often) called into Mysticism- how did you get into Mysticism. From there, monthly topics (below) will help us form and grow our Mystical Practice. Take a look at the outline: HOW TO BE A MODERN DAY MYSTIC Being a modern-day mystic involves embodying a deeply spiritual life while remaining grounded in the realities of the modern world. Mysticism transcends religious boundaries and focuses on direct, personal experiences with the divine and universal truth. The following guidelines introduce us to and help us embrace the path of a modern-day mystic. Each month we look more deeply into these topics: 1. Developing a Spiritual and Contemplative Practice (on-going) - Meditation: Spend time in stillness to connect with your inner self and the divine. Explore practices like mindfulness, transcendental meditation, or contemplative prayer. - Prayer or Intention Setting: Communicate with the divine in your own way—through traditional prayer, journaling, or speaking aloud. - Rituals: Create daily or seasonal rituals that align with your spiritual beliefs, such as lighting candles, using sacred objects, or observing natural cycles. - 2. Studying Sacred Wisdom (on-going) - Opening oneself to the sacred texts of various traditions (e.g., the Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Tao Te Ching, Quran, and mystical works like Rumi's poetry or the writings of Meister Eckhart and Paramahansa Yogananda). - Finding your heroes- whose practices and writings call to you most? - Explore modern interpretations of mysticism through works by authors like Thomas Merton, Eckhart Tolle, or Richard Rohr. - Learn about mystical traditions like Sufism, Kabbalah, Vedanta, and shamanism. -

The following text is part of the Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical (apocryphal) collection of sayings attributed to Jesus. It was discovered among the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt in 1945. It’s written in Coptic and likely dates to the 2nd century CE. In this lost gospel, Yeshua is sharing that he is the holy “stuff” that is within : 📜 Coptic (Nag Hammadi Codex II, 32:10–33:2) (Transliterated from the Sahidic dialect) ⲡⲉϫⲉ Ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲱⲱⲧ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲧϩⲓⲥⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲉⲧⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲉⲣⲉⲩⲛⲁⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲓⲉⲣⲉⲩⲛⲁⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲓ.ⲕⲱⲧ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲓⲥⲧⲁⲩ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ ⲛⲁⲓ ⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲛⲁⲓ.ⲉⲣⲟⲩⲡⲱϩ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ ⲁⲓⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲕ ϩⲛ̄ⲧⲉϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ. (Translation) Jesus said, “I am the light that is over all things.I am all; all came forth from me, and to me all attained.Split the wood, and I am there.Lift the stone, and you will find me there.” Take a moment to meditate and contemplate upon this idea. How does this feel for you personally?

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love”. Meister Eckhart The whole universe is the temple of the Divine. Sri Aurobindo God sleeps in the stone, dreams in the flower, awakens in the human. Sufi proverb

These are some of the things I have started to learn this past year. I know my next deep dive is going to be Gnosticism…. I wonder if Sethian Gnosticism is connected to Jane Robert’s channeled Seth….. according to what we find in the lost gospels and other books (ex. Pistis Sofia) Yeshua did speak extensively about Gnosticism. I KNOW this is deep stuff! But I’m very interested in what Christ was learning and teaching!! AI Search: Sethian Gnosticism was a branch of ancient Gnosticism that flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, distinguished by its reverence for the biblical Seth, Adam's third son, as the spiritual ancestor of the Gnostics. These Gnostics believed salvation came through gnôsis (secret knowledge) that allowed them to ascend from the material world, created by a lesser demiurge, to the true, spiritual divine realm. Our primary understanding of Sethian Gnosticism comes from texts found in the Nag Hammadi library. Key Beliefs Seth as Spiritual Ancestor: Sethians identified with Seth, seeing him as the first to understand the flawed nature of the material world and the first to initiate a path to spiritual liberation. Dualism: A fundamental belief was that the material world was a lower reality created by a lesser deity (the demiurge) and that the true reality was spiritual. Salvation through Knowledge: Unlike mainstream Christianity, which emphasized faith, Sethian Gnostics saw knowledge (gnôsis) as the path to salvation and to return to the true spiritual realm. The Demiurge: A divine being, often a creator figure distinct from the true God, was believed to have created the flawed physical world and its traps. Ritual and Ascent: Through ritual and understanding these cosmic myths, Sethians believed they could ascend through various spiritual levels and escape the demiurge's control. Origins and Evidence Hellenistic Jewish Roots: Sethian Gnosticism originated in the 2nd century AD as a blend of Hellenistic Judaism, Christianity, and Middle Platonism.

Being that I am currently editing my thesis, A Return to Mysticism: Healing Religious Hurt and Trauma through Mysticism, I thought this would be a good time to finally start sharing elements of what I have been writing about for months! Your mystic relationship with the Divine is as unique as you are — and that relationship is one-on-one. Your passions, talents, loves, and desires are how the Divine expresses Itself through you. Through that expression, your brothers and sisters in the world benefit. Begin to acknowledge that the Divine is always in and around you — It is You! It is Everything! Every breath you take, from birth to death, you are directly connected to the Divine. You are never alone or without loving Divine support. Here are some questions for you to ponder on how the Divine shows up in your life, right now, today: - What are your gifts, talents, loves, and passions? How do you feel when you are doing them? - How do you share these qualities with the world? - When do you feel most aware of Divine Presence? - What practices or activities help you feel connected to Spirit? - Are there places of longing, confusion, or transition that seem to be calling for attention right now? If so, the Divine may be inviting you to transform or shift in some way. These are personal questions to reflect on in your own time. Developing a spiritual journaling habit is a beautiful and beneficial practice. We grow in layers and spirals with Spirit, so how you answer or reflect each day will be unique. I invite you to share any activities or rituals that help you feel connected to the Divine or to Nature.By sharing, we learn from one another. 💜