To continue with the Paraphrase of Shem, after the five first perceptions came about, they in turn begot the first born son. Like a spark between the father (Monad) and the mother (Barbelo) a light resembling blessedness came about. This light was called the firstborn. The first born desired a fellow worker, and that caused the mind to come into being.
The mind is in reality what the first born son is. These five perceptions together formed the original, yet still primitive mind. It desired to perform a deed through the word of the invisible spirit. The word of the invisible spirit, or any other able spirit is not a word as we understand it, but it is a mental image concept.
The mental image concept is that concept of the mind which we see when we picture an action. Should we for example picture a Christmas turkey dinner in our minds, that would be a mental image concept. Yes, get the turkey in your mind, or a chicken would do from last week if that is easier. Now put the feathers back, and the head. Now have the turkey/chicken stand up on the serving plate. Now have it move through time into "Now." If the gobbling turkey is on the floor in front of you it means you are on your way to rehabilitation. It cannot be done by a Soul which is not well on the way to total rehabilitation.
As mentioned, the mind desired to perform a deed through the word (mental image concept) of the invisible spirit. His will became a deed and it appeared with the mind. The invisible spirit endowed the firstborn with the authority of lights. This is the light which has been called Christ, it is a light which casts no shadow. The light is not perceptible with the eyes of the physical universe. The light just is. The light is forethought, foreknowledge, indestructibility, eternal life and truth. The light is the mind. Furthermore, the light is the "I." Christ at the time this material was written was the savior, but more accurately the anointed one. To be anointed meant you were initiated.
And the light is you too for that matter. This is what you are, you were at this time quite primitive, but do not fear. More is yet to come, and yes, this is the you from the beginning, and you were there. Had you not been there back then, you could not be here reading this material now. (More about that later). These five perceptions were called the "Christ." Christ is not a being. It is an essential part of us all. John 14:20, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my father, and ye in me, and I in you." In other words you are also Christ. You are as responsible for the condition of this planet as anyone else. When you remove the cloak of darkness from around yourself and learn to perceive, that is when the Christ in you will have been resurrected.
So, the mind is in other words Forethought, Foreknowledge, Indestructibility, Eternal life and Truth. Together this is the light not perceptible by physical eyes, and called by the Greek term Christ, which means savior or anointed.
The "I" is the savior. "I" whether it is I or you is the mind.
The basic components of the mind which we are, is Forethought, Foreknowledge, Indestructibility, Eternal life and Truth. Forethought would then be what the dreamer or visionary or prophet employs when he for example envisions a bridge across a stream or an ocean. The engineer then employing the forethought along with foreknowledge comes up with the architectural drawings to enable the building of the bridge. Eternal life and indestructibility then goes together, telling us that the mind is omnipotent, and the truth gives omniscience.
With all this going for us, how could we be in the shape we are in? We will discover the fact that there are several reasons, but the manuscripts uncovered at Nag Hammadi take care of the greatest majority of them.
There is much more to be covered yet. The light, the mind called Christ is referred to as the divine Autogenes. Autogenes is also Greek, and means self-created. So we are also self-created. This would make sense, for by the mind coming into being in the first place it would have to be self-created. A mind would also come into being almost in the same fashion as the lowest forms of life, the bacteria. One mind posing an image of itself to form a +/- effect when contemplating would be the creation of a new mind. Each of these minds would be the original, and this would explain how we all are in the original mind and the original mind is a part of us all. From the basic "I" the complete "I" becomes created. From the Divine Autogenes came forth Will, Thought and Life.
Will would be what gave character. Without it we would not need to have creation of anything, we would not desire for ourselves or for others, nor would we want to right wrongs. This material may by now be a bit scary to some while others feel different emotions. We were all the original Monad. Our perception of time and changes within a universe separate from our original has removed our thoughts from its basis. We all know the truth, but have in our experiences within the physical universe embellished this truth with emendations later revised. The truth never changed, our perception altered and we now have some pet theories which we are reluctant to give up.
We all basically know what the truth is. Our varied experiences within the physical universe has made us alter the basic truths so we have truths that can be applied within a three dimensional world. The truth never changes. Our perception of truth is all that has been altered. We have all had to amend basic truths in order to experience the physical universe. After altering the basic truths we have come up with some pet theories which sort of makes it all fit together. There would not have been any sense at all to our existence here without them and thus we have no desire to discard them.
The basic truths when reworked can have devastating effects on us. The most vicious and destructive lie which we have ever been made to follow is the one which tells us we are all evil. People are not evil or we would have received pleasure when things went wrong for our fellow man. Basic man receives absolutely no pleasure when evil befalls others, or when he himself causes things in others which are evil.
Yes, I am as aware of all the evil which exists in this world as a result of the actions of man as the next person. This evil proves something entirely different which we will cover under a different heading later. The reason it has become so difficult to see the truth is because of our own alterations to the truth. These alterations all came about due to the experiences within the physical universe.
When we soon learn to see exactly what the physical universe really is, it will become easy to fit the truth into the picture. In the meanwhile we do have a slight problem. The reason for the problem is because we in reality are basically good. Therefore it is imperative that we see it, the difficulty lies in the fact that before we can perceive real truth we will have to admit we have been responsible for creating evil of our own. Had we been evil it would have been easy to admit to evil. We are not, and that is what makes it so hard.
Next we have thought. Thought is past tense, and rightfully so. Our thought is the formation of mental image concepts in retrospect. It is the formation of new mental image concepts based upon the mental image concepts we already have. For thought to here come about would have been impossible unless something else had happened prior to this creation of our characteristics. Something had occurred of a different dimension, and this was the reason why these were created. What had occurred? When translated from the Greek original, it was afterthought.
Thought is also the judgment we have of ourselves and our environment based upon experience and several characteristics which we as yet have not looked at. Remember, since we are dealing with a non time dimension, one of these characteristics was not created prior to another, and when I state something else had come about which I named Afterthought, this had not really happen before these other attributes. There are no sequences of events in a non time universe.
Next there is life. Life came before any of the physical universe. All things of the physical universe which we regard as life are symptoms of life. A growing tree is a symptom of life, as is a stalk of grass and a roaring lion. Life is in a gently flowing stream, the roaring waterfall and the majestic ocean. All are symptoms of life, but more. The symptom of life is also a manifestation of life. When the American Indian said God is within everything, he understood more than the missionary who attempted to seduce him into the tenets of the Christian Church who perceived God as something of a mixture of spiritual and material.
Today most church people are more spiritual as they no longer hold the material in as high esteem, but it is still a material church, being concerned about the resurrection of material bodies which was something no Greek philosopher could have understood. The Greek philosophers were not the only ones who understood that all things which changed were limited and could never have any lasting value. Only unchanging things are immortal.
Nothing material is life. A tree is not material. The components which are employed in the creation of a tree are material. When this material is acted upon by the force which is life the end result becomes something which we call organic.
The difference between inorganic and organic is that on anything which is organic life, inorganic has been present. The forces of nature, such as sunlight, atoms composing such things as hydrogen and oxygen and all other basic components of the physical universe are modified by "I" to create change. This change becomes manifested as life. The change is not in itself life, but as most of us only perceive with sensory organs of the physical dimensional universe, we are powerless to see life.
The change is by many looked upon as being life, but this change is not itself more than a symptom of life. It tells us life has been present, and life goes far beyond the creation of physical bodies. Real life is a spiritual conception. The physical is just a changing, ever deteriorating substance which can never become synonymous with real life.
Four powers then came into being; they are understanding, grace, prudence and perception. Understanding is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another, and see things from his viewpoint. It would also be the understanding that we all are interdependent. That our physical bodies are as dependent on the trees, or even more so than the trees are of the humanoids.
Understanding exist on all planes. There is the understanding in the spiritual realm. On a spiritual plane, individual entities can only exist through divergence of opinion. Should two spiritual entities exactly duplicate each other when it comes to perception, one entity would ensue. The one entity would be each and neither would lose any personality, or be subjected to the will of the other. The "I" which thought, would still be the "I" which thought. It may be said to be a reunion at the highest level of awareness. Should this seem frightening to someone it would be because they have not understood. This entails no loss for either. There is not anything to be gained for either entity for that matter, so it would never be a forced merger. This could not happen if one of the entities were afraid of a loss or if one of the entities did not understand.
On the bottom end of the scale there is a similar type of merger but here it is an absolved state of the "I" into the material universe. This is the type of merger we should be afraid of. This is where a merger goes on to a two dimensional reality and from there to a one dimensional. Everyone who thinks of themselves as bodies, or even feels the body is of any importance whatever is a long way from experiencing a merger at the top of the scale. But these same individuals are extremely close to an amalgamated state where they become a part of the physical universe. More about the state where the "I" becomes a part of the physical universe later. No one that can follow this writing to this point is as yet very close to the state at the bottom rung of the ladder.
Grace would be the disposition which allows one to fit in to his proper place. The American Indian while equating himself with the tree and the creek and the rest of nature displayed this grace. The Indian perceived the "Pleroma" within the physical universe. The missionary because he knew he could cut down the tree showed disrespect and a lack of grace.
For the concept of prudence, it should possibly be coupled with care, and with the respect of others combined with the ability to judge and perceive the consequence of ones actions as well as oneself in relation to others. It is the humble ego, yet not humble because he is inferior. Humble because he is not.
Understanding is related to perception. You cannot have understanding without perception, yet you can have perception without understanding. Understanding is what the Indian had when it came to what is today called nature, trees, etc. Perception is what the minister had. Understanding is not ego deflating. The destruction which comes about because of the assertiveness of certain egos are ego deflating. They display all action with little or no understanding. Everything is made the effect of this display without prudence, grace and understanding. The end result is destruction and destruction is counter ego as it is alien to all our inherent qualities. Understanding builds the ego. The ego does not need tumultuous effects created all around it. The incomplete Man needs these effects while looking to find the rest of his attributes. It is a destructive effort that leads to no good end. It does not lead to understanding but leads away from it. The creating of effects without understanding wraps the cloak of darkness tightly about the Soul.
Grace is said to belong to the light spirit Armozel, also called the first angel. With Armozel is grace, truth and form. Truth mentioned here a second time is of a different nature. This truth should perhaps also be coupled with veracity in order to bring out the full meaning of the concept. It is truth beyond the facts which we can observe, it is also truth as regards to the mental image concept.
The mental image concept of others can be observed.
The only ones who cannot perceive the mental image concept of others are those who themselves are hiding things from their fellow Man. The cloak of darkness is also such that it prevents Man from perceiving the mental image concept of others.
There are indoctrinated into the artificial souls we have from the Archons (rulers) of evil, pictures of atrocities which we allegedly have committed which we dare not divulge. These pictures we are sure we are guilty of and the atrocities are such we never dare divulge these for anyone.
That we all have the same pictures is of no consequence. Because we all hide these pictures we are also incapable of an extended memory. In order to remember a past existence it would be necessary first of all to remember the shameful deeds. It would be nice to remember only the good things, but this is totally impossible. The pain and humiliation and degradation we have caused ourselves is directly linked to memory loss. (Archon's are powers above the physical universe Angels, they ensure misfortune befalls us all.)
(There is more to confession than anyone ever realized.)
But truth is the concept which is. The opposite would be the concept we would like to have. The reason for this is not because reality is so scary. In fact reality, when we achieve total knowledge, it is rather boring. Reality however does not fit in with our pictures of excuses and justifications for our actions.
The opposite to truth is also the concept the Hebrew Deity wished for his followers, that truth was his law; right or wrong had no bearing on it. His followers had to adhere to his warped law, right or wrong was not a question.
Real truth is what the Greek philosophers perceived. Truth is a complete concept which had no justifications or excuses attached. If one excuse is needed by a person in regards to this material after the complete picture has been understood, the material cannot be the truth.
Form would be the essence of anything or anyone as opposed to its outline or shape. The concept form here is about the opposite of what we usually regard the word form with because the size and shape has nothing to do with it. It is the concept of the essence regardless of physical manifestations. It is the architectural drawings to enable the building of the bridge with circumspection. Oriel is the "Angel" who has been placed over the second vital force. The three forces with him are conception, perception and memory.
Conception here has nothing to do with the formation of embryos. It is the formation of mental image concepts. It is the type of conception which occur when you are reading a book.
When you read this book, mental image concepts are continuously made. It does not matter if you agree with the concepts portrayed or not. Along with the memory of concepts previously recorded you are aligning the material transmitted. If you perceive what I attempt to state, I have relayed the material properly. If you feel fear, it is because of a threat posed by the material to concepts you hold as stable data that is being threatened. If you feel elation it is because data transmitted agrees with concepts you have. Conception here has to do with the spiritual universe. Not the physical.
The spiritual universe does not need the physical to survive but the physical is dependent upon the spiritual. Much like the humanoid body is dependent upon trees.
It is the Indian and the minister all over again. The tree does not need the physical minister to survive, but could not exist without the spiritual Indian. The Indian is Man, the minister is the Archon.
Also with Oriel is perception and memory. Perception we looked at, and memory is known by all. Or so we think. Let us look at it regardless. Memory here is not data stored in an enormous bank like we picture a computer. Memory is the accumulated experience of the being. As Souls, we all have the memory dating to the first thought. We are as much a part of it as anyone. Should a mind have divided into two equal minds along the road, which happened innumerable times, they are both the original mind. There is not any difference until they are separated by time/space as we perceive it in the physical universe, or the equivalent factors separate the minds in other universes. That is the Spiritual memory.
In the physical universe we have a few more lines of memory. There is the memory implanted in us by the Archons which are intended to confuse and deceive. This memory is in an artificial Soul which the Archons also have given us. I advise sending it to heaven or hell. It does not matter which as long as it no longer is a part of our perceptions. Just turn it in. Do not confuse that by turning in the body which is totally different. You need the body until the time you are totally independent of the physical universe.
The middle region between the physical universe and the universe of light is not, and I repeat emphatically, not the spiritual universe. The middle region is not where our heaven is, it is where the house of Hades is which was talked about in Phaedo. The spiritual universe is another dimension, it is just about impossible to perceive this dimension while carrying about all the garbage we have in the physical universe. We must experience it first before ridding ourselves of our bodies. The concept written in Plato's Republic about the prisoners fettered in the cave is an extremely good example of what the current condition of man is.
The middle region is where indoctrination by the Archons take place. Those who cannot go past that middle while still caring for a body will have an extremely difficult time out of the physical. Chances are they will search among the physical, planets and stars and black holes where they will find loss and destitution. To the Gnostics, a rebirth was the death of the image one had of oneself as being a physical body and the resultant realization one is a spiritual entity. The great present we have received from our God(s) has been this artificial soul.
The artificial soul on the other hand is not spiritual or physical. It could be compared to a shadow, yet less beneficial. The third line of memory is through the DNA. This is the memory along the line of our physical bodies. This can get far more complicated than it at first would seem. First there are the physical memories of our current bodies. Then there are the memories of the physical bodies along the lines of all our ancestors. The DNA along the evolutionary chain from a one-cell primitive life form all the way to our current physical form has a primitive memory.
As if that was not enough, there is also the memories of the other physical bodies we may have had in the physical universe along the lines of all those bodies, and those could be from entirely different parts of the Galaxy. They could be from entirely different parts of this universe with its myriad of Galaxies. They could be from bodies in any equally great amount of universes which numbers might equal or surpass the amount of galaxies and stars within this universe. Now do you comprehend why at times you might feel just a little bit confused?
Now try to perceive which physical universe body could contain the previously mentioned concept. And the memory of that understanding is all yours. How near the concept is to actuality depends on the amount of the cloak of darkness you are still carrying around and nothing else. IQ is a measure of the impingement of the cloak of darkness and has nothing to do with innate abilities.
The third light, or "Angel" is Daveithai who is over the third unit of senses. (Over should here be replaced with synonymous.) The three senses with him are Understanding, Love and Idea.
Understanding was covered, and is the root of these senses, as all other of these "Angels" have their root. Love is the feeling between two spiritual entities of unity. It is the feeling of belonging together and being a part of each other.
This is a part of understanding. I was once asked by a lady if sincere love is possible between adults without the sex which is supposed to go with it. It should be asked the other way around. When sex enters a relationship of love, you enter into the relationship some aspects of the physical universe. Many an unhappy couple can attest to the sad fact that love just died. Love will die when the turmoil and corruption of the physical universe enters into a relationship between two spiritual beings. Love is unity, unity of thought, unity of destiny. Sex between humanoids is an attempt to recapture this unity on a physical plane, which can not be done.
The third aspect is Idea. Idea is the perception of the mind which serves as the replica of perception, love and understanding coupled with all other aspects of man. Ideas within the physical universe are always imperfect. The more one is under the cloak of darkness the less perfect the ideas are. The concept of the idea is just not adequately developed, and in most cases it is badly slanted by false precepts of reality which have been implanted by the Archons. Were it perfect the turkey would have appeared on the floor or table in front of you. The Archons can only affect one if he is ignorant of the real origin. There is no need to fear having a car with a flat tire when one can fly.
The fourth light which is synonymous with the fourth force is the "Angel" Eleleth. The three eons aspects of him are Perfection, peace and wisdom.
Perfection is the flawless character of the Soul when all attributes are a part of the Soul. It means the Soul lacks for nothing, mistakes are unknown and error is foreign. Perfection is each and every one of us in our native universe, and should we become aware and Gnostic this perfection is also a part of us in this universe. Complete Gnosis could be said to be full consciousness. While Gnostic knowledge is not a part of the physical universe, it is extremely desirable that Gnostic wisdom be a part of us while we are doing time in physical bodies.
In reality we are perfect in this universe! It is the impingement of the physical universe which makes our awareness like fog under a cloak of darkness. When we see the aberration and criminality, hate, envy and bitterness all around us, we are looking at the effect the physical universe is having on unaware spiritual entities. No one will be held responsible for the errors while under the cloak of ignorance. Should you desire to continue with the corrupt practices of yesteryear, pursuing the aberrations of the flesh, put down the book or it is soon too late. The punishment inflicted on oneself by being unaware is more punishment than what should be required of anyone.
Peace would be synonymous with tranquillity and the serenity which goes with it. Peace is a state of mind where no opposing forces are fighting. It is a mind without turmoil. Peace is not, on the other hand, a life without challenges and interests. Take away the challenges and we discover our true great enemy. The one which gets us into all sorts of trouble, namely boredom.
Serenity as it is conceived today would fit the description better than peace. It is a serenity of being.
Wisdom is perhaps the word most misunderstood. When it is employed with the rest of the characteristics it is enlightenment, it is knowledge. When all aspects of the Soul work as one, it is Gnosis. But all the units of Man mentioned above can be employed separately. When wisdom (Sophia) is employed without all the above characteristics it can have disastrous affects. And the same can be said about the rest of the characteristics. Sophia is Greek and means wisdom, it also means afterthought!
The complete Man is in complete harmony with all of the above manifestations and characteristics. What is known as female and male humanoids has absolutely nothing to do with the Man concept herein. Sophia is feminine, but is a part of the attribute of "Man." When in possession of Gnosis, one is "Man" and it has nothing to do with sex, sexual preference or humanoid bodies. Man is the complete spiritual entity. He is the Soul without added corruption, lacking nothing.
The unity of all these characteristics was what it took to create the first "Man." He was called Pigera-Adamas, and he was placed over the first source and then all the perceptions. Thus all the forces became complete and Pigera-Adamas is the invincible spiritual power.
We have the five basic characters which make up the mind. They are forethought, foreknowledge, indestructibility and truth. Then there are three lights accompanying the mind. This should be changed to three powers which are a part of the mind, and they are will, thought and life. Thus we have the makeup of the mind.
To complete our makeup we then have the twelve perceptions which are Grace, Truth, Form, Conception, Perception, Memory, Understanding, Love, Idea, Perfection, Peace, and Wisdom
All of these together make up the perfect "Man" and this is all of us. The perfect Man is Pigera-Adamas. After his creation, he ascended to become over everything else. This means these attributes and characteristics became the basic components of everyone. And after these characteristics were completed, a son was put in charge. He was called Seth.
Sethian Gnosticism was supposedly founded by the Samaritans, a sect of Israelites which were not deported by the Assyrian kingdoms after the conquest of Israel in 721 B.C.E. "The three stele's of Seth" is a Gnostic writing found in Nag Hammadi which had no Christian influence whatever. This would attest to the existence of Gnostic beliefs from far before Jesus. How far, we can only guess at this time. Hopefully older more original manuscripts will be discovered AND published soon. On "The second stele of Seth" Barbelo is described as the duplicate of Source.
Here the eternal ones are described as shadows of source. We should not see these as shadows perceived in the physical universe, for the immortal universe is the universe of light where no such shadow exists.
Interpretation would be closer to the truth if we saw the shadows as duplications of source. The shadows were reflections of light. The "Second Stele of Seth" continues by accrediting to Barbelo the creation of the basic elements which we just looked at. Here also is the idea that Man will be saved through the "Word." It must be understood that this word is not the word uttered from bodies or written on pages. The word on a page or uttered by a body is only able to direct one toward the "Word."
The Word exists. It always has and always will. It is the mental image concept of the invisible spirit. It can only be seen by those of a pure heart. The "word" in ancient times was what the Greeks called "logos." The Christians such as Irenaeus interpreted Christ as being the "Word" of God.
"Zostreanos," is one of the largest compositions in the Nag Hammadi library. It seems to be a work of Sethian Gnosticism combined with Greek thought. Exactly how Greek the Gnostic thoughts were, or how Gnostic the Greek thoughts were is a matter which is open for a wide round of discussion. While some Greek ideas are preserved in such works as Plato there was far more to the Greek thoughts than what they have been accredited with. When the later Christians refuted all the Gnostic heretics, Great "heretics" such as Plato and Aristotle were included. The authenticity of much of the work of these Great legends must also be questioned because of the revisions which later was undertaken by the ensuing "heretical" Christian religion.
Unfortunately the work known as Zostreanos is so damaged only a tentative reconstruction of the main thought behind it can be done. Regretfully this is also that Gnostic composition which we really need.
It talks of the perfect waters of the supreme sphere and how beings there have their own water. Here water would be space or realm. Then it talks of the unfortunate beings of Hades which exist in one place. Beings in one place would be those which care for a corporeal body with an artificial soul. Here the house of Hades which is talked about in Plato can be seen to be the physical universe existence we all live in.
Like the "Apochryphon of John" it talks of the four lights which were over our twelve characteristics. Here it is said the first is Armozel (names are identical) is a promise of God, truth and joining of the soul to the eternal realm. Oroiael is the power and seer of truth over the second. Daveithe who is the vision of knowledge is he who is over the third. The fourth, Eleleth, is the desire for truth and knowledge.
Now these do not disagree with the powers as described in the Apochryphon of John, they just do not completely give the attributes of each which could indicate that the pre-Christian Zostreanos relied for its data on an earlier version of the Apochryphon of John. This does not invalidate the data in Zostreanos either since Zostreanos deals with a different area of Gnosis, and just merely reminds the readers of these powers.
In Zostreanos the Soul is again ascending to the world of light, and here he is baptized in the "waters" of various manifestations. This would be baptism not in water as we know it, but a relearning of our basic attributes.
When relearning these attributes one would not have a teacher teaching as we understand it. It would simply be the complete mental image picture one was experiencing and the experience of this was referred to as a baptism. The Gnostics were adamantly opposed to baptism as we know it with fresh water stating it formed a bondage between the material and the spiritual and was a major part of the trap between the Archons and the Souls.
Zostreanos states that the divine Autogenes is the "word" of the perfect mind. The supreme divine Autogenes is called Adamas whom we met as Pigera-Adamas.
The son, Seth, is the knowledge which becomes a part of all Souls within the physical universe. It is assumed this is the perfect knowledge, including all twelve attributes, the four powers and the five manifestations. It is said this was why the living seed came into existence. The living seed would be beings whose thoughts are mental image concepts.
While we all think in mental image concepts, we have degenerated to a state were we have to translate these into words, spoken or written to communicate. To communicate in this fashion is far more cumbersome. We are now apt to have misunderstanding of idea, which is done away with when communicating with mental image concepts. And when communicating in this fashion it also takes much longer to impart the desired mental image concept.
In Zostreanos it also talks about that man whose soul, body and mind are all Dead. The material is extremely difficult to make out here because of the damage, but it seems to say that within this Dead man is the second immortal man. As soon as that man starts seeking he becomes alive, or resurrected.
The above might be more confusing than revelatory for some. It might at first be difficult to fully comprehend a non time/space universe. The concept that our home universe is one were time and matter does not exist is strange.
It is difficult to comprehend why we would desire existence to begin with. What are we anyway? What is the reason for our existence? What is our purpose? We seem to have the idea that our purpose is to pay homage to a Deity, and the reason the Deity exists is so he can receive this praise. Some say our reason for being here is so we can go there if we are good and somewhere else if we are bad.
This type of logic denies the possibility we are an intelligent form of life. But what are we really?
Well, we are alive. By alive I define it as an entity which is aware of being aware. We perceive and record data, then we file it in our memory banks, not in alphabetical order, but in order of what we perceive to be of importance. Yet this could not be the purpose of our existence. We are Souls, could our existence within the physical universe be on account of the need to free the spiritual manifestations which are here? Or could it be that we are trapped as the Gnostics stated because the physical universe will not exist without us?
Where would there be a Deity who existed in order that he might receive homage from lesser beings? The fact is that such could not possibly be the case. The Bible tells us we became like the Gods, and that was the reason we were kicked out of paradise.
Gen. 3:22-23 "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken."
This gives us enough data to compare the Deity to our own reactions, and the one thing which is certain and applicable with every man, woman and child is that before receiving pleasure from any praise and or adoration, we first of all have to deem the source worthy. Praise from those we consider superior is by far the greatest gratification. If we are praised by a person or source which we deem inferior we feel insulted or slighted, but we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves here.
We will deal with the creation of the physical universe as perceived by the Gnostics as our next step in understanding the philosophies of the Gnostics.