In this episode, David and Gene continue their exploration of the Secret Gospel of John, delving into its complex cosmology and comparing it with Neoplatonic philosophy. They review the discussion from the previous episode that detailed the first phases the evolution of consciousness through the emanations of (1) the Monad (pure undifferentiated consciousness - will), (2) Barbelo (first reflection - thought), and (3) Christ/Autogenes (self-generated awareness - life).

They draw parallels between ancient spiritual concepts and contemporary neuroscience, and discuss how these concepts relate to the modern understanding of consciousness and psychological development. The conversation explores the emergence of the Four Lights from Autogenes and their correspondence to the Four Worlds of Kabbalah, representing different levels of consciousness from spiritual to physical.

This text for this episode focuses on the dramatic turn in the narrative with the appearance of Sophia of the Epinoia and her creation of the Demiurge - a lion-faced serpent representing primal consciousness without higher reasoning. The text details how this "blind idiot god, born of chaos" creates the Archons (rulers) in an attempt to mirror the higher realms, resulting in a distorted reflection of divine patterns that governs the material world.

In this episode, David and Gene (as always) weave together insights from various esoteric traditions, including Masonry, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, alchemy, and Christian Gnosticism, showing how these ancient texts are intended as grimoires or textbooks, detailing sophisticated models for understanding consciousness and human psychological development.

Deep Dive:

• Secret Book of John
• Secret Gospel of John correspondences

Chapters:

• 01:15 Introduction
• 02:29 Review
• 05:32 Neoplatonism
• 10:38 Autogenes
• 14:03 The Four Lights
• 19:06 Pigera-Adamas
• 22:24 Sophia Epinoia
• 25:52 The Demiurge
• 29:09 The Archons
• 33:53 A Jealous God
• 36:52 Conclusions

Resources:

• MiddleChamber.org - Symposium on Masonic Esoterica
• The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
• The Apocryphon of John - Frederick Wisse Translation
• Gnosis.org - The Gnosis Archive
• The Red Book: A Reader's Edition by Carl Jung