The Celestial Sophia and her appearance to the Sufi Ibn' Arabi.

[susy7]

Taken from The Creative Imagination in Sufism by Ibn ‘Arabi
One night, when Ibn ‘Arabi was questioning himself and his own theosophy, he appeared to him as the celestial Sophia, whom he described as “Christian”.
His discourse will determine him with nuance on the creator-feminine.
Can we say that this notion, and even his own self-identity, is a good way forward?

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztjv4

 

[Εἰρήνη]

Taken from The Creative Imagination in Sufism by Ibn ‘Arabi
One night, when Ibn ‘Arabi was questioning himself and his own theosophy, he appeared to him as the celestial Sophia, whom he described as “Christian”.
His discourse will determine him with nuance on the creator-feminine.
Can we say that this notion, and even his own self-identity, is a good way forward?

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztjv4

I think the concept of sufism and Sophia is related to phosphorus, that Laura and the Cs talked about.
Search under the key words "phosphorus", "phosphorescent", "phoric", "phosphorous", "sopophoric", "phoric" etc.

 

[axj]

Sufism is the esoteric core of Islam, similar to the Esoteric Christianity described by Mouravieff and others. I suppose either of those or other true esoteric/spiritual traditions can be a good way forward if it resonates with you on a deep level.

What is being used the most on this forum as far as doing the Work seems to be a combination of Esoteric Christianity, Gurdjieff's Fourth Way and some of the Toltec Teachings as described by Carlos Castaneda and others.

 

[susy7]

Sufism is the esoteric core of Islam, similar to the Esoteric Christianity described by Mouravieff and others. I suppose either of those or other true esoteric/spiritual traditions can be a good way forward if it resonates with you on a deep level.

What is being used the most on this forum as far as doing the Work seems to be a combination of Esoteric Christianity, Gurdjieff's Fourth Way and some of the Toltec Teachings as described by Carlos Castaneda and others.

Boris Mouravieff is a catch-all! In any case, his book is his own personal invention.

 

[susy7]

Sufism is the esoteric core of Islam, similar to the Esoteric Christianity described by Mouravieff and others. I suppose either of those or other true esoteric/spiritual traditions can be a good way forward if it resonates with you on a deep level.

What is being used the most on this forum as far as doing the Work seems to be a combination of Esoteric Christianity, Gurdjieff's Fourth Way and some of the Toltec Teachings as described by Carlos Castaneda and others.

Sufism is the esoteric core of Islam, similar to the Esoteric Christianity described by Mouravieff and others. I suppose either of those or other true esoteric/spiritual traditions can be a good way forward if it resonates with you on a deep level.

What is being used the most on this forum as far as doing the Work seems to be a combination of Esoteric Christianity, Gurdjieff's Fourth Way and some of the Toltec Teachings as described by Carlos Castaneda and others.

True Sufism has nothing to do with Castaneda, nothing to do with Mourriev and nothing to do with Gurdjieff. You have to go back to Ibn'Al Arabie, Farid-Ud-Din'Attar and his language of birds and the seven cities of love, Jalâl al-Din-Rumi and the test of love. And there are more.

 

[axj]

True Sufism has nothing to do with Castaneda, nothing to do with Mourriev and nothing to do with Gurdjieff. You have to go back to Ibn'Al Arabie, Farid-Ud-Din'Attar and his language of birds and the seven cities of love, Jalâl al-Din-Rumi and the test of love. And there are more.

True Sufism is actually pretty much the same as any other true spiritual or mystical tradition - it is about doing the Work on oneself. The labels and tools may look somewhat different, but the intent is the same.

And I don't need to "go back to Ibn'Al Arabie", since Sufism is not a system that resonates with me. What is best for you is not necessarily the best system for other people.

 

[susy7]

True Sufism is actually pretty much the same as any other true spiritual or mystical tradition - it is about doing the Work on oneself. The labels and tools may look somewhat different, but the intent is the same.

And I don't need to "go back to Ibn'Al Arabie", since Sufism is not a system that resonates with me. What is best for you is not necessarily the best system for other people.

It's about creating your own theophany, that's what we call the personal paths to follow. It's not just Sufism, there are the Neoplatonists, alchemy following Jakob Böhme, Castaneda was good at the beginning, but he ‘missed’ something towards the end. Any mystical work that speaks to you, you have to immerse yourself in it, it's your deepest being that's telling you.

 

[Εἰρήνη]

True Sufism is actually pretty much the same as any other true spiritual or mystical tradition - it is about doing the Work on oneself. The labels and tools may look somewhat different, but the intent is the same.

True.

 

[Ricardo]

The tradition is written in all languages , but it has none . nuff said

 

[nicklebleu]

Any mystical work that speaks to you, you have to immerse yourself in it, it's your deepest being that's telling you.

No, you don’t!

Anyone who says “you have to” to me, raises a huge red flag. We live in a Free Will universe, so on a basic level, “I don’t have to do anything at all”! Sure, there a consequences to that, but force, coercion, even persuasion to some degree, etc is not the right way to lead those that we would like us to follow on the staircase upward. How about leading by example …?

Remember - all there is, is lessons!

 

[susy7]

No, you don’t!

Anyone who says “you have to” to me, raises a huge red flag. We live in a Free Will universe, so on a basic level, “I don’t have to do anything at all”! Sure, there a consequences to that, but force, coercion, even persuasion to some degree, etc is not the right way to lead those that we would like us to follow on the staircase upward. How about leading by example …?

Remember - all there is, is lessons!

Am I saying the opposite? No, everything is a lesson yes; I rewrite the phrase of the Ismaili: know yourself and you will know your lord.

 

[susy7]

With regard to the notion of Gnosticism, it has to be said that there is not one Gnosis, but several, the first of which comes from the book Pistis Sophia; which, moreover, raises questions in my mind: why would Sophia be attacked by other forces to punish her for being close to her lord? Some Gnostics of the Christian era are ambivalent about Sophia, she would be the one who created the false god? Then there's a Gnosis that originated in Persia, which, let's not forget, reached as far as India, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, and gave rise to the first Gnostic, Sohravardi, who linked the cult of Zoroaster with Islam, not rigorist Islam, but an Islam in perfect harmony with Sufism. He was beheaded by the rigorist Sunnis under Saladin despite his son's opposition, and Sohravardi studied the Platonic texts and Aristotle. If you only knew the number of mystical schools in Iran, they are legion, particularly in Isfahan. What characterises these schools is the Imagination, which defines itself as the organ of Theophany, because it is the organ of THE Creation, and creation is essentially theophanic. So, to give you an idea, take the example of the rays of the sun crossing a crystal, the light of the sun will give you a diffraction in several colours, so the main light will be broken down into billions of ideas of the unspeakable. Rûmi wrote: human, you are an idea, the rest is flesh and blood. This world is not imaginary, but creative imagination is ‘real’.

 

[Ryan]

I think the concept of sufism and Sophia is related to phosphorus, that Laura and the Cs talked about.
Search under the key words "phosphorus", "phosphorescent", "phoric", "phosphorous", "sopophoric", "phoric" etc.

What is your basis for thinking that? The etymology of "Sophia" is Greek for wisdom, or Knowledge, whereas "phosphorus" comes from "light-bearing" or "illumination":

1640s, "substance or organism that shines of itself," from Latin phosphorus "light-bringing," also "the morning star" (a sense attested in English from 1620), from Greek Phosphoros "morning star," literally "torchbearer," from phōs "light," contraction of phaos "light, daylight" (related to phainein "to show, to bring to light," from PIE root *bha- (1) "to shine") + phoros "bearer," from pherein "to carry" (from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children").

With regards to "Sufi":

in early use also Sofi, Suffi, Sophee, etc., "member of a Muslim mystical order," 1650s (earlier Sufian, 1580s), from Arabic sufi, literally "man of wool" (i.e., "man wearing woolen garments," as opposed to silk), from suf "wool."

According to Klein, so-called from the habit of "putting on the holy garment" (labs-as-suf) to devote oneself to mysticism. Some forms show influence of Greek sophos "wise," which was formerly thought to be perhaps the origin of the word. Related: Sufic.

However, there is also this:

According to sources the word ‘Sufi’ is connected etymologically to ‘purity’ (Assafaa, Safa, yasfou in Arabic) i.e. that which aspires to purify the heart of its hidden defects, inclinations and hidden attachments (Assiwa). The beauty and cleanliness of the heart (Safaa Albatin) will become apparent through the nobility of character and goods deeds. [..]

The reference work, par excellence on this issue, is the treatise of the Persian Al- Kalabadhi (died 384 A.H. / 994 A.D.) translated by A.J. Arberry under the title The Doctrine of the Sufis. Certain orientalists put forward the idea that the word ‘sufi’ or ‘soufi’ could be derived from the Greek ‘sofov’ ( the wise one). This appears far from probable as the Arabic word for wisdom is ‘hikma’. Furthermore the Greek term passed into Arabic in the form of ‘faylasuf’ (philosopher) without having any connection with the word ‘Sufi’.

On the surface there appear to be phonic similarities between sophos, phosphoros and Sufism but, as we all know, the devil is in the details. The discussion Laura had with the C's about phosphorous was in an entirely different context. See also this thread.

 

[susy7]

I think the concept of sufism and Sophia is related to phosphorus, that Laura and the Cs talked about.
Search under the key words "phosphorus", "phosphorescent", "phoric", "phosphorous", "sopophoric", "phoric" etc.

No, sorry, it's alchemy

 

[susy7]

What is your basis for thinking that? The etymology of "Sophia" is Greek for wisdom, or Knowledge, whereas "phosphorus" comes from "light-bearing" or "illumination":

With regards to "Sufi":

However, there is also this:

On the surface there appear to be phonic similarities between sophos, phosphoros and Sufism but, as we all know, the devil is in the details. The discussion Laura had with the C's about phosphorous was in an entirely different context. See also this thread.

Jakob Böhme, had written on the subject of fire, that its devouring part had to be compensated by the air, which is Aphrodite, the two poles united being in symbiosis with this fire could keep its "Unity" unlike the devouring fires without it. being feminine becomes destructive, to survive, it must burn everything leaving behind only destruction and misery.