Today we’re going to discuss 6 and 7 of Hall’s Ten Basic Rules for Better Living and relate them with the Gnostic teachings of Samael Aun Weor.
6. Cultivate a sense of humor. As never before, we must brighten and lighten the corners where we are. The more seriously we take ourselves and our responsibilities, the duller we become. It is a saving grace to realize that, although living is a serious matter, we can take it too seriously. Also bear in mind that genuine humor is not bitter, cynical, or critical. It is the ability to laugh with the world and not at the world. If we must laugh at someone, let it be ourselves. Humor is a spice to living. It adds flavor to work, zest to play, charm to self-improvement, and proves to others that we have a security within ourselves. A sincere, happy laugh, like the joyous rippling of childrens laughter, relieves tension and restores good nature. Incidentally, it makes friends and inspires confidence.
Samael Aun Weor stated:
“It is difficult to find a serious and determined aspirant of the truth on the path of the Perfect Matrimony. Sometimes students appear who are apparently very mature and serious; however, in the long run, they show what they are really made of. It is a sad truth, but a fact of life.”
Taking the great work seriously is good but it’s difficult at times because we live in a very challenging world. The ego is very dense and we find it everywhere, very fat. The Great Work is a serious matter, but we can have fun with it as well. Our day to day life doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom because of our difficulties. We need to learn how to receive our daily difficulties with gladness. The most difficult circumstances give us many opportunities for self-discovery. Smiling at someone helps brighten their day and ours. Gandhi said: “Be the change we want to see in the world.” Changing ourselves may inspire others to change as well.
So, it’s good to take the Gnostic Work seriously but sometimes we need to lighten up a little. What kinds of reactions do we receive from our family and friends if all we talk about is Gnosis?
There is a need to balance everything we do. It isn’t necessary to only radiate these teachings verbally everywhere we go. If we live ethically, other people around us may be drawn to our positivity and become curious.
Samael Aun Weor continues:
“In the name of truth we will state that if there is any place where we should begin to work on ourselves, it has to be in relation to our thoughts and feelings. In these studies, before anything else, we must begin with the intellectual and emotional centers. We need to truly change our way of thinking; otherwise, we will march on the path of error.”
It's good for us to have fun and feel joy while we perform the great work. We meet wonderful people along the path and to have a sense of humor is good, because we help each other smile and laugh. We don’t need to be sarcastic or vulgar with our humor. It’s important to be aware of the way we think and feel about this work. If we are thinking negatively about the world, and ourselves, then it will be difficult for us to find joy and peace with the work. There may be a lot of darkness in our world, but there’s also light. Not everything is negative. We tend to get stuck and identified with the negative more than the positive. Watching the news, whether on tv or the internet doesn’t help, especially if we are not transforming the impressions. Being too hard on ourselves can have negative consequences as well. When we meditate we may discover events in our daily lives that are affecting us in negative ways. We eventually want to renounce things in our lives that are harming us psychologically. If we take the Gnostic work seriously then renouncing harmful behaviors is fundamental. We learn the importance of renunciation with the first step of meditation which is Yama (Restraint).
Yama has important ethical factors.
1. Ahimsa: Do no harm (to not murder anything)
2. Satyam: Do not lie (Gossip, sarcasm, criticism, false speech)
3. Asteya: Do not steal
4. Brahmacharya: Sexual purity, no sexual misconduct
5. Aparigraha: Have no desires, renunciation
Renunciation is fundamental with our work, the Great Work. If we want to change we have to renounce things that disturb our mind and heart. Pornography for instance is a huge issue, and this falls under ‘no sexual misconduct,’ sexual purity. We need to take this issue very seriously. If we are indulging in these kinds of lustful activities, then we need to become aware of what they are doing to us. Lust is a very powerful ego and is very difficult to destroy. It is difficult to find serenity within ourselves if we indulge in lustful activities. It is unpleasant to be around someone who is acting lustfully toward someone else. Lust is vulgar.
Samael continues:
“Of what use would it be to study these teachings, but to not change your way of thinking? You are told that we have to dissolve the ego, that we have to sacrifice ourselves for humanity. You are told that we need to create the superior existential bodies of our Being, but if you continue thinking like before, with the same mental habits you held previously, of what use is all this information that you are being given?”
So, it’s good to laugh and feel joy. Laughter like Hall states, “relieves tension,” but it’s good to know why we are laughing or what is motivating us to laugh. Often times we laugh impulsively, without even knowing why. It’s usually or most likely a habit that is related to our personality. Perhaps we like to tell a lot of jokes, or we have accustomed ourselves to being sarcastic. Sarcasm, no matter how subtle, can be harmful and it’s rude. So when we catch ourselves laughing, let’s be aware of why it’s happening.
We’re also accustomed to living very busy life styles, whether it’s work, taking care of our kids, etc, and most of us need a break from the rate race, but usually what we turn to is intoxicants. In Gnosticism we teach that it’s good to go out into nature when we need a break.
We shouldn’t underestimate the healing power of nature. Nature is good medicine! When we leave our town or city and go into nature we feel naturally happy and joyful; like a weight has been temporarily lifted from our shoulders. We find ourselves in awe of her beauty, we enjoy the silence and we feel peaceful. For this reason it is important for us to go there, especially if we feel overwhelmed and are in need of a break from all the hustle and bustle. Nature provides much needed quietude and that experience gives us an opportunity to see things more clearly, especially if we meditate while we’re there. When we take in the beauty of Nature, she helps us to smile and we may even find ourselves laughing about something that was stressing us out. Laughter depending on the type, can come from our superior emotional center, which relates to our Being. True happiness comes from our Being. Another example is when we go on a spiritual retreat and find ourselves in the company of friends. There will be times that we laugh together and that laughter will help us release tension. This reminds me of an experience I had while performing a retrospection exercise. An event from the past came into my mind and even though it may have been a very difficult situation at the time I found myself laughing about it. I laughed because I discovered that it was silly. By comprehending the experience, I discovered that I was making it difficult, that I was the cause of the difficult situation. I comprehended that I was the one making things more difficult then they needed to be. I found myself smiling and laughing about it, which helped relieve tension. I’m sure some of us have experience with this kind of thing. Being serious students doesn’t mean that we have to be unhappy or miserable. There’s so much beauty, joy and laughter to be found and experienced along the path of self-realization. To be true to ourselves, and others, to live ethically is a beautiful way of living. Our attitude plays a significant role with how we live our lives. Having a good attitude, going out into nature, going on retreat and laughing will not solve all of our problems, but it will help us balance ourselves.
Samael continues:
“We need negative emotions to be eliminated from within ourselves, because negative emotions prevent us from a true, in-depth, radical change. People who let themselves be carried away by their negative emotions become liars. If we truly comprehend this and begin by changing our way of thinking and feeling, this will soon be reflected in our actions.”
I’m sure some of us work very hard on the path but at times we are also too hard on ourselves and we forget to laugh and have a good time with the Great Work. It’s good to be dedicated to a higher purpose but one of our goals is to remove negative emotions. Along the path we tell ourselves things like, “we’re not good enough or we’re not doing enough,” or we neglect our loved ones and these types of things create negative emotions and circumstances. Sometimes we forget to balance our lives and we focus mainly on studying the teachings. Sometimes we forget that there’s other important factors to our lives. We either forget or don’t understand that life is the work, not just one aspect of it, but all of it. What happens when we only focus on studying the teachings intellectually? We end up imbalanced in other areas of our life. We need to meditate, we need to live ethically, we need to spend time with our loved ones, part of sacrifice is sacrificing our time for others, we need time alone, we need to eat healthy, we need to learn how to be content with all the different areas of our lives, no matter how difficult they may be and this may seem overwhelming at times. But even if we have difficulties, we can still find joy and peace while facing them. It’s our minds that make our circumstances difficult. We should ask ourselves why are we doing this work? It isn’t to be miserable right?
Samael continues:
“Therefore, let us not fool ourselves. If we want to change, let us be serious; let us begin by changing our way of thinking.”
But let’s also have some fun while doing so. We want to be pleasant to be around. Yes, we need to destroy the ego and yes we need to take this path seriously, but we also need to learn how to be content with it. Sometimes we expect too much of ourselves and others. We think we should understand things right away or we covet abilities that we don’t have, or we envy so and so, or we look at others and judge them for not knowing what we know. We forget or we don’t comprehend that everyone is where they need to be, experiencing what they need to experience, and hopefully learning what they need to learn. We can be a light in people’s lives just by having some inner peace. We don’t have to preach or force our way of being onto others. Those kinds of things can repel people. There is such a thing as shinning to much light. Not everyone is hungry for our way of life. We don’t need to be judgmental of others because they’re not living how we’re living. There’s a need to revolutionize our methods of living, by constantly studying ourselves, learning and changing. Each moment is an opportunity for self-discovery. What good is studying the teachings, if we’re not striving to live them and become better people. The work is not accomplished through selfishness, sarcasm, and laughing egotistically at things or people. A great deal of the work is accomplished by discovering the things that motivate us to behave that way. For example: why do I behave this way? Why do I want to be sarcastic? This type of self-observation helps us to discover egos that we need to eliminate. Samael Aun Weor teaches us that a lot of our progress with the path of the razors edge is due to the merits of our heart. If we are dedicated and are progressing with the work, then we are constantly learning how to be more humble, compassionate, empathetic, generous, patient, altruistic, chaste, etc. If we are serious students, then we are revolutionizing our lives for the better; we are learning how to truly enjoy life, and this helps us to smile, to laugh, and to love. We want people to enjoy being around us. Even though we are all individually working on ourselves doesn’t mean that we are all separate. We are all in this together. We all affect each other one way or another. We are all struggling in this world together. Again there is a balance to everything and through gnosis we learn how to balance ourselves. Sometimes we catch ourselves worrying about not getting enough of the work done, but that worry creates negative thoughts and emotions. It’s also not good to worry about all kinds of things that we have no control over. We have a tendency to look back and forward but rarely do we concentrate on the present moment. When we catch ourselves doing that we should ask ourselves, “what work can we do right now?” All we can do is our best, right here and right now. And try to enjoy it, and laugh a little. We are silly for worrying so much. Sooner or later we’ll discover that all the worrying and fear is silly. Little by little we eventually comprehend that worry and fear are unnecessary. This work is challenging but it’s also beautiful and wonderful.
7. Find a reason for your own existence Unless you believe in something bigger than yourself, have some purpose more vital than accumulation or advancement in business or society, you are only existing, not living. A simple pattern is to realize that the laws of Nature that put you here seem to be primarily concerned with growth. You are a success to the degree that you grow, and you grow to the degree that you become a wiser, more useful, and more secure person. In other words, we live to learn, and by this very process, we learn to live. Broaden your horizon, develop an interest in all that is fine, beautiful, and purposeful. Great internal good comes from the love for music, art, great literature, broad philosophy, and simple faith. Strengthen the inside of your nature, and the outside will be better.
At some point in our life we ask ourselves, “why are we here?” “Who am I?” When we study ourselves and humanity, right here and now, what do we find, psychologically speaking? We find a great deal of struggle and suffering. We also find people who are doing everything they can to feed desire and that’s not just everyone else, it’s also us. If we study ourselves from moment to moment we find this to be true. If we still have desires, then we are suffering. If we are self-observing every day and we’re not deceiving ourselves, then we know we’re still tormented by desire. It’s not difficult to discover that many of us are unhappy. Why is this? Why are we unhappy? First of all what is happiness?
Samael Aun Weor states:
“People work daily; they struggle to survive. Somehow they want to exist. However, they are not happy.”
This is true! If we are honest with ourselves we know it’s true.
Samael continues:
“However, worst of all is that they know this. But amid so much bitterness, it seems they do not lose the hope of achieving happiness one day without knowing how or in what way.”
Why is there so much bitterness? Is it because of our egotistical desires? The spiritual teachings that we study by Samael Aun Weor teach us that we suffer because we have pride, anger, lust, envy, greed, vanity, gluttony, laziness, etc, etc. Within us are the psychological defects that cause wars, starvation, pollution, pain and suffering. If we are living what we study, we discover that our desires want more and more. We find that we are feeding a blackhole within us that is never satisfied. We discover that we have built and illusion within our mind that if we get this or that, we’ll be happy and we think this is the meaning for our existence but it’s not.
Samael continues:
“However, they want to live and are afraid of dying… If people understood something about revolutionary psychology, possibly they would think differently. There are pleasant and enjoyable moments, but this is not happiness. People confuse pleasure with happiness. Parties, bar hoping, drinking sprees and orgies are brutish pleasures, but they are not happiness. There are, wholesome gettogethers but that is not happiness either.”
We learn through our own experience that this is true. We learn that money, lustful activities, intoxicants, vain pleasures, do not give us happiness, instead they create suffering. Happiness isn’t created by depending on someone to provide it for us. It’s common for us to think that one day we will be happy if all our desires are fulfilled. Some people think that war is the answer to many of the issues we face and that the outcome will create happiness for one side or the other. Those of us who have been around war know this is false. Murder, destruction and anything material will not create happiness.
Samael continues:
“In life we have met many individuals who are loaded with money and full of problems: they are involved in lawsuits, overtaxed, etc. They are not happy. What is the use of being rich if one does not have good health. Sometimes they are more unfortunate than any beggar.”
Many of us here in the United States grew up hearing the term ‘The American Dream.’ What is the American dream? To get rich, to get what I want and what I need without thinking about the consequences. Without comprehending that most of what we are creating is causing suffering for generations to come.
Samael continues:
“Everything passes in this life: things, people, ideas, etc. Those who have money and those who have none also pass away. Nobody experiences genuine happiness! Many people want to escape from themselves through drugs or alcohol. In truth, they not only fail to escape, but worse, they get trapped in an inferno of vice. Happiness is not achieved by running away from the Me, Myself, the Ego. Instead it would be interesting to grab the bull by the horns, to observe the ‘I,’ to study the ‘I’ in order to discover the causes of suffering.”
The “I’s,” the egos we’ve created are the causes of our suffering. Our choices, our thoughts, our emotions and actions have the ability to create and cause suffering, but if we chose to take a stand against ourselves, by observing all the things within us that motivate us to do anything at any given moment, so that we can eliminate them, than we are “grabbing the bull by the horns.” So, by performing a psychological work on ourselves we discover parts of ourselves that are causing suffering and thus we begin to see why we are unhappy.
Samael continues:
“When one discovers the real causes of so much misery and bitterness, it becomes obvious that something can be done…
By studying ourselves through the process of self-observation we begin to discover these factors and when we mediate, we begin to comprehend that drinking and taking intoxicants is harmful. When we deeply comprehend one of our egos, then we truly understand how and why we are suffering in different areas of our life. Whether it relates to lust, greed, anger, pride, etc. Truly we are here to experience, and a lot of what we’ve been experiencing for a long while now relates to egotism, selfishness. We’ve experienced darkness, and now we can begin to comprehend our darkness, so that it transforms into the light of the liberated consciousness. Our darkness is all the psychological defects that we possess, all the negative experiences, trauma, fear, selfishness, etc. The meaning of our existence is not to suffer forever.
Samael continues:
“If we manage to eliminate Me, Myself, our vices and our ‘I’ of attachments that cause so much heartfelt sorrow in us; if we manage to eliminate those worries that torment our minds an make us ill, etc, then clearly what arrives is that which is timeless, that which is beyond the body, that which is beyond attachments and beyond the mind, that which is truly beyond our comprehension and is called happiness! Happiness has a quality that neither the Me, Myself, the ‘I’, the Ego has ever known.”
Our reason for existence doesn’t come from something external. We will not find the meaning of our existence at the bottom of a whiskey bottle, in a pill, in a pipe, in a bar, in syringe, or on a computer, or a video game. We will not find it outside of ourselves. It doesn’t come from covetousness, which is the desire to possess more than what God has given us. We need to learn how to be content with what we have been given, here and now. Obviously this is easier said than done, and it takes work, but we can experience authentic happiness from time to time; when we experience moments where we are separated from our ego, such as: Samadhi; samadhi is a conscious experience, free from the painful conditioning of the ego. We also may experience glimpses of happiness within the superior worlds. When we truly feel love, or love someone we feel happiness.
Another example is when we experience superior emotions: when we listen to classical music, or when we are artistic, or when we help others with the teachings, or when we help those in need, or when we are with the one’s we love. These types of emotions come from the Being not the ego.
Samael states the following:
“The initiate loves great classical music. The initiate loves the music of the great composers. For example, The Magic Flute by Mozart reminds us of an Egyptian Initiation. The Soul communes with the music of the spheres when we listen to the nine symphonies of Beethoven, or the compositions of Chopin, or the divine Polonaise of Liszt. Music is the Word of the Eternal One. Our words must be ineffable music; thus, we sublimate the creative energy to the heart. The home of Gnostic initiates must be full of beauty. The flowers that perfume the air with their aroma, beautiful sculptures, perfect order and cleanliness make of each home a true Gnostic sanctuary.”
Most of us feel and perhaps know that there is something more to life. In our hearts we feel an inner urgency to figure out what it is, and we intuitively know there’s more than simply earning a paycheck, taking intoxicants, watching tv, eating food, buying things, looking desirable, fulfilling desires. We feel there’s more to why we are here. While we study the teachings, we begin to understand that our current psychological state is far from knowing reality and if we truly aspire to be free of suffering, we have work to do. Gnostics are taught to live by birth, death, and sacrifice (the three factors), which is the Great Work. The work gives us meaning to our existence. Studying ourselves through self-observation, and meditation, helps us with psychological death (ego death); working to eliminate pride, anger, lust, etc, gives us meaning to our existence. Working with birth (to be born as a soul); the liberation of our essence from our egos that we comprehend gives birth to virtues.
Samael states:
“The soul is laws, forces, divine virtues, powers, etc.”
Little by little as we perform the great work our egos are being eliminated and what’s replacing them are things like compassion, empathy, happiness for others, generosity, love, patience, humility, etc, and this type of work gives us meaning to our existence. If we do our best to understand someone else’s situation, by putting ourselves in their shoes, doing our best to see from their point of view, we begin to be less judgmental of others, we seek to understand instead of judge. If we meditate on things that are bothering us we discover different angles of things, different sides of the story. We may comprehend more than just our point of view, which at times is quite shallow and misdirected. Through the process of comprehending someone else’s circumstance, we begin to feel empathy for them, perhaps even compassion and we learn to be more humble. We begin to feel compassion by meditating and comprehending our anger. Humility is born within us by meditating and comprehending our pride. Through self-observation we discover our defects, through meditation we begin to comprehend them. We begin to comprehend how we’ve hurt people and we understand and feel that we don’t want to do that anymore. Through the process of self-realization, we begin to comprehend that our selfishness is not helping anyone or ourselves. We begin to comprehend how we are hurting the world, and we begin to understand that we need to work on changing ourselves. The understanding and wisdom we gain from these experiences gives us hope, meaning and purpose. Sacrifice is the third factor and sacrificing ourselves for others also gives us meaning to our existence; selflessness; putting others before ourselves, being helpful, etc, gives us meaning and purpose. The three factors are fundamental for our development with the revolution of the consciousness. Something else that’s important is Self-Remembering, to Self-Remember relates to our Being. Self-remembering is to be actively aware of the presence of divinity within us at each moment. It is a state of conscious being. We also learn through the teachings that true, everlasting happiness, comes after we’ve eliminated desire, our ego, and united with our Innermost Being. Our meaning, purpose, and happiness comes from Divinity.
So, we begin to have true meaning and purpose for our existence when we no longer live for our egotistical selves, but instead we seek to work on ourselves, serve and unite with our Innermost.
Our missing link is our Innermost Being, our missing link is our connection to divinity. Discovering that we have a higher power, a Father and a Mother within us, who watch over us each moment helps us to feel love and gives us hope, meaning and purpose for our existence.
So, through the process of working on ourselves, through conscious experience, through gaining Gnosis of the teachings and ourselves, we begin to discover the meaning for our existence.
Our experiences from Gnosis, meditation, and the elimination of the ego (which is the destruction of our psychological defects, the liberation of our imprisoned consciousness) helps us to become wiser, and virtuous. It also helps us to connect with our Innermost, who in turn helps us to comprehend the meaning of our lives. By performing this Great Work we become more useful to ourselves and society. We become better people. We begin to have inner peace. Like Hall states: “we live to learn and by this very process, we learn to live.” How beautiful it is to know that we have a Heavenly Father and Mother who love us and guide us along the path. How wonderful it is to know that we are not alone and that we don’t have to continue suffering needlessly. There is so much more to life, there is so much more than what we perceive with our physical senses. There is much more to life than what we see with our physical eyes, what we hear with our physical ears, what we taste, smell and feel with our sense of touch. If we don’t know, then we need to study and after we study, we need to perform the teachings. We need to live them! So that one day we may experience what is being taught.
We’ll end this lecture with a quote from Manly P Hall’s Ten Basic Rules for Better Living and a quote by a Glorian Instructor.
“Broaden your horizon, develop an interest in all that is fine, beautiful, and purposeful. Great internal good comes from the love for music, art, great literature, broad philosophy, and simple faith. Strengthen the inside of your nature, and the outside will be better.”
“When you experience difficulties, when you are having ordeals, receive them happily because that is how you pay what you owe.” - Spiritual Facts Lecture/Practical Spirituality course
I pray you all enjoyed the lecture and continue to live for the better!!!
Continue your education by studying:
- Treatise of Revolutionary Psychology
- Revolution of the Dialectic
- The Great Rebellion
- Fundamentals of Gnostic Education
Lectures from Glorian.org:
- The need to change our way of thinking and feeling
- Spiritual Facts/Practical Spirituality course
Oregon Gnosis Lectures:
- Manly P Hall’s Ten Basic Rules for Better Living
Comments