Gnosis literally means knowledge in Greek. The gnostics were a group of people who were looking for knowledge, not an intellectual knowledge but an inner knowing.
This document looks at some of the techniques used to facilitate a "knowing" at this level.
Mediation
Ritual
Float Tanks
Psychedelic Drugs
One of the ways that can be used to develop a sense of dwelling with the divine or communion with the transcendental presence of the other is by mediation.
One of the main ways of mediation is by using a mantra or phrase that is repeated over and over again.
This is used so that the mind is focused on one point. This has an effect not just of intense concentration but of quietening the mind down so that the intuitive part of the mind is then open to receive spirit.
The first step in meditation is to quieten down the body this can be done by imagining the body filled with warm water.
As the body is drained of the water through the hands and feet so all the tension and stress is drained out with it. This leaves the body completely relaxed.
This process can be repeated as often as necessary to completely relax the body. The other technique is relaxing each part of the body from head to toe. In the hands focusing on relaxing each finger and in the feet each toe.
Once the body is relaxed the mind can repeat the mantra at the beginning for a period of 10-15 minuets and then a period of half an hour.
Eventually after mediating for a long while all conscious thoughts are banished from the mind. At this point instead of being unconscious the mind reaches a kind of super consciousness or pure consciousness.
The energy of the body is also raised and the body becomes very light sometimes to the point of levitation.
Another type of mediation is a guided visualisation. This type of mediation works upon strengthening that person so that they love and accept themselves as they are.
One of the more well known guided visualisation techniques is the "white light meditation".
The purpose of this mediation is to cleanse the aura and to raise the energy of the person to a higher level.
It is also used to clean out any negative though patterns or emotions.
The body is relaxed in the same way as mentioned earlier. Then a bright light is visualised entering the head and flowing downward through the crown charkara. This light then relaxes and spreads down towards the other parts of the body. The whole body is then bathed in light. Every pore and cell in the body is engulfed in the light.
After bathing in the while light and feeling the sense of power and love of the God force feel the light gently cleansing the aura of all negative thoughts, and emotions that tend to dirty the aura.
To finish off imagine an enclosed mirror around the body, a one way mirror that lets the light in but blocks out negative energy patterers.
Mediation can also be used with crystals, I find a pyramid quartz crystal placed on the third eye charkra works really well.
Another way of experiencing an altered state is to use a ritual. Like mediation this too focuses the mind and allows for a structured pathworking.
First the area of ritual is described ie in a clearing with a stone alter. Then the actual deities are invoked into the gathering/circle or person. These deities are then thanked for their appearance and a request is asked of them. This can be as simple as protecting the circle before a guided meditation or something more complex such as the dedication of ritual implements.
The most important part of the ritual is the focused imagination. This imagination is helped by the setting given at the start and by outside measures such as incense and relaxing repetitive music.
Once the ritual is over the deities are thanked and are asked to leave. Most of the best rituals are ones that are devised oneself.
A float tank (made famous by the film altered states) is a sank with a saline solution in it which helps the participant to float to the surface. This tank is an enclosed space kept completely dark with some mediation piped though speakers.
Because of the sensation of floating and of sensory depravation the mind can often experience visions or hallucinations.
Float tanks can be used in helping to facilitate an OBE experience. OBEÕs are likely to occur when mind dose not know exactly where the body is (ie no sense of up down etc).
This is one of the ways native people have used to open up a personÕs awareness. It must be stressed however that unlike the other methods it takes an extremely disciplined mind to keep the mind under any sort of control.
The drug experience has to be followed through right to the end no matter how unpleasant the experience is.
Drugs can also cause the aura to become dirty because it attracts all kinds of spiritual influences (see Hands of Light by Barbarann Brennan for more information).