"Jesus, Gnosis, and the Mind of the All" My Current Presuppositions

As I keep digging into the Nag Hammadi scriptures, I’m starting to get a clearer picture of who I am spiritually. If I had to sum it up, I’d say I’m a blend—a Christ follower at heart, but also very much aligned with Valentinian Gnosticism and Hermetic thought, all lightly seasoned with a touch of Taoism. It’s not about labeling myself, but rather acknowledging the streams that seem to naturally flow together in my own spiritual journey.

Now, when it comes to Valentinian cosmology—that whole elaborate map of emanations and aeons—I don’t take it as rigid doctrine or some kind of cosmic blueprint we all must swear by. To me, it’s metaphor. It’s a symbolic structure that speaks to deep truths about consciousness and the soul’s journey, but not something I believe literally or follow dogmatically. It’s helpful, not holy writ.

One thing I absolutely reject is the whole idea that humanity is fallen and needs saving through judgment, punishment, or even reward. That’s not how I see existence. I believe we’re eternal beings who continuously choose our own experiences. Whether we want to rest in peace or push into challenge, that choice is always ours. We are autonomous at the deepest level, and that autonomy is possible because the All—the fullness of being, of God, of the cosmos—is infinite. That means potential knowledge is also infinite, and that gives us room to explore, to create, and to simply be.

At the foundation of it all, I still see a triune deity—the first cause, the origin of all things. But I don’t think we’re just passive recipients of divine action. I see us as co-creators, fully capable of participating in the unfolding of reality. We’re not spectators in this universe—we’re active participants, making choices, shaping outcomes, and engaging with all kinds of seen and unseen forces.

Speaking of those unseen forces, I’ve come to see the archons—not as villains or oppressive rulers like some traditions portray them—but more like advisors or conductors in the cosmic orchestra. They’re part of the structure, playing a role. The Pleroma, that fullness or divine realm, to me represents the vast mind of God, and we are all aspects of that mind—dissociative personalities, if you will—residing within it. It’s all consciousness. It’s all divine mind.

When it comes to Hermeticism, the seven principles of the Kybalion ring true to me. They feel like spiritual physics—fundamental truths that govern how things operate. But I think there are a couple more that should be added. First, the cyclic nature of reality—not just a circle repeating endlessly, but a spiral. Life, growth, evolution—they move in cycles, yes, but they can ascend or descend, depending on our awareness. And second, the principle of interconnectedness: the idea that everything and everyone is part of the All, linked together in ways deeper than we can imagine.

Now, as for Jesus—I don’t get too caught up in whether he was one historical figure, a composite of several, or even a complete myth. That debate doesn't matter much to me. What matters is that Jesus, however he came to be, has become a powerful spiritual presence. Even if he began as myth, he's grown into something very real in the collective mind—an egregore, a thought-form with power. That presence influences people profoundly, and I respect that.

I also believe we have spiritual guides and helpers—beings who assist us in our journey. And I believe that sometimes, across different lifetimes, we ourselves step into those roles for others. We experience life from all angles, across countless incarnations, and our understanding, when viewed from the eternal perspective, is far beyond anything we can grasp here in the material world. Good and evil, joy and suffering—it’s all part of the grand plan of learning, experiencing, and evolving, and ultimately, remembering who we truly are. In the annals of eternity, it is an egalitarian experience for every soul. That is only understood when we are in the collective and it is an eternal awareness. It is not particularly helpful to tell people in the thick of trauma or challenge. That in no way diminishes it as truth.

Using the Hermetic principle of correspondence—"as above, so below; and as below, so above"—we can draw a profound comfort from the preferences of the human heart. Since most of us naturally gravitate toward love over hate, peace over conflict, and joy over sorrow, this tells us something important about the nature of the Source itself. These qualities must reflect the higher order of being because we, as emanations of the All, mirror it. That means peace, love, and joy are not just aspirations but the very native state of the divine. And in that light, I hold close this quote from The Kybalion:

“So, do not feel insecure or afraid — we are all HELD FIRMLY IN THE INFINITE MIND OF THE ALL, and there is naught to hurt us or for us to fear. There is no Power outside of THE ALL to affect us. So we may rest calm and secure. There is a world of comfort and security in this realization when once attained. Then ‘calm and peaceful do we sleep, rocked in the Cradle of the Deep’ — resting safely on the bosom of the Ocean of Infinite Mind, which is THE ALL. In THE ALL, indeed, do ‘we live and move and have our being.’”
(The Three Initiates, The Kybalion, p. 43, Kindle Edition)

That image—that we are rocked in the Cradle of the Deep—is something I return to often. It's a reminder that we are never separate from the Source, never beyond its reach, and that fear is only a shadow passing across the face of the infinite.