Anyone else here a Gnostic?

Becoming one has really helped me steer myself onto a better path in life.

Still very new to all this and trying to become more educated on the subject, its not so easy since I have no one else around me who is Gnostic.

Hoping to communicate with more Gnostics soon if any are around.

I've made a study of the Ogdoad found in the Gnostic teachings of Valentinus.
I have found it invaluable.

Interesting.

I have heard of the egypytian Ogdoad(s) but never the Gnostic kind.

Sounds like something I should learn about!

Here is a link to the wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogdoad_(Gnosticism)

The Egyptian Ogdoad is related to the Gnostic teachings.
The Pythagorean aspects likewise appear more integral and antiquated than portrayed by academics.

Note that Gnostic means knowledge, and so does Manda.

Interesting read that connects gnosticism to psychedelics:

James DeKorne - The Cracking Tower

Right on! I am a believer that psychedelics and psychoactive plants have played an important role in Gnostic traditions. Also altered states induced by prayer/meditation/fasting ect.

The "body and blood of Christ" is quite possibly an entheogen, and even if not im completely convinced it is SOMETHING which radically expands consciousness.

I recently became aware of the existence of a large gnostic school in Latin America (and wordwide) founded or re-launched by a Venezuelan-mexican great master between the 50-70s (I won´t type his name, you can google it). It has schools in all the spanish speaking countries and others too.

Before that... I had only heard about from Terence McKenna talking about proto christian gnostics or pagan christians that were contemporary to the roman empire, I´ve always love hearing whose old tapes from McKenna talking about Alchemy, mercury, witchcraft and gnosticism...

Also, I am a fan of the "Law of One: Ra material" (which has a lot of connections with new age and UFO community too) , I´ve found many points in common between the two: tarot, astronomy, tree of life or kaballah, tantric sex, alchemy, chakras, meditation, hermeticism, vibration, dimensions, etc.
They also talk a lot about astral projection.

I wonder what do you mean about "becoming" a gnostic, in some gnostic schools initiations are required, I´m interested in knowing how gnosticism works worldwide.

Since you are new to the topic, as you suggested, I would like to offer a few reading recommendations.

1.The Kybalion
2.The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
3.The Bruce Codex
4.The Berlin Codex

Those should keep you occupied on the topic for a bit.

What is it that interests you in gnosticism? May I ask how it 'steered' you onto a better path? What belief system, if any, did you subscribe to before you found that gnosticism was right for you?

Good link for the topic -> http://www.gnosis.org/library/gs.htm

I´ve read an excellent book recently, talking about phychedelic an early pagan traditions.
It is called "Psychedelic mystery traditions: spirit plants, magical practices, and ecstatic states" by Thomas Hatsis.

To sum up... he says plants have always been around, we westerosis tend to attribute everything to plants or drugs and disregard the actual religions and traditions... cause we are not comfortable talking about religion, spirits or deities... we are ok talking about pharmacology... harmaline, serotonin, MAOIs, brainwave entrainment, etc.

In the book says that some rites would carry on for centuries, but the availability of some specific plants would fluctuate, so they would make these rituals with whathever was available...(shrooms, cannabis, opium, blue lilly, ergot, mandrake, henbane, etc)
The plant or drug is not the most important, it can vary, the main thing was the ritual or spirit/s being summonned, which was consistently the same foor a specific religion over the years.

I´m curious about Eleusis... gnostics talk about it... and whathever it was, it happened in one day and special priests (hierophants) and priestess were involved.
You can´t teach a person to meditate or perform tantric sex (cold turkey) in 24hs...

...so, what was Eleusis about exactly?

There's a growing body of evidence to support the theory that all esoteric "religious" schools sprang from the structured use of visionary plant concoctions..."mixed wines". The myth and story lines were never meant to be literal or historical. They are allegory for the intense visionary/mystical state so induced.

Believe this or not, but once you recognize what mental construct the ancients were trying to convey, most myth, poetry, lyric and religious tales can be seen as representing the mystic state. The mental construct has to do with, no separate self, no free will, tenseless pre-existing future, ie fatalism. The "enlightenment" gained from initiation and practice with the plant induced mystic state reveals the delusion of "believing" in your ego as an actual controller and steersman. It is the recurrent archetype of "dying and rebirth"

I suggest gaining a working knowledge of this allegorical story line. Then when you have occasion to be mystically catalyzed, you will be amazed how well it describes the experience. This is ancient stuff folks. Modernity has us captured by literalism and the "phamacratic inquisition". Probably one of the big reasons lengthy "trip reports" are silly. See: egodeath.com

Peace