01:15 Introduction
   
Gene: Hello Dave.
   
David: Hello Gene. Are you ready to finish up?
   
Gene: I am. It’s been a long haul.
   
David: It has, but it’s been fruitful.
   
Gene: It has indeed.
   
David: But, as always, before we get started, I want to remind everyone that Show Notes, Chapter Markers, and Transcripts for all of our episodes are available on our website - WayOfTheHermit.com. So, this is part 5 of 5 of our discussion of the “Gospel of Thomas.” In our last episode we covered sayings 70-92, and in this episode we will discuss the final 22 sayings. Gene, do you want to start us off?
   
01:52 Sayings 93-95
   
Gene: Sure. Saying 93 is one most people have heard at least part of. It says - "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they throw it upon the dunghill. Do not throw pearls to swine, lest they turn [them] into [mud]."
   
David:  As we talked about last time, pearls symbolize distilled inner wisdom that is cultivated through suffering. And “what is holy,” are truths that you hold dear, or things like important synchronicities, and other experiences that are meaningful to you.
   
Gene: And dogs and pigs, those dominated by their animal nature, don’t see the value in such things, and may just treat them as silly, stupid, or meaningless. Which is symbolized by turning what is holy into mud, making it dirty or filthy, meaning that it’s worth is destroyed or obscured.
   
David: So it’s saying to protect those experiences that are most meaningful to you, from those that would not see the value that they hold for you, and by their reaction, devalue them in your eyes - by putting doubts in your mind, that calls their worth into question.
   
Gene: But really - ultimately, they’re your truths, your treasures, so you shouldn’t be sharing them anyway. It’s the magical formula of “To Will, To Dare, To Know, and To Keep Silent.” The silence is supposed to act the same as keeping the lid on a kettle, to increase the heat and pressure, so things can simmer and become more potent. It’s about maintaining your personal connection, and not falling into the trap of proselytizing.
   
David: I think we all sometimes seek validation for our beliefs, especially when they diverge from those around us. But, as you just said, it’s a personal connection, and you shouldn’t expect that things that are significant to you will necessarily be that for other people. Next one?
   
Gene: OK. Saying 94 - Jesus [says]: "The one who seeks will find. [The one who knocks], to that one will it be opened."
   
David: Saying 2 and 92 talk about seeking and finding. And Saying 75 talks about those standing outside the door of the wedding hall. So the idea is that through seeking, you find the door, which as we’ve said, is inside, not outside. What’s new in this saying is the part about “knocking” and the door opening.
   
Gene: And presumably, the door has to be opened from the inside. So what does it mean to “knock” on the door?
   
David: To signal that you want to get in. As we talked about last time, this door is a threshold between two very different realms. On this side, is our normal consciousness - the realm of duality and multiplicity. On the other side is the wedding hall, unity, wholeness. So, knocking on the door means spiritual practices that lead toward wholeness - like prayer, mindfulness, or meditation.
   
Gene: Practices that call out to your whole self… hoping for a response.
   
David: Henri Bergson, in his Nobel Prize winning book “Creative Evolution,” describes two kinds of knowing - analytical and intuitive. Knocking on the door requires using the intuitive form of knowing that’s receptive, not closed off like we normally are.
   
Gene: That’s because behind the door, there are parts of yourself, memories and experiences, that you’ve forgotten or repressed - the whole or real you. Those fragmented parts sort of have to be coaxed back. The door in this saying, seems similar to the role of the “censor” in Freudian psychology.
   
David: Which explains why you probably should knock on door instead of trying to pick the lock or force it open - and by this I mean using psychological tricks or other means, to force the door open, perhaps prematurely.
   
Gene: Yeah, absolutely.
   
David: The door being opened in response, implies a cooperation between the realms separated by the door.
   
Gene: Right. You might bite off more than you can chew… meaning that you could get overwhelmed by too much revelation all at once, and become unbalanced.
   
David: Yeah, knocking is asking to be let in. It implies something gradual, and that access is granted from the other side. In Alchemy and Hermeticism you’re told that to produces the Philosopher’s Stone, requires a gradual and persistent heat.
   
Gene: So you might say that the door is “hermetically sealed.”
   
David: Yes, you could say that. Next one?
   
Gene: Saying 95 - [Jesus says:] "If you have money, do not lend (it) out at interest. Rather, give [it] to the one from whom you will not get it (back)."
   
David: It’s talking about giving without the expectation of a return or a reward.
   
Gene: To give freely, instead of giving and doing so that you earn a medal or a hat, or to get your photo accepting an award, to show what a great person you are.
   
David: True. And money is also a symbol of energy, so it’s about giving freely, of your time, of your energy, of yourself, as a way to break our normal transactional way of thinking - giving to others only in exchange for something back from them, or like you said, in the form of some kind of recognition.
   
Gene: The phrase that’s coming to mind is “pay it forward.” Be the example of the kind of world you want to live in. Do things simply because they’re the right things to do, not because you want something back.
   
07:19 Sayings 96-98
   
David: Right. OK. Saying 96 - Jesus [says]: "The kingdom of the Father is like [a] woman. She took a little bit of yeast. [She] hid it in dough (and) made it into huge loaves of bread. Whoever has ears should hear."
   
Gene: Here again, it’s talking about a gradual process. It’s like the formation of the pearl inside the clam shell, or the time it takes to get someone to answer the door… you know, from like the last saying.
   
David: And that process is symbolized by the “kingdom of heaven,” with a woman who hides a catalyst, the yeast, inside a base material, the dough. Her actions initiate a process that unfolds over time, that completely transforms the base material from within.
   
Gene: Into something “completely different.” It’s creating a different sort of organization that didn’t exist before. The whole is greater than just the sum of its parts.
   
David: On a mental level, it describes how a single idea can be the catalyst for a radical change of perspective.
   
Gene: And the idea is the “divine pattern” of wholeness, that has to be tended to. In this saying, it’s the yeast that requires time and gradual heat, to awaken and work it’s magic.
   
David: Alright. Saying 97 - Jesus says: "The kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman who is carrying a [jar] filled with flour. While she was walking on [the] way, very distant (from home), the handle of the jar broke (and) the flour leaked out [on] the path. (But) she did not know (it); she had not noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down on the floor (and) found it empty."
   
Gene: So here again, the “kingdom of the father” is symbolized by a process involving a woman. The last saying was about hidden growth, and this one is about unnoticed loss.
   
David: In terms of Gnostic theology, the woman here is Sophia, who initiates the fall into materiality, leaving her far from “home” - the Pleroma. The jar is an individual life, an inside and an outside, from which the life force gradually leaks out during the course of life. By the time we make it home, we’re empty again. And where it all went, we’re not quite sure.
   
Gene: That’s good. You can think of the flour as, like you said, the life force, our energy, and how we spend it. Most of us allow it to leak out because we aren’t paying attention to where we focus our attention. So it’s talking about distraction and mindfulness. I mean, it’s like the woman probably should have noticed the trail of flour behind her, you know?
   
David: Yeah. But it makes me think of the breadcrumb trail that we leave throughout life, with our actions. They leave their mark.
   
Gene: Good point.
   
David: But really, the problem isn’t the leaking flour, it’s the broken jar that allows the flour to leak out. If the woman realized that her jar was broken, then she could have saved the flour.
   
Gene: So, first you notice the dissipation of energy, your distraction or forgetfulness, your loss of focus, and then trace it back to its source. What’s the cause… and where’s the duct tape?
   
David: Right, duct tape can fix anything.
   
Gene: Yeah.
   
David:  It’s a warning about living unconsciously. You can’t make bread without flour.
   
Gene: Nope.
   
David: OK. Saying 98 - Jesus says: "The kingdom of the Father is like a person who wanted to kill a powerful person. He drew the sword in his house (and) stabbed it into the wall to test whether his hand would be strong (enough). Then he killed the powerful one."
   
Gene: It’s talking about the process of freeing yourself - the confrontation with the Shadow, or the Demiurge in Gnostic cosmology. And it’s like Luke Skywalker practicing with his light saber before confronting Darth Vader.
   
David: Yes. It’s the mythic motif of the hero preparing to slay the dragon.
   
Gene: Roll the training sequence montage.
   
David: That’s sort of what the it represents. In the saying, the “house” is our mind, and the sword is our discernment, that it wields. So it’s talking about testing that discernment against our “walls,” the beliefs, conceptions and ideas that form the boundaries of the world we think we live in.
   
Gene: A “prison for your mind,” to quote Morpheus from “The Matrix.”
   
David: And it’s talking about how to “free your mind.” - which requires effort and preparation for the final battle, hence the training.
   
Gene: But really, the training is the battle. It’s the spiritual effort, the persistent knocking on the door, that hopefully finally coaxes it to open. Like in the earlier sayings, it’s a process that takes place over time. It’s not just one and done.
   
David: Right. It’s not enough to wish for that liberation, you have to be disciplined and have a practice. We’ve talked about this before, you can’t expect to get good at anything unless you spend time on it.
   
Gene: To quote Yoda - “Do or do not. There is no try.”
   
David: Exactly. You can talk and speculate all you want, but never quite get around to doing the hard work of trying to overcome your deepest and darkest patterns of thought and behavior… your dragons. Ready for the next one?
   
12:41 Sayings 99-101
   
Gene: Yes. Saying 99 - The disciples said to him: "Your brothers and your mother are standing outside." He said to them: "Those here, who do the will of my Father, they are my brothers and my mother. They are the ones who will enter the kingdom of my Father."
   
David: As with some of the earlier sayings, its talking about spiritual kinship as opposed to biological, social or inherited notions of kinship. And notice that they are outside the door, wanting in.
   
Gene: Jesus is claiming spiritual kinship only with those “who DO the will of (his) Father.” Going back to the previous saying, it’s not the ones who read about it, or think about it, or talk about it, but those who do it.
   
David: So he’s claiming as his brothers and mother, those who share the same sort of practice, directed toward the same goal of becoming whole - of becoming like him.
   
Gene: But not like him physically, as in sharing some of the same actual DNA, but in sharing the same spiritual DNA, with the goal of raising the divine pattern to life.
   
David: “Bringing forth what is within you,” from Saying 70. Next one?
   
Gene: Alright. Saying 100 - They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him: "Caesar’s people demand taxes from us." He said to them: "Give Caesar (the things) that are Caesar’s. Give God (the things) that are God’s. And what is mine give me."
   
David: This is similar to a saying that appears in the Bible in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but here is has the part that says “And what is mine give me.” It’s very clear that it’s talking about the three Gnostic worlds of Spirit, Soul and Matter. Spirit is the Pleroma, or heaven, and the line that refers to it is “Give God the things that are God’s.” In relation to the material world it says “Give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” the coin. And the Soul, the mind, that is between the two, is where Jesus says “give me what is mine.”
   
Gene: It’s pointing out that there are different rules that apply for each of the three worlds that we live in. The physical world involves material exchange, symbolized by the coin of the realm. It probably even had Caesar’s face on it, so it’s saying to give him what is his. Things down here are normally transactional.
   
David: And giving “God the things that are God’s,” is basically everything we’ve been talking about. It’s about having a spiritual life, forming a connection, maintaining it, and all of that.
   
Gene: Which brings us back to the part about giving to Jesus, what is his.
   
David: Jesus symbolizes the Soul or Mind, that hangs suspended between Heaven and Earth. Both the “Son of God” and “Son of Man” - dual natured, spiritual and material. So, like you said, it’s about the different worlds that we simultaneously live in, and how we have to know the rules that apply to each in order to keep them in balance and harmony.
   
Gene: How to live an orderly life. Next one?
   
David: Yes.
   
Gene: Saying 101 has some parts missing, but the fragments that remain says - "Whoever does not hate his [father] and his mother as I do will not be able to be a [disciple] of mine. And whoever does [not] love [his father] and his mother as I do will not be able to be a [disciple] of mine.” Then there’s a missing part, but it picks up with - “but my true [mother] gave me life."
   
David: The first part is a repeat of Saying 55, but like saying 99, it’s about spiritual kinship, but it takes the concept farther. The part about having to hate your father and mother to become disciples, is still about spiritual identity, but also about spiritual detachment and discernment.
   
Gene: Right. It’s preaching a form of radical detachment from your biological or cultural lineage, in favor of your spiritual lineage. That’s likely where that missing passage was headed, towards talking about the “true” mother and father, who gives us life.
   
David: It’s also like Saying 98 about cutting yourself free from your all of the things that constrain your ability to pursue your spiritual ideals. It’s about becoming who you truly are, not what you may have been molded by others to be.
   
Gene: Which reminds me of Melchizedek from the Bible, the Priest of Salem and of the “most high God,” who was said to be, “without father or mother”… sort of like a spiritual orphan.
   
David: A “solitary one” from the earlier sayings. But you could also interpret the saying in terms of a spiritual birth - being “born again,” with a spiritual father and mother, which it calls the “true” mother and father.
   
Gene: What we talked about last time as the “virgin birth.”
   
17:28 Sayings 102-104
   
David: Yes. Alright. Saying 102 - Jesus says: "Woe to them, the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in a cattle trough, for it neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat."
   
Gene: The Pharisees are those that are sticklers for the letter of the law, but aren’t capable of receiving any nourishment from it, and don’t want others to either. It’s referring to the type of people who think that if you just show up and go through the motions, that’s good enough. They’re focused on how things look as opposed to how things really are.
   
David: Yeah. It compares them to dogs, to stress their animal nature, and like saying 93, that they’re incapable of understanding the value of spiritual things. It also says that they’re “asleep,” meaning oblivious. They’re just taking up space and impeding the process of distributing “spiritual food,” meaning esoteric truths and wisdom.
   
Gene: It’s rigid observance of outward appearances and rules, as opposed to discovering the inner meaning and then passing it on to others, with no expectation of reward.
   
David: That saying is supposed to make you question whether people, and so-called spiritual organizations, are really helping, or are they actually standing in the way of, “feeding the people,” so to speak - passing on the knowledge they have, to those that could benefit from it. Anything else on that one?
   
Gene: No.
   
David: OK. Saying 103 - Jesus says: "Blessed is the person who knows at which point (of the house) the robbers are going to enter, so that (he) may arise to gather together his (domain) and gird his loins before they enter."
   
Gene: It’s like saying 98 about preparing yourself, knowing your “house”, your mind, and it’s weak points, your psychological vulnerabilities.
   
David: Yeah. Those are the places that the “robbers,” which could be external, other people or situations, or internal, intrusive thoughts or habits, that come into your mind and dissipate your energy or cause you to lose your focus.
   
Gene: So, it’s basically saying to plan ahead and know places, people or situations that are “slippery slopes” for you, in order to handle or avoid them. “A man’s gotta know his limitations.”
   
David: Again, it’s part of trying to know yourself… who you really are. OK. Saying 104 - They said to [Jesus]: "Come, let us pray and fast today!" Jesus said: "What sin is it that I have committed, or wherein have I been overcome? But when the bridegroom comes out of the wedding chamber, then let (us) fast and pray."
   
Gene: We’re at the door again. And Jesus is saying if you’re inside the wedding chamber, there’s no need to knock. It’s only when you find yourself on the outside again, fragmented and not whole, that fasting, prayer or other spiritual practices are needed.
   
David: That’s it exactly. The wedding chamber is where the “Sacred Marriage” is being consummated, meaning that in there, is wholeness and completion - our higher and lower aspects in perfect union. Praying and fasting are, as we talked about in Saying 94, ways to “knock on the door,” to request entry into the wedding chamber. But, if you’re already in there, if you’re in that state of oneness, what reason is there to fast and pray? For what?
   
Gene: Yeah. That implies a separation and a longing for something, so it means you’re not whole. Jesus is saying, save those spiritual practices for when you are outside the door wanting to get in.
   
David: Alright. Next one?
   
21:05 Sayings 105-107
   
Gene: Thanks. Saying 105 - Jesus says: "Whoever will come to know father and mother, he will be called son of a whore."
   
David: Yeah. That’s a strange one. But, it’s again talking about spiritual lineage. The father and mother it refers to are presumably the “true” father and mother from Saying 101.
   
Gene: To me it’s just an overly dramatic way of saying that our true mother, is the mother of all living things… the mother of all mothers.
   
David: And the recognition of that “true” mother represents a second birth, or a rebirth, a recognition or remembrance of your “true” or spiritual mother. And we know from the “Secret Gospel of John,” that the true father is the Monad and the true mother, is Barbelo.
   
Gene: And, in some of the Gnostic texts like “The Thunder, Perfect Mind,” Barbelo is referred to as both a “virgin” and a “whore.” In one aspect, she’s the “Queen of Heaven,” the divine pattern that is never soiled by materiality, but in her other aspect, she’s Sophia, the “Earth Mother,” the mother of all.
   
David: And we’ve talked about how those dual aspects are reflected in the figures of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Next one?
   
Gene: Saying 106 - Jesus says: "When you make the two into one, you will become sons of man. And when you say ‘Mountain, move away,’ it will move away."
   
David: This is very similar to Saying 48, which starts out with “if two make peace with one another in one and the same house,” where this one says “when you make the two into one.”
   
Gene: Both are again referring to the “Sacred Marriage,” the union of the dual aspects of the self - the anima and animus, the conscious and unconscious, the analytical and the intuitive. And the house, or the wedding hall, is inside yourself, inside your mind.
   
David: I mean, we’ve been dancing around it, but some of the imagery used to symbolize this union of the masculine and feminine aspects is sexual, like in the “Song of Solomon” in the Bible. The “wedding hall” is actually the “bridal chamber,” where the “Sacred Marriage,” is being consummated.
   
Gene: There’s also Buddhist or Tantric depictions of gods united with their Shaktis, their female counterparts, which are often misunderstood as obscene. But they depict the dual aspects of every energy, the active and the receptive, that are intimately intertwined.
   
David: And this saying says that “when you make the two into one, you will become sons of man.” So it’s saying that through that union, we conceive and become the “divine child,” we bring it to life.
   
Gene: But that’s a blasphemous statement in orthodox Christianity, because it’s saying YOU can become like Jesus.
   
David: True. But to think otherwise, means you aren’t capable of becoming whole. The phrase that comes to mind is “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” In terms of Gnostic conceptions, it would mean you’re stuck outside the door to the bridal chamber, knocking forever, but knowing that you’re never going to be allowed in!
   
Gene: Yeah, that’s good. Do you have anything else on that one?
   
David: Just that the last part about moving mountains, we discussed in Saying 48, but it refers to being able to overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable, when you were only dealing with half a deck… so to speak.
   
Gene: I like that turn of phrase. Alright. Saying 107 - Jesus says: "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them went astray, the largest. He left the ninety-nine, (and) he sought the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep: ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’"
   
David: Like many of the Gnostic sayings, they’re like sayings in the Bible, but with a twist. Here, it’s the shepherd saying that he loves the largest sheep the best.
   
Gene: It’s again, the quest for the “one thing,” like the “Pearl of Great Price,” or the treasure hidden in the field. The shepherd is not thinking in purely material or quantitative terms, or he wouldn’t risk losing the other 99 sheep for the one that’s wondered away.
   
David: But maybe that’s the quality that he values.
   
Gene: What’s that?
   
David: That it’s the black sheep… the one that doesn’t obey like all the other sheep. It’s like the story of the “Prodigal Son” from the Bible. The shepherd loves it BECAUSE it misbehaves. It has it’s own personality. It’s the unique one. All the rest just do what he says. They’re boring. The shepherd loves the one that wants first hand experience, the one that dares to know.
   
Gene: So, in esoteric terms, it’s the part of ourselves that seeks Gnosis, self-knowledge.
   
David: Yes. And also what we’ve been calling the “divine spark.” That desire for Gnosis IS the spark that you have to tend to. It’s the part of ourselves that we probably love and hate the most, because it’s the most unique part, our essence.
   
Gene: And the Shepherd is, of course, also a symbol of us, seeking after that part of that’s been lost, the “Shekinah in exile,” the divine partner that we need to entice back.
   
26:26 Sayings 108-110
   
David: Right. OK. Saying 108 - Jesus says: "Whoever will drink from my mouth will become like me. I myself will become he, and what is hidden will be revealed to him."
   
Gene: Here again is some very intimate and suggestive imagery, like in “Song of Solomon,” which is used to symbolize a mingling of essences, a spiritual initiation.
   
David: A communion. There’s a tradition that is based on a damaged section of the “Gospel of Philip” that says that Jesus used to kiss Mary Magdalene on the mouth, which also has his disciples asking Jesus why he loves Mary Magdalene more than all of them.
   
Gene: Because she’s the “black sheep?”
   
David: You know, I think there’s something to that. There are other Gnostic texts that say that she was the only one who actually understood his teachings. That she “drank from his mouth” would be a coded way of saying that she was a true initiate of his teachings.
   
Gene: And again, this saying presents another blasphemous teaching - that you can be a Christ… not just like him, but the same in essence. Jesus says that through this mingling of essences, he BECOMES you.
   
David: And through that becoming, when the two, the bride and bridegroom, become one, then it says that what was hidden before, is revealed.
   
Gene: It’s a revealing, a “Revelation,” if you will, of who you really are. Ready for the next one?
   
David: I am. Saying 109 - Jesus says: "The kingdom is like a person who has a hidden treasure in his field, (of which) he knows nothing. And [after] he had died, he left it to his [son]. (But) the son did not know (about it either). He took over that field (and) sold [it]. And the one who had bought it came, and while he was ploughing [he found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whom he wished."
   
Gene: This saying is again like the story of the “pearl,” or the “lost sheep.” I guess the only difference is that the father and son don’t realize that the treasure is there, hidden underground.
   
David: It’s also like Saying 77 about having to look under the stone, or split the wood to find the spiritual essence. Here it’s underground, but you have to wonder why the father or the son never found it. Did they not work their land?
   
Gene: You could see that as a metaphor for doing spiritual work, tilling the soil, sifting through the dirt, uncovering what is hidden or forgotten, in yourself. So, it’s pointing out that you have to work to uncover the treasure, your essence.
   
David: And that latent potential is not apparent on the surface, you have to dig for it. It’s like how in Saying 107, it says that the shepherd has to “toil” to recover the lost sheep.
   
Gene: So here again, we have lazy spiritual gardeners. Come on man!
   
David: Yeah, that seems to be a common theme. Alright. Saying 110 - Jesus says: "The one who has found the world (and) has become wealthy should renounce the world."
   
Gene: That’s a repeat of saying 81 with a bit of saying 56 about “knowing the world” mixed in.
   
David: It’s saying that once you’ve “found the world,” meaning that you come to know what’s real - you understand the transitory nature of all material things, and consciously detach your self-image from them. Basically, dis-identifying from your money, possessions, power, status, influence, all the ways we accumulate “wealth” - so that those don’t become, or remain, obstacles.
   
Gene: You can think of those experiences that brought us to “know the world,” as sort of like scaffolding, that has helped us to get where we are in our inner Temple construction, the construction of our own sense of sacredness. But at some point, you can tear down the scaffolding. It’s not needed anymore.
   
David: Yeah. It’s talking about a conscious turning away from material accumulation, in favor of moment-to-moment communion. Next one?
   
30:26 Sayings 111-114
   
Gene: Alright. Saying 111 - Jesus says: "The heavens will roll up before you, and the earth. And whoever is living from the living one will not see death."  Does not Jesus say: "Whoever has found himself, of him the world is not worthy"?
   
David: This saying is similar to Matthew 24:35 where Jesus says - “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” And then Saying 1 said - “Whoever finds the meaning of these words will not taste death.”
   
Gene: The meaning of the words being that we are part of a process, which is called in the sayings, the “kingdom of heaven.” And as we’ve talked about before, it’s the idea that we aren’t living life, life is living through us. And from that perspective, there is no death, just a dance of temporary forms.
   
David: And “death” is falling from that perspective into one where you feel separate and alone. That’s what it means by "Whoever has found himself, of him the world is not worthy.” “Finding yourself,” means coming to know your role in the process.
   
Gene: Which is?
   
David: To find yourself. To know yourself. To try to uncover the hidden truth of who you really are. That’s it.
   
Gene: So, that’s the goal… and our role… in what now looks sort of like a fractal puzzle. What we’re doing and what we’re seeking seems to be the same thing, from different perspectives.
   
David: It is. The ones that it says are “living from the living one” are those that have discovered the missing piece of the puzzle - the one symbolized by the “pearl,” by the “lost sheep,” and the “hidden treasure.”
   
Gene: What do you mean?
   
David: The part of us that is seeking, is the part that we are looking for. You are the process, all of it, not just a part of it. You become it in the doing of it. That’s each person’s individual mission in life, to know yourself… which is also what life is doing through us, on a bigger scale.
   
Gene: OK.
   
David: And each individual is a unique puzzle, and solving yourself is what you’re tasked with, that’s your purpose, and the role you’re supposed fulfill in the bigger scheme of things, which, as you said, is called the “kingdom of heaven.” That’s what I think is the meaning of the Gospel of Thomas.
   
Gene: I like that. That’s a great interpretation. But you do have to chew on that for a while to get it.
   
David: You do. Next one?
   
Gene: OK. Saying 112 - Jesus says: "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul. Woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
   
David: That’s almost a repeat of Saying 80, but it’s a little different. This one focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the soul or mind, and the body or the material world, and the danger of identifying with either of them. If you identify with the flesh, you suffer because of its imperfection and impermanence. If you identify with the mind, you suffer because you’re basically trapped inside your head, feeling that something is missing, just out of reach, that would give meaning to your suffering.
   
Gene: And what’s missing is the spiritual element. The body and soul are two of the three worlds that we talked about in Saying 100 about “rendering unto Caesar, what is Caesar’s.” What’s missing is the spiritual realm, the part about “giving to God the things that are God’s.” So, with that part absent from your world, you’re out of balance.
   
David: And that’s what causes the woe, or suffering, because you can’t see your the bigger picture, or your purpose in life. There isn’t anything to provide meaning. You just go around in circles or wonder aimlessly, physically and mentally - like a ship without a rudder.
   
Gene: So it’s saying that we need to again, identify with the bigger spiritual process of which we are a part, or like you said, understanding that in a sense, we are the process. That by seeking Gnosis, self-knowledge, we become the process. Otherwise we get stuck in an endless loop of suffering.
   
David: Because all of it ultimately seems meaningless. The meaning has to come from outside of what we normally think of as our-selves. It’s telling us to identify with the spirit, our whole being, from which both the body and mind arise. It’s the cause, and the meaning, that we’re looking for. Anything else on that one?
   
Gene: No.
   
David: OK. Saying 113 - His disciples said to him: "The kingdom – on what day will it come?" "It will not come by watching (and waiting for) it. They will not say: ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it."
   
Gene: That’s probably the most famous saying in the “Gospel of Thomas.” If people remember one saying, it’s probably that one.
   
David: And it is one of the most striking sayings. It’s like Saying 51 where the disciples ask  “When will the resurrection of the dead take place, and when will the new world come?” and Jesus answers that the "resurrection which you are awaiting has already come, but you do not recognize it."
   
Gene: Both of those sayings are speaking against the idea that salvation comes from outside and is confined to a particular time. It’s saying that all of the “end times” talk is just smoke and mirrors.
   
David: Right. It’s saying very directly that all of the talk about the “Apocalypse is upon us!” is misguided and delusional. Jesus is telling his disciples to stop looking for external signs and validation and instead, start making it happen within themselves.
   
Gene: So, it’s saying that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is not a place - it’s a state of mind. Everyone has to find the door, and figure out how to correctly knock on it, and then hope to be let inside.
   
David: Yeah. The door can’t be forced. You can’t force your mind into that state. It’s not something you can do for yourself, which is what it means by the door opening from the inside. You have to be let in, by what’s sometimes called “grace.” It’s a present reality, for those with “eyes to see,” meaning those not veiled by false perceptions, expectations and beliefs. It’s an “immanent mystery,” present in every moment, awaiting discovery.
   
Gene: That’s good. I like that. Are you ready for the last one?
   
David: I think so. It’s a strange one. Saying 114 "Simon Peter said to them: "Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said: "Look, I will draw her in so as to make her male, so that she too may become a living male spirit, similar to you." (But I say to you): "Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
   
Gene: The first thing about that one that just pops out, is the tension between Simon Peter, the “rock” that the orthodox church was constructed on, and Mary Magdalene, who represents esoteric wisdom, the inner initiatic tradition of the Gnostic gospels.
   
David: And that tension between the orthodox, or literal interpretation of the story of Jesus and the esoteric or symbolic interpretation, is beautifully illustrated in the 2018 movie “Mary Magdalene,” that stars Rooney Mara as Mary and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus.
   
Gene: That is a wonderful movie.
   
David: It is, but anyway - when it says that the female must make herself male, it’s saying that the passive or receptive part of us, the one still in contact with wholeness, needs to become active in order to realize the process that we’re a part of. It’s talking about activating the intuitive form of knowing, so that it can take its rightful place alongside our analytical way of approaching things.
   
Gene: So you could say that Peter’s rejection of Mary, symbolizes the intellectual part of us, that dismisses intuition or messages from our subconscious as meaningless, or “not worthy of life,” because they don’t seem logical.
   
David: In other words, our analytical side is suspect of our intuitive side and doesn’t believe it can be an equal participant. But Jesus says that he can “pull her in” so that she becomes a “living male spirit.” He’s saying that through intermingling his spirit with hers, as she drinks from his mouth, she becomes like him in essence, whole, both male and female.
   
Gene: And really, that’s the primary motif of the entire “Gospel of Thomas,” that by uniting our dual natures, we become whole. That’s the meaning behind all of imagery of the “bridal chamber,” and the “Sacred Marriage,” the alchemical wedding of the “Red Queen” and the “White King,” or the “bride” and the “bridegroom.” All of those are different symbols that point to the intermingling those two essences within yourself, hence all of the sexual imagery.
   
David: And the result of that union, is the spiritual conception of a “divine hermaphrodite,” which is called the Rebis in alchemy, who is both male and female, uniting the dual natures in a single creature.
   
Gene: That alchemical process is summed up in Saying 106 - “When you make the two into one, you will become sons of man.” It’s a reversal of the psycho-spiritual surgery that the Demiurge performed on the first Adam, in the “Secret Gospel of John,” where he cut Adam and Eve apart. It’s a reunification of that pattern, but now, it’s been brought to life in the flesh.
   
David: Meaning that the pattern has unfolded in your mind, which transforms your conception of yourself and the world. You’re born again.
   
Gene: Yes, and the receptive part has been elevated back to her rightful place as an equal partner, or symbolically, the prostitute is redeemed.
   
David: And that whole process is summarized in the last line, which says - “Every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is saying that to become a conscious participant in the process known as the “kingdom of heaven,” the process of life, you must allow the receptive, intuitive nature, which contains the imprint of the pattern of divinity, to unfold and manifest itself, through you, as a living, active presence in the world.
   
Gene: Basically to start working with all the tools at your disposal, with the emphasis on reuniting with the lost parts of yourself. The writer Philip K. Dick likened it to the feeling of wanting to unite with a lost sister… sort of like the “lost sheep” from from the earlier saying. But the goal is to allow the intuitive part of yourself to become an active participant again. Or in Kabbalistic terms, to allow the Shekinah to regain her rightful voice.
   
David: The last thing I have is just that this final saying in the “Gospel of Thomas,” describes, as we mentioned earlier, the emergence of the Rebis, the “Divine Hermaphrodite,” that is both male and female. In Alchemy, its emergence represents the creation of the “Philosopher’s Stone,” and the culmination of the “Great Work.”
   
Gene: And that’s a fine note to end it on brother.
   
41:55 Conclusions
    
David: I think so, too. Alright, we made it through the whole thing… every saying.
    
Gene: We did indeed. It was a bit of an ordeal, but truly, and I mean this, it was well worth the effort. It’s just like so many strands of things I’ve studied and looked at in the past, from Masonry, alchemy, hermeticism, mysticism, Kabbalah… you name it - all of those strands just seem like they started coming together for me into this beautiful tapestry. For me, it’s the “rug that ties the room together,” to quote the Dude.
    
David: I know what you mean. I have the same feeling about it. And for those who share our interests in Gnosticism and esotericism, I’ve included links in the “Show Notes,” to resources that you can use in your own study of the “Gospel of Thomas.” 
    
Gene: So, what’s the biggest, or most revolutionary idea, that you came across in this text?
    
David: For me the biggest idea was that the process of achieving Gnosis, is the “divine pattern.” Knowing yourself isn’t just a methodology, it’s the fractal or holographic pattern of what is going on in a cosmic sense - God coming to know Him or Herself, through us. That concept, which makes sense to me, gives our experience of life a definite meaning and purpose.
    
Gene: And it unifies us with the process called the “kingdom of heaven,” which reminds me of the book “God is a Verb” by Rabbi David Cooper. God isn’t a thing out there to find. God is something you do, which he calls “God-ing.”
    
David: Yeah, that’s good. Do you have anything else?
    
Gene: I do have one more thing.
    
David: OK.
    
Gene: I mentioned Philip K. Dick earlier. And, as you know, he was obsessed with Gnosticism, and the Nag Hammadi scrolls specifically. He came to believe that the scrolls contained the “living word,” the Logos, or what he called the “plasmate,” that when communicated to us, by hearing or reading the words, it would bond with our mind, and transform our conception of reality.
    
David: Hmm. That’s just a science-fictiony way of saying what I believe - that those texts contain words that have transformative power, because they resonate with something we already know, but have forgotten. They spark the desire to unite with the lost parts of our-self.
    
Gene: Right. They’re not just dead words on a page, they can be a powerful catalyst of change. As we’ve said before, they’re like seeds, that need fertile soil, and need to be tended to, if they’re going to bear fruit.
    
David: True that. Anything else?
    
Gene: Just a message to myself and everyone else - “don’t be a lazy gardener!” 
    
David: OK.
    
Gene: Tend your garden. Do the work. And I’m saying this as much to myself as the anyone else.
    
David: Amen brother. Alright, in our next episode, we’ll begin our discussion of another Gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi collection - the “Trimorphic Protennoia,” also know as the “Three Forms of the First Thought.”