Gnosis

What makes us free is the Gnosis 
of who we were 
of what we have become 
of where we were 
of wherein we have been cast
of whereto we are hastening 
of what we are being freed 
of what birth really is 
of what rebirth really is.According to Stephan A. Hoeller in Manley P. Hall's halls book "The Wisdom of the Knowing Ones: Gnosticism: The Key to Esoteric Christianity", this is an early Gnostic statement.
Gnosis as an applied and manifest knowledge of life and life technology will always focus not on "resolving” the obviously prevalent contradictions informing the world but, rather, on handling them in a meaningful constructive manner: practice rather than dogma, palpable experience in lieu of abstract faith or merely theoretical surmise are its mainstay. If nothing else, this is what the Gnostics of Antiquity and the medieval mystics and kabbalists have taught us, as did the Indian sages in Vedic times and the Buddhist masters: if we truly want to come to grips with the world as is, we have no choice but to embrace its paradoxical nature and forge it into a viable weapon to best the vagaries of life.Cult of the Black Cube.
‘Gnosis’ is one of the most disputed terms or concepts of history, it seems all the way back to Plato. (See relatedly: Sophism.) Not wanting to pervert words, it's obvious that ‘gnosis’ means knowledge, and belongs in that meaning as a direct relative of ‘cognition’ and the remixed protologism ‘[[gnoledge|[g]kno[ledge]]]’.It is in the nature of things that gnosis should lie at the heart of all religion--whether in principle or in fact, and whatever its degree of actualization--and it should therefore not be argued about as if it were merely a matter of human invention or historical chance. Gnosis coincides with "esoterism", except that esoterism may also include a dimension of volitive and emotional mysticism of the type of Hindu bhakti. [Schuon, 1970]
Gnosticism is defined as emanationism, or a philosophy of emanations. If two qualities cannot meet in substance, they can be brought together only by extension. Universals cannot become particulars and particulars cannot become universals, but universals exist according to degrees and particulars exist according to conditions.--- Manley P. HallApparently in his own book, "The Wisdom of the Knowing Ones: Gnosticism: The Key to Esoteric Christianity".
== "Anti-Gnostics" ==
In history, ‘gnosis’ can by conventions of use means two contradictory things, depending on the author or tradition. ‘Knowledge’ or error. Supernatural knowledge, or mere opinionated certainty. It has connotations of stubbornness, or conversely, connotations of the most unstubborn knowledge.When the mind tries to act as the creator of real facts, we have the story of Gnosis all over again.— Rostenstock-Huessy, eng.tr. pub. 1978
== Rhizomata ==
Tradition; Agnosis
Gnosticism; Theism
Theology