Ascesis:

The Handbook of
Platonic Practice

Eric Claussen
Copyright © 2024 Eric Claussen

Romanist Press

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 979-8-9913041-9-1
 To my wife, who has been a constant source of inspiration
and encouragement, pushing me to see the best in myself and
others.
 CONTENTS

Foreword 1

Introduction 8

The Platonic Tradition 14

Pollution and Purification 27

The Path of Ascent 36

Meditation 63

Prayer Chant 76

Visualization 83

Breath 91

Noetic Prayer 101

Contemplation 106

Offerings 115

Practical Praxis 122

Conclusion 129
 Foreword

Most religions have spiritual practices to gain direct

experience of the divine. These unique expressions are seen
and used in Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism,
Islam, and even Christianity. While techniques specific to
each religion can undoubtedly be found, you will often see
the same core practices crop up, albeit under different names
and terminology.

Nirvana, liberation, marifa, moksha, theosis: Are these all

separate experiences with no relationship to one another? Of
course not. If spiritual cultivation is authentic, it should
follow the same or similar patterns regardless of the culture
or people doing the spiritual work. This is precisely what we
observe when looking at various spiritual traditions
worldwide.

Sadly, one system of spiritual development has been

neglected for far too long, and that is the spiritual tradition
beginning with the divine Greek sage Plato. The Western
world has relegated Plato to the position of an ancient
political philosopher, and only some Westerners know
anything of his spiritual works. Many would likely be
shocked to discover that most of his work and legacy are

1
theological and spiritual.

However, despite the many works outlining the theoretical

understanding of the divine realities of Plato, very little has
made it to today regarding how to pursue Platonic spiritual
cultivation as a concrete practice. We can find many appeals
from the Philosophers that we should pursue virtue, purify
our souls, and seek the highest intelligible realities, but how
do we actually do that?

The Platonic tradition is rich with understanding and theory

about the divine. It is the most logically constructed
understanding of the divine that man has ever created. The
clarity, depth, and precision with which it outlines the nature
of Gods, humanity, the soul, the creation of the universe, and
all levels of divine realities are parallel to no other tradition
except perhaps the Hindu sages.

And yet, when it comes to practical instruction on ascending

the ladder to the divine, we are left with a deafening silence.
All the major works, if there ever were any, on meditation
techniques, theurgic rituals, advanced prayer techniques, or
even simple prayer techniques, for that matter, have either
been lost or destroyed. You won't find any ancient book
called ‘How to Meditate’ or ‘How to Pray’ from the Greek
philosophers: believe me, I've looked for them. However, that
doesn’t mean we don’t have the information from disparate
sources that we can use to reconstruct the core practices of
the Philosophers. These practices, called ascesis, are the
foundation of how we do philosophy as a way of life and not
merely a rational pursuit as it is treated today.

This information has never been gathered into a book partly

because the interest in Platonism until recently was mostly

2
 Ascesis

academic. Professors and researchers would pour over the

source material like archeologists trying to reconstruct a
replica of ancient thought. Very few engaged in the tradition
as a legitimate spiritual pursuit. Fortunately, over the past
few decades, that has changed, and now interest in ancient
philosophy as a spiritual practice is exploding. We are long
overdue for a manual on philosophy as a spiritual practice.
There certainly have been some who have written books on
Platonism from a spiritual perspective. Still, all too often,
these books are highly technical and not for a layperson
uninitiated in the dizzying amount of terms and theories that
make up the platonic philosophical tradition.

In this book, I plan to simplify things as best as possible

without losing the most essential elements of this rich
tradition. This book is meant for ordinary people. People with
families and jobs and everyday responsibilities. It isn’t for
academics or lifelong philosophers who have hours to pour
over theory and sabbaticals to collect their thoughts. This
book is for parents, students, and everyday people who want
to better their lives with the wisdom of the ancients. This is
also for those looking for a spiritual path that allows them to
keep and use their rationality rather than ignore it in favor of
faith alone. Faith is essential, of course, but so is rationality,
and we mustn’t sacrifice one for the other.

This book also corrects another corrosive problem in Western

spirituality: the tendency to overlook spiritual practices
originating from our own tradition and instead seek
spirituality from foreign sources. At some level, this is
understandable. Christianity made many spiritual practices
illegal and often punishable by death for centuries. That’s
enough to put anyone off, and spiritual systems like yoga, Tai
Chi, and Buddhist meditation are just as effective as the more

3
obscure practices of our ancient ancestors.

After all, if a God and Gods genuinely want to see us ascend

to the divine, they wouldn't hide the knowledge of how to do
so in one religion or region. The path would be discoverable
by anyone willing to investigate the mystery for themselves.

For this reason, many Westerners adopt spiritual practices

directly from religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. Often,
the religiously specific terminology comes with it as well.

Instead of using the term liberation or henosis, you hear

moksha or samadhi. Instead of cultivating our pneuma, we
hear about chi and chakras; Instead of the Iron Age, it's Kali
Yuga; Instead of piety, we hear of dharma; Instead of ascesis,
we say yoga; Instead of chants, we say mantras.

My point isn't to say that the Hindus, Buddhists, or Taoists

are wrong. They are, in fact, very correct in their vast array of
spiritual terminology. The issue is we Westerners, and
especially Platonists, do ourselves a great disservice by not
developing our own spiritual systems. We often copy already
complete systems from other religions.

The Greek and Roman traditions have a wealth of

terminology and spiritual, theological, and philosophical
frameworks to explain the most advanced spiritual practices
and experiences. However, we continually take the easy road
of copying other religions. This usually leads to significant
misunderstandings. Talk to any Hindu about how
Westerners view yoga, chakras, or meditation, and they will
likely tell you we get it completely wrong. If you know even
the slightest about Hinduism, a single glance at a Western
Yoga studio is enough to make anyone cringe. We’ve

4
 Ascesis

managed to reduce one of the most complex and deep

spiritual traditions into workout routines with incense and
hippie platitudes.

That should be expected when copying parts of a vast and

complex spiritual system like Hindu yoga. You can't remove
parts of Hindu Yoga and use them in isolation without
guaranteeing some confusion or misunderstanding. The
practices may be similar, but the details and specifics matter
if you want a complete, cohesive system.

This book is primarily about correcting this problem and

offering Platonists and all Western spiritual practitioners a
new way of looking at spiritual cultivation that grounds us
firmly in our traditions rather than using a foreign lens to
describe our spiritual experiences.

As I mentioned, the spiritual techniques that work are all the

same or similar. The differences are often exceptions or
simply variations of the main themes. Meditation and
spiritual cultivation are a science; we should expect it to work
the same everywhere. Two plus two equals four, regardless
of the language or how the equation is written.

For this reason, some of these practices resemble those of

other traditions. You may say, "Oh, that's like kundalini," or
"That's just like Orthodox theosis." Given these practices’
scientific and universal nature, these connections should be
expected. The vital aspect of our approach is ensuring that
Platonism and Western spirituality can develop their
framework for spiritual cultivation without appropriating
other cultures and often abusing them in the process.
Secondarily, this stops the massive influx of foreign spiritual
terms that don't align with our native ones.

5
 ***
Finally, this is not a book about theory. There are many books
on Platonism and all the theories that come from the
wellspring of the Platonic corpus. This book is about practice,
i.e., ascesis. This book answers the question, "But how do I
actually do it?" regarding Platonic spirituality. As such, there
will be a minimal section on theory explained matter-of-factly
with little to no argumentation for the points presented. At
some level, this book assumes you already accept the platonic
understanding of the universe and merely restates the basics
to fill out any gaps in knowledge before continuing to the
core practices.

Theory is a roadmap for our spiritual journey. However, it is

essential that when we begin ascesis, we do not mistake
theory for practice. I have met Platonists who could explain
the most intricate theories from the most obscure
commentaries from Proclus, Porphyry, and Plotinus. Yet,
their souls are polluted beyond recognition by hatred, vice,
anger, and lust. Spiritual practice is not the same as thinking,
nor is it the same as understanding.

The philosophers were clear that intuitive intellection or

noesis brings us to the divine, while our rational or dianoetic
minds cannot make the final ascent. At some point along our
spiritual journey, we must leave the rational speculation,
theories, and book learning behind and walk the path on our
own.

If anything in this book disagrees with your theory of how

things should work, don't believe me. You are free to see
things however you like. Again, this book is about practice.
This is about putting the theory aside and making progress to
experience the divine and mystical union for ourselves. When

6
 Ascesis

we reach that point, we no longer need books to guide the

way; we are the book. At the summit of our practice, we no
longer understand what the path should be; we know it for
what it is. Again, theory is not practice, and understanding
differs from knowing for yourself.

"Know Thyself."

The Delphic Oracle

7
 CHAPTER ONE
Introduction

Ascesis1 is the practice of purifying the soul that culminates in

communion with the divine. Ascesis means exercises, and just
like physical exercises strengthen and enhance the body, we
use ascesis to strengthen and enhance the soul. It is a regimen
of exercises and practices that leads us closer to the divine by
removing from our spirit the pollutions that weigh us down
and prevent the ascent of the soul.

We derive the word asceticism2 from ascesis. Unfortunately,

asceticism has come to be associated with the mortification
and denial of the self. This was not always the case. In ancient
times, philosophical ascesis was understood as the practices
that sages and holy men engaged in to purify themselves and
live a more holy and divine life.

During the church’s early years, some Christians adopted this

term and used it to describe the extreme practices of monks

1
Pronounced ahs-KEH-sis
2
Webster definition: the practice of strict self-denial as a measure of
personal and especially spiritual discipline.

8
 Ascesis

who lived in the desert. These monks would torture

themselves by hanging weights on their bodies, fasting for
extreme lengths of time, and not sleeping. The goal was to
reject any comfort and deny any pleasure to the body. At the
core of this Christian asceticism is a belief that the body and
all material life impede the cultivation of the spirit.

This dualist worldview is still at the center of many Christian

beliefs. The world is viewed as fallen, evil, and corrupt. By
denying the world and rejecting any of its pleasurable or
good aspects, they believe they can rise above it and join a
different spiritual life.

The assumption that drives this idea is that God is not here in
this world and that we must deny the material entirely if we
are to hope to live a spiritual life. The philosophers, on the
other hand, saw things differently. They did not see the
world as fallen or evil but rather as the image of God that we
all lived within. Their perspective was fundamentally non-
dual. God was not an entity that existed in a far-off heaven
beyond the material but rather was a force that permeated all
aspects of the cosmos, both material and immaterial. The God
of the philosophers was so close to us that we struggle to see
or realize him on a day-to-day basis.

The divine children of God, the Gods, order the universe and
are symbolically present in the plants, stones, and animals
around them. As the ancient sage Thales said, “Everything is
full of Gods.”

True ascesis is not about self-torture or extreme denial. The

purpose of spiritual ascesis is to reunite ourselves with our
soul and purify it so we can better commune with the Gods
and the One which is the ultimate reality. Through ascesis,

9
we learn to feel the subtle spirit within us, cultivate it, and
remove any obstructions that restrict its proper function. We
learn how to listen to the most noble aspects of our souls and
turn away from desires and passions that lead us away from
the Gods. We learn how to cultivate our intellect and perceive
the Gods directly through the eye of the soul. We sharpen our
rational minds and discover the power to discern between
falsehood and truth so we don’t go astray on our spiritual
journey.

Ascesis is the foundation of philosophy as a way of life, not

merely a rational exercise. This is entirely different from what
we associate with modern philosophy. Philosophers today
are not consulted for their wisdom; they are not seen as sages
or spiritual teachers, and they do not speak from a place of
authority or power grounded in the depth of spiritual
experience. Modern philosophers don’t deserve to be called
philosophers at all. They are theorists and rational thinkers.
They may provide attractive and functional solutions to
practical problems in science, economics, physics, etc., but
they have no authority or experience in dealing with the
human spirit and the liberation of the soul.

Sadly, this has led many Westerners to seek this wisdom

outside the West. Many have become Buddhists, traveled to
India to meet with Gurus, and pursued Tai Chi and whatever
other world religion would satisfy their desire to know and
feel divine. Their pursuit is understandable and even
admirable. Christianity dominated the Western world and
imposed itself by force on the people of Europe. During that
time, practicing Western spirituality was illegal, often
punishable by death, unless it aligned with Christian dogma.
That time has passed, however, and it’s time that we
reopened the philosophical tradition that was the heart of

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 Ascesis

spiritual life in our ancient past. Our philosophic tradition is

as rich and full of spiritual wisdom as any Eastern path, and
it’s long overdue for us to come home and begin rebuilding
our most sacred traditions.

TO BECOME LIKE GOD

The end goal of our spiritual ascesis is to become like God as

much as possible. To many in the West, this may sound like a
heretical statement. After all, how could we be like God? Is
that not the pinnacle of hubris to think we could be like God?

At the core of these questions is a mistaken belief that God is

somehow different from us and outside of our world. While
God’s nature is transcendent, and we may never grasp God’s
totality, that doesn’t mean that God is separate from the
cosmos and us. God is in us, around us, and beyond us. There
is nothing that is not filled with God. Nonetheless, some
things are closer to God than others. We, no doubt, can
recognize that murderers and criminals are living their lives
further from God than a holy sage or saint.

Plato explains our situation:

But bad things cannot be destroyed, Theodorus, for there must

always be something opposed to the good. Nor can they gain a place
among gods. Rather, by necessity they haunt mortal nature and this
place here. That’s why one must try to flee from here to there as
quickly as possible. Fleeing is becoming like God so far as one can,
and to become like God is to become just and pious with wisdom.

Plato3

3
Theatetus (176a 5–b 2)

11
 ***
As Plato says, the world contains many things we would call
bad or evil, and these things “cannot be destroyed.” These
bad things exist by necessity because our world is full of
duality. For there to be good, there must also be evil. For
there to be up, there must be down. For they’re to be right,
there must be wrong. The philosopher aims to raise
themselves beyond the duality of mortal good and evil and
align themselves with God in piety and wisdom.

This is what it means to become like God. It is not an escape

from this world to another plane of existence, but, as Plato
says, it means aligning ourselves with justice, piety, and
wisdom. This is a transformation we go through, where we
begin to see the world through the eyes of God. This vision is
called illumination and is the first stepping stone on our
pathway to union with the divine called henosis.

The Platonic sage, Plotinus, further elaborates on this point

and reminds us that the purpose of illumination and union
with God is not moral perfection. Many may hear “become
like God” and think that we must, by definition, be perfect
people without any sin, but that is not the case. Plotinus says
our goal is not “to be free of sin but to be God.” Our pathway
is not to be faultless but rather to seek identification with the
highest ultimate reality. We seek an experience with God, not
just a state of moral or ethical perfection. We shouldn’t take
this to mean we shouldn’t strive for virtue in our lives but
merely that the state of perfect sinlessness is not our objective.

To become like God is to become just, pious, and wise. We

seek these states through the practice of ascesis. Justice is
cultivated by contemplating divine justice, the force of order
and structure to the cosmos, putting everything in its rightful

12
 Ascesis

place. Piety is our subordination to the Gods and the

hierarchy of divine beings. We become both pious and Just by
learning our place in this celestial hierarchy. Finally, we seek
wisdom through direct contact and experience with the
divine Gods. We may become partially wise through learning
and rational thinking. However, ultimately, we must seek
direct experience with the Gods and union with them to
receive the intuitive direct knowledge that is the highest
wisdom. It cannot be learned in a book; it can only be
experienced by the soul in a flash of intuitive remembrance.

The Allegory of the Cave in Plato’s Republic tells this journey

in another way. In the story, men are chained to a wall in a
cave and made to look at shadows of people and things on
the wall. These shadows are a metaphor for our material
reality. We have been tricked into thinking the shadows on
the wall are real. However, one of the men manages to
escape, and when he emerges from the cave, he sees the
blazing sun, and the real world lights up before him.

This allegory explains to us the importance of liberation. We

are not trying to escape the material universe because we
believe it to be pure evil. The world is good but,
unfortunately, not as good or as real and true as the divine.
The material world is like a poor replica or copy of the truly
real experience in the divine. Our desire for liberation is not
sought so that we can run away from the suffering of the
world but rather a desire to come closer to the truly real.

13
 CHAPTER TWO
The Platonic Tradition

To understand ascesis in the Platonic tradition, we need a

basic understanding of the Platonic conception of the cosmos
and our place within it. This is not an exhaustive explanation
of Platonism but provides the essential groundwork and
terminology to understand how ascesis functions. This is
written so anyone new to Platonism can understand the
basics without diving too far into the philosophers' more
detailed and nuanced explanations.

It is also important to note that the classical tradition is not

orthodoxy. What we believe about the divine is less
important than our experience. We must investigate the
heavenly realities themselves and judge them based on our
own experience. The ultimate validation in mystical practice
will be our experience of the divine itself. Often, after we
experience it for ourselves, the descriptions of it pale in
comparison.

The benefit of tradition is that it gives us a roadmap to follow.

You aren’t the first person on the spiritual path and won’t be
the last. By following the Platonic sages, we get the help of a

14
 Ascesis

guide on our journey so we don’t get lost or stuck along the

way. When we hit a roadblock, it is best to return to what the
sages said and see if they can help us. That is, of course, if we
don’t have a living teacher who can help us similarly.

It’s best to think of the following description as a roadmap.

Your experience may differ, but the description of the divine
hierarchy laid out in the Platonic tradition offers a clear and
concise way to comprehend the divine and see the ultimate
goal of spiritual liberation.

GOD, OR THE ONE

“Before the things that really are, even the first principles of all
things, is One Divine Being, prior even to the first God and King,
[abides] immovable in the aloneness of his own absolute unity.”

Iamblichus4

The One is the transcendent ultimate reality that exists

beyond the material world and encompasses all existence.
The One is not limited by time, space, or any form. It is the
ultimate source of unity for the entire cosmos, both material
and immaterial. All of the multiplicity and diversity in the
universe emanate from this one divinity, which is the unity
that holds them all together.

While transcendent, the One is also imminent. This means the

One is present within and pervades all aspects, beings, and
things within the universe. Within each and every soul, there
is a unity of the One that can be discovered.
***

4
On the Mysteries

15
The One is beyond all description. While we may use words
to describe the One, they all fail to grasp its true essence.
Therefore, we often refer to the One as the ineffable. We may
also use negative terminology like unknowable or beyond-
being to try and describe its indescribable nature.

The One is the ground of all being and the first cause of all
that exists. It is the end of all things to which we all return. To
experience the unity of the One in our lives is the greatest of
spiritual attainments. The sages called it henosis5, or Oneness.
This union of the individual soul with the ineffable One is
also what we call liberation.

Platonism reconciles the monotheistic and polytheistic

worldviews. While we recognize the ultimate unity in the
One, we also acknowledge that there are many Gods. This
doesn’t mean there are multiple causes to the universe, but
instead, we realize that divinity is both whole and has
individual personalities within it called Gods. Because the
One in its fullness is impossible to grasp with our minds, we
see Divinity in these multiple personalities. These Gods are
thus individual aspects of the One who, like all things,
depend on the One for their existence but exist in their
independent unity.

“Now that the One is God, follows from its identity with the Good:
For the Good is Identical with God, God being that which is beyond
all things and to which all things aspire, and the Good being the
‘whence’ and the ‘wither’ of all things.”

Proclus6

5
Pronounced heh-NOH-sis
6
Elements of Theology, Prop 113

16
 Ascesis

***
As the sage Proclus says, the One may rightfully be called
God, for the One is also the ultimate Good. It is goodness
itself because it is without any deficiency. All things are
complete within the One because it does not lack anything.
For example, I may feel the pain of hunger and desire for
food. My body is urging me to fix my deficiency in energy.
Deficiencies like this cause suffering and desire. God,
however, has no deficiency and thus has no desires or needs
to be met. This is why we say God is perfect. God needs
nothing to exist or anything for its completeness. It is the
perfection that we are constantly striving for as humans. If
we can be more like God by discovering the One in our soul,
we too can perfect ourselves and rest in the perfection of
unity. Our purpose as humans is to seek and return to this
Good spiritually. All beings aspire to return to the Good, i.e.,
God.

THE CREATOR

“Almighty Jupiter, sovereign of all things, and of all the Gods;

Father and mother of the Gods; himself the only God, in himself, all
Gods”

-Varro7

While the One is the first cause of all things. There is another
Being who crafts the universe, sustains it, and governs it with
divine Justice. This being is the craftsman or creator of the
universe who takes the raw essence of reality from the One
and shapes it into all the things we see. He is the creator of
the cosmos, stars, the planets, and all living things. He also

7
Agrippa, Book 3

17
crafts our immaterial souls, the mind itself is his essence and
he is the foundation of the forms of all reality.

This Craftsman is our Heavenly Father and Divine King,

Jove, who we also call by the name Jupiter, which means
“God, the Father” in Latin. He is the father of both Gods and
men and the king of all the Gods and creation. Father Jove is
present in all aspects of the universe and is the source of
power for all the Gods. The only thing we may conceive as
above Jove is the ineffable, indescribable One. In some ways,
we may think of Jove as the positive aspect of God that we
can know, love, and worship. Meanwhile, the One is his
mysterious, mystical, and ineffable reality beyond our ability
to conceptualize with our rational minds. As King Jove is the
most direct reflection or image of the ineffable One, we also
refer to him as God.

“He fabricates the whole world conformably to ideas, considered as

one, and as many, and as divided both into wholes and parts, and
that he is celebrated as the maker and father of the universe, and as
the father of Gods and men by Plato, Orpheus, and the Oracles;
generating indeed, the multitude of Gods, but sending souls to the
generations of men, as Timæus himself also says”

Proclus8

It is also through Father Jove that we are promised liberation

from the cycles of Fate and endless rebirth. Jove loves us like
a father, and wants us to be like Him. Despite the many
miseries of life, Jove plants within our souls the means of our
liberation. The sage Pythagoras says in his Golden verses,
***

8
Commentary on Timaeus, I 318, 20

18
 Ascesis

“Father Jove, you would surely deliver all from the evils that
oppress them.”

The stoic sage Epictetus says, “If every man could be

convinced heart and soul in the belief that we are all begotten
by Jove, father to both men and Gods, I think he could no
longer have any ignoble or mean thought about himself.” We
should take courage in this and know we are not separated
from God. Just as the One permeates the whole universe, so
does Father Jove. He is always with us, gently guiding us
back toward Him with infinite grace.

THE INTELLECT

"The one salvation of the soul herself, which is extended by the

Creator, and which liberates her from the circle of generation, from
abundant wandering, and an inefficacious life, is her return to the
intellectual form, and a flight from everything which naturally
adheres to us from generation."

Proclus9

In Platonism, the intellect (nous) is the divine mind that

provides the paradigm of the universe and extends to all
things. Thus, this intellect also resides in all human souls as
our mind.

The intellect is the object of all thoughts. When we consider a

concept like justice or beauty, for example, we contemplate its
form in the intellect. The intellect houses these forms of all
reality in their perfect, unchanging state. When we, as a
knowing mind, contemplate these realities, we are

9
Commentary on Timaeus, III 296, 7

19
communing with the knowledge of the intellectual forms
themselves. Thus, the knower, our mind, communicates with
the known, the divine intellect. Within humans, this intellect
is the eye of the soul that allows us to know God and
commune with the divine.

Intellect is not to be confused with the modern term, which

means "rational and academic reasoning." We gain a direct
and intuitive knowledge of God and the divine through the
intellect. However, we do not attain this knowledge by any
rational thinking process but by an instantaneous realization
of divine truth. This flash of intuitive realization is called
noesis10, which means “to see the mind” in Greek. Noesis is a
union of our souls with the intellect itself. The philosophers
always contrast noesis, which is intuitive, with dianoia11,
which is rational thinking. Dianoia means “across the mind.”
This describes how we toss ideas back and forth while trying
to understand something rationally.

I am making this distinction because many people mistake

intellect for rational thinking. This mistake has led many
people to rationalize philosophy and miss its inherently
mystical context. The Intellect is the mind itself. It is the pure
conscious awareness of all things and the source of true
knowledge. Rationality, while essential to our spiritual life as
a guide, cannot bring us to the divine by itself. We may think
about rationality like a map. It shows us the way to liberation
and reveals the mysteries of the universe and the divine.
However, it is intuitive knowledge that we experience
directly that moves us along the path spiritually. We should
not undertake a spiritual life without the guidance of

10
Pronounced noh-EEE-sis
11
Pronounced die-uh-NOY-uh

20
 Ascesis

rationality. Still, we should not focus only on the maps of the

divine that we discover through rationality and forget to seek
the direct experience of spiritual cultivation. This book is
primarily focused on how we achieve the latter.

The intellect is ever present and pure, but unfortunately, we

humans are not. If humans could always grasp the intellect,
we would have perfect knowledge of everything. Humans
have only a limited grasp of the intellect, but we can increase
our participation with the intellect by purifying our souls. We
can imagine our souls are like dirty mirrors. The intellect is a
divine light that shines forth from God, but we can’t reflect
the divine light well since our souls are dirtied up. Sure, we
have our good days, but more times than not, we only cast a
dim reflection of the divine light of the intellect. This is why
the first step on the spiritual path is purification. We must
purify the soul within us, like cleaning the dust and junk
from the mirror of our soul so it can better reflect the divine
light of intellect.

THE SOUL

“Every soul is an incorporeal substance and separable from body.

Every soul is indestructible and imperishable.
Every soul is, at once, a principle of life and a living thing.
Every soul is self-animated (or has life in its own right).“

Proclus12

So what is the Soul, then? The intellect, being pristine,

untouchable, and perfect awareness, cannot directly interact
with things like constantly changing and moving matter. It

12
Elements of Theology

21
needs a medium to work through. That medium is the soul.
The soul animates all things and is the dynamic force of life
itself. The soul is immortal and eternal but capable of moving
and changing things. The soul was not created and can never
be destroyed. The soul connects the intellectual realm of Gods
to the material realm of matter and bodies.

The soul contains the essence of all beings and their potential
to act in the world. It is the source of all beings’ activity. This
is quite different from the modern understanding of the
world. Most people today are materialists, whether they
realize it or not because they view the physical body as the
source of their activity.

They think it is the body that moves and the brain that thinks
and feels. The Platonic understanding flips this around. The
Soul moves and thinks and feels; the body is merely a
recipient of that movement and feeling. Without the soul, the
body would be nothing but a lifeless mass of atoms. And,
when the soul leaves the body, that is precisely what the
body becomes. The soul is the source of life, motion, and
action. All matter reflects these motions, which only the soul
has the power to energize.

“‘The soul is firmly fixed in men through the aether.’

‘And as we breathe in the air, we reap the divine soul.’
‘And the soul is immortal and unaging and is from Jove.’
‘Of all things, the soul is immortal, but the bodies are subject to
death.’ ”

Orpheus13
***

13
Quoted by Vettius Valens, Anthology IX 1

22
 Ascesis

The myth of the chariot of the soul from Plato’s Phaedrus

explains the state of our souls and why they have become
mixed with the material world:

Once, all souls existed in the divine realm, where they beheld
the intellect, which contains the ultimate truths we call the
forms. Our winged souls were pure and whole as they flew
alongside the Gods and charioted with them, basking in
divine wisdom and beauty.

However, the souls were drawn towards the physical world

by their desire to comprehend mortal existence. They were
assigned bodies as they descended, and their wings began to
wither.

Souls were paired with chariots driven by charioteers. The

charioteers represent reason, while the horses pulling the
chariots symbolize the different aspects of human nature.
One horse is noble and virtuous, while the other is wild and
unruly.

The charioteer endeavors to guide the chariot towards the

divine realm, but the journey is arduous. The noble horse
willingly follows the charioteer's lead, while the base horse
resists control, pulling the chariot astray and further into the
material realm.

The myth is a powerful allegory for the human condition,

illustrating the struggle between reason and desire and the
quest for spiritual liberation. We often feel these two horses
pulling our souls in different directions. For example, we may
know we should avoid sweets because we are on a diet, but
the unruly horse urges us to indulge anyway. There are also
many times when we don’t know the right course of action,

23
and we trust our gut. Sometimes, that intuition is correct;
other times, it is not. When we choose the unruly horse over
the noble one, we commit what the ancients called akrasia.
Akrasia literally means “lack of self-control.” This is when we
allow our reason to be deceived by desire, and as a result, we
make a critical error.

Only through discipline, self-control, and pursuit of wisdom

can the charioteer harmonize the horses and ascend towards
the divine. However, many souls fail in this endeavor,
remaining trapped in the cycle of fate and rebirth. To reunite
with the Gods in divine union, we must purify our souls and
commune with the divine through spiritual ascesis.

THE SPIRIT

“Therefore, between the tangible and partly transient body of the

world and its very soul, whose nature is very far from its body,
there exists everywhere a spirit, just as there is between the soul and
body in us, assuming that life everywhere is always communicated
by a soul to a grosser body.”

Marcilio Ficino14

As mentioned in the myth of the chariot, the soul descends

into the material world, and as it does, it takes on a form or
body to contain itself. This is called the luminous body and is
the vehicle for each person's soul while traveling through its
mortal lives. The philosophers call this vehicle the spiritual
vehicle or ochema-pneuma15 in Greek. In its purest form, the
spiritual vehicle is a luminous body made of light and

14
Three Books on Life 3.III
15
oh-KEH-mah NOO-mah

24
 Ascesis

spherical. As it approaches our human form, it looks more

like a misty apparition that we typically associate with ghosts
or disembodied human spirits. It is this body, the spiritual
vehicle, that we are working to purify so that we can bring
ourselves ever closer to our divine nature. As we purify the
spiritual vehicle, we become more like the Gods and reflect
more of their divine light.

The spiritual vehicle of our soul is composed of a substance

called the spirit or pneuma. Spirit and pneuma literally mean
“breath” in Latin and Greek. It is a mixture of the breath of
life and the fire of intellect. This spirit is our vital life force
and the ordering medium of the cosmos. We associate the
spirit with the God Dionysus, the Divine son of Father Jove.
Dionysus represents the entirety of the soul, which is called
the Whole Soul. This is not just one soul among the many but
the totality of all souls as one single entity. This whole soul
permeates all things and connects each person’s individual
soul. Many spiritual experiences that express a feeling of
unity describe an intuitive experience of the whole soul. In it,
we experience and feel the unity of the whole soul, realizing
our inherent oneness with all things. Dionysus permeates the
cosmos through the spirit, just as the human soul permeates
our mortal bodies with its spirit.

While we have an individual soul, the spirit is the substance

of the soul itself, which permeates us as individuals but
extends to the soul of all things. Thus, the spirit extends out
and connects all things, filling them with the power of the
divine. When our spirit is well-ordered and pollution-free, we
are healthy, happy, and thriving. We fall into sickness and
disorder when we pollute or obstruct the spirit.

Through ascesis, we will learn to feel this spirit and clear the

25
pollutants and obstructions that distort its proper, healthy
function. Cultivating the spirit and feeling its effects will be
the most evident sign of our spiritual progress.

26
 CHAPTER THREE
Pollution and Purification

"And while we live according to virtue, we partake of the Gods, but

when we become evil, we cause them to become our enemies; not
that they are angry, but because guilt prevents us from receiving
the illuminations of the Gods, and subjects us to the power of
avenging daemons.

But if we obtain pardon of our guilt through prayers and sacrifices,

we neither appease nor cause any mutation to take place in the
Gods; but by methods of this kind, and by our conversion to a divine
nature, we apply a remedy to our vices, and again become partakers
of the goodness of the Gods."

Sallustius16

Through our many lives, our spirit (pneuma) becomes

polluted and attaches itself more deeply to the material
world. These pollutants are stains upon the soul that damage
our bodies and physical health but also weigh down the
spirit, impeding our spiritual growth and ascent to the

16
On the Gods and the World XIV

27
divine. These pollutants obstruct the divine light of the
intellect and cause our souls to become dim and further
distanced from their divine nature.

We create these pollutants when we give ourselves to vice

instead of virtue. A vice is a deficiency in our soul that turns
us away from the divine. Violating natural and divine law
creates a stain on the soul we call miasma17. It is driven by our
guilt and shame from violating natural law, which weakens
our ability to receive the benevolent light of the Gods.

Ritual actions may help to absolve some of our guilt, but only
when done in a state of true repentance and remorse for our
polluting actions. It is not enough to mechanistically partake
in a ritual with no intention of correcting the behavior that
led to the pollution in the first place.

This is, in fact, much worse. It is an act of hubris to think that

we can cheat the Gods and continue to commit acts of vice
and pollution so long as the necessary purificatory sacrifices
are made. In this case, the sacrifice must be a genuine gesture
of restitution for the wrongs committed.

In addition to purificatory sacrifices and offerings, we must

seek to purify our souls and cultivate the virtue needed to
resist further violations of natural and divine law. This
transformative process happens through prayer, meditation,
and repentance, which are all aspects of ascesis. Without
rooting out the cause of our ill judgment, which led to the
stain of pollution, we are only delaying our eventual fall back
into vice and further pollution.
***

17
Pronounced my-AZ-muh

28
 Ascesis

Without these practices, our soul will not cultivate the

necessary means for liberation and release from the tyranny
of the lower passions. Instead, we will continue to be
controlled by our lower irrational soul.

"Like a sponge … the immortal body of the soul … sometimes it is

filled with divine light and sometimes with the stains of generative
acts…"

Damascius

As mentioned, pollution (miasma) is a stain upon the soul.

This isn't merely a metaphor for guilt or shame, however.
Our souls and bodies are tied together by the spiritual
vehicle, so stains upon the soul can build up over time,
calcifying into blockages in our spirit. When pollution blocks
the flow of the spirit, our souls and, subsequently, our bodies
become sick from the distortions.

Many bodily diseases are caused by these blockages, which

come from our soul's pollution. They can also drive negative
feedback loops, leading to addictions, unnatural lusts for
material objects, and unhealthy pleasures. In some cases,
medicine may be needed to treat a miasma in the body, but it
is essential to remember that the source is often a miasma in
the spirit.

When we cultivate inner stillness through ascesis, these

pollutions begin to dissolve, and the divine fire can restore
our soul and body to a natural and healthy state.

AKRASIA

“The very essence of the soul is only in danger when swerving from

29
 the good, it plunges itself into what is contrary to its nature; and
then when it returns to what is consonant to its nature, it finds
again its Being, and recovers its original purity.”

Hierocles18

To understand why purification is necessary, we should

better understand the source of spiritual pollution and how it
arises within the soul.

Our soul has both a rational and an irrational part; thus, we

experience both good and bad passions depending on the
source of the passion's desire.

The desires born from the rational part of the soul elevate us
to the divine, whereas the desires that originate with the
irrational part plant us more firmly in our material nature,
preventing the elevation of the soul and, ultimately,
liberation.

It's important to note that these desires, pleasures, and

passions that originate with the irrational soul are not evil or
meant to be demonized. We are merely acknowledging their
inability to provide the liberation we seek. They are not evil
but merely less good than the passions of the rational soul. It
is our fault if we give into these lower passions and bring
ourselves to commit acts of vice. Blaming the passions is like
blaming your legs for tripping on a vine. Who is really in
control of the body and soul?

When the passions arising from the rational and irrational

parts of the soul come into conflict, we experience what is

18
Commentary on the Golden Verses of Pythagoras

30
 Ascesis

called akrasia19. The conflict of desires in akrasia can only be

resolved by the power of the intellect. Akrasia is a situation
where an irrational desire wins the battle against the rational
soul, leading us to make an error about the true Good.

"But how is this possible? Only when lust will persuade reason to
suffer, that is, to appreciate the object of lust as its own—as the
good. Ultimately, akrasia is a cognitive error, a mistake of reason."

Iskra-Paczkowska20

Importantly, this does not mean that all passions that do not
originate from our rational soul are an obstacle to our
spiritual progression. Only passions that deceive the rational
soul, as when a desire for pleasure or material things leads to
a love of the thing itself, do we fall into the error of akrasia. If
the rational soul is fixed on the true Good, any passion can be
a vehicle for us to see past its immediate pleasure to the
Beauty, Truth, and Goodness from which it has originated as
its source. This is expounded on in Plato's Symposium.

How do we then arrive at a point where we can avoid the

mistake of akrasia in the soul? This leads us to the spiritual
practices we call ascesis. We will explain the following
techniques and how they relate to the purification and ascent
of the soul. These are the tools that comprise our spiritual
practice.

PURIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT

“The mystical life contributes most (to our purification) by

19
Pronounced uh-KRAH-sia
20
Ancient Doctrines of Passions: Plato and Aristotle

31
 removing, through the divine fire, all the defilements attendant
upon generation, as the Oracles teach, and all the alien and
irrational nature which the Spirit of the soul has drawn to it.”

Proclus21

The spirit is a mixture of the elements of breath and fire. As

the breath, it is connected to our vital life force that sustains
our body and binds the body to the soul. However, it also
contains a higher function as a vehicle for the divine fire,
which purifies our souls of all defilements.

Through cultivating and refining the spirit, we learn to

draw “in the flowering flames which come down from the
Father,” as the Chaldean Oracle says.

The divine fire is the purifying light of the gods as felt by the
spirit. It is through this power that we assimilate ourselves to
the divine. Through it, we experience the purification of our
spiritual vehicle, which expels miasma and pollution from
our souls. Learning to draw in the flowering flames of the
divine fire will be essential for our progression along the
spiritual path and ascent to the divine. We begin to awaken
this fire in us through prayer and meditation. Each of our
ascesis techniques helps to purify the spirit and prepare it to
receive this divine fire. After it has been awakened within us,
we will experience a spiritual transformation.

Drawing in the divine fire changes us. We begin to assimilate

ourselves to the divine in a new way. This is because the
Gods have awakened within us, and we are inspired to seek
reunion with them more fervently. This awakening is one of

21
The Chaldean Fragments

32
 Ascesis

the first illuminations we experience along the path. It is not

the end of our spiritual journey but the beginning.

Some things people experience after drawing in the divine

fire are:

• A feeling of intense heat throughout the body that

rests in the heart.
• Experience of oneness with all things
• Pleasurable experiences throughout the body
• Inspiration to change your life
• An intuitive understanding of the divine

Many people who draw in the divine fire have what we often
call a “religious experience.” It can be difficult to describe,
but usually, people will gain a sense that they have felt the
divine and know it rather than merely understand it. They
may even begin to have some of the traits of sages, knowing
things intuitively and having a deep calmness that others can
feel in their presence.

It is not all positive, however. Some aspects of drawing in the

divine fire can also bring difficulties. The budding spiritual
seeker may become more sensitive to things disturbing the
spirit. This can push them to seek solitude and make them
more affected by physical and spiritual pollution. This could
mean that people and places that carry miasma are more
easily felt and affect the spirit of an illumined person.
Physically, unhealthy foods and environments will become
more intolerable.

The heat of the divine fire can also be very uncomfortable as

it expels pollution from the spirit. It can feel like warmth and
the burning flames of Tartarus at others. These experiences

33
can be overwhelming, and it is essential to have help from
spiritual teachers and other practitioners so that these
experiences don’t deter you from further ascesis.

I mention all this about the divine fire because many reading
this book will not have teachers and may be beginning ascesis
alone. The drawing of the flames will happen on its own if
one practices prayer and meditation consistently with
determination. There are techniques to kickstart the process,
but it can happen to someone who is sincerely doing the
work of ascesis at any time. Thus, a disclaimer is required so
people know that this experience may happen and not to be
troubled.

However, many will pray their whole lives and may not
experience the divine fire. It is not enough to merely pray
with words of petition to the Gods. Many only pray to ask the
gods for favors in their lives. This type of prayer will effect
almost no spiritual change in a person. As the sage Proclus
tells us, for this divine fire to have its effect, we must contact
the divine and have a direct experience with the divine
essence. Only then will the divine fire be drawn into the
spirit.

“contact is necessary, according to which we touch the divine

essence with the summit of our soul and verge to a union with it.
But there is yet further required, an approximating adhesion: for
thus the oracle calls it, when he says, the mortal approximating
to fire will possess a light from the Gods. For this imparts to us
a greater communion with, and a more manifest participation of the
light of the Gods.”22
***

22
The Chaldean Fragments

34
 Ascesis

So, we must begin to contact the divine essence with the

summit of our soul for the fire to be drawn down. This is
precisely what we do when engaged in philosophical
meditation and prayer, which focuses on cultivating states of
inner stillness. It is in that stillness that we begin to contact
the divine essence.

All this to say, do not be afraid. The experiences that ascesis

can create are intense, overwhelming, and beautiful. They are
the beginning of a new life for our soul, and when we start,
the higher ascent toward liberation. It isn’t a singular event
either but the beginning of a shift toward experiencing the
divine rather than just understanding it.

Because this is just part of the path, we should not overly

focus on any effect of the divine fire. Let it do its work of
purification and illumination and continue practicing ascesis
uninterrupted. Some have these experiences with the divine
fire and cease practice afterward, thinking they have reached
the summit. However, on the contrary, it is only the
beginning. Sustained practice will continue to open the
flower of the mind and open us to a deeper connection with
the divine. If we become distracted by the many experiences
along the way, we will only stall or delay our progress.

35
 CHAPTER FOUR
The Path of Ascent

“And when, after abandoning your mortal body,

you arrive at the free Ether,
You will be immortal, a God,
and Death will have no more dominion over you.”

Pythagoras23

The goal of ascesis and all spiritual practice is the soul’s

liberation from the wheel of fate and generation. This idea is
often associated with Buddhism and Hinduism, but the
promise of deliverance from the cycle of rebirth is referenced
in the oldest surviving written document in the Western
world, the Derveni Papyrus, dated 340 BC.

The cycle of fate is a constant, never-ending rebirth into a

human body. Pythagoras, one of the greatest sages of the
Western tradition, tells us how we should proceed to the
soul’s liberation in his Golden Verses.
***

23
The Golden Verses

36
 Ascesis

First, he assures us, “Father Jove has ordained that the race of
man is divine, and He will deliver us from all evils.” This is
Jove’s promise to us. Our liberation is guaranteed so long as
we seek it out and purify our souls. This proclamation is one
of the eternal laws of the universe. For us to take our first step
toward liberation, we need the confidence that such a thing is
possible. Pythagoras is taking this statement directly from
Orpheus, who was a prophet of the God Apollo. From Apollo
himself, Orpheus received the prophecy that liberation was
granted to all who would seek it out from Father Jove.

While we can take Orpheus at his word, we can also

investigate this ourselves. Around the world, tens of
thousands of people have reported experiencing what we call
liberation. Buddhism is based on one man’s liberation,
Siddhartha Gautama, and his method for attaining it. The
gurus of India have developed the science of yoga to show a
pathway to liberation they call moksha. Taoists also have
their own methodology for liberation.

This shows that liberation is a universal experience that

anyone with the sincerity and drive to seek it out can work
towards. Pythagoras assures us of this from his own
experience. What he refutes is the belief that liberation is only
possible from a single source or is something that is given to
you from outside yourself.

Next, Pythagoras reminds us that “Sacred Nature” will reveal

the most hidden mysteries. This means we don’t need to rely
on revealed scriptures and secret rituals for our liberation.
We can discover the hidden knowledge needed by looking at
our own nature. To do this, Pythagoras says, we must use
judgment in the purification and deliverance of our souls by
setting reason as our guide.

37
 ***
How exactly we do as Pythagoras suggests is a more difficult
question. Fortunately, we can look at several mystical paths
to understand the operating principles around purifying the
soul and using wisdom rather than scripture as our guide.
Before we begin discussing the techniques of ascesis, we
should take a moment to demystify the goal of spiritual
practice and how the purification of the soul takes place. For
years, I meditated incorrectly because I didn't truly
understand the purpose of all spiritual practices.

Every technique we will cover helps us develop a state of

inner stillness, or kenosis, in Greek. Kenosis means to empty
out. The goal of all our spiritual techniques is to empty the
mind and rest in a state of cessation where the passions of the
body and mind are quieted.

When we chant, visualize, or cultivate watchfulness, we focus

our mind so that the passions and thoughts dissipate after a
period of time, allowing us to rest in quiet stillness. This
stillness begins to activate our internal purifying24 energy
within the spirit, which clears the pollution from our souls. If
we cultivate this inner stillness, we don't have to do anything
more in our purification. We have to let go and let the process
unfold on its own. This process subtracts our unpurified
states, leaving us with our natural divine state of being.

This is what Pythagoras means when he says, “But take

courage; the race of man is divine.25” Here, he lets us know
that our natural state is divine. We don’t need to make
ourselves divine by adding something to ourselves. Rather,

24
Cathartic
25
The Golden Verses

38
 Ascesis

we need to remove the elements that are not divine so we can

return to our natural state. This is the way of negation.

This is often a point of confusion on the spiritual path. We

often think we need to add something to ourselves, Whether
virtue, piety or some other good trait. In reality, virtue and
piety emerge from purifying the soul by removing our
pollutants. We don’t conquer our vices so much as we
cultivate our natural state, and vices leave on their own,
leaving the pure light of virtue in its place.

Platonism has long argued that evil has no being, which

means it has no existence of its own. In this way, evil is like
darkness. Darkness is merely the absence of light, just as evil
is the absence of good.

To show this truth, imagine a room with sunlight pouring

through the windows. Could I purchase a dark bulb that,
when I turn it on, removes all light from the room? Of course
not. My only option to darken the room is to obstruct the
sunlight. I would cover the windows so the light could no
longer brighten the room.

Our souls are like this room. The light of the divine wants to
pour through naturally, but we continually obstruct its light,
giving darkness a place to dwell. By cultivating stillness, we
are opening up a space for the divine light to come into the
room of the soul and lift the darkness out. Over time, we
learn to remove the walls and windows entirely, leaving
nothing but our pure divine light.

THE LADDER OF VIRTUE

“Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not find yourself

39
 beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue that is to be made
beautiful: he cuts away here, he smoothes there, he makes this line
lighter, this other purer, until a lovely face has grown upon his
work. So do you also: cut away all that is excessive, straighten all
that is crooked, bring light to all that is overcast, labour to make all
one glow of beauty and never cease chiselling your statue, until
there shall shine out on you from it the godlike splendour of virtue,
until you shall see the perfect goodness surely established in the
stainless shrine.”

Plotinus26

How can we be sure we are properly progressing along the

spiritual path toward liberation? We will use virtue as our
guide. As we advance along the spiritual path, we will notice
that we become more virtuous. If we are not becoming
virtuous, then we are likely not progressing. If we are
becoming more vicious, then we are regressing.

The word virtue means excellence. So, when we cultivate

virtues at different levels, we cultivate excellence at each level
of our spiritual cultivation. It’s important to note that as we
ascend the ladder of virtue, it doesn't always happen evenly.
For example, you could be missing some virtues of earlier
stages while excelling in ones later down the path. The
practices of ascesis will help to even out these deficiencies, but
we don’t always progress perfectly, and that’s ok.

Regardless, as we progress spiritually and cultivate our spirit

within us, we will see that our virtue will increase in all areas
as we strive for the highest virtues. It is still generally true
that we start at the lower virtues and build up to the highest

26
Enneads I:6:9

40
 Ascesis

over time. Just remember this is a guide, and our actual

experience will vary slightly. However, it’s safe to say if we
think we are developing the highest virtues when we are
clearly deficient in basic virtues, then we are likely deluding
ourselves and must go back to mastering those earlier stages
of development.

This ladder of virtue is thus a guide for us to understand

where we are at on our spiritual journey and where we could
use improvement. Virtue is ultimately the yardstick of
spiritual cultivation. A person with a well-cultivated soul will
display and emanate virtue.

“The natural function of virtues is to impose order on the chaotic”

Damascius27

The last Platonic Scholarch, Damascius, outlined the ladder of

virtues in his commentary on the Phaedo of Plato. We will
use these to guide our spiritual development while
comparing them with the guidance from divine Pythagoras.
They are as follows:

1. Physical Virtue
2. Ethical Virtue
3. Civic Virtue
4. Purificatory Virtue
5. Contemplative Virtue
6. Formal Virtue
7. Sacred Virtue

PHYSICAL VIRTUE

27
Damascius, Commentary on the Phaedo 151

41
 ***
Physical or natural excellence comes from gaining control
over our bodies. This means being a good steward of our
bodies. As Pythagoras says, “Do not neglect the health of
your body; But give it drink, food, and exercise in due
measure.” This virtue also includes mastering our more basic
desires and avoiding luxury. The ancients viewed luxury and
comfort as a vice that treats our bodies too softly, leading to
further problems. Pythagoras advises that we first learn to
conquer gluttony and sloth. If we cannot learn to control our
basic desires for overeating and laziness, we are not likely to
make much further progress. The primary physical virtue we
must learn is temperance.

ETHICAL VIRTUE

Ethical or moral virtue is where we learn to act correctly

regarding other people. This begins within our families as we
learn to relate to our brothers, sisters, and parents.
Pythagoras again advises us on how we achieve this level of
virtue:

“Honor your parents and your nearest relations.

Among others, make the most virtuous your friend.
Love to make use of his gentle words,
and learn from his useful deeds;
And avoid, as much as possible,
hating your friend for a slight fault.”

In short, ethical and moral virtue is learning to be a good

person and treating others fairly and justly. Thus, the virtues
we focus on at this level are justice and fortitude. Through
justice, we begin to discern good from bad actions and
subordinate the self to the greater good. Pythagoras explains

42
 Ascesis

this very well when he advises that we “do nothing shameful,

neither in the presence of others nor privately; Thus, above all
things, sit as a judge over yourself.”

To be moral or ethical, we must sit as judges over ourselves

and observe our actions. Then, begin to remove acts from our
lives that bring shame, even if nobody sees us doing them.
This will avoid bringing further pollution to our souls if we
can master this level of virtue.

CIVIC VIRTUE

Civic or political virtue is learning the virtues needed to rule

others and to be ruled within a society. Here, we learn what it
takes to be a good member of society and a good citizen, as
well as how to be a good member of our community. This
means knowing when to be obedient to authority, but it also
means knowing when to take on a leadership role and root
out corruption and vices that could be destroying your
community. So, at this stage, we need to use reason to
cultivate prudence (wisdom) and begin to determine what is
right and wrong, not just personally but for our community
as well. Pythagoras advises us to learn to use reason so we
are not easily deceived:

“The speech of the people is various, some good and some bad.
Do not be puzzled by them,
nor allow them to deter you from your purpose.
If any falsehoods are advanced, arm yourself with patience.
Observe well, on every occasion, what I am going to tell you:
Let no one with speech or with deeds ever deceive you,
To say or to do what is not best for you.”

Deception is one of the easiest vices to succumb to regarding

43
civic or political virtues. How many people are easily
convinced by the flimsy rhetoric of corrupt politicians? How
easy is it for us to go with the flow and give in to corrupt and
evil people because we don’t want to go against the crowd?
Civic virtue does not mean agreeing with the masses, as the
masses are often wrong. In fact, civic virtue is both knowing
our place by allowing ourselves to be governed easily by just
leaders and keeping those leaders and the masses in check
when they clearly violate the natural law, sowing
disharmony within society.

Spiritual and Practical Virtues

Up to this point, we have outlined more practical virtues. As

you can see, we have progressed from excellence in the self to
the family and, finally, the community. These are virtues we
often learn if we have been raised and educated properly.
Many people today are deficient in these virtues, but in times
past, these kinds of virtues would have been a given for any
well-raised person. Nonetheless, these virtues are outside the
scope of this current work. In general, it is the responsibility
of the family and religious communities to instill these
virtues in their members. If we feel deficient in these areas,
the Pythagorean sentences and stoic works like Epictetus’
handbook can be very useful for us to learn how to master
these virtues. Next, we will continue with the virtues
essential for our spiritual practice and cultivation.

PURIFICATORY VIRTUE

The virtues of purification or catharsis in Greek are the first set

of philosophical and spiritual virtues we learn. The sage and
scholarch, Proclus, teaches us exactly what these virtues are
and why they are important.

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 Ascesis

***
“It is necessary… to propose the virtues which, from creation,
purify and lead (back to God),“…Faith, Truth and Love,” That
praiseworthy triad “For all things are governed and exist in these
three (virtues)” says the oracle. For this reason, the Gods counsel
the [spiritual seeker]28 to unite themselves to God by means of this
Triad.”

Proclus29

Faith is required on the path to the divine because faith is

what frames our reality. It determines how we understand
our world, life, and purpose. However, this faith isn't blind
but illuminated by the light of reason and logic. We must
understand, through reason and experience, the nature of the
divine, our immortal soul, and the Gods. Only then can we
proceed. Many people go astray on the spiritual path because
of insufficient faith. If we do not believe we can ascend to the
divine, we cannot truly progress toward that goal. That
would be as absurd as me saying I am taking a trip to Narnia,
even though I don’t believe it exists. Faith is about belief in
the final goal of our efforts. Much of this book is a
reorientation of philosophy back to its spiritual roots.
Knowing that the purpose of philosophy is the liberation of
the soul and believing that such is possible is the essential
faith required to press on through the higher virtues.

Truth is essential to know how to determine what is false and

leading us away from God. We will not always have a book
or quote to help us clarify things on our spiritual journey. We
must cultivate the ability to determine truth within us with

28
Theurgist
29
Quoting Chaldean Oracles

45
the light of reason. Without Truth, we are lost. Truth is not
something we can rely on from a revealed source. It’s not
enough for me to just take Pythagoras or even Plato at his
word. Every Philosopher must seek to understand the truth
for themselves so they are not led astray by sophistry or
arguments that sound true but are false.

Truth is also about cultivating honesty with ourselves.

Honesty can be a source of tremendous spiritual benefit and
growth. Sometimes, the worst deceiver on the spiritual path
is ourselves. I have deceived myself far more than I have been
deceived by others. What this means is being honest with
ourselves. Are we doing the work or just thinking about it?
Are we holding on to a belief because we like it, even though
it is wrong or untruthful? When we desire and seek truth, we
must be willing to drop any belief or idea that is not in line
with it. It is that willingness to seek truth above all things that
drove Socrates to make such brilliant observations about the
world. He was willing to admit he knew nothing and ask the
questions that would lead to truth. To make spiritual
progress, we must do the same.

Finally, we need to cultivate love. Love for the Gods and all
the divine ultimately draws us upward toward liberation and
union. We cannot make this journey without the desire of
mighty Eros, the God of love. This unifying power dissolves
all distinction and brings us to each successive union with the
divine. Love is a force that brings to opposites into harmony
and union. When two people come together in love, they
become one flesh and produce a new unified human being.
When we unite with the divine, our souls and the Gods are
unified. This union does not change the Gods in any way, but
it has a radical transformative effect on the human soul. Just
as love drives humans together, we must cultivate a deep and

46
 Ascesis

sincere love of the Gods if we are to attain any union with

them.

It’s also important to ask ourselves, what do we really love?

Many spiritual practitioners are motivated not by a love of
the Gods or the divine but by the love of the self. If our only
goal is to seek a pleasurable experience of the self, magical
powers, or recognition for our spiritual feats, then we will
stall our progress on the path. This is because our love is
based on the self and exalting it above all else. If that is what
we seek, that is what we will get: A soul increasingly
enmeshed in itself and its own illusions.

On our spiritual path, we must love the Gods and make that
love the central aspect of our practice. We perform rituals and
offerings to the Gods out of love. We sacrifice many things in
ascesis out of love for the Gods. We seek liberation out of love
for the Gods. Only love, the divine Eros, can actualize the
highest union.

These three virtues are the fruits of our purification. As we

learn to purify our souls, we notice that our faith, truth, and
love continue to grow within our souls and prepare us for
even higher levels of ascent.

At this point, you may have noticed, but it bears pointing out
that the levels of virtues stack upon one another. At the level
of purificatory virtue, we do not abandon the lower virtues.
Rather, we add to them and strengthen them over time. Each
level becomes a strong foundation to hold up the level above
so that we progress in our spiritual cultivation evenly and
without deficiencies.

Cultivating purificatory virtue is the first goal of our ascesis.

47
We learn how to purify our souls, a process that we carry
with us to all successive stages of ascent. We learn the
techniques needed to keep our souls in constant purification
so that we do not slip or stumble back in our journey to the
divine.

By learning to return to the purifying state of stillness, we are

learning one of the most valuable skills to build a solid
foundation for our continued spiritual practice. If we fail in
this, it is often that we will continue to cultivate an
understanding of higher principles, but their reality or
intuitive experience will be lacking. This is like a person who
knows a great deal about divine, philosophical, or theoretic
ideas but does not display the higher virtues in their life.
Purification is where we begin to make the wisdom we learn
shine through our souls.

The soul can be likened to a mirror, and purification can be

likened to cleaning the dirt and dust off that mirror so that
the soul better reflects the divine light of the Gods. When we
practice purification rightly, we begin to shine with the light
of the Gods and become a living symbol of their perfect
virtue.

Purification is powered by cultivating stillness, but we should

examine why that is the case. Stillness is the state of inner
quiet that comes from subduing our thoughts and passions.
When we cultivate stillness, we remove from our souls all the
things that adhere to it from generation. We are raising our
intellect above discursive thoughts, emotions, bodily
sensations, passions, desires, etc. Until we are left with the
pristine and pure awareness of intellect. By doing this, we are
bringing ourselves as close as possible to the state of the One,
i.e., God.

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 Ascesis

***
As the philosophers remind us, the One is beyond all things,
indescribable, unknowable, beyond being. By emptying
ourselves out in a state of stillness, we are removing all things
that are not God. Many people understand this principle
rationally after studying philosophy, but it is entirely
different to practice it in this way and make it a reality, not
merely a theory in a book. In the first case, we are merely
gaining an understanding of God, while in the second, we are
pressing toward a direct experience or intuition of God,
which facilitates our spiritual transformation.

This is the how and why of spiritual purification. As we

continue, we will show how all the spiritual exercises return
to this purifying state of inner stillness.

CONTEMPLATIVE VIRTUE

As we cultivate contemplative virtues, we begin to develop

our intuition and delve into the nature of the intellect. Now,
this stage is likely confused the most by our terminology and
how it has shifted in meaning over the centuries. The word
we use for ‘contemplative’ here is from the Greek word
Theoria, which means “watching.” Often, when we think of
contemplating, we imagine intense thinking and
rationalizing. Unfortunately, almost all the spiritual depth of
our words in the West has been reduced to this lower-order
rational thinking. Meditation, contemplation,
intellectualization, and rationalization are synonyms for
thinking in our modern language. To the philosophers, each
of these had unique meanings and were, in some cases,
directly opposed to rational thinking.

Contemplation is watching our mind or intellect. It is an act

49
of beholding and not attaching ourselves to particular
thoughts, emotions, passions, or ideas. To contemplate
something is to watch it without chasing it down or trying to
rationalize it. It is merely the act of beholding.

This is an intuitive rather than a rational act. We must learn

to sit with the divine in a state of stillness and observe its
motions. We will touch on developing contemplation more in
later chapters. Through the perfection of contemplative
virtue, we can attain a state of illumination. This is when the
divine fire has burned through the dross of our soul, and we
have become truly purified. Afterward, our soul begins to
shine forth the light of the Gods. This is not the final
liberation of our souls, but at this stage, we may begin to
attain certain spiritual gifts and are filled with a calm,
centered stillness often associated with many saints and
sages.

One of the primary tools of contemplation is also dialectic.

Dialectics is a process by which we actually do philosophy
rather than read about it. It is how we can remove all
remaining misunderstandings about our divine state and
continually press forward toward a perfect and clear
beholding of the One.

We will discuss this more thoroughly in the following

chapters, but we can reiterate that the process of our ascent is
a subtractive one. It is the via negativa or path of negation,
meaning we are continually negating or subtracting from our
soul that which is not the One, that which is not God. The
ultimate goal of dialectic is to help us realize that our rational
capacities cannot ultimately bring us to the One, but they can
help us to know that we truly know nothing. Only when we
have subtracted all we think we know are we left with the

50
 Ascesis

intuition and direct experience of the One beyond all

comprehension.

FORMAL VIRTUE

Formal virtue is an advanced stage of our ascent to the divine

where we begin to participate in theurgy, which means God-
working. Theurgy is ultimately about aligning our souls with
their divine purpose and finding our rightful place as co-
creators of the cosmos. Purification and contemplation are
stages that prepare our soul for the more advanced work of
theurgy. This is the final ascent of the soul and when we are
striving toward complete union with the divine or henosis. As
we take our rightful place as co-creators with the Gods, we
become like Gods ourselves and are deified.

There are many books on theurgy, but it is important to

understand that this is one of the final stages of our ascent.
Only a few people are truly ready for this stage of spiritual
development. Many will purchase these manuals for theurgy,
expecting to receive the gifts of formal virtue, only to be
disappointed and even sometimes conclude that theurgy is
ineffective. In reality, most people are simply unprepared in
their souls to make theurgy genuinely effective. If we have
not first attained the lower virtues, purified our soul, and
attained illumination through the divine fire, then there is no
need to concern ourselves with theurgy. It is also important
to find a guide or teacher at these higher stages, as the rituals
and practices at this stage can damage our spirit if done
incorrectly. If our souls are not rightly purified, they can open
themselves to lower daemonic forces, causing intense harm.

Anyone who has spent considerable time in esoteric and

51
spiritual circles knows of people who delved into deep ritual
work unprepared and were harmed both spiritually and
psychologically. In short, don’t feel the need to rush into
things like theurgy. We must ground our spiritual practice in
constant purification and ascesis. This will be the majority of
our spiritual practice, and only when those have been
perfected should we begin to concern ourselves with the final
ascent through theurgic ritual. As such, we will not elaborate
on theurgy in this book.

Not all people who have attained formal virtue do so through

theurgy. Many traditions around the world have methods for
attaining liberation without knowledge of what we call
theurgy. So, it’s important to remember that at this stage of
our ascent, many different methods will lead us to the final
stages of liberation.

SACRED VIRTUE

Finally, we reach the summit of our spiritual journey with the

perfection of sacred virtue, also called hieratic or priestly
virtue. This is the stage where we have attained union or
henosis with the One in the Soul, the ultimate Union with
God. We have established ourselves as co-creators with the
Gods and are embodied living Gods ourselves.

Embodied Gods?

I suspect many Westerners may find this idea difficult to

grasp. It may even sound blasphemous. How could we
become Gods? How could we attain that kind of perfection as
mortal beings?

Through Christianity, we have been indoctrinated in a

52
 Ascesis

default dualism. We see the world as the base material world

and the higher spiritual world, which are wholly separate. In
fact, much of our ascent has described this pulling away from
the material world to seek out the spiritual one. However, the
Platonic path is not one of rejecting the world. When we
reach the final summit of our virtues, we must return from
the ascent and bring the divine into the world through our
actions. This is what makes the Platonic path so unique. At
once, we are reaching for the Divine, but at our final stages,
we are becoming living expressions of the divine in the here
and now. It is not merely an escape from the material.

As the Platonic sage Iamblichus said, “The Gods reveal

themselves through human souls.”30 Our purification and
illumination are rigorous and essential aspects of our ascent,
but ultimately, our goal is “not to be free of sin, but to become
God.” 31Our goal is not to escape the material world
permanently but to bring the light of the Gods to the world
and join in their divine harmony. We naturally assume this
means we join them in some spiritual world beyond, and we
certainly do if we have no physical body, but while we live in
a physical body, it is our goal to unfold the will of the Gods in
the physical realm, thus bringing the light of the Gods to the
darkest of realms in the cosmos.

The Ascent Simplified

We can simplify our ascent by focusing on benchmarks and

goals we reach along the way. The first goal is purification;
this is the removal of passions and thoughts that adhere to us
from our mortal nature. We know we have attained

30
On the Mysteries
31
Plotinus

53
purification when we have attained a state of apatheia, which
means dispassion. This doesn’t mean we are despondent or
apathetic in the modern sense. It means we are no longer
bothered or manipulated by our thoughts and passions. It is a
state where we still feel annoyance, pain, intrusive thoughts,
and all manner of desires, but they no longer control us. We
can merely see them and not react or be enslaved by them.
This purification is our first taste of freedom from our lower
nature.

Next, through contemplation, we seek illumination

(photogogia). This is where we begin to center ourselves on
beholding the divine until we are illuminated by its light.
This is what we often call enlightenment. Some people
mistake this vision of the divine for the final liberation, but it
is just the beginning of our higher ascent. Experiences of
illumination are varied. They can include visions of divine
light, feelings of intensely warm burning in the soul, and
periods of perfect clarity and awareness. As we continue to
practice, these illuminations will continue and increase in
frequency until we reach a state of sustained illumination
where we remain in a state of clarity and awareness at all
times. This is perpetual abiding in the intellect.

Once we reach a state of sustained illumination, we will often

begin to display many saintly and sagacious tendencies. We
may have prophetic visions, have the power to heal others, or
see into other minds. These are not the purpose or goal of
illumination but merely signs we are getting closer to it.

Finally, after we have attained sustained illumination, we

begin the work of theurgy and then deification. It is not
enough to abide in the peaceful, calm bliss of illumination
forever. Next, we must take our rightful place as co-creators

54
 Ascesis

of the universe and find our place within the divine

hierarchy. This is done primarily through theurgic practice.

As mentioned before, Theurgy is beyond the scope of this

work, but it is vital to know the roadmap for our final
liberation so we can have a clear idea of where we are and
where we are going. Without mastering the steps laid out in
the following section on ascesis, we can have no hope of
attaining any of these states. Even at the final stages of
theurgic ascent, we still need to practice these basic forms of
purification; however, by that stage, they should have
become second nature.

THE WAY TO GOD

While the process of purification will unfold due to our

sustained practice of ascesis, there are some guidelines we
can follow to make progress. These come from Damascius,
the last Scholarch of the Platonic Academy.

Damascius offers us a list of essential practices for purifying

the body and the soul. They are as follows:

1. “Discard pleasure and pain as much as possible”

The goal here is to associate less and less with the physical
body. We may experience pleasures, and we don’t need to go
out of our way to avoid them. For example, sex is a natural
but mostly unnecessary desire. However, most of our sexual
activity is engaged in for pleasure alone. The generative act of
making children, which is the purpose of sex, can be
accomplished by only having sex a handful of times. The
majority of our other sexual encounters are pleasurable but
not necessary.

55
 ***
The key here is that while we are focused on purification, we
should continually regard pleasures as a distraction that
focuses too much on the body and the physical world. By
taming our need for worldly pleasures, we can focus more
attention on the soul. If we are constantly focused on
increasing our pleasures in the physical world, we likely are
not paying attention to our inner state, which has no need for
these pleasures.

Likewise, pain is equally a distraction in this regard. Causing

physical pain or not relieving it is a distraction. If we
constantly feel pain, it will be tough to focus on our subtle
inner states. This is one significant way philosophical ascesis
differs from other forms, like Christian ascesis. Pain, self-
mortification, and extreme denial are still ways we focus on
the body rather than the soul. Both pain and pleasure are
simply distractions to be avoided.

2. “The food of which he partakes should be simple, avoiding all

luxury.”

Avoiding lavish foods follows from the previous statement.

Food is a necessary and natural thing we all consume.
However, many foods are far from essential. We can survive
and thrive on simple foods that ultimately improve our
health. In the ancient term for luxury means excess, so this
guideline encourages us to avoid gluttony and overeating.

The second part of this guideline says that our foods should
be in accordance with justice and temperance, avoiding
bloodshed. This advocates for a vegetarian diet and also
rejects any animal sacrifice in our worship.
***

56
 Ascesis

Many people struggle with this precept. Damascius,

however, makes clear that meats will make our souls unfit to
enter into contact with God. How are we to take this
principle?

First, some people have had profound spiritual experiences

while still eating meat. So, we cannot say that it is impossible
to contact God while eating meat but merely that it makes us
unfit for it. For example, if I don’t train for a marathon, I
would be unfit to run the race. It doesn’t mean I can’t do it or
will, by definition, fail, but I will likely struggle much harder
than someone who is prepared.

We should take this injunction toward vegetarianism in this

way. Without a doubt, vegetarianism is an aid to spiritual
practice. It helps reduce sexual and gluttonous desires and
removes any guilt or miasma we acquire from the killing of
innocent lives. To think the killing and eating of animals does
not affect our spiritual well-being is irrational. We cannot
willingly cause death and pain and believe we will have no
effect on our souls. However, as Plotinus says, our goal is to
be like God, not sinless.

I say this in particular because every human body is different.

Some are more predisposed to handle vegetarian diets better
than others. We mustn’t become dogmatic or fanatical about
vegetarianism. The philosophical advocation of
vegetarianism has nothing to do with the violent and
politically oriented movements of vegans and animal rights
activists. Our vegetarianism should be seen as a means to an
end. It helps purify the soul and loosen it from the body.

In this sense, it should be noted that vegetarianism is not, by

default, more healthy than omnivorous diets. In fact, it may

57
have particular deficiencies that can cause medical issues or
weaknesses for some. For this reason, we must take this
injunction with some care and variance for each person.

If you are sick or have deficiencies and meat can help, you
should eat it to restore your health. Even people like the Dalai
Lama, for example, eat meat once a week to maintain their
health.

Ultimately, we should refer back to the first principle in this

regard. If our vegetarian diet is causing us undue pain and
suffering, then it should not be followed as it will be a bigger
distraction to our spiritual life than if we included meat.
However, if we are only eating meat for pleasure’s sake, it
would be more reasonable to abstain.

Lastly, vegetarian diets can be used at particular times for

purification. They should be used in the lead-up to particular
holidays and holy rituals for purification and preparation.
Most lay people who are not dedicated to full-time
purification should use vegetarianism in this way. Those who
are seeking a philosophical life should consider it a full-time
preoccupation.

This same idea pertains to most of Damascius’ guidelines. For

example, avoiding all unnecessary sexual pleasure is
reasonable for someone seeking purification and a
philosophical life. Still, for an average person, it is less
reasonable and could even cause a deficiency in their duty as
a husband or wife. Being rational about these precepts is
essential.

3. “He must suppress the aimless motion of irrational appetite.”

***

58
 Ascesis

Next, we are encouraged to end anger and desire swiftly

when they arise. We have already covered desire well up to
this point, but not anger. It is important to remember that
anger is a vice antithetical to a philosophic life. Anger has a
particular purpose. It arises within us as a reaction to
injustice. However, it is not always rational. We may be quick
to temper and feel that we have been dealt with unjustly
when, in reality, we are simply mistaken or too proud to
admit that we are the ones in the wrong. We have to examine
these emotions before taking action on them.

Whenever we feel a desire or anger rising, we should take a

moment to pause. Ask yourself, is this desire or anger good?
Is it just? And is it reasonable?

If we cannot answer positively to these questions, then

something is amiss. The primary problem is the irrational
aspect of these appetite. There is nothing wrong with feeling
a particular passion; these are primarily out of our control.
However, their irrational nature must be examined before we
act on them lest we make an error of akrasia and sin. Thus, the
solution to irrational appetites is to submit them to the
rational mind before action.

The simplest way to do this is to develop the habit of

stopping before reacting to anything. The moment you feel a
desire rise or anger swelling, stop. Take a deep breath and
allow the strength of the passion to die down, then ask
yourself the questions above. After some time, you will
become much less reactive to these situations and eventually
gain a distrust for these feelings. You will see how sometimes
they are correct but many times are wrong. Then, you can use
them more effectively and within the bounds of reason.
***

59
4. “He must detach himself from sense perception and fantasy.”

We can’t live entirely without sense perception or fantasy.

However, we should not rely on them primarily to
understand the world and especially the soul. The goal here
is to detach ourselves from identification with sensory things
and fantasies of the mind. We should remember that our goal
is ultimately to reunite with the ultimate reality beyond form
or appearances. Our minds are forever seeking to attach
themselves to forms and images of things. To some extent, we
cannot avoid this. Still, by keeping in mind that the ultimate
realities we seek are not to be found in the world of the senses
or the fantasies of our imagination, we do ourselves great
justice in coming closer to the divine reality.

Later, we will discuss visualization practices, which will

explain how we relate to fantasy even more. In Greek, fantasy
and imagination are the same word. However, platonic sages
like Iamblichus distinguished between divine Imagination
and mere fantasy. In that chapter, we will explain in detail
how we tell the difference between these things.

For now, it is enough to say we should avoid the fantasies of

the mind and be on guard for how we may trick ourselves.
Part of that is remembering that we should be distrustful of
the appearances of things in both the senses and the
imagination.

5. “The man who wants to be set free from the plurality of genesis
must dissociate himself from the multifarious variety of opinion.”

We should not burden ourselves with the variety of opinions

available to us these days. Our goal is ultimately to seek the
truth, which is the same as seeking God. Arguing about every

60
 Ascesis

available opinion wastes our time and distracts us from our

ultimate goal.

In many ways, this encourages us not to be so dogmatic in

our opinions. It is best to take a practical and rational attitude
about these topics, focusing on what we know and avoiding
erroneous opinions. Damsicius says, “Purification checks the
downward trend to prepare us for the effort of ascension.” That is
to say, our efforts at purifying the soul aim to turn us away
from things that bind us to identification with the body and
the senses and prepare us for union with the divine. If we
keep this goal in mind, we can be more rational about our
efforts at purification and not get wrapped up in the various
dogmas and opinions about purification. If we treat the
matter of spirituality in a rational and even scientific way, we
can make the most effective progress and not get tied down
to ineffective or even harmful methods for the sake of
following this or that opinion on the topic. In the end, as
Pythagoras says, we should use “judgment both in
purifications, and in the deliverance of the soul, and examine
each thing, setting reason, which comes from above, as [our]
charioteer.”

6. “Escape from the complexity of discursive reason and seek the

simpler forms of demonstration and division as preparation for the
undivided activity of the intellect.”

Lastly, we are reminded that the complexity of philosophical

theories and rational thinking are not the tools that make the
ultimate ascent to the divine. Through direct experience or
noesis, we are united with the ‘undivided activity of the
intellect.’ This noesis is intuitive rather than rational. As we
mentioned in the chapter on the intellect, our assimilation
with the divine intellect is not something philosophical

61
reasoning will accomplish. As we come close to the
experience, the rational will only impede our final ascent.
Like summiting a mountain, we cannot rely on a map to help
us climb the final peak. If you are hanging to the side of a cliff
and need to check the map to make sure what you are doing
makes sense, you will likely fall. The final ascent requires our
full attention and openness to experience. We have to be
ready and focused on the experience at hand and let go of our
preconceived notions.

Philosophy as a rational exercise is essential. It is our guide

along the path of purification and ascension, but if we cling to
it, it becomes yet another delusion that keeps us from direct
experience and union with the divine. This is because reason
is not the divine itself. It is an activity of the soul trying to
make sense of the divine. While this is helpful as a guide,
ultimately, the divine is beyond rationality. It will always
evade our attempts to put it in the box of reason, label its
parts, and dissect it. It will slip through our fingers once we
believe we have grasped it.

This is mentioned last because we use rationality up to a

point but at the final moment, we must lay all our knowledge
aside and be alone with the alone.

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 CHAPTER FIVE
Meditation

“If one shuts his eyes to the things of the senses and tries to see with
his mind’s eye, and if one turns from the flesh to the inner self, the
soul, there he will see God and know God”

Celsus32

Meditation comes from the Latin word "meditari," which

means to think over, ponder or contemplate. The origin of
Western meditation practices is unclear, but we have records
of meditation practices reaching back to the 4th century AD.
These were not likely the first Western meditation practices
but rather the first time they were recorded. Meditation is a
central part of philosophical ascesis. In this case, meditation
was one of many spiritual disciplines used by the
philosophers and sages to commune with the Gods and
ponder the divine realities.

So much has been written and said about meditation, so we

need to demystify some of the terms and processes before we

32
On the True Doctrine, IX

63
begin with the practices themselves.

All meditation practices aim to cultivate a state of inner

stillness, a state where thoughts and passions die down and
our minds empty out. Every technique we employ will help
us attain this state.

That is because, in this state, we can facilitate our spiritual

purification. We don't have to do anything to make this
happen; we merely reach the state of inner stillness, and the
purification will unfold on its own.
If you read about meditation, it can often sound mystical
and confusing, with countless techniques. Still, if you
remember that the purpose of all techniques is to achieve this
inner stillness, then you won't be led astray by confusing
terms or practices that don't lead to this state of stillness.

Meditation is effortless, but it is not easy.

Meditation is described using a great deal of mystical and

poetic language. In many ways, the Western tradition is no
different, as you will have already seen a great deal of
Western terminology in this handbook. However, it is
essential to remember that meditation is a spiritual science.
Like any science, these practices and their results are just as
valid in the Western world as elsewhere. Meditation
techniques produce the same spiritual results in every culture
if practiced correctly with the proper understanding.

After you have read this handbook, you will be able to look at
other meditation techniques and understand them more
rationally and straightforwardly. You will see the mystical
and poetic terms for what they mean and be able to translate
them into our Western terminology that harmonizes with our

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spiritual tradition.

The Western way has always clarified spirituality more

rationally and scientifically. This isn't right or wrong
compared to other traditions but is more in sync with how
the Western mind works. We only confuse things by looking
at other, more mystical foreign traditions.

MEDITATION AND PRAYER

Prayer and meditation are intimately linked. In the West, we

often think of prayer as a petition to God or some other
divinity. A prayer of petition is when we pray to a deity for
something we want or need. In reality, this is only one type of
prayer.

There is also mental prayer, where we focus our mind on

something divine, like scriptures or images. There are prayers
of adoration, praise, and blessings where we give thanks and
cultivate gratitude for what the Gods have given us. There
are breath prayers and chants that center us and bring us into
stillness.

So, we cannot always consider prayer and meditation as

separate disciplines. A prayer that brings us to inner stillness
is just as much a prayer as a meditation. When we chant
divine names and prayers repeatedly, we engage in a
meditation that concentrates the mind and brings stillness.

The Platonic Sage, Damscius says that “when the soul is in

holy prayer facing the the mighty ocean of the divine, at first,
disengaged from the body, it concentrates on itself; then it
abandons its own habits, withdrawing from logical into
intuitive thinking; finally at the third stage, it is possessed by

65
the divine and drifts into an extraordinary serenity befitting
Gods rather than men.”

This description of prayer fits with our modern

understanding of meditation much better than what we
typically think of prayer. This is important because we will
often hear the sages speak of prayer as one of the primary
forms of spiritual ascesis, but we should not confuse this with
the standard form of prayer today that only asks God for
favors or to fulfill needs.

Prayer can also be meditation; to the ancients, it was often

just that. However, what separates a simple prayer or words
to God and a meditation is the effect. If our prayers
encourage the soul to “concentrate on itself” and produce a
state of stillness or serenity, then we can rightly call it a
meditation.

PROSOCHE - ATTENTION

“There exists a Divine Awareness that you must perceive with the
flower of mind. But if you try to perceive it as a specific thing, you
will not perceive it… you must not perceive this awareness with
great effort but with the extended flame of an outstretched mind
that measures all things except that Awareness. You must not
perceive it by grasping. You must bring back the sacred eye of your
soul and extend an empty mind into that awareness to know it, for
it exists beyond your mind.”

The Chaldean Oracles

The most important aspect of Platonic meditation is

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 Ascesis

prosoche33, which means attention in Greek. We often refer to

this today as mindfulness. It is the bare attention of
consciousness. When our mind is at rest, we experience this
bare attention as our ever-present background state. This
state is the basis of all other states of mind and the theater on
which all our thoughts, emotions, and passions make a stage.
It is the witness to everything we experience in our body,
mind, and spirit.

Prosoche is not just a technique, it is a divine connection. It is

how we access the One of the Soul. It is the doorway to God
that is accessible to every individual living soul. Through the
bare attention of prosoche, we return our minds to a state
before thinking and bring them closer to a divine state.

As Platonic scholar Gregory Shaw explains, “If prosoche is the

‘One of the Soul,’ it means the soul becomes divine when it
becomes empty, when it becomes sheer attention stripped of
all identifying qualities.” In the Platonic tradition, prosoche is
how we access the ultimate reality of the One within our
souls.34 To come into union with the “One of the Soul,” we
must empty our minds through the process of kenosis.
Remember, kenosis is the emptying out of our minds and
souls of thoughts and passions.

This is the path of negation or the via negativa in Latin. We

repeatedly return our minds to the state of sheer attention
until all thoughts and passions die down. This process of
returning the mind to the bare attention of prosoche is
meditation itself. All meditation techniques are some
variation of this method.

33
Pronounced pro-SOH-kay
34
Shaw, Hellenic Tantra 125

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 ***
By mastering this technique, we learn to return our soul to
the highest ultimate reality of the One, which is to say, God.
Through our continual return, we enact the power of the
Gods to purify our soul and help it ascend to its natural state
above mortality and generation. By continual contact with
the One through prosoche, we draw down the divine flames
that purify and lift the spirit.

Learning to master meditation and a constant return to

prosoche are part of all our ascesis techniques. If we practice
ascesis but do not return to prosoche, we are likely deceiving
ourselves and missing out on the core component of our
spiritual progress.

CESSATION: RETURNING TO STILLNESS

“Now be entirely present, as far as your mind and ability are

capable. For the knowledge of God is to be attained by a God-like
concentration of consciousness”

Asclepius35

The process of kenosis, or emptying out the mind, works by

continually returning to the state of prosoche, or bare
attention. Once the mind is emptied, we are left in a state of
inner stillness. This stillness is the cessation of mental activity
and passions. This may seem impossible at first. Many of us
have barely experienced more than a moment’s respite from
the constant influx of ideas, emotions, desires, and pains that
accompany everyday life. Fortunately, this is a state we can
work on every day and grow over time. At first, even creating

35
The Asclepius 3

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 Ascesis

a few moments of inner stillness is a good start.

You can begin with a simple breathing technique. Take 15

seconds to breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. Do this four
or five times. When you are finished, close your eyes and rest
in that moment.

There you go. That’s a taste of inner stillness. It may have

only lasted a second or two before you thought about the
laundry or what to make for dinner, but that’s ok; in time,
that state of inner stillness will expand and can even become
a permanent state with enough practice.

Any meditation practice is about cultivating that state of

inner stillness. Keep that in mind for the following practices.
After each one, we should stop and allow rest in the stillness.
For years, I would chant prayers or meditate, however, as
soon as I finished the practice, I would get up and walk away.
I was robbing myself of the real fruits of my practice. The
goal of our practice is the stillness. If you chant prayers for an
hour and don’t allow a following period to rest in the stillness
chanting produces, then you are robbing yourself of the
actual benefit of the practice. It’s a bit like working out and
then getting a milkshake on the way out of the gym. Be sure
when practicing ascesis to keep seeking out the states of inner
stillness.

Part of why I didn’t do this for years is a misunderstanding

about spirituality. I thought the practices were the important
part. For example, I thought the important part was my
contemplation on a spiritual principle or a riddle like a Zen
Koan. Or that the chanting I was doing was the meat of the
practice. In actuality, it is the stillness these practices create
that is the actual fruit of spiritual practice.

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 ***
Resting in peace and serenity following spiritual practices
should be the best part. Instead, we often skip that part
because it’s boring or we think we’re done.

At the end of yoga classes, there is typically a part where the

teacher tells everyone to lie on their backs and just rest. I
always thought that was the best part of yoga and it turns
out, it actually is. Don’t deny yourself the return to stillness at
the end of your practice.

That being said, stillness is not a trance or a time to take a

nap. Stillness is resting in prosoche or attention. If we doze off
to sleep at the end of practice or drift into a trance-like state,
then we are not experiencing stillness but rather slipping into
an unconscious state. Nothing could be further from prosoche
than a trance or dreamless sleep.

WATCHFULNESS

“Meditation shakes off from the luminous body the pollutions it has
contracted by its union with the earthly and mortal body. And,
indeed, by these three advantages it revives, rouses up itself, it is
filled with divine vigor and reunites itself with the intelligent
perfection of the soul.”

Hierocles36

The most basic and fundamental meditation practice is

watchfulness or Nepsis in Greek. Watchfulness is the act of
observing the mind while not chasing any thoughts or
emotions that arise. You only need to sit down, close your

36
Commentary on the Golden Verses

70
 Ascesis

eyes, and relax to do this practice. Then, watch your thoughts

as they arise and fall away. Thoughts will continue to pop
into your mind, and that’s ok. The key is not to follow them.
For example, if your mind starts thinking about a project at
work, don’t follow that idea and start working on the project
in your mind. Just acknowledge that thought and watch it.
Don’t feed that idea with more ideas; just leave it alone.
Eventually, it will pass by, or a new thought will take its
place. If that happens, just watch that thought without
following it or allowing it to disturb you.

Watchfulness is like watching clouds pass by in the sky. Each

thought or emotion is like a cloud passing across your mind.
In Greek, we call these clouds of thought and emotion
logismoi37. We can see them arise and then watch them make
their way across the mind and disappear beyond the horizon
of our consciousness.

By learning to do this, we develop a new center of being.

Many people are tormented by their thoughts and emotions.
When a thought comes up, they must act on it; when an
emotion arises, they embody that emotion. When a happy
feeling arises, people will say, “I am happy,” as though they
are one with the emotion. There is some truth to this. As we
identify with these logismoi, they shape who we are and
influence our actions. It can very much feel like we are our
thoughts and emotions if we haven’t cultivated a separation
between ourselves and the logismoi. The state of separation is
what we call apatheia38, which means dispassion.

When we have cultivated apatheia, we stop identifying with

37
loh-GHEE-smoy
38
Pronounced ap-uh-THEE-uh

71
the logismoi. Instead of thinking, “I am sad” we start to think,
“I am feeling sadness.” Instead of thought influencing us to
act, we recognize, “This thought wants me to do something.”
This kind of detachment from the irrational and emotional
brings a tremendous amount of peace and control over our
lives.

All we have to do is relax, close our eyes, and begin watching

our minds. This practice is incredibly simple, but many find
that when they try it for the first time, the torrent of thoughts
and emotions can be overwhelming. It’s perfectly normal if,
at first, only a few moments of watchfulness are possible. The
important part is to begin training yourself to return to the
simple bare awareness of prosoche. We continually shift our
perspective from the experiencer of thoughts and emotions to
the watcher of them.

As your mind follows a train of thought or is moved to

indulge in a particular emotion, just simply return to a state
of watching. Over time, the logismoi will die down. Thoughts
will become less frequent, and emotions less intense. Instead
of a sky full of clouds, the storm in the mind will calm, and
only a few will be seen, and then, after more time, a clear sky
emerges.

When the mind clears off all thoughts and emotions, we enter
a state of deep stillness. We cannot force this state upon our
minds. As we mentioned earlier, this is the path of negation.
We are removing logismoi to reveal the bare attention of
prosoche underneath our thoughts. We can’t push the logismoi
out of our minds. Instead, we starve them of the attention
they crave, allowing them to fade away on their own. The
clouds will clear on their own if we just watch them without
trying to chase them or push them away.

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 Ascesis

***
Overall, this process should be enjoyable. Relaxation is an
important part of the practice. If we are tense or fidgety, then
we are not in the right state to rest in stillness. We must be
comfortable, loose, and relaxed for watchfulness to blossom
into inner stillness.

This process of watchfulness is what begins to purify the

mind and the spirit. Our mind is purified when the state of
stillness is reached. The longer we rest in stillness, the more
we are purified. If we begin to attach to thoughts and
emotions again, we halt the process of purification. This
doesn’t mean we are polluting ourselves by following
thoughts, but we are no longer in a state of purification.
However, it is essential to understand that polluting actions
all begin with the logismoi. Making the mistake of akrasia is
something that always begins by following a logismoi that
seems reasonable or desirable but ultimately leads us into
vice and unvirtuous actions.

For this reason, we should seek to cultivate a state of

watchfulness at all times. It begins by relaxing and watching
the mind with closed eyes. But as we continue to develop our
practice, we can carry this state into our daily lives. By
watching our actions, words, and thoughts throughout the
day, we will see how our mind reacts to other people and
situations. We can begin to catch ourselves before reacting in
anger or impulsive desire. This stops us from actions that
pollute our souls by engendering guilt and shame.

Breathing in Stillness

Breathing and relaxation are intimately linked. As we practice

watchfulness and sink into a more calm and relaxed state, we

73
will notice that our breath becomes deeper and slower. The
opposite works as well. If we slow and deepen our breathing,
we will experience more relaxation. If you remember, the
words spirit and pneuma both mean breath. Ancient
philosophers recognized that breath was intimately linked to
our spiritual states.

This is why so many meditation practices focus on the breath.

It is a clever and simple way to take control of our mental
states. Even when we are worked up in our lives, we are
often reminded to take a deep breath to regain our
composure quickly. While there are countless breath
mediation techniques, I will offer one here as a starting point.
More in depth breathing practices can be found in the chapter
on breath.

The purpose of this technique is to increase our sense of

stillness, and it is quite effective. Begin meditating by closing
your eyes and focusing on your breathing. Get into a
comfortable rhythm where you feel your breath rise and fall
naturally. Now, begin to focus your attention on the brief
pause after you exhale. If you pay attention, there is a second
or two after you exhale when the mind stops in the pause
between breaths. Focus your attention on that pause, and
with each passing breath, try to rest a little longer during the
pause. It may only be milliseconds but allow your mind to
completely empty out in each pause and rest.

If you find your thoughts are racing, just come back to the
bare attention of prosoche when you reach the pause before
the next breath. At each pause, allow a brief return to
stillness. Keep doing this again and again, and you will notice
that the pause starts to lengthen and with it, your moment of
stillness will grow.

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 Ascesis

***
This simple process can be done almost anywhere and
anytime and is a great way to continue and prolong a state of
stillness. I often use this even after a long session of prayers
or chanting to keep my mind focused on the stillness for as
long as possible.

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 CHAPTER SIX
Prayer Chant

“Prayer is a medium between our seeking and the gift of God”

Hierocles39

Chanting is perhaps the most effective and widespread

practice for making spiritual progress. It is used by nearly
every religion and can be used by anyone, even children to
teach them the fundamentals of a prayer, meditation and the
spiritual life.

Chanting is simply the repetition of a prayer, a divine name,

or a sacred text. It is powerful because of how simple it is; in
some ways, it is superior to meditating on our bare attention.
Meditation on nothing but prosoche can be difficult. We are
opening ourselves to the void of our minds, and very often,
our minds are unprepared to rest. The world we live in today
is one of constant stimulation. Our minds are used to
continual excitement and entertainment. The advent of the
smartphone has made this problem much worse. Our world

39
Commentary on Golden Verses 49

76
 Ascesis

was already full of delights for our minds, but the

smartphone has made it so that our minds never have a
moment of rest. Even going to the bathroom is an exercise for
our mind to catch up on the news, play a game, or check
emails. Depriving our minds of their favorite toy causes
many people intense anxiety. Being without a cell phone is
enough to cause many a panic attack.

This is why chanting is such an essential practice for us to

master today. Chanting provides our minds with something
to hold onto while we practice ascesis. It focuses our mind on
an object of devotion and trains our body and breath by
following the natural rhythm of the prayer. Chanting acts like
training wheels for spiritual practice. It focuses mind, body,
and breath into a single practice and can be learned in a few
minutes. This is why it is such a widespread and effective
practice. Also, by comparing it to training wheels, I don’t
mean to say it’s only for beginners. Far from it, chanting
should be a practice we use at each stage of our spiritual
development and the practice we return to most frequently.
The reason is it’s almost impossible to do it wrong. Chanting
is easy and will produce results for anyone who does it,
regardless of their current level of spiritual development.

Ancient Platonists chanted the divine names of the Gods to

commune with their essence. We follow this technique and
chant the sacred words and names of the Gods.

When chanting, we should treat it like any other meditation.

We should use the words to keep us in a state of attention
and avoid slipping into a trance. We should sit up straight
and chant the words clearly and precisely to facilitate this.
We also should remember to take it slowly. There is no need
to rush through the words. Instead, it is best to be smooth

77
and even in our diction and allow the chants to bring us into
a natural and comfortable rhythm with our body and breath.
This will bring a sense of calm and stability to our body and
spirit.

We don’t need to keep count of how many repetitions we

have done, but I highly recommend counting chants. If you
don’t have a way to count, chanting without a count is
effective as well, but by counting the chants, we can begin to
record our progress. Like working out, we don’t need to
know the repetitions and sets of our workouts for them to be
effective. However, by tracking our workouts, we can see our
progress and adjust our routine to make it more effective.
Doing this for our spiritual practice brings it under the guide
of rationality and will produce better results in the long run.

To do this, I recommend getting a set of prayer beads. There

are many on the market these days. You can find many 108-
bead malas used by Hindus and Buddhists. Muslim Tesbih
prayer beads come in 33-bead and 99-bead configurations. I
like these because they are easy to count to 100 on every
repetition if you add an additional prayer. I have also made
100-bead prayer beads for this purpose. Lastly, Greek
komboloi beads can be used for counting prayers and come
in various bead configurations.

Whatever you choose, the important part is tracking progress.

Note how many repetitions you do per day and track that.
Many advanced practitioners will do 1000s of repetitions per
day. At first, making it through a single cycle on a prayer
rosary is considered a fine accomplishment. Over time, work
on increasing the number of repetitions and track your
progress in a journal.
***

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 Ascesis

As we chant, our ultimate goal is to return to stillness.

Chanting itself brings a certain level of stillness, but it’s
crucial not to overlook the profound stillness that follows our
chanting sessions. After we finish, taking a moment to bask in
this stillness is essential. Chanting clears our minds and
brings about a sense of calm. Before concluding, rest in that
stillness for as long as possible. This is the true essence of our
practice. Cherish it, and if you wish to extend it, consider the
simple breathing technique mentioned earlier.

SIMPLE CHANTS

There are many chants that can be used in practice, but I will
outline a few that would be good to start with. These chants
are in the Romanist style, but others are perfectly acceptable
as well. One thing to note is that words have power. Chants
that have been used by many people for centuries have a
certain power to them that others may not. Also, certain
languages like Latin and Sanskrit have more power to them
than others. That being said, any chant can be used, and new
chants can be discovered, but it is foolish to think they all
have the same effect and power to them.

Chants are like symbols. Surely, we could discover new

symbols, but established symbols like the caduceus of
Mercury or the Cross have much more symbolic power than
a symbol that is less used or newly minted. This presents a
particular challenge for Platonic practice. We don’t have
many symbols or chants that have widespread familiarity.
However, we are not completely out of luck. The ancient
ritual formulas of our Romanist ancestors have been
preserved. We can use these ancient Latin formulas in our
chants to form powerful prayers that serve our purposes
well.

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 ***
The ancient Romans used this formula in most rituals.

[Name of Deity], Macte Esto

Which in English means,

[Name of Deity], Be Blessed

This formula can be adapted to virtually any deity that we

focus our worship upon, but I will outline 5 primary chants to
be used in practice.

PATER IOVIS, MACTE ESTO

(Pah-ter Yo-wees, Mahk-tay Es-tow)
Father Jove, Be Blessed

MAGNA MATER, MACTE ESTO

(Mahg-nuh Mah-tehr, Mahk-tay Es-tow)
Great Mother, Be Blessed

DOMINE BACCHE, MACTE ESTO

(Do-min-ay Bah-kay, Mahk-tay Es-tow)
Lord Bacchus, Be Blessed

DOMINE APOLLO, MACTE ESTO

(Do-min-ay Ah-po-low, Mahk-tay Es-tow)
Lord Apollo, Be Blessed

DOMINE MERCURI, MACTE ESTO

(Do-min-ay Mehr-coor-ree, Mahk-tay Es-tow)
Lord Mercury, Be Blessed

When chanting these, it is best to use what is called recto tono,

80
 Ascesis

which means a straight tone in Latin. This is where you pick a

comfortable note to recite the prayer on and recite the prayer
on that one note. It is a monotone way of chanting that
doesn’t require us to remember any tune.

CHANTING AND THE SPIRIT

Through our chanting, we initiate a process that stirs our

spirit or pneuma. This stirring can manifest as a cool wind
rising up our spines. As our practice deepens, this cool
sensation transforms into a heat that ascends through our
bodies and eventually settles in our hearts. The more we
chant and bring our minds to a state of stillness, the more
pronounced these phenomena become.

It’s crucial to not fixate on these sensations. They serve as

significant indicators that the divine fire is purifying our
spirits, and they can intensify. It’s not uncommon for the fire
to generate so much heat that you start sweating and feel hot
to the touch. This is how many spiritual masters have
meditated on snowy mountains without succumbing to
frostbite or needing a coat.

Regardless of the intensity, these experiences are just

byproducts of the purification of the soul and the inflow of
the divine fire. Some people become overly focused on
producing these states, but as mentioned before, the ultimate
goal is always stillness. If these experiences pull you away
from stillness, you will stall in your progress as you explore
the side effects rather than the actual goal. It can be like a
road trip, with many places to stop along the way. If you stop
at each one and continue exploring everything each stop has
to offer, you may never reach your destination.
***

81
It’s best to acknowledge these experiences but ultimately
keep your focus on stillness and return to it rather than
focusing on the experience itself.

OTHER CHANTS

Short prayer chants are the best way to get started chanting
because they can be remembered almost instantly and then
used very effectively to center the mind. However, we can
also repeat longer prayers when we are chanting. The key is
to focus on the tone and sound of the words and recite them
to an even tempo.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN
Visualization

“The imaginative faculty is divinely inspired, since it is roused into

modes of imagination from the Gods, not from itself, and is utterly
removed from what is ordinarily human”

Iamblichus40

What is imagination? Is it merely fantasy or something more

profound? Without a doubt, it is at least partly fantasy. I can
imagine anything I want, a beach, a dinosaur, a spaceship.
Even things that don’t exist can be imagined. Today, we have
relegated imagination to be nothing more than the fantasies
of the mind producing images and ideas that have no bearing
on the “real world.”

The bifurcation of the universe, explained by Rene Descartes,

still dominates the modern Western mind. As he explained,
there are the things of the material world (res extensa) and
the things of the mind (res cogitans), and they have no
relation to one another. One is purely objective, the other

40
On the Mysteries 133.3-8

83
purely subjective. Whether we realize it or not, many view
the world this way. The mind is a playground of subjective
fantasies and opinions, and the world outside us is the world
of real things.

So, what place does imagination have in this world? It often

is not trusted. It must be examined and dissected for any
relevant truth, but we would much prefer to derive any
truths from the concrete material world and keep our
imaginations for works of fiction and fancy. These things we
know are often untrue and, at best, unreliable.

Our Platonist forbears, like Iamblichus, would have scoffed at

our denigration of the imagination. They, fortunately, saw it
for what it was and used it for its highest purpose.
Ultimately, the imagination is a stage. Like a stage in a play,
our imagination is where images and ideas take on roles and
forms to create the stories and shapes of our internal and,
ultimately, spiritual worlds. It is the inner eye that can see
into the soul.

That doesn’t mean everything the imagination produces is

trustworthy. The Cartesian worldview has some truth in
pointing out the imagination’s ability to create deceptive
fantasies. However, the imagination is also where we receive
revelation and direct contact with the divine. The art of
visualization in ascesis is essential for us to begin to have real
contact with these divine forces. This is because of the
imagination’s capacity to produce both fantasy and real
revelation. The question becomes, how do you tell the
difference?

The ancient sage Iamblichus was an expert in the mysteries

84
 Ascesis

and the art of separating these worlds. All ancient and

modern sages can precisely discern the states of fantasy from
the states of divine origin. Much of Iamblichus’ signature
work, On the Mysteries, explains how we discern between
these experiences.

Now, before we begin discerning the differences between the

subjective and genuinely divine, we must first learn how to
use the imagination in such a way as to make it a receptacle
of divine visions. Not all imaginations are the same. Some
people struggle even to imagine an apple in their mind’s eye.
Other gifted visionaries, like JRR Tolkien, could imagine a
world with different races, languages, landscapes, and
histories. Creative types typically have a greater natural
capacity for imagination but are often rarely trained to
discern their fantasies from divine visions. Without training
and guidance, many are led astray by unclear visions that can
be mistaken for divine visions. I’ve met many people who
have claimed to have had particular spiritual visions but are
quite clearly deluded and have allowed their ego to inject
fantasies of their own into their visions. For example, how
many poor new-age souls have convinced themselves
through some visionary past life regression that they are the
reincarnated souls of famous people or Atlantean princesses?

It’s a common problem and tends to put people off the

practice of doing visualization work of any kind. It is ripe for
misinterpretation and even delusion.

Nonetheless, mastering the art of visualization is also our

greatest tool for direct experience with the divine. We must
hone this skill. However, to avoid delusions, we must make
clear distinctions and remain humble and honest about what
we are experiencing. This is why the earlier stages of virtue

85
development are crucial before engaging in these practices.
Many creative types naturally delve into these practices with
virtually no training or cultivation of virtues, and their egos
get the best of them. They end up with a mixed bag of
delusions and fantasies peppered with an occasional glimpse
of something divine.

We must cultivate purificatory virtues before diving into

visualization, or we will likely encounter the same deception.
This partly gets to the root of what purification is enacting
and why it has always been essential before approaching the
Gods. We have to get our own personal egoic nonsense out of
the way, or else our imagination will not be clear enough to
receive the message of the Gods.

Using the stage analogy, we have this massive theater stage

in our imagination. Through purification, we learn to clear
the stage of all the actors, sets, and props that clutter it up.
When we continually come back to stillness, we are wiping
the stage clean. Now granted, at first, the actors, sets, and
props pour back in soon after we stop our practice, but over
time, we learn to keep the stage free of clutter and only call
out specific thoughts, ideas, and emotions when needed, and
we learn to dismiss ones that don’t need to be there.

When the stage is clear and our imagination purified, we

have a space for the Gods to appear to us. Only then can we
start to have truly divine interactions and be confident
enough that what is being portrayed is not merely our
delusions and fantasies.

Again, Iamblichus’ work is essential for us to use as a guide

to understand whether our visions are legitimate. We should
always err on the side of caution and examine our visions lest

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we be deceived.

VISUALIZING THE GODS

“Someone who, through divinely inspired religion, has joined

himself to the Gods in mind comes close to the Gods.”

Asclepius41

Now that we have discussed all the relevant disclaimers, we

can explore the practice itself. The flip side of clearing the
stage of the mind is also having a clear capacity to produce
images of high quality. The converse problem to the busy
stage full of actors, sets and props is one that is simple low
resolution and full of fuzzy confused images. Most of us have
not spent the time and energy to develop rich imaginations
that can hold precise images for long periods of time. If we
are to have any hope of perceiving a clear image of the Gods
and divine visions, this capacity needs to be cleaned are
brought into focus.

We do this by focusing our minds on divine images and

holding them in our minds for as long as we can. Fortunately,
there are many such divine images and symbols in the
Platonic tradition that we can draw on.

Imagining the Gods

The easiest way to begin visualization practice is to start with

physical images. These can be painted icons or statues or any
other symbol of the Gods. For example, I may choose the

41
The Asclepius, 5

87
statue of Jove seated on his throne, holding the scepter and
the angel of victory. Begin by comfortably beholding the
statue and taking in all of its details. Importantly, as we
behold the image, we should not think of it as merely a statue
made of plaster or a painting on a piece of paper. We should
view the image as the God standing before us. We should
acknowledge that we are not merely staring at a 2-
dimensional image or a motionless statue, but the living
image of the God themselves.

After we have committed this icon or image to our mind, we

can then practice visualizing the God with our eyes closed or
without the aid of any material image. When we begin to
imagine the God, the image may not be in perfect resolution.
It can help to build the image up in our minds piece by piece.
For Jove, we may start by imagining his face. We see his blue
eyes, his expression jovial and calm. We expand further to see
his long dark beard and dark curling hair framing his face.
From there we see his bare chest and fiery robe covering his
bottom half. In his left arm he holds the scepter, symbol of his
ultimate divine power. Atop is a golden eagle that has a
radiant glow. In his right hand, he extends the winged angel
of victory, symbolizing his victory and dominion in all things.
He is seated on a throne of light that is held aloft in the
heavens.

We concentrate with all our focus, holding this image for as

long as we can. Every time we drift in thought, we return to
the mental image of Jove. This image should not be static but
brimming with life. The image in our mind moves subtly and
radiates its power.

By doing this practice with Jove or any God, we build a place

in our minds for them to inhabit. Statues are symbols of the

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Gods and thus reflect some of their divine light into the
material world. By invoking that same image in our minds,
we begin to make a temple to them in our own minds. This
temple begins to open a channel between us and the God to
which we direct our attention.

I would not recommend doing this for every God. Building a

relationship with one God at a time will bear the best fruit. If
we were trying to build a close bond with someone, we
would not split our attention among 12 people but focus only
on one at a time. In doing this practice, you begin to feel a
deeper bond with the God to whom you are devoting
attention.

As we keep our concentration on the God, the image will

become clearer and clearer. As it does, we will increase our
concentration, bringing further stillness and calm to our
minds. They will begin to empty out and slow down. When
we concentrate on particular Gods over long periods, we can
also strengthen their virtues within ourselves. For example, if
we concentrate on a visualization of Minerva, we may notice
that our virtues of wisdom and temperance will increase in
our lives. Likewise, if we focus on Mercury, our wit and
language skills may improve as well. If we are struggling at
perfecting a particular virtue, visualizing a God with
dominion over that excellence will help us to better cultivate
that within ourselves.

This works through the simple principle of ‘like attracts like.’

Platonic Sages like Iamblichus recognized that certain images,
objects, and sounds have a sympathetic resonance with
particular Gods. Through their use, we can harmonize our
nature with theirs. When placed within our minds, the image
of the Gods attunes us to receive their divine light. We can

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increase this by adding other symbols to our meditations. For
example, we can find incense that holds an association with
our chosen deity, which will increase our connection during
visualization.

Merging Into Oneness

After refining this practice, the mental image of the God

should become crystal clear and radiant. You can pick out
every detail, and the image will have a heavenly glow. At this
stage, we begin to remove the image and rest in the stillness
of the formless state of Intellect itself. You can do this by
allowing the image to slowly fade into pure light or imagine
the image becoming smaller and smaller until nothing is left.

While doing this, keep your concentration at the same level of

intensity. Don’t allow yourself to lose focus, but stay focused
on the intellect itself rather than the image. This can be very
difficult at first because there isn’t any one thing to focus on.
You are essentially focusing on nothing or being-itself.
However, by keeping your concentration together, you will
feel the cessation of thoughts and a supreme stillness.

Even after this, you may notice that the pure intellect is still
something. It isn’t quite the pure formlessness of the One.
When this realization starts to dawn, we can see that the
intellect “rests” within the formlessness of the One. Without
saying too much about the ineffable One, I can say that this is
the beginning of some experience with the One. We can reach
this state by any of the methods employed up to this point.
Whenever we reach the state of moving beyond the intellect
Itself and catching a glimpse of what is beyond or behind it,
we are beginning to come closer to the formless One.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT
Breath

In the Western classical tradition, the words for spirit and

soul-pneuma, psyche, anima, and spiritus hold profound
significance. Interestingly, each of these words also carries the
meaning of breath or to breathe. This linguistic connection
underscores the belief that breath is the essence of life. In the
myth of Prometheus, for instance, it was Minerva’s breath
that animated the clay figures of man, giving them life.

The connection between our spiritual body and breath goes

to the very root of language and the origin of mankind. There
has always been a connection between these two. It should
come as no surprise that religions the world over use
breathing techniques as a part of spiritual cultivation. This is
because our mind and our breath are intimately linked. When
we are scared, excited or otherwise disturbed in our minds,
our breath becomes rapid and frantic. When we are calm and
at peace, our breathing slows down and becomes
unnoticeable.

Likewise, we can reverse this connection. When we are

anxious or fearful, we can bring ourselves back to a calm

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disposition with a few deep breaths. We can also charge our
bodies with energy by rapidly inhaling and retaining our
breath.

As spiritual practitioners noticed this connection, breath

became a valuable tool for the cultivation of the spirit and
purification of the soul. The simplest application of this
knowledge is to bring our minds into a state of stillness
through the calming and quieting of our breath.

To do this by ourselves, we sit comfortably and begin to

notice our breath. We shouldn’t force it to speed up or slow
down at first; we should feel the natural rhythm of our
breath. Most of the day, we completely ignore our breath,
which can become shallow and weak. When we turn our
attention to our breath, similar to turning our attention to our
posture, we can quickly correct our breathing and make it
deeper and healthier.

First, we learn to breathe into our belly, not our chest. If your
chest is rising and falling when you breathe, then you are not
breathing as deeply as you could. Learning to take deep
breaths is the key to slowing our breath down and bringing
further stillness to our minds. To breathe deeply, focus on
your diaphragm and use it as a bellows to open up and take
in a deep breath, and then slowly let the air back out. The
ideal is to get the inhalation and exhalation to be the same
length. If you breathe in for 5 seconds, then breathe out for
the same. You don’t need to count it but try to even them out
intuitively.

Once you have fixed your breath, you can start to focus on it
and use it as an instrument to still the mind. With each
breath, there will be a slight pause at the top of the breath and

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a slight pause at the end of each exhalation. To increase

stillness, we will let our minds come to rest in the pause
following the exhalation. Breathe out and rest in that moment
between breaths. When you feel the need to breathe in again,
then do so and come back around to the rest point of the next
exhalation.

Over time, the point of rest will lengthen. You don’t need to
force it, rest your mind deeper and deeper into the stillness,
and you will find your breaths becoming slower and longer.
The rest points between breaths will also become longer and
longer.

As this happens, a deeper and deeper stillness will begin to

abide within you, and the purificatory power of the spirit will
ignite. Over time, you will begin to feel certain sensations. At
first, it may be a cool wind within the body felt up and down
the spine. As the stillness becomes deeper, there will be
warmth in the heart. We will discuss further ways to increase
this warmth in the heart, which is the flowering of the divine
fire, when we get to the next chapter.

For now, learn to cultivate stillness and return to it again and

again. I mention these sensations because you will feel them
as you deepen your practice, and it is best not to be surprised
or distracted by them. They are the natural sensations of the
purification of the spirit and will intensify the more you
practice. As they arise, acknowledge them and continue
returning to stillness. Do not allow them to distract you from
the primary goal of cultivating stillness otherwise you will
lose both the stillness and the sensations themselves.

CHANTING AND BREATH

***

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One of the best parts of prayer chanting is its natural
regulation of the breath. As we chant, without thinking, we
regulate the breath, and the same effects from focusing on the
breath itself are achieved. This is one of the reasons chanting
is so effective, it nearly forces us into the correct way to
practice. The only thing to be careful of in regard to breath
and chanting is that we do not chant to quickly. There is a
tendency to race through our chants or try to perform more
chants by going quickly.

Chanting is not a race and we should not rush through our

prayers quickly. Slow and steady is the key. As we have seen,
breath and the soul are intimately linked. If we chant prayers
in a hurried and rushed manner, then our minds become
hurried and rushed. Our minds will race and we will find
ourselves thinking about what we are going to do for the day
rather than focusing our minds toward stillness.

Take your time when chanting prayers, and take special

notice of your breath. Are you chanting so quickly that your
breath has become rapid? Then you may want to slow down.
Likewise, if you chant too slowly, your mind may become
sluggish and tired. This is less common but be aware that
your tempo and breath will affect how much stillness you can
bring to your mind.

When we yoke our breath properly to each prayer, and focus

our intellect on the divine, we begin to turn away from those
things which adhere to generation and come into contact with
the One in the soul.

RESTRAINING THE BREATH

Restraining the breath is also a powerful technique for

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awakening the purifying power of our spirit. Just as breath

can bring stillness and calm to our minds, it can also draw
energy into the spirit and activate the fire within our souls.

This technique, however, can be dangerous, and it is not

advised for anyone to restrain their breath if they are not sure
they are physically fit to do so. Consult a medical
professional to ensure these techniques are safe for you to
perform.

When beginning these more advanced breathing techniques,

a few core principles must be considered. By following them,
you can endure more consistent progress and build a solid
foundation for future practice.

1. Breath in through the nose, out through the mouth

This style of breathing ensures a smooth and natural inhale

and exhale. Inhaling through the nose naturally filters and
warms the air entering your body. It is also easier to control
the amount of air entering and slowly filling the lungs.
Inhaling through the mouth builds more anxiety in the body
and makes deeper breathing much harder. You will feel more
tension in the chest when inhaling through the mouth.

When we exhale, however, the mouth very naturally expels

the air in our lungs in a smooth and controlled way with less
restriction than the nose. Don’t take my word for it, though;
try this method. Breathe in through the nose over three
counts and then exhale through the mouth for three counts.
You don’t need to huff the air out of your mouth; just allow
the air to push out gently to open your lips like a release
valve. Do this 3 or 4 times, and you will notice a sense of
clarity and calm that is already beginning to emerge.

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 ***
Breathing out of the mouth is not always necessary, just when
we are doing these breathing exercises. Breathing in and out
through the nose during regular daily activities is still
natural.

2. Sufficiency

Breathe in a relaxed and comfortable way. There is no need to

fill the lungs with as much air as possible. This leads the body
to tense up and makes relaxation much harder. It also excites
the body into a natural state of danger. It’s not normal to be
sucking in large amounts of air and blowing out the same.
The body tends to respond with a stress response and fight or
flight. It is best to breathe in sufficient air that feels
comfortable. So breathe in, and release it when you naturally
feel you have enough air.

3. Continuity

Keep your breath moving and avoid unconscious pauses or

interruptions to the breath. Obviously, we will mention when
to hold our breath, but it’s important not to stop or pause our
breathing when we are not doing it consciously. We often slip
into a state of shallow breathing where we may stop and
pause our breath randomly. We may see something or get a
fright, and our body skips a breath, so to speak. It’s best to
stay aware of your breath and avoid these interruptions.

4. Pendulum

One way to accomplish continuity is to focus on our breath as

a pendulum. A pendulum swings evenly from one side to the
next. Our breath should also inhale and exhale with a natural,

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even rhythm. If we focus on this correctly and keep our

awareness of the breath, we should avoid sudden stops or
pauses. However, as we continue to practice and our stillness
deepens, it’s natural for our breath to begin to lengthen and
get deeper. This will lead to longer natural pauses between
the breath, but these are not the same as unconscious pauses,
in which we forget to breathe. These pauses are the natural
and smooth transitions between breaths.

5. Relaxation

Ultimately, this process should feel natural and relaxing. If

we are bringing undue tension and stress to the body, then
we are going too hard. When I first began doing breath work,
I did this for years. I thought I needed to take massive breaths
to try and get my breath holds to be as long as possible. In the
end, I just got dizzy and made little progress.

It’s important to remember that good progress with our

breath is a lifelong practice. There is no sense in pushing your
breath to unnatural rhythms and holds that are full of tension
in the body. It is like trying to change a river’s flow by
beating it with a stick. It takes time to deepen the capacity of
the lungs and achieve deeper and stronger breath holds.
Don’t be a hero; take it slow, and the progress will be more
profound and fruitful.

BREATH HOLDS

Before covering the 3 main breath holds, we will cover the

first base state of breathing, circular breathing, which means
the natural in-and-out breath. We do this breath by following
the principles above and coming into a natural but controlled
and rhythmic breath.

97
Our first breath hold is a triangle hold. We do this by
breathing in, followed by an exhale, and then a hold before
our next inhale.

The Following hold is the inverse triangle, where we hold

our breath after inhaling and then exhale.
***

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 Ascesis

The final hold pattern is a square hold, where we hold our

breath after the inhale and exhale.

Each of these patterns can be used on its own or in a sequence

while meditating and praying. When praying, it is best to
match the in and out breaths with the prayer. For example,

99
Breathe in while mentally reciting “Domine Bacche” and
exhale while mentally reciting “Macte Esto.” This
synchronization between mind and body can bring profound
focus and stillness during prayer. After many recitations, our
thoughts and passions will become quiet.

The best part about these breathing techniques and forms of

silent prayer is that we can perform them at any time. When
we are in troubled and disturbed states, we can use these
prayers to bring us back to stillness.

OTHER BREATHING TECHNIQUES

Countless breathing techniques can be employed to help with

spiritual cultivation. I recommend trying the one mentioned
here, but many others can be employed to the same effect. A
whole book could be dedicated to the many ways spiritual
practitioners have used the breath to deepen states of
purification and realization.

The best way is to foster a spirit of experimentation with

these as your practice deepens. Find what works best for you
while keeping in mind the goal. The goal is always to further
develop the stillness within ourselves.

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 CHAPTER NINE
Noetic Prayer

“O unspeakable, unutterable, to be praised with silence.”

Corpus Hermeticum42

The brain is the organ of the intellect, but the heart is the seat
of the soul. Through noetic prayer, we unite the fire of
intellect with the soul. We bring down the flowering flames
of the divine fire and receive them in the hearth of our hearts.
The union of the intellect, soul, and body brings us to the
experience of the One in the soul.

Noetic prayer is the prayer of the heart. Noetic prayer leads

us toward an intuitive realization of the divine rather than
merely a rational one. Noetic prayer leads us toward noesis, or
intuitive beholding of the divine. It rests in the heart, aiming
to draw down the flame of the intellect with sustained states
of stillness. As we engage in this practice, we can feel the
warmth of this divine fire uniting our mind and heart,

42
1

101
leading us into a state of profound silence and purification.

We have mentioned stillness quite a bit up to this point. I

repeat this point ad nauseam to make clear that the vehicle of
our spiritual transformation is always the stilling of the mind.
This stilling brings us purification and the turning away from
a worldly outlook to a divine one. With noetic prayer, we
take the practice a step further into a state of silence. Silence is
the total cessation of our minds as we come to rest in the pure
silence of God.

Throughout the classical traditions, sages have repeated that

the best way to worship God is with silence. This is because
God is beyond our ability to conceptualize. We can say God is
truth, beauty, goodness, beyond essence, beyond being,
beyond intellect, transcendent, ineffable, and so on, but none
of these words grasp the reality of God. The reality of God
can only be grasped in a state of pure and instant realization,
which we call noesis. In order to experience it, we subtract
everything from our minds and even detach ourselves from
sense experiences. We use our attention (prosoche) to focus so
single-pointedly that everything else falls away.

This kind of focus takes most people years to develop, so

don’t be discouraged if it seems a bit out of reach at first. This
book includes many practices, so you can start with simple
ones like chanting, watchfulness, or breath work and
eventually progress to noetic prayer.

We will know when we are successful with noetic prayer by

its effect. We are using our attention to move away from
conceptual and mental ideas about God and experience the
presence and awareness of God within our hearts. The two
are very distinctly different. The first is purely rational and

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 Ascesis

experienced only in our minds. The latter consumes our

whole person, body, mind, and soul.

We already have some perception and awareness of God in

our lives, but that awareness is often dim at best. When we
enter a sacred space, we can feel the presence and awareness
of God. When we are in moments of deep stillness, we can
begin to feel the awareness of the divine. It doesn’t need to be
overly complicated; in fact, these experiences are often
supremely simple, silent, and yet beyond the reach of words
to describe.

In order to come into God’s presence, we don’t need to be

particularly educated in platonic philosophy or a scholar.
These things can often add more clutter to our perception
than clarity. It’s often the most educated and intelligent who
struggle to quiet the mind enough to feel the presence of the
Gods rather than the more simple-minded who trust in their
intuition. It doesn’t take excessive knowledge to experience
noesis; rather, it is radical simplicity.

The ultimate pinnacle of noetic prayer is the union of our

souls with God. The merger of the knower and the known.
This happens in the state of supreme stillness of silence when
we have let go of all thoughts, all sensations, and all
distractions and are focused solely on the vastness of God’s
infinite presence, which is the ineffable One.

UNITING THE MIND AND HEART

“The extended practice of prayer… greatly widens the soul’s

receptacle of the Gods… cleanses all internal oppositions and
removes from the ethereal and luminous vehicle everything inclined
to generation… it makes those who pray, if we may express it,

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 companions of the Gods”

Iamblichus43

Practicing noetic prayer combines several methods we have

learned so far into a single practice and adds the dimension
of descending our minds into our hearts. Ultimately, any
prayer that brings our minds into our hearts is a noetic
prayer, but we can offer some specific guidance on how to
begin this practice.

To embark on the journey of noetic prayer, find a comfortable

spot, perhaps in a chair. Remember, the key is to focus our
minds on our hearts, so avoiding discomfort or unfamiliar
positions is best. Choose the least distracting setting, allowing
you to immerse in the practice fully.

Next, begin to focus your mind on a point in your head. This

can be the center of your forehead or the crown of your head.
Hold your attention on this single point. If thoughts arise, let
them pass and focus again on the point. When your mind is
stilled, bring your point of attention down and into the center
of your heart and hold it there.

The descent of the mind into the heart can be difficult to

master, and using a prayer chant can be a useful way to keep
the mind preoccupied while we focus on moving our
attention to the heart. So, pick a chant you are most familiar
with and one that stirs the heart. If you have a tutelary deity
you feel a strong and loving connection with, praying to them
will be the most powerful for this practice.
***

43
On the Mysteries 238.13

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 Ascesis

We want to continue holding our attention in the heart while

chanting our chosen prayer. Then, we should sync our
breathing with the prayer so our body, soul, and mind are in
harmony. By sustaining prayer like this, we begin to open the
door in our hearts to the One in the soul and come closer to
union with God.

Noetic prayer is the most powerful way to ignite the divine

fire within us. As we continue and sustain our practice of
noetic prayer, we will feel an intense warmth growing in our
hearts. The entire practice of ascesis centers around this inner
fire and sustaining it within the heart. This continued flame is
what purifies and elevates our souls. Over time, this burning
fire becomes the pure light of the ineffable One within the
soul.

The important aspect of descending our prayer from the

mind to the heart is to shift from knowing about God to
knowing God.

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 CHAPTER TEN
Contemplation

“Dialectical thought should either start from the divine riddles or ,

developing the mysterious truth in them or come to rest in them”

Damascius44

One of the things that struck me as odd about Socrates the

first time I read the platonic dialogues is that Socrates very
often doesn’t come to a conclusion at the end of his
conversations. In Meno, Socrates questions a young
Athenian, Meno, about the nature of virtue. The dialogue
dissects many theories about what virtue may be but
ultimately fails by the end. Socrates says in the last
paragraph,

“It follows from this reasoning, Meno, that virtue appears to

be present in those of us who possess it as a gift from the
Gods. We shall have clear knowledge of this when, before we
investigate how it comes to be present in men, we first try to
find out what virtue in itself is. But now the time has come

44
Commentary on the Phaedo I, 165

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 Ascesis

for me to go.”

Socrates ends many dialogues in this somewhat dissatisfying

way where no conclusion is reached. It can be unsettling to
read an entire dialogue and be left with no resolution but
only the knowledge that what we thought we knew about a
topic, in this case, virtue, is wrong and insufficient to explain
virtue. Socrates often tears apart our preconceptions of a
particular idea and leaves us with nothing but a void of
knowing. Through the dialogues, we come closer to the state
of Socrates, who only knew that he knew nothing.

Producing this state of unknowing called aporia45 is often the

real purpose of the dialogues. It is not an exposition or
treatise of particular ideas as we see in works like Aristotle’s.
Aristotle will plainly lay out his case for a particular idea and
argue it systematically. Conversely, Plato is more like a series
of plays that expose a process of thinking rather than specific
conclusions. The process that is being used is called dialectic.
The word dialectic is related to dialogue and describes the
back-and-forth process of philosophical discussions like those
in platonic dialogues. It is a process in which we can engage
with others and ourselves to arrive at the truth.

We do this by removing all false preconceptions one by one.

This is what Socrates does again and again. He starts with a
notion someone has about a topic. Then, he proceeds to take
apart the notion part by part until we realize that our ideas
about it were false and merely opinions. Because this process
is one of negation, sometimes Socrates shows the falsehood of
our beliefs but can’t find what we should believe in its place.
We are then left in the cloud of unknowing.

45
Pronounced uh-POR-ee-uh

107
 ***
While being stripped of our illusions is often an
uncomfortable feeling, it is essential if we are going to make
progress through ascesis on our spiritual journey. We cannot
rely on false assumptions about reality or the divine and
expect to make progress. If we are on a journey from Seattle
to New York and have a faulty map, we will likely not find
our destination unless we correct the map first and thus
remember where we are and where we need to go next.
Dialectic ultimately removes all the incorrect destinations
from the map until we are left with our ultimate goal.

The practice of philosophical contemplation is how we make

these corrections, and the weapon we employ is dialectic.
Dialectic, like a sharp sword, cuts through our illusions and
makes clear the reality of truth, regardless of whether we like
it. It requires a dedication to the truth, which only a few are
willing to commit to. We are more often like the interlocutors
in the dialogues, fiercely holding to our false notions of the
world while Socrates’ dialectic slowly tears them to pieces.
When we do this by ourselves, it is much easier to fall prey to
our own lies and deception. Our inner Socrates is often less
demanding and painfully insightful than the real one we
encounter in the dialogues. This is why we employ a method
to our dialectic to guide the process forward and ensure we
are not missing any key steps in our uncovering of the whole
truth.

Through our dialectical process, we gain a more intuitive

understanding of the truth. The aim is not to create ignorance
or confusion, but to help us recognize the limitations of our
false opinions. What remains when we strip away our
misconceptions are the pure forms of truth. In this way,
dialectic acts as a purification of our reason from false

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 Ascesis

opinions. We repeat this process to refine our knowledge and

eliminate any falsehoods, leading us closer to the truth.

This process is a defining difference between Platonism and

many other spiritual paths. Many other paths rely on
scripture and revelation to define truth. Platonism,
conversely, uses dialectic, which is the process of philosophy,
to arrive at the truth. For this reason, Platonism is not a
revealed religion but rather a science of spirituality where
seekers are encouraged to test and examine their practices
and beliefs rather than adhere to particular doctrines or
revelations.

THE PROCESS OF DIALECTIC

The dialectical process is a cycle of questioning. The process

can be more or less complex depending on the topic and
questions asked, but I will explain the process in its simplest
form. Dialetic can then be employed to discover the nature of
virtually any concept or idea. Now, that doesn’t mean after a
single go at an idea like justice, you will arrive at the truth.
Dialectic’s effectiveness relies on the philosopher’s honesty
and truthfulness. Suppose you are not being fully honest with
yourself or even simply not penetrating the problem
thoroughly enough. In that case, you may not reach a final
conclusion. Dialectic is more or less a conversation with
oneself. If we hold both sides of the conversation within
ourselves, we must be honest if we hope to reach any truth.
The process can also be done with other people which can
also bring tremendous insight because each person keeps the
other honest.

Also, It’s important to understand that the dialectical process

is not a one-time event but a journey we continually return to

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and refine throughout our lives. It’s the art of philosophical
contemplation, and many philosophical works are essentially
this process documented, allowing others to observe and
learn from it.

So how do we do it?

The simplified dialectical method goes as follows.

Step 1: Definition

We start by making a particular thesis or definition of a thing.

For example:

A triangle is a shape.

Step 2: Demonstration

Next, we demonstrate faults within our current

understanding of the definition. For example, we may ask:

Since squares are also shapes, is a square a triangle?

Step 3: Analysis

We then analyze our original thesis and remove any faulty

assumptions. In this case, a triangle is not merely any shape
but a particular kind of shape. We could better define a
triangle as follows.

A triangle is a shape with 3 sides.

We then start with this new thesis and repeat the process. We
may do this as many times as needed in order to arrive at

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 Ascesis

either of two conclusions. We will either arrive at knowledge

or aporia which is rational ignorance or justified ignorance. If
we end in knowledge, we can be certain we have reached a
solid understanding of something. For example, we may end
the line of inquiry above with the statement that a triangle is
a shape with three sides. However, other things like virtue,
piety, beauty, and truth may be harder concepts to define.
Often, these will lead us toward aporia. This aporia is not total
ignorance; for example, we don’t end by saying we don’t
think truth or piety exists. That itself would be a positive
assertion we could submit to further questioning. Rather, we
discover the many things truth and piety are not. Thus, like a
sculptor chipping and carving a piece of marble into a statue,
we have cut away material that slowly shows the true form
we are trying to grasp. The further we repeat this dialectical
process, the more incorrect definitions we remove, leaving us
with a clearer vision of the forms or ideas that we are
attempting to understand.

Since this method may not lead to a simple positive statement

like ‘a triangle is a shape with 3 sides’ we are left to simply
behold these ideas or forms unobstructed by falsehoods. This
beholding is the intuitive knowledge that we are seeking
rather than simple rational knowledge. We can’t sum up
these ideas in a short definition, rather we come to know
them by what they are not. This process of beholding
something outside our rational grasp is the essence of
philosophical contemplation. In some sense, we could think
of this as the rational equivalent to stillness. We are stilling
the rational mind and focusing it on an object that evades
clear definition, we are left to behold it in our minds.

Performing dialectic can be a very difficult process to learn.

We have only scratched the surface here. Fortunately, Plato’s

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dialogues are essentially plays that demonstrate this method
with various topics. If you want to see a master dialectician at
work, you can read the dialogues and have Socrates walk you
through the process step by step. By the end, you too may
experience aporia and realize, like Socrates, that the only thing
you know is that you don’t know. Rather than this being the
end to our attempts to know anything, it becomes the way we
come to intuitive intellection of the highest truths, those
which even the rational mind cannot grasp.

Dialectic is not rhetoric or an attempt at persuasion. It is not

an argument or a way of constructing an argument for a
particular position. Dialectic is how we uncover the truth of
things. We reveal their true character by continually
removing from our definitions of things the false
preconceptions and opinions about them. In this sense, it is
literally a revelation, a revealing of the truth by removing the
falsehoods that obstruct it. When we do this properly, the
divine light of God and the rays of the forms become clear as
day in our minds.

THE ROLE OF WISDOM

“For intuitive knowledge is superior to scientific, and the life lived

according to intuitive knowledge is more honorable than a life of
science”

Proclus46

This dialectical method is our path to attaining true wisdom

free from any falsehoods. It is something unique to our
tradition. Unlike religions that rely on blind faith and dogma,

46
Commentary on the Parmenides 1025 f.

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 Ascesis

our tradition relies on questioning everything until all we are

left with is the truth. Now, this is no reason to hate or
denigrate those who rely on blind faith or dogma. Both can
be valuable shortcuts for those who don’t possess the time or
mental acuity to practice dialectic for themselves.
Philosophers are not like most people and they cannot expect
every person to be capable of probing the divine mysteries
themselves. However, where people use dogma and faith as
ways to deceive people or lead them astray, the true
philosopher has the obligation to cut down these falsehoods
with the sword of discernment and dialectic.

Spiritual discernment is the art that empowers us to navigate

the complexities of truth and falsehood. A true philosopher is
not just a seeker of wisdom, but also a standard bearer and
protector of the Truth. They shield it from those who twist it
to suit their ideology or personal gain. By embracing this role,
you can feel empowered to distinguish truth from falsehood
in your own spiritual journey.

Wisdom and truth are the guides of the philosopher, as their

name suggests. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom. Without
the guide of wisdom, how could we possibly hope to attain
the highest spiritual purification? How could we come closer
to the divine if we are riddled with false notions of truth and
reality? The answer is that our false opinions are things that
must be burned away on our ascent to the divine. In fact, we
are better off knowing that we don’t know than clinging to
falsehood. This realization can bring about a profound sense
of enlightenment, as it frees us from the shackles of ignorance
and guides us towards a higher understanding.

When we commit ourselves fully to the truth and pursue it

without exception, we are on the path to true knowledge and

113
experience of the divine. This may sound like a nice
proposition, but in reality, it means we must be willing to let
go of our false assumptions and our pride in the knowledge
we believe we possess. To be removed from these illusions is
a painful process that, for a time, can leave us feeling more
unsure than sure. If we are unable to rest in the cloud of
unknowing in the process of awakening to the truth, we may
cling to false ideas for a sense of security. The process of
spiritual discernment is a bit like riding a sailboat through a
storm on the ocean. Your true destination is still miles away,
and there is no path through to it except to brave the storm.
In that situation, a small tropical island may seem like a safer
place to land and if we don’t muster our courage to face the
unknown, we may be stuck there forever.

Odysseus finds himself in this situation on his way back

home. He and his shipmates land on the island of the lotus
eaters which by eating makes them forget their true goal of
returning home:

“They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who
did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so
delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did
not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but
were for staying and munching lotus with the Lotus-eaters without
thinking further of their return; nevertheless, though they wept
bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under
the benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of
them should taste of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so
they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars.”

We, like Odysseus, must find the courage to return to the

boat of philosophy and avoid the simple answers that lead us
away from the truth.

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Offerings

Ritual worship, a universal practice across cultures, has

always held a significant role. Yet, the value of such worship
is often left unspoken. The question of why we engage in
ritual worship can be a perplexing one. In the realm of
Platonic orthodoxy, it is a common belief that the Gods, being
perfect, do not require our prayers and sacrifices. They are
self-sufficient, not needing our praise, admiration, or
obedience. So, why do we make offerings to them?

The answer is that prayer and ritual are not done for the
benefit of the Gods but for the benefit of our souls. In ritual,
we are not commanding the Gods to do our bidding or fulfill
our wishes. It is we who give ourselves to the Gods. The act
of ritual takes our mind, body, spirit, desires, and possessions
and gives them to God.

We offer our best words to God and His children, the Gods.
We align our bodies and breath into the ritual, offering our
full attention to their worship. We do this not for a specific
gift from the Gods but rather to be closer to them in body and
spirit. We open ourselves to whatever gifts we may receive,

115
but that is never the goal. Ritual is giving to the Gods. It is
gratitude for what they have already given us without asking
for anything in return.

The Gods have given us the cosmos, the air we breathe, the
stability of the universe, and the capacity for justice,
goodness, and beauty. When we take time to honor them in
ritual, we celebrate our gratitude for these wonderful gifts.
We give up what is most precious to us and symbolic of them
to honor and recognize their magnificence.

Ritual also gives us a space to honor those great sages who

form the many links in the golden chain of wisdom. These are
the men and women who have carried our tradition to the
present day and form a chain of truth and knowledge of how
to commune with the divine.

Likewise, we honor our ancestors and local spirits who watch

over our family and guide us throughout our daily lives.

The ultimate goal of making ritual offerings is to pull our

focus of concern away from ourselves and toward the Gods,
our ancestors, and other beings. It acknowledges that we live
within a broader harmony of which we are only a small part.
If we only ever focus our attention on our own personal
liberation, we can sink further into a delusional belief that we
are the only person that matters. We consciously or
unconsciously reinforce the idea that our needs are somehow
the most important thing.

When we make offerings to the Gods, we are making a

gesture of gratitude for our very existence, the gifts of the
intellect and the soul, the virtues and goodness we experience
in life. We recognize that we are not the creators of these

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 Ascesis

things but receive them graciously from the Gods. These

gestures of gratitude reinforce our subordination to the Gods
and fill us with peace and happiness.

When we offer to the ancestors, we recognize that we did not

get here by ourselves; we recognize the family, both living
and passed on, that is responsible for our life and all the gifts
we received from them. These are the gifts of community,
love, and wisdom.

Lastly, when we make offerings, it is essential that we pray

not only for ourselves but also for the well-being and
liberation of others. If we only ever petition the Gods for
personal help, we again reinforce the concept that we are the
most important person and our needs are supreme. When we
petition the Gods, we are asking the most powerful deities in
the cosmos. We should remember that and ask for things that
are worthy of their greatness. The spirit of ritual offering is
one of gratitude and giving. If we are only stepping up to the
altar to get something for ourselves, we have missed the true
purpose of offering, which is to give our best to the Gods
without expecting anything in return. It is the giving that is
our gift and reward.

WHAT DO WE PRAY FOR?

“Ask God for things such as it is worthy of God to bestow”

Sextus47

Just because ritual is founded in gratitude and service to the

Gods does not mean we can never make a petition to the

47
The Sentences of Sextus

117
Gods for good things in our life. However, we should
remember that Father Jove only grants those wishes justly to
those who rightly deserve the gifts. Merely praying for things
you don’t rightly deserve is not likely to make any difference
in your life.

Furthermore, in the spirit of the giving nature of ritual, we

benefit greatly from asking for 2 things when we pray. First is
to pray for others. We benefit greatly when we take the focus
off of ourselves and pray for the well-being and liberation of
others. If we only ever ask for favors for ourselves in prayer,
we are perpetuating a selfish outlook on life that is not
beneficial to us. Praying for the well being of our family and
community is a great start for us to expand our locus of
concern outside of ourselves. It is also beneficial for us to
pray for the souls of all people so that they may find
liberation in this life or the next.

“Ask from God those things that you cannot receive from man”

Sextus48

In the Pythagorean sentences, we are also advised not to pray

for things that we can do for ourselves. For example, we
should not pray for money or material goods because these
are things we can work to gain by ourselves. Rather, the
things we should ask the Gods for are things that are, like
them, immaterial and perfect. The best things for us to ask the
Gods for are virtues.

When we pray, we should ask the Gods to show us the way

to immaterial things that are aligned with their perfect

48
The Sentences of Sextus

118
 Ascesis

nature. Cardinal virtues like prudence, courage, justice, and

temperance are great starting points. But any virtue is worthy
of our prayers of petition.

SIMPLE RITUALS

There is a simple formula to follow to begin making offerings

to the Gods. Since there are many Gods, I recommend
beginners direct all prayers to Mercury, who is the messenger
of the Gods. With this simple prayer, you can begin making
offerings to all of divinity and know Mercury will deliver
your prayers to the proper place.

Begin with this invocation:

Lord Mercury, messenger of heaven, swift-footed guide of

mortals, hear my prayer and deliver it to the proper
divinity:

[speak your prayer]

After your prayer, present your offering of food or incense

and say:

Lord Mercury, be honored by this offering of [incense,

food]

When you are finished, end with

Lord Mercury, be blessed. Fiat.

***

119
Fiat is pronounced Fee-aht and means 'Let it be done' in
Latin.

If you are unable to make a material offering, that is okay. It

is a gesture of honor and respect to the Gods but is not
necessary. Merely offering your thoughts and prayers is
enough. The Gods do not need our offerings to hear prayers.
We offer these things out of gratitude and respect for them,
not as a bribe or exchange of goods between us and the Gods.

Further, you may find great benefit from making an altar

with an idol of the God you are praying toward. This is a
great practice for increasing devotion. When we learn to keep
an altar and tend to it daily, we keep the Gods at the forefront
of our minds and give them a space in our homes and daily
lives.

However, a statue is not needed to offer a prayer to the Gods.

Many times, in epics like the Iliad and the Aeneid, heroes will
offer a prayer to the Gods in the midst of a battle without
incense, statues, or complex rituals. The Gods are always
around us and in everything, including ourselves. We don’t
need anything external to reach them or for them to reach us.

You may then wonder why we have idols, temples, and

specific rituals. This is for our own benefit. For the same
reason, we keep altars at home; we also keep temples. These
special and sacred places have been attuned to resonate with
the energy of the God or Goddess of that Temple,
strengthening our worship and connection with them.
***

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 Ascesis

One way to think of it is like radio waves. We are constantly

surrounded by radio waves. Every radio station in our local
area is passing through the walls of our homes, bouncing off
trees and mountains, and even passing through our bodies.
Despite this, we do not hear the local oldies channel in our
minds. It takes fine-tuning on the radio to receive and
amplify the latent signal everywhere around us. When we do
this, we can clearly hear the songs and voices coming from
the radio signal that pervades the world around us.

This tuning is what altars, temples, and sacred places allow

us to do. It allows us to tune and amplify the power of the
Gods in a particular place and time. This lets us both receive
the messages from the Gods more clearly, and the presence of
their power brings us closer to their divine perfection.

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 CHAPTER TWELVE
Practical Praxis

Tracking our spiritual practices is essential to advancing

along the path. It is very hard to gauge progress if we don’t
track any of it. This is common sense in any other aspect of
life, but it often gets skipped over with spirituality. If I were
trying to improve my financial standing, I would begin by
tracking my expenses and making a budget for my money. If
I want to lose weight, I track my calories and exercise while
submitting my plan to reason. However, spiritually, we often
skip this and go with the flow.

Tracking spiritual progress can be as simple as tracking what

we do. By writing down how many prayers we have done,
how many minutes of meditation we did, and what kind of
meditation we begin to understand what is working and
what isn’t. An important aspect of spiritual practice is it isn’t
a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Each and every person has
different spiritual needs. It cannot be expected that we all do
the exact same practice and get the same results. Again, this is
common sense when discussing diet, exercise, or finances, yet
spirituality is often excluded. There will be similarities
between our practices because certain methods are the most

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 Ascesis

effective, but like a workout, the routine of an experienced

bodybuilder will look different than an office worker looking
to lose a few pounds. In this way, we shouldn’t compare our
spiritual practice to that of others and remember that we all
have different spiritual needs.

Nonetheless, we should track what we are doing and use that

information to adjust our practice to make it more effective.
Certain meditations and prayers can often be changed to
enliven our practice and keep it from becoming stale or
monotonous. We want to preserve our attention and
engagement. If our practice feels stale or unproductive, we
likely need to make some adjustments.

This is why having a spiritual teacher is such an advantage. It

isn’t absolutely necessary, but having someone who knows
how to develop spiritually and offer guidance on our practice
tremendously benefits our growth. If we feel stuck, finding a
teacher to help get our practice back on track is very
advantageous. If we keep good records of our practice, we
should be able to get very specific and helpful advice from
the teacher.

MIXING TECHNIQUES

We have reviewed many different paths for performing

ascesis. How we use these techniques is largely up to each
practitioner or his or her teacher. If you are practicing by
yourself, I highly recommend mixing these techniques into
your regular routine. It may not make sense to do them all in
a single day, but varying what practices you do can be very
fruitful and avoid stagnation.

There is also a tendency for us to gravitate toward the things

123
that we are better at. For example, we may struggle with
visualization and thus avoid it. This was the case for me for
many years. However, I’ve found that some of my most
fruitful spiritual work was accomplished through
visualization. Very often, the things we want to avoid are the
things we need the most. I find working out to be similar in
this regard. I may not like doing squats, but I probably need
them more than any other movement. I don’t like them
because they force me to work out some of my weakest areas.

Likewise, the practices we struggle through the most often

reveal our deepest weaknesses. By focusing on those, we can
develop faster and avoid any weak spots in our spiritual
development.

POSTURE AND SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM

Posture is an essential component of spiritual practice.

Whenever we begin to pray or meditate, we should check our
posture and make sure our back is straight but relaxed. We
should not slouch or hunch over.

While we practice ascesis, we are expected to feel the divine

fire begin to purify our spirit. However, poor posture
impedes this process. The fire is felt throughout the central
column of our bodies in our spine, and if we are slouched or
hunched over, it will not flow as smoothly. For this reason,
keep your back straight.

The key to keeping your back straight through a long prayer

or meditation session is to ensure your knees are below your
hips. So, if you are sitting on a chair, make sure to sit closer to
the edge and let your knees drop below level with your hip
joints. This will naturally bring your back into alignment and

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 Ascesis

keep you balanced.

Some may find sitting on the floor or meditation cushions

more comfortable, but I don’t recommend this for most
Westerners. For better or worse, we are a chair-bound
culture. Due to many years of sitting in chairs, most of us
don’t have the hip flexibility to sit comfortably and safely on
the floor or use meditation cushions. I say safely because you
can injure your hips and knees sitting in eastern meditation
positions if you don’t have the flexibility. Fortunately, sitting
on a meditation cushion is not some magical advantage to
spiritual practice. You can accomplish the same results seated
in a chair.

Further, many Westerners turn Eastern things like meditation

cushions or positions into a kind of spiritual materialism.
Since we often sit in chairs, sitting on the floor seems exotic,
and Westerners are delighted by the novelty. I became aware
of this trend while studying Zen Buddhism. Westerners love
the stark simplicity of the Zen monastery. The traditional
Japanese clothes are like a samurai. The organized rocks of
the zen garden are exotic and enjoyable to look at. Sitting on
the floor, especially in complex positions like the full lotus, is
viewed as a status symbol. Those who can’t sit like this are
seen as less advanced along the path.

The reality, however, is that all of Zen’s attributes are meant

to be boring, not exotic or unique. In Japan, everyone sits on
the ground; that’s just how they sit. Compared to lush and
colorful Japanese gardens, the gardens are supposed to be
boring. The clothing is drab and dark, like a priest’s black
cassock. We Westerners muck it up by making it into an
exciting novelty.
***

125
The Western equivalent to a Zen monastery would be a
Calvinist church with no decorations. It would have simple
wooden pews and practitioners wearing simple black
clothing with white shirts. Most Westerners would see this
kind of church as depressing and even oppressive, but once
some Japanese flair is added, it becomes a spot for a luxury
vacation and a temple of inner peace.

It’s crucial to remember that the real goal of any spiritual

practice is always stillness. Whether you choose to sit on the
floor, a chair, or a rock, the focus should be on cultivating
inner peace and quieting the mind. If sitting on the floor
helps you achieve this, then, by all means, do it. But be
mindful not to use it as a means to inflate your ego or to seek
novelty. The true value of any posture lies in the stillness it
can help you achieve.

It’s important to remember that profound spiritual

experiences are not exclusive to any particular posture. Many
Western practitioners have had these experiences while
sitting on chairs and rocks or even praying on their knees.
The key is not the posture but the stillness and focus of the
mind and heart.

REPENTANCE

"Repentance is the beginning of philosophy"

Hierocles49

Repentance is often seen as a particularly Christian idea, but

philosophers were quite fond of reminding people to repent.

49
Commentary of the Golden Verses

126
 Ascesis

Pythagoras, in particular, suggests two ways that we can

begin to repent and take a better inventory of who we are.
The word ‘repent’ is related to the Latin word for regret. The
idea is that we should look over our actions and judge them if
they are unworthy. However, the Greek word for repentance
is metanoia, which means the transformation of the mind.
Platonic repentance is about creating an inner change that
leads us back to a life of holiness in harmony with the divine.

Pythagoras says we should “do nothing shameful, neither in

the presence of others nor privately; Thus, above all things, sit as
a judge over [ourself].” This suggests we should watch our
actions, and when we do something wrong or shameful, we
should repent, that is, regret that action. If we never do this or
shun it as a practice, we effectively say we have no reason to
regret our actions. However, regretting an action is
recognizing an area where we fell short of our ideals. If we
never regret or repent, we make any spiritual or ethical
growth impossible. This is why Hierocles, commenting on
Pythagoras, says, “repentance is the beginning of
philosophy.”

The essence of philosophy lies in our active engagement with

it. It’s not a passive pursuit but a continuous process of self-
reflection and action that aligns with our highest ideals.
Pythagoras offers practical advice on how to integrate this
concept into our daily lives, making it accessible and
applicable to everyone.

“Never let sleep close your tired eyes until

you have examined all the actions of the day three times.

“Where have I transgressed? What did I accomplish?

What duty did I neglect?”

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 ***
All, from the first to the last, review;
If you have erred, reprimand yourself,
but if you have done any good, rejoice.”

This simple practice is the beginning of self-reflection. We

begin to turn our attention inward toward our own actions
and, by doing so, engage in a process of purification. Simply
by putting our awareness on our own actions, we are laying
the groundwork for our own development and improvement.
If we never take this first step, we will remain oblivious to
our sinful actions and continue to do them shamelessly.

Unfortunately, shame has been maligned as a great evil in

modern society, but we could use a great deal more of it in
our lives. When we do sinful things, we should be ashamed.
To feel no shame for our actions that fall short of our highest
ideals and duties is to behave no differently than an animal.
Therefore, we should repent as a regular part of our ascesis.

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 CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Conclusion

“Philosophy is a purification and perfection of human life.”

Hierocles

The Western spiritual tradition, with its profound richness, is

not a relic of the past, but a living gem that continues to
illuminate the soul of the West. It is a tradition that
transcends the pages of books and the discussions of
academics. It is a living tradition, continually returning to
replenish the Western soul in times of spiritual need.

Many of the practices in this book were not pulled from

ancient textbooks or dusty manuscripts. They are part of the
living spiritual traditions passed down through the ages since
antiquity. They are also based on much of my own spiritual
experience and practice. While many may strongly desire to
establish our traditions on some newfound manuscript in a
cave that explains all the mysteries of ancient Western
spirituality, the reality is we are not likely to find such a
document. Even if we did, it would amount to nothing until
we learn to see the light of wisdom and philosophy in

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ourselves.

It isn’t enough to emulate the practices or rites of the ancient

past. The power of God and his immortal children is within
us and our souls that descend from this same divine source.
We are the link back to the Gods, and through the
purification of the soul and continued effort to raise our souls
up to their divine light, we can reignite the flame of Western
spirituality and reclaim our spiritual heritage.

We cannot rely on history to take us toward the Gods. We

must learn to seek the Gods and the purification of our souls
through practice and experience. Only then will the Gods
appear to us and guide our way. Ultimately, we are
responsible for our spiritual growth, and we succeed or fail
based on our efforts. The Gods reach out to those who reach
out to them.

As I mentioned in the introduction, this book is about

practice—not theory, history, or scholarly commentary. It’s
about doing the work that purifies our souls and brings them
closer to the Gods. That work is scientific in the sense that it is
guided by trial and error and proved by our lived experience.
This knowledge can never be perfectly conveyed in words; it
must be experienced to be known. However, if this work has
accomplished its goal, it has provided practical guidance on
how to attain those experiences.

To truly live the philosophical life, we must learn to look into

the deepest mysteries of the divine. Only then can our souls
ascend and become like Gods.

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