Consciousness Studies

Alchemy -- The Cosmological Yoga

    This enlightened essay by French researcher Maurice Aniane is one of the most penetrating expositions of Western alchemy I have ever read. He is unrelenting in his intention to dishevel the truths of alchemy and deeply fulfilling in his erudite conclusions.  
    Aniane's essay grounds the Eucharistic tradition of medieval Christianity in alchemical philosophy and radiates the Eucharistic effusion into the heaviest leaden states of matter, transubstantiating not just the bread, wine, and spirit but the Stone, lead, and the human body.
     Alchemy in medieval Christianity aimed to transfigure terrestrial substances through sacrificing inanimate matter to reveal its inner essence which is the original divine spark of consciousness. That process revealed the divine light and presence manifest even in the heaviest of objects like lead. Christian alchemy also expressed the sacred nature of time as a stillness transmuted into “moments” of eternity—a beautiful idea you might have experienced as a child.
In return, alchemy gave medieval Christianity a technical application in the psycho-cosmic realm. From the viewpoint of medieval Christianity, alchemy was a powerful spiritual technology that originated in the mind of God. 
 
(Credit: “Alchemy: the Cosmological "Yoga of Medieval Christianity” by Maurice Aniane which first appeared in "Material for Thought" magazine, San Francisco, in the Spring 1976 issue.)
 

A Basic Alchemical Meditation

This is is a Basic Alchemical Meditation compounded from meditative techniques used by alchemists such as Paracelsus, Basil Valintine, and Jakob Boehme. Each phase is a separate meditation and can be practiced separately from the others.
There are three general steps in the full meditation that correspond to the three phases of alchemy. The first phase is the Nigredo (darkening, death, and putrefaction of the ego), which consists of two operations in which one attempts to Disengage Physically and Disengage Mentally from the world. The second phase is the Albedo (whitening and purification) in which one achieves original innocence or Zero-state Consciousness. The third phase is Rubedo (reddening or empowered integration into a new level of being) that is found in continued Meditation in the Pure Light.
Overall, the first two phases represent a progressive resurrection and purification of the light of consciousness to prepare for the transformative, one-pointed “Meditation in the Pure Light” phase. In that phase, alchemists feel they are working with the logoic light to transform reality in not only the inner lab or soul but also in the objective material reality of their “laboratory” or outer world.
Whether you are a novice meditator or experienced, the following instructions should be helpful in achieving Meditation in the Pure Light. But feel free to follow your own path in meditation or customize these steps to fit your regimen. The most important lesson is to grasp is the dual nature of our reality—the spiritual and material realms in which we exist. The bridge between those two realms can only be found in the Pure Light—in what Paracelsus called the “True Imagination.”
From my new book, "How the Alchemists mMeditated: The Ancient Roots of Spiritual Alchemy."

#7 Podcast Series on the Emerald Tablet

Part 7 of our continuing series on the Emerald Tablet from my book The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation. The book can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Tablet-Alchemy-Personal-Transformation/dp/0140195718
The Emerald Tablet—an ancient document that contains the essence of the alchemical teachings—has had an important influence on many Western spiritual and religious traditions. Ostensibly concerned with turning base metals into gold, alchemy was in fact dedicated to transforming the lead of self into the gold of spirit. This brilliant history of alchemy traces its sources back to ancient Egypt, and presents alchemy as a useful, practical system of self-transformation. Each of the seven steps of alchemical transformation is explained, with hands-on techniques and exercises, treating alchemy as a living discipline for achieving a spiritual awakening.
 

Art Bell Show with Dennis William Hauck

This installment of Art Bell's "Dreamland" show was titled "Alchemy and the Paranormal Reality.  "Dreamland" was part of Art's "Coast to Coast AM" franchise, and his unique radio show captured over 10 million listeners a week.
Art Bell (1945-2018) broadcast from the isolated town of Pahrump in desolate Nye County, Nevada. Art saw himself not as an authority, but as a fellow explorer with his guests. First broadcast November 8, 1999.

#1 Introduction to Podcast Series on the Emerald Tablet

The Emerald Tablet—an ancient document that contains the essence of the alchemical teachings—has had an important influence on many Western spiritual and religious traditions. Ostensibly concerned with turning base metals into gold, alchemy was in fact dedicated to transforming the lead of self into the gold of spirit. This brilliant history of alchemy traces its sources back to ancient Egypt, and presents alchemy as a useful, practical system of self-transformation. Each of the seven steps of alchemical transformation is explained, with hands-on techniques and exercises, treating alchemy as a living discipline for achieving a spiritual awakening.
from The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation (Penguin 1999). Paperback and Kindle editions available on Amazon.

The Thoth Tapes: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World

This is actually an audition tape for the “Oprah Winfrey Show” when my book The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation was being considered for Oprah’s Book Club. Unfortunately, the producers thought it was a bit “over the top” for Oprah’s viewers, and listening to it today, I would have to agree. But it is one of my best efforts to explain the origins and power of the ancient teachings of Hermes and how they evolved in alchemy, literature, religion, and science. Topics include the Emerald Tablet, the history of Balinas (Apollonius of Tyana), the seven operations and the Emerald Formula, the planetary archetypes, and how they apply to personal transformation. There is also an active imagination session with Thoth in which he explains the nature of the universe.  However controversial the ideas expressed in this reading are today, they represent the historical view and “One True Philosophy” that inspired the alchemists to so ardently pursue the Great Work. I have continued to research Thoth’s teachings in more recent books, including In the Mind of the Universe: The Monad and You! on Amazon at https://amzn.to/489vk5H

In the Mind of the Universe: The Monad and You!

This is a sample reading from Chapter 1 of In the Mind of the Universe: The Monad and You! Order the book from https://amzn.to/489vk5H 

The Monad in Philosophy

We live out our lives in the Mind of the universe, and for thousands of years, philosophers, theologians, and scientists have called that unitary source of reality at the beginning of time—the Monad. In philosophy, it’s the etheric Substance at the root of both mind and matter. For theologians, the Monad is the logos or Word of God. In science, it’s the Big Bang singularity from which the physical universe emerged. In mathematics, the Monad is defined as the zero-point origin of all numbers.
In your life, the Monad is the singularity in your own consciousness, the point of view from which you experience the world. The commonplace experience of being a single point of awareness in your own mind—of being impeccably whole in your own little world—is a reflection of the Monad in you.
This is Chapter 2 of the book In the Mind of the Universe: The Monad and You! by Dennis William Hauck. Read by Peter Simmons. More information on Amazon at  https://amzn.to/489vk5H