Explore Neville's claim: the Bible as “fantastic psychological instructions.”..
1. Why do we bother to entertain in a serious way Neville’s claim?
2. Why I consider Neville’s presentation to be so compelling: a conscious influence, originating in the esoteric tradition.
3. Quotes indicating fantastic psychological instructions.
i. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us” John.
ii. “ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them” 2Cor.
Echoed in Blake: “Why stand we here trembling around, calling on God for help, and not on ourselves, in whom God dwells?”
iii. “do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” 2Cor.
iv. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:” Php.
v. ”...until Christ is formed in you” Gal.
4. Summary description of our own nature
5. Affirmation [to be completed by the listener]
KEY QUOTE
“I speak of ancient prayers; many of them are much older than Christianity. These prayers are, so to speak, recapitulations; by repeating them aloud or to himself a man endeavours to experience what is in them, their whole content, with his mind and his feeling.” (from talk by G.I. Gurdjieff in 1916, as reported in Ouspensky, P.D. In Search of the Miraculous)
RESOURCES
Repeated:
In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky
