Federica wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:44 pmAshvinP wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 5:11 pmFederica wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 3:41 pm
Ashvin,
Thanks for bringing attention to nutrition again. It's a vast topic and I definitely feel there's a lot I don't know about the various elements and how they interact with our physiology. Reading the first part, Octave 1.1. I have to admit, when I read messages such as "the Earth's global controllers do not want us to know the big secret, the miraculous capacity of the chakra system", I become suspicious. I don't want to judge the spiritual content, since I don't have the adequate knowledge to, but I am reluctant to wholeheartedly trust this course. This also depends on other details. An intro such as this for example: "Discovering this summit is heaven on earth. We found it and offer you the same pathway to find it within yourself. Please, let us be your Spiritual Sherpas and show you a pathway to higher knowledge that has blessed us in countless ways." Doesn't this sound odd? Then I clicked on one of the videos, it leads to a commercial for a protein supplement brand. Maybe this is a hasty judgment, but what did you think about these things?
Federica,
I try not to think too much about the varying ways in which these spiritual ideas are expressed. I started out with Steiner, Scaligero, and so forth, so I am also taken aback sometimes by less philosophical-scientific ways of speaking about things. But I have started discovering there are many Anthroposophers (not to mention extra-Anthroposophical thinkers) who approach the ideas from all sorts of different constellations of disposition, experience, beliefs, etc. Generally, I think we should be working towards an inner stance where these variances don't phase us too much, where we can pay attention to the substantial content and reason through it effectively. That doesn't mean we have to ignore the overarching moods of thinkers, either. If we notice their content is consistently structured by a mood of mystical reduction, for ex., then we can take note of that and use it as a tool to understand their ideas. But so far I have not come across any such moods in their work. If anything, it seems they are focused mostly on the Divine Feminine like many people these days, and for good reasons.
I would also note that most (if not all) of the content on that website seems to be offered for free. It is a rare thing when people write books, develop detailed dietary programs, produce lengthy and informative videos, and offer it all for free, where we may only have to endure commercials once in a while. They also have a page that states as follows:
The Gospel of Sophia and Our Spirit are intended for spiritual initiates only. If you are not on an esoteric path of conscious, self-directed initiation, the contents of these esoteric materials may not resonate with you at this time on your spiritual journey. How will you know if you are a spiritual initiate? Please read the materials offered on this site. If they stir your soul and spirit, you will know that you, the student, are ready, and a teacher has appeared.
There are no gurus, priests, or masters on a path of self-initiation. If anyone approaches you as a "leader" of the Sisters of Sophia or Our Spirit movement, please be advised that we hold the view that the path of modern initiation lies in self-initiation.
Ashvin,
I agree, the mood can come from many different directions and reasons, it shouldn't be primary to form an opinion. And I agree that a free resource is generous. However, the problem I see with the commercial is not that they monetize videos. That would be no problem indeed, but this is not the case. The problem is that they use entire promotional videos as tenets of their approach, to justify the necessity to use Himalayan salt, in that case.
But even if we disregard that, and only look at the essence of the advice and recommendations provided, I find that there are very scarce explanations. If we compare, say, with a Steiner course, there is a world of difference. I am reading the second part now. They tell us "do this, don't do that" and it's basically it. Don't drink soda, don't drink water with acidic ingredients (no lemon water?) Do add this and that to your water. One has to believe the advice. Then they rely on external links to support their recommendations. Have you watched the Kundalini video? I watched the first ten minutes or so, I dropped on the animation of Adam and Eve looking like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones I wouldn't call this a course. It is more like a collection of precepts.
Of course, it is not intended to be a Steiner course or anything similar. I think the essential approach of this diet program is summed up in this caption at the end of the lessons:
It's just a series of helpful indications that we can contemplate and integrate with our current knowledge-experience and/or research further, perhaps through Steiner's many courses or other esoteric sources. If they provided all of that information and reasoning in the lessons, I wouldn't have needed to post about it here and solicit feedback.Please note: Hyperlinked material
may become stale or link broken.
Research for yourself.
On the other hand, I have watched a few of Douglas Gabriel's videos on YT and they are chock full of esoteric information and insight, although his approach is similarly tailored towards those who are already well-versed in Anthroposophy. He is certainly an interesting character and tends towards a very schematic intellectual framework. Nevertheless, I am sure there are many insights to be gained from contemplating his work from the proper living perspective. Perhaps some of those videos shed more light on the nutritional system as well.