The Rape of Sophia Perennis
by
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From Chapter One
Sophia points toward an understanding that goes beyond the individual perspective to the foundations of everything that exists. Even though this ground of all being is expressed by the simplest of truths, these truths are non-conceptual and cannot be expressed clearly using language, and therein lies much of the problem. To say that Sophia’s wisdom is beyond all concepts is meaningless to the mind because integrating concepts is primarily what the mind does. It translates our various perceptions into conceptual understanding so that knowledge can be structured and relationally integrated. Because it is the nature of mind to do so, it tries to impose that understanding by conceptualizing eternal wisdom as well. In the mind’s world of concepts the ultimate truth is incomprehensible, and cannot be spoken of as we would speak of Earthly experience or knowledge. In his landmark book, The Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) had these comments, “The subject matter of the Perennial Philosophy is the nature of eternal spiritual Reality; but the language in which it must be formulated was developed for the purpose of dealing with phenomena in time. That is why, in all these formulations, we find an element of paradox. The nature of Truth-the-Fact cannot be described by means of verbal symbols that do not adequately correspond to it. At best it can be hinted at in terms of non sequiturs and contradictions.” The teachings of Zen Buddhism abound with paradox, non sequiturs, and contradictions.
Zen makes no claims to truth and does not endeavor to teach eternal wisdom, rather, it attempts to open the aspirant to recognize the eternal in the present. Zen masters portray their teaching not as truth per se but as a finger pointing toward the moon. They recommend looking where the finger points rather than focusing on the pointing finger. The goal of Zen and most Eastern teachings is variously called awakening, enlightenment, moksha, nirvana, or Self-realization, wherein the sense of being an individual in a world of individuals becomes transparent so that the ever-present Oneness with the Divine is realized. In Western terms, this would equate to Christ Consciousness.
The Scene of the Crime
Western religions, as widely practiced, while based in similar principles, do not encourage seeking divinity in this world but, as a reward for compliance with their teachings, offer eternal life as a separate individual in the company of the Divine. Based on a promise of heaven and the threat of hell, members of these religions learn to ignore the moon and hold in the highest regard the pointing finger of their particular religious writings, for each of these scriptures has been self-defined as the inerrant Word of God. This particular belief is near the root of the matter at hand; therefore, much of our attention will focus on the scriptures and doctrines of the three mainstream Western religions.
The doctrinal issues of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam vary widely even amongst the different sects of each major path, but what ties them together beyond their Semitic origin is that they all believe in one God, who is the only true God, and they are all based on faith, but faith in what? Beyond the fact that there are three (more or less) different sets of scripture, each claiming to be the only one that is true, there are a number of other good reasons why we need to exercise great caution in referencing ancient scriptures to help us understand Sophia.
First and foremost, as Huxley pointed out, any attempt to describe Sophia using language will tend to confuse most people, as Sophia does not fit into any conceptual category; thus we have already gone astray at the first turn in the path. In addition, these scriptures were all canonized centuries before the invention of movable type, meaning that all translations and copies were made by hand one letter at a time. We must also keep in mind that in Western theology, complex ideologies have been built around a few very simple ideas, and the connections between the ideology and the original teachings are not always obvious or logical. Stipulations of behavior, dress, and thought are spelled out repeatedly and in some detail in many of the major works of Western scripture. This makes them largely, if not primarily, social and ethical teachings as opposed to being purely spiritual.
Originally, the ideas of the founders of these religions may have pointed to truth, but these truths were conceptualized, taught to others, discussed, written down, copied, modified, and translated from language to language for centuries by flawed human beings who were entangled in culturally bound environments that have passed into antiquity using languages that are inherently and utterly incapable of expressing the experience.
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About the Book
Notwithstanding the provocative title, this book is not about a woman or an act of sexual aggression. Sophia Perennis is a Latin term that translates into English as “wisdom perennial.” Sophia Perennis is also known as the eternal wisdom, perennial philosophy, and by other names that directly refer to ideas and teachings that focus on the universal underlying perspective that the nature of reality, and specifically humanity, is inherently divine. When one attempts to teach this wisdom, there are many opportunities for confusion. When Sophia is used to control or harm others, she is violated by those who claim to love her; and that is the rape to which the title of this book refers.
I wrote this book for those who are ready to take the next step toward an enlightened life. The book is about challenging our assumptions about important everyday life issues, especially religion, in hopes that we might come to understand that the reality in which we live is not necessarily exactly the way we believe it to be. I will quote scientists, philosophers, clergy, saints, sages, and more, who look at things differently than do most of us. In exploring these alternative ideas, I hope to assemble these disparate perspectives into a mosaic that will reveal a much grander view of reality.
Another intention of this book is to show evidence of a growing consensus of intelligent people who believe that our species and the entire planet are changing, evolving, expanding, as consciousness and what might be called spirit. This paradigm shift that I, and others, are seeing at this time in history seems like a surge in the natural movement of human consciousness toward transcendence and enlightenment.
About the Author
In 1974, Garrison Edwards wrote a spiritually autobiographical poem titled, “I am not an Ordinary Man”. In this poem he asked “Do you see me or do you see my burden?” Perhaps this is the universal question each of us must ask of himself. In the answer may be the first step to enlightened truth.
The ordinary man poem was not Garrison’s first effort at distilling his spiritual journey into a meaningful message. As early as age 8 he was a seeker, and possibly one of the youngest persons to have ever read Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the story of the Buddha’s spiritual journey to reach enlightenment, cover to cover, more than once. In the years that followed, it was common place to find such books as Alan Watts’ The Wisdom of Insecurity among his school books. In the troubled world of 1968, as an American GI in uniform, Garrison wrote and performed protest music in Vietnam. As an artist, his original spiritual music performances have charmed audiences of all sizes. Privately, he is an amazing sculptor. As a Mensa, things came easily; as a seeker he searched for meaning in every “thing”, idea, and philosophy.
Garrison is one who has traveled his own path of enlightenment through the halls of Christianity, Zen, Tae Kwon Do, Kant, and Kohlberg. Curious, playful and the beneficiary of a fine sense of humor, Garrison Edwards will warm your heart and shock your soul as he welcomes you on his spiritual journey as he challenges authority and common thinking alike. Walking the Journey with him can be a life changing experience from which you may never be able to return to who you thought you were when you were ordinary. Garrison will enable you to know that not being ordinary is just the first step.