Dr. John Vervaeke

After Socrates: Episode 13 - Ritual Way of Knowing

6 snips
May 2, 2023
Discover the profound role of rituals as pathways to self-discovery and deeper consciousness. Engaging discussions on Neoplatonism and its impact on Christian thought reveal the transformative power of symbols and ceremony. Explore how rituals provide insights inaccessible through logic alone, challenging modern perceptions. With references to influential philosophers like Proclus and contemporary thinkers, the dialogue encourages a reevaluation of how we connect with reality. Dive into the unique ways rituals unlock hidden dimensions of human experience.
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INSIGHT

Theurgy as Vertical, Reality-Centered Practice

  • Proclus distinguishes theurgia from sorcery, viewing theurgia as vertical and reality-centered, not egocentric magic.
  • Theurgia uses symbols (synthemata) to help people ascend to higher self-consciousness and deeper reality disclosure.
INSIGHT

Ritual Cultivates Virtue and Orientation

  • Ritual knowing involves embodied cognition, skills, and states of mind that facilitate cultivating virtue.
  • Rituals act as serious play in liminal states, fostering transfer-appropriate processing and improved relevance realization.
INSIGHT

Ritual's Unique Noetic Function

  • Ritual performs a unique noetic function, granting a way of knowing unreachable by other means.
  • Rituals help participants discover who they are and how they fit in the world, shaping agent-arena relationships.
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