Group Review: Theosis: The Magnum Opus

The Group Review series continues, and I'm happy to present what is, in my opinion, one of the most impactful writings among the site updates, the Advanced Zevist Philosophy article concerning the Great Work, the supreme objective of an individual's path in Zevism:

This work puts into context a few things related to the Magnum Opus, its nature, and some very important things that one must keep in mind. It's absolutely worth a thorough study and contemplation about how it applies to each one of our lives. Due to the sheer amount of knowledge presented within it, I will not go over its entirety. What I bring for my commentary are an analysis of somefragments that most stood out to me, that I believe warrant close attention:

The Great Work is the Path, more than a Destination

Across past community iterations, misguided individuals and entitled voices would ask incessantly for a "Magnum Opus formula".

This is, at a base level, understandable, as the Work was presented (and it is) as eternal existence of a divine nature.

The prospect of eternal life has been a major theme of humanity's existence ever since the dawn of our species. While this can be explained through material ideas such as avoidance of death (and more generally, avoidance of the unknown), when one takes a deeper look at the human condition, it becomes clear that this desire to be immortal does not always stem from a base desire for homeostasis.

No. The desire for eternal life is identical to the force that drove us to create cities, currency, laws, intricate societies, medicine, legacy, better tools and the preservation of knowledge. It is an inherent human desire to surpass one's own condition. To go beyond, to be more, to create.

This is a uniquely human quality, or at least, a quality that manifests in a very peculiar way in humankind.

The command to continue living is written on every living being, and when it comes to humans, there exists also the inner understanding that one can become a fountain of life. We inherently feel our divine origin.

I must point, here, to the Upanishad quote, "being Brahman, he goes back to Brahman". The Sanskrit phrasing here is "brahmaiva san brahmāpyeti".

Brahma eva san = "Truly, being Brahman"

Brahma apyeti = "he moves to Brahman."

There are many connotations here, and the most obvious one is the fact that the "supreme reality" of Brahman refers also to the creative aspect of Zeus, which is Brahma.

The Magnum Opus relates to our inner power to create, and to be creators. To be conduits for the divine creative process in the material realm.

Apyeti (अप्येति) is a compound verb that indicates movement in a direction. Notice, here, that emphasis is not on an "end", "destination", but a moving towards.

"The Great Work is the ordering of a whole life, in all of its 4 dimensions, toward the Godhead"

Think about the world we inhabit. Intricate, bafflingly complex biological mechanisms make our existence as lifeforms possible. Biological ecosystems are highly systematic, operating based on inherent intelligence. The laws of physics allow for material existence to function, and the laws of logic allow for a coherent Universe. Compounding layers of dimensions allow us to experience what we call "existing".

The Great Work, in essence, involves alignment with these, as well as the highest realities we can not even name, through the works of inner contemplation, mastery over the self and of external reality, and the directing of life energies and of our existence towards the process of divine manifestation.

Those of Christian religion, or of an atheistic disposition, struggle with the problem of evil, as they see the Universe as "already created". "God has already created". And yet, this is not the case, as God still creates. Perfected Eternity flows down into the temporal at all times, through vessels.

The "errors" we see in the world - disease, suffering of the innocent, potential for more, these are not truly errors. They simply point to a process of Becoming, which you are a part of, and which you are tasked to assist.

On the Twelve Labors: Thoughts on the Nemean Lion

As I do not wish to speak about Labors I don't understand the nature of, I want to give my thoughts on the Nemean Lion, the first step of the Great Work, a task of maturity and of self-mastery:

"The Lion is the strength of the untrained self: force without direction. Heracles kills it with his hands, because the first mastery is of one's own force by one's own force, and then puts on its skin, because the conquered nature is not discarded but worn."

These words, in my opinion, are very telling in terms of showcasing Zevism as a path far above any other "spiritual understanding" of reality. These few words better explain our battle with the "ego" than any "left hand path deification" of New Age "ego death" propositions.

Our "ego", in truth, primarily involves our reason to keep living. As conscious beings, aware of the temporary nature of our existence, meaninglessness would be paralyzing and painful, to the point where nobody is truly a total nihilist.

What we hold within and call an ego (among other things), is an inherent emptiness that can only be filled with something we perceive to be eternal.

To a total Andrapod, this would be pleasure, making life worth living only through immediate sensation.

A deeper look then reveals an inner sense that memories, experiences, and our drive to transcend have an eternal meaning to them. Ask any 70 year old what the purpose of life is, and you'll learn a lot about just how intuitively attuned humans can be to the concept of eternity, without even being "spiritually knwoledgeable".

When the animalistic aspect of us has too much power over us, believing its current understanding is above reason, it behaves like an attacking, biting beast,

Defeating the Nemean Lion is the foundational first step of the Great Work, a task about self-control. What was once an untrained, forceful, and irrational reason to live, built out of raw instinct and raw alchemical materials without true direction, must be confronted and overpowered. The living lion attacks because it thinks it knows everything, but Herakles kills it with his bare hands, without external help, as there is truly no way to master oneself from without.

Without this "ego", however, we would not be able to function, as absolute self-doubt leads to total paralysis where nothing practical can be accomplished. This is why Herakles carries with him, and on him, the lion's pelt. This represents the realization that the conquered nature is not discarded, but worn. We understand that the ego has a vital role in enabling us to navigate the here and now.

In simple terms, we can look at this through diet.

Junk food simply feels good. It feels better than healthy food to the untrained mind. This is because the untrained, unexamined mind is still running on the biological karma of generations of cavemen, for which fatty, high calorie food meant assured survival. If you truly look at this, you realize this is nothing different to how we tend to go on autopilot in our daily life if we do not examine it, and live consciously. Instead of letting your own habits go on autopilot, forgetting that today was different from yesterday, one who has an unhealthy diet lets million-year-old habits run on autopilot, not taking a conscious look to notice the world has changed.

Without the lion, however, one realizes that we don't have perfect information about how a healthy diet works. There are things we don't know about certain foods, the ingredients of some products we consume are unclear in their effects, and even if society knew everything, opinions are split and one still has to deliberate. To act in the here and now, and not overthink, one must carry with him the lion's pelt, and use both instinctual intuition and reason to decide what the best course of action is for one's dietary routine.

This can be applied to everything in life.

In practice, this is a constant battle, but one that can in fact be permanently won internally. It unfolds as a back-and-forth clash and a tug-of-war filled with friction and failures until one achieves balance with the animal self. Through this struggle, we force ourselves to adapt, ultimately growing past the illusion of a rigid, narcissistic ego, while still retaining its practical utility to navigate the world and its never-ending journey of growth.

I am quite excited to hear everyone's thoughts on this article. May you all be blessed with great understanding of its message and its practical applications, and write great, helpful replies that will further inspire other Zevists in our family.