Universal Gnostic Anthology

[ecosophia]

I've been exploring some options for ritual and practice in the Universal Gnostic Church tradition of late. For certain ceremonies and personal practices, it would be good to have an anthology of spiritual texts, readings from which would fill something of tthe same role as the Epistle and Gospel readings in a Christian communion service. Since this is for the Universal Gnostic Church, though, the texts would come from many different traditions, focusing on inspiration and insight rather than, say, bad geology and thou-shalt-nots. I imagine this as being something like the Bible, which is an anthology of complete texts from different periods and traditions.

These are the texts I've tentatively selected to start with:

- the Gospel of Thomas
- the Gospel of John
- Thunder, Perfect Mind
- the Poimandres
- the Tao Te Ching
- the Havamal
- the Heart Sutra
- Jung's Seven Sermons to the Dead

The whole volume should be around three times as long as this, however, a nice hefty volume for the aspiring Gnostic, so I'm throwing this open to suggestions from my commentariat. I'm perfectly willing to consider anything from ancient to modern times, so long as it's out of copyright or otherwise available for anthologizing, but I do insist on complete texts rather than excerpts.

Oh, and anyone who wants to label me a one-man Commission of Ecumenical Translators is welcome to do so, so long as they're willing to explain the joke implied in "Cranks-Effing-Turners." That said, this text from the commentaries of the OC Bible may well be included:

"Much that was called religion has carried an unconscious attitude of hostility toward life. True religion must teach that life is filled with joys pleasing to the eye of God, that knowledge without action is empty. All men must see that the teaching of religion by rules and rote is largely a hoax. The proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you've always known."

...and having thrown that cat among the pigeons, I'd be interested in your suggestions.