Hi JMG & All – Many thanks for this forum, and for all that share so generously on it!
I’ve been practicing the SoP for a year or more now, and have followed my interpretation of our host’s advice to pay attention to what works and evolve the practice for myself based on those experiments. This has probably led to my SoP – and perhaps its practitioner! – becoming a bit eccentric over time.
Some of the eccentricities seem fine and work well… for example my habit of 'gathering the spectrum' by drawing in the six coloured gates to brighten the ball of white light before expanding the sphere is probably a bit atypical, but seems to work well for me, and cause no harm.
Other divergences might have unintended consequences though. For example, for a while I was visualizing the Orange Gate of Spirit Below opening to a stack of lower planes, figuring that if there are higher planes above, there are probably lower ones that we have evolved out of to get to this point, and they have their own contributions to make. I backed off this approach after reading some of the discussion here around demons and their origins in denser/previous universes, and deciding that I don’t want to be inadvertently inviting one to fly up my wazoo from whatever underground parking level they hang out in!
Long story short, It is time for me to read the instruction manual: Gods, spirits, planes, elementals… I need to learn more about the worldview behind the SoP so I can practice it safely and effectively.
Specifically, I want to give back to our host by purchasing two or three physical books written by JMG that are compatible with the SoP and John Gilbert’s legacy, and that cover the basic foundational principles.
What three or four JMG books you would recommend for someone whose daily practice will likely remain confined to the SoP, but who wants to understand the broader context and traditions around it?
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branchandroot
Time to read the manual…
Date: 2025-05-12 03:55 pm (UTC)I’ve been practicing the SoP for a year or more now, and have followed my interpretation of our host’s advice to pay attention to what works and evolve the practice for myself based on those experiments. This has probably led to my SoP – and perhaps its practitioner! – becoming a bit eccentric over time.
Some of the eccentricities seem fine and work well… for example my habit of 'gathering the spectrum' by drawing in the six coloured gates to brighten the ball of white light before expanding the sphere is probably a bit atypical, but seems to work well for me, and cause no harm.
Other divergences might have unintended consequences though. For example, for a while I was visualizing the Orange Gate of Spirit Below opening to a stack of lower planes, figuring that if there are higher planes above, there are probably lower ones that we have evolved out of to get to this point, and they have their own contributions to make. I backed off this approach after reading some of the discussion here around demons and their origins in denser/previous universes, and deciding that I don’t want to be inadvertently inviting one to fly up my wazoo from whatever underground parking level they hang out in!
Long story short, It is time for me to read the instruction manual: Gods, spirits, planes, elementals… I need to learn more about the worldview behind the SoP so I can practice it safely and effectively.
Specifically, I want to give back to our host by purchasing two or three physical books written by JMG that are compatible with the SoP and John Gilbert’s legacy, and that cover the basic foundational principles.
What three or four JMG books you would recommend for someone whose daily practice will likely remain confined to the SoP, but who wants to understand the broader context and traditions around it?