“Dear Soul! Here sincerity is required: but sincere and determined will must prosecute this or else it will not be achieved. For, if the Soul wants to gain Christ’s knightly crown from the Virgin Sophia, she (i.e. the Soul) must woo it from her (i.e. the Virgin Sophia) with great Love-desire. She must beg for it from her in the holiest names, and she (the soul) must come before her (sophia) in a disciplined humility, not as a lustfull bull or a wanton Venus. As long as she is such she is not to desire such (a crown): and, though something may be attained during this (life-) time, still it is merely a shadow.
“But a prudent mind can achieve it, (so) that the soul’s image, which died in Adam, may be revived. (This to be) understood (by the reader as pertaining to) the heavenly corporeality, according to the inner ground, so that the victory-crown is set upon (her) which, as soon as it transpires, is immediately removed and laid aside as a crown: just as one crowns a king- afterwards the coronation must be proved by trial. So it also happens with the soul since she is surrounded with the house of sin, for, if she were to fall again, (then) her crown would not be defiled.
-Jacob Boehme, The Way To Christ (a short suggestion)
It’s always a special treasure when a Christian Mystic shares from a place of meditation. Here we see step-by-step instructions on gaining Wisdom through a purely biblical narrative. Boehme states sincerity is required. “Sincere and determined will must prosecute this.” This is a clue. “For, if the Soul wants to gain Christ’s knightly crown from the Virgin Sophia, she (i.e. the Soul) must woo it from her (i.e. the Virgin Sophia) with great Love-desire.” Christ would represent logic and the crown is given from the heart meaning we are to approach from a place of balance. To woo is “to try and gain the love of” in this instance.
We aren’t talking about anything carnal here. Job brushes over this realm of the mystic in his discussion on being weighed by his deeds in chapter 31:
“I made a covenant with my eyes to not gaze upon a virgin. What portion comes from God above, what heritage from the Almighty on high?”
-Job 31:1-2
If we are willing to take into account that Prophets are never in disagreement as to the nature of God one can’t help but notice a similar practice found in the two accounts. To “make a covenant with my eyes” is an obvious restraint on giving into baser instincts. Sophia is a Divine state of being. To meditate in the Temple of your heart is to become aware of this Divine love.
“She must beg for it from her in the holiest names, and she (the soul) must come before her (sophia) in a disciplined humility, not as a lustfull bull or a wanton Venus.” There is a name that represents our understanding of loving desire. “I Am the I Am.” Our awareness of being recognizes that Sophia is a crown because “wisdom enters into our hearts and knowledge becomes at home in our souls.”
This is what makes chanting the Names- aspects- of God so important. By entering into a state of calm, by being grounded, by entering into the sacred space within, by visualizing the Divine Sophia, by chanting “I Am the I Am” we reach that tranquil state where we recognize we are all interconnected through Divine Love- this ocean of consciousness that is us fills you in a very profound way.
“As long as she is such she is not to desire such (a crown): and, though something may be attained during this (life-) time, still it is merely a shadow.” Touching the stream is amazing. Becoming the stream of consciousness is even more amazing. We see the continuum of life and realize “it is merely a shadow.” We don’t know. Beyond our senses is a place none can describe accurately but at our core it is there.
“A prudent mind can achieve it.” Y’all know I love language. Late middle English would mean to imply a mind that can attend to the goal would achieve. Echoes of the will and sincerity necessary for one to meditate repeatedly in order to grow. It takes quite a bit of determination to meditate and live in a manner necessary to just be. “(This to be) understood (by the reader as pertaining to) the heavenly corporeality, according to the inner ground.” Reiterating this is an inner work going beyond our sensory understanding. What seems a contradiction- heavenly corporeality- is actually a Divine Paradox.
“So that the victory-crown is set upon (her) which, as soon as it transpires, is immediately removed and laid aside as a crown: just as one crowns a king- afterwards the coronation must be proved by trial.” As gold in the furnace.
- Can you make this the way you approach the world?
- Can you decide to treat everyone you meet as a Divine Aspect of something greater than self?
- Can you release your own shackles by forgiving others and acting from a place of love?
- Is the spiritual life a fad for you meant to be laid down and discarded?
- Or is you search sincere?
These are the questions we must ask ourselves.
“So it also happens with the soul since she is surrounded with the house of sin, for, if she were to fall again, (then) her crown would not be defiled.” For perverse counsels separate people from God. Because into a soul that plots evil Sophia does not enter. Nor does she dwell in a body under debt of sin.
For some of us it’s as simple as learning to forgive. For others it’s the act of letting go. For Job it was to make a covenant with his eyes. No matter the terminology we are talking about surrender. Giving over our rightness, our egotistical noise makers so caught up in the senses they forget the beauty within. Then we forget that the quiet awareness within exists in us all. We become divided. Our hearts and heads go to war and we forget why we started.
“That he might know that devotion to God is mightier than else.” Devotion to that loving-kindness to see others free from suffering should always be our goal.
Live in love. That’s how you win the favor of Sophia- and companionship with God.
Mystical Mindstate 