A perennial problem that I have observed in journals and magazines of centres or individuals committed to particular Philosophies, whether Spiritual or Mundane, is the tendency to imitate and reproduce what its great thinkers or Masters wrote. It is indeed true that this re-printing and elucidation have a place, as their words and philosophy are often so comprehensive and powerfully expressed that it is important that magazines and journals have a section that contains the original inspiration of the Master or philosophy. Yet, we find more often than not, that the entire magazine is a reprinting and explanation of this philosophy, making of it principles to follow, rather than to experiment with, with no original reflection and research on those ideas.
I must admit that we as a centre are not entirely exempt from this challenge. It was to meet this challenge in our education programmes that we have put together a novel course design, methodology, and structure to encourage original and reflective research, and creativity in our students. The knowledge, if it is to become dynamic and influential even in one’s own life, must be living and fresh, from the fountainhead of our own reflected and original experience. This issue therefore gives me some joy, as it is a collection of some articles written by the students of my course, engaged with reflective and fresh research. I hope you enjoy reading them. The Gnostic Centre e-mail: gnostic@gnosticcentre.com Its vision is to grow into a future university that integrates the subjective and objective realms of knowledge - a larger perfection of knowledge and action, based on an inner core of self-discovery and self-mastery.
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