The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (5 page)

Ancient philosophers practiced the
art of memory
, a collection of well-tested memory techniques, so that they could remember the maxims, the demonstrations justifying them, and other essentials of their philosophical systems. We don’t attach much important to memory these days, because we have notebooks, computers, smart phones, and the Internet as repositories for knowledge, but they are of little use for philosophical practice. To act in the moment, you need to have philosophical principles ready-to-hand; there is no time to look them up, even in a notebook or portable device. When you have practiced the Morning and Evening Examination of Conscience for awhile, you will discover that your memory is improving.

Finally, many ancient philosophers, like modern psychotherapists, recommended
Examination of Dreams
as a spiritual practice. This was because recurrent images or events might reveal issues on which the student needed to work. For example, if someone

dreamed they were being cruel or greedy, or if they had frightening dreams, an ancient philosopher might interpret these as indicating unhealthy mental states. Conversely, the absence of these dream elements might indicate spiritual progress. Similarly, in modern times Jung taught that dreams can reveal forces mobilizing in the unconscious, both her-alding and facilitating spiritual growth. I will have a little to say about dream interpretation in this book, but if you are really interested in this spiritual practice, you should explore Jungian psychology.

spiritual practices 23

Expanding Outward

Having surveyed ancient spiritual practices that concentrate inward, I will next describe those that expand outward. In these practices we take some version of a “god’s eye view”

of the universe.

In the exercise that I will call the
Viewpoint from the Center
you visualize yourself expanding to include the entire universe, attempting to comprehend it intuitively in its entirety in your mind. You look out on the planets, then the stars, then the galaxies, and see them moving in their billion-year-long dance. Like the concentrative exercises, this also effects a separation of the divine from the mortal, but instead of focusing on the divine kernel within, you identify with the divine All.

Therefore you have a deity’s perspective on the universe, comprehending it in its universality and eternity. You experience the entire universe as ideas in the divine mind, which is your transcendent mind. You have separated from—by expanding beyond—your individual, mortal life, which now appears as an insignificant part of the whole. However, you realize that the essential you is the eternal part, and so you can look objectively on your role in the grand scheme. You will learn versions of this practice in chapters 8 and 11.

The
View from Above
is a similar exercise, but it is more an “angel’s eye view,” for it keeps the earth in view. You imagine yourself ascending into the sky so that you can see the entire earth; you lose sight of individual people, and then of cities, and finally of coun-tries, until you see the earth as a blue orb in space. Simultaneously time speeds up, so that individual lives blur by and eventually you can see the ages quickly rolling by. This gives you an altered, angel’s-eye view of all the things we normally consider so important, but from this perspective, they do not seem very important. The View from Above is a kind of Practice of Death, because you are seeing the world from a perspective outside of your human life; you are seeing it from the perspective of an immortal soul. I’ll give you more specific directions in chapter 6.

A third expansive exercise is the
Viewpoint of Science
, in which you use whatever understanding of science you have in order to see yourself as a nexus of past causes and future effects, as part of the continuous fabric of causality in the universe. If you know a little about general relativity, quantum mechanics, or superstring theory, you can view the universe from any of those perspectives. If your knowledge is less technical, or those perspectives seem too abstract, you can simply visualize yourself in the complex web of nature: all the complex biochemical processes in your cells interacting with all the many living and nonliving things in your ecosystem, the plants, animals, air and water, the bacteria in your 24 spiritual practices

gut, the gravity and light from distant stars, etc. The goal is to have an intuitive comprehension of the whole shebang. This exercise can effect a simultaneous concentration into the present (that causal nexus) as well as an expansion into the entire universe. You’ll learn a version in chapter 6.

Additional Practices

I will mention briefly a few other spiritual practices that are neither especially concentrative nor expansive, such as keeping a
spiritual journal
. In it you can record your difficulties and successes in your other practices, as well as the insights you gain from them. In contrast to your commonplace, which contains eternal verities, your journal is for your thoughts, feelings, and intuitions of the moment. Therefore, it is more ephemeral and personal, although of course you may show it to your teacher or to others whom you trust.

In some respects, the difference between the commonplace and the journal corresponds to difference between the perspectives of the universal, timeless god within and your individual self embedded in the infinite particularity of everyday existence. Both are important in a balanced philosophical life. Make plans now to start a spiritual journal if you don’t already have one.

As we have seen, ancient philosophy was not in general a solitary activity, and it can benefit today from a support group. The key is to find a group of mutually supportive, trusting people with whom you can share your philosophical way of life. A reading group studying this book and related books, and putting the ideas into practice, could form the nucleus of a philosophical community. Think about who would be interested in practicing with you and contact them.

Likewise, most ancient students of philosophy learned it from a teacher, who acted as a spiritual guide and life coach. Nowadays we are uncomfortable with the connotations of a master-disciple relationship, and there are many examples of abuse and exploitation in the spirituality business. Nevertheless, a more advanced philosopher can help a student move forward when they are stuck, and view their situation more objectively, helping them avoid pride and other traps. In the best case the teacher shows by his or her example that living the philosophical life is possible and desirable.

Another common practice is
Contemplation of the Sage
.15 All of the ancient philosophical traditions had images of the ideal sage, often the founder of the tradition, and this is the way we must understand ancient biographies of Pythagoras, Plotinus, and similar figures.

They were not intended as fact, but as an inspirational goal. They were meant
not to inform,
spiritual practices 25

but to form
.16 The sages became ideal figures that the disciples could strive to emulate, even though they set a standard of perfection that few could expect to meet.

Individuals might ponder, and groups might discuss, how a sage might act in various circumstances or how they might respond to difficulties, along the lines of “What would Jesus do?” The image of the sage permitted philosophers to think concretely about dilemmas and issues they might face. Thus this practice is related to Premeditation of Misfortunes.

As you will learn in later chapters, there are several characteristics common to ancient sages, each in some way god-like. First was a sort of cosmic vision, that is, a sort of “god’s eye” perspective on the universe and everything in it. This does not mean that a sage was supposed to know every last detail about the world, but that they had a comprehensive understanding of reality sufficient to live with true wisdom. The expansive exercises facilitate this cosmic understanding. Second, ancient sages were like gods in their tranquility, independence of circumstances, self-sufficiency, and freedom. These mental states are facilitated by the inward practices. However, as you will see, true freedom and peace depends on understanding human nature and humanity’s place in the universe, and therefore on cosmic understanding. Finally, sages are like the gods in their providential care for humankind. Thus sages are characterized by
philanthropy
(literally, love of humanity); they are dedicated to curing and caring for souls as spiritual guides, teachers, and the founders of philosophical traditions.

Summary of Spiritual Practices

Practice of Death

Focus on the Present

Examination of Conscience

Premeditation of Misfortune

Concentrating Inward

Governing Inner Discourse

Memorization of Maxims

Compilation of Commonplaces

Examination of Dreams

Viewpoint from the Center

Expanding Outward

View from Above

Viewpoint of Science

Contemplation of the Sage

Other Practices

Spiritual Journaling

26 spiritual practices

Living Philosophically

There is more to the philosophical way of life than these mental exercises. Spiritual practice involves the whole of your being, and so it affects your actions as well as your thoughts.

Philosophy, in the ancient sense, is not a weekend activity, but a new way of living every moment.

As you will learn in the following chapters, self-mastery is an important part of living the philosophical life. This includes a kind of vigilance: becoming more aware of your mental state and acquiring some control over it. For example, many of our troubles arise from our desires, from our likes and dislikes, and from our fears. We are also troubled by pain and suffering, and by stress and striving for wealth and fame. Therefore philosophy teaches you to govern these mental attitudes and, where necessary, to alter them so you can live better. Self-mastery also includes the quieting of undesirable dispositions (e.g., anger, greed, harmful speech) and the encouragement of desirable ones (e.g., tranquility, compassion, generosity). In this book you will learn ancient, time-tested techniques for self-mastery.

All the above deals with the manner in which we ought to
live
, but there is also the fundamental question of what we should
do.
What, if any, are our duties to ourselves, to our family and friends, to society, to deity? Ancient philosophy provides guidance in these issues and teaches you how to make it a way of life. Progressing through the degrees of wisdom, you will arrive in the Sacred Grove, where you will learn Hypatia’s techniques for receiving divine aid and guidance.

Hypatia’s Philosophy

Pythagoras and Plato

In this chapter I will present—very briefly—the history of Hypatia’s philosophy, which is called
Neoplatonism
(see following chart). This information is not essential to its practice as a living philosophy, but I think it is helpful to see the long ancestry of Hypatia’s philosophy and its roots in common human spiritual experience. If you are not too interested in history, then I suggest you skim this chapter; you might be more inclined to come back to it later. If you are anxious to get on to the practices, then skip to the next chapter, which teaches the first degree of wisdom.

Pythagoras is a good place to begin, for he coined the word
philosophia
from
philo-
(love of ) and
sophia
(wisdom). The idea was that only the gods are truly wise, and the best that mortals can hope for is to love wisdom and pursue it by living philosophically.

Pythagoras was born in about 570 BCE on the Greek island of Samos (just off the

coast of modern Turkey; see the map17). Ancient biographies tell us that as a young man he studied with the sages of Egypt, Persia, Phoenicia, Judea, Chaldea, and perhaps India, but these biographies were written hundreds of years after his death and mix considerable legend with the facts. (Remember, they are meant more to
form
than to
inform
.) When he was about 40, Pythagoras settled in Croton (modern Crotona), a Greek colony in southern Italy. Shortly after his arrival he gave speeches in turn to the men, women, and youth of the city, encouraging them to live according to his spiritual principles. According to the 27

28 sources for hypatia's philosophy

biographies, the citizens were very impressed by his teaching and wanted to learn more.

Pythagoras founded a society or philosophical order organized around his teachings. The character of applicants was examined, and if they were deemed worthy, they were admitted to the outer circle, where they were obliged to remain silent for five years. The apparent goal was that the neophytes learn humility and the basics of the philosophy before presuming to question or contribute to it. If a member proved to be unworthy, they were banished from the order, their property was returned to them, and they were henceforth considered dead by Pythagoreans and mourned as such. The inner circle of Pythagoreans learned the secrets of philosophy from the master himself, which they were banned from revealing to non-Pythagoreans. This sort of secrecy, analogous to modern trade secrets, was common in the ancient world. It shows that Pythagoreanism was like the ancient Mysteries, which also required vows of secrecy from initiates. The point is that without proper preparation the esoteric doctrines are likely to be misunderstood and even perhaps to be harmful. This is why there are degrees of initiation.

The Pythagoreans were very influential in the government of Croton and nearby Greek

colonies, reorganizing the systems of government in accord with their philosophical principles. Pythagorean spiritual practices, which you’ll learn in the third degree of wisdom, probably provided some of the insights that led to these principles. The Pythagoreans thus afford an example of how spiritual practices can make a positive contribution to society and practical affairs.