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Erotic Mysticism

Whirling Dervishes in the 19th Century. From El Mundo Ilustrado, Published Barcelona, 1880
Whirling Dervishes in the 19th Century. From El Mundo Ilustrado, Published Barcelona, 1880

Last night in Platonic Love we discussed how Plato identified the motive of love for a beloved with the motive for wisdom, remembering after all that his practice was called ‘philosophy’, which literally means ‘love of wisdom’, love of Sophia.

Plato’s Symposium is one source of a tradition of mysticism where a powerful desire for Sophia drives the soul upwards towards the beloved first principle. When finally arriving at desireless union, the ego-self simply fades away.

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