Gate of Light: Healing Practices to Connect You to Source Energy
Watkins Publishing, 9781786781482, 192 pp, new edition 2018
The Gate of Light is a handbook by Lars Muhl, author of The O Manuscript, to guide the spiritual seeker through connecting themselves with Source energy, for practical application as well as healing purposes.
Muhl, a Danish-born spiritual author and mystic, presents this book as a followup or companion to a prior work, The Law of Light. In Law, he uses his more than 25 years of study of the Aramaic language, to reveal the secrets of the teachings of Jesus or Yeshua, not only in the canonical gospels, but in apocryphal texts as well.
In Gate of Light, Muhl delves into the history and teachings of a particular group of ancient Israelites known as the Essenes. According to my limited research, the Essenes were a third sect in the Jewish population, the first two being the better known Pharisees and Sadducees. The Essenes left in “disgust” of the other two parties, whom they believed “had corrupted the city and the Temple. They moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life in the desert, adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy.”1 Muhl referred to these people in his prior books as “Those Dressed in White” or “Sons of Light.” He associates them with philosophers and therapists from Alexandria, and suggests that Yeshua’s family were members of such a group while hiding in Egypt.
Unlike other groups in Judaism, the Essenes believed that Yeshua was the long awaited Messiah. With his death, they transformed into some of the earliest forms of Christianity. Many quotes and passages in Gate of Light are from scriptures other than what we see in the current Biblical canon. In fact, it was their preservation of such writings, such as the Dead Sea scrolls and the Nag Hammadi codices, that kept them from being lost to us forever.
Much of the book is a series of stories that revolve around the Essenes and Muhl’s studies regarding them. As well, there some revelations about the words of Yeshua which he translates from their original Aramaic language. He refers to this as “the psychology of the Aramaic language.” He says these are more fully explained in The Law of Light.
Muhl also refers to back to passages from his other books. In fact, some of the stories from them are retold more fully here, and they are interesting to read. Toward the second half of the book, still in anecdotal fashion, the focus shifts to some of the actual practices of the Essenes and how they can be adopted by the reader. There are complete instructions for meditation and healing, with photographs for visual demonstration. Quite a number of prayers and songs are presented in their original language, along with translations and explanations, if needed. Even the sounds used for vocal meditation are explained clearly.
The book ends with a glossary of terms used throughout. I love this, as I return to Muhl’s books often for reference. As with all his works, Muhl provides a wealth of information but leaves room for personal research and conclusions.
Gate of Light is a small book, a short read but with a lot of powerful information that I think would be of interest to any student of esoteric philosophy, spirituality, and healing. Muhl’s own spiritual history is rooted in the Judeo-Christian, though he has integrated practices and histories from a wide variety of traditions in a way that makes each more complete. This sort of fits into his overall theme: We are each part of a greater whole, no one is complete unto themselves, and inter-connection is tantamount to fulfilling the human purpose. Applied in a religious context, this draws us even further away from the “us” and “them” mindset. The more I read by this author, the more hope I feel during what often seem like chaotic and dismal times.
- “Ancient Jewish History: Pharisees, Sadducees & Essenes,” Jewish Virtual Library, undated. [↩]
