this is my second entry to the “Tormentor Series” in our first entry we covered the tormentor of ignorance and the virtue of divine knowledge. both of those play into this tormentor as well.

Firstly, we ought to address the obvious, why exactly is grief/sorrow listed as a tormentor? It might occur to you this is a rather odd choice because allot of other religious doctrines in the western world don’t highlight grief or sadness as a sin, or something unwholesome or wrong. well the tormentors are not necessarily what’s morally wrong or right, its about desires and how desires are used to express the threads and tugs of fate and can limit the human from gnosis of nous, to put it rather simply. One sees the material appearances reflected of mind/nous instead of conceiving mind/nous in its reality.

Grief/Sorrow is a tormentor of the heart. When we forge strong connections with the people in our lives, their loss leaves us burdened with a deep sense of grief that permeates both our hearts and minds. It is important to recognize that this response is neither wrong nor unnatural. Similarly, when faced with dire circumstances or the aftermath of a disaster, such as losing our homes, our livelihoods, or someone/something dear to us, we naturally mourn the loss of those precious elements, opportunities, or cherished places. The intensity of our grief is directly linked to the depth of our attachment to the material aspects and appearances of worldly life, whether it be due to dependence or desire.

Grief itself is not inherently wrong or negative. It serves as a necessary mechanism for us, as human beings, to process our attachments, emotions, and the challenges of navigating life without those familiar elements. However, from the perspective of a hermeticist, there are tools at our disposal that can help us transcend the limitations of grief by shedding the veil of ignorance through divine gnosis of nous. This transformative experience brings forth true joy and the profound understanding that we are interconnected, united by a singular essence. In this realization, we perceive ourselves not merely as human beings having spiritual encounters, but as spiritual beings undergoing human experiences.

we know our outer being, or “below being” (our bodies and physical reality) is in consistent, and continuous reflection of the above being, the higher being. we know what we see are appearances of life and light. and the perceived idea of existing is only relevant to our sense of existence. If we know we all exist beyond the physical manifestations and the sensory reality of appearances. Death and detachment becomes far less of a fear, far less distracting.

This what divine joy is cultivated from. And how we can use it to release some of the strife we feel when we experince a great sorrow or loss.

Essentially when we really identify with the experience of existence, and not the appearances of our sensory perceptions. We recognize that the body is already temporary. That the person who filled that body is not gone. Just unmanifest. And if we hold divine joy in our hearts. True contentment of just simply living here and now, we become joyous just to notice the light and life in all things.

All suffering of sorrow becomes a temporary state of being. This may sound really nice and all, but perhaps those who have depression and other related illnesses that cause a lot of sorrow. May have a harder time physically feeling happy. I sympathize with this because of my own mental health issues. But this is why knowledge of who you are is so important and so stressed upon in the corpus. Because once you have the realization through gnosis of your true nature. Your physical predicaments become way less catastrophic.

One thing I recommend is, you can try and sink into the perspective of the witnesser. if you’re feeling a certain way, ask why, objectify what it is your feeling so you can grow your perspective outside your conceptualized egoic limitation of self to become more impersonal towards your condition, create a distinction between you (the awareness), and your conditional and relational identity with the experience of the feeling of sorrow or grief.

Although that is not even nessecery to cultivate divine joy. You easily achieve similar states of divine awareness just contemplating truth, the light and life, The One, The Eternal Now, The Good. Or just meditation! just being still, having a direct experience with the divine mind that is in all. You can do this anywhere for any amount of time and you will benefit from it regardless.

That is just my two cents though. There’s plenty of ways to find contentment through devotion and knowledge. But ridding the egoic ignorance of ourselves as just flesh suits with thoughts is firstly necessary for the process of true reverence of the good and gnosis or experience of divine joy.