“(1) Jesus saw infants being suckled.
(2) He said to his disciples: “These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”
(3) They said to him: “Then will we enter the kingdom as little ones?”
(4) Jesus said to them: “When you make the two into one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below –
(5) That is, to make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male will not be male and the female will not be female –
(6) and when you make eyes instead of an eye and a hand instead of a hand and a foot instead of a foot, an image instead of an image, (7) then you will enter [the kingdom].”
Taken from the Nag Hammedi scriptures, the gospel according to Thomas.
The Nag Hammedi scriptures are ancient writings found in Egypt in 1945 and they contain the gospel according to Thomas, said to be Jesus’ closest apostle. They contain many quotes from lectures Jesus had made for his followers.
In this quote, Jesus explains how the perception of reality is actually something that the man reflects from his inside. The real truth is inside each and every one of us and so the more one is aware that all is one he has better control of reality. One can then be more aware to the processes around him and understand them. Only by turning the inside out and the outside in – we could “enter the kingdom” – have the key for redemption.
This idea repeats itself in most known religions including Taoism and Buddhism. Much like the idea that we should not get attached to things as all things are impermanent also mentioned in the scriptures. I express these ideas in many of my works such as the Mobius ring, The Gordian knot and God’s word pendants showing the idea of turning the inside out and outside in and even the Four winds ring carrying the phrase “The further one travels the less one knows” – because the truth is inside us.
“(3) Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and outside of you.”
(4) “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.
(5) But if you do not come to know yourselves, then you exist in poverty, and you are poverty.”
Taken from the Nag Hammedi scriptures, the gospel according to Thomas.
(Creating the labyrinth from its key)
This labyrinth is an ancient symbol and can be found in many places in the world. Spiritually, this labyrinth symbols the growth and development of men: All the cells in the human body are renewed once every 7 years; the Seed of life (made of 7 circles) is a symbol for the 7 days of creation; the Torus tube contains a mathematical formula for the 7 colors and more. The seven stages of the labyrinth represent the stages in spiritual development as well as the 7 chakras and energetic centers of our bodies.
The ancient riddle is actually – “How to get out of this labyrinth?”
When we take the key to creating the labyrinth and turn it inside out and outside in (as said Jesus) we find wholeness. This is the only way to get out of the labyrinth.
This square with a perfect circle inside and a dot in the center is the symbol of gold in Alchemy. This symbol is actually the basis for all geometry as it contains all the basic shapes. It also stands for the highest spiritual level a man can achieve.
(The key to the labyrinth turned inside out)
This symbol is the way to create the Vesica pisces – the beginning of the creation, the basis for the universe. Continuation of this creates the Seed of life, then the Flower of life and on to all that was created and exists. Once a person reaches this spiritual level he is one with the universe.
(From the key of the labyrinth to the Vesica Pisces to the Seed of life)