Thunder Perfect Mind is a document discovered among the Gnostic manuscripts from Nag Hammadi in 1945. Now, personally, I am not a "Gnostic." Really, I would self-identify as a Christian. Nonetheless, there was something about the text that resonated with me, more than anything I've read for a while. This is one of those "finds" that I can't help but talk about. You can read it here. The text is written in a female voice, which is really interesting give the nature of the document. I will, however, only mention that here, and let it stand as a conversation for another time when I have more fully formed thoughts about it.
For now, in reflecting on Thunder Perfect Mind I realized that self revelation always takes the form of antithetical propositions. I have realized that whenever I try to proposition something about myself, the part of me that embodies the other resists vehemently. Let’s say I posit about myself that I am a “good” person, or that I am “controlling.” Other parts of me, equally as present, scream out, “You’ve never done anything that wasn't out of self-interest!,” or “Controlling? Psh, you don’t have any more control over the world or over others that you do yourself!” But, in realizing that “I am shame and boldness. I am shameless; I am ashamed. I am strength and I am fear. I am war and peace,” I realize that I was never meant to be any one particular way (and yet I am), and I realize that my understanding of my existence is revealed to me by my oscillation between antithesis. The complex being that I am can only be understood, by myself, in terms of paradoxes. I am limited, I am infinite. Need I say more?
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