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“The Rose starts to Unfold… following the Still Voice within…”
This week, Rudolf meets up with initiate Robert Gordon. An Australian by birth and upbringing, Robert holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from University College London. Robert is a contemporary forty-something, with a career, family and devotion to a centuries-old esoteric tradition. This summer, Lewis Masonic publishing released his book 21st Century Rosicrucianism.
Throughout the interview, the role of truly experiential initiation is honored, emphasized and examined. Robert joined a Masonic order at 21, inspired by studies in Anthropology interacting with a lingering childhood inclination towards the mysteries. From freemasonry, he journeyed into the variations of the Rosey Cross tradition. The conversation names the participatory paradox of both the slowness and persistent purpose found in an authentic Seeker’s process: “rest in it, sit in it, be in it, act in it”. Also, the fertility of any given individual’s conceptual discoveries: that, unwittingly, seeds may be planted which ripple through time to unknown spiritual students of the future.
Robert freely shares his encounters with the core three paths named in his book: personal devotional practice, social engagement, and spiritual retreat. Rosicrucianism’s historical and contemporary celebration of plurality is named, leading into the very current period of cross-fertilization available to it. The plurality extends into both the variety of Orders and the variety of individual Seekers.
Rosicrucianism does center around the specifically Christian tradition, but is open to all regardless of creed. Robert and Rudolf look at the tensions and possibilities available in this context, as a vessel for Western Esotericism. In what ways can “Jesus Mi Omnia” relate mystically to a universalist, egalitarian, ecumenical intention, and how may resonance be experienced by those who encounter it?
The conversation concludes around themes of discernment toward both utopian and dystopian futurism. Robert highlights the opportunity to articulate humanity’s spiritual core in the context of core cultural questions of consciousness and artificial intelligence.
Receiving a B.A. (Hons) in Anthropology and an M.A. in Museum Studies, Frater Robert spent his professional career working at St Paul’s Cathedral as well as for the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace. He then spent time with the Garden Museum, an independent museum and the final resting place of Elias Ashmole.
Since 2009, he has written extensively on the intersection between technology, spirituality and modern society (see futureconscience.com). Publications include a science fiction novel (When Winter Calls) and he was the Editor of Companions of Christian Rosenkreutz published in 2020. In the summer of 2022, Lewis Masonic published his latest book 21st Century Rosicrucianism.
Frater Robert currently resides in Italy where he focuses on spiritual practice and writing while continuing to contribute to a variety of esoteric orders. An aspirant and practitioner of Rosicrucianism for over 20 years, he is an active member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia; the Order of the Rose and Cross; and A. E. Waite’s Fellowship of the Rosy Cross
This is what the website of a Rosicrucian of the 21st Century looks like (see link below)
EMILY IS NOW WRITING THOSE WEBSITE EPISODE TEXTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Here is what Emily tells us about herself as an introduction:
‘Emily is a fellow traveler of esoteric trans-Atlantic origin. She keeps her journey offline, unplugged, and handwritten. Sources of resonant personal Wonder include bioluminescence, echolocation, geometry, and paradox. Stay in mystery, my friends
