The Origins of Belzebuub’s Courses
Belzebuub created his first website in 2001 in order to spread the message of Gnosticism throughout the world. Utilizing the internet was unprecedented as a method of reaching people who might be interested in the Gnostic work, as neither of Belzebuub’s predecessors Samael Aun Weor or Rabolu had created websites.
Belzebuub initially registered the URL www.gnosticmovement.com on which to host this site. The name was later changed to www.mysticweb.org however, a name which would appeal more broadly to people who were interested in spirituality in general.
This website contained topical information about:
- Astral travel
- Self-knowledge
- Awareness
- Intuition
- Meditation
- Tantrism and alchemy
- Initiation
- The esoteric path; and
- Ancient and modern gnosis
It also housed a collection of esoteric artwork, a guestbook, articles by people interested in Belzebuub’s work and forums on astral travel, self knowledge and the esoteric path where website visitors could ask any questions they liked about these topics.
It was through this website that Belzebuub first offered free courses on astral travel and dreams, self-knowledge and esoteric wisdom. These courses were delivered by email and had downloadable .PDF files which contained information for a new topic and practice each week. There were also forums associated with each course that course participants could ask questions in. Initially Belzebuub answered all these forum questions himself. Over time however, as the courses quickly grew more popular with each course round, Belzebuub was later joined in answering questions by qualified instructors who helped him to keep up with demand and allowed him to focus on further course development.
Belzebuub created all the free courses delivered by The Gnostic Movement. Running for nine weeks, they were designed to help people easily learn and understand the concepts and practices of modern gnosis. During the courses participants also became familiar with Samael Aun Weor’s recommended writings. Thanks to the clear order and structure of Belzebuub’s courses, they were very accessible and helped participants to gain many spiritual experiences.
The courses Belzebuub developed are as follows:
A Course in Self-Discovery
This course taught techniques such as awareness of the present moment and self-observation. It allowed people to gain an understanding of their own psyche by directly studying it in daily life. As a result, participants were able to begin to change problematic or challenging thoughts and emotions, improve their relationships and experience more conscious feelings like happiness and peace. The contents of this course later formed the basis for Belzebuub’s book The Peace of the Spirit Within. Click here to see a video review of Belzebuub’s book on self-discovery.
A Course About Dreams and Astral Travel
With a focus on achieving experiences beyond the body, this course taught astral projection and lucid dreaming techniques, how to remember dreams, how to protect oneself from negative entities, and how to learn and develop spiritually from dreams and out-of-body experiences. Click here to see a video review of Belzebuub’s book on dreams and astral travel.
Gnostic Wisdom
Following on from the A Course in Self-Discovery and Astral Travel and Dreams courses, the Gnostic Wisdom course — originally known as the Esoteric Wisdom course — taught techniques for inner transformation known as the three keys, and explained the process of enlightenment and how to walk along it.
Advanced Investigation
This course allowed participants to delve deeper into the practices they had learned in the three prior courses, using them in their lives to understand themselves, learn about and overcome their obstacles, and further their understanding of spirituality.
All the courses were offered in-person at study centers and groups in multiple countries around the world and were also available online. Over 90,000 people participated in the courses during the time that The Gnostic Movement was active, from 1999 to 2012.
Belzebuub’s Courses Turned into Books
Unfortunately many people used the educational information that Belzebuub freely shared not for spiritual development, but instead for financial gain. Many instances were found where the contents of Belzebuub’s work was repackaged and sold for profit. There were also countless instances of plagiarism discovered online.
To help protect Belzebuub’s work from plagiarism the courses were put into book form. These books were revised and expanded many times. More information about Belzebuub’s catalogue of books is available on Goodreads.
The Practices Taught in The Gnostic Movement
The Gnostic Movement made use of many different practices originally taught by Samael Aun Weor and later refined by both Rabolu and Belzebuub. There were three main types of practices:
- Exercises for self-knowledge
- Exercises for out-of-body experiences
- Exercises for mystical experiences
The fundamental practices understood to be required for spiritual progress were: disintegrating egos, helping others spiritually, and alchemy/tantrism. All other practices supported these three main practices.
Exercises for Self-Knowledge
These techniques revolved around gaining an understanding of oneself, particularly through awareness and seeing the egos (different subconscious states such as anger, pride, jealousy, lust, etc.) in order to remove them. The exercises included:
- Awareness of the present moment
- Self-observation
- Retrospection
- Asking for the removal of egos, and;
- Meditation/analysis of an ego.
Exercises for Out-of-Body Experiences and Dreams
These techniques were for experiencing OBEs and understanding them as well as dreams.
They included:
- Relaxation
- Remembering dreams by lying still upon waking and using a mantra
- Keeping a dream journal
- Analyzing dreams
- Going back into dreams after waking
- Visualization
- Astral projection exercises (e.g. using mantras, visualization of a place or the heart, concentration on heartbeats, watching dream images)
- Waking up in dreams
- Lucid dreaming
- Reality checks, and;
- Recitations of protection in the astral plane.
Mystical Exercises
Other practices learned in The Gnostic Movement were very beneficial in producing peaceful feelings within and improving the overall inner state of a person.
These exercises included:
- Concentration (as a sit-down practice or while performing daily tasks)
- Alchemy/tantrism
- Mantras such as the five vowels
- Meditation (on duality or koans)
- Transmutation of cosmic forces, and;
- Yoga asanas.
People’s Experiences
Through the courses and techniques taught by Belzebuub and The Gnostic Movement people were able to gain amazing and often life-changing experiences. They overcame depression, anger and fear. Developed peace and felt what it’s like to be clear of inner turmoil. Participants also learned they were more than just the physical body – that we exist outside of it and can leave it consciously through astral projection and certain forms of meditation.
Developing the ability to concentrate allowed students to practice all the techniques better with a more focused mind. It also helped immensely in daily life with improved effectiveness and efficiency in daily activities.
People gained profound experiences outside of the body such as learning about past lives, visiting spiritual locations like the pyramids of Egypt, and flying (even into space). Through out-of-body experiences, they met and received guidance from spiritual beings, including Belzebuub. They were able to verify the existence of angels and demons and find out what happens after death.
By strengthening intuition in life people could make better decisions when it came to choosing one course of action over another. Understanding inner states such as negativity and anger allowed people to act based on higher principles. Practitioners of The Gnostic Movement reported being able to better deal with difficult situations in life while at the same time learning about themselves in a profound way. They reported finding renewed purpose in life and a stronger connection with the divine within.
By changing themselves for the better, people were able to improve relationships with family, friends, spouses, and with their colleagues at work. Through affinity many friendships that were made in The Gnostic Movement have lasted over a decade, continuing to the present day.