An introduction to the long-forgotten healing methods of the Essenes—an ancient sect of Jewish mystics—that offers useful tools, meditations, and visualizations for modern-day practitioners.

Until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946, there was little known about The Essenes, a brotherhood of holy men and women living together within a community over two thousand years ago. The Essenes considered themselves to be a separate people—not because of external signs like skin color or hair color, but because of the illumination of their inner life and their knowledge of the hidden mysteries of nature unknown to other men.

The Gate of Light is based on Lars Muhl’s lifelong search for God. It doesn’t claim any absolute truths but sets out to provide a practice based on Essene teachings that allows us to look at how we judge ourselves and how we live in the world. Muhl asks:

• What motivates us?

• How do we create a balance between thoughts, words, and actions?

• How do we align ourselves in relation to our higher self and become the universal light beings we are meant to be?

In particular, he looks at:

• Grief and Happiness

• Balance and Awareness

• Selflessness, Boredom, and Renunciation

• Loneliness, Gratitude, Silence, and Thoughtfulness

The Essenes understood that everything is interactively connected and that everything is energy. For them, God was the name for the highest form of awareness, something omnipresent and—if a human wished to learn how—they could communicate with this ever-present energy; through this communication humans could realize their full potential. Drawing on this ancient knowledge, Muhl presents a complete practice to help us recognize and answer the above questions.